Chapter 28

Part 3: The Iero Marquess Family (2)

"Sir Martin, you're here."

I smiled warmly and waved at him.

Martin, who had been talking to two mercenaries, turned his head.

He smiled when he saw me, but his face immediately stiffened when he saw Bianca following me.

"Sir Martin..."

Bianca also had a stiff expression as she bowed her head.

An awkward atmosphere flowed between the two of them.

"I didn't expect to meet you so soon."

I approached Martin as if I hadn't noticed the tension.

The two mercenaries standing next to Martin looked at me with puzzled expressions.

It was natural for them to look that way when a kid suddenly acted like they knew him.

The male mercenary asked Martin, "Who is he?"

"Someone from the Gresia Dukedom."

"Oh, the one who came with you."

At Martin's answer, the two of them frowned.

They didn't seem to be happy to see me.

What a pity. I'm really glad to see you.

I sat down in front of the table where Martin was sitting and smiled brightly.

"I'm really glad to see you. It feels like I made the right decision to escape the stuffy lord's castle."

I couldn't say I came for a preliminary inspection, so I came up with a typical excuse a child would use.

At my words, Bianca and Ugo looked at me.

Hmm, they seem to be looking at me with a pitying expression...

Could they have misunderstood that I came out to play, using work as an excuse?

Well, I can understand Bianca, who is meeting me for the first time today, but Ugo shouldn't think that way!

I sighed inwardly.

It's amazing how everyone believes such childish actions.

Being young can be a powerful weapon.

Naturally, Martin and the two mercenaries believed my words.

"Since we've met, can I stay here for a bit? It's almost lunchtime, so let's have lunch together."

At my words, Ugo nodded with a slightly awkward expression.

The so-called inspection was just a tour of the safe city where the lord's castle was located.

A preliminary inspection wasn't part of the original plan, and I had just said it was just an excuse, so his permission was natural.

Seeing that I had no intention of leaving, Martin let out a small sigh.

It must have been difficult for him to refuse my request.

The two mercenaries immediately stood up.

"Let's talk again later."

"Sure, we will."

Martin also nodded.

What? They're leaving?

"Both of you are mercenaries, right? Can't you join us for lunch? I've never met a real mercenary before, so I'll treat you to a meal and hear some mercenary stories."

I looked at them with a sparkling smile and innocent eyes.

"Little master, we're sorry, but we're not the kind of people who can talk to high-ranking individuals."

"We have to go, we have work to do."

The female mercenary waved her finger, and the male mercenary bowed politely. Then they left the inn.

Oh, I failed. I wanted to get more information...

At least I found them, so I should be satisfied with that.

"Wow, to reject so easily, both of you must be great mercenaries."

I teased a bit, and Martin defended them.

"They're really busy. Benjamin is the leader of a significant mercenary group, and Noah is the deputy leader, so they have a lot to do."

So, I finally learned their names? They're probably aliases, but knowing the names they use here is helpful enough.

Martin, Ugo the knight, and Bianca had lunch with me at the inn's restaurant.

The lunch of a knight, a maid, a child, and a man who looked like a mercenary was quite awkward.

I tried to keep the conversation going, but Ugo and Bianca ate in silence, and Martin only gave brief responses.

No one approached our table. After all, it was unusual for a knight to appear in a restaurant full of mercenaries.

The meal ended awkwardly, and after exchanging greetings with Martin, we left the inn.

Although it was a short time, I managed to get some information by inserting questions into our small talk.

'Red Bear Mercenary Group, right?'

The names of the mercenary group the two belonged to, where they stayed, and their relationship with Martin.

It wasn't much information, but it was enough.

There were a few more things I wanted to know, but they wouldn't answer, and there were others who could tell me.

After leaving the inn, our group toured the remaining areas.

We went as far as the outer wall where the commercial district and the city's view were visible.

As expected, there were no dangerous spots, and we returned to the lord's castle in good time.

We parted ways after passing through the inner castle. Ugo seemed to be reporting our return, and Bianca said she was going to meet Adria.

I thought there would be no connection between us since we weren't together when I saw Adria, but that wasn't the case.

I didn't head straight to my room.

I met Soldier Juan and asked him to investigate the Red Bear Mercenary Group.

It was an unpleasant situation to ask a soldier from our territory to investigate a mercenary group in the marquess's territory, but there was no other option.

Fortunately, Soldier Juan agreed to my request again.

It felt like the kind smile of an adult watching a child's detective game from a past life, but I tried to ignore it.

After finishing the task and returning to my room, Adria's maid was there.

She held an invitation card in her hand.

"A tea party invitation?"

"Yes. She hopes you will join the tea gathering with Sir Simon. She has some questions about tomorrow's event."

When I tilted my head, the maid explained the reason for the invitation.

However, even after hearing the reason, I couldn't understand it.

She had never called me before, and tomorrow was just a day out with Simon, so there was no reason to invite me to a tea party.

'Is she inviting me as a companion? I'll just end up reading the atmosphere and Simon's expressions...'

But it wouldn't be polite to refuse.

It was still early, and having a tea party before dinner wasn't a problem.

I quickly washed up and followed the maid.

Her reception room was, as expected, clean and simple.

Simon frowned when he saw me enter the room.

I had a feeling this would happen. Lunch was already a tense time, and the tea would probably taste bitter too.

"Come in."

Adria greeted me warmly.

To my surprise, the main character of this tea party was me, not Simon.

"A little while ago, I heard from Bianca that you met Martin today."

As soon as I sat down, she revealed the real reason she invited me to the tea party.

"You also came to our territory with Martin, right? Simon didn't tell me."

When she glared at Simon, he subtly turned his head.

After all, Simon, a noble to the core, wouldn't talk about the illegitimate child of another noble family.

Anyway, she invited me because she wanted to know about her half-brother.

However, her demure appearance kept bothering me.

Her personality couldn't have changed in a year, so it was just an act...

It seemed the person who was bothered should speak first.

"You can speak informally. I'm still young, after all."

At my words, Adria paused.

She glanced at Simon and looked around.

Since all the maids had left the reception room, no one else could hear us.

Soon, her face started to twitch, and Simon sighed.

Finally, she gave up on the act.

"Phew! Can I really speak informally? It was hard to hold back."

I suggested informal speech, but I didn't tell her to stop acting.

Honestly, that was what I meant, but to accept it so directly...

I knew her original personality, so it was fine, but if I didn't, I would have been surprised.

Oh, right. I should look surprised.

"Really surprised? This is my original personality. Simon was also surprised when he met me."

When I glanced at Simon, he had a dark expression with his eyes closed.

It seemed he had already figured it out during the few days we met. After all, if he could open up to me so quickly, he wouldn't have been able to hold back for days.

"They kept nagging me to act like a well-mannered lady when the engagement was about to be broken. They said if Simon found out, the engagement would be canceled, and I would be locked in my room for a year, only taking flower arrangement and etiquette lessons."

She smiled at Simon.

"But it was all nonsense. Simon was surprised when he found out I was acting, but he didn't care at all. He's a good person."

Simon also smiled at her words. He was smiling with a dark expression.

Unfortunately, Adria was misunderstanding Simon.

He wasn't accepting her true nature because he was a good person.

His face was filled with confusion.

Why did he fall for a girl with this personality, or why did the girl he liked have this personality? He seemed unable to understand himself.

Moreover, the phrase 'good person' she used sounded very sad.

Good person. Good person.

In my past life, single men always heard this from the women they knew.

I did too... No, no, now wasn't the time to think about that.

I sent a comforting look to Simon, who was looking at Adria with a gloomy face.

'First love is always like that, brother.'

After the brief commotion, the atmosphere in the reception room became much more relaxed.

I removed my surprised expression and told Adria about the events so far.

From the scene where I met Martin to our conversation and even the sparring.

Adria was very pleased to hear my story.

She was surprised when I described meeting Martin, tried to remember his words, and her eyes sparkled when I mentioned the sparring.

Oh, maybe I should have left out the sparring part.

Anyway, she had the face of someone listening to a story about a long-lost older brother.

After all, in her previous life, she didn't want to believe that Martin had caused trouble. From her expression, it seemed they had been very close since childhood.

"You and Martin had a good relationship, didn't you?"

"Yeah. I didn't get along well with the other siblings, but I really got along with him. I was very worried after he left home and I didn't hear from him."

Okay, it's time to ask the question I wanted to.

"Why did Martin leave the lord's castle? He seems to have awakened too..."

"Alex!"

At my question, Simon called my name loudly, warning me not to ask unnecessary things.

To think he called me by name just to scold me.

He was still a great brother.

"Ah, can't I ask? I'm curious because I'm also an illegitimate child."

I tried to look as pitiful as possible while speaking.

I had to use this to the fullest before it was too late. In a few years, it might not only be ineffective but counterproductive.

Adria thought for a moment. She looked at Simon and then at me.

On one side was the person who came for the engagement, and on the other was his brother, who was also an illegitimate child like her brother.

She looked around the room again and started speaking in a low voice.

"Martin left home not only because he had superior inheritance abilities, but ultimately because of his younger sister."

The secrets of the marquess family started to spill out from her lips.