Chapter 58

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This incident occurred at Joshua's store, which was about to open. The perpetrator, targeting the time when there was no one around in the middle of the night, splashed bright red ink all over the front of the store.

"Wow, they really went all out."

While the employees were busy cleaning up from early morning, the Stewart brothers confirmed the damage in front of Joshua's store. The once white exterior was now stained with red in several places, and the ground looked like a sea of blood, making it difficult to restore.

"We've had trouble before during the renovation, but this one is quite a challenge."

Joshua, holding a deck brush, smiled a bit awkwardly. Despite trying various methods since early morning, the ink wouldn't budge.

"Joshua, have they caught the culprit yet?"

Georg took the deck brush from Joshua and scrubbed vigorously while asking.

"Since it happened at night, there were no witnesses. It's probably related to the First Prince's faction, but even if we know who did it, it's uncertain whether we can pursue them..."

Joshua sighed, completely at a loss. He had planned to use the school holiday to hold a tasting event for the café's dessert menu, but now that was out of the question.

"This... is where I come in, right?"

Kiri, William said firmly.

"Because... my body is that of a boy! My mind is..."

"Freeloader???"

Emma and Georg immediately responded, as usual.

"You two are still as bad as ever!"

William, who had fallen to his knees, was further taunted by Joshua, who asked, "What's a freeloader?"

Georg, who had been scrubbing vigorously, shook his head at Joshua, saying, "This won't come off..."

"Troublesome... Even if we repaint the walls, the problem is the ground. We'll have to either grind the stone or remove it all... Either way, it will take time and money."

The harassment at this stage of the renovation was particularly painful.

"Since this ink is so hard to remove, I'll investigate it."

William, nodding thoughtfully, decided to look into the ink. The capital's shopping district was known for having a wide variety of products, and it was said that there was nothing you couldn't find.

"But how will you find it? There are many stores that sell ink, right?"

The dessert tasting event had turned into an ink hunt, and Emma, who seemed reluctant to leave Joshua, asked the little detective William.

"Buying that much ink at once would be difficult. Even if they bought it from different stores or ordered it in bulk, there would be traces."

By the time the brothers reached Joshua's store, both Joshua and the employees had tried various methods, but the ink remained a vivid red. The amount of ink used to cover the entire front of the store was significant, and it was likely a special type of ink that wouldn't come off easily.

"Strange. All the ink here is black."

"Apparently, they don't even sell red ink..."

Georg and William quickly admitted defeat. They had assumed, based on their past lives, that red ink would be available, but it wasn't.

"Maybe in this world, there aren't many dyes that produce such a strong color. I thought it might be ink, but maybe not?"

Emma, thinking hard, considered other possibilities. In the various dyeing experiments she had done at the palace, none had produced such a vivid color without multiple layers.

This made the damage to Joshua's store even more severe, and people who saw it passed by with shocked expressions.

"If it's not available here, we're at a loss."

"Sure, the little freeloader detective gives up quickly."

Emma smiled at the dejected William.

"Miss, do you have a good plan...? From the look on your face, it doesn't seem like a good one, though?"

Looking up at Emma, William was certain she was up to something.

"Let's have lunch and change clothes first."

After walking a lot, Emma headed towards the Stewart family's mansion, saying she was hungry.

About an hour later, Georg and William, who had returned to the mansion, had lunch and changed clothes, were now scratching their heads.

"Emma..."

"Miss..."

The clothes they were told to change into were the simple, modest everyday wear they usually wore around the house, with no concern for fashion or style. In the Stewart household, everyone wore these clothes when there were no visitors, as they were comfortable and easy to move in.

Emma, who had appeared later, had her long hair tucked under a large hat and was wearing pants. While she didn't look as stylish as Marion in male attire, her slender limbs and lack of a noticeable chest made her look like a boy from the lower town.

"Are you planning to go to the commoners' district?"

Seeing Emma in disguise, Georg hesitantly asked. The capital was neatly divided into the palace, the academy, the shopping district, the noble district, and the commoners' district. The commoners' district, where the common people lived, was far from the palace and had poor security. Nobles rarely ventured there.

"If it's not in the capital's shopping district, we have to look in the commoners' district, right?"

Emma smiled and put hats on the two of them. Blonde hair was rare in the commoners' district and would stand out.

"Even in this disguise, we can enter the commoners' district through the back gate, so it's fine."

Thanks to the vast size of the Stewart family's mansion, the back gate on the side far from the palace led directly to the border between the noble district and the commoners' district. The Stewart family's servants who came from the commoners' district used this back gate.

"Meow!"

Komei, Kan, and Ryu were waiting behind Emma, with ribbons around their necks.

"Komei and the others will take us to the back gate."

Emma climbed onto Komei's back with a cheer, grabbing the ribbon around his neck. Since Chou was the only one with long fur, the others had started wearing ribbons to make it easier to ride.

She asked Chou to keep an eye on her parents, ensuring there were no oversights. ...Hopefully.

"It's bound to fail!"

William opposed. The commoners' district had worse security than this area, making it dangerous.

"Why? No one has ever told me not to go to the commoners' district."

Emma responded coolly. Her argument, based on the fact that no one had ever warned her, left Georg and William speechless.

"Besides, Joshua has always been kind to us."

It was hard to refuse when she said it was time to return the favor. If they refused and she went alone, there was nothing they could do. The brothers had no choice but to give in.

With reluctant movements, the two climbed onto their cats and put on the goggles they usually wore when playing with the cats. They told the servants they were going to play in the garden and headed straight for the back gate.

Without the cats, it would take about an hour to reach the edge of the garden. The vast garden meant that even if the three brothers were out of sight, no one would worry. For the first time, they were grateful for the large mansion.

The servants, seeing the unique cat riders, smiled and waved them off without any suspicion.

By putting ribbons on the cats' necks, it became possible to ride even the short-haired ones. Emma had always wanted to ride Komei, but it was a mystery why she had only allowed Chou to be ridden.

Putting ribbons on the cats not only made them cuter but also doubled their cuteness. Of course, the ribbons were made of Emma Silk.