Chapter 18

“Young lady of the Kreutz family.”

Knox said it again.

“Young lady? Y-You found the young lady? No, I never heard any news like that...”

At the words young lady, the marquis flinched all the way to his shoulders and looked flustered.

But after rubbing his rough chin a few times—

“Aha. So you are that child of the duke’s.”

He looked at me and lifted the corners of his mouth ominously.

It seemed he had heard the news that Duke Calypse Kreutz had adopted a child.

“Yes, yes. It has been five years since the duke lost his family... It would make sense for him to feel lonely.”

He took one step toward me and bent his knees.

“Child. Your power?”

The marquis’s face looked even more wrinkled up close. He looked exactly like a greedy, big-nosed monkey.

Ugh. Gross.

I leaned my head back and answered.

“I don’t have one.”

“Oh, you don’t. You don’t. You’re just an ordinary child with no power and no particular ability. Hahaha!”

Marquis Lilith’s laughter rang through the high-ceilinged corridor.

Everyone’s faces darkened, but no one said a word.

It was only natural.

I was an unacknowledged young lady, and he was the father of a power holder.

“Want to see my power?”

It was then. Tex, puffed up by the mention of powers, approached with a shrug.

Just as I was about to shake my head because I did not want to see it at all—

Craaaack!

“Eek!”

“Y-You startled me!”

The maid sisters screamed, covering their ears with both hands.

A huge icicle had formed in the middle of the corridor with a thunderous sound of freezing water.

And as if he had wanted to show it to me in great detail—

“......”

If I had not startled and clung to Knox’s leg like a cicada, I would have been impaled by the icicle.

“This is a power.”

Tex giggled as if savoring everyone’s screams and lowered his upper body for my short height.

“Well, since they say you’re also a Kreutz, I’ll accept you as my little sister later when I become the heir.”

However.

“No. You’re eliminated as heir.”

I answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“...What?”

“Do you know why the Kreutz family earned people’s recognition?”

At the sudden quiz, Tex frowned and then answered carelessly.

“Because they have the power of ice?”

“No. They earned recognition because they protected people with the power of ice.”

Then I pointed at Tex with my finger and said,

“But you threatened people instead. So you don’t have the qualifications to be heir.”

“......”

For an instant, the surroundings fell silent.

Marquis Lilith, who had raised the corners of his mouth as if sneering. The startled maid sisters. Knox, who had been standing by as if watching from the sidelines.

“...What do you know!”

Tex, who looked stunned as if he had been caught off guard, was about to grab me by the collar when—

“She is the young lady of the main line.”

A large hand separated Tex from me.

“If your threatening behavior toward the young lady of the main line continues, even if you are from the Lilith marquis’s family, we will have no choice but to take action.”

Expressionless, Knox stared at Marquis Lilith with a cold gaze.

The marquis, who had been watching everything over Tex’s shoulder, pressed his mouth shut.

No matter how much of an adopted child I was, I was still the official young lady acknowledged by Duke Calypse Kreutz.

“Tex. Let’s go.”

“B-But Father!”

“I said let’s go!”

The marquis seemed to know as well that if he caused any more trouble here, only ugly rumors would spread.

Roughly snatching up sulking Tex’s hand, the marquis glared at Knox.

“...Knox.”

“Yes.”

“Seeing an orphan who has only just been adopted speak like that, it seems you have properly drilled her with rote education.”

His sharp finger jabbed Knox’s chest.

“If our Tex grows as the heir and becomes the head of the family, I will properly teach you my educational policy as well.”

Having a man who looked like a big-nosed monkey right in front of him ought to have been frightening, but Knox did not so much as blink.

“Yes. I will see you then.”

“...Tch! What rotten luck...”

After that, there was nothing Marquis Lilith could do.

He glared at Knox, glared at the maid sisters around him, then finally glared at me as well before dragging Tex out of the ducal estate.

Once Marquis Lilith and Tex disappeared like that—

“...Why did the marquis come again?”

“I don’t know. He just comes and goes like it’s his own house.”

“Ugh, I get stressed every time he comes.”

“But you know. Does that mean Young Lord Tex will end up inheriting the heir’s position after all?”

“They say His Grace will open the heir selection trial after he returns from monster subjugation... So wouldn’t he announce something then, whatever it is?”

“Didn’t he adopt Lady Aisha as the young lady?”

“...But does Lady Aisha have the power of ice?”

Conversations rang out here and there along with sighs.

Ah. Now I understood.

The reason Knox had refused to acknowledge me.

Whether I’m the young lady or anything else, since I don’t possess the power of ice, Tex taking the heir’s position remains the same.

I stroked my chin and thought.

In truth, when we failed to find the young lady, I had also thought about looking for the young lord instead.

But what if the young lord, too, disappeared unlike in the original story, just like the young lady?

If that were the case, even mister, who kept trusting me, would have no choice but to be disappointed.

I have to find the young lord without bringing up the young lord...

As I turned my head while worrying because there was no particular method—

I saw Knox’s back as he sighed and silently walked away.

I was gazing at him with pity when—

“Huh?”

Something glittered on the floor.

When I went closer and examined it, it was a gold fountain pen.

Is it Marquis Lilith’s?

He had roughly grabbed and pulled Tex earlier, so the pen seemed to have fallen then.

“...Luce?”

But the name engraved on the pen was not Lilith, but Luce.

“Luce? Is that Marquis Lilith’s nickname?”

It was common enough. Nobles often engraved things with their nicknames.

But.

“Oh.”

When I picked up the fallen pen, a good idea came to mind.

If I could not say it first.

...Then I could make the other person become curious about me, just like this pen.

***

A few days later.

“You are going to Lady Aisha, aren’t you? Shall I prepare refreshments in advance?”

The ducal estate, which had been thrown into chaos by the marquis’s appearance, was trying to return to its usual atmosphere while pretending not to feel bitter.

But Knox shook his head with a still-stiff expression.

“No. I would like to rest alone today.”

In truth, Knox’s mood had been at its worst since then.

A branch family coming and going from the ducal estate as if it were their own house.

He had known that Marquis Lilith was aiming for the ducal family’s heir position, but he had not thought the man would visit the ducal estate without permission.

It would never have happened if Duke Calypse Kreutz had been there.

No, even if not Duke Calypse Kreutz, at least if the young lord had been here...

Knox shook his head, cutting off the thought. Assumptions like that were meaningless.

“So please tell Lady Aisha as well. I will be alone until dinner, so she should stay quietly in her room.”

“Yes. I’ll tell her.”

After parting from Mai like that and heading toward his private office—

“......”

The moment she disappeared, he turned on his heel.

That does not mean I can just spend my time gloomily. I must do something.

Unfortunately, the Marquis Lilith matter was not something he could interfere with.

But Aisha.

Digging up the truth about that spy little girl is something I can still do now.

Where he headed after walking outside the castle wall was none other than the castle wall.

To be precise.

It was the direction from which Aisha’s bedroom window could be seen.

But you threatened people instead. So you don’t have the qualifications to be heir.

At the child’s words that suddenly came to mind, Knox paused for a moment.

To be honest, in that instant, Aisha had truly felt like the young lady.

No, he had even thought that he would rather have Aisha become the heir than a good-for-nothing like Tex.

“...No.”

But Knox forced himself to shake his head.

“It could be acting.”

His monocle, aimed at the window, gleamed eerily.

Why was a shameless person who deceived others and extracted information from them given the dignity of a profession?

Because they had received professional training to that extent.

Naturally, Knox did not trust that little girl from the Pose family’s spies.

Her face being cute?

Spies were generally good-looking.

Her usually chirping like a baby bird as she talked about the Pose family?

It was probably a scheme to make people lower their guard.

Her cheeks puffing up cutely when she ate?

For spies, disguising their faces was child’s play.

I thought if I stuck close to her, I would be able to catch something.

At first, he had watched that little thing twenty-four hours a day in order to catch even the smallest clue. But a problem arose.

Because he stuck close to catch her out, the little girl could not do her actual work.

If I give her time alone like this, she may reveal her true colors.

Since he had told Mai, Aisha should be alone by now.

He did not know what she would be doing in that bedroom.

But who knew.

If she was writing a report to send to the Pose family, that would give him a definite excuse to drive Aisha out.

“...Ha. I am not a thief, yet I have to climb a castle wall.”

The only thing that bothered him was his pride as the Kreutz aide.

He thought of the career he had built until now.

The youngest aide in the Kreutz family.

The first expert in raising monsters.

Chairman of the Monster Lovers’ Association.

But I must do it.

Pushing up his monocle, he braced himself and gripped the brick wall with his hand.