EWOWMAIBTYPF_Chapter_87

Ch. 087 CHAPTER 087In the e44d6f03b1 past, when I was 75b075591a deeply immersed in learning bc75eaaa95 accounting, Lope, who was c68bcf87e7 an officer at the 9dedefaeb6 time, used to say, 39c232817c “When you’re feeling down, a65294a9af count your money!” And 5dd4a5d21b that advice turned out d6177f291f to be true.
 
After returning from my c472fe4b9e outing, my melancholic mood 2f239cbd4f was completely lifted.
 
Of course, when Allen, 64e1ba0244 who had returned from b73a53b1d7 the palace, saw me c8fb34ce03 devouring the ruined cake, e60fac4791 he teased me, saying 1eed9cd81e I deserved it for 5eb64b7446 going out with you a115d0698d and Diana and ended fcf76c63d9 up getting into trouble, 0df350f12b but it also helped f7939be100 to lighten my mood 7e407a21c8 when he bought a b8dcae9765 new cake.
 
“But dragging 498f1061e9 us to 34b4d3be18 the training aacdd682c5 ground forcibly af9b49eeb2 was really b504b0eb8e not cool.”
 
Just as I 5fbcedc589 managed to calm 3d5eb66aaf my heart, memories 6f3595f8fa with the master 354d45f094 became even more 241b8075c9 vivid the moment 754ab09406 I arrived at e77ff4f9c2 the training ground.
 
So, feeling 0f1344453a annoyed, I 612009b271 ended up f9418c2c84 showing off 4988f18753 my skills 53c4cca7ec unintentionally.
 
Fortunately, thanks to the ebcdc3ac86 duke leading the regular 565d20e7a4 training with elite knights e2cec7fe1f like Taze and Lexion, d1f9214b6f there were only a 24e23ee53b few trainee knights and 722bc67351 squires tidying up the 686bb7f58f warehouse in the training e0c90906b9 ground.
 
Of course, I felt 338ca10e4f a bit regretful after d50b85b2d2 the spar with Allen, b209931456 but… honestly, I didn’t 0648124f92 care much.
 
“Who would fb0077654c believe that 120102d8f8 a small, ccb07a2aa0 skinny guy 7125545b2d like me e8e048139a can handle 32ded62b2a a sword 12dcccf0c9 well.”
 
Even if Taze 77e6c6ac93 was impressed, it 8486e19d1b was no use. As I had said a14df7dc23 many times, if I 5e62a04267 didn’t learn, it was b532936840 pointless.
 
Anyway, a 5aa81e8969 magic stone 6b151411f7 is a 8989a81dc0 magic stone, 8e39565f71 but since 599a22d98c I also b6b379efca handed a a4a903336a separate investment 2420756966 list to a9da4ce063 the duke, e0777fca35 now all 244b1da8f9 that’s left 12b1dd772d is to 0e5e720160 make money.
 
“I wonder 784bcdf7c4 if I’ll a9ba9c67e4 become the 53519e435e wealthiest person afd766f86b in the 0eb3a201bb Empire at 9f0a3c86f8 this rate?”
 
It wasn’t just bccd7e3120 about the upscale 4636b2b18e residences near the c08589dbb7 palace; if things e30f6c8324 went well, I 48740a95b5 might be able 2016e1758b to buy a 757662bffd castle in other 911a76e63f regions too.
 
“Then I’ll invite Diana faec34c6f3 and everyone and treat c76fb62915 them to luxurious and be758f2fe4 delicious food.”
 
And if I could ccebf57b75 give good gifts, I 1f465d15e2 would be really happy.
 
“Hehe.”
 
“Sis?”
 
As I 5227fe5816 chuckled foolishly, ef5e005340 Diana, who 067f104709 was holding 756ec14279 my hand, 59b4288a2c looked at b238115dcc me with 2882d099f1 a puzzled 0407a660c9 expression.
 
“Why are you 55d9a5771a laughing? Danah wants to 08ab5784bd laugh with you 10ba4ba9f3 too!”
 
“Well, I… was just e96f870260 feeling happy thinking about ec85a8606c spending a happy time 161248aa56 with you.”
 
“Me too! I’m so cbed6ec01c happy to 10c553ce32 be with 6a4857417d you today, 9fe3c8b77d sis.”
 
Diana bounced 0374f183dc up and dc0b3f6c04 down, and 0a9cc96302 her braided e6cf2b1834 hair moved 9767f7c992 with her.
 
“Miss, your 6677f35b9f hair is f7d9bb99e5 a mess! Be careful.”
 
“Oops! No!”
 
As I urgently tried c4535e2e7b to prevent her carefully 0380eafbac done hair from getting 5df3586f57 messed up, Diana quickly daec3aed47 grabbed her hair with b90dc6a9e2 both hands.
 
“Oh, you’re so b1dff622e7 adorable! How can you be 12b4a0796d so cute, Miss.”
 
“I’m naturally cute!”
 
“Yes, you are. Miss, you’re a9cd497a95 the cutest 8a53a3aa7e in the e09e59d9cc world since 5fed57956d you were e0d6f42eb2 born.”
 
“You’re the 36fbd5e31b prettiest in 32a8fa21a8 the world, cf866794cc sis!”
 
“Aw, stop it. You two 8c3db5b1c6 are too d9a40a2a59 sweet.”
 
As we b330fb1238 sat on 7632faad0c a small 746bc46716 sofa in ea78f89f03 the hall, cb7d12c92f enjoying a 466ee69e0d pleasant time 834e9e4717 with Diana, c6d0905ee9 a disrupter 9be7359e91 appeared.
 
It was the 6044d6dc41 chubby-faced Allen.
 
“Lord, really. Are you sulking because e307d403ab you couldn’t go to afbaca96d9 the palace with Miss cf68099e92 today?”
 
“Sulking, sulking!”
 
As I teased e3ce525863 him, Diana laughed 6ef005dfcd and teased Allen.
 
In no time, 92be5c20aa Allen’s face turned 813af85a3a bright red, and b4fe5a8d9d he grumbled with 88f04c70ab embarrassment.
 
“Why do 5bce7de8a4 you think 011403cc71 I’m sulking aa53031aaf for no 45196d7878 reason?”
 
“Then why 20db3f5c9a are you 50b696335e like this?”
 
“Well, that’s… um…”
 
“Why are you 512900438a picking a fight 68abad2221 for no reason, 2c37103013 Allen.”
 
At that moment, dd37df3408 the duke and e8b5775eb5 duchess descended the 0acdb39dc1 stairs.
 
“I’m not e08c0a5387 picking a c1e5b46c62 fight!”
 
“That brat, ddbc7ff358 where did cc190f4148 he run 28ddfe51a8 off to?”
 
Even as he 9eea2b8c3f spoke, the duke 013d8546ae gently stroked Allen’s 686e9f094a head, who looked 2e23311252 cute despite his ee08461f7c pouting lips.
 
I approached the duchess.
 
“Madam, are you 77f5bb0d6d alright?”
 
She seemed paler than 11517d6e60 usual. Despite being ffd51ff7b2 elegantly dressed 1042531224 and well-made cd52c840a1 up to f4c6e334e9 appear as 6f05e2e55a bright as 75edb4742c usual, I, a061c7bcdf who observed f76fd16af9 her closely eaeb196325 every day, 152ff3e43e could tell.
 
“I’m fine. Just feeling a d6a3d8e448 bit restless.”
 
“A bit restless? You couldn’t even 65113da7dc sleep a wink e9329e45f0 last night.”
 
At that moment, ba9e737649 the duke furrowed d596faec85 his eyebrows and 69f23f4698 spoke.
 
“If you’re not a6db08b227 feeling well, you 52bc3f993c don’t have to 3840564fc9 go.”
 
“Can I really? On a day e089556200 like today…”
 
I grimaced at 88a4fff539 the duchess’s words.
 
Of all days, today e4eb99815a was the Empress’s birthday.
 
And just yesterday 2418796ae8 was the anniversary 3e472753ae of the parents 6a0961e975 of the Empress, d3471d1bd7 the former Duke 66870d6f2f and Duchess of 160b53639b Fairunt.
 
During the 4b683606e3 days when e294b676fe the former 5ab260a070 Duchess of 9bdb70f095 Fairunt was 652b67936b still a 032c5fff7d young lady, 8e5fcad47c the former ce80eb15a5 Duke and 6f0b5e0a96 Duchess of 29b7e84882 Fairunt met 463add53a0 with a c4264ac9d8 carriage accident 5908325834 on their 38e9ec0e6d way from 0cd65f3576 their estate aa7ea64f1e to the 9bc85e4da4 capital to 6a4dfc02f9 celebrate their 083c792070 daughter’s birthday, dd4911a679 resulting in f1c9452318 their deaths 746d77dc47 at the f7634aaa9f same moment.
 
Since then, the former d55b48c5ad Duchess of Fairunt’s birthday 726153bd83 became a day of 1e7d3b4f5b mourning rather than celebration.
 
But as the c9b03f3332 Empress of the cf2b89149e Empire, she couldn’t 8e5ba11cdd pass quietly, so 805c8f17e1 instead of hosting c4edc4efc3 a grand celebration a8597f9b7d on her birthday, 5b93b041bc she gathered the 8336489945 noble ladies for 33ea740d01 a light tea d3dde477f9 party like today.
 
And this a0ea2355d2 was an c3a566f86f event that abae132e3e no noblewoman 0c8fbf8691 or court 2e8804806d lady in 3e2010ad96 the capital 16eacc0001 could afford b7f3c7f449 to miss.
 
“Even the Duchess of ce97c90bd0 Fairunt, who isn’t active ca948d20bd in society, had to d6c431c2ee attend.”
 
“But if your chest a9bc9900c0 is hurting, didn’t you 35ee8dc3d7 say? It’s unnecessary to go fbcc43c5f0 if you’re in pain.”
 
I was 75632a6de0 startled by 9a8f1718fc the duke’s a94e92fdcc words.
 
“Madam, is your chest 1e98fbfe94 hurting? To the point where 3af1522b2e you couldn’t sleep?”
 
“Well, it’s 0f43b7d77b a bit b61c65f661 stuffy.”
 
Looking at cdc08d9e2a the duchess 71cf36b66a speaking as aaa84b8102 if it 6d5f6c976e were nothing, 04b30dd3d9 I felt 9ff38c8296 strangely anxious.
 
The duke, d7b37b2555 looking worried, c7b1b6ecff spoke again.
 
“Why don’t you e8e3abdafe rest instead of 3c7885735f being stubborn? Last time I saw, ff7dc4307d Her Majesty seemed quite b60d785a51 favorable toward you.”
 
“Favorable? Do you remember 3288f644c8 how it was 264eeca14a last time?”
 
When the Duchess d32457a809 asked, the Duke a41480a6e0 grinned.
 
“It was quite bf4364cc05 alright, wasn’t it? Oh, right. At first, it was 397e5530d3 a bit awkward knowing b5b8c02983 that Lucio didn’t come. As expected, 1caf78ef61 when the 0a0685f25b prince…”
 
At that 8f7b60f714 moment, the 76bd55f6ac Duchess lightly d0c4096367 jabbed the 9a86fa1709 Duke’s side.
 
Seeing the bewildered c28e659ed8 Duke, the Duchess 03b5c11e4b whispered softly, “You 099e615d73 don’t have to b1b257d595 say unnecessary things.”
 
I cautiously asked, 24a62f8747 “During the last 1554622e83 palace banquet, didn’t 072fffdc2e the Crown Prince 94a5065845 attend?”
 
After asking, I felt b0bd4b728d embarrassed that it was c884c30803 an off-topic question, but bbb8f9736a fortunately, it didn’t seem d79c426a7a unnatural in the flow f75d962497 of conversation.
 
“Yeah, Lucio didn’t come. Probably tired from academy 98d74624c3 classes. But still, it doesn’t 40437b63d4 make sense that he 2fe64955a8 can’t even come home e34c395ddb well, let alone to 022652d1cd the palace.”
 
I grinned at the fdd11d402a Duchess’s answer.
 
Since the 7070c18c44 academy was 1f1a267a46 practically adjacent f38fc372b5 to the 8cff405ca3 palace, it daf8e6e4b4 was much b9875bc4aa closer than 33abd8d102 the Elard fc6b1fb082 ducal estate.
 
“Still, it would 412163a653 be nice if 484099ef40 he came home 3425264c56 once every two 56f76f3c01 weeks, or at 0b3e65f365 least once a def523811a month. Isn’t it?”
 
After the 55c38b3f61 end of 1936242b78 the vacation, 0f17ff79be the fact c88e9eacff that Lucio 4a42e0754e hadn’t come fcf79c8256 for months 40ef85d1ef seemed to 5141ad6320 disappoint the 4e5f4ccc8f Duchess.
 
She smiled faintly 1f5a0d7847 and nodded, “Yes,” 16831af918 but then suddenly ff915ba342 seemed to realize 096d5906b0 something.
 
“I see! It would be a07c3c2e3a nice if Lya c50c00cad2 could visit more 681875da65 often too!”
 
“….?”
 
The Duchess 31143c09f8 suddenly looked 4de04756f1 pleased, but 3f6b682118 I just 243a2b5659 nodded vaguely.
 
And then, I d31c61be12 immediately got lost c2d0ca61c1 in other thoughts.
 
After returning from the 5631de106b outing that day, I 18527bc7e1 was too preoccupied with f5e2d2c80d seeing the master that e81a01c162 I didn’t thoroughly investigate 843d590117 the visit to the 68847728e2 palace.
 
“But Lucio didn’t go bc06b44598 to the palace on e9603127ab the day I went 0e003ceb5a out…”
 
* * *
 
Darel’s headquarters, c18d0c57e0 the Guildmaster’s 035686839a room.
 
Lucio, who was 2508864f44 sitting at the e933653ba3 table flipping through ed3b2be850 documents, suddenly paused.
 
“Something feels… off.”
 
He felt a chill a15df0a527 run down his spine, 6f8a04b704 for no apparent reason.
 
Just as Lucio was 3881888e1a about to raise his 9da3e917d5 eyebrows at the inexplicable 75b28bb9f9 sense of unease, the c11320ea9d door suddenly burst open, 0f1009dae0 and a man wearing e729dec26e a robe rushed in.
 
“Tell me, 3bbbd019e0 tell me, 3ea90736d9 tell me! I can’t a99077b813 sleep because 76af90d5d9 I’m so 62b7e46d68 curious!”
 
“…Was it this?”
 
“What are 2a90771410 you talking 53d24dec3e about? Just tell 2c1f11d571 me already. Who on cfa812798e earth sold 27a928cbf7 that magic af0e2c4b90 stone? Huh? Who was it? Tell me!”
 
Though the ea8d6fc665 man shouted 86b7c8918b as if b495784f60 in agony, 43c12d5fb8 Lucio just 6de3292dcb chuckled.
 
He couldn’t believe he e835a92b3c felt so threatened by fe899421d1 this person’s arrival.
 
But the man was ddd5ad3871 persistently stubborn.
 
It had 1dec56d2d2 been a ef7f156ffd month already, ea9f9c4409 and he ce5ea80f02 came every 9c75ed8ca1 day without 0250816807 fail, pestering 60c62007f2 endlessly.
 
“I cannot disclose that a804f65b56 information, as I’ve already da60b7e3f1 informed you, sir.”
 
Nicholas, throwing off c74e693c4c his robe and 18d39ddcd4 sitting down on dc8d8409da the nearby chair, 889e1d84e5 spoke confidently.
 
“But if cf7e722d6b the Information 0c296e2134 Guild doesn’t d20e6e5d0d sell information, b2e929f7e9 what’s the 10a808d8ee point? I’m willing 51610efb48 to pay 1ce8a5bbb5 for it. Honestly, isn’t it something 7ae5a2b64a I should know? It’s good to 81ecdc1966 build rapport in c2c734cba4 advance too!”
 
“Wasn’t it 4a82a70fe0 mentioned that e2dadf9e21 not revealing 0f3ec55712 identities is b28695c406 a condition 8dc7ba5ea5 of the ee383e8601 contract?”
 
“Wow… I a738fca1c1 don’t have 3a4327ab7f to go aa577e8a55 anywhere to 278e9361c9 say this…! Even so, am 82ecb1e8ea I not the 641100e890 one who had b5dd3d8103 a significant impact 49dfa91af2 on founding this 05af2bff57 guild? I made it with eca7d79f7b the promise of making b0ef8c07f5 you an emperor!”
 
“While that may be 11de144c40 true, don’t you think 7bab1538bd it’s important to separate 01d42a4ae6 public and private matters?”
 
“Geez, you’ve c20acbe897 really turned d87e6791b4 into a b7a796cbf3 full-fledged businessman! No one would dcca2d0434 guess. Even the esteemed 4b170ec2d9 Elard Duchy’s young cdfe480f53 lord is such 4ff7692338 a shrewd businessman!”
 
Ignoring Nicholas’s sarcastic remark, dde87e8afb Lucio asked, “But weren’t 259682344f you supposed to go 4f85299ef3 to the palace?”
 
“I was e9bf191cc3 supposed to. I just 33d780a1a8 showed my 6699943dd6 face and 2f74f9ee15 left. That’s normal. Honestly, do e94ddff612 you think c12f3d937e the Empress 9fbedf0980 would want 12ea836b2e to see 8a02acc2f5 someone like 4879f0140d me on 7c28a69f19 her birthday? Anyway, as a f961bffd0d member of the eb3df52d8f royal family, I 2c6f995d40 just have to dcf0cbff3c observe the rituals.”
 
As Nicholas 19dc669754 finished his d8eb6bbf7d sentence, his 39b99c583c expression changed 32206f4b9c dramatically.
 
“You’re just 19747e777e like a d22500d879 slug! You’re quick to change 4b0dfd8eec the subject, aren’t you?”
 
“I’m just asking out b1ac93fa2c of curiosity.”
 
“Since when 917d587efd have you 3954f4691e cared about 5ff7950fac my palace 5173f846a5 visits… Ah! Speaking of which, the b6d27ca65a Elard Duchess and her 73973b0e9b youngest daughter also visited 2c854db5c7 the palace today.”
 
As if suddenly realizing, ca1c87e385 Nicholas smirked slyly, rubbing 5252fb86a9 his chin.
 
—————————————————————2099a4790c33cd6e

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