episode_0017

* * *

The first place that Rasia went to investigate was the nearest retired priest who was taking care of children at a daycare center.

“Yes, that’s it. Just fold it in half. You’re good at origami. Ayra….”

“I’m done! I’ll give this to you, teacher!”

“Me?”

“Yes! I want to give you a gift because you always treat me well.”

“Oh my, I worked hard all day….Thank you so much. Aira. I’ll treasure it.”

The knight, with his long silver hair tied up and hanging out with the kids to make origami, looked very peaceful.

If you hadn’t come after seeing the information, you would have thought he was just an ordinary teacher at a daycare center, not a knight, because he got along so well with them.

I glanced at Russia.

Rasia watched the knight from a distance, hiding her presence.

Since I was just an ordinary servant, I was watching her from the grass away from Rasia so as not to get caught.

Rashia seemed to observe her surroundings a bit more, then turned back to me.

“That’s not the knight.”

“….no?”

“Oh. You didn’t even notice my intentional presence, and my gait is ordinary. No matter how hard you try to hide it, assassins have a habit of hiding their presence in their daily lives without realizing it. You can tell by looking at them that they are walking with honest and neat steps.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Moreover, when I asked the children at the orphanage, they said that the knight had never left his seat even once.”

‘….When did you ask that?’

As expected, it was the next generation.

It seemed like he was hiding his presence and moving around here and there, but he seemed to have found out a lot of information. He has the basic skills of an assassin.

“Let’s go second.”

“Yes.”

The second place we visited was the house where the wind wizard lived.

“It’s clear that Luan said that the intruder can use magic. In short, it can be seen as the most suspicious.’

A woman with brown hair that had not been washed for several days and was roughly tied up on top of her head was seen locked in a study room doing research.

Rasia and I hid outside the window and watched the scene.

I watched him for three hours, but I couldn’t see any movement other than turning the pages of a book, because he was so absorbed in his research.

It was such a high level of concentration that I thought I was sleeping while sitting up if the bookshelf hadn’t tipped over.

“…….Not that person either.”

“….Why?”

I think I know the general reason, but I pretended not to know and asked back.

Since he was known as an ordinary servant, he answered Russia’s questions accordingly.

Rashia became excited and started explaining to me the information she had learned.

“That woman is a reclusive sorceress. She only comes out of her room once a month. And that’s only when she goes to the market. So the rest of the people…”

With the number of suspects steadily decreasing, the only one left was the former mercenary king.

Without delay, Rasia moved straight to where the Mercenary King was.

I looked up at the sky.

‘It’s already dark….’

Before I knew it, it was night as I was observing the suspects.

I think it’s past closing time… Haa, I wonder if they’ll pay me overtime…

“The Mercenary King said he was eating and sleeping in this tavern. Let’s go in too.”

“….Wait a minute. Miss. With that look?”

I hastily stopped Rashia, who was trying to go inside without hesitation.

I looked at Russia.

Up until now, Rasia had been hiding her presence and only going to remote places where there were no people, so no one noticed her, but if she went to a tavern, she would inevitably meet many people.

No matter how hard he tried to hide his presence, there was no way his dazzling appearance could be hidden.

Because she was so beautiful that people on the street would look at her every once in a while, I was worried that she might get into trouble if she went to a bar.

It wasn’t Russia that I was worried about.

I’m worried about those guys.

The men of the future who will die miserably at the hands of Russia…

“Oh~ What, Jodell. Are you worried about me? As expected, the only one who worries about me is my servant. But don’t worry. I have this.”

I don’t know where to start or how to tackle it.

Who is whose servant? I have never had any intention of being like that, not now, not in the future.

As I was about to say something, Rashia seemed to be rummaging through her pockets and took out a ring from a small box.

‘What’s that ring?’

It was a gold ring with a pattern that seemed somehow familiar.

Rashia naturally put a ring on her hand.

Then, Rashia’s appearance changed into Ashira’s appearance, which was the first appearance he had seen.

Rasia, who had turned into an ordinary-looking woman with brown hair, was looking at me with a big smile.

“Ah….”

“How is it? Isn’t it perfect? With just this ring, you can change like this~”

“….Where did you get that ring?”

“This? I stole it.”

“You stole it…?”

“Yeah!”

I was momentarily speechless by Rashia’s confident words.

At first, I was hesitant.

But when I saw the familiar pattern and the power the ring had, I realized.

The identity of that ring…!

‘…..Why is that ring here!’

That ring was the one owned by the crown prince, the main character in the webtoon.

Why on earth is a national treasure ring, a treasure of the palace, in Rasia’s hand?

Suddenly, an episode flashed through my mind.

Although it was not detailed, it was something that passed briefly through the narrative in the crown prince’s memories.

When the crown prince was young, he was playing with a ring and it was stolen.

The emperor dispatched skilled knights to help the young crown prince, who was crying and screaming to find the ring.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before we were able to catch the thief and get the property back.

The story goes that the crown prince was delighted to find the ring, and the thief disappeared as if he had evaporated from his prison cell, causing an uproar in the palace for a while.

The reason that ring appeared in the episode is…

The ring was intended to be given by the crown prince to the woman he loved, and this episode was intended to clearly show how important the ring was to the crown prince.

But now, that important ring happened to be in Rashia’s hand. She said she stole it too.

‘…..That thief was you, Rashia?’

“Huh? What’s wrong? Your face looks pale?”

“No, that’s…!”

“Hey, there’s a seat over there. Let’s go in quickly~”

“Wait a minute!”

Before I could even stop her, Rashia hummed and entered the tavern.

I stopped thinking and hurriedly followed Rashia in.

Rasia calmly took a seat next to the former mercenary king and waved at me to come in.

After barely suppressing the sigh that was welling up in my throat, I also sat down.

“Welcome.”

“Um, please give us this, this, and this. Oh, this looks delicious too. Please give me this too. Jodell, what do you want to eat?”

“…anything is fine with me.”

“Okay? Then, you eat this, this, and this. We can share them.”

After ordering food, Rasia pretended to talk to me and watched the Mercenary King with a sidelong glance.

The former mercenary king was a tall, cool-looking woman with red hair and bronzed skin.

He was sitting alone, pouring himself a glass of beer, gulping it down, and munching on some snacks.

I was burning inside.

My eyes were still fixed on the ring.

When on earth will it be?

Rashia being dragged away by the knights of the palace…

Yeah. There was no law saying that it had to be right now.

This mission would not have happened if I hadn’t disguised myself as an intruder.

So, what I had to do now was to help Rasia figure out that the mercenary king wasn’t an invader either.

For now, it was best to quickly return to the mansion.

Soon after, the food was served.

I saw some delicious-looking food, but I had no appetite, perhaps because I saw a bleak future.

At that moment, the voice of the mercenary king was heard.

“Hey, Chef. I need some more of this.”

“Yes. Yes.”

“The beer here is really good. Hahaha.”

The mercenary king laughed and ordered more food and beer.

Even though I was eating alone, there were already plates piled high on one side.

“It looks delicious. Let’s eat it before it gets cold.”

“…..yes.”

Rashia and I also started eating.

Lacia began to eat elegantly, as if no one would think she was the daughter of a noble family. However, her eyes were sharply focused on the mercenary king.

How can I make Rashia realize that the mercenary king is not an invader?

But that doesn’t mean I could say I was an intruder.

I don’t know if the food is going into my mouth or my nose.

But it seemed like he was eating food for no reason, as if he was a former mercenary king, and he quickly turned his gaze towards me and Russia.

“This food is really good. Right? Jodell? Should I order another one?”

“….Yes, that’s good too, but….I think we got caught?”

I whispered just loud enough for Rashia to hear.

Because the mercenary king was standing up and walking towards me with his red hair fluttering.

“……Pretend not to know. Pretend not to know. Just say you saw it because it’s pretty.”

Rashia answered naturally, putting a piece of meat on her fork and putting it in her mouth.

That was when.

The door to the tavern opened and a crowd of men dressed in similar clothes rushed in.

Since I had been watching the door from the beginning, I could immediately identify who came in.

My face slowly began to harden.

I saw those clothes in a webtoon.

Clearly, those clothes were those worn by the knights of the palace.

‘Why are they here now…!’

“Hey, were you guys spying on me?”

As if adding insult to injury, the mercenary king asked Rashia while chewing on a squid in his mouth.

Then, the gazes of the knights who had just entered the tavern naturally turned to the rashiage, the center of the commotion.

I swallowed hard.

In front is the former mercenary king, behind are the knights of the palace.

It was like adding insult to injury.

I was worried.

Should I run away after knocking out Rashia, who still seems to not fully grasp the situation, or should I run away alone?

At that moment, Russia’s mouth, which had been tightly shut, opened.