Ch.9494. Clearly, the corners of his mouth turned upward.

“Ha! Hunting is really tough.”

As I sat in the study quenching my thirst with water after finishing a solo monster hunt, Federicks burst through the door with an urgent voice.

“Y-Young Master, something terrible has happened.”

“What is it?”

He had rushed over so hastily that sweat dripped down his forehead and his breathing was rough.

Federicks took several deep breaths before straightening his back.

“I just heard from Jawill Wilson that a strange rumor is spreading throughout Lake Territory.”

“What kind of rumor?”

“….That Lady Seri Familia is pregnant with Young Master Leonard Alphonse’s child….”

Federicks seemed too embarrassed to speak directly, staring at empty space and muttering as if to himself.

By the way.

I had only instructed Riden to spread the rumor that ‘Leonard Alphonse and Seri Familia were making love naked. Both families’ fathers witnessed the scene.’ Just that much. When did it snowball like this?

It’s already been a week since I returned to the Familia household.

In just one week, the rumor had been passed from mouth to mouth and inflated.

By now, it must have reached Baron Rene Familia’s ears.

This meant the marriage arrangements could progress even faster.

I pretended to be shocked, opening my mouth wide at Federicks.

“A rumor about pregnancy is spreading!?”

“After hearing from Jawill Wilson, I checked around just in case, and it was true. Everyone in the village already knows about it.”

“….This is serious.”

As I put on a serious expression, Federicks tilted his head curiously.

“But why are you smiling?”

“When did I smile?”

“Just now, when you said ‘This is serious,’ the corners of your mouth definitely turned up.”

“You must have seen wrong. How could I be happy about such an unsightly rumor spreading?”

Thinking it strange himself, Federicks slowly nodded.

“Haah…. Anyway, if the rumor has spread even in this small territory, I can’t imagine how far it’s gone elsewhere.”

“It’s fine. They’re going to get married anyway.”

“Even so…. with a rumor like this, neither family can back out of the marriage now.”

“It was a marriage that had to happen from the beginning.”

“….Pardon?”

“Remember what I told you before?”

“What you said before was….”

“When you asked why the marriage was progressing so quickly, I said ‘something happened,’ remember?”

As the conversation from a week ago seemed to resurface in his mind, Federicks continued with an “Ah!” of realization.

“I remember. Could it be…. that ‘something’ was news of pregnancy?”

“No. Can you keep what I’m about to tell you absolutely secret?”

“I’m known for keeping my mouth shut.”

“A maid from the Familia household reported strange noises coming from Lady Seri Familia’s bedroom, so my father, Baron Rene, and I went to check.”

Federicks gulped nervously.

“And what happened?”

“When we got there, we found Brother Leonard and Lady Seri Familia lying in the same bed.”

“T-the same bed?”

“And Lady Seri Familia was naked.”

“N-naked…. Young Master Leonard is more impressive than I thought. The pregnancy rumor might actually be true?”

I stared at Federicks blankly before sighing.

“They had no prior contact until a few days ago. How could she suddenly be pregnant?”

“Then it must be an exaggerated rumor.”

“Right. Anyway, keep this to yourself. Even if we stay quiet, others will do the talking for us.”

“But if others keep spreading rumors, won’t that be bad for us?”

“Why would it be? It will speed up the marriage arrangements, bringing good fortune to our family sooner.”

Federicks still couldn’t understand, tilting his head before sighing.

“I’m not sure what you mean, but ultimately this is good news for the Alphonse family, right?”

“Exactly! It’s good news for me too. Hahahahaha!!”

Federicks looked at me as if I were insane, then sighed repeatedly as he left the study.

Even after he left, I couldn’t stop laughing.

A moment later, there was a knock at the door.

Knock knock-!

“Oh, come in.”

Riden Solice entered with the knock.

After a week of running around, his once full face had become half its size.

“Wow, you’ve lost a tremendous amount of weight in just a week.”

“Running around everywhere made me lose weight.”

“By the way, I told you to spread the rumor throughout the entire Eastern Continent, so why are you back so early?”

“I went to Evis Territory and happened to meet the Poison Lady.”

“The Poison Lady? Did she do something to you?”

Riden waved his hands in panic.

“N-no! The Poison Lady treated me very well in the end.”

“Oh, really?”

“And she already knew I was spreading the love story of Young Master Leonard and Lady Seri Familia.”

“How did she know?”

“She noticed when I entered Evis Territory and followed me to figure out my intentions. That’s how she found out.”

“Sigh, what kind of informant is so careless?”

As I looked at him with disappointment, Riden’s shoulders drooped.

“I’m sorry. Anyway, the Poison Lady asked why I was spreading the rumor.”

“So you just told her everything?”

“She threatened to kill me if I was spreading rumors with bad intentions, saying she owed Young Master Selden a debt. So I confessed everything honestly.”

Haah….

What kind of informant is this cowardly….

Well, from Riden’s perspective, maybe he couldn’t help it?

The Poison Lady is someone who could slip poison into your mouth at any moment.

“In her eyes, you must have seemed like a pervert going around broadcasting my brother’s love affairs.”

“No. I distinctly heard her mutter, ‘If it’s him, he must have his reasons.’ with my own ears.”

“Really? Anyway, did you come back because you were embarrassed about getting caught?”

“No, she said the Hong Hwa Pavilion would move in my place.”

“Oh, the Hong Hwa Pavilion?”

I stammered in surprise, and Riden smiled faintly.

“Yes, as I mentioned earlier, she said she owed you a debt and wanted to help repay it by assisting me.”

If the Hong Hwa Pavilion is moving, it means they’ll spread out across territories to propagate the rumor.

While Riden alone might be sufficient for information gathering, in this case, the more people involved, the faster the effect.

Was sparing the Poison Lady the right decision after all?

I only intended to get Riden, the protagonist’s companion, slightly involved, but this is unexpected.

“So you returned because of that?”

“With the Hong Hwa Pavilion’s personnel deployed, the rumor will spread throughout the Eastern Continent in just a few days.”

“Since you finished earlier than expected, would you mind taking on one more task?”

“….What!?”

“Of course, with separate compensation.”

“Haha, naturally, if it’s your order, I should fulfill it with my life.”

“Your response seemed a bit slow just now.”

“You’re mistaken.”

I smiled calmly as I pulled out an envelope containing a prepared paper from the drawer.

I had been wondering who to assign this to, and Riden arrived sooner than expected.

“Take this.”

“What is it?”

“A letter. You can read it now if you want.”

Riden tilted his head curiously as he took out the paper from the envelope and unfolded it.

As he read through it slowly, his hand holding the paper began to tremble violently.

“Did… did you write this, Young Master?”

“Yep, I wrote it ‘swoosh swoosh’ with my left hand so the handwriting wouldn’t be recognized.”

“But why would you….”

“What, shouldn’t I have written it?”

When I responded indifferently, Riden put the paper back in the envelope and continued.

“Am I not allowed to be curious?”

“What if that’s the case?”

“Then I won’t ask further. As the Poison Lady said, I believe you have your reasons for doing this.”

“As you can see from the letter, this mission must not be discovered by anyone.”

“….I understand.”

“Quietly deliver it to the Alphonse family. Infiltration is your specialty, right?”

“H-how did you know I’m good at infiltration?”

Ah….

Riden never told me that directly.

I’ve been in Selden Alphonse’s body for so long now that I’m starting to confuse what I’ve actually experienced with what I read in the original story.

I cleared my throat in embarrassment.

“Ahem! You told me before that infiltration was your specialty.”

“I did? I don’t think I ever said that….”

“Are you saying I’m lying!?”

Like the guilty party getting angry first, I raised my voice, making Riden flinch.

“N-no! To whom should I deliver this letter?”

“Just place it quietly in my father’s room.”

“Yes! I’ll depart immediately.”

“Right, and be especially careful not to get caught!”

“Understood!”

Creeeeak-! Slam-!

After Riden left the study, I slammed my palm on the desk with force.

Then I laughed maniacally like someone who had lost their mind.

“Kuhahaha! Kuhahahaha!!”

Seri Familia.

Do you think I don’t know what you’re thinking?

Just you wait. I won’t leave even a small glimmer of hope for you.