episode_0160

“Thank you for passing on the information.”

Amelia said that to Diane, whose expression was still subtle.

“We must ensure that this information can be utilized reliably. Since Diane handed it over to us at a risk, we absolutely cannot afford to fail.”

Amelia lifted the corners of her mouth slightly and smiled. It was different from the slightly pressured smile she had made just a moment ago.

A friendly smile shown to a friend.

“It seems like Diane really values Adele.”

“Who, who… … !”

“ When you went to Adel’s house earlier, you probably went straight without telling anyone, right? After training as usual, when you went back, you took our carriage, so you might not have needed an escort, but when you went to the magic tower, you were the Countess’s lover. The minimum amount of escort will be with you.”

“… … .”

“Horses for pulling carriages and horses for carrying people are often different from the beginning. Jesse is a horse for carrying people and running. This means that Diane came all the way to Jesse dressed in riding clothes. Once we understand the situation, It also means that he went back home to do it. After that, did he check the situation through Ulysses? Did he even send him away to this mansion?”

Amelia asked while smiling, and Diane’s face turned a little red.

“And we confirmed that we were not in the mansion, so I would have thought that we would be with Adele, who happened to not be in class at the time… … After that, it will be as we saw.”

Amelia chuckled.

Diane’s face was now redder than it could be.

“You probably didn’t think that we would do anything bad to Adele, so would you have been angry that you were the only one left out? If you didn’t tell anyone around you and just rushed out and rode the horse yourself. Well, I might have said that I didn’t need an escort since I was planning on going somewhere nearby.”

However, Diane’s clothes were soaked with sweat as she ran to Adele’s house. There would have been no time to leisurely announce the fact.

“… … What do you want to say?”

“We got this information after Diane left, so no matter how undetected we move, the Count will know that you passed the information directly to us.”

Amelia was still smiling sweetly, but her voice was extremely serious.

“You probably don’t know that, so the reason you came here on purpose and asked for help even after knowing that fact is because you value Adele that much.”

“… … .”

“Do you still want us to stop that man? Count Hoover will be very angry when he finds out.”

Diane bit her lip.

With her hands clenched in her lap, her head down and her body trembling, Diane lifted her face.

Both eyes were shining with determination.

“… … Yes. I hope you two will cooperate. Please make sure Adele does not end up with that man.”

“If Adele doesn’t end up with that guy, I can’t guarantee whether or not she’ll end up with a better guy after that?”

“… … .”

Diane was silent for a while,

I nodded.

“Okay.”

Amelia responded that way only after confirming Diane’s behavior to the end.

“We were actually thinking that a person like that would not be suitable for Adele. Right, Elsie?”

“Yes, of course, Amelia.”

We both looked at Diane.

“… … Why, why do you look at me like that?”

You don’t get this.

Well, Diane’s way of thinking may not be the same as ours.

Even if you like Adele, you may be trying to carry her to term in your heart.

I, and probably Amelia, didn’t intend to leave it that way either.

“I have a plan in mind. Would you like to listen to it?”

Amelia suggested to Diane, who looked somewhat confused.

*

In the royal capital, large and small banquets are always held.

Balls were held quite frequently, but the venues were limited because people had to gather and create a venue for the dances. Famous nobles would fill the lobby of their mansion just by inviting guests.

If the weather is like these days, it doesn’t matter if the front garden is also open, but the garden is a delicate place to dance along the garden.

Therefore, between balls and banquets, it is natural that banquets are held more frequently.

“Is it really okay?”

“You’ll probably get caught eventually. But it might be possible to buy some time. Even if you can make the other person figure out what you’ve been doing for a few days later, you can do a lot on this side.”

Although banquets of all sizes are always held in the royal capital, it has been a while since a banquet was held in this mansion. The last time a banquet was held was a few years ago, when Amelia’s uncle was still here.

In the first place, the uncle also liked quiet and seclusion, and the banquet he held was just to save face for the family.

When Amelia came here, she was extremely happy. I also saw her grinning face, saying, ‘Of course there should be a young child in a place like this!’

Usually, we hold a banquet at least once after coming here, but we have been putting it off, making all kinds of excuses.

Such a banquet was held this time. It was a banquet hosted in Amelia’s name.

The preparation period has been going on since the last time I spoke with Diane. As this is a banquet being held under the name of the ‘Grand Duchy’ for the first time in a long time, it seems that not only nobles from influential families living in the royal capital but also many lords from surrounding fiefdoms have asked to come directly. am.

“It looks like Count Huber has no intention of coming in person.”

Amelia said. Her expression showed that she had nothing to regret. The Grand Duke of Grattenmount was not a very attractive place to Earl Hoover. It was so far away, and if they started to get involved, there would be a lot more cases of incurring debts there rather than incurring debts there. Because the gap was that big.

He probably thought that it would be more efficient to interact with his children’s generation until it was immediately necessary. At least he didn’t seem to think that it was an important issue that would require him to give up his duties as a count for a few days.

“Won’t the other person notice that I’m not next to you?”

I was a little worried and asked that question, and Amelia shrugged her shoulders.

“That would be the biggest piece of circumstantial evidence. But that’s why you’re leaving with Harvey, right? But I can’t leave it to someone else. Because I trust you the most. No, should I say that I trust no one more than you? ”

“… … .”

If Amelia said that, I had nothing to say.

trust me

They don’t just trust me, they trust me more than their own flesh and blood.

With that fact alone, I could probably do anything.

It’s been a while since I’ve been possessed by Amelia.

“Well, our goal is to rob Gavin’s empty house, right? Strictly speaking, we’re not trying to rob the ‘house’.”

Amelia smiled softly, like a child preparing for a prank, and then looked out onto the terrace where we were leaning.

People were moving around busily.

A round table was placed in an empty space in the garden that was deemed suitable, and a white cloth was placed on it. Chairs were placed around it.

Something similar was probably happening inside the mansion. My sensitive hearing was already hearing the footsteps and voices of many people.

“You don’t think I’ll fail?”

“Even if you fail, there is nothing you can do about it. The most important thing is your personal life, so if you think you have failed, turn away immediately. Leave the rest to Harvey.”

“… … .”

uh… … .hmm.

It’s good that he thought that much, but the outward appearance of the words that contained those feelings was very scary.

“And that’s why I prepared for it. Going to meet your father.”

Yes.

My father was also supposed to participate in this banquet.

I sent a dispatch to the Grattenmount Territory, and received a reply yesterday that my father had departed. In this world, it takes quite a while for dispatches to come and go, so my father did not depart ‘yesterday’.

The banquet itself was for one night, but nobles from other fiefdoms had already received a telegram a few days ago saying that they had come to the royal capital and were staying there. Among them, nobles related to the Gratton Mount fiefdom had already visited the mansion and exchanged a quick greeting before returning. .

Thanks to this, Amelia and I were already quite busy a few days ago.

Of course, I will be leaving the royal capital by this evening.

“Baron Gavin also decided to participate with his son. It’s amazing that he already has the earl’s name, but is willing to join in on the other side as well.”

Amelia was as sarcastic as she said that.

Normally, his son attends instead, but it looks like he wants to attend the banquet where the grand duchess is the main star, just as we were aiming for.

Normally, a person of the baron’s rank would not even have the opportunity to talk to the Grand Duchess, but if the ‘host’ is the Grand Duchess, the story is different.

Several invitations were sent to Count Hoover—more precisely, his daughter and modern-day Lisa, Diane—and one of them went to one of his confidants, Baron Gavin.

If the justification is to ‘thank you for the invitation’, then of course there is an opportunity to say hello to the Grand Duchess Amelia.

You don’t want to miss it.

“… … Be careful.”

“… … .”

At my words, Amelia glanced at me as if to tell me to be careful, but

“Yes, okay. I’ll be careful.”

I just answered like that.

and-

“Before we break up, a good-bye kiss… … Should I at least practice in advance? I can’t do it in front of other people, right?”

After saying that with a smile on my face, I walked from the terrace into the room.

I heard there are different types of kisses depending on the situation.

I couldn’t miss this opportunity to practice, so I quickly followed Amelia in and covered the window with a curtain.