episode_0433

“I will provide the documents free of charge. Feel free to look through them, and I would appreciate it if you could burn them after.”

After receiving the documents in a thick envelope, the information merchant left, making all sorts of promises to come back next time.

I carefully re-read the documents, realizing that the information contained within seemed to have significant implications.

– Master, master!!

“What is it, Daemon?”

Taken aback by Daemon’s sudden appearance, I asked in confusion, “What’s going on?”

– I’ve discovered something amazing!

“Something amazing?”

The amazing thing was the document in my hand…

It was hard not to respond to such enthusiasm.

“You finally found something out.”

– I went through a lot of trouble!

Despite following the Marquis around constantly and only meeting women, Daemon’s eyes sparkled brightly today.

– The information I found out is not about him, but about a woman.

“The Marquis’s wife?”

– Yes. She has a secret lover.

A secret lover? The Marquis’s wife, who should be leading a clean life, has no reason to play around.

“How did you suddenly come across this woman’s information?”

– I didn’t want to follow the Marquis to meet another woman, so I followed a different family instead.

Since it was a common occurrence for the Marquis to meet women, Daemon’s actions were understandable.

And it was about time to advise him to stop following the Marquis and instead follow the family members.

– It turns out that the woman said she was going to visit her family. She often visited her family, but it was strange how frequently she went. Could it be suspicious?

Daemon seemed eager to boast about what he had done.

“She said she was going to visit her family but ended up where her secret lover was?”

While the husband was meeting his lover, the wife was also meeting hers.

Aren’t they a perfect match?

– No. Her secret lover was at her family’s house.

“…What?”

It seemed like a soap opera was unfolding in real life.

Although everything seemed fine on the surface, the situation inside was chaotic.

※ ※ ※

“It’s like a spring that never dries up; once it starts flowing, it keeps coming out.”

After uncovering the Marquis’s wife’s weakness, there was a reason why Franc needed to be eliminated.

If the Marquis, who despised his son, found out that Franc was not his biological son, what would happen?

At least the Marquis’s wife and son wouldn’t be able to remain a family.

“And the identity of the secret lover was shocking too.”

It didn’t matter if something bad happened to the Marquis’s wife.

The problem was that when the Marquis found out that Franc was the only one to carry on his bloodline, he would try to bring Franc into his family.

Even if he was a bastard, he was the only one to carry on the bloodline. Wouldn’t he try to bring him in by any means?

“That’s something we don’t want on our side.”

It was best to cleanly cut ties with the Marquis.

I didn’t want to get entangled in unnecessary complications.

Franc and Negi also didn’t want it.

“Bringing Franc into that family would be a loss for him.”

Apart from being a noble family for a long time, there was nothing good about the Marquis’s family.

Thin and long.

It was a family that was always on edge, comparing people based on their worth.

It might be rude to compare people’s worth, but Franc’s worth couldn’t be considered lower than the Marquis’s family.

If Franc entered that family, they would benefit greatly.

“Taking Franc away without giving anything in return is unreasonable.”

That’s why I had requested to find out the Marquis’s wife’s weakness to negotiate with her.

But thanks to the unexpected and significant weakness that the information merchant had found out, things seemed to be easier than expected.

There was more expenditure than anticipated, but it was not regrettable at all.

“With this level of weakness, it seems okay to meet the Marquis’s wife.”

The Marquis’s wife wouldn’t be able to overlook what she possessed, so she would likely accept the deal.

The more someone has, the more vulnerable they are to showing weakness.

“When should I approach her? It would be best to catch her when she’s alone.”

– Should I give you a recommendation?

“Is there a good time?”

– Yeah. It would be best to meet her when she’s going to visit her family. I’ll find out the time. I’ll make sure to move periodically.

Daemon, who overheard the soliloquy, offered a good suggestion.

“Does that time seem the best?”

– Yeah. That time should be perfect. After all, it should be a meeting of strangers.

“Of course. I don’t want to ruin everything by revealing everything.”

Francois, not wanting that, would always have the detonation switch ready to detonate whenever necessary.

– But I’m not sure if she’ll listen, she’s quite tough.

“Even though she has her own weaknesses, she acts tough.”

The fiancé in her family.

The husband of the head of the family in her family.

So, the fiancé was actually the husband of the Countess.

“She must be quite skilled.”

That’s why it seemed he was able to gain support from the family.

However, it was a bit strange that he was risking his important position as the head of the family to maintain a relationship with the Countess.

“What if that woman’s son is the husband of the head of the family? What would happen then?”

According to the information, he had been involved with common men, but it wasn’t certain.

“I shouldn’t jump to conclusions without evidence.”

Thinking that it might be too much of a mess, but also not ruling out the possibility, I decided to keep it in mind.

Since the two weaknesses I had were so fatal to the Countess, there was no need to delve deeper.

It would be troublesome if I knew too much and the Countess ended up dead.

“I shouldn’t unnecessarily put Nae-gi in danger. If we meet, I should be careful not to pressure her too much.”

When a mouse is cornered, it learns to fight back against the cat.

– How much is the information I brought worth? This is really a jackpot of information!

“Don’t be greedy. The information you brought this time is a pass.”

– See? I’m good at this kind of thing, right? Keep assigning me tasks like this in the future. Delivering letters is something for pigeons or eagles! How can I, with my busy schedule, be doing such things!

Daemon kept trying to gain my approval, and I wondered why. Delivering letters seemed to hurt his pride.

I didn’t hear in detail what he did when he was taken to the upper ranks this time…

“Come to think of it, what did you do when you were brought to the upper ranks? I kept forgetting to ask because I was so busy.”

– I just delivered some things here and there?

“You willingly delivered things? Even though I didn’t ask you to?”

– ….

Daemon suddenly shut his mouth as if there was something.

“What? Did Erin Tina give you something to deliver?”

Otherwise, there was no way he would have cooperated so willingly in delivering things.

Wasn’t he complaining about not being given a break and being constantly asked to work?

– I did receive something! Medicine! Medicine!

“I see.”

I thought he had received something great, but it seemed it wasn’t that impressive.

If it was just medicine, it was within the understandable range.

– It wasn’t even expensive!

“It must have tasted better than the power I give.”

Daemon preferred to directly absorb the power of monsters rather than the power that filtered through my body.

– I haven’t taken it yet! You didn’t even give me a day off and kept making me work.

“Oh, really? Why?”

– I have to sleep for a while after taking the medicine.

“Already at that point?”

Sleeping for a while meant it was time to evolve.

‘As my size has increased, so has my strength, so it will probably be the same this time.’

Daemon would fall asleep to increase his size once he gathered enough strength.

And when I woke up again, I could see a new side of Daemon.

“It’s good for Daemon to get stronger, but…”

After suffering by Count Hutton’s side for a long time, I thought it was time to start loosening up a bit.

“How long do you sleep after taking the potion?”

If it’s just for a day, it should be manageable.

Leaving Daemon with Negishi would allow me to move around more freely, so it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

“If you take it? Hmm… about a week to ten days?”

“Up to ten days?”

That’s a bit tough…

“It seems like it requires a lot of energy to digest.”

“I earned it by working hard!”

I was about to tell him to take the potion right away, but I didn’t realize he had accumulated so much pent-up energy.

“Then, just wait a little longer.”

“I was planning on doing that from the start. I’m looking forward to how it will explode.”

Daemon seemed to be watching the drama of the Hutton family with interest.

He wouldn’t just willingly do more work, so it was surprising to see him agree so readily.

Dramas are not easy to stop once they start.

Provocative, isn’t it? It makes you look forward to what will happen next.

In the end, Daemon voluntarily extended his information-gathering activities and left.

※ ※ ※

“So, that woman.”

Thanks to Daemon’s advice, I was able to wait and see the woman who seemed to be the Countess coming out of the house.

Her stiff face and cold expression made it difficult for people to approach her easily.

“I bet most people would tremble in front of her unless they’re really strong.”

As a noblewoman, it wasn’t that she wasn’t beautiful, but she wasn’t a beauty queen either.

Since she seemed to be heading to her family home for a private meeting, the Countess seemed to be planning to go alone.

Before she could get on the carriage, I blocked her path.

“Hello, Countess. May I have a moment of your time?”

“…Who are you?”

She didn’t seem to like me suddenly blocking her way, as she glared at me.

Her expression seemed indifferent, but from my perspective, her gaze was so intense that it felt almost piercing.

“I have something to tell you about your husband’s business.”

“Ah~ I don’t want to hear anything about my husband. If it’s related to him, deal with him directly.”

At the mention of her husband, the Countess immediately rejected me without hesitation.

I knew their relationship was bad, but I didn’t expect her to draw the line so coldly.