Chapter – 04

I decided to spread the rumors. No matter how much interest the Crown Prince had in that land, and even if the Imperial Family could block the construction of a library because it was royal land, the situation would change entirely once complex interests became intertwined.

Above all, what the Imperial Family valued most was honor and reputation. They couldn’t openly block a benefactor who volunteered to use her own money to redevelop a slum that everyone considered an eyesore.

I couldn’t predict what they would do behind closed doors, but when it came to playing the media, I needed to make the first move.

“Rodel.”

“Yes, Lady Rose.”

“Take this to the newspaper office. Since we need to target commoners first, the Atien Newspaper would be best. Tell them you’re here to meet the editor-in-chief on behalf of the representative of the Earth Foundation, and present this pouch as a small token of appreciation for the article. They’ll know what to do.”

“Understood, my Lady.”

The very next day, an exclusive article was published on the front page of Atien, the most widely read newspaper among commoners:

[Will a Free Library for Commoners Be Built in the Eastern Outskirts Slum?]

“The Earth Foundation, which has been dedicated to charitable work in the slums for the past two years, has now stepped forward to redevelop the area. According to a foundation official, the Earth Foundation had been planning to construct a free library open to everyone since its inception, and after recent reviews, the eastern outskirts were finalized as the site.

The foundation added that once construction begins, hiring local residents directly at the site will also create job opportunities.

Expectations are high for the establishment of the empire’s first library dedicated not to nobles, but to commoners.”

The article was published exactly as requested.

In truth, the library would serve as a welfare space for the impoverished rather than other classes, but to the commoners, I appealed to it as a space solely “for commoners.”

And to the slum dwellers, I gained their support by offering jobs. For residents of the slums, whose literacy rates were far lower than those of average commoners, immediate earnings would catch their eye much more than a free library.

“Rose, I think this should be enough. Now that so many eyes are watching, just as you said, even the Imperial Family won’t be able to do anything.”

“It seems we’ve extinguished the biggest fire for now, Brother… but with so many eyes on us, minor obstacles might actually increase.”

“There are always those who twist everything into something negative. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“…Lately, it seems there are so many people offering to help me, Brother.”

Gerard tilted his head as if I were talking nonsense.

“Of course, Rose. Who wouldn’t want to help you?”

“Mm…”

Honestly, sometimes he was worse than Father.

“I need to go out.”

“Shall I go with you?”

“No, it’s fine. I’m just heading to the foundation office.”

“You should rest today, Rose. There will be many visitors because of the newspaper article.”

“I’ll just slip in through the back door and handle my work. There are quite a few matters requiring my signature, so Lennon will hit a dead end if he tries to process them on his own.”

“…Then take Dean with you instead of Amy or Rodel, Rose. I’ll feel at ease only if you have an escort.”

“Don’t worry, Brother. I’ll be thoroughly disguised.”

“Disguised…? Rose, are you still walking around pretending to be a knight these days?”

A high ponytail. Riding attire typical of what a female knight would wear. It was a outfit that made it hard for anyone to suspect I was a noble lady.

It was a simple disguise that allowed for easy movement. Since the foundation office was in the commercial district, anyone looking would just assume two knights were out enjoying a break.

“…Lady Mari…”

“Calling me that seems quite natural to you now, Dean.”

“It still feels uncomfortable.”

“It would sound much more natural if you just comfortably called me ‘Mari’.”

“Please, anything but that…”

It seemed calling me by name instead of “My Lady” was extraordinarily difficult for him—even though it was an alias.

After teasing my escort knight, Dean, with a chuckle, I mounted my horse.

“Lady Mari, wouldn’t it be better not to go today?”

“Don’t worry. There’s never anyone near the back door anyway. Why would anyone hang around the back of a charitable foundation building?”

And I would soon come to regret those words.

Just as Gerard and Dean had feared, I really shouldn’t have gone anywhere near the foundation today…

The moment Dean spotted a shadow leaning against the wall, he leaped off his horse with lightning-fast reflexes and drew his sword—a weapon he rarely had occasion to unsheathe.

“Who goes there?”

Despite Dean’s demand, the man standing behind the foundation building remained completely still, merely staring back at us.

Regrettably, I recognized him. My dear Dean… I knew he was fast, but his quick physical reaction was matched only by how terribly slow he was on the uptake.

There was only one famous person in this empire with that distinctive burgundy hair.

“Lower your sword, Dean.”

“But—”

“It’s Commander Delua.”

“What?”

My, look at Dean dropping his formal speech now. His acting has really improved—almost as much as mine.

Struggling to conceal my sense of dismay, I dismounted from my horse.

Fluid, effortless movements were essential. Being disguised as a knight while appearing awkward on horseback would be deeply suspicious.

Fortunately, my riding skills were excellent—bold and unhesitating, looking very much like a real knight’s.

“You recognize me?”

It was definitely a voice I had never heard in person, but perhaps because that low voice had been described so often in the novel, it somehow sounded familiar. Or perhaps it was because of that line, which felt just as familiar.

Luke Ventus had asked Iclea that very same question when they first met.

[ “You recognize me?”

At that terribly husky, low voice, Iclea shook her head.

That blood-red hair, those pitch-black eyes, his broad frame with features entirely different from hers, and his sun-tanned skin. Everything was unfamiliar and terrifying.

If a man like that hits me, it’ll hurt much more than when the Baron did. Terrified out of her mind, Iclea shook her head so hard it looked suspicious, tearing up.

“I don’t know you. I really don’t.”]

Iclea hadn’t recognized an appearance that anyone else would instantly identify. But there was no way I couldn’t know.

Hadn’t I memorized the protagonists’ appearances first, just so I could recognize them from afar and avoid them? In my knight disguise, he was someone I could least afford not to recognize.

After all, Luke Ventus was an object of admiration for low-born knights… though there were exceptions like my escort, Dean, who failed to recognize him right away.

“Should I have pretended not to know, like my companion here, Sir?”

“No. If you had, I would have drawn my sword immediately. Two knights failing to recognize me—there’s nothing more suspicious than that.”

Luke Ventus raised one corner of his mouth into a smirk and looked up at the foundation building.

“It seems you have business here.”

“Yes. But what brings Sir Ventus all the way here?”

“I asked first, didn’t I?”

“…I owe a debt of gratitude to this foundation. I came to help out, but I certainly didn’t expect to run into the Commander of Delua at the back door.”

“Owe a debt of gratitude… Then do you know the representative of this foundation?”

To think Luke Ventus would ask that. It seemed Duke Caysus hadn’t told him about me, the true representative.

The Duke actually kept his promise. Even though Behan Caysus and Luke Ventus were allies sharing the same goal of protecting Iclea…

“Of course. I see them often.”

“How can I meet the representative?”

“You’re asking something far too obvious.”

I deliberately offered a bright smile and pointed toward the front of the building.

“If you go through the front entrance and request to see the representative, you’ll easily be able to meet them. It’s a place fully open to everyone, after all.”

“Huh? Go through the front door?”

“Yes. If you use legitimate means, there are plenty of ways to meet the representative.”

A sudden silence fell over the three of us. It was painfully obvious that Dean, being on the slower side, was slowly chewing over my words in his mind.

In other words, while disguised as a knight, I had just told the master of Delua—hailed as the guardian of the empire—not to skulk around back in an illegitimate manner, but to request a formal meeting instead.

Finally realizing the situation, Dean hesitantly opened his mouth.

“…Mari… Are you perhaps right now…”

“Hmm?”

“How should I even put this…”

While Dean failed to find the right words, the beast-like, low breathing across from us grew steadily louder, until finally—

“Sir Ventus…?”

“Ha! Wow, seriously. No, wait—pfft—let me laugh a bit more.”

His chuckles turned into a roar of laughter so intense he had to stop mid-sentence.

“Ah, it’s been a long time since I laughed this hard. Mari? Is that your name?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“And you?”

“I am… Dean.”

“Right, Dean. I think your comrade Mari here just gave me a piece of her mind.”

It seemed the fog in Dean’s head had finally cleared, revealing the right words to describe the situation. He barely managed to stop himself just before nodding along with Luke Ventus’s words. I flashed a benevolent smile at Dean, who belatedly sneaked a glance at me, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut tight.

I did give him a piece of my mind, but even if it was true, Dean should have denied it! Instead, he was agreeing with Luke Ventus!

“Ah, you don’t need to be so guard. I’m not such a thug that I’d draw my sword over a bit of righteous advice.”

Luke Ventus laughed heartily and shrugged his shoulders.

“Though I do have a complaint of my own. I already went through the front door this morning. But some fellow who clearly wasn’t the decision-maker was acting like the representative.

And then a dispatch arrived… The moment he saw it, he started acting like his actual master was arriving… It looked very much like the real representative I’ve been searching for was about to show up.”

Lennon! You’re so capable at foundation work!

I thought you’d be a better actor than Dean, but how could you make it that obvious right in front of Luke Ventus?!