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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 9
And ‌so the dinner commenced.
I found myself gasping for breath, caught in an unexpected predicament.
"...."
"...."
"...."
After I exchanged greetings and brief pleasantries with the Duke.
Only the faint clinking of cutlery broke the suffocating silence of the dining room.
'I suspected it earlier, but Rachel and her grandfather are terribly distant with each other.'
I seemed closer to the Villa's gatekeeper than they were to one ‌‌‌another....
Perspiring between these two cold presences, I felt the weight of responsibility and finally shattered the silence.
"Well... thanks to the Duke's permission today, we had a wonderful time exploring the Village. It seems the ‌‌‌young lady enjoyed it as well."
Of course, Rachel hadn't even uttered words suggesting she'd enjoyed anything, but I glossed over it with my own interpretation.
Fortunately, Rachel didn't bother correcting me.
And the Duke showed interest in what I'd said.
"Is that so? Where did you go?"
"Since it was her first time visiting the Village and time was limited to see everything, I took her to the Back Hill."
"The Back Hill? Why there?"
"Because from a high vantage point, you can see the entire Village at a glance!" ‌‌‌
The Duke seemed genuinely surprised by my answer, studying me intently before nodding in acknowledgment.
"To devise the optimal method for seeing the Village in such a short time—quite impressive." ‌‌
"Well, it wouldn't be proper to keep ‌‌‌‌the ‌‌Duke waiting at the dinner table."
I chattered away while cautiously gauging the Duke's reaction.
As the Duke listened to our account of what Rachel and I had done, he never once glanced in her direction.
'What? His granddaughter ‌‌‌‌just returned from an outing after so long! Doesn't he even ask if she had a good time or if she enjoyed herself?'
Caught between the cold granddaughter and ‌‌‌‌grandfather, I ventured to add one more thing.
"Next time, the Duke should come to the Village with the young lady and me!"
Binding the two of them together, hoping the Duke would take interest in Rachel.
But.
"If time permits."
The ‌‌Duke merely cast a sidelong glance at Rachel, who ate in silence, his expression coolly indifferent.
The conversation ended there, and once again that suffocating silence descended.
This time, I studied Rachel's reaction.
Rachel seemed accustomed to this silence, focusing entirely on her meal.
'Rachel didn't seem to follow the Nanny so closely.'
Could it be that, estranged from her only family—her grandfather—she relied on the Nanny instead? ‌
'But the Nanny didn't seem like a good person at all.'
Certainly not to me, anyway.
And above ‌‌‌all... even with the Nanny present, it would be far better for Rachel's emotional development to be close with her family.
Perhaps it might even prevent her future descent into darkness.
'If I ‌‌‌‌‌could figure out why Rachel and the Duke are so awkward with each other, maybe I could help bring them closer together.'
To find that out, I'd need to have more conversations with both of them.
I was racking my brain, ‌‌‌desperately trying to think of ways to keep talking to them, when it happened.
The Butler entered the dining room quietly and approached me.
"Your Grace."
"What is it?"
The Butler hesitated ‌‌for a moment before answering in a voice tinged with obvious discomfort.
"An inspector from the Imperial Palace has arrived."
* * *
Dias Hessen carefully placed the last loaf of bread into a paper bag and held it out.
The woman who had been admiring his ‌‌face smiled and accepted the bag he offered.
"Then I'll see you ‌‌‌tomorrow, Dias Hessen."
"Thank you ‌as always, Madam Enri."
As Dias Hessen left the shop, he offered a gentle smile to the female customer who turned back to look at him.
With the ‌‌‌last customer buying all the ‌‌‌‌remaining bread, today's business closed earlier than usual. ‌‌
'Vivian ‌‌‌said she'd already eaten dinner, so I'll keep tonight's meal simple.'
While thinking such thoughts and preparing to close the shop, ‌‌‌it happened.
Ding―
The bell attached to the shop door chimed.
"I apologize, but we're closed for the day―"
Before Dias Hessen could even turn to face the customer entering, he sensed it.
The visitor behind him was no customer.
Years of rigorous training ‌‌‌‌had honed an instinct that needed no confirmation.
"Are you Dias Hessen, the father of Vivian Hessen?"
The emblem on the visitors' arms was one he knew all ‌‌too well.
The Imperial Knights.
Dias Hessen's eyes wavered as recognition struck him.
'Could they have discovered Vivian's true identity and come looking for her?'
He discreetly concealed a bread knife behind his back. The movement was practiced with unsettling ease.
"What brings you here?"
The man who appeared to be the leader then ‌‌approached the counter ‌‌where Dias Hessen stood.
"I am Curtis Rohan, a knight of the Imperial Knights. I'd like to meet your daughter for a moment—is she home?"
At the mention of Vivian's name from the knight's lips, Dias Hessen's eyes turned cold behind his glasses.
Simultaneously, his grip on the knife tightened, and the veins ‌‌on the back ‌‌of his hand became prominent.
"Why is the Imperial Palace looking for my daughter?"
"We heard your ‌‌‌daughter is a playmate of Princess Isella, and we have some questions to ask."
Fortunately, their ‌‌‌purpose seemed to be Princess Isella, not Vivian.
But even if it had nothing to do ‌‌with Vivian, he didn't want to show her to an Imperial knight.
He didn't want to create even the slightest possibility that they might discover Vivian's true identity.
'It's fortunate that Vivian isn't here right now.'
I had to hurry and get rid of them before Vivian returned home.
"I apologize, but Vivian isn't home right now―"
But the moment those words left my lips, the entrance ‌‌bell ‌‌chimed and Vivian burst through the door.
"I'm home!"
* * *
I came in with such ‌‌energy, then froze.
'What... what is this situation?'
Several burly men ‌‌‌were surrounding Father!
I didn't know the details, but ‌‌‌‌I could instinctively sense that something serious was happening.
As I ‌‌was still assessing the situation, a man who appeared to be their leader approached me. ‌‌
"Are you Vivian?"
The ‌‌‌man's mouth was smiling, but I knew better.
People who smile only with their mouths are dangerous!
Ready to bolt and call for help if needed, I met the man's gaze directly and cautiously.
"Yes, ‌‌that's right."
"We are the ‌‌‌Imperial Knights, here by order of His Majesty the Emperor."
Only then did I notice the embroidered insignia on the left sleeve of the man's upper garment.
'That is...'
The imperial seal Father had shown me once before.
[If you ever see someone wearing clothes with this seal, stay as far away as you can, Vivian.]
Father had told me to avoid the Imperial Knights and nobility whenever possible.
While there were good nobles, the bad ones ‌‌could arrest me and punish me even if I'd done nothing wrong.
The closer ‌‌they were to the ‌‌‌Emperor, the harsher the punishment might be.
At that moment, I also recalled what had happened at the Villa earlier. ‌‌‌
The way the Duke and Rachel's expressions had ‌‌‌‌hardened when they heard an inspector was coming from the Imperial Palace.
'These people came to watch Rachel.'
Having heard that I was Rachel's playmate, they wanted to extract information about Rachel through me.
"There are a few things I'd like ‌‌to ask you. Would it be alright if we stepped outside ‌to talk?"
In that instant, Father strode between the men and wrapped his ‌‌‌arms around me.
"Let's talk here."
The leader's brow ‌‌‌‌furrowed.
"Ha. Do you think I, a knight ‌‌‌of the Imperial household, would kidnap a child?" ‌‌‌‌‌
"Sir Knight, you appear to be unmarried, but parents with daughters tend to feel that way. I hope you'll understand."
"Listen here. When I, a knight serving His Majesty, speak, my words carry the weight of imperial decree. To defy me is treason."
The leader made a menacing threat, but Father clearly had no intention of letting me go.
Watching the tense atmosphere between them, I swallowed hard.
'If they fight, Father will definitely lose...'
My father was strong, but he was useless at fighting!
'I have to protect Father.'
Before the situation could become any more serious, I quickly stepped in.
"W-what are you talking about?"
"I heard you're the young lady's playmate. I'd like ‌‌‌to ask you a few things about her."
As expected, the men approached me with the intensity ‌‌‌‌of an interrogation.
'But I can't betray Rachel's trust by feeding information to the Emperor's faction.'
I gazed at them while an wicked smile bloomed in my heart.
'These men don't even seem to be married yet.'
Let me teach them just how exhausting it is to have a conversation with a nine-year-old!

---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please ‌read directly on our official site: ‌valirscans.org
---------------