Chapter: 24
Wendy whispered to Philip behind my back.
“Why does that baron freak out over such a normal question?”
“Ah.”
Philip answered carefully.
“He’s… a bit unstable by nature. He was like that at dinner too.”
“Oh my… I see… so that’s the story….”
Wendy let out a sigh.
It seemed that, to her now, the word unstable was no longer something to say lightly.
I was quite startled as well, but I didn’t show it.
Instead, I answered honestly.
“To get wheat.”
Usually, children of noble families speak casually to one another when young, even if they return to formal speech as adults.
And since we had been academy classmates, we were comfortable enough to speak freely.
Right then, the knights I had sent out returned with the intruders, each carrying large sacks of wheat.
“…Wheat?”
Leopold looked just as taken aback by my answer.
I calmly explained.
“The dark mages were trading wheat for people. I didn’t want to give them people, but I wanted the wheat—so I came to scam them.”
Leopold smirked at me.
“It seems you’ve found quite a creative career path since graduation, Brisa. Scamming dark mages, of all things.”
He looked at me with a faint grin.
“How about giving a lecture at the academy for the juniors? Introduce them to this new profession.”
“I actually already wrote the lecture script, but I suppose I’ll have to scrap it tonight.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“You’re tossing all the dark mages into the sea, so this profession’s future just turned bleak. I’ll have to look for another way to make a living.”
Even as we spoke, the ships carrying the dark mages steadily sank into the sea.
It was a skill in itself—to strike enemies precisely while chatting so casually.
Anyway, I shrugged.
“Well, I’ve accomplished my goal here, so I’ll be going. Before the warp’s valid time expires.”
I had roughly analyzed the spell formula while riding the illegal warp.
It looked similar to the warp installed at the Mage Tower—though this one had clearly been infused with a number of drugs from prohibited experiments.
“And this wheat—it’s not from the West.”
The West was a granary region. It was strange that they weren’t using wheat easily obtainable nearby.
“I think it’s southern wheat. In any case, look into it.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s mentioned in Regional Characteristics of Wheat, Revised 3rd Edition. Written by Asirius Wellborn. Or you could check the review paper on southern wheat.”
“A review paper?”
“Characteristics and Considerations of Southern Wheat Varieties. It’s the only paper that deals exclusively with southern wheat. And also—about the interest.”
I pointed with my toe at a dark mage lying on the ground.
Then I leaned toward Leopold and lowered my voice.
“He mistook me for Dahlia Hawin and said this to me: ‘Bring Brisa Searce, and you’ll get fifty sacks of wheat.’”
Leopold elegantly pressed his boot onto the dark mage’s back, pinning him in place. His eyes turned cold.
Yet the voice he used to whisper to me was calm.
“Is a twelve-year-old girl really worth fifty sacks of wheat?”
“Not even half a sack, apparently.”
“Then what accounts for the remaining forty-nine and a half sacks of value?”
“That’s exactly what I’d like you to find out.”
I made my request.
“The criminal was caught on your land. The interrogation is your responsibility.”
I could roughly guess the reason, but words coming directly from a criminal’s mouth had their own value.
Leopold slowly said,
“So, to summarize—your personal safety is at risk.”
He pressed his boot down harder.
“Because of the Sebon faction and the dark mages.”
“Probably.”
I was acting calm, but deep down, I was trembling.
I thought all I had to do was survive these three months without starving.
But apparently that wasn’t the case. There were people targeting me specifically.
Still, these criminals had been captured in the West. Final authority over interrogation belonged to the Grand Ducal House of Nozen.
All I could do was ask.
“Let me know the results of the interrogation later. I need to know who’s targeting me and how.”
Leopold looked conflicted for a moment, but answered clearly.
“If criminals of Sebon dare attempt to harm the bloodline of Searce, Nozen, as head of the First Five Families, will never stand idly by. I stake my honor—I will share everything.”
I looked at him with distrust. He had far more than just honor.
“That’s not enough.”
“Then I’ll stake my face.”
If it was the masterpiece of the century, that was reassuring.
I nodded, satisfied.
“I’ll entrust it to you completely.”
I had come for wheat, only to discover my life was in danger.
Suddenly, staying in this place crawling with dark mages felt unpleasant.
With my business concluded, I stepped back quickly and said my farewell.
“Then we’ll be on our way.”
“Wait.”
Leopold stepped closer.
“I can’t just send you off like this. You safely returned my grandfather to the West.”
“Of course you can’t send me away empty-handed.”
I nodded seriously.
“It’s bad manners to send a guest of the West off without a gift.”
“Doesn’t look like you’re empty-handed.”
He glanced at the knights holding armfuls of wheat sacks, amused.
“Anyway, I can’t detain you because of the warp time. Here—take this.”
He held out a tracking incense stick.
“In case the warp misfires and you end up wandering in the West, use it.”
Should I really accept this?
I had heard that only extremely important people in the West possessed such a thing.
The moment I used it in the West, I would receive unconditional protection from nearby western knights.
As I hesitated before something so precious, Leopold said lightly,
“Don’t feel burdened. This is entirely for my own sake.”
He extended it toward me again.
“If you get caught up in a crime scene in the West and then complain that you were endangered even after meeting the heir of Nozen, it would tarnish my reputation.”
“Complain? Don’t be ridiculous. It wouldn’t end at that.”
I finally took the incense.
“Don’t you know me? If that happened, I’d sue you for aiding and abetting murder.”
“I’ll prepare the empire’s best lawyer.”
Leopold replied lazily.
“I know you.”
From behind, Wendy muttered,
“Wow. This is the first time I’ve seen someone who can match our lady in verbal sparring.”
Philip responded bluntly,
“That’s just how nobles are. Got it?”
It was a rather unfair generalization—other nobles might object.
Leopold swept his gaze over the knights I had brought.
“They’re not your knights, are they?”
The unspoken question was clear: Can they be trusted?
I shrugged.
“They’re my brother’s knights.”
“I heard the news recently.”
The implication: Are they truly loyal to you now, the younger sibling of their lord?
I decided to show him directly.
“Watch carefully.”
Leopold nodded.
I slowly turned around, cleared my throat, and addressed the people I had brought.
“Attention.”
Those busy with their tasks immediately straightened and looked at me.
Facing them, I solemnly declared:
“Tonight’s late-night meal…”
It was a line I had long prepared, yet saying it made me strangely nervous.
My heart pounded.
“…is bread.”
As if my excitement had spread, the knights—including the former intruders—shouted in unison.
“Wooooooo!”
“Hurray! Long live milady!”
Once more, I solemnly addressed the ones holding the flour sacks.
“Let’s return. To divide our spoils.”
Leopold’s knights had done the fighting, but still—spoils were spoils.
I turned back to Leopold and raised an eyebrow.
He had seen enough to confirm their loyalty to me.
“They’ve got strong voices.”
At his acknowledgment, I replied with satisfaction.
“I fed them well.”
It was the proudest boast of the season.
