Chapter 52
It was exactly three days before the end of the Academy’s vacation. The entire family had gathered for dinner after a long time. Since even Clara, the busiest person in the Count’s household, had come home for dinner, the chef must have shown off his skills, as the dinner was particularly abundant and delicious.
Clara, who was sitting across from Blair, extended her foot under the table and tapped Blair’s leg. When Blair looked up from his food at Clara, she gave him a subtle glance. Blair, who understood her signal, nodded slightly. It was such a small gesture that only the two of them among those present could notice it.
After finishing dinner, Kyle entered Blair’s room with him and obediently lay down on the bed. Since secretly entering Blair’s bed that first time, Kyle had naturally climbed into Blair’s bed every time. He had obviously been crying after having some kind of dream, and when Blair let it slide for a few days, Kyle continued to claim he was having nightmares and naturally lay down on Blair’s bed as if it were expected.
Kyle really did seem to be having nightmares. When Blair would wake up and look at Kyle, his cheeks would be soaked with tears. Even when gently shaken, he wouldn’t wake up. Occasionally he would wake up and stare intently at Blair’s face.
There probably isn’t anyone in the world with the fortitude to flatly refuse when a beauty like Kyle looks at you with tearful eyes and makes a request. Of course, Blair was no exception. Each time Kyle smiled and lay down next to him, Blair’s reason would cry out that this wasn’t right, but his rationality was too weak in the face of that splendid beauty.
Blair casually spoke to Kyle.
“Kyle.”
“Yes?”
Kyle, who had been lying on the spacious bed with a serious expression, raised his head to look at Blair.
“I think I need to see my sister for a moment. It won’t take long, so please stay here by yourself for a bit.”
“Okay, I’ll do that.”
Kyle nodded readily.
“If I’m late, you can go to sleep first. Well then, I’ll be back soon.”
Kyle made a pitiful expression. It somehow resembled the face of a dog abandoned by its owner. Blair, who had never abandoned an animal, felt a twinge of guilt.
“If you’re worried about having a nightmare, you can wait for me. I’ll be back as quickly as possible.”
Blair reluctantly added. Either way, he was concerned about Kyle, who didn’t seem to be sleeping well because of the change in environment. What on earth had happened to make him have such painful nightmares that made him cry every night?
“Yes! Then I’ll wait for you!”
Kyle smiled happily upon hearing Blair’s words. Blair had the illusion that a tail was wagging gently behind him.
After giving a light bow, Blair headed toward Clara’s room. He needed to hurry. After returning to the Academy, it would inevitably become harder to intervene so actively.
Knock knock-
After a light knock, Blair entered Clara’s room.
“Sister.”
“Are you here?”
Clara waved well-organized documents. Blair kissed Clara lightly on the cheek and took the stack of documents.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“What hard work did I do?”
Blair slowly turned the pages, checking the contents. It was exactly as he had requested. The documents contained all the financial transaction records of House Spirenda over the past three years, the records of Karpen transactions, and even the changes in the assets of the doctor who had prescribed Karpen to House Spirenda.
“They’ve been incredibly corrupt.”
Blair clicked his tongue as he read the documents. After Spirenda, the Baron’s daughter, became Empress, traces of money being received from many places were evident. Of course, no direct increase in assets was visible, but the circumstances were clear as their expenditures had suddenly increased several fold.
“Indeed. If they had just taken a reasonable amount and carefully disguised the ledgers, we wouldn’t have been able to discover it.”
“They consumed so much that they couldn’t even manage creative accounting, so how could they disguise the ledgers? Anyway, blinded by greed. Pathetic creatures.”
Blair clicked his tongue and carefully stored the documents.
“And the doctor’s custody?”
“Of course, secured. We’ve also spread a rumor that he’s gone on a long trip, so there’s no need to worry.”
“Yes. I understand.”
Clara lightly tapped Blair’s shoulder.
“Isn’t it about time you told me what this is all about?”
“Ah, yes. Of course. We’ve discovered evidence that Imperial Princess Adriana has been poisoned with Karpen. It’s obvious that House Spirenda is behind it, so I’ve been tracking the route.”
“Imperial Princess Adriana?”
Clara’s eyes widened. Clara was also aware of her oldest brother’s long unrequited love. A playful smile appeared on Clara’s lips. Although there wasn’t a big age difference between Clara and Theodore, Clara somewhat respected Theodore, who was always calm and intelligent. There was a consistency in situations where Theodore lost his composure and became restless—when Adriana was involved. When it was Adriana’s birthday, he would turn the merchant guild upside down to get the most precious and best gift, and if she needed something, he would go to great lengths to find it.
“Yes. I happened to find out. I secretly asked you because it would be conspicuous if Theodore, who frequents the Imperial Palace, looked into it directly.”
“I see.”
Clara’s expression became serious.
“Soon, a big problem will likely erupt. There might be a storm of bloodshed. Until then, please keep silent to prevent information from leaking outside.”
“Of course.”
“Anyway, thank you very much, sister.”
Blair kissed Clara on both cheeks again and then hurried toward Theodore’s room. Now that he had the documents, everything would proceed smoothly.
“Brother.”
Blair, who entered Theodore’s room directly without being noticed by others, called for Theodore. Theodore, who was resting in comfortable clothes, welcomed him.
“Yes, Blair.”
Theodore gestured toward the documents Blair was holding.
“Is that it?”
Blair nodded quietly and handed over the documents. Theodore’s expression changed moment by moment as he slowly turned the pages and read.
Clara was truly capable.
The documents she had organized showed how much the assets of nearby noble families who closely interacted with House Spirenda decreased when House Spirenda’s expenditures suddenly increased. All suspicious households and the incidents that occurred at that time were specified in the documents. It seemed to have taken a long time to grasp the overall flow of funds.
Of course, Theodore, being in the executive department, would be able to easily identify which family members received positions or titles around that time with just this information. From there, it was Theodore’s responsibility.
The circumstances of purchasing Karpen also matched perfectly. Of course, House Spirenda wasn’t stupid enough to explicitly write “Karpen purchase” on the list. But since they had secured the maid and the doctor, it no longer mattered.
The two brothers made eye contact and nodded.
“You’ve worked hard, Blair.”
“Not at all. Sister Clara did all the hard work. From here, I’ll leave it to you, brother.”
“As you should. I’ll take care of it.”
Theodore firmly set his lips and nodded. Theodore was an intelligent person, so it would be sufficient to entrust everything to him from this point.
“And I have some ideas about what the Imperial Princess should do next. I think I need to tell her directly, but there are too many ears and eyes in the Imperial Palace. When I return to the Academy, I’ll come out on the weekend. After the Spirenda Baron’s case is resolved, please help me meet with the Imperial Princess. How is her health recovering?”
“Yes. Her complexion has improved a lot in the past few days. Of course, she’s still wearing pale makeup so that the maids won’t notice.”
“I understand. Then let’s plan to meet after the Baron’s case is finished. Please tell her I asked after her. Also, tell her to take good care of her health.”
“Of course. At that time, we’ll move to the Academy area.”
“I would appreciate that. If it’s burdensome for the Imperial Princess to come far, I’ll go to her. I should be the one moving, as I’m young.”
Theodore smiled slightly at Blair’s joking tone.
“I’ll tell you the meeting time and place separately later.”
“Yes. Well, rest well, brother.”
Blair smiled brightly and left the room. The political battle wasn’t Blair’s responsibility. Of course, the past Blair had been quite skilled in plotting, slander, and undercurrent public opinion work. But this time, he wanted to stay out of it and live comfortably. He had no desire to get involved in such affairs.
It was about time for Theodore to get used to these matters. As far as Blair could see, Theodore was someone who would have to live in the center of political strife his whole life. It was fine for him to take on a big task from the start. He was a very intelligent person, so he would surely handle it well.
After removing House Spirenda, Imperial Princess Adriana’s range of action would become much wider. Starting from then, they would begin to create public opinion that a woman could also become Emperor, and after completely eliminating the human trafficking market, the probability of her being designated as heir would increase exponentially.
Blair found it quite appealing that by not actively intervening like before, his body wasn’t tired, and he wasn’t mentally exhausted. Talking about various things with Theodore took longer than expected. Blair returned to his room with quick steps.
When Blair opened the door and entered, Kyle rushed over and nestled into him.
No, “nestled” wasn’t quite accurate. Kyle was clearly the one who had nestled in, but since Kyle was much larger in build, it actually looked as if Blair had been completely buried in his embrace. Kyle’s embrace was large, warm, and stable. A soft body scent gently tickled Blair’s sensitive sense of smell. Blair’s face, obediently buried in Kyle’s embrace, turned slightly red. Since starting to have dreams, Kyle had become anxious during all the time he was separated from Blair. He feared that, like the Blair in his dream, the current Blair would also someday die and disappear.
[To be continued in the next part…]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
