Adeline comforted Sofia with a gentle pat on her shoulder, then turned to look at the Lord.
“Do you feel better now, Grandpa?”
With tearful eyes, Adeline massaged the Lord's arm.
“What a relief… Dad was very worried too.”
“Thank you, Adeline.”
The lord, who had lost his son and daughter-in-law in a carriage accident, had become close to Count Kydland, who was about the same age as his children.
The closeness between Sofia and Adeline was also due to that relationship.
“Okay, I have to leave so you can rest, Grandpa.”
“Do it, Adeline.
Thank you.”
I looked at Adeline's back as she came out smiling.
“Excuse me, Lord.
I will leave now...”
“Anne.”
Before I left, Sophia fidgeted and grabbed my sleeve.
“I didn't expect my grandfather to wake up like this again.
Thank you very much.”
Her brown eyes were filling with tears.
“If we hadn’t known it was poison and continued looking for other ways, he might have been my grandfather by now...”
“Don't cry, Sofia.
It's okay.”
I consoled the crying Sophia.
She was as soft-hearted as she seemed.
“But who could do such a thing to my grandfather?”
“He hasn't done anything to warrant such displeasure, has he?”
"As far as I know, he's not that kind of person.
My grandfather is really nice and friendly."
Sophia had great confidence in her grandfather, Lord.
“My grandfather took care of me since I was a child, and he never left me in someone else’s hands.
He even changed my diapers himself.”
“That's impressive.”
From the information I gathered, there was nothing notable about his past.
“Have you checked on Adeline Kydland?”
"I secretly searched her room, but... nothing suspicious turned up.
And Adeline, she's..."
Sofia hesitated, struggling to hold back the tears that were about to fall.
“I have brought all the herbs Anne mentioned.
Count Kydland also wishes my grandfather to recover...”
“Do you think well of Adeline?”
“She's kind.
She's been like a cousin to me since we were kids.”
“Her behavior towards you doesn’t seem to suggest that.”
“It's just very emotional.”
However, Kydland and Grünewald were originally one part, and Kydland made several attempts to absorb Grünewald as well.
It seemed that there was no other reason for anyone to harm the distant Master of Grunwald.
The loss would have been more than the gain.
“Adeline provided the herbs, right?”
Sophia seemed reluctant to suspect Adeline, who was almost her sister, but the problem was that the herbs she mentioned were in Kydland's possession.
Cosiflower was originally an enhanced type of medicinal herb that was one of Grunwald's specialties.
In fact, this herb has become extinct in Grunwald, where all the parent plants have completely disappeared.
The fact that an herb that was originally exclusive to Grunwald had ended up in Kydland as a new modified species was too suspicious to be a coincidence.
Especially since it was an herb that sold at a very high price, there was no reason to just hand over the seedlings.
'There were times when the two regions were not on good terms.'
Upon investigation, she learned that Grunwald had previously been much more fertile.
The decline of this area began after monsters poured in from the Gonia Mountains that run between Grunwald and Kydland.
‘Grunwald has become desolate, and thanks to the influx of monsters into Grunwald, Kydland remains unharmed.’
It wasn't long ago that Cosiflower was developed.
The Kydlands were not a family known for their extensive knowledge of herbs.
I headed towards Adeline's bedroom.
I knocked on the door.
I knocked on Adeline's door, but she did not come out.
“...I came because you asked me to, Dad!
What is this mess?”
Then, somewhere, I heard the voice of a rather disobedient daughter.
It was Adeline's voice.
I followed the faint sound and found myself at a locked underground staircase.
'Video ball?' Who are you secretly communicating with there?'
Adeline was holding a sparkling ball.
“There is a strange woman who came here.
She is the one who treated Sofia’s grandfather.”
-Is this correct?
“Have I ever lied, Dad?”
The strange woman was me, and the conversation partner had to be Count Kydland.
"Anyway, I don't want to see Dale or anything anymore.
I didn't get what I wanted, so why should I stay here?"
-Adeline, be patient
"No!
I'm afraid.
What if I get caught?
Then I'll die, right?
Will you take responsibility, Dad?"
-Why are you going to die?
Did you find what I told you to look for?
“That paper?
I don’t know, it’s invisible.
This place is like a library or a storeroom, full of cobwebs and insects crawling on the floor.
I hate this place.
Send a servant or someone else instead.
I’m going home!”
My eyes sparkled softly.
It seemed like there was something Kydland was looking for here.
“Anyway, I can't stay here anymore.
I have no reason to!
So, do as you please.”
-Wait, Adeline.
“Hmm!”
crash!
Enraged, Adeline drops the photo ball, smashing it to pieces.
She left angry and disappeared.
'Video ball...'
I looked at the shards of broken glass.
Among them, I found a small, shining red stone.
I knew what it was.
The same stone found in Rosanna's necklace.
'Magic stone'.
Specifically, an automatic telecommunications image recording device.
* * *
“What is this, Enya?”
Dale came up behind me after returning late from work and bowed.
“Oh, you're back?”
“You don't seem interested in me coming back.”
Dale looked at me with slightly disappointed eyes.
I put down the notebook I was writing on and smiled warmly.
“Sorry, I was busy looking at something.”
“Whose voice was that?”
Dale asked me in a low voice, sounding annoyed.
“I heard a man’s voice from inside the house.”
"Ah...!
This!"
“Really, you were listening to a man's voice.”
“It was just a video ball.”
I took out the red stone that I had inserted into the video ball.
“I recorded the conversation between Adeline and Count Kydland.”
"Yes."
Dale's face immediately lit up.
“It's an automatic recording device.”
As expected, Dale was quick to understand.
I clicked on the couch and sat him next to me.
As we watched the video from beginning to end, Dale's expression grew colder.
Not only was the conversation I overheard recorded, but about ten other calls were also recorded.
"That's why video balls must be disposed of properly.
Cheap balls don't have that, but expensive balls always have a magic stone that registers automatically."
I put the magic stone in my pocket.
“Are you planning to report Count Kydland to the Imperial Palace this time?”
“Yes, to make the Emperor a revered ruler.”
“…The Emperor will really appreciate it.”
Dale's expression looked troubled, but he quickly returned to his usual faint smile.
“Count Kydland is a suspicious character indeed.”
"correct."
After changing his clothes, Dale put on an apron and started chopping ingredients.
The sound of Dale chopping green onions resonated unmistakably.
His cooking skills were impressive, as always.
He was chopping green onions at even intervals, and his hand movements were so smooth that I didn't need to worry about accidentally cutting his fingers.
Is he skilled at using a kitchen knife because he is a mercenary and is good at using a sword?
'He looks a little tired.'
I noticed Dale's forearm.
He was muscular with prominent veins, but he looked fitter than before.
Normally, when he folded his shirt, it would take two folds to reach half his wrist, but now he needed three folds to fit perfectly.
Dale was busier than I thought.
It seemed like it was being sent frequently.
I think it's suspicious.
I looked intently at Dale, who this time started peeling potatoes.
“Dale, what do you do when you go outside?”