Chapter 28
“Eh?”
Just as the maid looked puzzled, I too was confused.
But when the maid did not immediately comply, James furrowed his brow and shook the dustpan he was holding fiercely.
“Don’t you understand? This lady is someone with such a kind heart that she doesn’t even pass by a scrap of trash on the roadside that no one else bothers with! So don’t get in the way of me guiding her!”
“Ah, oh, I see…”
The maid glanced awkwardly between James and me, then seemed to reach a perfectly reasonable conclusion that she didn’t want to get involved with either of us.
“Well then, excuse me…”
The maid bowed deeply and quickly hurried away.
At the same time, James glanced at me and spoke firmly.
“I am impressed, my lady, by your refusal to overlook even the smallest scrap of paper.”
“Ah…”
Could it really look like that…?
[SYSTEM] ‘James the Palace Cleaner’ is inspired by your good influence and vows to clean more thoroughly. Karma –1.
Huh? An unexpected bonus?
I blinked wide-eyed and looked back at James, who nodded.
“Where to next, my lady? I will escort you safely.”
…This is really happening, right?
So, I was able to enter the palace servants’ lounge.
Since the Spring Ball was in full swing, the lobby was crowded, but surprisingly, the hallway with the lounge had hardly anyone.
“This should be around here…”
When I mentioned a smell, James guided me without suspicion.
However, after following me around for a while without finding any trash, he said he would check the surroundings for cleanup and left.
Thanks to that, I was able to reach a corner storage room marked on the map without interruption.
“Hmm?”
Creak.
The door was unlocked, and it opened easily with a gentle push.
Inside, a familiar message appeared.
[SYSTEM] You have arrived at your destination. Clue tracking has ended.
The storage room was filled with all sorts of miscellaneous items.
It wasn’t just a few things; it looked like it would take a long time to find anything. The large warehouse-like shape reminded me of Cost-X, making me feel drained.
But unlike before, the challenge somehow invigorated me. It felt like a contest: who would win?
“Cough, cough!”
After sifting through dust for a long time, I finally found…
“This is it!”
A small glass vial containing a purple liquid.
It looked suspicious at a glance, and I finally felt like I’d found something proper.
[SYSTEM] Acquired ‘Glass vial containing unknown liquid.’
· Glass vial containing unknown liquid
A glass bottle with some unidentified liquid remaining.
Ding, ding, ding—!
Just then, the clock outside chimed.
I’m going to be late.
Like Cinderella, I quickly left the storage.
Meeting the knight was important, but if I came back too late, I might get caught and cause unnecessary suspicion.
I hid where knights wouldn’t notice me, then entered the sewer dungeon again.
“You seem to have learned something.”
Fortunately, the knight was waiting for me—not late.
Wanting to finish quickly and start trading mana crystals, I laid all the clues out.
“This is all I found.”
Crumpled paper wrapper.
Some leaf.
A glove.
And the vial.
“……”
Did the trash I gave him confuse him?
He stared at the trash without moving, then turned his head toward me.
“Do you know what this is?”
“No, I don’t…”
If I knew, I’d be a trash expert or a mana crystal seller by now.
Maybe impressed by my level(?), the man explained stiffly one by one.
“This is paper that wrapped ferancho powder. It still faintly smells.”
Ferancho?
Sounds familiar…
At least I saw it in the user community.
But maybe I was too exhausted today to remember the details.
Ignoring my reaction, the man continued.
“This leaf comes only from mangrove trees in the Blue Forest. Judging by the smell on the glove, it seems to be powder mixed with ferancho and mangrove leaf. Finally, this…”
Pop!
The man opened the vial’s lid and sniffed, frowning deeply.
“Where did you find this?”
“This?”
It wasn’t a place anyone could freely access.
“The servants’ lounge storage.”
“…I see.”
After the calm answer, the man chuckled coldly.
“Something interesting is going on.”
“Huh?”
“It certainly looks like someone with sinister intent has infiltrated the palace.”
Huh?
I paused, sensing trouble, and looked up.
I felt like I was caught in something very, very troublesome…
Clatter, clatter, clatter…
I searched hard for a carriage to return to the Ulmer estate, but because of the festival, finding an empty one was like finding a star in the sky.
Eventually, I paid 50 Darling and squeezed into a cargo-like wagon.
“My back…”
Even with money, why couldn’t I use it better? My whole body ached terribly.
After being cramped in the wagon for a while, I finally arrived at the Ulmer estate.
Trudging.
Thanks to Lady Karin’s earnest efforts, my once-correct walk had degenerated into that of a street vagabond.
I thought about switching back to a proper, graceful walk that fit my dress, but it remained only a thought.
Sigh.
I opened the back door with a creak and quietly climbed the stairs.
Even then, my crumpled face didn’t smooth out. Why?
“The most important thing is here, so I bought us time.”
“So, will you trade with me now?”
“Not all the promises have been fulfilled yet.”
[SYSTEM] Quest completion conditions not met!
· Quest condition (time limit 61:24:30)
Uncover ‘someone’ who infiltrated the palace.
※ Clue tracking system is applied to this quest.
That’s right.
The quest condition was to find out who infiltrated the palace.
Just acquiring clues didn’t finish it.
But thinking about how he disappeared leaving me alone while saying he had something to check made me grind my teeth.
“Bad guy…”
If you’re leaving, at least come with me!
So I had to squeeze through the sewer dungeon again and return home.
The only consolation was that I had a rough idea how the quest was progressing.
If what I found was poison, then someone in the palace was the target.
Then did the Suspicious Knight want to know who plotted the conspiracy? Or who the target was? Or both?
I became even more curious about his true intentions and identity.
Thinking that, I tiptoed to my room, when…
“Where have you been?”
Turning a corner, I ran right into Paula waiting outside my door.
Since I was still in my dress, I hadn’t been back long, so why was she here?
Did she see me? Then I’m screwed.
My appearance looked like I was caught sneaking in, which made me even more embarrassed.
Paula scanned me up and down with a sharp voice.
“Adelheid Ulmer. I asked where you were.”
