Elia and the Duke’s party arrived at Count Zamel’s estate in just half a day.
Guided by the knights of House Zamel, they made their way to the mansion’s front entrance.
Elia gently tapped the branch perched on her shoulder.
‘Now’s the time, Gaji. Go gather information.’
[“Making me work again, huh?”]
‘Don’t want to? Should I go get myself killed instead?’
[“Fine, fine. I’ll find out quickly.”]
With a sigh, the branch named Gaji jumped from Elia’s shoulder and disappeared somewhere into the garden.
It really seemed to hate the idea of Elia dying.
Meanwhile, Elia was ushered into the drawing room with the Duke and his party.
A man who seemed to be the butler glanced at Elia and asked,
“This young lady—I don’t believe we’ve met?”
“She’s under my protection,” the Duke replied.
“From Your Grace, sir?”
“Yes.”
But as time passed, the Count still hadn’t appeared, and the Duke and his knights were left simply sipping tea.
Elia looked at the butler and asked,
“Mister Butler, isn’t a duke ranked higher than a count?”
“Of course, miss.”
“Then shouldn’t the count be waiting for the duke, not the other way around? Why is someone as high-ranking as the duke waiting for a mere count?”
Her innocent-looking face hit the mark, leaving the butler visibly flustered. Elia scowled and tugged on the Duke’s sleeve.
Then, she whispered in his ear,
“If you let them look down on you here, they’ll keep treating you that way.”
The Duke of Cartellani narrowed his eyes and stared sharply at the butler.
“Butler, what do you make of the child’s words?”
Then he leaned back into the sofa, crossed his legs, and looked at the butler with a crooked smile.
Faced with the piercing gaze of a battle-hardened duke, the butler turned pale.
“Hey, are you looking down on His Grace?” said Dmitri, who was usually gentle.
“Quite rude, isn’t it?” said Campbell, who was usually playful, now emanating hostility.
“S-Sorry, I’ll bring him at once. Please calm yourself, Your Grace.”
“You’d better hurry. I’m not known for my patience.”
Elia looked at the Duke and the Iron Eagle Knights with a surprised expression. She hadn’t expected them to play along so well.
“My, my, I must’ve kept you all waiting. I sincerely apologize, Your Grace.”
Elia’s gaze shifted to the man entering the drawing room.
Wearing a blue suit and with his hair slicked back, Count Zamel—now thirty years old—walked in. His appearance was greasy, both literally and figuratively.
‘Still just as sleazy as ever.’
Just looking at him made her feel nauseous.
“Oh? And who’s this young lady I’ve never seen before? The butler told me you’re under the Duke’s protection.”
Count Zamel’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Elia.
“She’s bound to grow into quite the beauty. Where did you find such a gem?”
Elia read greed in his gaze.
“Snap out of it, old man.”
“Excuse me?”
“Even if you were reborn, you’d never marry a beautiful woman.”
With a sly grin, Elia snuggled into the Duke’s arms.
“Beautiful women like handsome men.”
Her taunting words made Count Zamel’s eyebrow twitch.
“Haha, still, no one’s ever called me ugly.”
“Don’t worry. They probably will soon,” the Duke added mockingly.
Count Zamel’s brows furrowed, but he quickly coughed and composed himself.
“Your Grace, perhaps it’s best if the child plays outside for now. This is an adult matter.”
“I’m afraid not. This meeting was arranged by her.”
“Excuse me? What do you mean—”
“Exactly what I said.”
The Duke stroked Elia’s back as if encouraging her to speak.
Elia called out to Gaji.
‘Gaji, how’d it go?’
[“The trees and flowers said there’s a hidden door to an underground storage behind the mansion. A few days ago, some people hauled in a lot of cargo.”]
‘Can you mark the spot for us?’
[“Of course. I’ll command the trees.”]
‘Perfect.’
Smiling, Elia reached into the bag Campbell had brought and took out a stack of documents.
Count Zamel looked bewildered as Elia spread the papers across the table with her tiny hands.
“Your Grace, I must say, this is quite unorthodox. I came to speak with you, not a child. I’m a busy man, you see.”
“You busy hiding stolen goods or something?” Elia asked.
“What?”
She pointed at the documents.
“Right here—it says if the Duke took care of the spider monsters, you were to pay with these goods by this date. But you didn’t.”
“What would a child know?”
Elia stood her ground.
“You said the ship sank, right? That you suffered heavy losses?”
“Well…”
“But that’s your problem. The Duke has no reason to overlook it, right?”
Count Zamel turned to the Duke.
“Your Grace, is this how you conduct business now? Sending a child to do your bidding?”
The Duke’s brow twitched at the protest.
“Still, she’s not wrong. Hearing it like this puts me in a foul mood. Because of your broken promise, surviving this winter will be much harder for us.”
“I explained in writing how difficult things are for us. If you could give us just one more month…”
“You sure about that, mister?” Elia asked.
“I am. Children should stay out of grown-up affairs. Weren’t you taught that?”
“You keep bringing up my age, but what does that have to do with this?”
“Hah!”
“Count, I’ve left this matter in the child’s hands. So she’s the one you’re dealing with, not me.”
Count Zamel let out a sigh and furrowed his brow.
“Very well. If that’s Your Grace’s wish, I’ll comply.”
He looked at Elia as if to say, go on then.
“Mister.”
“What now?”
“You claim the ship sank and you suffered losses, right?”
“How many times do I have to say it?”
“Then, if it turns out you were lying, how will you take responsibility?”
“Responsibility? I told you, I don’t lie.”
Elia smiled slyly.
“Great. I’ll believe you. But if—just if—it turns out you did lie, you’ll have to buy all these herbs I collected, along with the originally promised goods. At full price.”
She pulled out herbs from Campbell’s bag—gathered in the mountain range on their way—and held out a contract.
Count Zamel’s face twisted as he read it.
“This is…”
“A contract. Just sign it.”
“Your Grace?”
“What are you waiting for? Sign it.”
Everything Elia had just said was written word for word.
“If you weren’t lying, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
Count Zamel glared at Elia as he clenched his teeth.
‘You little brat…’
Brazen as she was, he was sure she couldn’t possibly prove his lie.
“Fine. I’ll sign. If this will restore Your Grace’s trust in me…”
Elia took the signed document with both hands, checked it carefully, and stowed it back into her bag.
“Your Grace, we have somewhere to be.”
“Somewhere?”
Elia leaned in and whispered,
“Dig up the ground behind the mansion. There’s an underground storage room there.”
The Duke gave her a questioning look.
She worried he might not believe her.
But her concern proved unfounded.
“Dmitri!”
“Yes, Your Grace?”
“Take the knights and go with Elia. Immediately.”
“What’s going on?”
Count Zamel asked, flustered. Dmitri picked Elia up into his arms.
“Our little lady has pointed us to something important. While we check that out, why don’t you stay here and enjoy another cup of tea?”
“Your Grace?”
“What are you waiting for? Sit.”
Holding Elia securely, Dmitri began walking.
Count Zamel reluctantly took a seat and signaled to his butler to follow.
Elia and the Iron Eagle Knights exited the mansion, heading toward the spot Gaji had indicated. The butler hurried after them in a panic.
But they moved so swiftly that in a blink, they had already disappeared to the back of the estate.
When they reached the spot, it looked as if the trees, under Gaji’s command, were pointing to a location with their branches.
“Mister, dig here.”
Elia pointed to the spot.
“Quickly.”
Dmitri signaled the knights, who nodded and began digging.
“What are you doing?!”
The butler, finally catching up, cried out in horror. But Dmitri blocked his way.
“Stand down.”
His voice was cold and threatening, making the butler flinch.
The killing aura radiating from the master knight froze him in place.
Meanwhile, the knights dug with urgency—and finally:
“Captain! We’ve found a door!”
“Really?”
Still carrying Elia, Dmitri walked over.
“It’s real. Campbell! Fetch His Grace.”
“Yes, sir!”
The butler looked on in stunned silence, realizing everything was falling apart..
