“You work at the bank, do you?”
The man nodded, but he was clearly nervous. Maybe he was trying to hide it—his voice came out loud and rough.
“If I weren’t from the bank, why would I be delivering a letter from the bank manager, huh?”
His tone had changed from earlier, now that he was pretending to be a bank employee.
I gave a short laugh and asked,
“Oh really? Then mind if I ask you a few questions?”
“W-what kind of questions?”
“What’s the address of the bank this letter came from?”
The man’s face lit up, smug and confident. He rattled off the bank’s address fluently, clearly having memorized it by heart.
“Wow, sounds like you really are from the bank.”
“Told you.”
“What’s the bank manager’s full name?”
“Trog—Trog Medici, obviously.”
“Oh, you even know that?”
“Wouldn’t it be weird if I didn’t? Come on, miss.”
The elderly woman tugged on my sleeve, her face full of worry. She probably feared she’d suffer some kind of backlash if she upset the “bank employee.”
“Don’t worry,” I said with a reassuring smile. “I do business with this bank too, so I’ll have a word with the manager myself.”
It wasn’t a lie—ever since I started making money from the newspaper business, I’d opened an account there.
“Well then, dear errand boy. Can you tell me what color the sofa in the bank manager’s office is?”
I smiled slyly. That was the kind of detail only someone who had actually been inside the manager’s office would know. I could see the man starting to squirm.
“That’s… uh…”
“Surely you know, right? You’d have gone inside to run the errand, after all.”
I widened my eyes in mock innocence—the exact expression Sasha always said made people want to slap me.
“Don’t tell me… you haven’t even been in his office?”
“Ugh—Green! It’s green! The manager’s sofa is green!”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Really? Because when I visited, there wasn’t a sofa in the office.”
The man quickly tried to cover his tracks.
“W-well, I mean there used to be! I was just answering since you asked, miss!”
“Oh, so you’re saying there wasn’t one today?”
I tilted my head at him. He was wrong again.
“As far as I know, they didn’t have a sofa for a while, but they brought one in just a few days ago. A VIP client had complained about the inconvenience.”
“So… why was the newly purchased sofa suddenly gone today?”
The elderly woman finally realized she’d been tricked.
“Then… you weren’t sent by the bank at all…”
“That’s not true! This young lady is just confused—!”
“Confused? I doubt it. After all…”
I pointed to myself with a bright smile.
“That VIP client who complained about the sofa? Was with me.”
“Urgh—!”
“So, with all that said… I think it’s time you accompanied us to the guard station, Mr. Con Artist.”
“You think I’ll come quietly?!”
In response to my pressure, the man suddenly pulled a small knife from his pocket and began to wave it threateningly at me. It was just a jackknife, but the blade looked sharp enough to leave a serious wound even with a graze.
“Damn it! Why’d you have to stick your nose in?”
He glared at me, swinging the knife wildly as he slowly backed away. Even if he had to give up scamming the old woman, he was clearly trying to avoid the worst-case scenario—getting caught by the guards.
“Eek…!”
I shrieked at the sudden threat and looked around, hoping to spot someone who might help.
But unfortunately, none of the bystanders seemed the type to jump in and fight off a knife-wielding thug for a stranger.
Should’ve just waited near the café, I thought, regret washing over me. I wished Armin would show up and save me, but this was quite far from our meeting spot.
There were surely safer ways to handle the situation if I hadn’t provoked him this much. The parrot in my mind cackled loudly, scolding me for stirring the pot—but the pot was already boiling over.
Then, someone completely unexpected brought the situation under control.
The elderly woman, who had seemed so harmless with her sweet smile and cane, straightened her back with a crack and asked in a kind, yet sharp voice,
“So, young lady, you’re saying this lad tried to trick me? Tch. Guess he thought this old woman would be easy to fool. Can’t believe I let a little fish like that make a fool of me.”
It was hard to believe this was the same lady who’d nearly been led to the bank moments ago. Her presence radiated fierce energy.
Crack. Her back gave a few more pops as she moved.
Then—whack!—the tip of her cane smacked the man’s hand hard enough that he almost dropped the knife.
That was only the beginning.
In quick, precise motions, her cane jabbed into the man’s shoulder, ribs, and various parts of his torso.
She looked like a frail old woman, but the sounds of cane meeting body were anything but gentle.
Each strike made him stumble back further, clearly overwhelmed.
The man, realizing he was outmatched, turned to flee—only for the woman to spin her cane around and hook the handle around the back of his neck.
With a loud crash, he toppled over and smacked his head on the ground hard enough to knock him out cold.
The old lady, now looking once again like a kind grandmother, turned toward me with a gentle smile. Her back, once more hunched, gave no sign of the warrior who had just demolished a grown man.
She took my hands in her small, wrinkled ones and thanked me sincerely.
“How could I ever repay you, young lady? I’m truly grateful.”
“Ah, no… I only did what anyone should’ve done.”
“You’re as sweet as you look—soft as silk, I’d say.”
It was only then I realized she hadn’t been using honorifics with me, despite me being a noble.
“So tell me, young lady… what’s your name?”
There was a keen spark in her eyes, something hidden behind the gentle appearance that told me she’d been something else in her youth.
I hesitated. Somehow, I had the feeling that giving her my name would invite a whole lot of trouble.
Just then, a commotion erupted as guards arrived late to the scene, drawn by the chaos.
And behind them—I spotted Armin, running toward me.
“Armin!”
My relief overwhelmed me, and I felt tears sting my eyes.
Without thinking, I ran straight toward him.
Armin pulled me into a tight embrace, catching me completely off guard. I didn’t even register that we were in front of other people. It was my first time getting caught up in this kind of incident, and I was too shaken to care about anything else—too focused on calming my racing heart to notice my surroundings.
“Why were you here?”
Armin’s voice made me burrow even deeper into his arms.
“I got here too early… so I was just taking a walk…”
My voice trailed off, small and guilty. I regretted wandering so far away—look where that got me. As I spoke, the old woman approached the two of us.
She recognized Armin and greeted him warmly. It seemed they already knew each other.
“Well, I certainly didn’t expect to run into you here.”
She used polite speech with him, her tone indicating both respect and surprise. Her gaze shifted between us, and a faint, wry smile tugged at her lips—as if she’d already guessed my identity based on how close Armin and I seemed.
“Seeing how close you are with the Young Duke, this must be Lady Vivian from the famed House of Roha that everyone’s been whispering about.”
“…It’s been a long time, nanny.”
Armin replied stiffly, and I felt his arms tighten protectively around me.
“Nanny, he says. Do you know how long it’s been since I gave up that job?”
“If not that, should I address you as the former Head Lady-in-Waiting to Her Majesty the Empress?”
“You know full well I’ve already retired from the palace.”
At that, the old woman let out a hearty, carefree laugh.
Then she explained to Armin what had happened—how she’d almost fallen victim to a conman, and how a kind young lady had stepped in to help. Her words were full of praise for me.
“I must have gotten too used to palace life… I’ve forgotten how tricky the outside world can be. Still, thanks to this kind young lady, I was spared from anything worse.”
“Looks like that conman wasn’t quite so lucky though.”
“Hoho, well, age does tend to soften your heart. I found myself holding back, afraid of scaring the young lady. But you, dear… have you calmed down a bit now?”
She reached out and gently patted my shoulder. I nodded as I finally slipped out of Armin’s arms, having collected myself.
“Once again, thank you, young lady.”
“Ah… I only did what anyone should’ve done.”
For some reason, praise always made me feel awkward. Now that I’d calmed down, standing there being called kind and brave was far more embarrassing than anything else.
“Oh my, and so modest too! The more I see, the more I like you.”
The former nanny’s eyes sparkled brightly.
