Ren’s words were persuasive. She had her doubts at first, too. Riley grabbed her coat and stood up.
“I need to check this out.”
Whether this information was true or not, this was something she could find out for herself.
“Where are you going?”
“To an informant. By the way, thanks for the interesting story.”
“Hmpt.”
Ren approached Riley and leaned down. She looked at Riley, who was staring blankly and drew a pattern on her palm with her finger.
“Go find Beron. And if it gets dangerous, call for me, got it?”
“Is this symbol going to be there?”
“Yeah, you’ll know when you see it.”
Riley nodded at Ren’s words. Looking at the pattern on her palm, she clenched her fist.
As Riley stepped out of the annex, Ren hesitated for a moment before disappearing.
A maid, who saw Riley leaving the annex, hurriedly approached her.
“Where are you going… Madam?”
“Did the Duke send you to watch me? You don’t need to be concerned about me.”
After all, she was just a guest who would be leaving soon.
Theo might not have thought that way when he brought her here, but Riley was different. She had one purpose for being here.
She had to make sure she could keep an eye on everything going on here, or at the very least, that no one got in the way of her work.
“Um… that’s not it…”
The maid hesitated, looking around. Riley saw through her thoughts and pulled out a gold coin, placing it in the maid’s hand.
“This should be about a month’s salary for you.”
“Gasp!”
“If you can pretend you didn’t see me from now on, the rewards will be sufficient. After all, I used to be the owner of this place, didn’t I?”
“But…”
“It’s simple. Just keep your mouth shut about my business.”
The maid hesitated but nodded as she tucked the gold coin into her pocket. Anna trusted the maids, but Riley was different.
There was no need to trust them or struggle to build a relationship. They moved according to power and authority. Unlike nobles, honor and public opinion didn’t matter to them.
“You’re a smart girl.”
Riley smiled at the maid and got into the carriage.
The maid accepted the gold in exchange for her silence, but her heart felt uneasy. She watched as the carriage carrying Riley left the Duke’s residence.
Wearing a large hat, Riley got off the carriage in an alley where the informants gathered. She subtly lowered her head and glanced at the symbol on her palm.
‘So I just need to find the pattern.’
If Ren hadn’t mentioned it, she might have gotten lost among the rows of informants. This was her first time in a place like this, which made her a bit anxious.
It wasn’t a place for a woman to wander alone without a bodyguard. But Riley wasn’t scared. She always felt like Ren was with her.
She scanned the buildings, ignoring the occasional stares directed at her.
“Hey, a noble lady came to this rough place alone?”
“……”
With blatant mockery, the men chuckled. She tried to ignore them and walked straight ahead. Her tightly clenched fists were trembling slightly.
“They wouldn’t dare touch a noble like me.”
Her lips were dry, and she swallowed repeatedly, trying to appear calm as she pulled her hat down further and walked on.
As she walked a little further, she spotted a guild with a flag bearing the pattern Ren had drawn.
“Oh, over there…”
Suddenly, someone roughly grabbed her arm from behind. Riley was startled and stumbled, letting out a screaming.
“Ah!”
Carver, who had been watching, got ready to show himself. But before he could, the guy’s scream of pain rang out.
“If you keep ignoring me like this, I— Aaaah!”
Before the man could finish his sentence, the pattern on Riley’s neck glowed, and a blue aura enveloped her body. The startled man released her and stepped back.
‘…My ability has activated.’
Carver bit his lip at the sight of Riley’s blue aura. It was time for him to act whether she accepted him or not for both her and Ren’s sake.
“Ugh, Aaaah!”
The man’s hand barely touched her, yet it felt like he was burning all over. His clothes were scorched to ashes. Clutching his arm, he writhed in pain.
“Gasp…”
Riley was just as shocked. She felt the aura surge through her body in an instant. And when the mana activated, it felt like her consciousness was fading away.
‘What… is this?’
Riley froze in place. As the man screamed, guild members began to come out to see what was happening. As the situation escalated, Riley took a cautious step back.
“What’s going on, Kenta? Why are you like this?”
“Ugh, my arm… That girl!”
This was bad. Riley felt as if she needed to get out of there. She hurriedly stretched out her hand and said,
“Stop right there. If you come any closer, you might get hurt again.”
“What?”
“Wait… that symbol…”
The man saw the design on Riley’s palm and grimaced with disgust.
He spat and took a step back.
He looked like he was about to launch an attack, but everyone quietly kept their distance because of the mark Ren had made.
“…looks like a troublesome guest has arrived.”
Riley turned at the sudden voice of a man. A short, blond man with his arms crossed was looking at her.
“Could it be…?”
“I am Beron.”
The feeling of relief washed over her, and she collapsed to the ground, her legs were shaking as she let out a sigh of relief.
“Riley!”
Carver rushed to check on her condition. Thankfully, she seemed physically fine, though she looked a bit worn out.
“Huh?”
Riley, recognizing the familiar voice, looked up at the eyes of a man with black hair. She instantly knew who he was.
Besides, hadn’t she seen him disguised before? When he pretended to be a staff member and when he came to the store with Leta.
Why was Carver here…?
Since that day, they hadn’t had a proper conversation. Riley hadn’t even thought to reach out to him.
‘It’s probably better not to contact each other.’
She had many questions about Leta, wondering how she was doing and if she was alive.
However, this wasn’t the time for suspicious actions. There was no better time than now for Riley.
“Shh, it’s better to call him a guard here.”
Riley glanced at Beron and then turned her gaze away. He was still looking at her with a kind expression.
A figure etched in her memory.
“…Let’s talk later.”
Regaining her composure, Riley stood up, dusted off her skirt, and approached Beron.
“This is my guard. Now, shall we go inside and talk?”
“Well, I didn’t think you would come without a guard, but this is unexpected.”
Beron briefly scanned Carver and lightly stroked his chin.
“Now, shall we?”
He extended one hand to the side and turned his body, leading the way. Riley nodded slightly and followed him into the guild.
‘It seems like he might have noticed something.’
It felt like Beron had vaguely sensed her mana. Having a unique mana signature was quite rare.
Carver had changed his appearance for over ten years, but a small amount of mana still leaked from him.
“There’s a rat here.”
Carver stood at the entrance, glancing back slightly.
From the presence, it seemed three people were following her.
He raised his hand and wiggled his fingers, prompting the hidden knights to emerge and scatter.
‘They can be killed.’
That was Carver’s signal to the knights.
Beron led them to his room.
‘It would be easier to talk if I’m not there.’
Carver stayed outside, listening intently.
“Do you know Duke Theo Alber of the Prince family?”
Riley, sitting on the sofa facing Beron, spoke directly.
“There was a scandal caused by someone’s tip-off once. I remember it being quite a stir.”
Beron smiled at Riley, clearly knowing who the informant was.
“Well, that makes things a bit easier.”
Riley let out a sigh of relief.
“So, what does our client want?”
Beron clasped his hands together, resting his chin on them, leaning slightly forward, clearly interested in Riley.
‘Fortunately, he seems willing to help actively.’
Riley leaned forward slightly, just like Beron.
“Please find out about Anna. Her family, her recent activities, and who the father of the child in her womb is.”
As her calm voice echoed in the room, Beron’s smile widened.
“Are you suggesting that the father isn’t Duke Theo Alber?”
Beron twirled a pen and asked Riley, writing something on the paper placed on the table while resting his chin, waiting for her response.
He was testing her. Riley took out some money from her pocket and smiled as she answered.
“You already know, don’t you?”
She had an intuition about who had shared an interesting story with Ren. Riley sensed that Beron was continuously providing information to Ren.
“The guild only needs to provide the information the client wants. There’s no need to question the reasons behind it.”
“Well, that’s not wrong, so look for information about her.”
Beron shrugged lightly, but Riley’s expression subtly tightened.
“There’s no need for that.”
She pulled the paper in front of Beron toward herself. Slowly flipping it over, she spoke.
“It’s already here.”
Beron, unfazed by Riley’s unexpected action, rested his chin and smiled.
The overturned paper was filled with information about Anna as if he had anticipated Riley’s arrival.
