Chapter 20
Nobody Seems Suspicious
First, I need to think about why my brother is being targeted in the first place.
My brother is the best—perfect and wonderful—but setting that aside, from other people’s point of view, he’s “the heir to the Duke of Rosenberg.”
The Rosenberg dukedom’s ancestors were originally the kings of a small country that bordered the kingdom. After a series of events, that country was annexed into the kingdom, and they were granted the title of duke.
Because of that, our family still has piles of so-called “national treasures” from that old country. Most of them are mysterious things with unknown uses, though.
And since most of the land from that country became our territory, we’re incredibly wealthy.
Yeah.
No matter how I think about it, someone must be aiming for the Rosenberg family inheritance.
The direct line of the Rosenberg family consists only of my brother and me.
And since I’m believed to have an overabundance of magic power and won’t live long, if my brother were gone, the inheritance would go to someone else.
That “someone,” though…
I have absolutely no idea who it could be.
So, I decided to pretend to be an innocent child playing around while secretly investigating.
The most suspicious people were the three who served exclusively under my brother—the butler, the valet, and the bodyguard.
Even though they should have been by the heir’s side at all times, none of them appeared in the original story.
That means, for some reason, they must have been dismissed from their positions.
So I wandered around the mansion, gathering information about the three of them.
First—the butler.
He comes from a family that has served as butlers for generations, and ever since my brother was born, he was educated specifically to become his personal butler one day.
Apparently, several children receive that education, and the most outstanding among them is chosen to serve the heir directly.
In other words, he’s an elite butler who fought his way past numerous rivals to earn that position.
He’s competent, utterly loyal to my brother, and… honestly, so perfect that I felt like apologizing for suspecting him in the first place.
…The butler’s not the culprit.
Then maybe the valet?
If the butler manages schedules, the valet takes care of personal needs.
He’s the one who brings tea when my brother wakes up, helps him change clothes—honestly, I’m kind of jealous—well, anyway, he’s always right by my brother’s side.
He’s my brother’s milk brother and, of course, has sworn absolute loyalty to him.
Their old wet nurse is married to one of the ducal knights and still visits the mansion occasionally.
…Nothing suspicious about him either.
That leaves the bodyguard, but he was chosen from the duke’s knight order, and his background is impeccable. He even has a younger sister like me and smiles kindly whenever he sees me clinging to my brother.
“Hmm. This is a problem.”
『So, you cannot find the one who will betray your brother?』
Since wisdom comes with age, I decided to consult the Holy Sword for advice.
“Yeah. There’s no one suspicious at all.”
People betray for three reasons: resentment, jealousy, or money.
But my brother hasn’t done anything to make anyone resent him, and even if someone bore a grudge against the ducal family, the household is filled with families who’ve served us for generations—it’s hard to imagine that.
As for money, the ducal house pays its servants very well.
If someone had ruined themselves through gambling or something, they might be desperate for cash—but that’s not the case here either.
That only leaves jealousy…
But, you know, people tend to envy those who feel within reach.
When someone is so far above you, it’s less envy and more admiration or even reverence.
If it were someone of a similar status, I could understand jealousy, but the difference between my brother and his attendants is so huge that I doubt he could even be a target of it.
Hmm… I really can’t figure out who the traitor might be.
“If only I could use wind magic—I could eavesdrop on people or something.”
It’s such a waste. Even though I have magic, if I try to use it, it gushes out like water from a broken faucet.
And if I get too excited, the excessive magic power could even destroy my body.
If I didn’t have this condition of magical overload, there’d be so many things I could do…
『If thou hadst a sword, I could lend thee mine own power.』
“Wait—really? Then could you lend your power to my brother’s sword?”
『Nay. Unless it is wielded by thee, my contractor, it cannot be done.』
“So that means… it’s impossible, huh…”
Swords are heavy.
Even if you told a five-year-old like me to lift one, I probably couldn’t.
Even a dagger would be too much.
The only thing I could really hold is… maybe a needle.
“So if it’s a sword I’m holding, you can lend me your power, right?”
『Indeed.』
“Then… what about a needle?”
『A needle, thou sayest?』
“Yes! I just came up with a great idea!”
