Chapter 5
“Huff… Huff…”
The information broker, who had been acting as if he were dying, rushed up to Evelyn and asked fiercely,
“Are you crazy?”
“…Huh?”
Me? Not you?
Evelyn desperately held back the question that almost slipped out.
She didn’t want to ask such a personal question of someone she had just met.
Wasn’t that simply basic courtesy?
Although the other person clearly had no intention of showing her the same manners, she didn’t want to become like him.
“You’re crazy, aren’t you? If you weren’t, you would never ask for that kind of information!”
The broker jumped up and down in place as he continued shouting.
“Of all things… why that information?!”
“That kind of information?”
“That person.”
The broker glanced nervously around the room before whispering.
“You mean Grand Duke Grasias?”
“Shh!”
“Don’t say that name!”
“It’s taboo! Look!”
The broker opened his mouth as wide as he could and leaned toward her.
Evelyn had absolutely no desire to look inside someone else’s mouth.
She instinctively leaned away.
But the broker clearly had no intention of letting her escape.
He asked again,
“Do you see it?”
“…Yes?”
“Yes.”
She had no idea why he was showing her this.
Tilting her head in confusion, she listened as he continued.
“Notice anything missing?”
She did.
Several of his teeth were gone.
As Evelyn slowly nodded, the broker’s eyes became red.
He looked as though he might burst into tears at any moment.
“Listen.”
“Information brokers have one unbreakable rule.”
“And that rule is…”
“We never buy or sell information about that person.”
“Do you know why?”
“Because if we get caught…”
“We end up like me.”
“And I’m one of the lucky ones!”
“I only lost a few teeth and had both my legs broken!”
“…What?”
The “person” he kept referring to could only mean Grand Duke Grasias.
If this is considered lucky…
Then what happened to the people who weren’t?
She wanted to ask.
But she held herself back.
The broker’s face had gone completely pale.
She already knew the Grand Duke was a terrible person.
But hearing that he treated information brokers the same way…
A chill ran down her spine.
Could I end up like this too?
Clasping both hands together, Evelyn lowered her voice.
“So… you’re saying you were caught selling information about Graā”
“Shh!”
“Just call him ‘that person.'”
“…All right.”
“So… that person came and did this to you?”
“Exactly.”
“So go home.”
“I’m not selling you any information.”
The broker pulled Evelyn to her feet and immediately began pushing her toward the door.
Since she was smaller than he was, she couldn’t resist.
“W-Wait! Just a moment!”
“There’s no ‘just a moment’!”
Before she realized it…
She was already outside the tavern.
Behind the closed door came a series of loud crashing noises.
“…Hmm.”
Evelyn stood there blankly for a moment before walking away.
***
Just in case…
She visited several other information brokers.
Every single one reacted the same way.
One of them grabbed a holy relic and began praying.
Another threw salt at her.
One even fainted on the spot.
“…Huh?”
Watching all of this only made Evelyn more anxious.
Grandfather…
Do I really have to save Grand Duke Grasias?
She looked up at the sky and sighed.
Then she remembered something her grandfather often said while he was alive.
“A debt of gratitude must always be repaid.”
At the same time…
She remembered the voice from her dreams urging her onward.
“I guess I have no choice.”
She was frightened.
Truly frightened.
But she couldn’t give up.
If no one would tell her…
Then she would gather the information herself.
It’ll be dangerous.
If she got caught…
She might end up just like those information brokers.
So I’ll start with something small.
Something that won’t get me noticed.
Maybe… eventually I’ll find another way.
That was what Evelyn believed.
She had no idea…
That this single decision would become the starting point of every hardship she would face from then on.
***
Sometimes…
A person’s talent awakens in the most unexpected way.
The information brokers had refused to help her.
As a result, Evelyn had no choice but to investigate on her own.
At first…
It was incredibly difficult.
She stumbled countless times every day.
She got bruised.
She chased after clues endlessly.
And every day ended with nothing but disappointment.
But during that process…
A hidden talent she never knew she possessed began to awaken.
She had an extraordinary gift…
For gathering information.
The innocent Evelyn who had barely been able to follow behind someone…
Gradually became surprisingly skilled at digging up information.
“Ah…”
“Another dead end.”
She searched through the garbage thrown out from the Grand Duke’s mansion.
“Today he stopped by the blacksmith to have his sword maintained.”
“Then he ate at that restaurant.”
“Hmm…”
“The Grand Duke unexpectedly likes sweets.”
“And when he beats people up…”
“He seems to care about getting a satisfying feeling from the punch.”
Every day…
She carefully wrote down everything she learned.
The routes he traveled.
The food he ate.
The clothes he wore.
The level of punishment he gave people.
Bit by bit…
She accumulated information that no one else had ever managed to collect.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly.
But…
There was a reason people called him the Mad Dog.
***
“What an unpleasant feeling.”
Kite frowned deeply as he complained.
He was already someone who found fault with everything.
But lately…
He had become even more irritable.
“May I ask what’s bothering you so much?”
His vice-captain, Seren, asked cautiously.
Who offended him this time?
Seren was already wondering whether he should prepare to call a physician.
Then Kite answered.
“Someone has been following me recently.”
“…What?”
Seren couldn’t help asking again.
Kite possessed swordsmanship worthy of admiration.
Unfortunately…
His personality was absolutely awful.
Seren often regretted becoming his subordinate.
And someone is actually following a man like him?
“Is it Young Master Orlan?”
Only someone with an incredibly deep grudge would dare.
Naturally, Seren thought of the young nobleman whose arm Kite had broken not long ago.
“I don’t think so.”
“He wet himself back then.”
“Why would he be crazy enough to try something like this?”
The red-haired man standing beside them, Alex, answered instead.
If it wasn’t him…
Then who was it?
Too many people hated Kite.
There were simply too many suspects.
Still…
One thing was certain.
Whoever it was…
Had unbelievable courage.
After all…
Kite had already “educated” every information broker in the capital simply because he disliked people prying into his affairs.
Several brokers had even been hung up in the famous fountain at the central plaza as a warning.
Of course…
They had been left half-dead.
“My goodness…”
The knights made no attempt to hide their shock.
Who in the world would still dare do something like this?
Did that person have ten lives?
While everyone whispered among themselves…
Kite admitted honestly,
“I still don’t know who it is.”
Seren’s expression immediately changed.
“Shall we capture them?”
If enough people searched…
No matter how skilled the stalker was, they would eventually be caught.
But Kite clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“No.”
There were too many reasons not to act immediately.
At first…
The stalker had been clumsy.
But little by little…
They became better.
Now they even slipped out of his sight from time to time.
Their surveillance skills were steadily improving.
Yet…
He sensed no killing intent.
For that reason…
He decided to wait until he learned what their objective was.
Unfortunately…
That only made the other knights even more curious.
“So they’re not after the Captain’s life.”
“Then they aren’t a professional spy.”
“Could it be a woman who’s in love with the Captain?”
“What kind of crazy woman would do that?”
“…Actually, there probably is one.”
It wasn’t as though no women had ever followed Kite before.
Regardless of his personality or reputation…
His appearance was exceptionally handsome.
Most normal women quickly gave up after getting to know him.
Those who weren’t normal…
Didn’t last very long either.
“How long has this been going on?”
Seren asked seriously.
Kite answered,
“It’s been two weeks.”
That was a long time.
When it came to Kite…
Even one week was unusually long.
Yet someone had managed to keep following him for two whole weeks.
No one even knew whether the stalker was a man or a woman.
But everyone’s curiosity had been thoroughly awakened.
At that moment…
One of the men whistled.
His name was Alex.
He never got along with Lersen.
Although he looked handsome, his personality was so carefree that people often said he ruined the image his face gave him.
“Anyone want to make a bet?”
“I say they’ll last three weeks.”
“One gold coin.”
Hearing that…
Lersen frowned.
