Chapter 11

I paused for a moment.

“Not at all. It’s not trivial at all.”

Now the sewage has not spread far yet, and only the trees around here are dying, but what if the sewage continues to flow?

It was a problem that could rot the entire territory.

It suddenly occurred to me that from the original novel, the Baron had a bad year then. Perhaps it was also because of the polluted river.

I said again with strength.

“It is no small matter that the filth coming from the Marquis’s territory flows into the Baron’s estate, and all the berry trees die.”

“Ah! My berry trees will die!”

At last the Baron began to weep at my words. It was like seeing a rabbit who lived in a berry field and lost its home after the berry tree died and disappeared.

I patted the rabbit’s fur again.

“Don’t worry. Rabbit, no, Baron. I’ll make sure you get your house back.”

The Baron looked at me with tearful eyes and nodded.

“I trust you, Duke.”

He looked so pitifully innocent.

“Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

At that time, crows flew so close to the point that they could reach them, and then they moved away.

“Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

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The knock on the window woke Cardan.

“You’re back pretty soon, aren’t you?”

When I opened the window, the crow flew straight to the desk. and on one foot pointed to a book containing all the noble families.

When Cardan opened the book and turned it over, the crow quickly pointed to a page.

“The Baron of Hanae.”

The crow, nodding its head up and down, flew toward the map inside the palace.

The crow, pointing with one foot to the Duke’s office, picked up a small heart model with his beak and placed it on top of the office.

Cardan raised one eyebrow slowly.

“The two are so close, is that what you’re saying? “

“Kka! Kka!”

The crow moved its head up and down eagerly. The crow, flapping its wings again, pointed to the dictionary this time.

When Cardan handed over the bookcase of the dictionary, the crow quickly pointed out a word.

“Travel.”

Kardan’s eyebrows twitched.

“It’s a trip between the two of them. Are you saying that theyr’e going to run away with some kind of love? The Duke of Baloa?”

“Kka! Kka!”

When Kardan smirked, the crow hit his chest with its wings as if to trust him.

But Cardan only clicked his tongue.

“I sent you to see how the duke was doing, but you brought me some useless gossip.”

Kardan flicked the crow’s beak lightly with his finger.

“Caw!”

The crow, perhaps angry, puffed up its feathers and pecked Cardan’s hand.

“I see. I’ll believe you.”

Cardan threw a snack at the crow and looked at the bird pecking at it intently.

“By the way, if she’s really going to elope, it’ll be difficult.”

The crow stamped its feet in agreement. Cardan was so proud of the crow that he scratched its head with his index finger.

“Even if they’re going, she’ll have to carry out the contract properly, won’t she?”

“Kka!”

Then, after a moment of consideration, Cardan finally rose from his seat and picked up the hood he had placed on the chair.

Apparently, there’s a limit to monitoring the duke with only crows.

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The Baron said he would trust me, but I didn’t believe him.

No matter how innocent he looks like a rabbit, I don’t trust people when it comes to money.

On the night when everyone went to bed, Sir Ethan came into my room.

“As you told me, I brought all the ledgers from the Baron’s office.”

Sir Ethan piled thick books on my desk like a mountain.

I sent Sir Ethan straight to the Baron’s house during the day, while they were looking around the Baron’s estate together.

While the Baron was away from the house, the Baron’s account books were stolen secretly.

Perhaps the process was not smooth, because Lord Ethan’s palms were full of small wounds.

“Are you hurt?”

I gestured towards his palm, and Sir Ethan’s eyes grew slightly, avoiding my gaze.

“Oh, no. It’s just a little scratch.”

When I gave him the salad, he was so touched. And now, since she was worried about his wound, Sir Ethan rolled his eyes as if he were uncomfortable with my attention.

“Well, take care of yourself.”

If he’s uncomfortable, it wouldn’t be good to worry more here.

“Good work. You may go now.”

But instead of leaving, Sir Ethan wriggled his hands and hesitated.

“Why? Do you have anything to say?”

Sir Ethan, who chewed his lips, then shook his head at once.

“Oh, no, Duke.”

Sir Ethan bowed.

“Have a good night.”

When Sir Ethan had escaped, I opened the books he had brought and began to examine them.

“It’s quite useful.”

Thanks to the data brought by Sir Ethan, I was able to grasp the baron’s flow of funds at a glance.

Are there any money being siphoned off abroad, or is he sending money to relatives who have died long ago, or are there any suspicious sources of funds?

I read the ledger until my eyes were about to fall out.

“Clean.”

It was not until dawn that I was barely able to close the ledger.

It was blinding because it was so clean.

Concealment of funds, tax evasion, and slush funds. No matter how hard I washed my eyes and looked for it, there was nothing.

Even the Berry business, which started a few years ago, was very successful and all the money collected was paid taxes.

Usually among nobles, new businesses were run behind the scenes for several years, and by the time the central government noticed, that’s the time they only pay for taxes.

Take my money with you, said the Baron.

There were a few books that I had not yet looked at, but reading them seemed to only deteriorate my eyesight due to the glare of the books.

“He was a rabbit, who knew nothing but berries.”

Mumbling to myself, I clicked my tongue.

“Did he say Marquis Sherrington? I think the books are messed up just from the name.”

I was really looking forward to it. The tiredness of staying up all night was so intense that it was gone.

I stretched myself and laughed.

It seems that I find bad customers more comforting than dealing with rabbits.

It was because there were many regrets that I couldn’t solve in my previous life.

When it was time to leave, the rabbit clung to me.

“Are you leaving already?””

The Baron’s eyelashes fluttered as he blinked.

“Yes, I’ve seen all the territories, and I’ll have to move on to the next one.”

“You must be tired, but you won’t be gone for a few more days.”

The rabbit’s eyes were filled with regret.

“There are few people who knows berries as well as the Duke. It’s a shame.”

I had eaten a variety of blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, etc. in my previous life, but when I talked about berries that did not grow in the empire, the Baron mistook me for a great berry lover.

In other words, the rabbit was sad because there was no one to be a fanatic with.

“We must leave as soon as possible. To get to Marquis Sherrington as soon as possible.”

The Baron’s eyes widened when he heard the Marquis Sherrington.

“Well, are you sure you’ll take care of it?”

“Yes, you said you believed me, but have you changed your mind?”

The rabbit jumped.

“Oh, no! Absolutely not. I just didn’t really expect anyone to help us.”

A timid baron who lives in a berries all day long.

A rabbit that has neither the ability nor personality to jump into the capital’s politics and tactics.

Therefore, the weakest member of aristocratic society is bound to be eliminated from the ecosystem of aristocrats.

It was clear that he could not have said a word to Marquis Sherrington.

There is no place to ask for help, and the emperor who could mediate it is a tyrant who only knows play.

It was at fault as well. The Prime Minister was so busy taking care of his own good.

“Please look forward to it.”

But now it’s different.

“I’ll make sure to deal with Marquis Sherrington.”

I was still selfish and eager to take care of myself, but I wasn’t so helpless that I couldn’t even help a little rabbit.

I was about to head for the carriage, but I paused and turned around.

“Oh, and don’t forget our trip next year.”

If the problem with the river was resolved, the military would not have to take the Baron into exile, but I insisted, just in case.

The baron smiled broadly.

“Yes! I’ll be waiting for you!”

Then a crow flying in the clear sky cried, “Caw! Cawing!”

The crow, flying into the nearby forest, slowly landed on the shoulder of a man in a hood.

“Kka! Kka!”

The crow pointed to the Baron and the Duke of Baloa with one wing.

His chest was sticking out and his eyes twinkled as if he was saying, “I was right, wasn’t I?”

“You’re wrong,”

Cardan flicked the crow’s head lightly with his finger.

“That’s not love –“

Kardan paused.

As soon as I saw it, I could make sure of the Duke’s feelings.

He was ashamed of the fact. The fact that he knew the duke better than he thought.

When the crow bit his ear slightly, Kardan escaped from his thoughts.

“It’s not love, it’s love. It’s like loving one’s pet.”

“Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

The crow flapped eagerly at the Duke, who patted the Baron’s head before as if it’s obvious.

Kardan sighed and rubbed to his forehead.

“You’re wrong.”

“Kka! Kka!”

“How do you know?” asked the crow at the top of his voice.

Cardan shook the crow off his shoulder as if he were annoyed.

“I’ve seen him take care of the pigeons she had raised when she was a child with the same eyes as that.”

For a moment, his mouth twisted into a bitter smile.