CH 123

Vincent said with admiration.

“I think I understand why Brother entrusted the medicine bottle to Sister-in-law.”

If she had a talent for taming, she would solve this problem effortlessly.

“Because an animal or a child behaves the same according to their instincts.”

Aria heard Vincent’s words and she thought to herself.

‘Isn’t that a self-introduction?’

It seems that he was the one who was most faithful to his instincts. Anyway, Vincent approached Winter with a much brighter expression.

“Are you back to your mind?”

He did, but he didn’t answer back. Winter remained frozen like a statue for a while, hiding his face. He was like an ostrich that hides one’s head.

‘You seem to remember them all.’

Aria was convinced after seeing Winter’s reaction.

“How about it, when you become an adult, nothing changes, right?”

And she said as if teasing Winter for not responding.

After swiping his face several times with his palm, he barely lifted his head. And he fixed his gaze out of the window with a look like he was about to die.

‘Please don’t tell me you’re thinking of jumping off.’

He, who seemed to be imagining the extremes for a moment, barely looked back at Aria and said,

“I heard you were fourteen.”

“Well, you have to become an adult to know.”

She shrugged her shoulders.

However, he became more outrageously embarrassed when he confirmed that Aria looked a lot more mature than her age.

“Hmm?”

That was the moment. He lifted his head in surprise as he repeatedly gripped and put the bed sheet tightly.

“Come to think of it…”

Winter’s words trailed off into the air.

“Yes, I can.”

Then Aria meekly nodded her head and accepted the word.

“Ah? Is it okay to say it just like that?”

Rather, Vincent, who was beside her, asked in surprise. It was a voice mixed with even a little regret.

“Yes.”

Aria had it in mind when she heard from Vincent about Winter.

‘Originally, I was going to reveal it after more observation, but…….’

She soon realized she didn’t have to. She’s got a smart, resourceful, and talented person as her brother, and it would be a loss if she didn’t.

‘Besides, I am aware of the Angelo family’s integrity. That’s why I chose this family in the first place.’

But Vincent opened his eyes and protested.

“You didn’t tell me until 4 years later!”

He said it very sadly.

‘No, that’s…….’

It was a fatal secret that Aria was a Siren. Besides, since Vincent had been framed and died in the past, she needed time to find out who he was.

She also missed the timing when she tried to tell him later……. Aria didn’t try to make excuses, she said as she stared at him.

“Well, we caught the Young Duke’s weakness.”

And she brought up an understandable excuse. When she said that, Winter flinched.

“I don’t really remember anything…”

“I think it’s too late to say that.”

“Forget it, can’t you just forget it?”

Winter asked earnestly for it.

“Well, even if you ask me to forget…”

Aria blurted out her words. Because it seemed that the Valentine’s employees were already aware of it, from what she heard.

“I can keep the Angelo family unaware of the Young Duke’s condition. Only until you’re well. I’ll just have to tell them that you’re taking a break here to research the data.”

“I’d appreciate it if you could just do that.”

“Yes. If you keep my secret.”

Vincent still looked full of dissatisfaction, but he still seemed to have accepted the conversation.

“I’d rather he have a working head though.”

All of a sudden, he burns with an incomprehensible sense of competition. His attitude changed in an instant. Until before, he was just looking forward to meeting WInter without knowing what to do.

“Inevitably, our positions overlap. He’s not as good looking as me, but he’s quite… he should disappear as soon as possible when he recovers.”

“Yes?”

Winter asked in confusion.

“The strategist by Sister-in-law’s side is enough by me.”

It was the same pattern as when he suddenly called Gabriel a muscle gorilla. Aria decided to just ignore Vincent’s nonsense.

She did not know how long the effects of the drug she had just fed Winter would last, but there was no time for useless chatter.

“I heard you were kidnapped by a slave trader while you were going down to the village to investigate. What happened?”

Then Winter, who was puzzled, replied with a serious nod.

“Yes, I was walking around the village looking for traces of the gutter rat and found something strange.”

“Something strange?”

“There was a new building among the old buildings.”

He added.

“I hid and looked inside the room, and there were three men. Among them, there was a man with a corpse-like appearance, and his impression was that of the gutter rat.”

“The rest of it?”

“There was a man with long torn eyes. Throughout the conversation, he was smiling so sadly that I couldn’t see his eyes.”

‘Wizard Hans.’

Aria nodded her head.

“And there was one more person who appeared to be a helper. He looked big and well-trained, and he was wearing a black hood.”

Then Vincent, who was listening intently at the same time, said,

“Probably the Emperor’s knight.”

Aria agreed with that opinion.

“It has not been officially announced, so you may not know, but with the Emperor’s acquiescence, the gutter rat invaded during the founding ceremony.”

In fact, to put it properly, the Emperor and the gutter rat openly held hands and performed their feats.

However, there was no need to tell Winter the details of the background. She would have to tell him something about the Valentine’s family.

But he shook his head.

“It wasn’t the Emperor’s knight.”

Winter said with certainty.

“Actually, I followed the person who seemed to be the helper. It seems that he is not an ordinary person.”

Then Winter discovered that the garment he was wearing under the hood was pure white.

No matter how much he wrapped it with a hood, every step he took will reveal a little bit of the bottom of his pants.

“Because the Emperor’s Knights wear dark blue uniforms.”

So, as he said, the person would not be the Emperor’s knight. When performing the emperor’s duties, they will wear their uniform no matter what.

“So I chased after him and, I was struck in the back of the head and passed out.”

When Winter woke up, it was the slave ship. After that, it was just as Aria, Vincent, and Cloud knew.

“Because it’s white. They usually don’t wear white clothes unless it’s time for a national award, but…”

Vincent mumbled in a dismayed voice.

“Indeed, that time coincides with the founding ceremony. The founding ceremony robes are all white, with the exception of the royal family and nobles.”

That meant that there was a high probability that he was one of those who participated in the founding ceremony.

“Hmm, then he’s related to the research institute of the Kingdom of Bruto?”

He could be a spy from the kingdom, or he could be an insider of the Empire.

Aria asked after thinking for a moment.

“Did he have any other physical characteristics?”

“Hmm? What is that?”

Eh? Aria looked at Winter, who had turned three again, in vain.

He was kind of annoyed.

‘Why?’

Lloyd frowned because of the unpleasant sensation of constant churning.

Annoying? No, he doesn’t think it’s annoying.

‘Anger?’

It was subtly different from being angry.

He doesn’t know. He had no choice but to do something about this seething feeling.

“I have done as you told.”

Lloyd nodded his head roughly to the commander, then stood in front of the iron bars and looked down.

Inside was Count Cortez, much more docile than he had seen at first sight.

Lloyd said, poking out the bag of herbs.

“Do you know what this is?”

“I, I don’t know.”

“Think again. You’ll remember.”

No, how do you think of things you don’t know!

‘Devil bastard…….’

The Count looked at the dried grass inside the bag, trembling. Of course, as he was ignorant of plants, he had no way of knowing.

“Is this a medicinal herb or a poisonous herb… Ah!”

Then as it brushed against the Count’s head, he remembered.

“Come to think of it, the child’s mother had eaten poison and tried to die.”

How did you find that……. The Count giggled as he shook his sparsely haired head, perhaps half-insane.

“She had tried to eat a poisonous poison I had never heard of before, so I searched the whole country and desperately saved her.”

Ah. Then the Count tilted his head.

“Did she poison my daughter by any chance? That bitch.”

Lloyd, who had a cold expression on his face, rolled up his shirt sleeves without saying a word. And he reached out his hand to the knight commander.

The commander sighed and placed the prison key on Lloyd’s hand.

Kiikk–

Lloyd stepped into the bars, pulled out the ring from his ring finger, and put it in his pocket.

“Analyze what herb it is.”

“What?”

Cuirre let out a bewildered voice when he saw the box Lloyd had put out. He stiffened as he saw what looked like bloodstains on the box. Even Lloyd’s hand, who gave it to him, had blood on it.

The doctor broke out in a cold sweat.

“I think it’s pretty old…”

“At least four years have passed.”

It wouldn’t have changed much in 4 years. Of course, he can’t use it, but if it’s just analyzing the type.

“…Is it poisonous?”