CH 22

“Fermented Herring? Is that good?”

Leon asked, frowning.

“Mmh, I don’t think it’ll taste good. Do you have to eat that, Lilith?”

“Ung, I’m here to eat that….”

I said to Theo, pretending to be sullen.

It was a conversation of ordinary noble children, but the woman listened with her ears raised.

Maybe she noticed from this conversation.

The twins don’t know the identity of this information guild, and the one with the business is the young girl.

The woman who quickly grasped the situation smiled apologetically.

“We don’t sell such menus separately, but we can make them if you want.”

“Oh, really? Please make it!”

“Lilith, you shouldn’t use honorifics.”

“Leave it alone, you idiot.”

Between the babbling twins, the woman and I talked with our eyes.

“Is there any special recipe you want?”

“Yes, do you want me to tell you in person?”

“If you don’t mind.”

I slipped down from the chair.

“Brothers, please wait for a moment. I’m going to the kitchen.”

“You really have a unique taste.”

“Lilith, should I go with you?”

As Theo tried to follow me, I pinched my nose.

“Ugh. The smell of herring is really bad—. Are you gonna be okay?”

“Ah—”

As expected, Theo, who was a nobleman by birth, looked hesitant.

“Hihi, the kitchen is right here, well. I can go hand in hand with this Unnie. I’ll be right back. Please wait.”

“Ung, yeah. Okay.”

I put Theo in his seat without any doubt, left the table, and followed the woman’s lead.

The woman led me straight to the semi-basement connected to the kitchen. The scenery was completely different from the restaurant.

“Rico, we have a customer.”

One single door. 

After a few minutes of silence, a low voice came from within.

“…Send it in.”

The woman opened the door.

A couple of candles lit up the dark interior, and the guild leader “Rico” was sitting in the middle.

Tak. 

The woman let me in, closed the door, and disappeared.

‘Uh, the atmosphere is scary.’

I slowly approached Rico.

As described in the original, Rico was wearing a black, bizarre Pierrot mask.

Rico, the master of the information guild <Red Hawks>, terribly hates powerful people, nobles, and the imperial family. 

Rico knows everything about the capital.

Also, he was a man who risked his life to collect information that could become a ‘weakness’ of the nobles. 

‘And this person who will be my Dad’s loyal assistant. It will be a few years from now, though.’

As Dad begins to prepare for treason, he discovers Rico after learning of the existence of this information guild.

I was able to ask for a deal by following the method my Dad used to find his way here in the original story. 

“Please sit down.”

“Yes, thank you.”

After I greeted him, I put my hand on the slightly higher sofa, struggled to climb up, and sat down.

Then I took a deep breath.

“Whoo, please wait for a moment. I’m a little nervous.”

“….”

Rico was looking at me. It was an atmosphere of observation.

“How did you know about this place?”

“Ung? Are you curious about that?”

I scratched my cheek.

“I can answer you, but—.”

Principle of business, number one.

You have to pay the price to buy information.

Not money, but information that matches the information you seek. 

“If you’re curious, can you give me some useful information?”

Wasn’t that principle also applied to himself?

He can’t ask for free.

“Ah.”

Rico let out a small sigh. Under the mask, I felt a slightly startled reaction from him. 

Soon he said in a laughable voice.

“I’ve heard of it. Never mind. I don’t want to pay the price to know. Then let’s talk about the point.”

Rico crossed his legs and put his hands on them.

“I accept advance payments. If you need any information, please pay for the transaction first.” 

He meant to ask for useful information. 

I cleared my throat and said, hmm.

“Hmm, what would be good…Ah! Duke Enoch Rubinstein, who disappeared seven years ago, has returned to the capital! Do you know that?”

“I know.”

“Oh, you know that. Then something else! I’m his daughter. Seven years old, Lilith Rubinstein!”

“I know that, too.”

“Oh, you know that, too.”

“Are you here to joke around?”

“No, it’s not like that.”

I shook my hand and said.

“Actually, I didn’t come here to buy information but to ask you a favor! When it comes to information, I already know everything you need to know. Uhm, for example….” 

“….”

“…that Marquis Onyx has a hidden son?” 

“….”

“Hahahaha! Are you surprised now? This must be quite advanced information~.”

Rico burst out laughing as he pulled both index fingers as if shooting a pistol and smirked.

“Yes, I was completely surprised. I wonder how the seven-year-old daughter of the Duke of Rubinstein, who first came to the island four days ago after living in Xenon all her life without knowing her identity, knows that and what purpose she came to visit me….”

“Ugh.”

“Well, I heard that the Lord of the Wizard Tower visited you personally to check your ability.” 

“No I mean, wow.”

Oh my—.

Rico knew everything, too. His ability to collect information gave me goosebumps.

“Rico Rico!”

“…Hmm, yes?”

“I want to save that child!”

“….”

Rico was silent for a moment.

He would have realized it just by saying that I wanted to save him.

The existence of an illegitimate child secretly hidden by the Marquis of Onyx and the fact that the illegitimate child is being abused—. 

I know everything, all of them. 

“This is the Marquis secret that I just told you, please anonymously tell someone who can save that uncle’s son!”

“Aha, you need a person who will be delivering the orders. Who is going to send it?”

“Our Dad.”

“Huh? If it’s Dad, Duke Enoch Rubinstein?”

“Yes. All my Dad knows now is his face, so it will take some time to find him. My Dad came to the island after a long time—so he doesn’t know much about this side yet.”

I added, folding my fingers one by one.

“On top of that, he has to work as a family member and go back to the Knights soon— he’s a very busy man.”

“Hmm, I have no idea at all. I thought that a seven-year-old child wouldn’t have visited me alone, and that it would be the Duke’s order?”

Rico tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand.

“No, I’m here alone. Dad doesn’t know anything.”

“Well, that’s right. He didn’t know, so you’d ask me to pass on the information anonymously.”

“Yes.”

“You can say it yourself. Why?”

“Then I have to tell my Dad how I know this.”

I added with a sigh.

“I will continue to secretly tell my Dad a lot of things like this from now on.”

“Aha—. It seems that the Lady has a secret. You can’t say it recklessly, and you want to hide it from your father.”

“That’s right!”

“Well, then I understand why you came to see me. There’s some information you’d like to share to the Duke, using me as a messenger—right?”

“Yes! To speak in person—”

“Because it looks suspicious.”

Hearing my words, Rico was silent.

No, to be precise, he must be looking at me with eyes that are hidden behind a mask.

Knowing the existence of information guilds and how to deal with them is not enough—.

In reality, it would also be surprised that a seven-year-old child knows the secret of the Marquis of Onyx, which will never be known.

“You seem to have a lot of questions—”

“Yes. I have a lot of questions, but I can’t ask you with my bare mouth because of the rules I have set.”

“That’s right!”

Rico smiled and leaned back on the sofa leisurely, adding.

“The Marquis of Onyx had an affair with a maid in the family 12 years ago. The maid ran away when she found out she was pregnant. Because.”

Rico paused for a moment.

He seemed to be choosing a less shocking word to hear for a seven-year-old kid. 

“…because the nobles don’t want to have illegitimate children.”

It means she ran away before she died.

“Anyway, she gave birth to an illegitimate son of a Marquis outside like that, and raised him alone, and half a year ago, she sent only the child to the Marquis. His name is Cheshire.”

I was surprised at the words that came out of Rico’s mouth.

It’s a really resourceful information guild leader—.

“No one knows because of his reputation and the fact that he was raised while imprisoned and is being abused by his half-brother. Up to this point.”

“Whoa.”

Clap, clap, clap. 

I clapped my hands in surprise.

“Shall I deliver it to the Duke Enoch Rubinstein?”

“Yes! That’s enough!”

“Okay, then.”

Rico sat up straight and leaned his body toward me.

“In exchange for passing this on to the Duke, I’d like to know about you. What the hell is Lady’s identity? Aren’t you just average gifted person?”

“Uhm.”

I shook my head firmly.

“I don’t think I’m good at it? I’m telling you that so I can do it anonymously, but you’re asking me my secret instead. You’ve been looking at me quite a bit.”

“…Yes?”

“It’s too much for you to put your eyes on a baby. It’s not like you’ve been in business for a day or two.”

“…Ha, hahahaha…!”

Rico, who had been spaced out for a moment, burst into laughter. 

“My secret is very expensive. So I hope you don’t get curious for no reason— Instead! I brought a present to keep trading in the future, you know?”

Saying that, I rummaged through the bunny bag.

“I’m sorry, but I only deal with information. I know Lady is rich, but I’m not in bad situation enough to be swayed by a few gold coins.”

“It’s not money. There’s nothing I don’t know. I know that Rico has already made a lot of money.”

In fact—the reason I came here today was not just to inform my Dad of Cheshire’s situation.

“What is that?”

Rico. 

An information guild leader who hates aristocrats.

His mother died when he was young, and his younger sister is under a terrible poison spell.

It was all because of the tyranny of the nobles who were powerful.

“Present!”