Chapter 75

The room was the easternmost corner unit on the second floor of an apartment building at 15 Titman Street, South District.

It was one of the safe houses Elke from the Eyes of the Shadow (Shadow Knights) had told me about previously.

I visited the place alone around dusk, but no one was home. Judging by the scent lingering in the area, it seemed Elke hadn’t stepped foot in this room since early this morning.

[Contact me. —Senpai]

I slipped a note with those words under the door; she should reach out once she sees it. Now, all I had to do was wait for her to show up, but I felt the sting of losing precious time.

I might as well try searching for her myself using Dog’s Nose.

Tracking someone through the crowded city streets filled with a cacophony of smells seemed difficult, but it would be good training for the skill. Since I had already memorized her scent, I stepped out onto the street and began the pursuit immediately.

She wasn’t nearby.

On an open plain with a clear view, I could pick out a scent from five kilometers away, but right now, there were too many competing odors to make things easy. Still, acting on a hunch, I started wandering toward the east.

Visual and auditory information flooded my brain alongside the data from my sense of smell. Since I could process all that information comprehensively, my tracking ability should technically be higher than that of an actual dog.

And sure enough, I found it.

There was no mistaking it—the scent of Elke’s sweat.

“Woof!”

As I momentarily reverted to my wild instincts, the cold glares of the city folk pierced through me.

The trail went cold a few times, but after walking for a while, I managed to rediscover the source of the scent. People unconsciously leave traces of themselves everywhere—resting a hand on a bridge railing or brushing against the wall of a street corner.

If I kept going straight down this road, I’d hit the city gate. It looked like Elke had headed inside the castle walls.

“Yeah, good work.”

Since I was wearing my City Guard uniform, I passed through the gate without much of a check.

From there, I navigated several turns through the streets until I arrived at the back entrance of a certain noble’s mansion. When I sniffed the doorknob, the scent of Elke’s sweat was right there.

I really did feel like a perverted stalker doing this.

Who owned this estate? I decided to look into it later and circled back toward the main street.

I called out to Elke as she walked down the road, making it look like a chance encounter. While she already knew about my Dog’s Nose ability, I didn’t want to reveal its full specs. I kept the fact that I had tracked her all the way from the South District apartment to the inner castle walls to myself.

“What a coincidence. I was just delivering a letter nearby on my superior’s orders. Are you working too, Elke?”

Today, Elke was dressed as a maid. Even if someone told me she worked at one of the mansions in this neighborhood, it wouldn’t have looked out of place at all.

“Well, something like that.”

I followed behind Elke as she started walking with a perfectly natural air. Regardless of how she acted on the surface, she likely wanted to get away from the vicinity of her hideout as quickly as possible.

“So, how’s the investigation into Lady Juliana going?”

“Oh, she’s every bit the pure and innocent Saint of Grossel you’d expect. But, you know…”

Elke placed her index finger against her full lips and paused. The teasing gesture suited her well.

“The Saint has three close aides. This is just a hunch, mind you, but the relationship between the servants and their mistress feels unusually intimate. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if she were romantically involved with one of them…”

I couldn’t help but feel conflicted. I found myself projecting the situation onto my own relationship with Lady Clara.

It was all well and good that the Saint had caught the eye of a foreign prince, but I felt like it wasn’t fair to go trampling into Lady Juliana’s private love life like this.

“Oh? It sounds like you’re the type who’d root for a romance between a Saint and her servant, Senpai.”

“I didn’t say that…”

In the world of nobility, throwing a tantrum and refusing a marriage because you didn’t like the allied prince wasn’t an option. Those in power would use threats, charms, and appeasement to ensure the marriage succeeded. Their only concern was a future scandal.

If Lady Juliana were to marry abroad, her first six months would essentially be spent under house arrest.

The reason is extremely obvious.

It’s because they’ll be watching to see if any signs of pregnancy appear during that time.

If, during that observation period, Juliana’s belly were to start swelling, it would become a serious situation.

That’s why Elke and the others are standing guard like this—but it’s not like they can watch everything perfectly.

According to Elke, there are three people who are closely connected to Juliana:

The first is Lara Barbe, 31 years old.

She is a woman who stays constantly by Juliana’s side as her tutor.

Her sharp, narrow eyes beneath her glasses give off a somewhat cold impression, but they’re full of intelligence.

She’s tall, well-proportioned, and has the beauty of a mature woman.

You could say she has the image of a sharp, capable tutor.

The second is Kamil Heuberger, 24 years old.

This one is a guard knight.

I’ve spoken with him directly before, and he was an unpleasant guy with an overbearing attitude.

He’s in a position to command the guard knights when going out.

Lastly, there’s Karina Angerer (17 years old), a maid who usually takes care of Juliana’s personal needs.

She was also helping Juliana during the food distribution, and she had quite a cute face.

She had a slender build and gave off a quiet impression.

“Was there anything suspicious, specifically?”

“Well, the first one who became a concern was Karina.”

“The maid girl, right? Well, girls around 17 or 18 sometimes become especially close with others of the same age. I don’t really understand that kind of world, though.”

If it’s what you’d call girls’ love, at least there wouldn’t be an issue with producing an heir.

Depending on how they express their affection using various means, there might be cases where someone wouldn’t remain a virgin—but still.

To put it bluntly, with enough acting, that could be handled.

And speaking frankly, if you donate a large sum to a high-ranking healer, even procedures to restore the hymen would be possible.

“It won’t become a major problem.

But what Elke said next caught me completely off guard.

‘It’s a man.’

‘…That maid is!?’

‘Yes. He’s a man who’s simply cross-dressing.’

That might actually be a problem.

If it’s a cross-dressing maid, it wouldn’t be suspicious for “her” to enter Juliana’s bedroom.

Still, I can’t believe it.

No matter how you looked at “her,” she seemed like a delicate young girl.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes. I saw it with my own eyes while he was wiping his body in his room. It was fairly large.’

I won’t dare ask what exactly she meant.

But still, it’s hard to believe—Karina being a boy in disguise.

‘And it seems the Saint is the one forcing it.’

Whoa.

Forcing a boy to cross-dress…?

‘In this way, we’ve started to understand the Saint’s preferences, but we still don’t know exactly what she’s doing. We can’t glimpse what goes on inside the bedroom at all, so we’re really at a loss.’

As expected of a noble’s room, it seems multiple layers of magical barriers have been set up, making it impossible to sneak in.

‘So, that’s why I have a favor to ask of you, Senpai.’

Saying that, Elke smiled in a strangely coquettish way.

—

In the entrance hall of Count Ceberai’s residence, the household saw off the head of the family.

The count, who held an important position in the Imperial Guard, would be staying overnight in the palace for security duties.

‘My dear, please be careful.’

‘Mm, I’m off. There’s been talk of strange bands of thieves running rampant lately. Stay on high alert while I’m gone.’

Even as he said that, the count didn’t seem particularly worried.

In this household alone, there were more than fifty people—including servants—who could handle weapons.

They weren’t like some minor noble house.

Even if they were attacked, he was confident they could repel it.

After seeing her father off as he left for work, Juliana returned to her sitting room.

‘Lara, call Heuberger. Karina, prepare some tea.’

Giving out her instructions, Juliana sat at her writing desk and waited for the guard knight.

Heuberger arrived shortly after.

‘My lady, you called for me?’

Without looking at his face, Juliana gave a small nod toward Lara.

In that instant, Lara’s slender leg—hidden beneath her skirt—swung out, and the tip of her shoe drove deeply into Heuberger’s solar plexus.

‘Gah—! Wh-what are you—’

As he tried to speak, another kick struck his abdomen, and he collapsed to the floor, unable to endure it.

The Saint looked down at him with cold eyes, utterly devoid of emotion.