“I told you to stop!”
Ivelina hissed in a frantic whisper. Then, with the ferocity of a cornered animal, she beat both fists against Kael’s left forearm and dove under the desk.
‘Bang.’
The door swung open. Hugo walked in carrying a stack of documents nearly as tall as himself.
“Oh — I’m terribly sorry, Your Grace. There were so many files I couldn’t quite manage to knock properly. Shall I step out and come back in?”
“What do you need.”
“Sir! Yes, sir! First — an urgent report. Young Lord Kayrin has escaped from the Academy.”
“…Again?”
Kael’s tone was entirely unsurprised.
His younger brother breaking out of the Academy multiple times a semester was simply a known quantity at this point.
Hugo staggered under the weight of the documents and managed, with considerable effort, to get them onto Kael’s desk. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, then reached into his breast pocket and produced a black envelope.
“This is a letter that Young Lord Kayrin left for Your Grace.”
Kael received it with his usual neutral expression, drew out the contents, and read it with a detached, unhurried gaze.
‘Brother. Don’t look for me. I’ll see a bit of the world and come home like a good boy.’
“What would you like to do?”
“His whereabouts — no idea?”
“None. He apparently gave the slip to every single escort knight before making his escape.”
“Well. Nothing to be done about it, then.”
“You’ll leave him to it?”
“He says he’ll come back on his own.”
“But he’s still so young, Your Grace.”
“Leave him. He’ll manage.”
* * *
‘Wait — Kael’s younger brother ran away from school?’
I clapped a hand over my mouth.
Right. Kayrin. Kael’s brother and his first name shared the same starting syllable. Come to think of it — the original story had described him as looking exactly like Kael, with a hobby involving the dissection of animals.
‘If he looks just like Kael, then he must be what Kael looked like as a child.’
…I was admittedly a little curious.
In any case — another character from the original story, appearing in front of me. Strange, how that kept happening.
“Come out now.”
Kael dipped his head down below the desk level.
I was crouched underneath it, curled up like a small bear cub that had retreated into its den.
“Has Hugo gone?”
“Yes.”
‘Pfft.’ His mouth quirked as though he found me beneath all contempt.
‘The nerve.’
I was in this ridiculous situation entirely because of him, and here he was looking amused about it.
Kael shifted back to give me room to emerge. I crawled out from under the desk, simmering.
I was a state. My hair was thoroughly tangled, my dress badly creased.
“Hmph.”
I started to leave, exhaling pointedly through my nose — and he caught my wrist.
“Where do you think you’re going. You haven’t finished what you came to do.”
“Yes, I have!”
I wrenched my hand free and ran.
Back in the annex, I let out a long, aggrieved sigh.
“Oh — I completely forgot to mention Kayrin!”
I had gone with the macarons specifically to ask Kael to help find the child’s family, and it had slipped my mind entirely.
“Wasn’t that the whole reason for going, my lady? What were you doing all this time?”
I maintained a dignified silence in response to Emily’s question.
Emily studied my disheveled hair, then the wrinkled state of my dress.
“Dear me. Caught again, were you.”
‘Shhh—!’
I pressed my index finger firmly to my lips.
“The child can hear!”
“Hear what?”
Kayrin looked up from the sofa where he was reading.
“N-nothing. Kayrin, I need to go out for a little bit. Do you want to come?”
“No. I’m tired today. I’ll stay here.”
He said it as naturally as if this were his own home.
“All right then. If you need anything, go down to the first floor and ask one of the maids!”
“Yes. I’d prefer not to have anyone come into the bedroom. I like to be alone.”
“O-okay. I’ll let them know.”
* * *
“The information guild?”
“Yes. Apparently the guildmaster there is exceptionally capable — said to be one of the best in the empire.”
“You mean the Black Guild?”
“Oh — yes, that’s the one. How do you know it, my lady?”
‘From the original novel.’
There had been a line about it — no piece of information in the empire passed through without touching the Black Guild.
“Ahem. But what exactly would we get from an information broker? If we went there asking for ways to make a man lose interest in me, we’d probably get thrown out immediately.”
“What does it matter? They’re supposed to have all kinds of information — something like this might be easy enough for them. And even if we don’t get what we’re after, we’d only be paying for the initial consultation.”
“That’s a fair point. And we have time to spare anyway.”
It wasn’t the most rarefied intelligence in the world — the price would probably be modest to match.
‘Why didn’t I think of this sooner?’
“There is one problem, though.”
“What?”
“I don’t know where to find it.”
“That’s fine! I know exactly where it is!”
“Really? Where?”
“The fourth district of the square. At the very end of the florist’s lane, there’s a shop called Blagg’s Flowers. The entrance is through a hidden door there.”
“Shall we go right now? It’s nearby.”
“Let’s!”
We set off at a brisk pace. About ten minutes of walking brought us into the fourth district. At its deepest point, in a dead-end alley, there it was: ‘Blagg’s Flowers.’
I pushed the door open.
“Welcome. Is there a particular flower you’re looking for?”
Here was where it mattered.
To enter the information guild, there was a passphrase known only to clients.
“I’ve come to purchase a red quill pen. Is that something you can make?”
“…Ah. That sort of customer. Please, come in.”
The shopkeeper led us toward the back of the shop. The full-length mirror that occupied an entire wall was, in fact, a glass door.
The shopkeeper pushed it open, and an entirely different room was revealed.
“Enjoy your visit.”
The walls on all four sides were black. A small window sat to the left. In the center of the room stood a large black sofa. Seated in the prime position on that sofa was a figure in a black mask — the guildmaster.
Emily and I sat side by side on the sofa facing him.
“First-time customers. So — what kind of information are you looking for?”
“Well…”
I was hesitating. Emily gave me a quiet poke in the ribs and murmured in my ear.
“Don’t be nervous. Just ask naturally.”
I know. I nodded.
“I’d like to know how to get broken up with.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Preferably in one clean break, if possible.”
“Hmm. Getting broken up with.”
The guildmaster fell into deep thought. He rested his masked chin on his hand and deliberated for quite some time.
“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t provide that information.”
“What? Why not?”
“Because I have never been broken up with.”
A moment of silence.
Emily and I blinked, very slowly, in unison.
“Haha — I’m rather popular, you see. Mmm, to think you would ask for precisely that most elusive of information…”
“……”
“Hoho. I’ll have to do some soul-searching. Here I’ve gone all this time without ever being left, and what exactly have I been doing with myself…”
‘What kind of person is this?’
‘He is clearly not normal.’
I sat there, entirely at a loss.
“You do have romantic experience, don’t you?”
Then Emily spoke. The guildmaster nearly leapt out of his seat at the unexpected question.
“Of course I do! I’m enormously popular. Quite handsome. Fine physique, considerable fortune. Mmm, what a shame I can’t remove the mask for you.”
“I see.”
Emily said this with eyes that had gone as cold and flat as still water. The guildmaster looked disappointed by her response and clicked his tongue.
“R-right, well — never mind getting broken up with. Is there perhaps some other way to bring about a natural parting of ways?”
“Separation. A parting. A parting… a truly wretched parting. What could there be. Hmm.”
The guildmaster plunged into another bout of extreme deliberation. About a minute passed. Finally, he snapped his fingers.
“There is one tremendously effective method. Quite a certain one, at that.”
