Episode 6
In an instant, the older sister who was standing behind Marcus, the one called Anya, let out a “pfft” and laughed. On the other hand, Marcus frowned.
“Stepfather? I don’t have any intention of getting married yet.”
He scanned me from top to bottom with his brown eyes.
“And I don’t have the confidence to live with a daughter as big as you, either.”
“Of course, I’m not really asking you to become my stepfather. It’s a fixed-term contract.”
Only then did Marcus lean his upper body forward with an interested face. He looked as if he was ready to hear me out.
I continued to speak the words I had prepared clearly.
“My maternal grandfather passed away suddenly a month ago. My maternal uncle, who was the successor, went missing even earlier than that. My uncle needs to appear within the next two months to inherit, but I think that will be difficult.”
“And?”
“Taking advantage of that gap, my mother’s cousin, Uncle Pascal, is eyeing our family’s fortune.”
“Then shouldn’t your mother just inherit it?”
I let my two eyebrows droop.
“Unfortunately, that’s also difficult. Legally, Mother is unmarried.”
“Hmm?”
Marcus tilted his head as if telling me to keep talking.
“Mother tried to marry a trustworthy vassal in a hurry, but Uncle Pascal interfered every time. They say one of the vassals considered as a candidate was even attacked by a mysterious assailant. Uncle Pascal must have sent them.”
“…….”
“We can’t just have the family that Grandfather, my uncle, and Mother built taken away like this. So…….”
“So, you want me to temporarily act as her husband so your mother can inherit the fortune?”
“That’s exactly it! Additionally, I’d like you to find my uncle’s whereabouts as well.”
When Uncle Dietrich went missing, Uncle Pascal had stepped forward actively. He sent people out on boats to search the sea where my uncle disappeared and said they searched the nearby islands as well.
‘But looking at the situation now, there’s no telling if he actually did that.’
Until Grandfather died, no one had suspected Uncle Pascal. However, now that things had come to this, it was impossible not to suspect him.
Could it be that Uncle Pascal actually had no great interest in finding Uncle Dietrich?
No, even before that, perhaps he was even welcoming Uncle Dietrich’s accident…….
I tried to shake off the gloomy thoughts and continued speaking.
“Mother intends to hand over the title and fortune to Uncle Dietrich once he returns. Since Mother won’t need to stay married after my uncle succeeds to the title as originally intended, she can get divorced after that.”
Marcus raised his hand and cut me off.
“I think I understand the circumstances. So, what about the reward? I think I’ll have to receive quite a reward. Little one, do you have money?”
I showed him my empty pockets.
“What money would I have? If the contract is successful and Mother inherits safely, Mother will give it to you. You can probably discuss it with Mr. Christopher.”
“Christopher?”
“He was the aide to my late grandfather. He’s helping Mother now. Anyway, that’s how it is.”
“Little one, doesn’t that mean there’s no reward you can give me right now? Then is there a reason for me to accept this commission?”
“There is!”
I snapped my head up. It wasn’t as if I had come all the way here recklessly without any plan.
“Mister, you’re looking for a child around my age, aren’t you? I know where they are.”
Actually, this was close to a gamble.
‘Because Marcus might have already found Erwin.’
Even if I knew the original story, it was merely the grand flow of things. Since the main story of the original novel dealt with the protagonists after they had grown to some extent, I didn’t know precisely about their childhood.
The best I could do was squeeze out the faint details to deduce that if Erwin was around my age, this might be the time when Marcus was in the middle of searching for him.
If Marcus had already found Erwin, I would have had to think of another reward somehow.
However, Marcus gripped the armrest of the chair so tightly it looked like it might crush at any moment.
‘Gasp!’
He must have been suppressing his momentum, but the air around him became heavy, centered on him.
At the same time I shrunk back, Anya whispered.
“Guild Leader, your bloodlust is a bit……. The kid is getting scared.”
Then, Marcus immediately killed his momentum. The air that was weighing down my body became light.
“Little girl, who said that? That I am looking for a child?”
Fortunately for me, it seemed he hadn’t found Erwin yet.
“That’s a secret, too.”
“What if I pay the price for that information?”
Marcus grinned. That appearance was so handsome it was distracting, but scary at the same time. The atmosphere was subtly different from before.
‘This is an unexpected situation.’
To be honest, telling him the source of the information itself wasn’t difficult.
But if I said, ‘Actually, this is a world inside a novel I read in my past life! Because I was reincarnated with memories of my past life, I can see through everything, like who you are looking for and where that child is!’ who on earth would believe me?
‘He might even get angry and tell me not to joke.’
Cold sweat broke out.
I gripped my skirt with both hands and mumbled.
“This information is very expensive. You have to give me extremely expensive information equivalent to this; is that possible?”
“What do you take me for? If you tell me who you heard that from and if you really know where that child is, I will give you the most expensive piece of information I know.”
“What would be the most expensive one?”
“Well. Something like a secret of the Imperial Family.”
“Hieee!”
I immediately backed down.
“No, you don’t have to give it to me. I won’t say it. That’s not the information I want. What I want is only for you to become my stepfather.”
“…….”
“And isn’t the child’s whereabouts what’s important to you? How I found out shouldn’t be important.”
Marcus smiled chillingly once again. Sharpness was revealed, but he didn’t seem to emit bloodlust like before. It seemed that his outburst of momentum earlier was a mistake rather than an intention to scare me. As expected of the good person who saved and truly cared for the young Erwin.
“……Right, let’s leave it at that. Can I trust the information you have?”
“Yes.”
Of course it was trustworthy information. Because it was information I saw in a book.
‘Actually, originally, it’s information that appeared when Marcus found Erwin, but…….’
Since my circumstances were urgent, I decided to take the information and use it in advance.
Anyway, the information itself was certain. It was just that the source couldn’t be clearly revealed.
“How am I supposed to trust your information?”
“I’ll tell you the information you want first. Check for yourself if I’m lying.”
“What if you just take my information and don’t accept the commission?”
“I trust that you won’t do that.”
I looked at Marcus and spoke straightly.
“You don’t seem like that kind of person.”
“Ha…….”
Marcus let out a hollow laugh as if it were absurd and swept back his bangs.
“What a bold little one.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
Marcus tapped the armrest of the chair with his index finger.
“Well, I’ll have to think about it for a bit.”
“You have to give an answer quickly. There’s no time.”
“Don’t rush me, little one. Commissions are originally meant to be decided carefully.”
“That’s true, but……”
“But does it have to be me? How about I set you up with another trustworthy person?”
“I don’t want that. I want you to become my stepfather.”
A guild member under Marcus would certainly be more trustworthy than someone recruited from elsewhere. However, I couldn’t fully trust those people either.
Because I only trusted the contents I saw and heard in the book.
“First, what is your full name?”
“I’ll tell you that after you accept the commission.”
“No. If I accept the commission, I’ll be entangled with your family, so shouldn’t I consider various things before that?”
Should I say our family name here? I hesitated slightly.
I was even more troubled because Marcus’s words were persuasive.
“Even if you don’t accept the commission, you won’t disclose the contents of the commission outside, right?”
“Of course.”
I thought a bit more and then answered.
“My name is…… Valery Arno. Our Arno family is a small Viscount family in the southern part of the empire.”
At that moment, Marcus’s face hardened slightly.
“……Arno?”
It was a reaction that showed he knew something, but I took it lightly.
‘Since we are a merchant family, he might have heard the name of the Arno family.’
At any rate, Marcus was the head of an information guild.
After thinking for a moment, Marcus spoke again.
“Then your mother’s name is……”
Do I have to say that too? I thought about it and then answered.
“It’s Rayna Arno.”
“Right. Rayna Arno……”
Marcus fell silent again.
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