After the niece disappeared, Mrs. Milton seemed to have lost sleep in worry.

Not to mention the maid who lost the child, as Mrs. Milton was like that.

The maid had long lost her husband to illness, and it is said that she had been raising the child, who resembled her husband, with great care.

‘Losing such a child, how painful must a mother’s heart be.’

The notorious kidnapper of beastmen children in the Elrowin Kingdom had evaded capture so far by quickly concealing any evidence as soon as they attempted to grasp at clues.

Naturally, the methods to recover the kidnapped children were also scarce.

Among the parents who lost their children, there were even those who formed a task force to catch the kidnapper….

‘The more I hear, the more I’m convinced that this isn’t a simple kidnapper.’

No matter how sly a human trafficker might be, they will eventually be caught.

Just this year, it is said that human traffickers hiding in the Elrowin Kingdom were captured by many noble families, including Salisbury.

But this beastman child kidnapper had been confusing the Elrowin Kingdom for a long time, and even small clues were said to be hard to find….

Isn’t there someone more dangerous than we can imagine behind this, I can’t help but strongly suspect.

‘The person I suspect as being behind all this… hmm.’

Anyway, the information I can use comes from the original work.

Since the original and reality don’t match 100%, it is just for reference, but if I infer based on the information from the original…

‘…There are too many villains.’

The list of villains in was, so to speak, a killing spree for the male leads.

Even trivial villains who were not very remarkable were cut down by the hands of the male leads for the sake of refreshing development.

‘Including Gloria…’

Trivial villains… don’t pose much of a threat.

They don’t seem clever enough to be behind the kidnapping either.

And for the final boss to be behind it, that guy is…

‘There’s no reason to kidnap beastman children.’

So let’s think about a ‘villain’ rather than a ‘villainous character.’

The person most likely to be a threat. Someone who could orchestrate largescale kidnappings and thoroughly conceal the evidence…

The person who could do that…

“……”

Hey, no way.

It doesn’t make sense, does it?

Even though he has the ability to be behind the kidnapping, I don’t know if he has the motive… in ‘his’ case.

So, let’s set it aside for now.

‘It might be someone completely unrelated to the original work. I should talk to Grayan first.’

I hurried my steps and arrived in front of Grayan’s office. As soon as the servant guarding the door announced my arrival, permission to enter was immediately granted.

As the servant opened the door, I quickly stepped inside. Grayan, who seemed to be about to leave after finishing his work, smiled gently at me as he took his sword.

“Madam, what brings you here?”

I didn’t answer right away and glanced briefly at him strapping his sword to his waist. Then I watched him put on his coat, and it seemed to confirm my suspicions.

“You’re going to look for clues about the beastman kidnapper, aren’t you?”

When I asked abruptly, Grayan blinked his eyes a couple of times and looked at me intently.

Soon after, he nodded his head with a faint smile on his face.

“That’s correct… but do you have something to say about it?”

“I’ll help you. Let’s go together.”

My response seemed to take him entirely by surprise, as Grayan’s eyes widened.

With a confused expression, he said.

“But, Madam… your body hasn’t recovered much since…”

“It was just a simple cold, after all. Look.”

“Colds can be dangerous too. If severe, they can develop into pneumonia.”

“That’s why I dressed really warmly today. Look, I’m practically fully armed, right?”

As I spun around in front of him, the full skirts of my thick dress flared out before settling back down.

Grayan stared at me blankly for some reason and then cleared his throat with a slight blush on his face.

“……?”

I didn’t understand his reaction.

Soon after, he spoke, a bit shyly.

“…You look lovely, Madam. Very beautiful.”

“…….”
I didn’t know what to say, so I just moved my mouth. Why would that be said here…?

“Uh… Thank you.”

Anyway, it seemed like a compliment, so I expressed my gratitude. It felt bizarre in many ways.

“But, madam, you still cannot participate in the search.”

Grayan said with a gentle smile, in an incredibly soft voice. All of a sudden, I felt as if I had been slapped on the cheek. After flattering me with ‘You are very beautiful,’ he abruptly rejected me like this?

“But I have the butterflies of the World Tree, don’t I? They’ll definitely be helpful.”

I did not back down and tried to persuade him again. Grayan nodded as if he was convinced by my words, but once again, he smiled and firmly opposed.

“Still, you can’t. It’s too dangerous.”

“No…”