“Shall I bring the car? It’s quite uncomfortable to have to say everything one by one like this.”

“Alright. I will bring it. But is the Prime Minister coming with you?”

“Yes. The investigation will be conducted by capable individuals from the temple, and I have decided to stay by the side of Empress Mama. Is there anything you want to tell me, even if I shouldn’t hear it?”

“No. It’s nothing like that.”

The daycare director bit her lips and rang the bell. Not long after, someone entered from outside.

“Bring the car.”

“Yes.”

“Wait…”

A woman who seemed to be one of the daycare teachers seemed to be about to leave as soon as the daycare director finished speaking. However, the daycare director stopped her from leaving.

“Director?”

Then she looked at the daycare teacher with a strange expression. Unintentionally, the two of them locked eyes for quite some time. We couldn’t speak because we were present, but the daycare director seemed to have something to say to her.

“Oh, alright.”

Finally, as if something had come to mind, the daycare teacher went outside.

“Did you have something else to say?”

“No. I was just… telling you to bring a good car.”

“You seem like someone who can’t tell lies. Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m not here to talk about such things right now.”

After that, there was silence for a while. The daycare director was trying to avoid conversation in any way, and I was waiting for the car. After about ten minutes, the daycare teacher came inside with the car.

Shaking hands nervously, it was obvious to anyone.

After glancing around for a moment, she put a teacup with the handle placed very uncomfortably in front of me on the tray. Then, putting down another teacup, she looked at the daycare director as if checking her reaction.

After that, the teapot came down, and the daycare director poured tea into the teacup, saying she would do it herself. And then, she tried to casually bring the teacup that was in front of me toward herself.

“Isn’t it customary to offer tea to me first?”

“Ah.”

She hesitated, and a daycare teacher who seemed to be close to her tried to hand me the teacup that she had put down on her side. However, I stood up and took the teacup that the first daycare teacher had placed in front of me.

“Tea… tea…”

“What’s wrong? Did something go wrong?”

“Well… um… I think there might be something foreign in the teacup.”

“As far as I can see, there doesn’t seem to be any problem.”

I was nervous. The daycare teacher seemed tense when she placed the teacup in front of me. And the expression of the daycare director looking at me as if she had made a big mistake.

‘There’s something in this teacup.’

The daycare director knew that and placed the teacup towards her. If that’s the case, I couldn’t let her do as she pleased.

“Rather, the overall management of the daycare center’s building and facilities seems to be well done.”

“I think I paid a little more attention because it’s a place with children.”

The daycare director sipped the tea sip by sip, as if to show that there was nothing wrong with her teacup. Yet, she kept staring at my teacup with a worried expression.

I watched her, moving as if I were going to drink the tea or speak.

“Moreover, the daycare director of the Ebender daycare center became a daycare director at a young age.”

“Is that so? I’m probably the youngest among daycare directors.”

“It’s fascinating. Don’t daycare directors usually establish daycare centers after reaching a certain age?”

“Yes. That’s what I know.”

Her voice was very stiff. I hadn’t come here in a good mood, so such reactions were natural. I sincerely hoped that she would feel more uncomfortable and want to leave this place as soon as possible.

Unconsciousness causes a much greater reaction in a person’s body than one might think, making them more tense and extreme in their thoughts without realizing it.

So, in any situation, it’s advisable to strike first.
So, I pretended to be more relaxed. That way, her impatience would show.

“Daycare director, even at a young age, you seem to be deeply committed to volunteer work.”

The daycare director from the Empress’s neighborhood. Although she came from the Empress’s neighborhood, she was a bit older than the Empress, according to what I heard.

Even so, she was slightly older than me or Lian, so it was somewhat unfamiliar.

“Well… that’s right.”

“Yes. Since continuing to talk about this might not be good for both of us, let’s get to the point.”

The daycare director looked at me with an expression as if I hadn’t even started yet.

“Daycare director, you definitely mentioned that someone brought Lhedello, didn’t you?”

As if she hadn’t yet grasped the intention of my words, she soon closed her mouth.

“Are you not going to say anything?”

“Well, do I have to answer that question?”

“To answer or not is your choice. But it’s quite foolish. You, who have people on your side, look like you’re sealing your lips without even knowing that those on your side are trying to abandon you.”

“What does that mean?”