I stared straight ahead, feeling a sense of emptiness. The red-haired man waved his hand enthusiastically at me.

“Oh? Young lady! We meet again!”

I stared at him blankly, then reluctantly gave a slight wave back.

Today’s sky was slightly brighter than yesterday, with the sun a bit more radiant and the moon a bit more faded.

And I had just walked out the front gate, alone, with my backpack firmly on my back, quietly passing through the empty corridors just like yesterday.

But why were the duke and his subordinates standing there again?

“Young lady! Did you come out to see us off again today?”

The red-haired knight approached me with an excited expression. I now knew this knight’s name. His name was Bart.

Today, Yan was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Chrissy, who was standing next to Bart, greeted me warmly.

“Young lady! You haven’t forgotten my name, have you? I’m Chrissy!”

“Young lady! I’m Bart. Bart!”

“Whoa? What are you all doing! You’re startling our young lady!”

The blue-haired man interjected between the knights who were about to argue loudly.

At least this person seemed to be trying to quiet the other knights, which was a relief…

“Young lady, I am Philen. Philen. It would be more convenient for you to memorize my name since I am often at the mansion.”

“No, Sir Philen! Isn’t that too much!”

…I just wish they would all disappear because they’re noisy.

“We meet again.”

A chilling voice was heard. It was the duke.

Meeting his gaze sent a shiver down my spine.

“Are you going to say that you came to see me again today?”

The duke asked bluntly. He had an expression that didn’t believe a word I said. Those suspicious eyes made me feel like I was sweating profusely.

At that moment, Philen intervened between us.

“My lord, you shouldn’t lead the young lady with questions.”

‘Is that leading a question?’

I stared at Philen blankly, dumbfounded.

The duke also glared at Philen with cold eyes. Judging by his lack of response, it seemed he thought it wasn’t even worth answering.

‘But he didn’t notice, did he?’

“I’m sorry, but please be quiet, everyone. Today, the young lady walked towards me. She even greeted me first, you know?”

“Bart, don’t be ridiculous.”

Whether they were chattering or not, I became anxious.

No one should know the real reason I came out at dawn.

“The young lady came to see me. Even when she entered the mansion yesterday, she only waved at me.”

Chrissy spoke confidently. It was enough to make the tension I had felt for a moment seem meaningless.

‘…Did I do that?’

Thinking hard about it, I might have looked back for a moment on purpose before entering the mansion to reassure the duke.

Anyway, they’re all wrong, they’re all thinking wrongly.

“It’s not that at all!”

At my words, the surroundings instantly became quiet. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on me.

Those gazes were full of question marks.

They all seemed to be asking, ‘Then why did you come out at this hour?’

With a heavy heart, I put down my bag. Then I rummaged through it, took out a cookie, and approached the duke.

“What is it?”

The duke bent down to meet my gaze. I held out the cookie to him and said,

“This is for you, Duke…”

“I see.”

The duke calmly accepted the cookie. As the duke took the cookie, the other knights crowded behind him.

“Young lady, what about mine?”

“Young lady, I like cookies too!”

“After all, nothing beats a daughter…”

I couldn’t hear what the others were saying.

Having had my precious cookie taken by the duke for the second time, I turned around weakly.

“I’ll be going now…”

Then the duke’s voice was heard again.

“Chrissy, go and see if she properly goes to her room.”

“Yes, I understand!”

At the duke’s words, a slim-bodied knight approached me.

“Shall we go together, young lady?”

He had the kind of handsome face that anyone would find attractive.

‘If it were any other time, I would have thought that the ducal family chooses their knights based on their looks.’

But now I didn’t have the leisure to think about that.

‘I’ve been wasting cookies for two days in a row.’

That was the only thought floating in my head.

* * *

The place Cailius went to early in the morning was the Wisted Guild managed by the ducal family.

The Wisted Guild, an association organized by Cailius, included vassal families of the ducal family and merchants of commoner origin who had settled near Hessera.

The guild was established to efficiently manage the resource production rights of Hessera. Therefore, regardless of status, anyone could convene a meeting as long as they had a suitable agenda.

Nominally, that was the case, but in reality, such meetings were hardly ever convened. Because as soon as it was convened, even the duke would attend the meeting.

Naturally, the merchants were extremely reluctant to do anything that would displease the duke in the slightest.

However, unlike those people, Count Ripe, who abruptly requested a meeting from early morning, showed no sign of being cautious of the duke’s gaze.

“So, what’s the reason for holding this meeting, Count Ripe?”

The duke, who had arrived, asked about the agenda in an indifferent tone. Count Ripe cleared his throat and began to speak.

“You remember the recent magic stone transaction with the Kingdom of Valkandia, don’t you? I checked and it seems the actual quantity traded and the recorded quantity are different.”

The way he brought it up didn’t seem ordinary. The others waited anxiously for the count’s words, trying to hide their nervousness.

“If the quantities are different, the taxes to be paid will also differ. That’s the part I’m concerned about and why I’m asking.”

It’s starting again. The merchants around him swallowed dryly. In other words, what Count Ripe was asking was this:

‘Are you evading taxes again this time?’

He was a person who had persistently pursued the tax issue during the last transaction as well.

“There seems to have been some misunderstanding. I’ll have the relevant documents sent over, so you can check them.”

Cailius gestured familiarly to Philen. Philen responded while recording the additional task for today.

“I will have them delivered to you by the end of the day.”

“…If you do that, I would be grateful.”

As Count Ripe suspected, the ducal family was managing a separate double accounting book. Of course, with Philen’s meticulous personality, there was no worry of getting caught.

Apart from that, it was truly bothersome to have someone persistently pursuing the tax issue every time.

‘He’s still being troublesome.’

It was ridiculous that he had convened this meeting for that reason.

Well, if it hadn’t been for this meeting, he wouldn’t have seen the child trying to come out again at dawn like yesterday.

Cailius suddenly recalled the cookie the child had given him. He took out the cookie he had put in his pocket.

Naturally, the gazes of the others were also drawn there.

Most of the merchants were well aware of the duke’s tastes and simple preferences in food.

So at this moment, what came to the merchants’ minds was the same.

‘A cookie for someone who rarely eats snacks outside of mealtimes!’

The current issue at hand was not the problem.

From the perspective of the merchants who were keen on profit, information about the duke took priority.

Has the duke’s taste changed? Has his eating habits changed?

This would be very useful information in selecting gifts to send to the ducal family this year.

“Duke, what is that?”

“You’re not asking because you don’t know, are you?”

“N-no, it’s just that you never liked sweets before, did you?”

“I didn’t.”

“Then has your taste changed now?”

“No, I still dislike sweets.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Then is he going to throw that cookie away? A merchant sitting next to him reached out towards the cookie and said,

“Then I’ll dispose of this for you…”

“Leave it, I’m going to eat it.”

“Pardon?”

The minds of the merchants who had been quietly listening to his answer became complicated.

He still dislikes sweets, but he’s eating a cookie?

The thought that it might be a cookie that’s not sweet comes to mind, but to say that, it was a cookie with sweet chocolate chips studded throughout, looking like just one bite would spread sweetness throughout the body.

‘Then what the hell is that!’

They wanted to ask more, but it was a formal setting. There was nothing good about throwing more questions at the duke who disliked unnecessary inquiries.

But then another merchant finally couldn’t hold back his curiosity and blurted out a question.

“Then where did that cookie come from?”

Silence fell over the meeting room. The other merchants sent sympathetic gazes towards Count Heda, who had asked the question.

Count Heda was a young merchant who had recently joined the association. That’s why he could ask such a question without hesitation.

Of course, they were equally curious about it. But to ask such a private question even after the duke, who strictly separated public and private matters, had given a hint!

“You mean this?”

However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, the duke calmly answered him.

“My daughter gave it to me this morning.”

“The one you recently found…!”

“I’m sure you’ve all heard the news. About my daughter.”

The merchants who had been living on eggshells all their lives quickly realized what they should focus on.

“Of course! It’s truly a joyous occasion!”

“Yes, belated congratulations!”

“It’s really a happy event!”

As Cailius said, the rumors had already spread. That Cailius had recently found his biological daughter.

However, there was only one reason why the merchants had not paid much attention to that rumor until now.

Despite the rampant rumors, the duke never showed himself directly accompanying his daughter.

In such a situation, the thoughts of those who heard the rumor were generally similar.

‘Unlike the young masters the duke adopted first, he doesn’t cherish the biological daughter he found.’

It was said that, unlike the young masters who had shown extraordinary prominence from a young age, the daughter he found this time belonged to an extremely ordinary level.

However, the duke’s current demeanor was completely opposite to what they had expected.

Even with the meeting room becoming a bit noisy, Cailius silently drank his tea. Seeing this, Count Ofrel, who had been conducting business with the ducal family for a long time, casually brought it up.

“It seems the young lady is very fond of the duke.”

“Well, she’s adapting quickly.”

“Of course, whose blood is she? She wouldn’t be otherwise.”

“That’s true.”

At those words, Cailius chuckled.

In response, the other merchants also began to comment on the duke’s daughter, whom they had never seen.

“A cookie given by the young lady, it feels like I’d be full even without eating it.”

“I heard she’s still young, how much must she like the duke to share such a precious snack?”

“The young lady seems to be truly clever.”

The duke had never batted an eye at any flattery until now. Rather, whenever that happened, he would strictly draw the line with his uncanny sense.

But today’s duke was different.

It was clearly visible that the duke became particularly amiable whenever he talked about his daughter.

The merchants’ minds began to work busily.

‘This year’s specialty products are for the young lady!’

‘What do girls usually like?’

‘What were the toys that 4-year-old children liked?!’

The duke was unaware of the moment their target changed.