“I’ve put them all on.”

Mikhail came out of the small room after changing his clothes.

He loosened the tie around his neck slightly with his fingers, as if feeling uncomfortable.

“It’s still uncomfortable…”

Karina examined Mikhail’s appearance.

“What are you talking about? It suits you well.”

Contrary to his complaints, the knight’s uniform suited him quite well.

The toned-down red shirt that made his skin look even whiter and the crisp black pants.

The sophisticated vest and jacket embroidered with luxurious gold thread accentuated his tall build even more.

His silver hair, shimmering in the sunlight coming through the window, looked as if it had been sprinkled with moonlight dust.

“Why did you wear those old, shabby clothes when you look so handsome like this?”

“I look good in anything I wear.”

Mikhail said with a shrug.

He acted in a good-natured manner as if that awkward incident earlier had never happened.

Karina preferred that he act that way.

Karina laughed silently and added one more thing.

“From now on, you just need to escort me by my side. Easy, right?”

“Even inside the Grand Duke’s mansion?”

“There’s no need to do it inside the mansion, but you don’t have anything else to do anyway, right? Just escort me by my side.”

At her words, a satisfied smile appeared on Mikhail’s face.

“I will do so.”

Karina liked his energetic response.

“Since we seem to be ready, shall we go now?”

Karina rose from her seat.

“Now? Where are we going?”

To his question, Karina answered with a smile.

“You’ll find out if you follow me.”

[This is the timeline separator]

As soon as they stepped out of the mansion, Karina gave a warning first.

“When we arrive, don’t step forward and stay still until I give you an order.”

“Where on earth are we going that you’re being so cautious?”

“I told you, you’ll know when we get there.”

As Karina and Mikhail approached the main gate of the mansion, the knights on duty came over.

She told the knights that the purpose was to inspect the nearby village. Everyone tactfully thought it was just sightseeing in the city.

“Please wait a moment. We’ll prepare the knights soon.”

“No. I don’t want to make a fuss by bringing knights along for a light outing. I have an escort, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

The knights were not too pleased with the Grand Duchess’s words about going out with only Mikhail as an escort.

But knowing that Mikhail had defeated Gilford and taken the position of the Grand Duchess’s escort, they couldn’t express their dissatisfaction even if they had any.

‘The knights’ expressions towards Mikhail don’t look good.’

Karina noticed the hostility some knights were showing towards Mikhail.

It was understandable that their pride would be hurt, given that the knighthood prided itself as the strongest on the continent, only to be defeated by a mere wandering wizard.

Mikhail, however, maintained a relaxed expression even in the face of their blatant hostility.

‘They might end up fighting at this rate. I should arrange a meeting sometime.’

Thus, Karina headed towards the village in a carriage with Mikhail.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Did you find out?”

Jeremiah ordered his adjutant to report the results of the investigation.

“After inquiring at the Magic Tower, they confirmed that he is indeed a wizard affiliated with the Tower.”

“So what he said was true.”

“Yes. It’s also true that he leads a wandering life for the purpose of training.”

“Was there anything else?”

“They said that while he was quite a troublemaker when he was at the Tower, and there might be some minor mischief, his nature isn’t bad, so it would be helpful to keep him around…”

“Ha.”

Jeremiah snorted as if it was ridiculous.

“What is the Grand Duchess doing now?”

“The Grand Duchess is currently out, sir.”

“By herself?”

“No. The gatekeeper saw her leaving with an escort, just the two of them.”

Jeremiah’s brow furrowed at his adjutant’s answer.

“She went out with just an escort? Where to?”

“She didn’t specify a destination, but said it was for village inspection. It seemed like her purpose was to sightsee in the city.”

‘How long has he been her escort? And they’re going out alone.’

Jeremiah was displeased with Karina’s behavior of leaving without saying a word.

“When the Grand Duchess returns, report to me immediately.”

“Yes, I understand.”

[This is the timeline separator]

After getting off the carriage in the bustling area, Karina passed through the market and entered a secluded back alley.

The dim inner part of the alley was dirty and desolate.

Perhaps because it was a path rarely frequented by people, it gave off an eerie atmosphere even in broad daylight.

“I didn’t know you were familiar with places like this.”

Mikhail wore an expression of surprise.

“Well, somehow…”

In fact, Karina didn’t know much about the back alleys either. Even before her regression, she had only visited to find the Dark Merchant.

After briefly preparing herself mentally, Karina stepped into the back alley.

The back alley was different from her memory. It was more disorderly and much dirtier.

But fortunately, the shabby pub she was looking for was still there.

To get to the Dark Merchant, she had to go through that pub.

More precisely, the bartender of the pub was the broker for the Dark Merchant.

Ding-a-ling.

As she opened the door, a dull bell sound rang out. Karina, who was about to enter thoughtlessly, paused.

The inside of the pub was nothing short of chaos.

Drunkards with faces red from alcohol, thugs with bloodshot eyes, delinquents who looked troublesome at a glance, women who somehow looked haggard, and so on.

There were various people. If they had anything in common, it was that they were all completely drunk in broad daylight.

Turning her head, she saw a suspicious-looking group at one table, their faces completely hidden under deep hoods.

‘This is definitely the place, right?’

Even when she visited before, it had felt somewhat disorderly, but not to this extent.

Rather, it had been a deliberately created disorder to avoid outside attention, but now it was literally a mess.

Karina was flustered and tried to recall if she had come to the right place.

Mikhail, who was standing quietly behind her, asked.

“Is this really the place you intended to come to?”

“…”

Karina couldn’t readily answer yes to Mikhail’s question.

But no matter how she thought about it, this was the right place.

As Karina hesitated, blocking the entrance, a gruff voice came from the counter.

“If you’re here to drink, come in. If not, get out.”

“…!”

At the words telling her to leave, Karina snapped back to her senses.

Thinking that she couldn’t turn back after coming this far, she entered the pub.

Then she immediately took a seat at the counter.

“Your order?”

At the question of what she would order, Karina recalled her past memories.

The Dark Merchant, given that their main field of activity was the underworld, had many secretive and mysterious aspects.

Therefore, they used their own jargon to distinguish customers.

For instance, in this pub, a unique order played that role.

‘Surely the password was…’

Karina spoke in a low voice, as if worried someone might hear, enunciating each word clearly.

“Give me a teardrop full of bluebell scent captured in blue moonlight.”

“…?”

At her order, the bartender’s face contorted.

“Blue swallow… what?”

The bartender looked at Karina with an expression that seemed to say, ‘What nonsense is this?’

His voice was quite loud, so others in the pub also heard his words.

“Puhaha. Where did you hear such a bizarre menu that no one’s ever heard of?”

“Hey, Harris. Are you sure you’re not just ignorant?”

“Shut up. Is there any drink I don’t know?”

“Who knows. Judging by the looks, she seems to be a high-class person who’s spent some money. How would you know the refined tastes of such people?”

“Even so, there’s no such bizarre drink in the world with blue swallows and tears or whatever. If there was, I would know.”

The bartender, Harris, who spoke firmly, glared at Karina.

“If you’re here to talk nonsense, just leave. I’m not free enough to listen to gibberish.”

Bartender Harris waved his hand irritably as if shooing away a fly.

The person more surprised by the cold response was Karina.

‘He doesn’t know about the blue moonlight? Maybe the password is different now?’

The password Karina had just used was from 3 years in the future, so there was a possibility it had changed.

Having no choice, she decided to ask directly.

“I’m here looking for the Dark Merchant.”

“Dark Merchant?”

Harris snorted at her question, as if it was absurd.

“What Dark Merchant?”

“I have a request I want to make.”

At this, laughter erupted from various corners of the room.

“Who are you trying to request from?”

“This guy here seems to be the only one still sane. If you need this, take it and use it!”

A man who looked like a thief, slurring his words from being completely drunk, grabbed the neck of the swaying man next to him and lifted him up.

At this, the few who were still not passed out from drinking giggled and laughed.

As Karina frowned, Harris at the counter spoke again.

“There’s no such thing here. You must have picked up some nonsense somewhere.”

Karina was extremely confused.

‘What on earth? What’s going on here?’

Karina froze, dumbfounded by the unexpected situation.

At that moment, Harris started scolding the customers.

“Hey, if you’re going to sprawl out and sleep, get out. Otherwise, order more drinks!”

“We need money to order more!”

Even at a customer’s shouted complaint, Harris wore an expression full of irritation.

“Then don’t take up space for nothing and leave quickly! Before I kick those heavy bottoms of yours!”

He looked at Karina again and opened his mouth.

“What are you still doing here without leaving? Get out quickly.”

Harris waved his hand at her dismissively.

Karina, who had frozen in confusion, pondered.

She had heard about the Dark Merchant a few times in the capital before her marriage, so their existence was certain.

She wondered if they were pretending not to know in order to selectively receive customers who came through their own channels of introduction.

‘If that’s the case.’

Karina took out a money pouch from her bosom and placed it in front of Harris.

“Listen carefully. I came to make a request. I’ll pay you if you bring me the information I want.”

Not knowing the password or means to contact the Dark Merchant, she thought she should at least try something.

However, things unfolded differently from what Karina had in mind.

“Ah, I told you there’s nothing like that here, so go back!”

As Harris waved his hand, it hit the money pouch, causing it to tip over.

As a result, the gold coins inside spilled onto the counter with a clinking sound.

At the sound, the surrounding people turned their heads and murmured at the sight of the pile of gold coins on the counter.

“…!”

“Look at that!”

“Oh, gold coins!”

“How much is that?”

“Is she a noble?”

“Idiot, why would a noble come to a place like this?”

Before the people’s whispers could die down.

A skinny man with a vicious look, who had been glancing at Karina for a while, suddenly sprang forward.

“Hey, miss. You seem to have a lot of money?”

As the skinny man opened his mouth, a strong smell of alcohol wafted over.

“Are you the daughter of a rich merchant family or something?”

While he was speaking, delinquent-looking thugs who seemed to be his companions began to surround her.

“You see, we’ve been having some financial difficulties lately. It would be really nice if you could help us out.”

Karina frowned.