CH 112

I remember what Simon told me yesterday. Simon was deceived by a typical investment scam worn out on modern Earth or something like that. I never thought that there would be someone doing such a thing in this country at this time. And doing this much con-artistry and large-scale fraud is not something that Emma and other children did alone.

It’s easy to say that Simon, who got caught, was an idiot and deserved it. Even I think that Simon who was deceived so easily wasn’t thinking too deeply about this. However, in modern Japan, such tricks have been widely publicized, and even if people are told to beware of fraud, there is no end to the number of people who get caught regardless. Furthermore, it might be natural for a child with underdeveloped judgment to be deceived in such a world as this.

Rather than that, there should be someone familiar with the mechanics behind such a scam and even setting up a large-scale system to set up Marquis Roppe. A merchant, a professional fraudster, or an aristocrat accustomed to such things…

At the very least, the fact that Simon believed it so easily means that Houses Arnhardt and Valtek are also participating, so they should have received an explanation that they’ll be alright. I don’t think they’re willing to believe the children’s claims no matter what. After all, it should be seen that Sophie and Emma’s parents, or at least the adults with authority over each family, were participating in scams and conning victims behind the scenes.

If the other party was preparing from the beginning with the intention of setting up Marquis Roppe in earnest, it may be difficult to prove it even if it is now time to gather evidence. The best thing would be if this was an investment scam, the contract itself would be void or canceled, and the debt would be a joke…

Simon’s father will be angry if he finds out that Simon stole his seal and made a contract without permission. But at least if you don’t take action to clean up your debts, it can become troublesome. It would be a pity to lose such a good lord as Marquis Roppe because of this.

“… -ra…. -ora. Flora…!”

“Yes?” I said.

Mikoto was shouting really loudly into my ear, and when I turned around, I saw she was pretty angry.

“Geeze! I’ve already called you so many times!” she snapped.

“I’m sorry… but your voice is too loud…” I said.

It’s already completely obvious. If you shout in a voice that can be heard in the whole classroom, you’ll get a lot of attention… didn’t I tell Mikoto to be careful with me because if we were too close, we would be subject to unnecessary scrutiny? Was I stupid for expecting Mikoto to be able to do that?

“Wasn’t that because you’ve been ignoring me even though I keep calling out your name?!” Mikoto shot back.

So that’s why she’s so loud…

“Didn’t I tell you to be careful not to let our relationship get too public?” I asked.

“It’s fine, I don’t mind,” Mikoto said. “It’s strange that we sit next to each other in the classroom, but it’s not strange for us to stay idle all the time. After a few days, it wouldn’t be strange for us to become friends.”

That may be true, but I thought it would be a negative for Mikoto if she was close to me, a bullying victim… ah, enough of that… it’s too late anyway.

“So what happened?” I asked.

“What happened, you ask!” Mikoto snapped. “It’s lunchtime! Let’s go eat.”

“Ahh……” I said.

Apparently, it was already lunch. Anyway, we were already making a scene and being stared at, so we headed to the dining hall while Mikoto led me by the hand.

After school, just as I was thinking of killing time in the classroom to avoid the usual rush to go home, the classroom door opened and Katharina entered.

Usually, the family servants are not permitted to enter the buildings with the classrooms. However, after school, a receptionist is always stationed at the entrance of the building so that you can have someone enter to tell the students their carriage has arrived to pick them up. As expected, no matter if it’s after school or someone picking the students up, you can’t enter without permission. As long as they are entrusted with the children of aristocrats, there are also appropriate security measures.

“I’m sorry, Miss Flora. Please hurry back home today,” Katharina said.

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She looks a little hurried as she told me that. It’s rare, but it can happen. I thought that there would be such a day once in a while if there was some urgent business, incident, or accident.

“Mikoto, I’m sorry,” I said. “It seems I have some urgent business to attend to. I’m sorry, but I’ll head home first.”

“It can’t be helped,” Mikoto said. “Good day, Flora.”

“Good day,” I replied.

After saying goodbye to Mikoto while we were killing time, I left the classroom. I don’t know what the matter is, but if Katharina doesn’t say it, it probably means that it shouldn’t be said right now. If Katharina judges that, then there is no need for me to force myself to ask her. I’m sure she’ll explain once we’re in the carriage.

Usually, I’m told to get in the carriage line at the entrance and wait my turn, but today I’m led by Katharina and walk from the entrance to the outside of the school. This will be a real emergency, so I’ll get in the carriage this way instead of waiting in line, but generally, it’s taboo.

It’s not only courtesy, etiquette, and manners, if it were possible to go directly to the carriage waiting outside the school grounds, everyone would be able to board their carriage at their discretion without lining up properly. If that happens, carriages will stop here and there on their own, causing heavy traffic and accidents. Actually, as a rule of thumb, such a situation has already occurred, so it is decided that there is a queue and all pick-ups and drop-offs are at the entrance.

Normally, ignoring that and walking outside and getting into the carriage that was left waiting outside the grounds would be a serious offense. Unless there is a good reason, you will have to stand in line. In spite of this, the fact that things are going this way should be seen as something urgent or an important problem occurring.

I never thought that I would go outside and board without lining up, so I wondered what happened. If it’s something like this, what happened to my family? Did a family member die or our House was demolished…? I shook my head to shake off the unpleasant thoughts and sat down. Even if I don’t force myself to think about strange things, Katharina will probably explain it soon.

“So… what happened?” I asked.

“At once…” Katharina said. “The matter is… His Majesty Wilhelm and His Grace Dietrich are at the Carruthers Residence.”

Huh, this is really rare. Even if you’re a King or a Prime Minister, normally you would call the other party to the royal castle. Even so, it’s quite unusual for those two to go out of their way to visit someone else’s home. Even so, what the hell do these two want from Father?

“… It’s probably not what you’re thinking, Miss Flora,” Katharina said. “The two of them are waiting for you.”

“…………Huh?!” I yelled.

No, hold up. The two came to visit me. Why? I don’t remember doing anything that Wilhelm or Dietrich would need to directly say to me. It must be quite a big deal for these two to go out of their way to visit my house. It’s not normal to visit the house of a margrave’s daughter or a royal knight, even if her father is a margrave.

What have I done that is so important…? If there is anything that comes to mind, is it the last time we met at the royal castle that I recommended that Ludwig marry Helene? Or maybe the other day at the school, there was a dispute involving Ludwig and Rutger?

Putting aside the matter of marrying Helene, things at the school have already been resolved between the involved parties, so it shouldn’t be something that the King and the others will have a say in now. If that’s the case, it’s highly likely that they’d suggest I should cancel my engagement and marry Helene.

I know there’s no point in thinking about it on my own right now, but in order to foresee even a little and come up with countermeasures, I was frantically thinking up reasons all the way until I got home.

When I arrived at the Carruthers Residence, I immediately changed my clothes and went to meet Wilhelm and Dietrich, who were both waiting for me. When I opened the reception room, there was also my mother sitting across from them. It seems that she was entertaining these two.

“Oh my, welcome back, Flora dear,” Mother said.

“I’ve just returned,” I said. “My apologies for keeping you waiting.”

I apologize for the time being. If you’re going to come, you should tell me what time you’re coming today. Is there someone who will come without notice? That’s what I want to say, but I can’t really say it.

“It’s us who came without warning,” Wilhelm said. “There’s nothing to apologize for.”

If you know that, can you make an appointment with me? There are various conveniences here as well.

Huh? Even so, there is something strange about Wilhelm and Dietrich’s outfits. This is what I mean: Wilhelm looks like a wealthy merchant, and Dietrich looks like a successful manager. In other words, they are not dressed like royalty or high-ranking aristocrats, but like rich commoners. And they match each other subtly.

Somehow they look quite familiar, and perhaps these two have been walking around dressed like ordinary people many times. I’m doing that too, so I can’t say anything from a high horse, but I want you to think a little more about your position. The story is different between an ordinary noble lady and the king and a top court official.

“So… what kind of business do you have with me today?” I asked.

I’m not going to make small talk forever, so I urge them to tell me what I need to do.

“It seems that you’ve started a new business, Princess Flora,” Dietrich said.

New business? Are you talking about the second capital branch of Caanza Trading Firm? It’s not like it’s a new business. We simply increased the number of stores and divided the demographics ……… no, is the crepe cafe a new business for the time being? It can’t be…….

“It’s nothing like a new business, but…” I said.

“Actually, that we’ve come here today was none other than to inspect your new business,” Wilhelm said.

Just as I thought! I don’t know where they heard about it, but in other words, they want to eat crepes or something like that!?

“I heard you launched a new product without giving it to us first,” Dietrich said, giving a nasty grin.

“Uuu…” I whimpered.

But wait a moment. Just because I have developed a new product, there shouldn’t be a rule that I have to present everything to Wilhelm and Dietrich first. In the first place, new products are developed and released one after another without permission in the castle town, so it’s not like they’re presenting all of them to royalty and relatives first.

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“It’s not much different from the product I gave you before. I don’t think it’s worth taking the time to show it to the two of you…” I said.

Besides, there’s no rule that just because I developed something, I have to hand it over to these guys. It was also beneficial to me when I handed over the new cooking recipes before. However, my business would not work if I gave up all rights without any merit.

“What, we’re not asking you to give up the rights or how to make it,” Dietrich said. “We just want to try it.”

“Then I will prepare it now,” I said.

“Wait. It’s nowhere near what we desire,” Dietrich said.

They stopped me as I was about to leave. I no longer have just a bad feeling. I had some inklings when I saw that outfit. But I don’t want to hear it.

“Rather than having it made here and tasting it, I wanted to actually experience it at the store,” Dietrich said. “That’s how I came here with His Majesty. I want to see not only this food called ‘crepes’ but also the store that serves it.”

Just as I thought……. these guys probably did a lot of research and knew everything before coming here. The information network of the King and Prime Minister cannot be underestimated. Even though it’s a company that I run, it’s amazing how they even stocked up on information on shopping streets and their businesses.

“Then, could you tell us the number of escorts?” I said. “To avoid confusion, I’ll contact the store now and they can prepare to receive you both…”

“We don’t need that either.,” Dietrich said. “Just the two of us and you as our third is fine. In a nutshell, it’s an incognito inspection. Don’t make it public.”

I thought so. That’s why I thought they must have dressed like commoners. But I didn’t want to hear that.

“Then I cannot protect both His Majesty and His Grace,” I said. “I can’t handle the both of you alone. At least let us have an escort…”

“Hmm!” Wilhelm went. “That is why!: Sir Floto von Caan, soldier of the Royal Guard Division, I order you to escort and guide the two of us.”

I thought as much……. that’s why I didn’t like it… even with this, if something happens to the two of them, I’ll be responsible for everything…

But if the order was formally given to members of the Royal Guard Division, I have no way of refusing. Thus, I had to take Wilhelm and Dietrich and guide them to Caanza’s second store and crepe cafe.