This marks the start of volume 9 content. However, the color page contains major spoilers, so I apologize but I will only post the ill.u.s.trations when they won"t be spoilers anymore.

"Hmm, I wonder where I should start…"

I left Freed"s room and exited the royalty quarter.
All the soldiers around here remember my face. Even if I walk aimlessly, I"m not reproached anymore. I was leisurely walking, paying no mind to soldiers silently bowing their heads as I pa.s.s by.

―― It"s been about a week since Cain departed.
Because it would be hard to be confined in the room alone all the time, I earnestly asked Freed and received the permission to walk around inside the Fafnir Castle.
I"d been told before that if something happened inside the castle Freed would come rus.h.i.+ng immediately. That"s why I unreservedly look around here and there.
It was slightly amusing to see court ladies and royal guards do a double take, surprised by the King"s Flower on my chest.
Considering the King"s Flower had changed a lot, I was just a little worried what people unaware of the truth behind the King"s Flower would think, but it seemed to be a needless anxiety.

"I guess it was originally planned to be that big, no? It must be considerably painful to have a big tattoo done at once, so out of consideration for Princess Consort it was divided in two… Because, you see"
"Hee. The current King"s Flower is much bigger"
"His Highness loves Princess Consort very much. By making it as big as possible, he wants to show off she"s his… or something"
"Yeah…. Seems possible. His Highness really loves Princess Consort. Well, before it was fairly smallish. It"s much more like His Highness now"
"Isn"t it. His Highness too seems happy, so isn"t it fine"

It seems an understanding like this spread as a fact on its own. What a rumor to spread.
But, I found it just a little funny, aware that it would be very much like Freed.

I"m leisurely walking while observing the surroundings.
The general area of the Fafnir Castle is fairly vast. It"s natural since it contains everything aside from the royalty quarter, but just because it"s called general area doesn"t mean every place is accessible.
For example, Freed"s or the King"s offices. These aren"t in the royalty quarter, but they still lie deep inside the Royal Castle and the people who enter are checked fairly strictly.
Because it"s the same for the headquarters of the Magician Division or Royal Guard Chivalric Order, the locations everybody can freely enter and where that"s not the case are distinctly separated. Where one can enter is decided depending on their social status and duties.
I"m walking relatively deep inside such a general area. Without a certain social status or official position one can"t come here. As for me, I"ve been recognized as royalty thanks to the King"s Flower, so I can enter anywhere as I please now, but otherwise I"d be driven out immediately. It"s a location where even a duke"s daughter can"t enter without a special permission.
People walking around here mostly know me, I"m very grateful they just lightly bow their heads to greet me without making a noise.

"Information gathering. Information gathering, huh…"

The hint I received from Ms. Delris.
I"ve been thinking about it the whole time since then.
According to her words I apparently only grasp things from one side.
It seems I must investigate more to learn the truth about Mother-in-law.
So I thought. I can"t leave the castle anyway. So how about getting information inside the castle.
However, it"s not going well. The problem is, I got basically stuck at the beginning. Because, I don"t know where to obtain important information.
And, how should I even ask.
Or rather, what am I supposed to do when I don"t even know what information I want in the first place.

"Hmm. Is it checkmate from the start?"

If I found the beginning of a thread, I could follow it, but I can"t find it.
While troubled, I got down from the second floor to the ground floor and then went outside the building. There"s a garden with few people nearby so I thought of going there to breathe some fresh air. While trotting, I heard a perplexed voice from behind.

"Lidi?"
"Nn?"

When I looked back towards the familiar voice, I saw dark blue robes. Immediately noticing who it is, I smiled broadly.

"Will. It"s been a while"

I was called out to by the Magician Division Commander and also my childhood friend, Will.

"Ah… yeah. What are you doing here? Do you have some business with the Magician Division?"
"Nn? Not really…"

Will, who I see for the first time in a while, is holding something large in his hands. It looks like a lot of thin files.
Come to think of it, from the place I"m in, I can not only reach the garden directly, but also the east tower that"s the headquarters of the Magician Division. That"s why the garden has little popularity.
Perhaps Will is now on the way back to his office in the Magician Division.

"I don"t really have any business. Will, you? Are you on the way back to the Magician Division?"
"Yeah"
"Hmph. You"re carrying a whole lot. I"m free, so how about I carry a little?"

I kindly made an offer, but Will shook his head with an amazing vigor.

"N, no… I"m fine!"
"Eh… But"
"There"s no problem!"
"Is, is that so?"

Overwhelmed by Will"s vigor, though I blinked my eyes I nodded. The moment Will relaxed, he dropped a bunch of files he was holding.

"U… uwah!?"
"Jeez, Will, come on… You have to be careful… Ah"

The files scattered everywhere. When I stooped to pick them up, I accidently saw the contests of a few files.

Inside were drawn portraits of women of marriageable age. Portrait on the left. On the right family chart and personal history is written.
… Yup. This is unmistakably… for matchmaking.
He must"ve noticed I saw it. When I raised my body, Will was there, solidified.
Perhaps embarra.s.sed, only his eyes restlessly swam.
Thinking it"d be improper to ignore it even though I noticed, I tried frankly asking.

"Err… Will, are you going to get married?"

Thinking about it, Will is already twenty-three years old. He"s the same age as Brother. It wouldn"t be strange if he was married.
Considering he"s the heir to a ducal house, he should at least have a fiancée.
But, far from a fiancée, he still doesn"t even have a lover.
His lord, Freed, will marry the next month. It"s no wonder that he"d be encouraged to marry at the same timing as one of his close aides.
In case of marrying at the same time, the children are often close in age. It"s important for high ranking n.o.bility to obtain the position of the next era"s royalty"s friend from the start.
Oh, I see. Will is finally getting married.
When I nodded, deeply moved and strongly convinced, for some reason Will frantically shook his head.

"It, it"s different! This is Glenn"s, not mine…."
"Nn? Glenn"s?"
"That"s right! I"m not partic.i.p.ating in matchmaking!"
"Ah, I see"

I was surprised by Will"s menacing look as he flared up that it"s unthinkable. I think partic.i.p.ating in matchmaking would be normal, but I wonder why he doesn"t want to be misunderstood so much.
Perhaps Will already has a girlfriend? If that"s the case, I feel bad for saying something unnecessary.

"Err, sorry… I didn"t notice. Wil, you already have a lover? And so, you didn"t want to be misunderstood? Then if it"s alright, could you introduce me to her the next time?"

I want to meet Will"s lover by all means. I"m genuinely interested in what kind of woman my childhood friend has chosen. But Will denied that too in a loud voice.

"I, I don"t have a lover!"
"Eh… Is that so?"
"It is! That"s why, please don"t strangely misunderstand!"
"Ah… yes"

Although surprised by him flaring up, I nodded again.
While gasping for breath, Will picked up the files. I followed.
After putting everything back in his arms, he awkwardly cleared his throat.

"A, anyway… These are for Glenn"s matchmaking. They are… completely unrelated to me"
"Glenn will be ahead of Will? Ah, but, I see, he"s the second son…"

As the heir Will will succeed the court rank.
That"s why as the second son Glenn must search for a family to take him in through a bride. In that case, it"s certainly better to hurry.

"Hmph… But there are so many, hasn"t he narrowed the candidates yet?"

It was a simple question, but while frowning Will said.

"There was a prime candidate. It seems first steps to the engagement were taken. But, while I don"t know the details… Apparently it was broken off the other day"
"Broken off? That Glenn had?"
"Yeah"

Glenn has quite a pleasant personality. Certainly, there"s no end to the rumors about his night matters, but as a husband he should be favorable.
The second son of the Pellegrini ducal house, the commander of a chivalric order. And he"s a refres.h.i.+ng tall handsome man, so many people have a favorable impression of him.
He"s such a superior article it wouldn"t surprise me if he was fought over by many admirers.
What the h.e.l.l happened for him to have it broken off.
I was curious, but thinking it would be rude to pry into it I decided not to ask further.
It isn"t good to be a Peeping Tom.
Mmhm, when I nodded to myself, Will said in a whisper.

"… But… For his sake too, I think it"s good it was broken off"
"Eh"

He said so with a far-away look. When I stared at him wondering what he tried to say, perhaps sensing my gaze his mouth unusually warped into a bitter smile.

"Glenn… has a woman he"s always desired. That"s why…"
"I… see"

I didn"t expect those words.
Without noticing me who stiffened from surprise, Will continued.

"… Recently I"ve been thinking that it"s a really happy thing to marry a person you love… Glenn accepted matchmaking because he had long given up, but I…"
"Eh? Will… Do you have somebody you love too?"

Looking into Will"s profile as he narrowed his eyes sadly, I asked.
That way of talking makes it sound like both the older and younger brother are in unrequited love.
Will opened his eyes wide for a moment as if he"d messed up, but immediately he shook his head in denial.

"It… it"s a simple what-if. I… have no such woman… Forget it, Lidi"
"Eh… But"
"Please…"

I don"t think the yearning expression he showed for just a moment was a lie.
Nevertheless - I felt like I was rejected by something beyond the words to not ask.

"… I understand"
"Sorry…"

Many n.o.ble marriages are characterized by politics. That"s a common knowledge. Fortunately, I will marry a person I love and who loves me back, but I understand it"s not something you can usually wish for.
It"s by no means unusual to not be wedded with a person you desire, like Will or Glenn. Especially because they"re high ranking n.o.bility.
Understanding that, I could do nothing but nod.