Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Is All of This Really a Coincidence?
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Leonhardt's group left the mansion where he was staying and headed toward the Duchess Lukella's residence, chatting along the way.
What else would they have to talk about between them?
The topic was once again Sien Mirmod. Their faces lit up brightly whenever they spoke of Sien.
They started with what Sien liked and what she ate, and it delved so deeply into fan territory that even after walking for a long time, their legs didn't ache.
After walking for dozens of minutes and reaching the outskirts of the mansion where the duchess resided, they ran into her out for a stroll.
Just as Acid shrank back in surprise at the unexpected encounter, the duchess said to Leonhardt with a cold expression.
“What were you all talking about so enjoyably?”
“Oh……. Nothing.”
The Duchess Lukella shook her head as she looked at the stiff Leonhardt.
She knew full well that his lips curved up whenever he talked about Sien, only to go blank again for other topics.
Pretending not to notice, she continued.
“If it's about Honey Bun, then I'll arrange a meeting for the three of you soon. You need poison lessons too, after all.”
Leonhardt replied immediately.
“Sounds good.”
He tried to hide his excitement, but a smile was already playing on his lips.
“Then we can have at least five lessons before Axel Mirmod arrives.”
Normally, the Duchess Lukella would be extremely busy preparing for Axel's return.
But for Sien's sake, she had just cleared her schedule. She felt proud of herself for being able to adjust it on the fly.
Right then, someone barged in from behind them.
“Hey, how about I join too?”
That someone was Delphia Mirmod. The duchess openly frowned at her.
“What nonsense is that? Delphia, why are you even at this mansion?”
Come to think of it, why was Delphia at the Duchess Lukella's mansion anyway? Weren't the two always distant?
Question marks popped up in Acid's and Leonhardt's minds at that moment.
Delphia let out a dramatic sigh in response.
“Aah……. Lately, it feels like our Baby Master has forgotten me—she hasn't even invited me to the mansion—and that wicked Matthias ignores my letters completely.”
The Duchess Lukella still looked utterly unimpressed. She jerked her chin lightly at Delphia and said.
“Whether you see our Honey Bun or not, that's none of my business. You're an uninvited guest.”
“Aah, I miss our little cutie so much. I want to teach her too. Okay?”
Delphia sighed deeply, as if lovesick. Leonhardt glanced at her and thought.
Poor thing. I'm a Night Fluff genius—I get to see her plenty. If I weren't so busy right now, I'd head straight to the Night Fluff mansion and meet her immediately.
Until now, he had only seen Delphia as a dangerous person.
But seeing her desperately calling for Honey Bun as Baby Master, he felt sorry for her.
On top of that, a strange sense of superiority toward Delphia welled up in him.
But if he thought about it that way…….
‘Acid over there lives in the same house as Night Fluff?’
……Seeing Acid shattered that strange superiority.
‘I want to live in the same house as Night Fluff too. Maybe her genius would rub off on me?’
Meanwhile, Acid, who actually lived there, just blinked as he watched the tug-of-war over Sien between the Duchess Lukella and Delphia.
And so, without Sien knowing, the trio's affection offensive toward Night Fluff, Baby Master, and Honey Bun continued.
***
Me, Captain, and Daddy. Just the three of us left.
The brown-haired boy had been taken to the training grounds by Deadri sis to be reformed…… so I figured I didn't need to worry about him for a while.
I whispered while clutching tightly to Daddy's sleeve.
“Daddy.”
“Yeah?”
“You know, someone's talking about me, right!”
My ear had been itching a bit.
I wondered if someone was badmouthing me, so I clenched my fist and scowled. Seeing me like that, Daddy chuckled.
“Sien, you look scary with that face.”
I nodded and let a faint smile play on my lips.
“No way. I'm sweet!”
As I chatted with Daddy for a while, one thought occurred to me.
There was someone else here besides me and Daddy.
It was Captain, whom I'd brought to introduce to Daddy.
“Captain's sweet too! Can he sleep in the room next to Acid's?”
“Yeah, if that's what Sien wants, I'll prepare a room.”
I decided to try a bit harder to introduce Captain properly to Daddy.
“Um, Daddy. You should sponsor Captain's orphanage, okay? Even a little is fine.”
Of course, I'd work to repay Daddy for that sponsorship money. Daddy needed funds as heir too. Especially since we were heirs to a terribly impoverished territory right now—every coin counted.
But whether Daddy didn't know that or was just happy to sponsor…… he simply smiled brightly at me.
“Yep, sure.”
As expected, Daddy was such a kind person that the word “sponsorship” had won him over. I buried my face in his embrace and mumbled.
“Finding Captain's mom would be great too. I'll find my own value later……. But Captain's mom is a gypsy in the Mersie region. Might be a shaman. Or maybe not.”
“I'll look into it. I was already planning to…… investigate his background. Properly, I mean.”
“Hm?”
When I tilted my head at his words about already planning to look into it, Daddy smiled awkwardly.
“Since he's Sien's friend, I should meet his mom and see what she's like.”
I flashed him a sparkling smile full of trust in him.
***
After putting Sien to bed, Matthias entered his office.
Sien might not have realized it, but he too was meticulously preparing to receive Axel Mirmod.
The difference was…….
“So Axel Mirmod's weakness is keeping a shaman close, you say.”
“Yes, he's quite sensitive about jinxes too.”
Matthias's intelligence network was impressively competent.
He looked down at the head of the information guild and took a puff from his pipe. As his cold face turned impassive, his subordinate spoke up preemptively, intimidated.
“As you know, he's a debauched sort with weak mental fortitude. Attacking on the mental side would be ideal.”
As the man said, Axel Mirmod's sole weakness was his frail mind.
Despite his immense power and ferocity, Axel couldn't hold out without relying on alcohol or magic drugs.
Perhaps because of that.
He was quite obsessed with the mystical, and this time was no different.
“In this war, he's keeping a shaman by his side. Her exact identity hasn't been revealed yet, but rumors say she's a gypsy woman. Around thirty or forty years old. He relies on her fortunes to some extent—not much, but enough. Though he vows to kill her once the war ends.”
The mention of a gypsy woman instantly reminded him of what Sien had said earlier.
Captain's mom. The request to find the female gypsy shaman in the Mersie region.
‘……Is all of this really a coincidence?’
But he swallowed a hiss through gritted teeth.
Coincidence or not, he'd make it one.
In the filthy power struggles of the Mirmod family, a tiny thing like Sien getting involved would crumble in no time.
He only wished his lovable Sien could see only good things and live happily.
“Find the gypsy shaman in the Mersie region immediately.”
First, they had to locate that woman.
He planned to confirm if she was the same one Sien mentioned. And if she was.
“We'll kidnap her. Bring her here.”
He was prepared to do anything if his little daughter Sien wanted it.
***
While Matthias obtained the information and slipped away to the Mersie region at dawn.
Sien had headed to the casino—the filthiest money pit in this filthy family.
‘In the original story, this place had the most money flowing through it.’
The reason for coming here was simple.
To earn money as the breadwinner in place of my surely impoverished noble heir Daddy, and to commission the information guild to find Captain's mom.
‘There should be a pretty good dealer here somewhere…….’
Sien toddled along briskly, her tiny body wrapped head to toe in a scarf with only her eyes peeking out.
Behind her followed maids who were tall and muscular, over 180cm, shadowing her ominously.
The maid sisters looked extremely flustered.
Since this mission required stealth, she'd handpicked a minimal elite team. She'd asked them to assist in advance, but this place was so dangerous that their panic was understandable.
‘Besides, this casino isn't just a simple gambling den.’
It was a place where children could never enter through official channels.
It wasn't ideal for Captain and Acid's education, but they'd been absolutely necessary, so she'd brought them along.
‘Once I find the dealer inside, we have business together.’
If asked what she planned to do with the dealer, she could answer very specifically.
This casino was no ordinary casino, and the dealer was no ordinary dealer.
On the surface, it looked like any place dealing poker and roulette. But only a select few knew the truth: it was the gateway to the Dark Auction House.
[Dark Auction House].
A place where virtually anything in the world could be had, with countless dangerous items traded.
No one knew exactly who owned it.
Whoever the owner was, though, the auctions on special days always drew massive attention.
Auction items could be people, magic artifacts, or even land.
Of course, like any auction, only about 10% were worthwhile; 90% were useless junk that still got bids.
Unsold items were re-auctioned next time. But people ignored the junk. They came for that 10% of treasures.
Melodia was the same.
True to her role as the novel's heroine, Melodia had acquired many great items here. She'd used them to take down the villainous Mirmod family.
Especially the small, beautiful rosewood estate laden with endless gold that I wanted to buy—it made her rich!
People only knew about the roses on top; no one knew about the gold buried beneath.
They dismissed it as worthless land unworthy of this auction house, or thought buying it would ruin their reputation after coming all this way, and coldly bid only on flashier items.
Melodia had just been lucky; she hadn't known about the gold either.
And now, I was going to buy that very land.
To claim the gold mine buried within.
Plus, passing the test to enter the [Dark Auction House] once meant I could return repeatedly. So on future days with good items, I could come back and buy more.
If things followed the original plot, the land should be up for auction by now. Around the fifth relisting, probably.
If my guess was right, this was the perfect timing to buy the land before Melodia.
First, I had to find the casino dealer who sold tickets to the [Dark Auction House].
Those tickets weren't for sale with money. You had to pass the dealer's test.
For that test today, I'd carefully selected my closest aides—the maid sisters, Acid, Captain, and others—to bring along.
‘Before the test, look as impressive, cool, and capable as possible!’
That's why I planned to enter the casino boldly, like stepping out of a noir film, all stylish and confident.
But there was a problem…….