Royal Background Investigation (3)

The next step was a field investigation.

Iren had last met the other royals two months ago — a month before the Academy entrance ceremony.

She claimed she was under Duke Katram's protection, living in one of the Katram family's villas that even I knew nothing about.

There were plenty of villas I'd never set foot in. I was the head butler of the main estate; managing the outlying properties simply wasn't within my reach.

So even if Iren really was living in one of them, my ignorance was only natural. I'd never been involved in their administration to begin with.

Still, I knew the locations of every single villa.

"Following Iren is impossible."

She always left the Academy later than I did — as if that were some kind of rule. I'd been so focused on getting home early to see the young lady that I'd been slow to notice the pattern.

More importantly, she never arrived by carriage. She didn't live in the dorms like Lionel, yet she came from a villa close enough that a carriage wasn't necessary.

That left exactly two candidates. The problem was how flimsy both of them were.

One sat in a bustling market district; the other near a famous resort forest. Neither was particularly well secured.

Hiding the Empire's Third Princess — a girl whose very birth had never been publicly acknowledged — in places like that? It made no sense.

"Still, I should check them out."

Better to confirm. If I brushed this off and later found a decisive lead I'd overlooked, I'd be too bitter to sleep.

I transformed into the elderly head butler — the face I showed the outside world — and headed for the villa near the market.

The reason a villa had been built there was unusual: the market was an excellent place to gauge public sentiment. Duke Katram was the most commoner-friendly noble in the Empire, and whenever he had free time he would stay at this villa for a few days, observing the hardships of ordinary people.

Perhaps those visits had really been secret meetings with Iren. Pure speculation, of course.

"Oh! Head Butler!"

"How have you been?"

The steward in charge of the Market Villa came rushing out. His name was Root.

"What brings you here? Isn't the main house keeping you busy enough?"

"His Grace has been giving me rather a lot of rest lately. Anything of note at the villa?"

"Of note? Hardly. If anything, only good news."

"Good news? Ah — forgive me. Let's talk inside."

"Of course. I'll prepare some tea."

I entered the Market Villa with Root. Seated in the drawing room with a cup of black tea, I listened to what he had to say.

Apparently a new welfare policy the Duke had recently introduced was working so well that the market folk were singing the praises of both the Imperial Family and House Katram. I already knew about the policy, but hearing it was actually producing results put me in a good mood — because part of that policy had been the young lady's idea.

"How fortunate the people are to have Duke Katram looking after them."

"His Grace is, next to His Majesty, the most deserving of respect. Tell me, Root — has any person of particular importance stayed here recently?"

"A person of importance?"

"Yes. Someone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠whose visit must not be made known outside these walls."

"In the past several years, the only one who has come here is His Grace himself. Most guests go to the main house."

"I see."

I asked a few more questions after that, but nothing useful came of it. The mana Root was leaking showed no tremor — he didn't appear to be lying.

"Very well. Keep up the good work."

"Oh, please — 'good work'? Compared to the grace His Grace has shown me, I'm practically lounging about."

"Haha. His Grace's generosity does tend to overflow. I'll be off, then."

Next up was the Forest Villa.

I hadn't walked far before the fresh scent of woodland filled my nose. The resort forest sat barely a short distance from the capital's streets, yet it felt as though an entirely different space had been stitched onto the city.

It was the height of spring, and the place was thronged with people. Children dazed by the fragrance of flowers, adults watching them with fond amusement. Honeybees busy gathering nectar, and mages with long-suffering faces fending off hornets that were trying to raid the hives.

Past the noisy entrance and a little deeper into the woods stood the villa itself. The idea of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Iren living here was even more absurd — because of what I found inside.

"One beer over here!"

"Sausages and a whole roast boar, extra!"

"I want a soft drink!"

Instead of a grand hall, the moment I stepped through the door I was met with something resembling a packed restaurant. Commoners and nobles alike were ordering food and chatting merrily without distinction.

The Forest Villa was, for all practical purposes, half an inn. The resort was popular, and since the Duke rarely visited, he had simply opened the place to the public.

Keeping a secret Third Princess in a place like this was out of the question.

I carefully threaded my way through the cheerful diners and made for the office of Luger, the steward in charge.

"Luger. It's Fredley."

Fredley was the alias I used whenever I wore this disguise.

"…Come in."

The reply came in a thoroughly drained voice. I opened the door with a wry smile.

"It's been a while, Head Butler."

"You still look exhausted."

"You have no idea."

Luger was buried under a mountain of paperwork. At a glance, the man at that desk looked more like a noble than a butler — which, to be fair, he was. The heir of a baronial house, one of the rare aristocrats employed by House Katram, which preferred to hire commoners whenever possible.

"Am I interrupting?"

"Honestly, I'm grateful for the excuse. Even a single minute of rest is a blessing."

"Still, take it easy when you can. Of course, this is the busy season for the resort forest, so it can't be helped, but…"

"Head Butler."

Luger looked at me with eyes raw from fatigue.

"I'm sorry, but there is no 'busy season' for the resort forest."

"What?"

"In spring they come for the flowers. In summer they come for the fresh greenery. In autumn they come because the fallen leaves are pretty. In winter they come to go sledding. Every single season is a tourist season. They pour in so relentlessly you start to doubt that commoners are actually hard up. The nobles are just as bad."

"Ahaha. You've got it rough."

"If not for His Grace's kindness, I would have deserted long a— never mind. So what brings you here?"

"I was wondering whether you had any long-term guests."

"Long-term? No."

Luger answered instantly. His exhausted eyes flicked back and forth as he ran through the guest list in his head.

"Too many people come through. This place is booked solid three hundred sixty-five days a year — we don't have the capacity for long-term stays. According to His Grace's philosophy, opportunity must be distributed equally to all, and one person monopolizing it is improper. The maximum anyone may stay is three nights and four days. Anyone who tries to stay longer is expelled under the authority of House Katram. The ones who get thrown out sometimes pitch huts just to remain nearby, but…"

"I understand, I understand. Do you need more staff?"

"Could you ask His Grace to send fifty more servants?"

"I'm afraid fifty is out of the question. And even if we could assign them, the training period alone would—"

"Training is unnecessary! They'll learn on the job!"

"Mm. Very well. I'll be going, then."

"Wait, Head Butler! Don't abandon me! Head Butler! You can't leave!"

I left the wailing Luger behind and made a swift exit.

"Not here either, then."

This was a problem. Did that mean I had to search every villa?

It was almost certainly pointless. Unless there was a secret villa I didn't even know about…

"Ah."

A scene flashed through my mind.

The moment the Duke had teleported ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into the estate with the young lady. That was it. His Grace was one of the few people in the Empire capable of teleportation!

What if the Duke had been ferrying Iren to and from the Academy by teleport?

Then she wouldn't need to live anywhere near the Academy at all. Why hadn't I thought of that sooner?

"Tsk."

My head felt ready to split open. Searching every villa was still impossible. One or two was fine, but if word got out that I'd suddenly visited all of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them, suspicion was guaranteed.

Especially since Iren was supposedly staying somewhere in secret — my every move would be scrutinized.

"This isn't easy. The target being who she is makes all the difference."

Investigating a royal was this hard. A commoner would have been simple.

In the end, I decided to wait for the assassin guild's report. I flew back to the Katram estate.

And there I ran straight into Iren, clutching a lion plushie and glaring at me with open displeasure.

"Ah…"

"Well? Anything to say?"

"About that…"

"You left a princess alone and went out. Enjoy yourself?"

"You're surprisingly diligent. I thought you'd sleep in a little longer."

"Who are you calling a late sleeper?!"

Thwack! Thwack! Iren beat me with the lion plushie. It was the spitting image of the lion doll that had appeared when she created the Unobserved Area.

"Aaaah! I'm sorry!"

"Then tell me where you went!"

"That's private! I don't have to!"

"You still haven't learned your lesson!"

Iren unleashed a flurry of blunt-weapon techniques with the lion plushie. Ow! That hurts! I could tell she was holding back, but it still hurt!

In the end I spent the rest of the day getting pummeled by Iren and eating the porridge she spoon-fed me.

That evening, after Iren left, the Duke and the young lady returned. His Grace looked thoroughly exhausted, while the young lady was smiling for reasons I couldn't fathom.

The moment she saw my limp, battered form, she cried, "Frey! I'll nurse you back to health!" — and I fled for my life. No matter the circumstances, a head butler being nursed by the young lady of the house was a farce that simply could not be allowed to happen.

And so the day passed, and morning came.

Word arrived from the assassin guild.

Hmm.

Had these people lost their minds?