I fidgeted with my lips and spoke in a cautious voice.
“I know you’re busy, oppa. I’ll be fine. I’m not a child; I can go home by myself.”
Cedric, who had been silently listening to me, let out a sigh.
“Don’t you realize how much it damages the dignity of a marquis’s daughter to return home alone every time after a tea party?”
Ah, I suppose that’s true.
I felt relieved for a moment, understanding the reason, but then flinched at Cedric’s arrogant tone that followed.
“If you’re embarrassed about family picking you up, why don’t you try persuading His Grace the Duke?”
“Embarrassed? I’d much prefer you picking me up over the Duke, oppa.”
What am I thinking right now?
Asking Ricardo to come get me?
That could never happen.
Just the thought of his mocking gaze made my head throb and my breathing difficult.
Filled with anxiety, I quickly continued.
“It’s just… I didn’t want to bother you, oppa. But if you don’t mind, I’d like it if you came to get me.”
Please, just don’t mention Ricardo.
Please!
I looked at Cedric imploringly, but he wasn’t even looking at me.
…But he heard me, right?
I let out a sigh of relief and turned my gaze out the window.
Strangely, until we arrived home, I didn’t hear the sound of Cedric flipping through the newspaper.
---
Ding, ding—
From early morning, the sound of bells rang out.
Faintly, I could even hear a rhythmic sound afterward.
I tried covering my ears with a pillow, but eventually, I couldn’t stand it and sprang out of bed.
As soon as I pulled the bell cord, Emily entered the room.
“Young lady, are you unwell? You’re up early today.”
“It’s not like I wanted to get up.”
I pointed toward the window and asked.
“Is there some kind of party in the capital? One I don’t know about?”
Emily answered with a small laugh.
“If there’s a party without you, young lady, then it’s no party at all.”
“It’s the homecoming ceremony today. I mentioned it before…”
At those words, my mouth fell open as if I’d been shocked.
The homecoming ceremony.
How could I forget that?
Such an important day?
“What time will the knighthood return?”
“Around ten o’clock, I believe.”
I quickly checked the clock.
It was already nine.
There was little time left to prepare.
I hurriedly picked up a brush, brushed my hair, and said.
“Emily, please bring me some comfortable clothes.”
“Yes, young lady!”
Accustomed to my tardiness, Emily helped me prepare skillfully and quickly.
I threw on the robe she handed me and ran out of the mansion.
The homecoming ceremony.
It was an important event in the original story as well.
It was the episode where the last of the three male leads made his full-fledged appearance.
The last male lead.
Peril Edwin.
He was the Lord of the Magic Tower.
A great mage said to possess innate magical talent.
And a being who had lived for over a thousand years.
With that level of magical knowledge, he might even know about my grandfather’s illness.
In the original story, Peril was described as a person with an unpredictable personality.
I think it was said he was the most eccentric among the three male leads.
Well, come to think of it, I’ve only lived a little over twenty years and my personality has become quite prickly, so it might be only natural for someone who’s lived a thousand years to be strange.
That made perfect sense to me.
---
The main street of the capital leading to the palace was crowded with people.
“I can’t see a thing…”
I grumbled, standing on my tiptoes, but the road was completely obscured by the crowd.
Still, today is the day Leon returns.
I should at least try to see his face.
As I was struggling to catch a glimpse through the gaps, the knight Allen standing beside me whispered quietly.
“Young lady, would you like to climb onto my shoulders?”
“Your shoulders would break.”
I answered seriously, and Allen said urgently.
“No, they wouldn’t! You’re as light as cotton, young lady!”
“…Thanks.”
This guy, he’s spouting nonsense again.
Just then, as the returning knights came into view, a cheer erupted from the crowd.
“Leon! Leon! Leon!”
I couldn’t just miss this spectacular scene!
I wanted to push through the people and go forward, but the suddenly surging crowd made it impossible to move an inch.
“Young lady, let’s go somewhere less crowded for now. I’m worried you might get hurt.”
Allen, his face pale with alarm, spoke urgently.
He looked like he might faint at any moment.
I eventually decided to follow Allen’s advice.
After all, the place where Peril appears wasn’t on this street anyway.
“You’ll see Leon soon enough, so there’s no need to stay in a dangerous place like this.”
Without a word, I let Allen lead me away.
Then, for some reason, I scratched the back of my head.
…Leon wouldn’t be angry, would he?
“You’re going straight home, right?”
“Of course not. Since I’m out, I need to run some errands.”
Allen let out a small sigh, as if he had expected it.
---
“Welcome!”
A woman greeted with a bright smile, welcoming Allen.
Once inside the shop, Allen was completely absorbed in admiring the antiques displayed around him.
This place, filled with rare antiques, immediately captured the interest of Allen, who had a hobby of collecting old things.
Of course, my purpose wasn’t antiques.
I cautiously approached the woman.
This was the so-called ‘Sun Shop.’
The only passageway to the ‘Moon Shop.’
You could only enter the Moon Shop if you received an invitation from the Sun Shop’s owner.
The Sun Shop was always open, but the Moon Shop only opened its doors on nights of the full moon.
And the owner of the Moon Shop.
That was the person I needed to meet.
That person was none other than Peril Edwin.
Yes.
This guy was a crossdressing male lead.
A master of magic who could freely disguise his appearance with spells.
Today, the very day of the homecoming ceremony, was the day Peril, who had been asleep for the last fifty years, awoke.
Probably, Idette woke him.
Therefore, the Moon Shop event this month would be managed not by a proxy, but by Peril himself.
The woman asked with a bright smile.
“Are you looking for something in particular?”
“Not a thing. I’m looking for a person.”
“Hmm, if you’re looking for a person, wouldn’t it be better to visit a detective agency?”
“I heard this shop buys and sells people.”
At my words, the woman’s expression immediately hardened.
In an instant, her eyes turned sharp, like a snake’s.
The ‘shop that buys and sells people’ I mentioned referred to the Moon Shop.
During the thousand years Peril had lived, slave auctions were common.
Although forbidden now, her reaction wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
Skilled at managing her expressions, she still managed a smile as she spoke to me, who had brought up her past shame.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I suppose I was mistaken.”
I shrugged lightly.
“But this is still a place that helps find people, isn’t it?”
As I slowly looked around the shop, the woman’s smile vanished in an instant.
“…This isn’t a conversation for out here. Come inside.”
She led me to an inner room.
As soon as we entered the room, she asked in a sharp voice.
“What’s your business?”
“I’m looking for a person named Babe.”
That was the pseudonym Peril had used fifty years ago.
It was a name that didn’t exist now, but since all the people managing the Sun Shop were disciples of Peril, they would understand what it meant.
As expected, the woman flinched noticeably.
But then she spoke mockingly.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“No, you understood perfectly.”
I was not Idette.
So, I wouldn’t get another chance to meet Peril in person.
Because Peril was someone who must not reveal himself to the world.
That was why I had to take the risk.
I didn’t have much time.
“Babe will be waking up soon.”
“…!”
“When he wakes up, tell him. Tell him that someone who knows of his existence has appeared.”
I cast my bait.
I didn’t know if a big fish would take it, but it was the only option I had left.
