Chapter 51
“Master, I’ll try eating it.”
“No, don’t.”
“Then, Your Highness, I will taste it.”
“No.”
The workers’ symptoms were clearly signs of grayanotoxin poisoning, the toxin found in rhododendron flowers.
Which meant the culprit had to be Mentros.
Then why was he missing today?
“Clayton.”
“Yes?”
“Tell me more about the food distributor.”
Clayton gestured to his aide.
A few minutes later, the aide brought a sheet of paper and handed it to me.
Written there was information about the food supplier:
Name: Mentros.
Origin: Duchy of De Lebois.
Parents: One from Bastian, one from Deirid.
So, most people here had ties to the Kingdom of Deirid. It even seemed like Clayton had deliberately chosen them that way.
Since Joshua was the Crown Prince of Deirid, that must be why Mentros was urgently removed from duty today.
When Clayton visited last time, he had left him in.
“These meals look freshly made. Could you check nearby for any places where food waste has been dumped recently?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
This time, Francis moved.
The reason I’d brought Joshua, Francis, Verdine, and a few attendants here was simple—
I needed witnesses.
“Can you gather all the workers in one place?”
“Yes.”
“And Joshua—come talk with me for a bit. Just the two of us.”
“Yes, Master.”
Joshua smiled brightly, almost innocently.
It even looked like a genuine smile.
I could tell now when he was really smiling and when he was pretending, so I was more confident about reading him than before.
If I handled this personally, it would be over in seconds.
But the same kind of thing would just happen again.
That’s why I put Joshua front and center.
Because there was no better show to prove that Bastian respected the Crown Prince of Deirid.
“Behold, the little sun of the Empire!”
Knights lined up on both sides, while the workers were herded into the center.
“Gracie…”
Joshua calling my name so awkwardly was almost adorable.
I hadn’t wanted him to call me Master in front of the Deirid subjects, so I’d told him to use my name instead.
Clayton and Francis hadn’t liked that decision, of course.
“Alright, it’s time to speak, Joshua.”
I whispered softly beside him, squeezing his hand.
All he had to do was follow my lead. Stick to the script.
It wouldn’t be easy, but it was doable.
And if he faltered, I could always step in myself.
“Mentros Distribution.”
“Y-yes, Your Highness.”
“You are the one who has been overseeing the workers’ meals, correct?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Joshua’s voice trembled like a frightened lamb.
But he was far too beautiful and gentle-looking to be called a goat—definitely more of a lamb.
“T-the food you made contained poison. Upon investigation, it was found that you dumped all the food made today into the canal after learning that His Highness and I would be visiting.”
“That’s not true!”
“Then why did you throw everything away and make new food?”
Joshua was shaking so badly that holding his hand felt pointless.
And yet, his eyes kept begging me for help. I almost stepped in—
but I couldn’t.
If I did, Joshua’s role would be reduced to nothing more than a plaything in the Princess’s bed.
“The ingredients were spoiled, so I remade everything!”
“Your Highness, we’ve already investigated that claim,” Francis said—not to Joshua, but to me.
I glanced at Joshua, who gave a tiny nod.
“Lying before the Crown Prince, are you?”
“I-it’s not—!”
“Ask the workers if they experienced any side effects after eating.”
I said it quietly, hiding my mouth with my hand so others wouldn’t notice.
Joshua squeezed my hand tightly and shouted,
“D-did anyone experience s-strange symptoms after eating here?”
The workers’ faces paled, and murmurs began spreading through the crowd.
I’d already seen at least two collapse or vomit before.
“Y-Your Highness! My name is Paul, from the Kingdom of Deirid!”
“Don’t speak to me—speak to Joshua.”
“Ah, yes!”
“Your Highness! Not only me but others also take all our meals here. But… after eating the food provided, our stomachs always felt awful.”
“That’s true! I’m Ishut! My eyesight’s been getting worse lately… But since we can’t afford meals elsewhere, I kept eating here—and my vision just kept getting dimmer!”
“I-I’m Kdel! Whenever I ate the food here, I’d get terrible stomach pains… and, well, had to run to the latrine with diarrhea.”
That was enough evidence.
No need to drag it further.
“Joshua, give the order to arrest all distributors.”
I covered my mouth again and whispered near his ear.
“Th-the d-distributors… A-arrest… a-all of them… Sir Francis, p-please.”
“…”
“Sir Francis.”
“Yes…”
He’d intentionally ignored Joshua’s command until I called his name again.
Then, reluctantly, he gestured to Robert, who, looking flustered, began rounding up the distributors.
“Joshua, you’ll decide their punishment later. Clayton, help him with that.”
“Got it. Oh, and Gracie—”
“The spies aren’t just them. You can have Azelia arrested too. She hid Bellerophon’s embezzlement records and intercepted several private messages sent to Leonil Graham.”
So, there were two spies.
“When did you find all this?”
“After you left last time.”
“Joshua.”
“Y-yes, Ma—no, Gracie.”
When he called me by name, Clayton instinctively scowled.
Our eyes met, and he quickly smiled as if nothing had happened, though Joshua turned pale.
“B-bring Commander Azelia as well.”
“Sir Francis.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Joshua is speaking to you.”
“…Yes.”
Francis exchanged glances with Clayton, then dragged Azelia away too.
[Quest: Catch the Spy!]
Catch the infiltrator trying to sabotage the rebuilding of the River Ver levee!
▼ Choice 1: Robert
▼ Choice 2: Azelia
▼ Choice 3: Mentros
Selected: 2 & 3.
[Quest Complete!]
However, since you did not complete it through your own actions, rewards will be halved.
“Tch, what a stingy system.”
Reward 1: Penalty weight reduced drastically to 30kg.
Nice.
Reward 2: Penalty time reset. Deduction points from “Dog Day” are voided.
“Damn it…”
Penalty: 23:59
Still, thirty kilos wouldn’t kill me.
It just felt like having a rice sack hanging from my arm—but it was manageable. Especially once I shifted it onto Joshua.
“Shall we go, Joshua?”
“Yes, Gracie.”
“Clayton, stay and finish things up. Then report to me at the palace.”
“Sure! Let’s have lunch together later!”
I wasn’t sure he’d be done by lunchtime.
“Do as you like.”
“I’ll finish quickly!”
“Make sure you’re thorough. Adviser Ander Bills, stay here and help, please.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Honestly, bringing the adviser had been pointless.
[Deirid Kingdom Favorability I — Complete!]
Reward: Deirid citizens’ favorability +300 (max 10,000).
From now on, favorability will automatically increase by 1 every hour.
Additional quests to reach max can be initiated via Robert Brighton.
“Verdine, bring Sir Robert Brighton later—and also finish that background check I asked for. That was just a cover to get him out of the palace, so move quietly.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
When I returned to the palace, the Emperor was waiting.
“Father!”
Judging from his expression, he’d been ready to scold me.
So I ran over and hugged him before he could start.
His hands hesitated awkwardly midair before gently patting my back.
“Hmhm.”
“You let me go last time too, didn’t you? Thank you.”
I knew perfectly well he’d been waiting to catch me sneaking out.
He was angry that I’d gone without proper procedure again, but since he’d let it slide once before, I knew he would again.
“You were worried because I didn’t show up at the training yard this morning, right?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s have tea together before lunch.”
“Alright.”
Joshua had already gone his own way at the palace gates.
It was good I’d planned it that way.
“Shall we have strawberry cake and cocoa again?”
“Yes! But honestly, anything’s good if I’m eating it with you, Father.”
“Hahaha! When did you learn to wrap your old man around your finger like this? I can’t even get angry at you anymore.”
Going out of the palace without permission was grounds for punishment.
But honestly, the “Curious About the Outside World” quest had been the real reason I’d slipped out quietly—because I knew he’d refuse if I asked.
After all, that’s what a cage is.
And since I’d taken Joshua, Francis, the adviser, and Verdine with me, I’d known it would turn into a big deal.
“You can be mad. It really was my fault.”
“No. It’s true that I’ve kept you too confined in the palace.”
“Then… will you let me go out sometimes?”
“Yes. Next time, let’s go together.”
“Really? Yay!”
He ruffled my hair again—
something I’d grown so used to that it almost felt comforting now.
“Let’s have tea, the three of us.”
“Who else is coming?”
“Let’s invite Duke Russell.”
