Chapter 23
I lifted my chin slightly and spoke in a dignified tone.
“I am someone who has received an important mission from Her Majesty Emperor Scarlet.”
Retsi beside me looked a little uneasy, but I figured I could smooth it over later somehow.
“F-from Her Majesty…?”
An important mission.
It was slightly exaggerated—but not completely wrong.
Wasn’t creating a new food source a very important mission?
Even if it also benefited me personally.
“Yes. As part of that mission, I came to request that Mr. Ralph create machines and tools for me.”
“……”
Ralph looked startled for a moment. Then his fierce-looking face flushed slightly as he asked,
“Th-then… does Her Majesty know about me?”
For some reason, Retsi blinked and scratched the back of her head.
I shook my head firmly.
“No. You’ve been doing these things quietly, without telling anyone, haven’t you? Repairing the city walls in secret, even though there’s no profit in it.”
“Hah…!”
“Her Majesty doesn’t know. But I do. And through this request, I want to let her know about your abilities.”
“!”
Ralph’s body trembled slightly.
Heh. Got him.
I smiled inwardly and pulled out the blueprints I had kept inside my coat, handing them to him.
“Here. These are what I want made.”
“Ahem!”
Ralph hurriedly took the blueprints, his attitude completely different from before, and spread them out on the table.
He narrowed his eyes and examined them for a while, then looked up at me with interest.
“These are… intriguing. What do you plan to use them for?”
“For cooking rice.”
“…What?”
“There are things like that. You know—jobs like this require strict secrecy.”
“R-right! Ahem!”
As if he’d almost forgotten, Ralph slapped his forehead loudly and quickly covered the blueprints with his large hands.
He glanced around cautiously, then rolled them up.
“Very well. I’ll take the job.”
I smiled brightly.
It was the perfect deal for my future plans.
* * *
“That was a very thrilling negotiation. It reminded me of the debate two years ago between the Imperial Chancellor and the Adrin Kingdom’s envoy over the Tishen River.”
“…?”
Sitting in a café, sipping orange juice through a straw, I blinked.
Wow. Noble ladies really are knowledgeable about politics.
I hated current affairs, but—well, I assumed it was a compliment and grinned.
“Thank you. Oh, and what we talked about back there—please keep it a secret. I actually lied a little.”
“A lie?”
Retsi adjusted her cloth and tilted her head.
“Where was the lie?”
“Ahem. What I said about Her Majesty. That part was exaggerated, so please forget it.”
“…Hmm.”
Retsi looked dissatisfied.
But then—why did I feel like someone was watching us?
A prickling sensation ran over my skin.
I looked around.
The festival-filled street was crowded with newspaper boys, elegantly dressed noblewomen, and dignified middle-aged gentlemen.
Nothing seemed strange.
“Retsi… Don’t you feel like someone’s watching us?”
“……”
Retsi, who had been dismantling some bread she bought on the street with great interest, suddenly froze.
Then she stood up abruptly and spoke in a meaningful tone.
“Hmm. They arrived earlier than expected. Staying with you may put you in danger, so it would be better for us to part ways now.”
“What?”
Ah—
But we still hadn’t gone to the ‘Three Seconds and I’ll Poison It for You’ shop yet!
I needed to get pest-killing medicine!
I was very reluctant to part with Retsi, who had quickly become a dear friend.
But I couldn’t stop her as she left decisively.
“Let’s meet again next time, if we get the chance.”
“That will happen.”
Retsi spoke as if predicting the future, then disappeared toward a quiet alley.
I gazed after her wistfully—then suddenly realized something.
She had left behind her large glasses!
“Oh!”
Grabbing the glasses, I hurried after her.
And then… why did things turn out like this?
“Retsi! You forgot—!”
The alley I entered was filled with masked men.
They surrounded Retsi in the center, swords drawn.
Blades gleamed dangerously in the darkness.
Holding the glasses high, I blinked several times, trying to understand the situation.
Several masked men.
One person being threatened in the middle.
‘A kidnapping!’
Realizing what was happening, I clenched my fists.
The swords were scary—but if I grabbed Retsi and ran toward the main road, we might survive.
I had to save my female friend!
“Cillia…?”
I gently ignored Retsi’s startled call and walked forward.
The masked men had surrounded her to block her escape, but they seemed flustered too.
They didn’t stop me as I casually walked between them, face twisted like a deflated balloon.
Tilting my head at a forty-five-degree angle, I spoke in a grim voice.
“Hey, hey. This is my territory, you know? You’ve got guts to extort money on my turf.”
“……”
They didn’t fall for my nonsense.
Well-trained bunch.
Normally, people would react to such nonsense, but they merely glanced at me.
Sweating internally, I moved closer to Retsi and grabbed her wrist.
“I’ll take this one as payment for the territory fee.”
It wasn’t much, but it created a brief opening.
One step. Two steps.
Just as I was about to pull Retsi free—
The masked men moved all at once.
“Run, Retsi!”
I tightened my grip and kicked off the ground with all my strength.
“Huff… huff…”
“Wait—stop.”
“Retsi, focus! This is dangerous!”
I shouted while running, but instead, Retsi pulled my wrist.
“It’s not that… The front is already blocked.”
“…What?”
She was right.
The exit to the main street was already blocked by masked men.
We screeched to a halt.
So that’s why they were chasing us so calmly.
I turned around.
The pursuers approached slowly, not even out of breath—like cats watching trapped mice.
“Come quietly.”
The man who looked like their leader spoke in a chilling voice.
That was when—
“Oh? Oh my.”
A familiar voice came from above—one that shouldn’t be here.
“Why is my lady here?”
Startled, I looked up.
Men in black armor were crouched on the rooftops, looking down at us.
Like crows perched on a power line.
These people were—
“Tsk! The Black Hawks?!”
The masked men moved instantly when they saw them.
A rough hand reached for Retsi.
“Gah!”
I shoved Retsi aside and punched the man flying toward us—bam—right in the face.
I knew from experience that my strength rivaled that of an adult man!
“Urgh?!”
As he staggered back, the men on the rooftops leapt down.
Despite the height, they landed smoothly—no noise, no wasted movement.
Fully armored, yet silent.
They immediately subdued the masked men.
One of them approached me.
His face was hidden behind a hawk-shaped black helmet.
“Ah, my lady. If you’re here, our lord will scold us.”
“…Leon?”
“Hehe.”
It was Leon—the captain of the Black Hawks.
The one who always carried a notebook titled ‘The Path of Gourmet,’ grilled skewers perfectly, and ate very politely.
He kicked one masked man flying, then scratched the back of his head—helmet and all.
‘Why are these trash bags here?’
I blinked several times, still confused.
I glanced at Retsi—she didn’t look surprised at all.
It seemed she knew this would happen.
She simply adjusted her yellow cloth and hummed thoughtfully.
Once the Black Hawks arrived, everything ended quickly.
The unconscious masked men were cuffed and piled in a corner.
As I stared blankly, voices came from the alley entrance.
“My goodness! If you were planning something like this, you should have told me beforehand!”
“I’m telling you, I don’t have that authority! Why are you complaining to me? Take it up with your master!”
“Your master? Her Majesty is the master of all! Duke Siastor!”
…What?
Duke Siastor?
I snapped my head around.
Dazhar was standing there.
Beside him was Sir Hael—the same man from the palace—limping forward, holding the shin I had kicked earlier.
“Huh?”
“…What?”
That jerk standing there was definitely the same guy who had been surrounded by the ‘mom brigade’ in the ballroom earlier.
“What are you doing here?”
“And you?”
We glared at each other coldly.
Then someone stepped between us.
Retsi.
She calmly took the glasses from my hand, put them on neatly, and cleared her throat.
“Ahem. I—I am the Shadow Knight of Emperor Scarlet. Acting under Her Majesty’s orders.”
“…What?”
“I was pretending to be the Emperor to lure out assassins!”
She sounded desperate—but her acting was worse than a worm crawling on the ground.
Did it rain yesterday? Why was there a worm here?
As I watched the worm squirm, my brain spun furiously.
‘Ah.’
‘Retsi is Emperor Scarlet.’
Fireworks exploded in my head.
That was the answer.
Ah—
So I went shopping, drank juice, and ran holding hands with the Emperor?!
