A Famous Traitor and Treacherous Genius

78 – Festival of Silver and Iron Blood (1)

Festival, morning.

I have the same morning as usual-

From noble mtl dot come

Instead, I woke up and greeted the morning in my room in the countess’ castle.

To enjoy the festival.

To be exact-

“You’re doing this too much, master!”

“What are you so sad about, Astasia?”

“We wanted you to decorate it so beautifully!”

Astasia is shouting at me in a dress.

“Why did you dress us up in pretty dresses when you said you were planning to fool everyone by dressing up differently than usual?”

“That’s because, as wealthy ladies, you two should enjoy the festival while being escorted by knights.”

I pointed to Naria, who was quietly wearing a dress next to me.

“Naria.”

“…”

“You don’t have to pretend to be Jabeth. In the afternoon, Viscount Hex will come and act as your escort.”

“…I understand.”

Naria, who had been keeping her mouth shut, pretending to be Jabeth, nodded her head lightly.

“His Royal Highness Astasia will be escorted by Robert himself.”

“Then who will guard you, Master?”

“Lord Mente should do it, but in many ways, people around him are too cautious for Sir Mente to act as an escort at the festival.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Sir Mente, who was leaning against the wall, frowned.

“Do you think that just because I look like a child right now, I’ll be treated like a child at the festival?”

“They said they don’t like their youngest sister.”

“Well, of course!”

Being asked to be a younger sister to 13-year-old girls at age 40 is literally hell.

“Then play a different role.”

I could tell by the expression on his face without even having to say it.

“Sir Mente must wear a knight’s uniform and patrol the streets.”

“So… “

“If you do that instead, my escort will be difficult.”

I pointed to the clothes I was wearing.

“I am Nachasa, a poor boy from a quiet village in the County of Gibraltar.”

“Is your pseudonym Nachasa?”

“That’s right. He’s a mountain boy who lived with his grandfather and came all the way to the castle with 5,000 gold in his pocket that he barely saved as pocket money.”

The roles of the two of us are different.

As you can see from my appearance, I intend to thoroughly act as a commoner, not a noble.

Just like children in an orphanage.

Why are you suddenly trying to do something like this?

“It’s not that I don’t trust you guys, but it’s because you guys are so thorough that it’s difficult to entrust this part to you.”

That is so that I can personally go around the festival and confirm what I discussed with my father in his last night.

“We are trying to confirm on the spot that merchants are catching the so-called tiger hunters, but who will be able to properly defraud them if the knights of Yeongju Castle are standing behind them?”

“Well, we can do that too!”

“Fraud?”

“No! Disguise!”

Although I had already explained it to her before going to bed, Astasia showed particularly strong will.

“Both me and Naria can disguise ourselves and help you! It would be easier if we disguised ourselves as maids! Right, Naria?”

“Personally, I think that’s one way…”

Naria tilted her head as if wondering.

“Are you worried, Lord Gray, that we might get into some kind of accident or get kidnapped?”

“Yes.”

An event card that my father has, one of the possibilities that will happen to me at this festival.

“Human traffickers kidnapping a wealthy noblewoman while she is not paying attention is a story that often happens not only in novels but also in real life.”

Kidnapping.

“To put it bluntly, this is a world where even the master of Gibraltar is kidnapped.”

In fact, it happened within Yeongju Castle.

“And kidnappings happen more often against innocent-looking children from the slums than they do with noble ladies.”

“Why is that? I have to kidnap a wealthy noblewoman to get more money from negotiations.”

“The purpose of the former is to extort a large amount of money through negotiation, but the purpose of the latter is to sell the child without repercussions.”

Not all kidnappings are the same.

“Actually, I’ve thought about having the two of you dress up as men or as commoners.”

Thoughts.

“But if you do something like that, Queen Carmen or Chairman Erwin will be angry and ask why you would do such a dangerous thing.”

“Ah.”

“…”

“In the future, if the situation arises so that you can enjoy the festival safely even in disguise, I will do so. This time, please trust me and enjoy it as a noble lady who came to the festival.”

I pointed to the hood of the robe hanging on the wall.

“If you walk around with your hair covered and have knights behind you, at least no one will be able to do anything to you. At least not by force.”

“With force…?”

“I can’t do anything about being scammed by merchants.”

Rogue, kidnapper.

They will give up their crime when they see the escort knight.

But merchants are not like that.

Another incident my father has.

“There may be cases where a 100 gold item is sold for 10,000 gold, and there are also cases where a fake is sold while claiming to be the real thing. They say it is a bracelet made from tree branches obtained from an elf forest and imbued with magical energy, and sell it for 100,000 gold. There will be some who do.”

False listings, fraud, exaggerated advertising.

“Of course, the details of items reported for sale are all plausible, but you have to see them in person to know what items are actually on the stall. There may even be cases where the stall does not have an official permit.”

Unlicensed street stall.

“So, if you two ever run into me, just ignore me or-“

“I’ll buy you something delicious!!”

Astasia raised her hand.

“If we interfere with what you have in mind, we won’t interfere. However, if we happen to run into each other during the festival, it’s okay if we buy you something or something, right?”

“…Well, as long as you don’t expose it as Gray Gibraltar or something like that.”

Rather, the sea I hoped for.

When he sees a girl buying food for a poor boy out of sympathy, will he give him a bonus, or will he use that sympathy to scam him?

“Personally, the best thing is to enjoy the festival through the window and watch the fireworks from afar.”

“Why is that the best?”

“Of course it should be fun to come to the festival, but you will also get to see the malice of humans.”

In front of money.

And especially.

“Among those who originally tried to make money at Hancheol Business, there were more than one person who gave up their conscience.”

* * *

November 11th, 10 am.

Viscount Hex, who arrived earlier than expected, went out to escort Naria, and the two went out into the streets, escorted by two people under different names, Viscount Hex and Sir Robert.

“Shouldn’t Lord Mente leave the game?”

“It’s an afternoon game so it’s still okay.”

Sir Mente is following me.

“And I shouldn’t be next to you.”

“Why?”

“That way, when the people who use the mansion see me guarding behind you, they won’t be rude and think, ‘Oh, that kid with the dyed hair is Gray Gibraltar.'”

Just then, I stop in front of the mirror in the hallway.

“It doesn’t look like Gray Gibraltar to anyone, does it?”

Inside the mansion, I am wearing a hat, overalls, and a tattered shirt with holes.

“I don’t think I’ll get caught by guys like wizards.”

“Yeah. You dyed your hair for just one day, so who would think you’re gray?”

“I’m glad my hair is a color that accepts dye easily.”

He even dyed his hair brown using dye, which was not a disguise magic.

“Really, was it necessary to go that far?”

“Even though it looks like this, I’m actually quite serious about my acting.”

“Smoke…?”

“Yes, if I enter the academy later.”

I have no intention of doing that.

“Half of the students will join the student council where they can keep up with students’ trends, and the other half will join the drama club and act to their heart’s content.”

“Do you want to learn acting?”

“Learning? I’m already an accomplished actor.”

Even now, I am acting perfectly.

“He falls in love with her granddaughter, Astacia Hwang, so he throws her own festival for her and tries to burn her 5 million gold in the air for her fireworks.”

“There are many things I want to say, but I’ll hold on for now.”

“You can do it.”

“We are not trying to test whether gambling and other money games work properly at festivals, putting Noir at the forefront of the celebration to make everyone aware of him, or preparing a festival for Princess Naria’s birthday to win Queen Carmen’s favor. ?”

“…”

I guess, after all.

“Lord Mente has been with me for a long time, and he seems to have gotten to know me quite well.”

“Of course. What is that smile? Is there something else I don’t know?”

“No, not really.”

Even if there are more, it would be better to experience them and see for yourself rather than talking about them more.

“Personally, I’m curious about what will happen today.”

As we get closer to midnight, I hope something happens that exceeds my expectations.

“Are you curious? Which one?”

“Well, I wonder if the worst will happen?”

“Worst case scenario?”

“Yes.”

For example.

“The crown prince of the empire secretly infiltrated Gibraltar as a spy to find out the intentions of the festival?”

“…Isn’t that too extreme?”

“So.”

That’s the worst case scenario.

“If it is extreme, at least it is within the expected range and not particularly surprising.”

No matter what happens, I am confident that I will not be surprised.

Really, what-

“Gray Oppa!!”

“…”

Correction.

I haven’t gone to the festival yet, and this is out of the count.

“Oppa!”

Deeply.

Something white threw itself into my arms.

Red eyes, qualitatively different from the white ones, looking up at me with a soft color like rabbit fur.

“Lettar.”

“Yes!”

“Did you know it was me because of Lord Mente?”

“Of course I know it’s my brother! But Sir Mente? …Ah! Are you there?! I couldn’t see you because of my brother!”

“Oh, is that so?”

Sir Mente smiled at Lethar, who was not far behind.

“Oppa, what is this? Where are you going in disguise?”

“Yeah. I’m just trying to check if there are people doing bad things at the festival.”

“Bad thing?”

“I’m trying to patrol for various bad things, but if I just walk around like normal, everyone will notice it’s me.”

“Hmm… That’s right! If Oppa just walked, people would immediately stop thinking bad things about him!”

After all, it is Lettar.

The reason he’s not afraid of me may be because he’s never experienced anything like Noir, but it’s probably because he’s fearless in the first place.

“Oh my! Oppa, I want to take Ethan to see the festival!”

“Ethan, take me with you?”

“Yes! Can’t I go with Ethan…?”

“No way.”

It sounds obvious.

“Going anywhere without an escort.”

“Then I just need to be an escort?”

“I guess I should bring someone with at least intermediate knight skills, right?”

“…”

“I have preparations for the competition.”

Lethar looked at Sir Mente, but Sir Mente lightly raised his hands.

“I cannot continue to escort Lady Lettar closely.”

“Hmm… Then… Brother…?”

“Ethan will escort you, so you’re not saying you don’t need an escort, right?”

“What?”

The words that came out without me knowing-

“I’m not Noir’s brother, why are you saying that?!”

Lettar was truly angry.

“Well, I’m sorry. You’re not the type of person to do that.”

“Of course! I can go to the festival safely as long as I have an escort, so why should I get scolded?”

That’s because Letard’s personality is a bit like that, he’s extremely common sense and rational.

“Brother, you said your goal was to wander around without an escort, right? Then where is Sir Robert now?”

“Are you going to ask Sir Robert?”

“Yes!”

“Unfortunately, Sir Robert cannot serve as someone else’s escort.”

“Ugh… Is there anyone you recommend?”

“Hmm… “

I grabbed Letard’s shoulders with both hands.

“That person.”

“…Ah!”

He pointed to someone approaching behind us.

“Daddy!”

“…”

“Mom! And Ruby too!”

Father and mother are walking from the other side of the hallway.

My mother is looking at Lethar and me with her confused eyes, holding Ruby wrapped in a white blanket in her arms.

“Hey, Gray. What are you talking about…?”

“Lethar said he wanted to see the festival, but he wanted to assign a guard, so it’s not appropriate. I can’t provide him.”

“That’s… “

“What do you think about your father? Going to the festival with your mother and letting Har go with you? After all, you have to take Ruby with you.”

I pointed my finger around Ruby and into the air.

“I think Lethar will be safe if my father is watching directly and takes other knights with him.”

“…Retar.”

“Oh, yes!”

“Can you calmly follow me?”

“Yes!!”

When I asked Lethar, in an uncharacteristic way, Lethar immediately jumped up and ran towards his father.

“Thank you, Dad!”

My father froze for a moment, as if feeling awkward, at the sight of Lettar being happy, rubbing his face on his thigh –

“It would be more convenient this way.”

“Huh?!”

He lifted Lettar up, then made one of his arms like a chair and hugged Lettar.

“Wow!”

“Count… “

At my father’s actions, my mother smiled slightly with somewhat relaxed eyes.

“Really…”

“…Hmm.”

The father is embarrassed, but in fact, this is all planned.

The mother loves her father, but she is falling even more in love with the changed father.

Not just for his pet Crimson Gibraltar, but also for being the ‘father of the children.’

From noble mtl dot come

‘That may have played a part in the fact that our relationship didn’t get better before the regression.’

A person who saw children as merely a result of his actions with Charlotte Gibraltar.

“Letard. We shouldn’t embarrass the Count?”

“Yes… “

“What I’m saying is, if you just listen carefully, you and the Count will safely go see the festival.”

“Oh, is that so? Hehe…”

He is no more.

“Count. How about having a drink for the first time in a while while watching fireworks in the evening?”

“If it’s a drink-“

“One of the merchants gave me 17-year-old Valencia wine as a gift when I submitted my permit.”

“…”

“Count? Tonight…”

“Okay, sure.”

The only people here are the harmonious count and his wife, who are making their fourth, and may even make their fifth on this night of the festival.

“Oh, by the way! Dad, I’ll bring Ethan!”

“Ethan…?”

“Yes! I’m going to show Ethan around the festival! It’s okay! I’ll take him with him!”

“…”

“Dad…?”

“Count?”

“…I’ll give instructions to Malcolm, so don’t worry. Ethan…I’ll have him come here after the boy’s knights’ sparring in the morning.”

“Wow! Thank you, Dad!”

Lettar cheered and then kissed his father’s cheek.

“…Sigh.”

My father cleared his throat, and I couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“Grey.”

“I’m going to go check out the festival.”

“You too-“

“Because he’s already disguised himself. Gray Gibraltar is going to be lying down today with a stomachache from the congratulations to Noir Gibraltar.”

I bowed slightly to the three of them and the knights behind them.

“It’s a secret that I’m going to the festival today.”

I lightly lifted my index finger.

“Shh.”

“Oppa, what’s wrong? To that extent…”

“First of all, I have to go catch it.”

At the Gibraltar Festival, the most definite hit within my expected range.

“I’m going to see Noir.”

How many times will Noir be scammed?

How many times will the merchants hit Noir?

And.

‘There will be at least one shadow.’

Whoever has the silver will approach Noir Gibraltar.

Dawn.

Riding the wind, a faint scent of silver tickled my nose.