She Is a Daughter Raised As the Son of a Duke

This time, Zed explained.

“But it seems like Penso didn’t keep his promise. I don’t know if it’s because there’s no handsome man or even if there is, he doesn’t offer. To find out, we sent Milo to Penso as a spy.”

“Milo, how did he come to know Lady Hestia?”

“I heard that Milo went to find Hestia first.”

“You can tell from the photo, but his appearance is quite handsome, so it must have been easy for Hestia to trust him.”

“Why did Milo do that?”

“That’s the problem.”

Diego seemed to hesitate for a moment. He was probably considering whether or not to tell me, someone he dislikes. However, he eventually decided to speak up and opened his mouth.

“Stella Nazret is close to me, so you might know, but the Marquis Nazret had a lost son.”

“Yes, he lost his son a long time ago.”

“That lost son is Milo in the picture.”

“What…?”

Diego’s gaze quickly shifted to the photo.

The boy I met when I was ten years old. The boy I denied was Milo, turned out to be the son of Hind Najet.

Then why did I deny it back then? Could he have lost his memory?

And how does Diego know this fact?

“Prince and I conducted background investigations on Penso to bring him down, and during that process, we discovered Milo and Hestia’s relationship.”

Jed and Diego believed that Milo, who infiltrated Penso as a spy, could obtain information to bring down Penso.

“And I personally met Milo. He told me everything that day.”

Diego’s elder brother, the Crown Prince, lost his right arm during a fierce battle with Gliu-gon. Hind Najet saved the Crown Prince’s life.

Hind attacked Gliu-gon to save the Crown Prince and was struck in a vulnerable spot. As a result, Gliu-gon’s movements were greatly hindered.

“So, he kidnapped Milo, the son of Marquis Najet, to take revenge.”

He didn’t lose a child. The child he blamed himself so much for losing was actually kidnapped by Gliugon.

“That’s… Lady Nazret couldn’t bear the pain of losing her child and even committed suicide…!”

The kidnapped son, Milo, the deceased Lady Najet, and Hind, who had to endure and witness everything… What crime did they commit?

“That’s revenge. To eliminate each member of Marquis Nazret’s family, one by one, until finally killing Marquis Nazret.”

“But the Marquis couldn’t bear to watch people die, that’s why he did that. He could have killed him if he was attacked and hit his weak spot, but he didn’t. But how could they touch his family…?”

“Gliu-gon, the demon, probably doesn’t know about that.”

Only the fact that he acquired a disability due to Hind Nazret matters.

That’s why he made up his mind for revenge.

The fact that his mother committed suicide, the fact that he was kidnapped to seek revenge against his father. Milo learned all these facts belatedly and decided to kill Gliu-gon.

But Gliu-gon is an S-rank demon who fears even the Knights of Protection. On the other hand, he is a weak human with no magical power.

To kill him, he needed magical power, so he tried to gain magical power by pleasing Gliu-gon.

As a result, he succeeded in obtaining magical power, and Diego even informed me of that.

“To the royal family, Marquis Nazret is an ally. So he tried to help Milo, but Milo refused, saying that he doesn’t want his true identity to reach his father’s ears and not to interfere with his affairs.”

They decided to let Milo do whatever he wants. Since Milo also wished for Penso’s downfall, they thought it would be a win-win situation even without interfering with each other.

“Seeing that he doesn’t want his true identity to reach his father’s ears and that he wants to kill Gliu-gon and return home…’

So, was that why I denied it back then?

Amidst the sudden onslaught of truth, I heard Jed’s voice.

“Suddenly, I began to wonder why Milo approached Hestia.”

“Yeah. Why did he meet Hestia? To become a Knight of Protection and gain greater magical power?”

“It seems more like he approached Hestia for revenge.”

“What…?”

“We’re planning to kill Hestia along with Gliu-gon. If Hestia had only selected and trained the Knights of Protection properly, there wouldn’t have been any need for Marquis Nazret from another order to step forward.”

The significance of the Knights of Protection lies in protecting the empire and benefiting the people under the guidance of the protective deities.

However, Hestia selected individuals solely based on their appearance, without possessing the skills to benefit the people.

It was the downfall of a household driven by Hestia’s greed.

I felt sorry for Milo.

“I understand, but Hestia is the protective deity of the empire. If she attacks the protective deity, she will undoubtedly not survive…”

Diego untied his legs and shifted to the opposite side.

“That’s the problem.”

“Even if we can’t see where Milo is, we have to intervene.”

“What about Penso?”

“We tried to infiltrate with hired people, but there were only clones and no real body.”

“Clones?”

“S-rank demons have special abilities. When you receive magical power from an S-rank demon, you gain the same special abilities. Gliu-gon’s special ability is duplication.”

“Ah…”

After understanding, I had an epiphany.

“If he uses duplication, it will be difficult to find his real body…?”

“That’s why I hope you can help find Milo.”

“Do the other members know? Clovin wouldn’t have been informed, and what about Velta and Galley?”

Diego intervened.

“Whether they’re trustworthy or not, it doesn’t matter if they’re informed or not. You know what kind of personalities Velta and Galley have since we spent the day together.”

“Well, they’re far from trustworthy.”

Diego got up from the bed.

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. Don’t mistake that we desperately need your help. It makes me uncomfortable.”

“No, I will find Milo too.”

I had to meet Milo, even if it was for Heint’s sake.

“Well, then. We’ll talk about the details later.”

Diego left the room first. I turned to Jed, who had risen from his seat to see Diego off.

“Marquis still doesn’t know all the details, right?”

“Yeah. Only the three of us know what just happened.”

“I see…”

Heint, who was anxiously searching for his child, who could be dead or alive, looked pitiful.

“Can you also use special abilities by receiving magical power from an S-rank demon like Milo? How did that happen?”

“…A few weeks ago, I met Hestia.”

Hestia had come to Jed personally and urged him to join her order. 

When Jed refused, she told him to wait for a moment and brought an S-rank demon named Mirocagon.

And she forcibly bestowed Mirocagon’s abilities upon him. It was a bribe for him to join the order led by her.

“So, that’s what happened…”

“I have no intention of joining the Third Order, so someday Hestia will come to reclaim the magical power.”

I was curious about Mirocagon’s special ability. Before I could ask, he told me.

“The special ability of Mirocagon that I can use is the ability to see the truth.”

“Seeing the truth? Can you only see the truth?”

“That’s right. But since the magical power I received is not strong, I can only see minor truths.”

“What kind of minor truths?”

“For example, someone’s gender. Even if they have mental magic cast on them, I can immediately know their gender. And…”

Jed approached me and removed a strand of thread stuck to my clothes.

“The level of emotions you’re feeling right now.”

Hmm. It’s really minor. I didn’t know anything and thought that was all.

“It’s just that I have a good sense of touch.”

“I see.”

Then I realized.

…Wait. If it’s the level of emotions I’m feeling…

“Do you know who likes whom…? Do you know things like that too?”

Jed lightly smiled.

“I do.”

In an instant, my face turned red.

I must be going crazy… Did he know from the beginning that I liked him? Is that why he thought it would be nice if we got closer?

It was embarrassing to have my thoughts read. I’m sure Jed noticed this embarrassment…

To divert my embarrassment, I changed the subject.

“I’m cross-dressing for personal reasons, so please don’t tell anyone else. I’m asking you.”

Well, unless I personally reveal that I’m a woman, no one will believe it because of the mental magic.

“It’s also a secret that I can use the eyes to see the truth.”

“Oh, the prince doesn’t know either?”

“It hasn’t been long since I gained the magical power, so I haven’t told him yet.”

Our secret. I was already delighted to have something that only the two of us knew.

I raised Jed’s hand and held it.

“?” 

“A promise.”

I hooked my pinky finger with his pinky finger, making a promise.

“To keep the secret, we made a promise, right?”

Feeling embarrassed, I quickly let go of his hand.

“Sleep well, Jed.”

I hurriedly left the room.