The hunter’s daughter, Stella, had her very existence denied by the chief.

It meant they wouldn’t take her back even if she returned, but Stella seemed happier now, having been allowed to be with Ralph. To the temporary administrator, I just left a brief message saying I was returning to the capital.

Returning to the capital after such a long time, it was as solid and bustling as ever. Compared to the relatively peaceful Feuzen and surrounding territories, Breisburg, as Beren’s largest consumer city, was a place where one could easily get swept up in its excessive vibrancy.

Ralph and Stella, visiting Breisburg for the first time, were wide-eyed with wonder. Naturally, we’d be staying at Rosengarden. Göring, who had been managing the mansion during my time in Feuzen, came out to greet us.

"Welcome, my lord."

"Thank you for managing the place well in the master’s absence."

"So can I wash my hands of it now?"

"We’ll be staying for a few days, so not yet."

"Sigh, I see. Sometimes I resent my master."

Old Man Bertheim had tried to use me and gotten himself caught in the act, so Göring was suffering on his behalf. Viktor himself had no idea what was going on, but it was enough that I was the only one who knew about the behind-the-scenes dealings.

"Excuse me, is it really alright for us to stay here?"

"All the other rooms have owners, so don’t go in anywhere besides this one."

"Th-thank you so much!"

I gave Ralph and Stella an empty room in the retainers’ quarters. Viktor and Fiel got empty rooms in the guest annex appropriate to their status, and the remaining thirty-three knights were packed into the soldiers’ barracks.

Rosengarden seemed lively for the first time in a while.

The problem was that this trip to the capital had been so sudden that I hadn’t brought any retainers, leaving us without management staff. Fortunately, Göring brought over a few attendants from the Marquis Bertheim’s residence, which eased my worries.

"Where is the marquis?"

"He’s been away for several days now. I’m not sure where he is either."

Isn’t that grandfather of over eighty getting around a bit too much?

Göring seemed pleased, saying it reminded him of the marquis in his prime.

I wanted to ask for the marquis’s help, but of all times, he had to be away.

"How about we hold off on delivering the handkerchief to the gatekeeper for now?"

Viktor expressed his concerns.

"This could turn out to be a Pandora’s box."

"You mean it could become a stain on the gatekeepers’ family?"

"Yes. There could be an illegitimate child involved."

That was possible. Perhaps Ralph’s father was actually Karlstadt’s illegitimate son. But based on the timeline, it didn’t add up. Ralph was sixteen, older than me.

If Ralph had been Karlstadt’s son, that might make sense, but Ralph was a grandson.

That meant Lydia had already had a husband and children before the affair.

So this was more likely a love affair than a case of an illegitimate child.

Which made the Karlstadt royal palace gatekeeper a strong suspect.

"Even if it’s a stain on the Karlstadt family, can they really pressure us?"

"Wouldn’t they try to negotiate rather than scheme to cover it up?"

Just as Fiel said, negotiation was the most likely outcome.

If they touched me, they’d be touching the Military Department too.

This is why having backing is so valuable.

Central politics right now was a chaotic mess after the tax embezzlement case. The Judicial Department was busy tearing into the Administrative Department, and Adelbert was suppressing his father’s faction and seizing control of the Finance Department.

In the end, I went directly to the royal palace with Viktor and Fiel. Showing up at the palace gates with a horde of armed men would invite all kinds of trouble, so I kept the knights waiting at the mansion.

A royal palace guard blocked my path.

"Halt, Lord of Feuzen. This is not the audience hour at the royal palace."

Naturally, audience hours were set in advance. Without applying for an audience beforehand, you couldn’t enter the palace unless there was a special reason. Even I had visited the palace only a handful of times.

"Could you deliver this to Gatekeeper Karlstadt?"

"I’m sorry, but we cannot accept bribes."

"This isn’t a bribe. Take a look."

The skeptical-looking palace guard accepted the handkerchief from me.

The moment he saw the inscription on the handkerchief, his expression changed.

"Where on earth did you get this handkerchief?"

"Just deliver it to the gatekeeper. We can talk after that."

The palace guards, who had been so righteous about not accepting bribes, looked completely thrown by this unexpected handkerchief. Eventually, I got their firm assurance that it would be delivered to the gatekeeper.

It wasn’t something the guards could easily make a decision about.

I added that I would be staying at Rosengarden for the time being.

"Now we just have to wait for a response."

I’d cast the bait, so a bite or some kind of reaction was bound to come. Just in case, Fiel and Viktor strengthened the perimeter security and patrols. Late at night, finally, someone knocked on the gates of Rosengarden.

An old man wearing a surcoat with his hat pulled low, accompanied by an attendant, had come to visit. As expected, the bait had been taken. Karlstadt requested a private meeting with me. Sensitive matters were sure to come up, so I naturally agreed.

According to the Manager Scouter, his disposition was loyalty-honesty (good).

It was similar to pure loyalty but distinct. It was a disposition that blended loyalty and honesty, which made it a perfect match for a royal palace gatekeeper. But right now, he was extremely angry.

"I received your gift well. Thanks to it, I had to drag my old bones all the way here."

Befitting the head of a family that had guarded the palace gates for generations, the savage glare he fixed me with carried tremendous pressure. It felt similar to my father-in-law’s presence, but this man had clearly already classified me as an enemy.

"Please calm yourself. I have no intention of using this to threaten you, sir."

"I never imagined that a brief, sweet indulgence would come back to haunt me after all these years."

From Karlstadt’s bitter smile, it seemed he regretted what had happened back then. But first, I needed to clear up his misunderstanding that I intended to use those memories to threaten him. And then there was the cruel truth.

"The Lydia you loved is dead, sir."

At the news of Lydia’s death, Karlstadt’s expression changed.

I could feel his sorrow, his tenderness, his regret.

"...I see. I’ll be able to see her on Resurrection Day."

"She was murdered."

Karlstadt, who had been lost in nostalgia, looked deeply shaken and held his head in his hands. She hadn’t even died of illness—she had been murdered? When I told him she had been brutally tortured to death, he exploded in rage.

"Who! What goddamn bastard! Ugh! Aaaagh! Aaah!"

The old man, unable to contain his fury, just kept letting out wild cries.

The people waiting outside seemed alarmed, but since I hadn’t given them the order to come in, they probably couldn’t do anything but mill about in confusion. I picked up the rose tea I had prepared earlier and moved a fair distance away.

"Haaagh, haaagh! Who is the culprit?"

"You yourself were a strong suspect, but I can see now that you’re not, sir."

"How could I possibly have killed her! Don’t speak such nonsense!"

His rage was genuine, and his sorrow was genuine.

Karlstadt had not killed Lydia.

Once Karlstadt had barely managed to compose himself, I explained everything from beginning to end in detail.

Faced with this absurd coincidence and cruel truth, the old man, nearly sixty, sank into grief.

"Promise me. On your life."

He glared at me with eyes gleaming ominously, demanding a promise.

"I’ll tell you everything I know, so you must find the one who killed her!"

"...I promise. And I’ll be sure to keep your secret."

Karlstadt then unburdened himself of the secret he had kept locked away all these years.

It was... a story about the queen.