Throughout the return journey, and even after returning to the mansion, Esperanza did her best to appear fine. When Annie put the newly bought ribbon around the neck of the crude automaton dog, she laughed loudly, and they had tea ti with the boxes of sweets Annie had bought laid out. All the passing maids and servants got a piece of sweet each. She ate her als properly, and at night she even played gas betting hats with maids who had no morning duties. She also wrote a letter to Cordelia.
Everything seed perfectly fine. However, when night ca and she lay alone in her room blinking her eyes, the worries surfaced again. It was inevitable. At least until Cider returned or Esperanza found him.
eting Cider again wouldn't solve all problems like magic, but it would at least allow her to tie a knot in this anxiety and depression.
When she woke up, the information broker would have found Cider's location. Then...
Then, what should she do? Should she go looking for him?
She didn't want to think deeply about it. If her thoughts went deeper, she felt like she would end up asking questions she didn't want to ask.
Yes, let's think about this later.
Esperanza, who had squeezed her eyes shut, tried to fall asleep while recalling the remnants of affection that had emanated from Cider's letter.
And the next day, Esperanza moved busily as soon as she opened her eyes. She completely liquidated the lazy lifestyle of the past few days.
"Oh my, where are you going?"
"To the shooting range!"
Mrs. Lux caught Esperanza and brought her the keys.
"Since you haven't used it for a while. Butler Howard has been going in and out occasionally, but how much could that wheezing old man use it?"
"Mrs. Lux!"
Butler Howard walked out from inside. Whether he coughed aningfully to be heard or not, Mrs. Lux rolled her eyes pretending not to know.
"There's nothing wrong with my shooting skills."
Butler Howard, speaking in a deliberately stern tone, glared at Mrs. Lux. Mrs. Lux pretended not to know and pressed the keys into Esperanza's hand, pointing toward the shooting range. Having no desire to get involved in their bickering, Esperanza headed to the shooting range.
After moving her body all day, the useless thoughts diminished sowhat. Nevertheless, there was nothing she could do about the ominous feelings that kept intruding.
When afternoon ca, Esperanza pulled on her hood and headed to Bellingham.
'The Mage's Pub' was quiet, unlike before. Esperanza glided straight over. The bearded bartender squinted his eyes.
"Beer?"
"No."
The bartender who shook his beard said 'Wait a mont' and went inside. And when he ca back out, his beard looked strangely fake. Esperanza chuckled. So this is how it works.
The bartender silently pressed a paper note into Esperanza's hand.
"Read it outside."
Then he pretended not to know and started making drinks. Luke Havenly had set up a proper establishnt, but this side was quite cautious. Since Bellingham wasn't like the Alter District where all sorts of people gathered, it couldn't be helped, but it was still quite amateurish. Unnecessarily troubling custors like this was a structure that couldn't be expanded even if they wanted to.
The information brokers she had t in the ga before also worked secretly, but they were much more professional and clean than this. If they were still working during this period, they would already be within Daria's sphere of influence.
'They didn't catch Daria's eye because they work like a corner store.'
It seems like they only want to operate at exactly this scale too. They probably have no intention of jumping into danger unnecessarily.
Esperanza, who had entered a deserted alley, stood with her back to a building and opened the note. The note was a rough map. Following the scribbled writing, she saw a shabby bookstore not far away.
It slled of damp books. Unlike Cider's well-managed and comfortable study, the stacked books seed to be left to rot or not, as if no one cared. A young man with a cane walked out. One of his legs seed uncomfortable.
"Looking for a book?"
Esperanza hesitated for a mont, then showed him the map. Actually, there was a code written on the map, but the handwriting was so bad she couldn't read it.
"Aha."
The young man who climbed the ladder unhesitatingly with his limping gait brought down a thin book from the dusty bookshelf. The book was old with yellowed edges from deterioration, but it was clean.
"100 terots."
Ah, I had to pay for it? Esperanza handed over the money with a bewildered feeling. Until she bought the book and left the bookstore, the young man didn't say anything like she didn't need to pay money, or that it was a joke. Rather, he just squinted as if asking why she wasn't leaving.
She felt cheated. She had clearly paid the information broker, but now she had to pay here too. Of course, it's right to pay money when buying a book, but she hadn't co to buy a book...
She tilted her head all the way back, and as soon as she spotted Annie, she imdiately asked.
"Annie, I bought a book, but I already paid money and they're asking
to pay."
"What?"
"I paid the money sowhere else."
"What?"
Trying to explain without ntioning the information broker made no sense at all. Esperanza drooped her shoulders with a sigh. Anyway, it was small change she had paid, might as well consider it money she never had.
It was ti to check if there was information worth the extra charge.
Esperanza, who had taken over Cider's study, took a sip of the tea Annie had brewed and opened the book. It was an ordinary geography book. The first page was a map of all of Osdern. The peculiar thing was that there was a red dot marked on Riton Province where Avondale was located.
So this is how it works. Esperanza flipped through a few more pages. The chapter explaining Riton Province had completely different content. The paper was similar and the workmanship was good, so it wasn't noticeable from the outside, but it was new paper rewritten and bound into the book.
'They did this so seamlessly.'
Esperanza read through the content while inwardly admiring it.
The information broker confird that on the very morning Esperanza had headed to Nine Holder, the count's attendant had purchased four first-class tickets at Avondale station. After checking the train's destination, they said the final stop was Grizzlend.
Grizzlend. Esperanza quickly rembered that place na. It was bear-shaped land located in northern Nine Holder. She had perford quests in that area several tis, but what was more morable was that it was where Alastair Renfrew had discovered assassins and started pursuing them.
That's right. Grizzlend connected to Dunbarton. And in Dunbarton...
There are mines in Dunbarton.
It's a blessed land where magic stones spring forth endlessly like an inexhaustible fountain. Due to technical problems, there are limits to production volu, so the shortfall is imported cheaply from the colonial territory Paolun, but the place where rchant ships from that Paolun mainly dock was also Sterling, the most prosperous city in Dunbarton Province.
'Lord Sterling.' The na of the second title held by the Duke of Dunbarton, who had ruled like a king in the north hundreds of years ago, was Earl of Sterling.
It should be considered certain that Cider had gone to Dunbarton. However, Dunbarton Province was vast. Much more so than Riton or Nine Holder. If she focused on major cities excluding mountain ranges and highlands...
The information broker added that the count had not yet appeared in any official capacity and wrote down his expected movents.
The provincial capital Talmine, where the Duke of Dunbarton's castle is located. If Cider was trying to join hands with the Duke of Dunbarton to block the cabinet's moves, this would be the most suitable place. However, seeing that he had never appeared in official capacity, the possibility that Cider was staying at the duke's castle was low.
Second was Sterling, which was customarily included in the Duchy of Dunbarton but was actually equivalent to an autonomous city. Since it was the problematic city where Paolun pirate issues were occurring, there was a high possibility that this side was also in conflict with the cabinet.
Finally, there was the academy city of Finley, located about an hour by train from the southernmost part of Dunbarton. It was a magical engineering, magic power studies, and magic mineral studies research complex ford near Dunbarton due to the geographical advantage of cheap magic stones and abundant rare magic stones. They said there was a possibility that Cider might pass through this way since the winter academic conference was about to begin.
The information broker suggested the possibility that Count Avondale had passed through all three places, and confird that Count Avondale's na was listed for the magical engineering academic conference in Finley City.
Not only was it a conference that lasted a full week, but it was very exclusive and only invited people could enter. The participant list included nas of magical engineers that even Esperanza had heard of. Esperanza, who had been scanning through the nas of prominent scholars including Dr. Rustin who created the color cara, leaned back and sighed.
For now, Finley had the highest possibility of finding Cider, but to infiltrate that exclusive place where everyone clearly knew each other's faces, find Cider who she didn't know which day he would co or where, and et him without being detected would require trendous luck.
...If she was going to look for him, that is.
What if she went to such lengths to find him but he wasn't happy to see her? What if he told her to go back?
'It can't be helped.'
She tried to console herself that way, but the next mont she felt suffocated.
'What if he hates ?'
She couldn't answer that question.
Esperanza bit her lips and tapped irritably on the book with her fountain pen.
It might be okay not to go see him right away. Since she roughly knew where he was, couldn't she put her mind at ease now? Anyway, Daria said she wouldn't target Cider until this year was over.
Cider had left without a word because he didn't want Esperanza to co. So, even if she went looking for him now...
She was afraid. She didn't want to be rejected. The mont that thought occurred to her, Esperanza, startled, quickly covered up that raw feeling.
With a thud, the book closed. She tapped the leather cover with her fingertips. Keeping the back of her hand still while moving only her index finger. Tap, tap, tap.
This was Cider's habit. The mont she realized it, Esperanza gripped both hands tightly together.
Cider had said his emotions were bigger, heavier, and therefore unbearable, but Esperanza knew that wasn't necessarily true. From the beginning, it was Esperanza who had been more afraid of this relationship, who had found it more difficult.
Unless hearts were weighed on a scale, there was no way to know which was bigger. And Esperanza didn't particularly want to know.
'Let's not go to see him.'
At least not for the ti being.
The mont she made up her mind, she heard a knock on the door. Esperanza, who hadn't been paying any attention to the presence outside, looked up in surprise.
Really, she seed to have beco comfortable here. Not caring who was outside like it was her own ho.
"Annie?"
"Miss, it's Howard."
Co to think of it, it felt different from Annie. Esperanza nodded a beat late.
"Why is the butler here? Ah, co in first."
Butler Howard entered with dignified steps, carrying a silver tray with a white towel spread on it. The old man who had been arguing with Mrs. Lux earlier now possessed the complete dignity befitting a butler.
"There's a gentleman here to see you, miss. Here's his card. Would you like to go down to see him?"
Who could it be? The people she could think of right now were Kendrick or the duke. Of course, there was no way the duke would have co, and if it had been Kendrick, Howard would have said so. Esperanza picked up the card on the tray with a puzzled expression.
It wasn't a card.
'Cyrus.'
To appear without any contact. She felt uneasy for so reason.
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