The Villainous Noble Son Wants to Capture His Stepsister! - Chapter 28.1

SIDE: Heliotrope

“Ventz, as usual, charge this to House Wertheim, and this to my personal account.”

“Understood.”

Today, my master was meeting with Ventz’s representative at Ventz Trading Company.

Lady Primelia and our fellow maid Laps accompanied him.

And, as always, Master Kraut was buying an excessive number of gifts in an effort to appease Lady Primelia.

…The way he’s going about this is exactly how a hopeless man acts when trying to win over a woman.

This might work on courtesans, but Lady Primelia is far too earnest for this approach.

She’s literally trembling at the price right now.

That being said, whenever he buys something for Lady Primelia, he always gets gifts for Laps and me as well, so I won’t say anything.

As I was pondering this, Laps leaned in and whispered to me.

“…Lady Heliotrope, may I ask something?”

“What is it?”

“Lord Kraut covers all of Lady Primelia’s necessary expenses, as well as these private purchases, with his own personal funds, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“He spends a significant amount each time. I find it rather strange that he can afford all of this with just his personal funds.”

“…You make a good point.”

Lord Kraut serves as the steward of House Wertheim’s territory, but his salary for that position is not particularly high.

…Or rather, it used to be absurdly high—until he slashed his own salary, calling it “way too much—this is ridiculous.”

Now, his pay is about the same as mine.

I had asked him about it once before, but—

“He never gave me a clear answer, but he seems to have another source of income besides his steward’s wages.”

“Another source of income…?”

Laps glanced at the mountain of expensive goods Master Kraut had just purchased.

I knew exactly what she was thinking.

The numbers don’t add up.

How exactly is he affording all this?

When he was still overweight and indulgent, it wouldn’t have seemed out of place.

But now that the thought had crossed my mind, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

…There was only one solution.

“If our master is making money through illicit means, it is our duty as his attendants to put a stop to it. It pains me, but we should investigate.”

“But Lord Kraut is a man of integrity! There is no way he would be involved in anything illegal!”

“Then should we drop the matter?”

“No! I need to confirm the truth for the biography I’m writing about him!”

…I beg your pardon?

◇

The next day—

“Please, allow me to help as well!”

“………”

“………”

For some reason, Lady Primelia was now enthusiastically volunteering to join the investigation.

Laps and I quickly moved to a corner of the hallway for a whispered discussion.

“(Quietly) How does Lady Primelia know about this?”

“(Quietly) It seems she overheard our conversation yesterday and insisted on joining the investigation.”

…She heard that?!

I was certain we had been speaking at a low volume—Lady Primelia must have excellent hearing.

Well, we might as well hear her reasoning.

“Lady Primelia, if I may ask… why are you so eager to join us?”

At my question, her eyes welled up with tears.

“B-Because… Lord Kraut always buys me so many expensive things… I-I know it’s impossible, but what if—what if it’s money from something shady…?”

“Ah…”

“Ahh…”

Laps and I both sighed at the same time.

She must have let her imagination run wild—and now, she couldn’t shake the thought.

With that face, how could we refuse?

Not that I believed our master was up to anything criminal in the first place, but still…

“Understood. Lady Primelia, we shall investigate together.”

“T-Thank you!”

Lady Primelia really is a pure and kind-hearted soul.

No wonder our master keeps buying her gifts.

Despite never spending a single coin on himself, he spares no expense when it comes to her.

“Then, starting tomorrow, let’s begin our investigation.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Well, Let’s See What We Uncover.

◇

Three days had passed since we began our investigation.

“There hasn’t been any suspicious activity.”

“…None at all.”

“…None at all.”

Forget suspicious activity—there was no activity whatsoever.

To summarize the past three days:

Wake up → Training → Breakfast → Government affairs → Lunch → Government affairs → Dinner → Bath → Sleep (Repeat three times).

I had already known this, but this is an insanely disciplined schedule for someone who isn’t even in his mid-teens yet.

It’s like watching the daily routine of an elite bureaucrat who has devoted his life to his work.

“Um… Lord Kraut is only a year older than me, right?”

“Y-Yes… that should be the case.”

Lady Primelia and Laps both looked equally bewildered.

But really, Master Kraut is the odd one here—Lady Primelia is already quite mature for her age as it is.

“But thinking about it again—Master spends most of his day with me. When would he even have time for another source of income?”

“Most of his…”

“Day with you…”

Okay, why are you both reacting to that!?

That’s normal for a personal maid!

As I tried to ignore their envious stares, I noticed Sebastian walking toward us with a middle-aged man in tow.

…A visitor? At this hour?

I recognized that man.

He was someone who visited Master Kraut a few times a month.

“Oh, good evening, Lady Primelia. Heliotrope, do you know where the young master is?”

“Good evening, Sebastian.”

“Good evening. Master should be in his chambers.”

“Thank you. Lord Alts, if you would please wait in the reception room, I will go fetch Lord Kraut.”

With that, Sebastian led the man—Alts—to the reception room.

…

“Suspicious.”

“Very suspicious.”

“Eh? Is it suspicious?”

While Laps nodded, Lady Primelia looked confused.

Well, I suppose it wasn’t obvious to her yet.

“A visit after government affairs have ended. Moreover, since Master Kraut didn’t give Sebastian prior instructions, this was likely an unexpected guest.”

“If someone is visiting the young master, it is standard etiquette to schedule an appointment in advance. Yet, he was still allowed inside—meaning he has a reason to be given special treatment.”

“A-Amazing! You’re like a capable, sophisticated woman!”

Lady Primelia looked at me with sparkling eyes.

…It’s disrespectful, but I kind of want to pat her head.

However, this is no time for distractions.

We finally have a lead—we must seize the opportunity!