The Villainous Noble Son Wants to Capture His Stepsister! - Chapter 36

“Primelia.”

“Brother!”

When I called out to her, Primelia, who had been sipping her tea in the drawing room, lit up instantly. If ever an angel had descended upon this earth, it was surely her.

Since the kidnapping incident, my relationship with Primelia had improved significantly. She was even getting used to calling me “Brother.”

Truly, a harasho moment.

The incident itself should never have happened, but at the very least, it had brought us closer together.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say “all’s well that ends well,” but… perhaps it was a blessing in disguise.

“Is something the matter?”

“I found someone to be your bodyguard, so I thought I’d introduce you.”

“A bodyguard…?”

That was when she finally noticed the unfamiliar woman standing nearby.

She glanced at me questioningly, and I gave her a nod.

“This is Enzi. She’s an exceptionally skilled adventurer and, as it turns out, she’s from the same orphanage as Laps.”

“Really!?”

The mention of the orphanage seemed to instantly increase her trust in Enzi. It made sense—she was close to Laps and had already made friends at the orphanage.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Enzi. My name is Primelia. Thank you for taking on the role of my bodyguard.”

“Nice to meet you too, Lady Primelia. Name’s Enzi. Same thing I told Lord Kraut—don’t expect me to be fancy with my words.”

“Hehe, don’t worry. My brother and I don’t care about such things.”

“Oh?”

Why are you smirking like that, Enzi?

I don’t care how adorable Primelia is—she’s not up for grabs.

“I heard you two only recently became siblings, yet you’re already so close.”

“Of course. My brother treasures me dearly.”

“Primelia…”

Damn it, I’m about to cry.

With that much trust placed in me, there’s no way I could ever betray her.

I need to end this mess as soon as possible. I need to make sure she can go outside freely, without the need for a bodyguard.

“Master, here’s a handkerchief.”

“Thanks.”

…So I was already crying.

Don’t look at me like that with those warm, pitying eyes!

◇

“So, Sebastian. Have you been able to trace the money?”

After leaving Primelia, I returned to my office with Heliotrope.

Sebastian, who had been investigating the matter, had a troubled look on his face.

“…My apologies, My Lord. Unrecorded financial transactions are proving difficult to trace.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. No, I should be the one apologizing for giving you an impossible task.”

“Think nothing of it.”

Even Sebastian the Omniscient Butler couldn’t track it down.

I really owed him for always doing the heavy lifting.

“At least we know that knight received a hefty sum from someone. But tracing it back to the mastermind is proving impossible.”

“Then perhaps we should investigate from a grudge angle instead?”

Heliotrope suggested a different approach.

Rather than targeting Primelia specifically, this could have been an attack against House Veltheim.

It was a reasonable theory, but…

“There are too many suspects.”

“…Ah.”

The way Heliotrope immediately accepted that reality stung.

Sad as it was, this was the truth.

House Veltheim had plenty of enemies, and I was making even more as we spoke.

Both the good and the corrupt had reasons to hate me.

That’s just how life as Kraut worked.

“Well, we’ll just have to take things one step at a time. Now that Primelia has Enzi as her guard, they might shift their focus to me instead.”

“That is…”

“If we want to catch our enemy, we’ll have to take some risks.”

If the kidnapping had targeted Primelia deliberately—why her?

No offense to her, but she was still a newcomer to House Veltheim.

Even if she were kidnapped, the damage to the family would have been minimal.

The real target… might have been me.

That would explain everything.

If that were the case, then the mastermind could be—

• • A corrupt official I had purged,

• • A shady merchant whose dealings I had severed,

• • A rotten noble I had cut ties with…

…Damn, I really do have too many enemies.

“My Lord, a letter has arrived for you.”

Sebastian entered the room while I was lost in thought.

Wait, I hadn’t even noticed him leaving in the first place.

He held a sealed envelope—one that looked very familiar.

“It is from Princess Lilliane.”

“Again?”

A bad feeling settled in my stomach as I sliced open the envelope with a paper knife.

Unlike her previous invitations, this was a letter.

It started with greetings, then detailed recent events in the royal capital, followed by more polite fluff…

And then—at the very end—

‘Tomorrow, I shall make an unannounced visit to House Veltheim.’

“…What the hell!?”

“Master!? (My Lord!?)”

I’m not even from Kansai, and yet I instinctively slipped into Kansai dialect.

What the hell am I supposed to do with this!?

Why? Why an unannounced visit?

She’s not just showing up for dinner… right?

“…Tomorrow, Princess Lilliane is coming to our estate.”

“What!?”

Even my two ever-composed attendants visibly reacted.

And who could blame them?

A surprise visit from a royal? That was unheard of.

I highly doubted Lilliane was doing this on a whim.

Either way, we had to prepare for her arrival—immediately.

“Sebastian, Heliotrope! Mobilize all the servants and prepare for tomorrow!”

“Yes, sir.”

Even if it was a private visit, we couldn’t afford to neglect our hospitality.

Ah… Nobility is such a damn hassle.

◇

“Lord Kraut, I sincerely appreciate your willingness to receive me despite the abrupt nature of my visit.”

“Not at all, Princess Lilliane. It is the highest honor to welcome you.”

The next day.

Just as she had declared, Lilliane arrived at the ducal estate in an unmarked carriage, disguised for discretion.

Of course, I couldn’t exactly say, “I didn’t accept; you just barged in.”

Because, well—she’s a princess.

“Lady Primelia, it has been some time. I am delighted to see you again.”

“I-I… The honor is mine, Your Highness, for you to say such kind words…”

“Hehe, thank you. Oh…?”

Lilliane exchanged pleasantries with Primelia before suddenly pausing, her gaze shifting to the woman standing behind her.

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“Lady Enzi…? What brings you to House Veltheim?”

“Been a while, Princess Lilliane. Nothing much—I just took up the role of Lady Primelia’s bodyguard, that’s all.”

“You did?”

So, they knew each other.

I suppose it wasn’t surprising. Enzi was a titled adventurer, after all. It wasn’t strange that they had met before, though Lilliane’s reaction did make me a little curious.

Well, whatever.

We couldn’t just stand around talking outside forever.

“Princess Lilliane, it would be best to continue this conversation inside. Please, come in.”

“Oh—yes, of course… No, wait. I nearly forgot.”

“Your Highness?”

Lilliane’s expression turned serious as she turned to face me.

“Lord Kraut, I have something to tell you—urgently. In private.”

“…Then let’s talk in my office. Primelia, I’m sorry, but could you wait in the drawing room?”

“Understood.”

I led Lilliane into my office.

This was where I handled sensitive matters. Aside from my private chambers, it was the most secure room in the mansion.

“Please, have a seat.”

“Thank you.”

We sat across from each other on the sofa, a low table between us.

Lilliane still bore a grave expression.

The air was tense.

“So, what is it that you needed to tell me?”

“Yes. The truth is—”

What Lilliane said next was shocking, but a part of me had already expected it.

“There are people plotting to take your life.”