Chapter 55
55
The next day, Chairman came to see me.
"I heard you had a nightmare. I heard the castle was in an uproar."
"Yeah."
"Is it because of me?"
Chairman's eyes looked a little clouded.
I blew on my cocoa, took a sip, and answered.
"It's 'cause of me. But it's also a little bit your fault, Chairman."
"……."
"You should've been gentler, shouldn't you have?"
At my words, Chairman cleared his throat and muttered, "Well……," averting his gaze.
"Guromon, I have something I want you to do."
"Why does that always happen? Last time, I overworked myself at this age to carry out the orders of the Little Miss."
He said it as if it were absurd, so I smiled as cutely as possible. Chairman paused, then sighed.
"……Tell me what it is first."
"Get me a doll and forge a fake identity."
"A doll…… Are you perhaps talking about a Ball-jointed doll?"
A Ball-jointed doll was a type of Magic tool.
It was a doll that looked exactly like a real human, and if you infused it with magic or Divine Power, you could use it as a substitute.
"A commoner, in their late twenties, someone who can integrate and lead various businesses, starting with the Hope Merchant Group. Oh, and they'll be running a Mercenary group, so a knight."
"That would cost an enormous amount. There's only one doll craftsman in the Empire, and even Dubled's intelligence network would have a hard time finding them."
"We have the money from selling Spinelle. And there's still some of the asylum funds I was given to buy land."
"How are you going to seek asylum if you use that?"
"I'm not."
I stood up and looked at Chairman.
"I'm going to live here now."
"There will be danger."
"I'm not going to seek asylum either?"
"What do you mean……."
I grinned and said.
"I'm going to make Dubled independent from the Empire. An independent nation free from the interference of the Temple and the Imperial Family. Then that will be my asylum."
I'm too shrewd to just trust that this Dubled will protect me.
I need a way to make sure I'm safe.
"……!"
Chairman's face hardened.
"That's not possible. From the first Head of the family to the current Duke, everyone has aimed for it, but no one has ever achieved it. It's just a dream."
"Why is your lip twitching while you're calling it a dream?"
He let out a short laugh.
"It's ridiculous that I'm still excited by the word 'independence' at my age."
"Aren't you being too honest?"
As I held the cocoa cup with both hands, Chairman's eyes flashed sharply.
"Everyone who has a stake in Dubled is honest about their desires. The hypocrites of the Empire call us villains for it."
"I'm going to use the doll as a substitute until I grow up. Get it for me."
"It seems Louis's birthday present to me wasn't Spinelle after all, but the Little Miss."
Chairman and I looked at each other and smiled like villains.
\\
I had a lot to do for my new goal. Fortunately, I had already completed some tasks in preparation for seeking asylum.
The Hope Merchant Group to provide funds.
A powerful helper.
'All that's left is military power.'
Dubled's military strength was excellent, but it was still not enough to stand against the Imperial Family or the Temple in an emergency.
So I summoned Andy to the castle.
As soon as he entered the room, he gaped with an overwhelmed expression.
"What kind of room is this……."
I handed him a basket of cookies as he muttered in amazement.
"Eat."
Andy took a cookie and glanced at me.
"But why did you call me? ……Yo."
"There are no maids here. You don't have to use honorifics."
"It comes out automatically. ……Yo."
"Andy, won't you live here with me?"
When I asked, Andy's eyes widened and he dropped the cookie with a thud.
Andy opened his palm and swallowed hard several times.
"W-w-wait a minute."
"Yeah?"
"Since when?"
I tilted my head, wondering what he meant, and Andy asked, his face red.
"Since when have you liked me? Was it from the moment you gave me bread? I thought it was strange that you were so kind to a stranger……."
"Huh?"
"I-it's embarrassing. You're cute, but you're four and I'm thirteen. There's too much of an age gap. I'm not a pervert who sees kids as women."
"……."
"You're really cute, and honestly, you're the cutest kid I've ever seen, but I'm not a pervert-"
……What are you imagining?
"I want you to be my knight."
When I looked at him with hazy eyes, Andy's face turned red and he asked, "Huh?"
It wasn't that I was canceling my plan to find Zachary. But I needed a stopgap measure for the time being.
'Even if I find Zachary, he might not become my person.'
But Andy clearly had feelings for me.
Even if he was weaker than Zachary, his abilities were outstanding enough.
He drove away much stronger adult men with a ragtag group of kids, including four-year-olds.
The strategy he used then.
His boldness.
His courage to stand at the forefront.
Considering all of that, I gave him a very high score.
"I don't have the money to buy horses and weapons? Who would accept me as a Squire?"
To become a knight, you can't just be strong.
A horse used as a warhorse was more expensive than an ox, and it was a huge burden for a commoner to buy. On top of that, you had to buy decent weapons and serve as a Squire under a knight for several years.
It would have been a difficult dream for Andy to have.
"I have a lot of money!"
I showed him the amber, diamonds, and other jewels that Isaac had given me last time, holding them in both hands.
"……Are you really going to make me a knight?"
"Yeah. If you become my knight, I'll make sure your orphanage gets support from Dubled. Also, I can change the director."
"My lord."
He immediately changed his attitude.
'Hmm, he's good at adapting. He has the kind of slyness that suits Dubled.'
I nodded in satisfaction, and Andy said with a determined face.
"Isn't this when you make a vow of loyalty? I know everything."
The first time, the vow of loyalty was burdensome, but by the third time, I just accepted it.
I looked at Andy, who stood up abruptly with an expression that said, 'Let's hurry up and finish this.'
"Andy pledges his loyalty to his lord-"
He frowned as he spoke. Then he muttered, "Isn't it too ordinary of a name to be a knight?" and nodded.
"Okay, from today on, I'll change my name to be more knightly."
He knelt on the floor and looked up at me.
"Sir Zachary greets his lord."
"……Huh?"
I stared at Andy, frozen stiff.
"What did you just say?"
"Zachary. Isn't it knightly?"
I looked at Andy, no, Zachary, with a dumbfounded expression.
'Really?'
Really?
Is Andy really Zachary?
But Andy is so weak!
If Andy is really Zachary, why didn't he resist the maids' attacks at all?
"Why didn't you fight my maids last time?"
"Because I can't hit women."
"You cried."
"Because that way, I'd get hit less."
Was it a tactic?
This is truly unbelievable.
I was so sad that I couldn't find Zachary, but Andy was Zachary!
But it wasn't Zachary's fault, so I pressed my forehead and suppressed my frustration.
I pulled the bell cord and summoned Leah.
"Have Leah teach Zachary swordsmanship."
"Was that child's name Zachary?"
"……He changed it."
"I see."
Leah nodded and looked at Zachary.
"Follow me. I will teach you swordsmanship as per the Little Miss's orders."
Zachary seemed puzzled that a maid was teaching him swordsmanship, but he followed her relatively obediently.
And that day, Zachary really cried.
\\
"It would be better to teach Zachary spears than swords. He has talent. As soon as he learned the breathing technique, he became keenly aware of presence."
"I see……."
"Hehe, he's a funny kid. He has a big fantasy about knights, so he pretends to be dignified in front of others."
Leah, who had been teaching Zachary for the past week, laughed, saying that every day was a series of shocks.
I looked with hazy eyes at Zachary, who was wielding a spear in front of my room with shouts of, "Eusha, eusha!"
I felt annoyed for some reason, but I decided to think positively.
'There are two of the four knights in my house.'
Isaac and Zachary.
Gossipers jokingly said that if those four gathered, half of the Empire's power would be helpless.
'I'll raise Zachary diligently and use him.'
I clenched my fist lightly and made up my mind.
I was originally going to have him escort the Merchant Group, but it seemed like it would take several years to raise him properly.
So I told Seria to start trading with the Mercenary group for now. It was a Mercenary group that I used to run errands for when I was a beggar, and the leader was trustworthy.
'First, I need to grow the Merchant Group.'
The more money I had, the better, and I also needed funds that I could use without attracting attention.
'And until it grows to some extent, I'll have a lot of time besides the Merchant Group, so I should get along with my family.'
After deciding not to put up walls against the Dubled people, I realized that the Dubled people were just ordinary Dads and brothers.
Just ordinary families who wanted to spend time with their daughter and younger sibling, and tried to take good care of them.
'I have a family that doesn't hate me.'
Thinking that made my heart flutter with joy.
As I was cupping my cheeks, I heard a knock.
"The Master is looking for you."
Dad?
I nodded and followed the servant.
When I reached the small drawing room, I saw Isaac lounging on the sofa and Henri reading a book.
Henri smiled at me and said.
"Good morning."
Isaac also waved his hand.
"Did you sleep well?"
I also said, "Hi," and sat between Henri and Isaac.
"Did the Duke call you too?"
Isaac asked, so I nodded.
"Yeah."
At that moment, Dad entered the small drawing room with Noth.
Noth was holding three small boxes in his hands.
When Dad sat down, Noth placed the three boxes on the table in a row.
"Open them."
The three of us opened the boxes with puzzled expressions.
--
