Common Sense of a Duke's Daughter

er 45 (edited) Report and Anxiety

(╬⓪益⓪)

Azura>Azuta because アズータ is not Azura.

editor note: if you need to be told who's saying what you need to git gud rekt #360nocscope

After that my limits were exceeded, and I decided to return home. Considering I had conversations with many individuals whom I hadn't spoken with as of yet, I think the outcome was quite good. I slept quite well that day—And now all that was left for me was to give my greetings to Father.

"-…Iris-sama."

Tanya called for me while I was working on some papers.

"What happened, Tanya?"

"I have two things to report."

"What is it?"

"First about Miss Yuri."

Hearing those words I stopped my hands, and looked straight at Tanya.

"I conducted an investigation on her. Although the investigation is still ongoing, I believe I have discovered information that requires urgent notice, and therefore felt I should tell you as soon as possible."

"Alright. What have you discovered?"

"First, of her upbringing. We found that her birth mother did not serve solely under Baron Noir's House."

"Oh really? I was convinced that she was simply having an affair with her master. If that wasn't it, did you figure out her actual origin?"

"The Royal Castle."

"The Royal Castle… What did she do there?"

"She worked as a maid in the castle. We don't know when and where she became acquainted with Baron Noir, but the same time she resigned, she entered the Baron's household."

"So they met at the castle… It's rather likely considering how often the Baron drops by."

There's a possibility that they had met at the castle. But is there a possibility that that would bring them together? I can't say anything now considering they are presently together.

"After talking to her previous co-workers, it seems that them being seen together happened rather frequently and was well-known."

As expected of the heroine's mother. Though the Baron's daughter seems to just have the name of the heroine and have no other redeeming qualities besides being cute.

"Unfortunately, finding information after their separation is difficult. It is not hard to find stories when she was alive, but finding information from after they parted is giving me some trouble."

"A single woman… Furthermore it was difficult to find witnesses of a daughter who seems to stand out so easily…Okay… Anything else?"

"A person who lived in the area once remarked that it must have been difficult to raise a daughter alone. He even asked if there was anyone she could rely on, and she apparently replied with 'No there isn't'. Though oddly enough it seems that after she died, a person calling themselves a relative of her daughter's came forward". (Tanya

"Was that individual Baron Noir?"

"It isn't certain."

"Do we know of his appearance?"

"I asked after his features, but received the reply 'I do not recall'. However, he did seem to remember that it was a man."

"Hm…"

Even though she didn't have anyone to depend on, a relative came forward? Furthermore, right after her death? I can only think of two possibilities.

The first possibility would be that for some reason she had to cut ties. Because of that reason, she couldn't rely on the main house, and only after she died would Yuri be taken into custody by Baron Noir. If this theory is true, I'd like to figure out where she lived during that time.

If its not that, the second theory would be that Baron Noir was traveling incognito or that he had sent someone out to retrieve her. This theory holds the highest probability, but if that were indeed true it'd raise some other questions. Like why did he hide Yuri's existence for so long?

Either or, both hold suspicion.

"Also, how did Baron Noir prove that Yuri was indeed his daughter? There shouldn't have been any proof right?"

"It seems that he was able to recognize her through the pendant she obtained from her mother. Not to mention, she seemed to have two things that largely related her to her mother?"

Unfortunately, DNA identification nor any other scientific methods exist in this era, so physical proof is unavoidable. It's not like you can mask your identity as someone else either, so just having them look identical would be another point.

"Even so to have searched for more than 10 years… She must have meant a lot to Baron Noir."

"The reason for that is uncertain as well. We plan on continuing the investigation to find out more. With that, the report on Baron Yuri's mistress has concluded."

"Is that so. I'll entrust any further operations to you. And the second report?"

"Yes. The second report is about Earl Monroe, who you requested we investigate beforehand."

"Oh… Right."

When I previously met Earl Monroe during the opening of a Azuta Conglomerate store, he piqued my interest. I requested that she look into the story he told me during our tea party and any information about the boy following him.

"The boy tailing Earl Monroe that day was Deuban, it seems that he's been treated as a guest by Earl Monroe and is constantly traveling with him. He was even at the Azuta invitational."

"A guest.. Do we know who or where he's from?"

"He seems to be the president of the Aira conglomerate. The Aira conglomerate does indeed exist in the Merchant Guild's logs, and it seems they mostly deal in food resources. What type of food resources was not included, however."

"It can't be helped that we could not find information about their patrons. But for the Earl to be so close to such an individual…Is the reason their influence is on the rise because of that conglomerate?"

"Quite possibly."

I can't think of any other possibility. Given that that region is a grain producing area, and the Aira Conglomerate deals in food resources, Earl Monroe is probably selling his land's harvests. But if that were to be true who are they selling that grain to?

"Tanya, could you find out more about that boy Deuban? Also investigate the Aira Conglomerate, especially information as to where they're selling it to and how much". (Iris)

"Understood". (Tanya)

I have a bad feeling about this. Given yesterday's party, the state of things seems to be taking a turn for the worse. I didn't worry about it too much when I was governing my fief, but after coming to the capital I finally realized that I've been roped in as well.

I want to go back to my territory, but I also feel that I shouldn't leave this problem alone. I can't help but feel that somewhere there's something brewing without my knowledge of it.