The pursuer froze.

A flicker of indecision crossed his face—what should he do?

The consort’s orders were very important. Yet, that didn’t mean he could lay a hand on me inside Astra estate.

As long as I protected Alexis, there was no way for him to reach him.

While the pursuer hesitated, I glanced subtly at Han Jihyuk.

Our eyes met several times, and Han Jihyuk put the whistle hanging around his neck to his lips.

Fweeek─!!

A sharp, piercing noise echoed down the street.

The pursuer looked at Han Jihyuk in utter confusion.

Han Jihyuk raised an eyebrow and said,

“The soldiers will arrive soon. They will make sure the Astra bloodline pays dearly for defying the consort.”

The pursuer’s shoulders twitched nervously.

‘That makes sense.’

If the pursuer was caught by our soldiers, what would happen?

Since he touched a direct relative, they would definitely check his identity.

‘They’ll find out he’s affiliated with the consort.’

Then grandfather would try to uncover why the consort sent him.

And the consort would rather eliminate the pursuer than let the secret be exposed.

Tsk, the pursuer clicked his tongue and quickly vanished from sight.

I exhaled deeply. Honestly, I had been very nervous that something might go wrong.

Han Jihyuk, looking exhausted, asked me,

“Shall we go now?”

I nodded.

Alexis watched me intently.

“Didn’t you say soldiers were coming?”

“No.”

“...What?”

“It was just a whistle.”

How could soldiers placed far away at Clangklin bakery possibly hear the whistle?

We used it because he wouldn’t back down otherwise.

Before blowing the whistle, Han Jihyuk and I exchanged rapid glances.

The sequence was:

I glanced at the whistle on my chest and thought,

‘That!’

2. Han Jihyuk looked down at the whistle and thought,

‘This?’

3. I barely nodded,

‘Yeah!’

And so Han Jihyuk blew the whistle.

Han Jihyuk, a former con artist, was skilled at making things sound plausible.

As my partner in this job for eight months now—me, a possessed reincarnator—we had learned to coordinate perfectly.

I almost strained my eyes from the rapid glances during the pursuer’s distracted moment.

I pressed my palms firmly against my eyes to relieve the strain.

Alexis gave me a strange look.

“Did you lie?”

“Yes! I’m a liar!”

“...”

“Close?”

I tugged Alexis’s hand.

This time he obediently followed.

Though calling myself a liar proudly may have seemed insignificant, he seemed less guarded than before.

Walking with Alexis, I said to Han Jihyuk,

“Take Alexis there.”

“There? You mean there?!”

“If he’s there, no one can touch him.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Han Jihyuk furrowed his brows.

Alexis eyed Erilot suspiciously.

The pink-haired man and Erilot had repeatedly said,

“But is it really there?”

“Yes. There.”

—searching for that place.

Where on earth was I sending him?

Just as his suspicion began to rise again, Erilot hurried over to Alexis.

“Let’s buy some clothes first.”

“Clothes?”

“Yes. We can’t go wearing this.”

Erilot took Alexis’s hand and walked for quite some time.

Even though there were many fabric and clothing shops, he barely glanced anywhere and only hurried forward.

The pink-haired man said,

“We’re quite far from that alley now. Why not just go into any clothing shop nearby and buy?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“If I were the consort, I’d want to check if the child with the Astra lady is really a girl.”

“If you found out you bought boy’s clothes, it’d be proof the child is a boy.”

“Yeah.”

“But even then, would the consort stop suspecting?”

“Even if she suspects, without proof, she can’t do anything to me.”

Erilot’s voice dropped low.

“That’s what power means.”

Alexis looked steadily at Erilot.

When their eyes met, Erilot smiled softly.

The three entered a tiny general store tucked in a corner of the shopping district.

The owner, tidying the shop, saw them and exclaimed, “Oh!” as she hurried up to Erilot.

“Isn’t this Miss Erilot! My goodness, what brings you here?”

“Hello, Kalmia. We need boy’s clothes.”

“Is it for the gentleman here?”

“Yes.”

“Please wait a moment.”

The owner hurried into the storage room.

The pink-haired man, arms crossed, asked,

“Who is that?”

“She’s a servant from the Daymond estate.”

“A servant like that in the estate?”

“Yes. She was expelled for resisting Lady Rachel’s unfair treatment.”

“Lady Rachel? Oh, the one you mentioned before.”

“Yes. I tried to reinstate her, but she said she’d open a shop, so I gave her severance.”

As the two chatted, Kalmia returned with several pieces of clothing.

“We’re a general store, so we don’t have fancy clothes.”

“Can’t help it.”

Erilot took the clothes and handed them to Alexis.

“Put these on.”

Alexis slowly turned around. Kalmia smiled warmly and said, “You can change in here.”

After dressing, Erilot smiled brightly.

“So pretty.”

“...”

Erilot glanced at Kalmia at the counter.

“Kalmia, could you ring this up?”

“As for payment—after you gave so much severance, just go.”

“But...”

“Really, it’s fine.”

“Hm. Hey, Kalmia, can you keep this a secret?”

Kalmia smiled gently, narrowed her eyes, and mimicked zipping her lips shut.

“Don’t worry. I’m Kalmia, the persistent one. That’s why I got expelled for butting heads with Lady Rachel.”

“I like that about you, Kalmia.”

“I understand why Heidi and Betty adore you.”

Muttering, Kalmia chuckled softly and saw us off.

After leaving Kalmia’s shop, Erilot said to Han Jihyuk,

“Take him there.”

“Okay.”

Then Erilot handed Alexis something she had been holding.

“This too.”

It was a pair of gloves.

Alexis hesitated, so Erilot put them on his hands herself.

“Don’t be cold anymore.”

“...”

“Stay hidden a little longer. I’ll come back when it’s safe.”

“...”

Though Alexis didn’t respond, Erilot looked unfazed.

She waved goodbye and ran forward.

Han Jihyuk glanced at Alexis watching Erilot’s retreating figure.

“Shall we ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) go? Or... shall we?”

“...Yeah.”

“Got everything you need?”

“No.”

Alexis followed Han Jihyuk.

The girl was strange.

He didn’t understand why someone he’d just met treated him so well.

Alexis asked Han Jihyuk,

“Why is she so nice to me?”

“She’s naturally kind. But if she thinks you’re an enemy, no mercy. She can be ruthless to enemies.”

“...”

“Sometimes she becomes terrifying for the sake of her goals.”

“I am the granddaughter of the great Chronos Astra, daughter of Daymond Astra.”

“...!”

“I am the owner of this estate.”

Scary?

No.

Kind of... cool, actually.

Han Jihyuk glanced thoughtfully at the child.

“We have arrived.”

We reached the carriage rental place.

Han Jihyuk rented a small carriage and put Alexis inside.

He took the reins himself.

After some time, as the sun was setting, we arrived at a building.

Alexis got off the carriage and looked up at the building.

“Is this really it?”

“Yes, this is it.”

Alexis turned to Han Jihyuk with a stiff expression.

“Are you sure this is it?”

“I told you, she can be terrifying when it’s for a purpose.”

Han Jihyuk chuckled.

At that moment, in the guest quarters,

Lady Gonallong glared at the pursuer disguised as a guard.

“What did you say? Who interfered?”

“She claimed to be the granddaughter of Chronos Astra and daughter of Daymond Astra.”

“What?”

If she was Daymond’s daughter, that could only be one.

Erilot Astra.

The youngest among the direct descendants.

Yes, she was seen in etiquette class.

Blond hair and red eyes.

A child with the same colors as the first Astra family head.

“Why did Erilot Astra interfere with the search for the prince? What’s the reason?”

“I don’t know.”

Lady Gonallong rubbed her fingertips hard.

‘There’s no reason to interfere.’

Does she know they’re searching for the real heir to the throne?

No, even if she does, why would a three-year-old interfere?

It was strange to say Duke Astra gave the order.

He had grown grandsons, yet he entrusted such a task to a little child?

‘Nonsense.’

In any case, this was serious.

If they failed to find the hidden prince again, she didn’t know what would become of her.

“Lady Gonallong.”

“Yes, yes, Consort...”

“I like you. You’re capable.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Though the consort smiled gently as if making small talk, she knew the truth.

That meant if you lacked ability, you would be discarded.

The consort was ruthless.

She had even staged the suicide of her brother, who stirred trouble with Astra...

Lady Gonallong squeezed her forehead tightly.

She had received funding from the consort.

If she failed this time and was abandoned, all her hard work would be wasted...

Bang!

She slammed the table and gritted her teeth.

She had managed to send the guards out today with the excuse of showing Astra estate around the shopping district.

But if the guards wandered outside daily, people would become suspicious.

“There’s little chance left. We must find the prince!”

“What about Erilot Astra?”

“I’ll investigate her. You hurry down to the commoners’ houses.”

“Yes.”

I was reading comments in my room.

Wow, didn’t expect to hold my breath there lol

But why did Erilot help the prince?

It’s kinda awkward having a girl around already

└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋWhen will the daughter appear?

└The emperor, empress, empress dowager, duke family, marquis family, count family, viscount family, baron family, workers 1, workers 2... up to worker 1231—everyone will appear~

└Correct

At least the male lead showed up, that’s lucky lol

└Nobody knows if he’s the male lead. Michelan even thought grandfather was the male lead.

‘I guess Alexis arrived safely.’

I nodded and got up.

Then I opened the drawer and started organizing things.

Things to bring to the fairy tea party today and also...

Then—knock knock.

The butler entered.

“Miss, Lady Gonallong requests your presence.”

I closed the drawer with a snap.

‘So it’s come.’

I knew my identity was exposed the moment I said I was Daymond Astra’s daughter.

‘Though I couldn’t not say it.’

There was no way Han Jihyuk and I could handle skilled soldiers.

If I wanted to scare them off, revealing who I was was the most effective.

‘Once I say I’m Miss Astra, I’m identifiable.’

Because the blonde, red-eyed Astra lady was only me.

So it was better to emphasize that I didn’t care enough to reveal my identity to pursuers.

“Let’s meet in the reception room.”

“Yes.”

The butler left, and I sat in the reception room.

Not long after, the door opened with a knock.

Lady Gonallong smiled.

“Good evening, young lady.”

“Hello, Lady Gonallong.”

The lady bowed slightly and sat opposite me on the sofa.

“The moon is beautiful tonight. Perfect weather for a fairy tea party.”

“Yes!”

“Cheer up.”

Lady Gonallong said a few more words.

This was the polite “prelude to business” common in high society.

In Calsoi Empire, it was proper to spend about thirty minutes chatting before getting to the point.

But...

“You changed your clothes since this morning. Were you out?”

Before five minutes of chatting, she got to the point.

I smiled slightly inwardly.

Lady Gonallong was so careful about social etiquette that she’d been invited to Astra.

You could tell how much effort she put into it.

“Yes. The shopping district.”

“The shopping district... what for?”

“Today’s fairy tea party. Need tea leaves.”

“The Astra shopping district is magnificent. Did you enjoy it?”

Though she spoke, her eyes betrayed her nervousness.

I leaned back on the sofa.

“Shouldn’t we stop searching each other now?”

“...!”

Lady Gonallong’s face stiffened.

Understandable.

No one expected such words from a child.

I smiled faintly.

“What exactly is the young lady...”

Lady Gonallong’s lips trembled as if shocked.

I put down the pouch I had packed from the drawer.

“Let’s solve this easily.”

When Lady Gonallong saw inside the pouch, she gasped and covered her mouth.