Rishe dashed out of the meeting room and walked quickly.

She really would have sprinted if she could, but since she was in the main castle, that was impossible.

She restrained her impatience and listened to Theodore’s explanation.

“– We’ve lost the person we’ve been tailing.”

Theodore, who was walking beside Rishe, said in a hushed voice.

“The last confirmed location is a back alley in Block 17, south of the Imperial City. It happened three hours ago, and we’re still searching around that area.”

“What was the situation when you lost sight of him?　Even if it was the result of realizing that someone’s watching him, it’s not…a good idea to dispatch people in the favelas.”

“They said they smelled something sweet.”

“Oh!”

She has a pretty good idea what the potion was. It was probably some sort of numbing potion extracted from a certain mushroom.

“They said that was all they could remember after he went into the alleyway. By the time they woke up, two hours had passed, and their target was gone. In short-”

Theodore said in a slightly lower voice than usual.

“Michelle Evan’s surveillance has failed.”

“…”

Rishe pursed her lips tightly.

A few days ago, Rishe had asked Theodore for his help.

[“Please keep an eye on Teacher Michel and apprise me of his activities. — And then, if he tries to get close to His Highness Arnold, I want you to stop him.”]

Theodore’s subordinates were slum dwellers, who were well versed in the depths of the imperial capital. They have their own information network and a wide range of activities in the imperial capital.

In addition to this, Theodore has a surveillance network within the Garkhain Castle to gather information on Arnold’s movements.

However, Michel ditched his tail.

“Please give that person plenty of water, just in case. If you don’t mind me asking, do you have anything else on Teacher Michel?”

“They said his hand luggage is different from usual. It’s a sturdy metal bag, and he handles it with great care.”

“!”

“Of course they have to report anything unusual about the person they’re following.”

Theodore grinned.

His smile at such times was uncannily similar to Arnold’s.

“I’ve mobilized everyone in the favelas right after we got the report. We’re in the midst of a man hunt, spreading out in a radial pattern around Block 17.”

“Your Highness Theodore…”

“It’s been a little over two and a half hours since we lost Michel Evan and I’ve been informed. As soon as we find the target, I’ll do as you asked. Reports will be coming to me in due course.”

Rishe’s eyes widened. She didn’t expect that he did something that far in advance.

She still hasn’t told Theodore what the gunpowder was and also Miche’s desire to let Arnold use it at this juncture.

She did ask him to do something once they’d identified the target.

However, in Theodore’s position, in a situation where he couldn’t grasp anything, she told him to monitor the guest from a foreign country, and that if he behaved in a certain way, they have to carry out certain actions and report to her.

Theodore, who was running next to Reece, looked dumbfounded.

She had no idea that they would go so far as to help her in advance in case something unforeseen did happen.

“What’s with that face? Did you think that I, your brother-in-law, is someone who only does what I’m told?”

“No, I didn’t!　But do you really trust me that much?　I didn’t even tell Your Highness why I wanted to go after Teacher Michel…”

Theodore, who was walking briskly beside her, was dumbfounded.

“A man without nothing to hide doesn’t thwart the person who’s following him. Usually, they simply try to drive them away or seek help from the appropriate authorities. It’s only the ones who are planning to do something crazy afterwards would go to the trouble of knocking his tails out with some unknown drug.”

“…”

Rishe couldn’t say anything and dropped her gaze while walking fast.

His words were filled with a certain sense of belongingness to the group of roughnecks he organized from the favelas and the near-criminals that he added to his staff.

Theodore casually looked back at the knights behind them and whispered in a much lower voice.

“I know it was an emergency, so I took you out even though I knew you were with Brother. I’m going to apologize now, because it’s inevitable that Brother will question you about it.”

“No, thank you, Your Highness. Let me just confirm once again. Was there no no contact between Teacher Michel and His Highness Arnold?”

“I can assure you that there was no such contact. It doesn’t look like he approached Oliver either. There’s just one thing I’m curious about…”

“When Your Highness Theodore barged into the conference room earlier?”

Theodore nodded when she mentioned the point he had been wondering about.

“Just because I’m the second prince, there’s no reason why I should interfere in a meeting between Brother and Kyle. And yet, Oliver made no move to stop me.”

“His Highness Arnold didn’t look surprised either…”

“Was it because he wasn’t surprised? Or he had seen through it all and expected this development.”

Or maybe because it would be more convenient for His Highness Arnold to have me leave the meeting…?