“Was the method you mentioned to entice Edward?”
At Kairon’s words, Cecilia subtly tried to gauge the situation.
It was as if her daughter had chosen to associate with the person she got along with the least in the world.
“Not a bad judgment.”
When an unexpected response came back, Cecilia lifted her head.
“Y-You’re not angry?”
“Edward should naturally be treated with caution. However, this matter…”
Kairon sighed.
“Still, it’s a relief that you won’t end up being scammed somewhere. He has his honor at stake, so he won’t be slacking off.”
“?”
That sounded like a very rude thing to say.
Cecilia quickly erased it from her mind.
She had a tendency to forget unfavorable things, thanks to her easygoing nature.
“You can trust Edward in areas like that. However, do not trust him when it comes to matters related to the demon race.”
“Do you think the vice-captain is a traitor?”
“Of course not.”
Kairon quietly denied it.
“Then why are you so cautious?”
“The vice-captain is a good person.”
Cecilia’s evaluation of Edward had risen tremendously recently.
Whenever a difficult situation arose, he always appeared and resolved it as a wonderful problem-solver.
“You’re so insightful about matters related to the demon race, yet why do you have no insight about your fellow humans?”
The pressure of retirement was slowly approaching.
Kairon had mountains of worries.
His naive daughter still believed in Edward, who he thought would become the greatest enemy in the future.
“Since I raised you as a knight, I guess it can’t be helped. You’re too knightly.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Yeah. It’s a good thing. I’ve always been proud of you, Cecilia. But.”
Kairon paused for a moment before continuing.
“Edward is more of royalty than a knight. Remember that.”
With Edward’s intervention, the “guild construction” was immediately approved.
When they were in the same knight order building, she hadn’t noticed, but royalty truly was different.
“…So, Cecilia, who is this person?”
“Oh my, I apologize for the late introduction. I am the merchant Prud. I am the merchant helping with the guild construction.”
“Prud is a good merchant.”
So, shouldn’t the beautiful Sword Heroine also lend her full support?
Cecilia had excitedly scurried around with her little feet to find a great merchant.
She beamed brightly in pride, momentarily lost in her own glow.
“…”
‘Is he serious?’
Edward was at a loss for words. With his greedy nose, enormous stature, and his greedy, shining belly, he looked like a scam artist from every angle.
“For just 1,000 gold, I can build everything perfectly from the foundation to the spire! And even provide lifetime maintenance for free!”
“I must ask, are you an architect?”
“Haha! I’m a merchant. But I have over ten thousand architects under me. Moreover, I’ve already had experience working on palace construction.”
“Wow, he built the imperial palace. We must sign quickly.”
Cecilia urged Edward.
If he could build the imperial palace, she couldn’t even imagine how great he must be.
Moreover, ten thousand! That was a huge corporation.
“Cecilia, where did you meet this merchant?”
“At the market over there.”
Edward let out a deep sigh.
Setting aside the absurdity of a palace-building architect walking the streets of Rianen Kingdom, he didn’t feel the need to explain the existence of ten thousand architects.
“His name was Prud, right?”
“Yes, my lord. Should I bring the contract?”
“Sure. And while you’re at it, bring the guillotine that will take your head. I wouldn’t want to waste my holy sword on you.”
“Hik! I’m so sorry!”
Prud fled in fear. Cecilia watched him leave with a disappointed expression.
“…Cecilia. I’ll find the architect myself, so you go eat some cake.”
“Even if I delegated my authority, I have the right to participate in this mission.”
Cecilia maintained a straight face as she insisted.
Edward simply showed her one platinum coin with a smile.
Cecilia’s pupils fixated on the platinum coin.
“But since you say that, I can’t refuse.”
“…”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Cecilia was at an age where she was short on allowance.
Yum.
‘This is the taste.’
Cecilia chewed on the cake with a melting face.
Next to her sat Beatrice, and opposite her was Edward.
She had come to discuss necessary documents and, at the same time, to enjoy lunch by visiting the ‘Golden Honeycomb.’
“These are all the relevant documents.”
As Beatrice handed over well-organized documents, Edward smiled softly.
“Cecilia has a great aide-de-camp. I’m relieved.”
“Aide-de-camp…? I’m just a regular knight in Cecilia’s squad.”
“Well, it’s only a matter of time, isn’t it? It seems to me that you’ve already been marked.”
“Y-Yes?”
“…It’s not a good strategy to pretend you don’t know. What do you think the reason is that Cecilia always keeps you by her side?”
“A-Actually, is Cecilia becoming the vice-captain?”
“Eh? You didn’t know? My next heir is Cecilia.”
Rather, it was Edward who was surprised. Everyone in the knight order knew that the next vice-captain would be Cecilia.
Kairon was openly supporting her. Moreover, she was more than qualified for the role. There was no one else who fit the position of vice-captain besides Cecilia.
“Is it really okay if Cecilia becomes the vice-captain? The role of vice-captain involves… budgeting, right?”
“…”
Edward couldn’t bring himself to respond.
As Cecilia’s gaze turned towards him, she wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and said,
“I’ll treat today, so please order as much as you’d like.”
With that, Cecilia proudly pulled out a platinum coin.
“Wow, did you receive your allowance, Cecilia?”
“Yeah. Let’s go buy clothes together later.”
“A-Again?”
While Edward found it absurd, he soon smiled.
‘Whether or not I will marry, if Cecilia does, her partner is going to have a tough time. He’ll need to be extremely wealthy.’
Not only that.
Cecilia’s future partner would need recognition from the entire Windsor Knight Order.
Of course, this included his own recognition, but he had no intention of recognizing anyone.
Edward casually raised his hand and called out to Reina. Reina smiled subtly and mouthed,
– I’ve secured the 1,000 gold you mentioned.
“Order the sweetest strawberry pie possible and a kiwi smoothie.”
Edward spoke in code. The meaning was…
– Secure as much funding as possible. It’s okay if it gets a bit noisy.
‘However, Cecilia. While I can choose her marriage partner, this is a different story.’
The project of forming a guild.
This was something that had to be done at the national level, requiring immense funding.
Investors would surely gather considerable profits.
Of course, that would only be if the enterprise succeeded—
But Edward was confident. This was going to be a guaranteed success.
No, it would be made to succeed.
Thus, he couldn’t pass the investment opportunity of this guild enterprise, which would yield considerable wealth, to other nobles.
“See? The vice-captain has a child’s taste, doesn’t she?”
“That’s true… She doesn’t look like it at all.”
Edward’s lips twitched as he watched the two whispering while looking at him.
“I can hear everything.”
“What brings you here again?”
Bianca greeted Cecilia with a displeased expression.
Cecilia knelt down on one knee and bowed.
“You look beautiful today, my lady.”
“I don’t want to hear that from a woman.”
Bianca replied with visible disgust.
“Just get to the point. I’m very busy.”
“Excuse me, but do you have a schedule?”
“That’s very rude. A duke’s daughter’s time moves in seconds. Today…”
Bianca paused for a moment.
Cecilia tilted her head in confusion.
Bianca was starting to sweat.
“Today…”
“Today?”
“…There’s such a thing! To think you’d go so far as to inquire about a duke’s daughter’s schedule is quite audacious!”
It seemed that the villainess daughter didn’t have any friends, so she appeared to have ample time.
Cecilia wiped her eyes. Unlike herself, the greatest beauty of the kingdom, she seemed to lack popularity….
“Y-You’re thinking something very rude right now, aren’t you? I really have a schedule! I do…!”
Bianca’s eyes brimmed with tears out of frustration. In reality, as Cecilia had guessed, she had no friends.
However, no matter how friendless, she had no intention of making Cecilia her only friend.
“My lady, may I lick just once?”
She was clearly out of her mind…!
“Just quickly tell me why you came.”
Bianca crossed her legs and hid her face with a fan.
‘Although I have a rough idea.’
She was generally aware of happenings in the royal capital. Cecilia’s report had caused a stir among the nobles and had successfully involved Edward.
She had probably come asking for assistance with that matter. Eisenberg was one of the richest families in the kingdom.
‘Well, since you helped me the last time, I can’t turn you down…’
Bianca’s red eyes scanned Cecilia.
Her silver hair looked like it had never been sullied even once in her life.
Her skin, nearly like a fairy tale, was pale. Of course, knowing she’s a knight, she understood life wasn’t easy.
‘For some reason, I just don’t want to help.’
When you see someone for the first time, it’s human nature to want to test them.
“I’m currently working on a project with Vice-Captain Edward.”
“I know.”
“You’re quick.”
“Don’t underestimate the information network of Eisenberg.”
Bianca stated confidently.
“I’m sorry, but if you are here for an investment, you should seek elsewhere. I’ve said I’ll help in times of trouble, but I’ve never said I would invest.”
‘But she seems to keep glancing around while I’m talking…’
Bianca noticed Cecilia’s beautiful gaze wandering around the place.
As though she was not at all in the position of a supplicant seeking investment.
‘Wait a minute!’
The problem was that the places she was inspecting were where Bianca had displayed her most cherished glass crafts in the world.
She was even touching them every now and then.
“Wow, this looks expensive.”
“Don’t touch it carelessly! How much do you think that is worth?!”
Bianca exclaimed in shock.
The moment Cecilia gawked at her, one of the glass cups she had touched fell, knocked off by her twin braids.
“Not good!”
Just when Bianca’s eyes widened in despair…
“Yap.”
Cecilia used her toes to gently touch the glass cup, catching it with her left hand.
And then, seemingly unfazed, she raised the glass cup and toasted.
This was the so-called Cecilia Gatsby pose.
“There’s no need to admire it too much, my lady. The beauty of this glass cup cannot contain even a fraction of your brilliance.”
“…”
Bianca was at a loss for words and sank weakly into her chair.
Having lost all motivation, Bianca said weakly,
“I’ll invest, so just get out.”
“Thank you.”
Cecilia, having resolved a matter once again today, smiled slightly.
Her lethal ‘Noble Lady Flirting Lines – Advice from Leoric -‘ prepared for securing investments had undoubtedly been successful.
After all, a person with seven wives was certainly different.
i think shes more threatened than flirted