Chapter 56
What conversation had taken place between the Emperor and Duke Valent? I heard it directly from the Duke himself when he returned to the townhouse.
“His Majesty has invited you to the ward’s party to be held at the Imperial Palace.”
“His Majesty did?”
“Yes. He said he’ll inform us once the date is set.”
So that’s what they talked about? That’s totally different from what the comment fairies said!
└ [To be precise, His Majesty was curious about the man wearing the Kirin Rose.]
└ [Well, technically not wrong.]
Only after the fact did the comment fairies add the missing context. Why not just say the whole thing from the start?!
Anyway, if the party centers on the imperial wards, then it’ll probably be held in one of the outdoor gardens on the palace outskirts.
Even if it’s a casual gathering, they’d still need to announce it and gather attendees — probably taking at least a week or two.
“That means I can stay at the townhouse for at least two weeks.”
From the Duke’s point of view, it must look like I’m lingering here without any particular reason.
Just like before, when he almost sent me back to the orphanage, he might consider keeping me for a bit and then sending me back to the duke’s estate.
“But this time, I was invited by His Majesty himself!”
That meant I could monitor the Tortoka family while freely going back and forth to the academy.
I confirmed that the plan was on track and was about to prepare for my next infiltration of the academy, when—
I felt someone watching me. When I looked up, the Duke was still staring at me.
“What do you think?”
Oh. Was he not just informing me — but actually asking for my opinion?
“If His Majesty invited me, of course I should go.”
“If you don’t want to, you can say so.”
“No, I’m fine with it.”
└ [Isn’t the Duke trying not to take her along?]
└ [Because the Emperor is teasing him? LOL]
Wait. Is he subtly trying to get me to say no?
But Duke Valent isn’t the type to beat around the bush.
As I blinked up at him, he brought up the reason for his concern.
“Don’t you have unpleasant memories of the Imperial Palace?”
“The palace? …Ah.”
The only time he’d seen me there was during the title conferment ceremony.
“He brought that up once before, too.”
Back then, Duke Valent thought I was avoiding him out of fear, and I’d told him that wasn’t the case.
So the only possible reason I might’ve fled in a hurry… must’ve been that con artist. That’s probably how it looked to him.
└ [Wait, who was the con artist again?]
└ [That orphanage sponsor scammer.]
└ [Ohhh right, that minor villain. Totally forgot.]
└ [You’re bringing up something that happened like 40 chapters ago lol]
└ [Why is the Duke’s memory so good tho LOL]
Right? I’d forgotten too with everything else going on.
He listens well, keeps his distance, and yet surprisingly remembers a lot about me. A complicated man.
“That scammer guy got caught. I barely even remember it now, so it’s fine.”
Duke Valent looked down at me like he was facing a difficult problem.
“You’ve never really said you dislike anything.”
“What should I dislike?”
“I’m saying — maybe you lack the instinct to avoid danger.”
It’s just a party invitation from the Emperor — does this really warrant a conversation about survival instincts?
“Why would you think that?”
“The scammer. The arsonist.”
“Huh?”
“You don’t avoid high-ranking nobles or knights, and you always try to intervene in everything.”
└ [Now that you say it… Rose really just barrels through life.]
└ [Thought he was overreacting but tbh that’s a valid concern lol]
So I must’ve come off that way in front of him — reckless, charging into things without fear.
He’s already worried I might get hurt. Now I must look like a fearless lunatic.
“It’s not like I don’t dislike anything.”
“Oh? What do you dislike?”
“People who block my path…?”
“…”
└ [Rose is a straight-up bulldozer.]
└ [No hesitation. Just full speed ahead.]
“And people who try to take me somewhere without asking.”
“Has someone like that shown up?”
“If you send me back to the orphanage, one will.”
So please stop giving me that look that says, “This isn’t a place for a child.”
Before the Duke could come up with some logical rebuttal, I quickly changed the topic.
“Anyway, I don’t have anything to wear!”
“Clothes?”
“I need a prettier outfit for the party!”
Originally, I was going to just stop by the academy briefly like Hestina, but now I was staying much longer than planned.
I hadn’t brought many clothes, so the townhouse staff had given me some dresses for daily wear — but they were casual at best.
If it’s a party at the Imperial Palace, I should definitely dress up more, right?
“Besides, it seems like His Majesty is pleased to see the Duke with a child.”
Might as well earn a few points while I’m at it.
If Hestina and her ward (a.k.a. me) are seen standing next to Duke Valent, maybe even the Emperor will think it’s a good thing.
“Could you buy me a dress?”
“If you need one, tell the butler—”
“But for party dresses, you need to take measurements in person! It’d be great if you could come with me. Kin said bad adults might try to lure me away with sweets.”
└ [It’s not for the Emperor’s benefit, it’s for Rose’s lol]
└ [Shameless dress heist]
└ [The girl who couldn’t even accept gifts before has really grown lol]
“You’ll come with me, right?”
“…Alright.”
And so, with the power of logic, I persuaded Duke Valent to go shopping with me in the capital.
The only problem was, once we got to the clothing store… his gaze at the dresses was oddly similar to Demian’s.
“You think this one’s cute, Duke? I do too!”
“Your sense of style is amazing! I also think this one suits me best.”
“You’re buying this one for me? Thank you!”
“Oh my, how kind you are.”
Since he was just quietly sitting there, all I had to do was direct the scene myself. No major issues.
└ [Is this what auto-farming looks like?]
└ [At this point, Rose isn’t being taken around by the Duke — she’s the one dragging him around.]
└ [#KirinDuke]
└ [More like wallet Duke…]
Hestina’s theory — that rich nobles should spend their money — really resonated with me.
“If you want to leave an impression, spending money works fast.”
Especially in the capital, where luxury is practically a sport among nobles. Gotta keep up with the trends!
And so, Duke Valent, me, His Majesty who wanted to promote the Duke, and the dress shop owner — we all walked away winners from this shopping trip.
* * *
The entry-level students at the academy were usually around 8 years old.
They were too young to live alone, so dorm staff supported their daily lives. Nobles often brought servants who stayed in separate quarters.
Since there were already servants from the Valent family who’d accompanied Demian to the academy, I could visit even without the Duke, by having the servant act as my guardian.
“There are even girls smaller than me around, so I don’t stand out too much. Good.”
With so many young students running around, it wasn’t hard to move independently.
As long as I kept a low profile and stuck to the edges—
└ [Rose’s narration: Move sneakily so you can walk boldly.]
└ [That’s like saying ‘if you pay money, it’s free’.]
└ [Assassin brain activated.]
Even if someone got suspicious, I could just say I was with Demian and it’d be fine.
I was sneaking around only to avoid interacting with the other students.
That was the plan, anyway…
“…”
Once again, I felt a burning gaze. I turned around — and there was Demian’s underling No. 3, Wizen Conil, staring holes into me.
“Why is he so good at finding me?!”
└ [Rival detected.]
└ [He’s taken out No. 1 to claim the spot…]
└ [An assassin to the assassin, lol]
Maybe because I always picked quieter places to avoid people.
Given that Wizen always carried a book, maybe he also preferred quiet reading spots — which meant we ended up in the same areas.
“If he keeps spotting me like this, I’ll never get a chance to secretly observe Gaerold!”
That was my whole reason for sneaking into the academy — to hear what Gaerold was saying!
But if Wizen keeps tailing me, trying to erase my presence is pointless.
I let out a small sigh and approached the bench where he was glaring at me.
“Um, Wizen-nim.”
“What is it… Number One?”
“It’s Rose. I’m only No. 1 because I met Demian first.”
I tried to explain that the numbers were based on the order we met him, but Wizen still looked grumpy.
If he cared this much about the ranking… maybe I needed to dangle a different bait.
“Actually, Demian-nim said he might switch No. 2 and No. 3.”
“…Really?”
“But Gaerold-nim didn’t like that idea.”
“Ugh…”
“Since you’re the top student, I personally think you should outrank Gaerold-nim.”
When I said something in support of Wizen, his wariness noticeably faded.
“I mean, we’ve only had one test, right? If you keep proving you’re the best, maybe you’ll move up to No. 2, and then even No. 1…”
“I’m confident when it comes to studying! Just watch!”
Wizen sprang to his feet and sprinted off toward the library with determination.
Success! He’ll go after Gaerold now instead of me.
└ [Rose, out here suspiciously encouraging academic excellence lol]
He was already a good student, so I figured he’d keep doing what he always did. I could relax and focus on my mission.
Or so I thought…
But shortly after, something completely unexpected happened—
The first-year rankings at the academy changed dramatically.
