I’d expected Lionel’s so-called volunteer work—his external confinement—wouldn’t end in a single day.
But I hadn’t expected them to change his volunteer location several times a day, popping up here and there all over the city.
‘How am I supposed to find him like this?!’
The capital was enormous. And there was no way a mere duke’s daughter like me could track down the real-time whereabouts of a prince who moved every one or two hours.
‘Hah. If they thought I’d just give up quietly, they’ve seriously underestimated me.’
If there’s no way to find out Lionel’s real-time location?
Then I’ll just make one!
I immediately locked myself in my workshop. My family, who knew very well that once I entered the workshop I wouldn’t come out for days, didn’t disturb me.
On the third day of work—just as my location-tracking magic device was nearing completion—Eunice brought shocking news.
“Miss. Someone from the information guild came and left a note.”
“The information guild? What kind of note?”
“They said it contains… His Highness the Second Prince’s location.”
Eunice handed me not one, but three slips of paper. In order, they read: Central Temple, East Temple, and South Gate.
“If it’s location information, why are there three? Does Rio have three bodies or something?”
“At first I was suspicious and just accepted them. But someone came again two hours later with another one. I believe His Highness has been visiting multiple places today as well.”
“Again? Honestly, I knew the temple people would be like this.”
The temple’s love of money wasn’t exactly news.
“But why would the information guild hand this over? Did you commission it?”
“No. They said it was… a service.”
“A service?”
“Yes. They said it was complimentary, in return for previously purchasing information about His Highness the Second Prince.”
What kind of nonsense is that?
“There’s no way underworld informants work for free… Ah! I get it! They’re planning to demand extra payment once I use this information to meet Rio!”
In my previous life, this kind of scam had been popular with overseas travel—forcing a bracelet onto your wrist and then refusing to leave until you paid for it.
“Hmph. Do they think I’ll fall for that? If they bring more information next time, don’t accept it. Just chase them away and tell them I won’t pay extra.”
“Yes, Miss.”
“I’ll finish this up. Thanks for the sandwich. Don’t come in until I call.”
“Yes, understood.”
After Eunice cleared the empty tray and the notes, I focused on completing the magic device.
And that night—
“It’s done! Finished!”
At last, I completed the location-tracking magic device. Wanting to share my joy, I immediately called Eunice in to show her.
“Ta-da! This is the location-tracking magic device.”
“A location-tracking device… I see. How does it work?”
“It’s simple. This is an earring. If someone wears it, you can track their location on this map. Look.”
I handed the earring—or rather, the piercing—to Eunice and flipped the switch on the wheeled panel displaying a map.
A red light blinked on at one spot—precisely where our ducal estate was located.
“That’s incredible… But Miss, wouldn’t it be impossible to pinpoint an exact location with this map?”
“Of course! The map only gives an approximate location. The real tracker is this!”
With a flourish, I revealed a compass. More precisely, a magic device built into a compass.
“Stand over there holding it, and watch the needle carefully.”
As I walked in a circle around Eunice, the red needle in the compass remained fixed on her, slowly tracing a circle.
Eunice gasped in admiration.
“Wow… That’s amazing. You’re truly a genius, Miss!”
“Hahaha! I think so too!”
Hands on my hips, I laughed heartily—
Then suddenly stopped.
“But there’s one problem.”
“Yes? What problem?”
“That earring… How do I get it onto Rio’s ear?”
“Ah.”
Eunice covered her mouth with one hand and stared down at the piercing in her palm.
Yes. Now it was time to put our heads together and figure out how to bell the cat.
Late that night, Lionel noticed a leaf resting on his windowsill.
It looked as though it had been carried by the wind, riddled with small holes as if insects had eaten through it.
He picked it up, turned it over in his hands, then tossed it outside.
‘Mission failed.’
It hadn’t even been a particularly difficult task. Why had it failed?
If Lionel had overlooked one thing, it was this: he had assumed his subordinate would reveal his name to Cecilia when delivering the information.
But someone from the underworld thought differently. He believed that Lionel’s involvement should remain secret from Cecilia. In trying to carry out the task that way, he ended up failing.
‘By now, her mana must have run out.’
Tomorrow, too, his schedule would likely only end after nightfall. And at such a late hour, he couldn’t simply visit her in person. What should he do?
After a brief moment of consideration, Lionel locked the door, shut the windows, and drew the curtains.
In the perfectly sealed room where no one’s gaze could reach, he lit a magic lamp and took out the bluebird from inside his coat.
“Feeling suffocated?”
“Chirp!”
The bluebird let out a short cry and fluttered up into the air, flying rapidly in circles as if shaking off its pent-up frustration.
Lionel smiled faintly as it eventually settled onto the desk.
There, he had prepared a soft, cozy nest made of smooth twigs and cotton. The bluebird hopped inside and lay down.
‘I’d like to let it stay here all the time.’
But now that he knew this bluebird was Cecilia’s spirit familiar, he couldn’t treat it carelessly.
If the bird were injured, Cecilia would suffer as well.
“Chirp?”
Suddenly, the bluebird sprang from the nest, its eyes gleaming.
Lionel immediately understood why. He lifted the bird onto his palm and sat down.
—There’s one problem.
As expected, Cecilia’s voice flowed from the bird’s beak.
But it wasn’t just her voice.
—Yes? What problem?
If his memory served him right, that voice belonged to Cecilia’s maid.
It was the first time he’d heard someone other than Cecilia speaking through the bird, and Lionel regarded it with a curious gaze.
He’d heard that spirit familiars often served as messengers, but could they also transmit conversations with other people?
—That earring… How do I get it onto Rio’s ear?
An earring? My ear?
—That’s quite a difficult problem, Miss. Why did you make it in the form of an earring?
—Well, if he’s going to wear it all the time, an earring is best, right? Necklaces and bracelets get in the way. And giving a ring as a gift feels too… serious.
—But to wear an earring, one must pierce the ear. Giving an earring is practically asking to wound His Highness’s body…
—Women all get their ears pierced! What’s wrong with a healthy man getting a tiny hole in his ear?
—…Please never say that anywhere else.
Judging by how casually they spoke, neither of them seemed to have the faintest idea that he was listening.
‘Do spirit familiars sometimes transmit their master’s voice without their will?’
Or perhaps… without realizing it herself, she wanted him to hear this conversation?
‘I suppose I’ll find out if I keep listening.’
It seemed he had unintentionally become an eavesdropper.
But that shouldn’t matter.
After all, the two of them were talking about him anyway