Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

The count raised his head, his gaze falling on the old butler. His perpetually stern face showed no emotion.

Butler Aldred entered silently. He had changed out of his impeccable tailcoat from the daytime and was now wearing a dark gray casual suit.

There were a few barely noticeable water stains on my clothes due to the night mist.

"how is the situation?"

"It's been resolved, sir."

Aldred walked to the desk and bowed slightly. His voice was flat, as if he were reporting on the day's weather.

"Lebkuhna, a commoner, makes a living by selling honey cakes in the royal capital's market year-round."

He paused.

"The person who witnessed the young master and young lady's last movements."

The count's brow twitched almost imperceptibly.

"I will no longer say things I shouldn't say."

As Aldred spoke, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. The light was faint and fleeting, yet it seemed to lower the temperature in the study.

The count did not ask for further details.

All he needs is the result.

Was it cleaned properly?

"Everyone will assume that it was 'Eight Fingers' who made the move."

Aldred's voice carried a hint of certainty. He had served the Aindora family for thirty years and had dealt with far more complex matters than this.

He wasn't even worth his time to deal with a small-time street vendor.

The only problem is how to guide the traces in the right direction.

But this is just "trouble," not "difficulty."

The count nodded slightly.

This is also one of the reasons for the existence of "eight fingers".

Those rats lurking in the shadows have committed countless evil deeds and are utterly wicked. But precisely because of this, they are the perfect scapegoats.

Any inexplicable death, any trace that needs to be covered up, can be attributed to them.

No one would doubt it.

Even if there is suspicion, no one will investigate further.

After all, who would care about the life or death of an ordinary citizen?

"Well done." The count's tone carried a hint of approval.

Aldred bowed slightly, not taking credit for anything.

A few seconds of silence followed in the study.

"grown ups."

Aldred suddenly spoke, his voice tinged with a hint of probing.

"About that commoner girl."

He paused for a moment.

"Should we dispose of it too?"

The count's gaze flickered slightly.

That girl.

He remembered what Rune had said while kneeling in the study, and he took it back, raised it, and turned it into a suicide soldier.

Those light green eyes looked up at him, revealing a prematurely mature calculation, but the count saw more.

"Do not."

The count put down the documents in his hand and leaned back in his chair.

"I've already promised Rune. I'll pass on the commoner girl."

His tone was indifferent, as if he were talking about something trivial.

Aldred's expression remained unchanged; he simply lowered his head slightly.

"Understood."

"Tomorrow you will take Rune back to your territory and stay for a while."

"Yes."

"Go."

"Yes."

Aldred turned and left, the door closing softly behind him.

The study fell silent again, and the count casually picked up a report and began to read.

My gaze fell upon those words.

But after looking for a long time, I didn't turn a single page.

From the questions asked of Silk, the Count had pieced together the whole story.

The words that the commoner peddler Leibkuhena said to Rune and Silk at the market.

"It's Baron Rivian. Another little girl has fallen victim. Poor child, may God protect her."

It was a deliberate attempt to guide, seemingly a prayer for an innocent girl.

But the count judged that he wanted to send the two children to their deaths, or that he wanted to provoke conflict and use someone else to do the dirty work.

Leibkuhna, a mere commoner, dared to verbally entice the heir of the Aindora family into getting involved in such matters.

It's not a pity to die.

As for that commoner girl...

The count never intended to kill her.

The Count recalled the sparkling look in Si's eyes when she described that scene: "My brother and I defeated the demon and protected her!"

That pride, that joy.

If the girl were to die at this point, it would be too cruel for Si.

The count admitted that he was not a good father.

He was stern with Rune, scoffed at Silk's knightly fantasies, and rarely embraced them with the tenderness one would show a wife.

The count made them attend classes, study, and follow the rules of the nobility.

But the count didn't want their eyes to lose their light.

So when Rune knelt in the study and said, "Take him back and train him to be a suicide soldier," the Count accepted the offer.

This was one of the few acts of tenderness he could offer as a father.

Let that silly boy think he saved that commoner girl.

"Onii-chan, you're back."

"Ah, my dear Imodo, I'm back."

Rune tried to mask his fatigue with a humorous tone and closed the door behind him.

Si blinked, seemingly a little unfamiliar with the title, but her attention was quickly drawn to a more pressing question.

"Did my brother spend the afternoon eliminating demon souls?"

Her eyes sparkled, filled with curiosity and admiration.

Rune looked into those eyes and remained silent for a second.

The matter of the temple, the injury, and the scolding his father gave him in the study.

These things cannot be said. Saying them will make Si worry and feel like she has done something wrong.

Should I lie to her again?

"of course not."

Rune walked over and sat down next to her.

"A mere demon's soul, brother dealt with it in no time. Brother went to play at the temple afterwards."

"The temple is so much fun, and the priests are very kind."

"Oh, right, brother also had a heart-to-heart talk with a bat. That wicked bat tried to trick brother, but brother saw through it immediately."

This isn't a scam.

He did go to the temple.

I did indeed communicate with a certain "bat" for a period of time.

The part about being injured and treated is simply omitted.

Si smiled, as if she had been amused by Rune.

But soon, Si tilted her head to look at Rune, her light green eyes filled with a hint of inquiry, like a wary little animal.

She leaned closer and carefully examined Rune's face.

The distance is too close.

Rune could smell the faint scent of soap on her and see the gentle trembling of her eyelashes.

"Onii-chan, are you hiding something from me?"

Rune's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm: "What could it be?"

How old is that silk? How can your sixth sense be so accurate?