Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight.

"Aldred, you're back."

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—the mist of the night.

"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 up properly?"

"Everyone will assume that it was 'Eight Fingers' who did it."

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 a "trouble," not a "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—take him back, raise him, and turn him into a suicide soldier.

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

"No."

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."

"Take Rune back to your territory tomorrow 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.

The Count had pieced together the whole story from his questioning of Lajus.

The words that the commoner trader Leibkuhena said to Rune and Lajus at the market.

"It's Baron Rivière. 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 this matter—

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 Lajus'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 Lajus.

The count admitted that he was not a good father.

He was stern with Rune, scoffed at Lajus'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 casually closed the door.

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

"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 Lajus 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.

"That mere demon's soul was easily dealt with by my brother. He 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.

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

But soon, Lajus 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 Lahoz? How come her sixth sense is so accurate?

"My brother always speaks in this tone when he's being naughty," Lajus said, like a detective.

"No, that's not true. By the way, my brother is leaving the capital tomorrow to return to his territory for a while." Rune was a little embarrassed and quickly changed the subject.

Rune didn't want Lajus to know about her injury.

Let this silly little sister think she successfully protected that ordinary girl.