I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

After saying goodbye to Qingdeng and giving some instructions to Leroy in French, Elodie continued walking with Gerard toward the stairs not far away.

Gerald, who was walking behind Elodie, brushed past Qingdeng.

He didn't say a single word to Qingdeng.

Just as he was about to pass by Qingdeng, he glanced at Qingdeng sideways.

Although Gerald's gaze was fleeting... Qing Deng, with his powerful dynamic vision, keenly captured the emotions hidden within it.

The emotion that surfaced in his eyes when he first entered the house and met Qingdeng was exactly the same—that disdainful look full of superiority…

Qingdeng's brows immediately furrowed.

He stood silently in place, watching Elodie and Gerard leave without saying a word.

Only after the figures of the old man and the young boy had disappeared at the top of the stairs leading upstairs did Qing Deng silently murmur to himself:

— Westerners like Miss and Mr. Angoulême, who are not racist, are ultimately a minority…

Why did Gerrard always look at him with such disdain...? The reason is not hard to guess.

The Edo Shogunate was forced to open the country's doors by Western powers through force.

While Western countries had entered the industrial age due to the widespread use of steam engines, Japan under the Edo Shogunate remained an agricultural society based on small-scale farming... It goes without saying how the people of these Western powers would view this backward country.

So far, among the Westerners with whom Qing Deng has had in-depth contact... is only Elodie and her family.

Because he had only had detailed interactions with Elodie and her family, Qing Deng almost forgot that Westerners like Elodie and Anthony, who did not discriminate against race, were extremely rare.

Most Westerners are like this Gerald—they can't even be bothered to greet Qingdeng, and their gazes toward Qingdeng are always filled with a sense of superiority and disdain, as if they were looking down on some inferior creature.

Oh well.

Qingdeng raised his hand and rubbed the back of his neck.

Just think of it as being bitten by a mosquito.

Gerald was Elodie's tutor after all, and even out of respect for Anthony and Elodie, Qingdeng was too embarrassed to argue with him.

Moreover, Qingdeng was not so narrow-minded as to get angry over a contemptuous look from someone.

He simply took Gerrard's glance at him as a mosquito bite, and quickly dismissed his frustration.

"Mr. Ju, the black tea is ready. Would you like me to bring it to the study now, or would you like me to wait a while before bringing it over?"

A look of astonishment immediately crossed Qing Deng's eyes.

--Who is speaking……?

The female voice that suddenly rang out behind Qingdeng had a very strange accent, with many words pronounced extremely inaccurately.

Overwhelmed with shock, Qingdeng hurriedly turned around and looked behind him.

Behind Qingdeng, there was only one person—Leroy, who stood respectfully with his hands folded in front of him.

“Miss Leroy…” Qing Deng’s eyes widened in surprise, “So you can speak Japanese?”

Leroy nodded slightly, smiled slightly, and then stammered awkwardly:

"I can barely communicate with people, but I can't speak as fluently and standardly as a prostitute."

This was the first time Qing Deng had met Leroy speaking Japanese.

Before this, Qing Deng had only ever seen Leroy speak French, so he subconsciously assumed that Leroy knew nothing about Japanese.

At this moment, Leroy softly repeated the question she had just posed:

"Mr. Ju, should I have the black tea delivered to the study now, or should I wait a while before delivering it?"

Qing Deng slowly recovered from his astonishment that "Leroy can actually speak Japanese".

"Send it over now," Qingdeng replied without hesitation. "Thank you for your trouble."

"You're too kind," Leroy said, bowing slightly. "It's all I should do."

With that, Leroy turned and walked toward the kitchen.

Qingdeng glanced at Leroy's departing figure a few times and breathed a sigh of relief.

—I'll go back to my study to check on Saito and the others...

Having made up his mind, Qingdeng straightened his clothes and then strode straight toward the staircase not far away.

But at that moment, a sudden word of thanks, like a chain, bound Qing Deng's feet, which were already on the stairs.

"...Mr. Ju, thank you very much for playing with Miss earlier."

"Huh?" Qing Deng was taken aback, then looked at Leroy, who had suddenly thanked him, with a puzzled expression.

When Qing Deng turned his gaze to Leroy, he noticed that the pretty young maid was looking up at him with a grateful smile on her face.

When Qingdeng looked over, Leroy lowered his head, bent over, and bowed to Qingdeng from afar.

"After moving to Edo, the young lady... has been very lonely."

"I was surrounded by unfamiliar people and an unfamiliar environment."

There were no other children her age nearby who could play with her.

"My husband and I are very busy every day, and we can't spare much time to spend with Miss."

"Only Ms. Kinoshita would come over to play with her from time to time."

As she finished speaking, Leroy's lips drooped slightly... This subtle change in expression revealed a hint of sadness on her face.

"If I'm not mistaken... just now, it must have been Miss who asked you to practice swordsmanship with her, right?"

"Miss has always loved rapier techniques."

"But after leaving France and coming to Japan, the young lady rarely found anyone who had the time, ability, and willingness to practice swordsmanship with her."

"Today, after a long time, I wielded a sword with someone... Miss must be very happy."

Beneath Qing Deng's upright brows, his eyes flickered slightly.

In that next instant, he suddenly recalled something Elodie had said to him before his fight with her—

(I haven't sparred with anyone in ages... I've almost forgotten what it feels like to spar with someone or something that isn't in the air.)

The scenes of his fight with Elodie flashed through Qing Deng's mind.

It was only then that Qing Deng noticed that Elodie had been smiling happily throughout their fight.

Even though his sword could not hit Qingdeng at all, he was still all smiles.

It was as if simply being able to pick up a sword and spar with someone was something to be celebrated...

Qing Deng now understood why Elodie had so abruptly asked him to practice swordsmanship with her.

There were no other children her age nearby, and her grandfather and maid couldn't spare much time to spend with her. Only Kinoshita Mai could come over to play with her from time to time... Just from Leroy's description, Qing Deng had already sketched out a picture in his mind of "a lonely blonde girl who could only practice her favorite swordsmanship in front of the air every day".

Qingdeng pursed his lips, unsure of what expression to make. With a complicated look, he raised his head and looked upstairs, towards the direction of Elodie's bedroom...

Elodie's bedroom was located on the top floor, the third floor. Qingdeng, who remained on the first floor, naturally couldn't even see the door to Elodie's bedroom.

However, when Qingdeng looked up, he saw something else—

Thump thump thump thump thump...

From the direction of the top floor, a series of hurried footsteps could be heard.

Immediately afterwards, Qing Deng saw Teng Tang hurrying by at the top of the stairs.

"Mr. Ju, we've found the man with the beard the whistleblower mentioned!"

……

……

Aoto and Tōdō quickly returned to the study one after the other, and Saitō and the others who were gathered around the window immediately came to greet Aoto.

"Has that bearded man already entered that pastry shop?" Qing Deng didn't waste any words and went straight to the point with a serious expression.

Nagakura nodded: "We saw it very clearly! Just now, a samurai wearing a scarlet robe and black hakama, with a thick beard, entered that confectionery shop!"

Qingdeng strode to the window, gazed intently at the pastry shop not far away through the clear glass, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a sleeve.

Seeing the sleeve in Qing Deng's hand... Saito and the others, understanding what Qing Deng was going to do, silently reached into their pockets and took out their own sleeves as well.

As if they had rehearsed beforehand, the five of them tightened the wide sleeves of their kimonos with their sleeves in perfect unison.

"...You all come with me." Qing Deng adjusted the two swords at his left waist, his deep voice devoid of joy or sorrow.

Before they ran into Elodie and her group on the street, Qingdeng and his companions had already scouted the architectural style of the pastry shop and the layout of the surrounding buildings.

This pastry shop has only two doors: the front door and the back door.

Given that the shop only had two entrances, front and back, Qing Deng quickly made arrangements—he and Yongcang were responsible for attacking from the front entrance, while Saito, along with Harada and Todo, guarded the back entrance of the confectionery shop.

In Qingdeng's small team, apart from Qingdeng being the undisputed leader, there was no clear distinction between superiors and subordinates among the others.

However, although no specific rank was made, everyone, including Aoto, always assumed that Saito was their "vice-captain" and Aoto's "adjutant".

Nagakura and Harada possessed only brute strength, and their methods were simple and crude. Harada, in particular, was basically ignorant of Chinese characters and could even spout nonsense like "Liu Bang, Liu Xuande, committed suicide by the Pearl River," a statement that would infuriate any history teacher. He was essentially out of the question of being entrusted with any important tasks.

Toudou, on the other hand, is too inexperienced, still immature, and naive in his dealings with others. He is not cautious enough in his actions. Although he is skilled in both literature and martial arts, he still lacks experience.

Of all of Qing Deng's subordinates... only Saito was truly capable of handling things independently.

Saito, who rarely smiled and never showed his emotions, was incredibly composed.

"Even if Mount Tai collapses before him, he remains unmoved; even if a deer leaps to his left, he does not blink"—this classic saying perfectly describes Saito.

Even Aoto, who had the longest-standing friendship with Saito, had almost never seen Saito lose control of his expression or emotions.

No matter the situation, he was always so calm and composed.

Because Saito was so mature and composed, Aoto and the others often subconsciously forgot that Saito and Todo were the same age, both only 16 years old this year. Saito was only a few months older than Todo and was the second youngest person in Aoto's small team.

Strictly speaking... Saito didn't need to be so obedient to Aoto.

Because he was just Aoto's bodyguard, unlike Nagakura and Harada who were Aoto's guides.

"Absolute obedience to Aoto's orders"—this was the duty of Nagakura and his fellow Okabiki, but Saito did not follow this principle.

His only task was to protect Qingdeng.

Since he didn't have a direct superior-subordinate relationship with Qingdeng, all he needed to do was ensure Qingdeng's personal safety.