Tail [Part 2]
Joanna’s POV
“…You must be wondering how come I am here even though you’ve already shaken off the people tailing you?”
“! Tailing? I’m not sure what you are talking about.”
Arthur Bell read my mind.
But it was true that there was no sign of anyone’s presence until he appeared.
Even if I was being watched, there was no way I wouldn’t notice.
“I understand that Lady Joanna may want to be alone because you are always surrounded by many men, whether at the academy or in the Royal Castle, but it will be troubling if you don’t bring a guard with you.”
“An escort knight also has it tough, you know?” Arthur Bell smiled weakly.
“Y-Yes. I just wanted to be alone for a little while. But it slipped my mind that I might have caused trouble for the knights. I will return to my room.”
Any further than this is impossible. I dropped my plans to go to the treasure house this time.
I should give up for now while he was still willing to back down.
“Yes, indeed. I will escort you back to your room, Lady Joanna.”
Arthur Bell quickly got behind me and showed me the way back.
End of Joanna’s POV
♠♠♠
“I taught the lady-killer Big Bro as you told me, but was that okay?” Hue reported.
Hue was currently sitting casually on the windowsill of Joshua’s living space on the third floor of the Rothschild Company store in the shopping district without paying attention to his manners.
“It went without saying that your life would be in danger if it were discovered that you had trespassed into the Royal Castle’s treasure house. I will never let the precious children under Emma-sama‘s care do such a dangerous thing.”
Joshua answered while dealing with the large stack of complaint files at high speed.
“You’re unexpectedly kind, huh, Master Joshua… But remember that not just me but my buddies in the slums are also willing to overdo ourselves and make some sacrifices if it’s for Emma-sama, okay?”
“We’ve been in Emma-sama‘s care, after all.” Hue puffed out his chest.
“…The most important thing is to not make Emma-sama sad, Hue. Not about making sacrifices.”
“No, because Master Joshua has been doing many things without sleep for days, haven’t you…”
Seeing Joshua working at the store during the day, going to the academy if he had time, sorting out the documents and other routine tasks at night, plus investigating Joanna’s movements in between those times made Hue wonder when he would have time to sleep. No matter how he looked at it, his employer sitting before him was the one who was making the greatest sacrifice.
“This is just my regular work. Working myself for Emma-sama is not much different from breathing.”
“…ugh, you’re being scary, you know that. But hey, wouldn’t it be better if we knew what Lady Joanna was looking for in the treasure house?”
If they had just tailed Lady Joanna silently until the end, she would have broken into the treasure house and obtained the treasure she was after. It would be easier to accuse her after she had been captured.
Hue had been watching Lady Joanna for a while. He didn’t know what kind of trick she had, but any kind of lock would become useless before her. Because just by holding out her hand, any door that was usually locked opened. Even a dexterous thief couldn’t pull such a feat.
“If we had reported that, the chances were that Hue would have been suspected. It would be difficult for us to make a move in the future if Lady Joanna were treated as a victim, right?”
“But…” I want to be of some help.
