‘What do you plan to do, Kano?’
On the windowsill, the Mimic Crow Familiar that Vera had split off waited for events to unfold through the cracks in the wooden window.
“Good boy, I believe you will do the right thing!”
Old Hans stepped forward and patted Kano on the shoulder, praising him.
“Yes, Grandpa Hans, Little Peter, I have to go back and continue working for His Highness. I won’t stay any longer.”
Kano looked at Old Hans and the young boy, Peter, as he spoke.
“Brother Kano, will you come back to see us again?”
Peter, who was holding Old Hans’s hand, looked at Kano and asked.
Kano paused for a moment upon hearing Peter’s question.
He knew very well that by returning to inform Anke about the coal, his identity as a spy would likely be exposed, and he might even be executed immediately.
However, Kano did not want to disappoint Little Peter, who was looking forward to his return.
He could only say evasively, “Of course… of course I will. As long as there is a chance, I will definitely come back to visit you and Grandpa Hans often.”
“Great! I’ll be waiting for you to come see us again, Brother Kano!” Peter said happily.
Old Hans escorted Kano and Thomas outside, still not forgetting to remind Kano repeatedly, “Remember, a kind noble who treats us as well as the Lord does is worth rewarding with all our hearts. Kano, while you work under the Lord, you must be diligent and not careless. More importantly, never do anything to harm the Lord, or I will be the first to disown you!”
“I understand, Grandpa Hans. It’s cold outside, so you don’t need to come out further,” Kano promised as he and Thomas walked out of the house.
“Alright. There is snow on the road, so you and the Knight should be careful not to fall,” Old Hans shouted at their retreating backs.
“Understood, go back inside, Grandpa Hans,” Kano replied. Then, he and Thomas quickly made their way back to the Lord’s Castle in the center of Border City.
On the way, Thomas looked at Kano and voiced the question in his mind.
“Kano, why did you tell your brother that you’d only come back if you had a chance? Hasn’t His Highness already granted you permission to return for a visit every so often?”
Kano listened to Thomas’s question and remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“I… I forgot.”
“Forgot? Then I should have reminded you. That child seems to really like you. He would have been very happy to hear that you can come back to see him every few days.” Thomas rubbed his chin as he spoke.
“Yes, thank you, Thomas.”
Kano and Thomas chatted back and forth, and before long, they arrived back at the Castle.
The Mimic Crow Familiar that had been tracking Kano flew through an open window of the Castle and quietly merged back into Vera’s body, relaying the information it had overheard.
Having learned everything that happened during the visit, Vera waited quietly to see what action Kano would take.
If Kano still intended to act against Anke, then Vera would have to find an opportunity to “handle” him first…
“You’re going straight to the study as soon as you get back? It seems that old man’s words had a big impact on you.”
Thomas watched Kano, who had dived into the study the moment he returned to the Castle, and could not help but sigh.
Kano did not answer. Instead, he plunged into the pile of marked Lord’s Journals, searching for the specific entry about the “combustible black poison stone” that was likely Coal.
“Wait, haven’t you already searched that pile of journals? Didn’t you say there was nothing His Highness wanted in there?”
Thomas picked up a Lord’s Journal that Kano had set aside, noticing the stamp indicating it had already been reviewed and organized.
Kano still did not find time to answer, silently continuing his search through the journals.
“Stop! Kano! Why are you looking through journals you’ve already flipped through? Did you intentionally hide something while you were working earlier?!”
Thomas drew his sword, the tip pointing at Kano’s back.
“Yes.”
Feeling the cold blade at his back, Kano finally gave an answer.
“I hid the lead on the Coal that His Highness was looking for. But I understand now. I realize I was wrong. I want to correct my mistake. I want to find that page for His Highness.”
Thomas’s sword began to tremble slowly along with his breathing.
Ultimately, however, Thomas sheathed his sword. He knew that compared to Kano, the “Coal” His Highness wanted was more important.
“Search then. Once you find it, I will take you to His Highness to be dealt with.”
After Thomas finished speaking, he began to help Kano move aside the useless journals.
With the two of them working together, it did not take long to find the page regarding the Coal.
True to his word, once the target was found, Thomas escorted Kano to the Lord’s office to let Anke handle him.
“His Highness treated you so well. Why would you do something against him?” Thomas questioned Kano in confusion along the way.
“I’m sorry.”
Kano did not know how to explain, because by the time he truly recognized Anke’s kindness, he had already made a grave mistake.
The two arrived at Anke’s office. Just as it had been when they left that morning, only Anke and Vera were inside the room.
“How was it? Did you see the people you wanted to see? How are their lives?”
Anke did not yet know what Kano had experienced or the choice he had made; he was simply concerned about whether Kano’s trip had gone as desired.
Anke’s concern caused Kano, who already realized he had done wrong, to feel even more guilt. He dropped directly to his knees to confess his sins to Anke.
“I am sorry, Your Highness. I have failed your kindness.”
“What is it? What happened? Get up and explain yourself first!”
Anke was startled by Kano’s sudden kneeling and hurriedly asked for the reason.
“Your Highness, I found the lead on the Coal you have been searching for.”
“You found a lead on the coal! That’s a good thing! What reward do you want? As long as it is within reason, I can give it to you!” Anke stood up immediately.
“Your Highness, I’m sorry. Actually, I discovered the lead on the Coal five days ago, but I intentionally hid that discovery at the time.”
Kano confessed to Anke.
‘Oh, so your previous lie was to hide this,’ Vera, standing beside Anke, thought silently as she watched Kano.
“Intentionally hid it? Why? Why would you hide it?”
Hearing this, Anke also sensed something was wrong. He did not understand why Kano would do such a thing. Had he not treated him well?
“Because, I am actually a spy sent to Border City by your elder brother, First Prince Spaite, to gather intelligence on you.”
Kano confessed his true identity. As the truth was spoken, his guilt-ridden heart finally found a sliver of comfort.