I Regressed to My Ruined Family – 50

 #I returned, and my family was ruined (51)

Silvia watched the battle between the two men, their conversation, and the recruitment process, and she was quietly impressed.

She was surprised once by how the Grand Prince’s skills far exceeded her imagination.

She was surprised twice by how much more extensive his knowledge was than she had thought.

Finally,

“…You have perfectly sorted out the hierarchy.”

She was surprised three times by his skillful way of dealing with the archmage.

He was like an onion that kept revealing more and more layers. That was the Grand Duke.

It was not surprising that Ilia, who introduced himself as an archmage, felt a deep curiosity toward him.

“Assign us a room.”

Only after he finished speaking did Ilia’s face finally relax.

She was now certain that she could stay here.

“Yes, sir.”

Silvia approached Ilia.

“Please follow me.”

“Yes, I will.”

Ilya began to walk quickly behind her.

Inside the inner castle.

The people around them focused their attention on the young child walking behind the strategist.

However, no one asked any questions.

Rumors had already spread throughout the castle about how cruel the grand duke’s bookkeeper, who appeared gentle on the surface, could be.

Even the knights did not dare to approach her.

Ilia followed Silvia like a baby bird. After walking for about five minutes,

they saw a large door.

Silvia opened the door and said,

“You will be staying here from now on.”

Ilya nodded and looked around the room.

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Compared to the dungeon where she had lived without any furniture, this room was very well furnished.

“It’s a nice room.”

If she had been an old woman, she wouldn’t have stuttered like this.

The old woman’s appearance was like a sturdy shield to Ilia.

A wonderful shell that allowed her to smile cheerfully and make jokes even when dealing with the ruthless merchants of the upper class, and on top of that, skillfully propose negotiations.

Dealing with humans without her shell was very difficult for Ilia.

It felt easier than developing a new magic formula.

Ilia gathered her thoughts. She couldn’t show any weakness, just as she hadn’t when dealing with the crown prince, even though he was just a young girl. “This is one of the best rooms we have for guests.”

The moment Silvia finished speaking,

Ilia’s eyebrows narrowed slightly without her realizing it.

“Guest” was a word used to refer to someone who would eventually leave. For some reason, she didn’t like the sound of it.

However, she didn’t bother to argue.

After all, it wasn’t wrong.

“The room is spacious, so I should be able to set up my experimental tools quickly…”

Ilia opened her sub-space.

Even though she lived in a dungeon, she usually carried essential materials and tools in her sub-space.

She had used magic to provide basic protection, but there was a world of difference between having an owner and not having one when it came to security.

The moment she made a slight gesture with her hand, the cute interior of the room, which seemed to suit a girl well, was completely transformed.

Not only were dozens of experimental tools lined up, but all kinds of materials were hanging everywhere.

Geometric shapes began to spin between the door and the walls. They were magic circles related to security.

If someone unfamiliar with magic saw this scene, they would undoubtedly think it was a wizard’s laboratory.

Ilia, who had just performed a miracle with a single gesture, looked at Silvia.

“…Ahem! What is your name?”

“It’s Lawrence.”

“Not that, your real name.”

“…It’s Silvia.”

It was obvious that she didn’t want to reveal her gender.

It wasn’t hard to understand.

Even Ilia herself had lived her life hiding her true identity as a hybrid of a doppelganger and a human.

“May I ask what you do?”

“I am a bookkeeper.”

Bookkeeper.

It was a term used to refer to someone who used their head. A woman dressed as a man was working as the bookkeeper for that eccentric grand duke.

A small spark of interest arose in her heart.

Just as she was about to ask,

Silvia spoke first.

“Are you done tidying up the room?”

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“Huh? Uh, yes, I’m done.”

“Then let’s get going.”

“Is something wrong?”

“Shouldn’t we introduce you to the others? The grand duchess is waiting.”

“…Then I’d like to change my appearance a little, like before…”

“You mean to look like an old woman?”

“Yes… that’s right.”

“Before that, I have a few questions. Can you change your appearance at will?”

“… No. I’m half-breed, so I can only change my own appearance. And even then, there are only a few options.”

A teenager. A twenty-something. A middle-aged woman. And an old woman.

There were only four appearances that Ilia could reveal.

“So it’s not magic.”

“To completely change one’s appearance with magic, one must be at least a 9th-rank magician. I am only an 8th-rank magician.”

“Do you conduct your external activities in the form of an old woman?”

“…Most of the time? I was a middle-aged man some of the time…”

“Then it is impossible.”

“Why…?”

“The Grand Duke is currently under surveillance from all sides.”

In such a situation, if a person suspected of being a high-ranking magician joined them, their guard would inevitably be raised.

Furthermore.

The grand magician in front of them was not yet completely on the Grand Duke’s side. For now, he was nothing more than a guest.

There was no reason for the Grand Duke to take such a risk for Ilia.

“…”

Ilia understood what he meant immediately.

“Then I’ll have to act in a different form instead of an old woman.”

“If possible, I’d prefer you to take on a form that almost no one knows.”

“There aren’t many people of that age…”

Between their teens and twenties at most.

The only candidates left were those who looked like they were in their early teens, just like now. In the dungeon, they mainly used middle-aged and elderly appearances to show that they had lived there for a long time.

Most of those who knew what they looked like were still alive.

“…Then let’s just go with this appearance.”

Teens and twenties.

Of the two, Ilia liked the former better.

When she was around that age, she had lived a life filled with love from her family.

Even when she was alone in the dungeon, she usually looked like this.

She only changed her appearance to that of an elderly person when she met someone or occasionally went out.

“Then so be it. I will introduce you as a guest invited by the Tower of Magic.”

A guest invited by the Tower of Magic?

As a grand magician, Ilia found this story absurd.

However, as a “guest,” she could not refute his words.

After all, a guest was a position that could be dismissed at any time if they became a nuisance.

“…All right.”

“Then let’s go see the Grand Duchess first.”

“The Grand Duchess… Are you referring to the biological sister of the Grand Duke I met earlier?”

“Yes.”

“Very well.”

The two entered the office where the Grand Duchess was waiting.

Elena, who had been looking at Lawrence, saw the blonde girl sitting next to him and her eyes lit up.

“Lawrence? Oh my! Who is that child next to you? She’s so cute!”

Hearing that, Silvia looked at Fulton, the Grand Duchess’s bodyguard.

“Could you step aside for a moment?”

“Yes.”

Falton stepped out of the office.

Silvia began introducing Ilia. It wasn’t something that needed to be hidden from the Grand Duchess.

“Um… So, this person is actually… a grand magician?”

“Yes. When you’re with other people, just treat her as she is, according to her age.”

Elena’s eyes lit up.

What she liked most was cute things.

Ilya, who looked no more than ten years old, had the perfect appearance for her taste.

She had to respect him when they were alone, but in public…

“…I must stroke his hair.”

Elena made a firm resolution with her eyes shining. Seeing this, Ilia shivered for some unknown reason.

* * *

Meeee!

Poporenca held the goat’s reins tightly and looked at the huge outer wall.

“We’re finally here!”

Thanks to the swift mountain goat, they had arrived in Uludron in just ten days.

He rode the mountain goat toward the inner castle.

“William Inom!”

The perfect opportunity to take him down had arrived.

He passed through the inner castle’s checkpoint in one go, tied up the mountain goat, and rushed to the Grand Duke’s office.

Knock knock.

He knocked politely.

“Grand Duke, it is Popolence!”

He shouted loudly. Soon, the door opened.

“You made it here.”

“Haha! I couldn’t just sit still with this news. Grand Duke, may I take a closer look at that pattern?”

“Take a look.”

Where he pointed, there was a sophisticated machine. Popolence carefully examined the printing press and nodded.

“As I thought. That’s his work. I’m sure of it!”

“Who is he?”

“There’s a guy named Williams who supplies weapons to the royal family.”

The way he spat out the name made it clear that he and Williams were sworn enemies.

“Your evaluation isn’t based on personal bias, is it?”

“Oh no! Your Highness! Even though I dislike that guy, I’m a dwarf who values my life! How could I lie to Your Highness? I’m absolutely certain! I can swear on my hammer!”

A hammer oath.

For dwarves, it was a vow that must be kept at all costs.

I thought that oaths had disappeared with the rise of capitalism, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“Would you take a look at this crossbow?”

Ethan handed a crossbow to Popolence.

It was one of the items used by the mercenaries who had raided the printing house.

Poporen examined the crossbow carefully and nodded.

“This is a very sophisticated crossbow. It looks like it was made by one of our kind.”

“I think so too.”

Ethan nodded and asked.

“Do you happen to know about the Narakus Sect?”

“The Naracsus Sect? Isn’t that a sect of madmen who worship the Yongin tribe? I heard they’re rampaging in the northern and southern parts of the kingdom…” “Yes. It seems that they are connected to the dwarves.”

“…What? Is that true?”

Poporen’s eyes widened.

“Aren’t the dwarves nowadays willing to take on any job as long as they are paid?”

Popolence hurriedly waved his hands at those words.

“Absolutely not! Although the Grand Duke may think we are stingy and miserly…!”

“Although?”

“Even we have basic principles! What kind of madman would take on a job related to the dragon clan?”

Poporen raged.

The reason was simple.

In the past, when the dragon clan and humans were at war,

those mad dragon clan members didn’t just attack the human territory.

They sent armies to the lands of all kinds of other races, turning them into wastelands, and even massacred countless members of their own kind.

So this is crossing the line.

“Yes, it’s crossed! These damn bastards…”

Poporen gritted his teeth, then his eyes lit up.

“Could it be… that Williams… is involved with that cult?”

“It seems so.”

“Damn it!”

Bang!

Poporen stamped his foot forcefully.

“I’ll contact the Kingdom Council immediately! The Kingdom Council won’t just stand by and do nothing about this…”

“Wait a minute. Kingdom? Not a tribe?”

“What? A tribe?”

“Didn’t dwarves originally live in tribes?”

“Come on. That changed a long time ago. It’s been over ten years. Haven’t you heard of the Kingdom of Amelia?”

“……”

Oh my god.

Even among their own kind, the dwarves were such a closed-off race.

And now they’ve established a kingdom?

Something that was unimaginable in my past life was now happening all the time in my current life.

Just like right now.