19.

But as expected of the male protagonist in this world, he quickly composed his expression.

“So, in your opinion, who is likely to win?”

“Well, I think Lady Romdio will.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better to invest in Lady Romdio from now on?”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“Even though Lord Romdio may have lost, the Romdio family’s external supporters are quite powerful, aren’t they?”

“And the Summit of Schmaikel dominates the entire empire’s distribution network.”

In the first place, the reason Summit of Schmaikel had accumulated immense wealth was due to recognizing the importance of the distribution network and proactively investing in it.

I grinned with a mischievous smile.

“To operate the distribution network smoothly, it’s essential to get support from the nobles in each territory.”

“Are you saying…”

“It might be better if you don’t get involved in the succession dispute at all.”

Perhaps Benedict’s mind was busy with various calculations.

I subtly baited Benedict.

“How about it? If my words turn out to be accurate, will you agree to give me the information I want?”

Even so, Benedict seemed hesitant, so I pressed on.

“It won’t be a big loss for the Viscount, will it?”

Benedict defensively asked me, “What if Lady’s prediction is wrong? What will you do then?”

“I will ask for the estimated amount that you calculated to be gained from investing in Romdio.”

Benedict’s eyes narrowed when I mentioned the exact amount.

“…Are you aware of the exact amount before you say this?”

“Isn’t it roughly around 1 million derks?”

I accurately pinpointed the amount, and it seemed to surprise Benedict as his face stiffened.

Still, he asked, “I don’t think you have that much money.”

“Of course, I don’t, but my lover does.”

I chuckled nonchalantly.

“Of course, if my lover could squeeze that much money out of his pockets, he’d definitely hang my head from the top of the Clock Tower in Rose Cross.”

I placed my thumb and bent over.

I locked eyes with Benedict.

“That’s how seriously I’m taking this bet.”

Staring straight into his amethyst-like eyes, I declared, “I’m staking my life on it.”

“…”

After a long silence, Benedict asked me, “Then what information do you want, Lady?”

Good.

I gleamed with anticipation.

“There’s a steward named Victor at Rose Cross School.”

“Victor?”

“Yes. I want to know as much as possible about this person’s actions, as well as how any suspicious meetings are conducted if they occur.”

The information about Victor in the original work was roughly like this.

Victor was once a member of an organization that dominated the underworld.

Of course, since Dante took control of the underworld and ruled it, that organization had thoroughly collapsed.

However, some of them who had survived the organization’s downfall had decided to seek revenge for their organization and a wealthy life.

So, they planned to sell information about the students admitted to Rose Cross School.

There were quite a few students who were secretly brought in from the outside world at the school.

If their information leaked out, it would not only be troublesome for Dante but also for the guardians who had sent the students to the boarding school.

Especially, information about Lucian was top-secret, and Victor intended to use that information.

He would blackmail Viscount Craig, saying.

‘I know you put Lucian in the boarding school,’and extort a large sum of money from him.

‘However, the problem is that Dante already knows everything about Victor.’

If only Victor had succeeded in stealing the information.

I might have chosen to take Victor’s side and quickly get Lucian out of there.

“The legitimate and only heir of the Duchy Kaleid is, in fact, illegally admitted to Rose Cross School.”

That fact alone is the only way to bring down this terrible boarding school.

But Victor had already failed.

Though he might not know it yet, he was in a situation where he was only given a little more time to live because Dante was exposing him.

In this situation, maybe…

‘I should just catch Victor and use him to gain Dante’s favor.’

However, the problem was that I didn’t know exactly how Victor was connected to the organization.

At this point, if we were to compare it, it was the time when there was an accumulation of the past between the male protagonists and the villainess Elze.

Naturally, Elze didn’t even appear in detail in the past, or more precisely, there would be no detailed description of the past that didn’t even include the female protagonist.

“Victor… Victor, right?”

Meanwhile, Benedict, who had been pondering the name, nodded.

“I understand for now.”

“Does that mean you accept the bet I proposed?”

“Yes.”

Well, this was quite a satisfying result.

I nodded contentedly.

Objectively, Benedict was treating me quite favorably.

He must be curious about how I knew his true identity.

But he didn’t ask about that part at all.

Perhaps, due to Benedict’s perfectionist personality, he would investigate it himself…

“Anyway, the more I continue to face Benedict and lock eyes with him, the more I am at a disadvantage.”

I could accidentally make a slip of the tongue.

Above all, Benedict was well-practiced in observing people as part of his role as an information broker.

Being careful not to step on his tail was something that made me nervous on this side too.

‘It’s better to withdraw for today’

Anyway, all the tasks were done.

I got up.

“Today was a very informative conversation. I hope we can meet again next time.”

Mumbling a few words like that, I calculated the timing to say goodbye to Benedict.

But…

“Please wait a moment.”

Surprisingly, Benedict grabbed me.

“You ordered cherry pie, didn’t you?”

“Yes?”

Suddenly, what’s with this nonsense?

I raised an eyebrow, but Benedict produced a pie box from somewhere and handed it to me.

The sweet aroma of the pie wafted through the paper box.

I muttered in confusion.

“They said all the cherry pies were sold out, right?”

“That’s for regular customers.”

Benedict replied without batting an eyelid.

“Everyone says our shop’s specialty is lemon pie, but in reality, the cherry pie is the best.”

“But why don’t you focus on selling cherry pies?”

“Here, I’m not a merchant but an information broker.”

Benedict shrugged his shoulders.

“Merchants and information brokers need different selling strategies.”

“Diversification of strategies, is that it?”

“More or less. Merchants typically sell good quality products to as many people as possible to maximize profits. But information brokers…”

Benedict’s voice lowered discreetly.

“Primarily use a method of providing information exclusively to a small number of customers who have the highest investment value to profit.”

I glanced at Benedict with curiosity.

He was just smiling like a picture.

Hmm, I can’t quite grasp what he’s thinking.

“Then, Count, have you considered me as a customer with investment value… Can I interpret it that way?”

“For now, yes.”

Benedict nodded and then added indifferently.

“Of course, before that, Lady, you must win the bet with me.”

Well, in that case…

“Do you know, Count Luneburg?”

I moved my steps silently and leaned toward Benedict.

As if whispering a very important secret, I murmured quietly.

“I never engage in bets where there’s a chance of losing. Because…”

Then, I looked up at Benedict and playfully narrowed my eyes.

“The world I live in is so harsh that once you lose, there’s no next.”

“…No next? What do you mean?”

“Why are you asking the obvious?”

I made a gesture as if drawing a line across my throat, looking at Benedict with a somewhat perplexed expression.

“Because it means death.”