Please Be Patient, Grand Duke

e as if making fun of her.
“Stop right there!” She demanded.

The lady in the carriage turned her head, and it seemed as if she’d heard Lia screaming.
Then she took off her hood, and her hair cascaded over her shoulders.
And the lady, whose age one couldn’t tell, looked around curiously.

It’s mother.
Mother! “Damn it!” Lia cried out in frustration and stomped on the ground angrily with her feet, but there was no way to cross the bridge without a carriage.
Her mother had been right in front of her, and the tears that were in Lia’s big eyes started falling.
She rubbed her clouding eyes and looked across the river, following the outline of the carriage.
But the river was so broad that she didn’t know where the carriage had eventually stopped.

Sadly, Lia had missed an opportunity to see her mother, and she felt like a fool.
She was right there, and Lia couldn’t call her loudly enough nor catch up to her, and she felt shattered.
The horseman, who’d followed the sprinting Lia down the street, quickly approached as she held onto the fence while crying her eyes out.

“Young master, are you okay?” He asked, looking deeply concerned because of the state she was in at the time.

Lia stared at the ground while clenching her teeth and then slowly lifted her head.
The back of her hands that were holding the fence became white, and her breath was short.
Louvre, once again, would be the starting point of her search for her mother.

After wiping the warm tears with the back of her hand, she turned to the carriage.
Then she took out a card in her pocket and handed it to the horseman.
“Take me to General Bill Bryton.
Now, this instant.”

***

The sound of the white teacup hitting the saucer became a bit too loud.
General Bill Bryton felt incredibly intimidated by the young noble sitting in front of him.

The Emperor had requested help from Duke Ihar’s family to solve this case.
The reason being if the royal guards couldn’t solve it, their reputation would be affected, and so the Duke had accepted the request.

The man put in charge of the special operation was General Bryton.
But the master of the Ihar private soldiers was the man in front of him, Claude Del Ihar.

After sharing the new tactic to solve the case with Claude, Bryton didn’t know what the problem was.
And shortly after the Duke had listened to him, the general had sensed that he’d become sour.
“Duke?”

“Did Canillian Vale accept?” Claude’s eyes looked very cold.

The general smiled awkwardly and lifted his teacup, “I gave him my address, and so the answer will come.
He hasn’t accepted it yet.”

“Make him dress up like a girl? Who in the world thought of this? It is a clown fest.”

“I know it hurts our pride to put someone out as bait, but it’s our foremost concern to catch this madman.
Also, Canillian Vale doesn’t look like a boy at all.”

“Just because he doesn’t look like one doesn’t mean he should dress up like a girl.”

The general laughed.
“Can I ask what annoyed you?”

At Bryton’s direct question, Claude’s gaze went down to his tea out of habit.
He then lifted his head as he was caressing the cup.
“Canillian Vale is the second child of the Marquis.
He is a dear brother of my friend as well.
If something was to happen to him, you should all prepare yourselves for the worst.”