Meanwhile, the bell above the bakery door chimed.
"You must be Vivien Hassan's father, Diaz Hassan."
"Correct."
Diaz recognized the royal knights instantly. Could they have found out who Vivien really was? With practiced ease, he smoothly slipped a bread knife behind his back.
"What can I do for you?"
A man who looked like the captain stepped forward. "I am Curtis Rohan of the Royal Knights. I would like to see your daughter. Is she home?"
Diaz's eyes instantly turned ice cold. His grip on the hidden knife tightened. "Why would the royal family be looking for my daughter?"
"I heard your daughter is Lady Edwin's playmate. I just have a few questions for her."
Thank God. It seemed Vivien wasn't their actual target. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry.
"I apologize, but she isn't home right now."
Just as the words left his mouth, the front bell chimed and Vivien burst through the door. "I'm home."
Seeing her, her dad helplessly pinched the bridge of his glasses.
Vivien immediately sensed the tense atmosphere. What was going on? A bunch of fierce, intimidating guys were completely surrounding her dad. A horrifying scenario instantly flashed through her mind.
The captain stepped right up to her. "Are you Vivien?" he asked, flashing a deeply unsettling smile.
She stared right back at him, her guard raised. "Yes. What is it?"
"We are the Royal Knights, sent by order of His Imperial Majesty."
Only then did she notice the crest gleaming on his upper arm. Her dad had warned her time and time again: if she ever saw someone wearing that crest, stay as far away as possible. There are good nobles, but there are also terrible ones. You can be severely punished, even if you've done absolutely nothing wrong. And the closer they are to the emperor, the worse that punishment can be.
Suddenly, she remembered what had just happened back at the manor. The Duke's stiff, guarded expression. It seemed they were here to pry into Rachel's affairs.
"I have a few questions for you. Could we step outside for a chat?"
At that moment, Dad pushed right through the men and wrapped his arms protectively around his daughter. "Let's just talk right here."
The captain's brow furrowed in annoyance. "Are you implying that I, a royal knight, would kidnap a child?"
Diaz refused to back down. "Sir Knight must still be single. This is just how parents with daughters naturally feel. I ask for your understanding."
"As a knight serving His Majesty, defying my orders is no different from treason."
Seeing the intense tension between the two men, Vivien gulped. If a fight broke out, Dad would definitely lose. He was just a big, strong softy who had no idea how to fight. Yep. Dad definitely needed her to protect him.
Before things could get any uglier, she quickly chimed in. "What's going on?" she asked.
The knight replied, "I heard you're the young lady's playmate. We just want to ask a few things about her."
Just as she thought. But there was no way she was handing over information to the emperor. The little girl looked up at them, flashing a wicked smile in her mind. Looks like these stuffy old knights aren't married yet. She'd be more than happy to show them just how mind-numbing it is to talk to a nine-year-old.
"Why can't you misters just go ask her yourselves?"
Ah, the classic endless why attack. The knights looked visibly awkward.
"Well, His Majesty and the young lady don't have the best relationship. So it's a bit difficult to ask her directly. That's why we're asking you."
Vivien gasped, feigning absolute shock. "His Majesty and the young lady don't get along? But why?"
Just then, another knight cut his comrade off. "Just forget what he said. His Majesty is a benevolent ruler who loves all his people. He's simply worried about whether the young lady is doing well after her long journey."
Vivien launched her second attack. "But then, why isn't he worried about me? Daddy and I are His Majesty's people too. Isn't he curious if we're doing okay in this little village?"
The knight blinked, completely caught off guard, before stammering out a reply. "Oh, of course he is. Are you doing well here, little one? Are you and the young lady getting along nicely?"
Wow. Smoothly slipping Rachel back into the conversation, huh? This guy isn't going to be easy to fool.
Well, then, for the grand finale, she started rambling on and on about absolute nonsense, enthusiastically sharing every boring, mundane detail of her daily life.
The captain desperately cut her off. "What about the test of courage? Did the young lady go with you?"
"Nope. She wasn't even in our village back then."
The knight's patience had finally reached its absolute limit. "Then why on earth are you bringing it up now?"
She immediately welled up with big crocodile tears. "But you misters asked how I was doing first. Fine, then. I just won't talk anymore."
"No, no, that's not what we meant. We're just curious about how you and the young lady spend your time. Have you really never seen her use magic?"
Aha. There's their true motive.
The founding emperor of the Hilton Empire was a supreme mage. As a result, his royal descendants were all blessed with terrifying magical prowess. Barring any unforeseen accidents, the descendant possessing the strongest magic was destined to inherit the throne.
However, some descendants naturally opposed this tradition. One of them was the late crown prince, Rachel's father. As an exceptionally powerful mage himself, he coveted the throne, plotted a rebellion, and was ultimately executed for it.
Ever since then, the emperor had kept a watchful eye on the Duke's estate. He lived in constant fear that Rachel, sharing that same royal blood, might spark a rebellion just like her father did.
Vivien shook her head, saying she'd never seen anything like that.
The short-tempered knight snapped, glaring at her. "Think very carefully before you answer that."
Watching quietly from the sidelines, Dad finally reached out his hand. "That's enough," he warned. "Interrogating a nine-year-old child isn't going to give you the answers you want."
The knight flushed with embarrassment and awkwardly stepped back. "What a waste of time. But you look awfully familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"
Diaz gave a faint smile. "I wouldn't know. I believe this is my first time seeing you."
Vivien found this extremely odd. Her dad certainly didn't have a forgettable face.
Upon hearing his answer, the men finally turned around and left the shop.
Her dad wore a deeply troubled expression. "Let's hold off on going to the Duke's estate for a while."
Vivien agreed to his request. The butler also said it's best to stay away for now. That being said, the Duke might already be suspicious of her. She had just become Rachel's playmate. And suddenly, the palace sends people right to their door. Snagging this playmate position was just way too fishy.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed through her worried mind. Ignoring her dad's questions about dinner, she bolted straight up to her room on the second floor and flipped open her notebook.
If I just show him this, it'll clear up all of the Duke's suspicions.