The air a moment ago seemed all an illusion as his cold gaze shot through Rishe.

It made Rishe let out a breath.

The reason for Leo’s unbalanced physique was not just because he was overtraining and on the verge of break down.

Of course, His Highness Arnauld is aware of this.

The day before yesterday, when Rishe was walking in the forest with Leo, she was walking with a steady stride.

If she counted her steps in this state, she could draw up a map in her mind.

It was useful in a strange place, and the information had been helpful when she was chasing Myria in the forest yesterday.

What bothered Rishe was Leo when she compared with his stride.

The day before yesterday, Leo’s walking speed was exactly the same as mine, when he was supposed to be walking at a constant stride.

He was never faster nor slower than Rishe.

In the forest, where the footing was unsteady, he showed not even a slight deviation.

That meant that either Leo was matching her stride, or he adjusted so that he could walk at a certain distance from Rishe.

“It is peculiar that Leo knows about the ‘royal substitute’ strategy in the first place.”

“…”

She agreed with him on that point as well.

Regardless if you’re related to the nobility or the royal family, a strategy that was widely known to the common people was meaningless.

Leo clearly said that he’s heard of it if she were to say it was a wild guess.

There were many strange aspects about Leo to call him an “ordinary child”.“You were probably just as wary as I was. That’s why you didn’t mention the antidote when you asked him to send the message to me.”

“It’s partly because I didn’t want to waste time. And I was confident that Your Highness would understand everything I wanted.”

“I don’t think he would have deliberately chosen to gamble under that circumstance regardless if it’s you, especially when the safety of the Maiden Priestess was at stake.”

Arnold sat on the edge of the bed and continued.

“I had Oliver continue to investigate the carriage with the broken axle…Although they fooled us with the involvement of multiple coachmen, it seems that Schneider, the archbishop’s assistant, is the one who prepared the carriage…”

“And then…”

Rishe clutched the sheet tightly.

“It is none other than the Order that is trying to kill the last Maiden Priestess.”

“…”

Even though it was obvious, her heart was still in turmoil.

There weren’t probably even sentries in the forest.

Accompanying servants and guards have been extremely limited – all of these were under the Order’s master plan. They set up an environment to take advantage of on the guise of the festival and the divine teachings.

The Order which supposedly should protect Myria-sama is targeting her…

When Rishe remained silent, Arnold spoke.

“Leo’s footsteps are loud on purpose.”

“!”

“You mean, his footsteps are silent when he walks normally?”

“Yes. He can’t blend in with the surroundings, so he must have made a conscious effort to make noise.

It’s true that Leo’s footsteps are quite audible, but…Rishe could see that it was distinctly different from the adults around him, as well as Myri, who was closer to him in weight.

But she thought it was because she remembered Leo and Myria’s footsteps from her past lives.

Did His Highness Arnold notice that after Leo took only a few steps?

In just a few minutes, he grasped more than what Rishe observed.

She was amazed yesterday, but she was even more amazed now.

“I know what it’s like to have a child learn such a skill.”

“I hope you’re wrong, but…”

“No matter what you wish, it’s obvious once we gather all intelligence.”

Arnold continued speaking without mercy.

“――Leo has been trained as an assassin.”

“…”

She looked down and nodded.

His distinctive body movements and the traces of training inappropriate for his age were probably due to his special upbringing.

Rishe and Arnold were on the same page.

“If you knew that, why did you entrust him with a message for me?”

“It was Your Highness who took charge of this matter based on your conjectures…Isn’t that because you don’t have enough information to determine which side Leo was on?”

Arnold frowned slightly.

“It’s not that big of a deal. I just figured if I brought him back and handed him over to Theodore, black or white, he’d put him to good use.”

That was a lie. Arnold also promised to mentor Leo, but he chose not to go to Garkhain.

“It was probably Bishop Schneider’s orphanage that trained Leo as an assassin. If Leo was forced out of that institution, the only reason is that there was no longer any point in keeping him there…As an assassin, he’s either full-fledged or he’s been disqualified and banished.”

“I think you’ve already decided that Leo’s out of the assassination business.”

“No, Your Highness.”