Chapter 227 Confusion

“Hm?”

When handling public affairs in the morning, I stopped in the middle of reading a document.

“Is anything wrong?”

Tanya, who had been standing by my side, reacted quickly.

“Please confirm with the construction department why these buildings haven’t been destroyed yet.”

“Understood.”

What had bothered me was the buildings set to be destroyed in the east.

After the the Boltique riot in the east, I acquired the location that the rebels used as a home base and decided to destroy it.

I’d also confirmed this with the family themselves. Citing too much work, they abandoned the whole location and several other rights.

Even so, how could we use that location…because I couldn’t decide, I delayed dealing with it.

Afterwards when reconsidering the city’s construction, I made the decision to destroy the buildings on the land and use the land for flexible purposes.

Looking at it now, there seemed to be no progress on the project. Nowhere to start.

Honestly recently I’d been far too busy to handle it. Constant delays had resulted in today’s awkward situation…although I still didn’t really have bandwidth to deal with construction, since I’d noticed it I wanted to get an update on the situation.

“Excuse me. I’m back to report on what you asked me about earlier.”

The construction department representative Tanya had summoned earlier had arrived.

“Thank you for coming. So why hasn’t there been any progress on the destruction project here?”

“That’s because…people are constantly moving through that location, so we’ve had to halt work.”

“People moving in and out?”

“Yes. According to the construction workers, they’ve given us the title of the Boltique family.”

“That’s impossible. Hasn’t ownership of the land gone to our territory because no one else has claimed it?”

“Even so, the workers can’t confirm that. They seem to be afraid to get involved with the Boltique family’s affairs, and so they’ve decided to ignore the issue.”

“I see…”

I’ll have to confirm with Claus later, I think to myself.

“Understood, thanks. I’ll instruct you further in a moment.”

After the representative left, I sighed.

Oddly enough, this whole thing bothered me.

In our current circumstances, it shouldn’t have ranked highly on my priorities list.

However, the idea that I couldn’t just neglect it rang through my head like an alarm.

“Tanya, call Dida over here.”

“Understood.”

Watching her depart, I sunk into deep thought again.

People moving through a land that’s no longer legally affiliated with the Boltique family, claiming a relationship with the family–there was still the possibility they were telling the truth. If so, what was Claus planning?

But the day I met Claus, he gave the impression of a man who would never betray a promise he’d given. Going on instincts that it wasn’t him, that means there was another traitor in the ranks of the Boltique family.

If those people weren’t related to the Boltique family after all, then what was their purpose for being there?

…An annoying feeling.

Things were already tense enough in our country. I didn’t want there to be any more issues with the territory.

“I’m coming in, Princess.”

“You’ve showed up amidst a busy time, Dida.”

“You summoned me, so I’m here. Well then, what’s the matter?”

In that moment, I doubted whether I should give him orders after all.

With our current situation, I wanted talent like him close by my side instead of in the east.

But…if this was really a sign that something was going on, I hoped to prevent future issues by acting earlier rather than later.

“I want you to visit the east with Tanya’s subordinates and investigate this.”

After weighing the costs and benefits, I ended up giving him the order.

“Under these circumstances?”

Dida asked with a sharp look.

Of course he’d think that…I laughed bitterly at myself.

“Yes. There’s alarm bells ringing in my head. Let me know the results of what’s going on behind the scenes as soon as possible.”

“But I must say. Under these circumstances? As your guard, I don’t want to leave your side even for an instant.”

Even though he was still joking around like usual, his eyes were completely serious. I forced my gaze to harden as well.

“Tanya’s subordinates will carry out the investigations in each location, so it won’t take too long. It’s just that there’s no better candidate to engage with Claus and confirm his true intentions than you. So please go ahead and become my eyes and ears. Plus, isn’t it a guard’s responsibility to set up precautions against potential future danger?”

We looked at each other in silence. The heavy atmosphere enveloped the room.

And then the moment was over, marked by a deep sigh on his side.

“I’ve lost. If you put it that way, I can no longer resist your orders.”

“Dida…”

“But am I enough for the job? Me, who once…”

He was still bothered by the fact that he’d been captured by the enemy during the riot in the east. Underneath his heavy brow, his eyes were filled with shadows.

Did he still have that on his mind? I almost smiled. I wasn’t worried about him at all.

As for why…

“You won’t make the same mistakes again, though, right?”

Because I believed so.

In response to my question, Dida muttered, “Can’t beat you” before chuckling.

“I understand. I’ll do the job well this time for your sake.”

“Of course. Thanks, Dida.”