66. This Is The Result

　As the sun was about to set, Cedric showed up with Miranda. He jumped off the carriage and gracefully took Miranda's hand. He looked like a handsome prince shining in the sunset.

 "Hey, long time no see!"

 If only he didn't hug Liz right away...

 "Oh, Elder Brother. I'm already a grown up lady, so that kind of affection is not necessary."

 "Oh? In my eyes, Liza is always a child."

 Cedric reluctantly let go of Liz, and Randy gave a dry laugh.

 "Randolph, long time no see."

 With a smile, Randy greet Cedric, "It's been a while."

 "Sorry for this sudden visit."

 "No problem, today was a unexpected holiday from academy"

 Cedric replied with a fake surprise, "Oh, really?" but his eyes showed he already knew.

 (So, it seems like he's got some info from the hidden shadows around town.)

 Cedric often works in the royal capital and is always gathering information. Randy has heard that there are informants and Dark Guild, but Cedric only trusts people connected to the Marquis family.

 Since he doesn't know where information might leak from, he only keeps people he can trust around him. He doesn't keep anyone around who he can't trust.

 This strict information management and control is definitely Cedric's, or rather the Marquis family's, strength.

 "Holiday, huh? So you had the whole day free?"

 "Yeah. I was working on making some toys today..."

 "Toys?"

 It's no wonder Cedric tilted his head in confusion. He should have some idea of what they've been up to, like when they went to Eldenberg to hunt Varyon.

 Why would they go out of their way to go outside the royal capital? It must be a bit strange for Cedric that they went all the way outside the capital to make 'toys.'

 "Well, it's not good to chat out here, so please come inside──."

 At Randy's urging, Cedric and Miranda walked through the door of the house.

 The four who entered were greeted by Rita, who was thoroughly prepared everything, and Harrison──though he wasn't actually doing much.

 "Rita, it's been a while."

 "Lord Cedric, it's been a long time."

 Since Rita was once a servant of the Marquis family, she and Cedric were acquainted with each other. Now, Cedric was personally expressing his gratitude to Rita for staying by Liz's side. 

Was it the influence of the Marquis couple, shaped by their time in Victor Territory, or simply Cedric's own feelings of gratitude?

 Either way, Cedric's gesture of bowing his head to her was so natural that even Rita was momentarily taken aback.

 A flustered Rita and a bowing Cedric──it was a funny sight. Meanwhile, another pair seemed just as busy.

 "Well, well, if it isn't the captain. Long time no see."

 "Lord Harrison Walker..."

 Having once fought together in Hartfield, Miranda and Harrison still find themselves in a confusing situation. 

Even now, their interaction involved Miranda insisting, "You deserve respect for your strength," while Harrison waved it off with, "I'm not worthy of such titles." 

This strange scene of constant bowing unfolded between them.

 "Alright, let's all take a seat, shall we?"

 Randy, realizing the situation was getting out of hand, spoke up. Cedric finally sat into the sofa in the reception area, while Miranda stood attentively behind him.

 "Lady Miranda, you're a guest too, so it'd be better if you took a seat as well...."

 "I'm here as a bodyguard."

 Miranda replied, standing firmly and looking straight ahead.

 Cedric turned to her with a smile.

 Miranda reluctantly sat down next to Cedric, saying, "...Well, if Lord Cedric says so."

 "Well, let me apologize for this sudden visit. But you haven't shown your face since then. I've been a bit lonely." Cedric smiled playfully, and Randy replied with a smile, "We're both busy, after all." 

In fact, as Randy said, Cedric was busy not only with beauty products but also with managing imported goods, which the Marquis family originally handled.

 "I can make time to meet my sister and her friend."

 Cedric shrugged, but seeing Miranda's silent headshake, it was clear he was still busy.

 "Well, it doesn't matter. Let's get to the purpose of my visit... I wanted to know about the recent developments."

 Cedric began talking about the sales of beauty products and the situation with the merchant guild. 

With Hartfield's help, the placenta beauty serum had already entered the testing phase.

 Additionally, they were making progress in separating the stores for affordable and luxury beauty products.

 "For the affordable range... well, I plan to supply it to the merchant guilds in each city."

 "I see. By the way, the royal capital...?"

 "The house of the kid you've been friendly with lately, right?"

 Randy nodded in understanding as Cedric smiled, "Corey, right?" 

Corey's family has been operating a medium-sized merchant guild in the royal capital for generations. 

They have a solid business based on the motto of being loved by commoners, and their merchant guild is also popular among commoners in the capital.

 "We leave it up to them as to how they sell it, so there's absolutely no problem at all."

 Randy said, and Cedric took a sip of the coffee that had been served, saying,

 "This is quite interesting. I had heard about it from Father, but the taste is a bit unusual."

 "It's drip coffee. I've been trying to get it right."

 Randy smiled wryly, and Cedric, intrigued, leaned forward and asked, "Can I hear your idea?"

 Randy explained the simple drip coffee method and the potential for creating tea bags based on it, and Cedric suggested that he could try selling it instead.

 Then, for a while, the two exchanged samples of new carriage springs and sales strategies for the beauty serum... 

As the second cup of coffee was about to be finished...

 "So? What's about the toys you were making?"

 Cedric looked delighted, narrowing his eyes as if this was the main topic. 

He probably assumed that Randy couldn't possibly be making toys based on their previous conversations.

 Randy's "toys" were things he enjoyed, which meant they were likely unknown to Cedric.

 "It's still a prototype..."

 Despite his words, Randy was full of confidence, took a small wooden box from Harrison, who was standing behind him.

 "What's this?"

 "It's a camera."

 Randy, who had stood up, instructed Cedric and Miranda, who were sitting across the table, to move closer to the center of the sofa, "Can you both move a little closer?"

 "Like this?"

 "A little more."

 The usually close-knit pair awkwardly moved closer to each other at someone else's order. 

Randy, who had moved behind the sofa, peered through the camera's viewfinder to set the angle.

 Although he was also working on a single-lens reflex camera, the one Randy was currently using was of the 'instant camera' type. 

The viewfinder was completely independent and was a different type from the lens.

 Cedric and Miranda, seen through the viewfinder, looked quite suspicious, but seeing is believing.

 He asked the two to smile and took the shot, not wanting to miss the opportunity.

 Randy captured the two, who, as instructed, managed to smile despite their initial reluctance. 

He then opened the back cover, checked the photo-sensitive paper, and immersed it in the fixing solution he had prepared nearby to dry.

 "There. It turned out well."

 Although it was a relatively new formula and fixing solution, Randy hadn't yet been able to test for long-term uses. 

In other words, he didn't know how long the colors would last, but it would be enough to show now.

 Randy, smiling, handed the photo of the smiling duo to the two, who were still tilting their heads in confusion.

 "Th-this...?"

 "Us...?"

 Randy, in his heart, made a triumphant pose im his heart.

 "What do you think?"

 Cedric, with his eyes wide open, was about to speak when he suddenly stopped, staring at Randy's smirk.

 (He's a genius and a siscon, as expected.)

 Liz, noticing Cedric's gaze, looked between Randy and Cedric with a slightly puzzled expression.

 Cedric took a deep breath, so deep that it sounded like a vacuum. Then, he exhaled and stood up abruptly.

 Moving to the corner of the room, he beckoned Randy, saying, "Randolph, let's talk business for a moment." 

Randy, suppressing the urge to say that it was too suspicious, stood up and approached.

 "...About earlier..."

 "It's still a prototype..."

 Randy, with a mischievous look, took out a photo of Liz from his pocket and showed it, flipping through one by one. 

It was a collection of various photos he had taken since that morning.

 A puzzled expression.

 A dissatisfied face.

 A shy, blushing smile.

 A radiant smile like a blooming flower.

 Cedric couldn't help but take a breath at the various photos of Liz. After holding his breath for a while, he exhaled, his hands trembling, and reached out to the photo of Liz...

 "Oops..."

 Randy quickly put the photo back in his pocket, avoiding Cedric's reach.

 Cedric glared at Randy, his eyes filled with a killing intent.

 "...How much?"

 Randy was impressed that Cedric, without saying a word, asked for the price.

 "It's free──."

 Cedric raised his eyebrows at Randy's smile.

 "...What are you planning...?"

 Cedric stopped halfway when he said that. Then he apporached closer to Randy with angry gaze

 "...I won't allow you to get married. It's too early." 

"What are you talking about... It's not that."

 Randy, who thinks he's a very crazy brother, doesn't realize this. Randy already gained Cedric's recognition, the point where he says "it's too early."

 "Let's talk over there. People looking at us like we're suspicious."

 Cedric, turning around at Randy's words, waved at Liz, saying, "Hey, Hi..."

 "Well..."

 "Wait. At least one..."

 "Alright, I'll give you one."

 Randy handed over a photo, facing it down...

 "Lord Walker!"

 ...It was a photo of Harrison. 

Cedric, taken aback, threw the photo away, and Randy, holding back his laughter, returned to the sofa.

 "...Young master, aren't you being a bit too harsh on me?"

 "It's better than pleasing a man."

 Randy shrugged, but he saw Rita carefully collect the photo.

 Liz, on the other hand, tilted her head in confusion at Cedric's dissatisfied expression upon returning.

 "Oh, nothing... Randolph and I just playing around."

 "Please don't say things that can be misunderstood... If you give me advice, I'll give it to you."

 Randy sighed, and Cedric gave him a look of intense determination, saying, "You're telling the truth, right?"

 "Yes, it's true. The thing I'm about to tell you is a bit too much for us to handle..."

 Randy returned Cedric's serious expression, indicating that he was ready to face what Randy had to say and prepared for what was to come.

 "...I said I discovered the identity of the Ghost..."

 "That's... quite a big..."

 Seeing Cedric's wry smile, Randy felt relieved that the things he had done—asked Annabelle to hold off on reporting to the teacher for now, how she had quickly suppressed the wraith to container, conducting materialization experiments with a mixture of miasma and magical essence—- had all been correct

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