Home/How to Survive in a Good Small Guild/ch 59

Chapter 59

With the former Guild Master's petty scheme behind us, it was time to get back to work.

I needed to find the House of Kaliad's real daughter.

Well, to be precise, I already knew who the real daughter was—I just needed to find the evidence.

"Hmm, let's look at the materials first."

The materials were nothing special. Just as the Lady of Kaliad had said—a fallen criminal who'd died, and the traces of a missing child... The criminal group had testified that they'd planned it purely for money, some were dead, and the rest were still in prison.

'Can I just follow the method revealed in the original story?'

Actually, I'd accepted the commission right away thinking I'd be on the original heroine's side, but there was one problem.

'If I'm not careful, this could get tangled with the Temple.'

The disappearance of the House of Kaliad's real daughter was connected to a succession dispute.

In the original story, the main villain was the Temple, but the mid-boss was a branch family of Kaliad that constantly harassed the Lady.

The branch family, Count Fairfax, was enraged that he hadn't inherited the ducal title.

He harbored the great delusion that his older brother had inherited the title solely because he was the eldest, and that his own abilities were no less.

Believing that he'd been robbed of the ability, wealth, and title of the House of Kaliad, Count Fairfax plotted to shake the ducal succession and kidnapped the Duchess.

Though the Duchess was rescued, out of revenge, he intended to take the newborn baby and kill it.

Though the baby didn't die due to their mistake, and through a stroke of luck returned to the ducal family.

Even after barely covering his tracks as a criminal group's doing, Count Fairfax kept seeking opportunities to attack the House of Kaliad.

The Fairfax young lady, the same age as the heroine, kept attacking the heroine by calling her a "fake daughter."

'As expected, a female villain around the heroine's age has to appear, doesn't she...'

Anyway, since I knew the truth of the incident, revealing it wasn't difficult.

The problem was that in the original story, while Count Fairfax's crimes were exposed and he fell, the Count alone managed to escape to the Temple.

He stole the House of Kaliad's secrets and became a Temple priest, which became the reason the House of Kaliad joined forces with the Imperial Family to defeat the Temple.

'It would be troublesome if Count Fairfax fled to the Temple like in the original.'

As a Temple subcontractor guild, I couldn't attack the Temple directly.

Let's think of a way to naturally expose the incident while also preventing the Count's escape.

What if I approached it differently from the original?

In the original, Count Fairfax's guilt was revealed first, and then the Lady was revealed as the real daughter. In the confusion of the real daughter's identity, Count Fairfax fled to the Temple...

What if I revealed that the Lady of Kaliad was the real daughter first, and immediately exposed Count Fairfax as the culprit, leaving no time for escape?

"Alright, attention."

I gathered the guild members around my desk. We didn't have a separate meeting room, so for meetings we either spoke loudly from our seats or huddled together to look at documents.

"This is the commission we received from the Lady of Kaliad."

As I showed them the documents she'd provided and explained the commission, they looked surprised.

"I recall reading in the newspaper about the Lady of Kaliad's adoption when I was young. I remember now that everyone treats her like a real daughter."

"To entrust such a commission..."

"Goodness, that person was the Lady?"

I shared the commission details with them because I trusted their abilities.

Our guild might be a trash company, but that didn't mean the guild members were trash.

"Huh? Guild Master, what's this?"

Susanna pointed to a part of the document.

"This is obviously strange."

"...Indeed, it's very strange."

"That's right."

"Now I see what's odd."

The ducal family may not have noticed, but we immediately spotted something off in the documents.

-That low-level member took the baby and ran off on his own. It was his final act of desperation because he felt he'd been treated the worst. Probably planning to use the baby as leverage for a threat.

-Exactly, he was the lowest-ranked member anyway. With nothing to gain, he must have taken the baby and fled.

-But he didn't know! That his asthma inhaler was in the trash bin!

-He must have left without finding it, suffered breathing difficulties on the way, and fallen off the cliff.

"How could they have missed this?"

"Since it concerned the lost daughter, the ducal family would have assigned at least knights or higher to investigate. But they have servants to attend to them, and the ducal family members even more so."

I nodded at Cedric's answer. He clenched his fist.

"In other words, this testimony makes no sense! A low-level member not knowing what's in the trash bin!"

People of knight rank and above, who have servants attending to them, wouldn't know this. But we do.

"Low-level members are the ones who empty the trash!"

Cedric, who was in charge of taking out the trash in our guild, exclaimed.

Clearly, there were inconsistencies in their records.

Even if the ducal family had dismissed it as a tragic accident, we could be sure this document wasn't entirely truthful.

"This part is definitely a lie. The claim that the low-level member took the baby and ran off on his own."

"Exactly. Perhaps this was also an attempt at a conspiracy that failed in the end."

"Let's dig into the records using our own methods. Everyone, let me know if you find anything."

After assigning tasks to everyone, I fell into thought. To follow the original while avoiding the original...

"Aaagh!"

Unable to bear my throbbing head, I shouted from my seat. Susanna muttered without even flinching.

"Guild Master, can I use my small phonograph?"

"That's you passive-aggressively complaining about the noise."

"Assistant Manager Susanna, I'd be thankful if you'd lend me one too."

"Two passive-aggressive complaints."

"Guild Master, let me go buy some coffee."

"Finally, someone who truly cares about me."

"That's just... no!"

At first, I'd thought Cedric's judgment was poor for voluntarily joining this guild, but he really was a good talent.

Alright, let's clear my head and think again.

The fact that this low-level member had asthma had already been proven through childhood hospital records.

We knew very well that the low-level member hadn't left his asthma inhaler in the trash by mistake...

But when the low-level member died, his inhaler wasn't found on him. That meant someone had taken it.

'As expected, he was used.'

To summarize:

The higher-ups in the organization ordered the low-level member to flee with the baby.

After making off with the baby and killing the low-level member, they staged it as if he'd acted alone.

Ugh! But there's no link to the mastermind!

"Shouldn't we visit the prison again?"

Morian said, apparently having the same thought.

"Some members are still in prison. We need to interrogate them using the power of the House of Kaliad."

"We might have to do that."

But then the ducal family would learn about the Lady's private commission. Hmm, that was a bit concerning...

'Wait! I have the Crown Prince!'

Cedrian had been helping me a lot. He'd even given me an identification badge last time and told me to use it when needed.

I could use that badge, or even contact Cedrian directly. We were in a mutually helpful relationship.

"Ah, I think I know a way to interrogate them without the ducal family knowing."

"How?"

"I have an ally within the palace. Let me contact them."

"As expected, Guild Master, you're amazing!"

"...It's quitting time in 5 minutes. May I leave early?"

Suddenly, Cedric stood up.

"Huh? What for..."

Since Cedric was always diligent, I assumed he had a good reason and asked. He rolled his eyes and answered.

"I remembered an important errand at the post office. I need to go before it closes."

"If that's the case, go ahead and hurry."

I could sympathize with the inconvenience of living alone. The moment I gestured, Cedric quickly disappeared.

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