“You’re as unruly as him too,” I said. “No wonder you’re siblings. How old are you?”

“Why are you acting like you’re my uncle? I’m ten!”

She snapped angrily, but still answered my question.Ah, two years younger than Warm. What a coincidence; I’ve also got a younger brother two years my junior. He’s a timid, cowardly, and foolish brother—a complete failure. Unlike him, this girl’s spunky, vivacious, and bold. You’re lucky, Warm—I envy you for having an excellent sister. Wait, but didn’t Cera mention something about her father and brother?

“Cera, what happened to your father and Warm?” I asked.

“Wh-What gives?” she snapped. “Don’t call my name so casually.”

“Permit me to do so, at the very least. Now, back on topic. You blamed me earlier, but what happened?”

“W-Well...” Cera fell silent for a few moments before she spoke again. “Father and brother got caught. They were tricked by Gillan, that horrible merchant.”

“Elaborate.”

Encouraged by me, she began to talk.

✶✶✶

Warm’s father, the magistrate of the Stelia fief, was anguished by the wealthy merchant Gillan’s evil deeds. Even he couldn’t deny that Gillan had single-handedly supported Stelia’s economy immensely, but the merchant’s internal affairs were anything but praiseworthy.

Repeatedly threatening and harassing competitors were among Gillan’s lesser crimes; his more serious offenses included involvement in the slave trade and smuggling of weapons. All in all, he was well acquainted with the darker side of society. The biggest headache for Warm’s father was the circulation of drugs in impoverished areas. Gillan’s list of crimes were almost too long to list, but he was nothing if not meticulous, having managed to scrub any concrete evidence linking him to these heinous activities.

That was when the heir of House Lightless had appeared and publicly declared that Gillan was i