*****

「Papa-shan, are we there yet-shu!」

I despise this body that can't speak properly due to my lisp. Because of it, my sense of urgency is not getting across at all.

「Arthur, please wait a moment, Papa is busy gathering information right now!」

「How long is a moment-chu! I've heard that many times-shu, you know!?」

Argh. The 'chu' and 'shu' sounds... I hate them; I sound like a calculatedly cute brat! It's frustrating that I can't speak as I want!

However, this way of speaking seems to be popular with the female staff, and the maids pamper me, saying, 「Oh dear, Lord Arthur, your fathers are working hard, you know~. Let's wait a little, shall we? Here, here are some delicious sweets~.」 Hmm, perks of the job.

...But this is no time to be grinning!

「How is Uncle's side-chu?」

「I... My side is steadily receiving information, too. All that remains is to cross-reference it with Rauldo's information and confirm the consistency.」

「Con-sis-tency?」

What is that complicated word? Is it a kind of photosynthesis?

When I instinctively tilted my head, Uncle Cloud made a face and directed it at me, saying, 「Didn't you say your past life memory is 18 years old?」

「Memories tend to fade-shu.」

「Is that so-chu?」

Did my uncle just imitate my speech pattern?! Hey, someone brave, butt in for me! I looked around, but everyone was avoiding eye contact with the Duke, and no one seemed brave enough. Though they were all shaking their shoulders, trying to hold back laughter.

Duke Cloud cleared his throat once and looked up. I decided to ignore the fact that his ears were somewhat red.

「The investigation into the authenticity is ongoing, but the information Rauldo obtains will likely be the same. Melissa is currently in a foreign country.」

「Eh, she's in a foreign country-shu!?」

「Yes. And not a neighboring country that can be reached in a day or two. Melissa is likely still traveling.」

「Nyal-hode.」

「Nyah...?」

「N-no, I mean, I see-shu.」

There's no need to imitate me and say 'nyah,' Uncle. If Melissa were here, she would have cried out, 「Where are the cat ears!?」

Thinking about that, I felt deeply lonely by her absence. It seems her presence is truly important to me. Like a mother, a sister, a friend. In other words, an irreplaceable existence.

「Just wait, Melissa. I'll definitely... save you-chu.」

Argh, that was not a firm closing line!

Just as I was deflated by my own childishness, my old man, Count Rauldo, who had left the room at some point, burst in noisily, shouting, 「Brother!」

「My informant's information and yours both have the same result. And we've confirmed the background. It seems a carriage from an unfamiliar country passed through the border checkpoint. They said a noble person was inside, and since the curtains were drawn, no one confirmed the interior.」

「How could they let it pass just like that?」

「The papers were completely fine and not suspicious in any way, so they granted permission.」

「...That sounds like they've become complacent due to peace. Well, there hasn't been a problem on that border for the past few decades.」

「That's a rather enviable state of affairs.」

I can somewhat understand why my father, Rauldo, sighed. The northern border where he is stationed is tense with a standoff against the neighboring country. On one hand, a border complacent with peace, and on the other, a border full of problems.

「Does this country border so many other countries-shu?」

When I asked, my father, Rauldo, came closer and peered into my face, saying, 「Yes, it does.」 Unlike Uncle Cloud, Rauldo treats me completely as a child. ...Well, even if I suddenly announced my mental age is 18 now, I suppose they wouldn't just accept it.

「This country is the largest on the continent and borders the most countries. Therefore, we have many border checkpoints. Mushurudi, where I am stationed, is in a volatile situation with its neighbor, but such a border is rare. This country's king and surrounding nobles are excellent at diplomacy, and we get along well with most neighboring countries.」

「Then it's not a state-sponsored kidnapping?」

「That's how it looks. Arthur, we don't know how much this relates to the people who kidnapped you... that's still under investigation. But we should know soon.」

True to my father Rauldo's words, the details of the kidnapper were soon revealed. My uncle and father had proven to me how competent they are.