Now Leonard and Albert realized that there was something different about Seira. Like there was something she hiding but they didn't know what it was.
They had believed what Harvey had said, so they were now curious about it. So one of them decided to follow Seira wherever she went.
"One of us should follow her, that way we can find out something she might have been hiding all this time. But this won't rule out the possibility that we won't get any answers either," Albert said.
"Albert is right, but I don't think Seira is an easy servant for us to follow either. She could be aware of us following her. You guys remember that she has pretty strong instincts about that, right?" Leonard asked.
The three men recalled an incident where Seira seemed to know who entered the kitchen from their footsteps.
She could even be near them without them even knowing it. It was as if she had suddenly appeared without any sound at all. This could have made them think that Seira could easily escape without them knowing too.
In the middle of their discussion, there was a sudden knock on the door of Harvey's office and the three of them immediately turned their heads towards the door.
Not long after, they heard Seira's voice speaking from behind the door.
"Lord Harvey, I want to get your permission to go to the market today. There are some things I need to buy because the spices in the kitchen have run out," she said, asking permission to leave the mansion.
Hearing that, the three of them nodded, agreeing to follow Seira today.
"Alright, you can go but don't leave for too long. I don't want you wandering around after buying all those materials, do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand." Seira then left the Mansion while carrying her basket towards the market.
Of the three knights, Albert was chosen to follow where Seira went.
"Now we'll see where she goes," he murmured as he followed behind her.
He deliberately only wore ordinary clothes and carried a rapier sword so as not to attract anyone's attention. Moreover, rapier swords were commonly carried by some people, including nobles because they looked lighter and simpler than long swords.
First, Seira went to the market and she looked around at some of the things being sold there. Including other foodstuffs that she needed for the knights.
"How much is the meat for this one?" Seira asked the vendor whom she immediately recognized.
"Oh hello Seira! The price of meat here is still the same as before, and I'll give you a little bonus for that. You're my loyal customer. So I'll give you a little more meat to take home," the friendly salesman said to her.
Knowing that, Seira thanked him and bought a few kilos of meat and got a bonus from him.
"It turns out she's quite familiar with the butcher. Maybe it's because she often comes to buy it in large quantities?" Albert said while watching her from afar.
But it turned out that it wasn't just the meat seller, but the other sellers were also very familiar and friendly to her. It was as if Seira had known them for a long time, so they knew exactly what she needed.
For a few minutes, Albert didn't feel that there was anything strange about Seira. He thought what she was doing was just a normal thing that people did. So he felt that this would not yield any results.
"Should I just go home? If Seira finds out about my whereabouts, it'll be very awkward. And make her think that we don't trust her by following her."
But just as Albert was about to turn to leave, there was a sudden commotion that made him look back at Seira and the other merchants.
Some guards from the palace came and asked for tribute money from them. Of course the merchants protested because just yesterday they came and asked for the money.
"Please don't ask us for more money! We just paid our tribute money yesterday, but you're already asking for it again today?" asked one of the fruit vendors.
"Yesterday's money was indeed tax money for the kingdom. But today is security money because we keep the market safe! You have to pay it or we'll mess up what you're selling!" said the guard, threatening them.
He also said that this was an order from the crown prince for them to thank him for keeping the market safe.
Hearing the crown prince mentioned, Seira who was listening to their conversation felt that this shouldn't be happening. They had already been paid to oversee security around the market. But why were they asking for more money from the merchants?
The vendors were also being threatened. Moreover, one of the merchants that already really old man was threatened with a sword by the guard, making Seira unable to remain silent and immediately approached the guard.
"Excuse me, you can't threaten the merchants here with that sword of yours! You shouldn't be asking for extra money from the merchants since you're already getting paid by the palace. Don't you have any shame in asking for money from those who even have uncertain incomes?" she asked in a rather stern tone.
The guard turned his head, as did the five people who had come with him. They were all guards from the palace sent to guard the area.
"They are just small merchants looking for small pieces of gold every day! They're not rich merchants that you can ask for money all the time!"
Hearing how Seira seemed to be scolding them, of course they felt uneasy but they laughed at Seira.
"Hahaha! Did you hear what this servant said? This poor village woman is trying to say that what we're doing is wrong," laughed their leader.
He then let go of the oldman merchant and approached her.
"Listen to me, peasant. We have guarded this place well so that no thieves will come and take the goods they sell. We're just asking for a few pieces of their gold to thank them for guarding this place from those dirty thieves! Do you think it's wrong for us to do that?" he further asked while pulling Seira's chin closer.
However, Seira's eyes stared back at her with a sharp gaze and showed no fear whatsoever. She was even more unhappy with what the guard had said to her.
"That's still wrong! You're asking for money outside of the Empire's purchasing policy. Especially in the name of the crown prince, that means you dare to take responsibility to say that it is indeed the crown prince who ordered you to do this!" she said while brushing off his hand roughly.
The longer they heard Seira's words, the more unhappy they became and the leader no longer pulled her chin but grabbed her neck and pulled her closer.
"You have the courage to say that? It looks like you also have the courage to die right now!"