"After that, you came to the city and found the then Duke of Crepes at that address," Ryuto inquired.

Crepes Clair nodded in response.

"Yeah, even though I didn't really know my way around at the time, it turned out to be simpler than I had imagined. The address was the location of this house, not far from the slums, so it didn't take much effort," Crepes Clair explained.

"So, as the adopted daughter, you naturally changed your last name to Crepes?"

"That's right."

"But it's a bit strange, because I've been listening to you for so long and I never knew your original last name."

"Well... I don't know either."

"Huh?"

This answer caught Ryuto off guard, causing him to widen his eyes in surprise.

Seeing Ryuto's puzzled expression, Crepes Clair slowly explained, "I didn't have a last name from birth, only the name Clair."

"..."

Although still struggling to understand, Ryuto accepted this explanation nonetheless. After all, there was no point in lying about such matters, and perhaps it was just a result of different customs.

At that moment, Ryuto couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. It wasn't that Crepes Clair was lying, but... something seemed missing from their previous conversation. What was missing? Although he couldn't pinpoint it, there was a sense that something had intentionally been left out.

Indeed, the whole situation was peculiar. Even though I've never met that old lady, it shouldn't matter. If Crepes Clair and the old lady lived together, how did the old lady know about Crepes Clair being taken in as a daughter when Crepes Clair was out delivering water... Could it be a neighbor informing her?

No, as mentioned earlier, with Crepes Clair and the old lady living together, there shouldn't be any neighbors. Besides, she didn't mention any neighbors during our conversation. Although the possibility of a neighbor informing the old lady couldn't be ruled out due to the lack of clues, I still have a feeling...

The likelihood is small, and in the end, even if a neighbor saw them on the street, they wouldn't necessarily hear about the adoption. If they only witnessed a conversation from a distance, how could they know the details? Moreover, for a passerby to eavesdrop, they would need to get close, which would risk alerting the two present. At least, nothing in her previous words indicated this.

It wasn't a case of a familiar passerby overhearing and then informing the old lady.

The only remaining possibility is that someone visited the old lady while Crepes Clair was away delivering water and spoke to her. If this explains everything, how did the bedridden old lady know about it? Besides, when it comes to the description of the person, the old lady seemed so certain, as if she had seen that person with her own eyes. Although Crepes Clair's description was vague, the old lady was quite confident.

In that case, the visitor to the old lady must have been... the Duke of Crepes himself.