The Duke’s expression hardened. Rune patted Bell’s knee, timidly.
“Stupi.”
“…You should say, big brother!”
Bell smiled brightly and clasped both hands in front of him.
“And Astel has promised to marry me!”
The Duke’s mouth twisted at Bell’s cheerful words.
Now there was some competition. The plump cheeks, the sparkling red eyes, and the soft, flowing hair of a silver fox.
Astel’s love of cute things made him feel childishly wary.
“You can’t.”
“What?”
The Duke laughed softly, pulling his hand away from Rune and placing it atop Bell’s head.
“I’m going to give the duchy a golden wedding decree.”
“…What?”
Bell asked, blinking,
“What’s a golden wedding, anyway?”
“That’s right, Broda, don’t know?” (That’s right, Big Brother, what is it?)
“…”
Bell pouted his lips. Even if he didn’t know, it seemed he didn’t want to admit he did, not even if he was dead. The Duke, who had been watching the two children bicker, wiped his face dry tiredly.
“…Tell me, Astel’s favorite thing, not just Bell.”
“Aaah… um, something cute?”
He nodded modestly and listened to the children’s chatter that followed. He felt like he was getting more and more childish, but it was a good thing he didn’t feel bad about it.
The Duke of Anais’ first competitor, the ‘trash‘.
Cassian Gray was also fired up.
‘Cloth from a southern Shilling village, and this village belongs to the Duke of Cornwall’s fiefdom.’
Using voodoo, he managed to pull the link from the dead rat. It was a long process, but it paid off, and with the information Rachel had provided, he realized that the voodoo practitioner was a third-ranked merchant from the South.
— ‘Yeah… The bracelet on his wrist had his identity, and when I checked it, he was once part of the House of Vietry.’
The search for a spy in the House of Vietry turned out to be a fruitful one.
I suspected that the Duke of Cornwall was behind them, but nothing was certain yet. I felt as if I was slowly making my way through a white mist, just as I had since I first decided to seek revenge.
Still, it was encouraging to see that progress was being made.
— ‘Strangely enough, it seems as though disposing of that bastard Duke Anais was the end goal.’
— ‘You mean… that voodoo man, the one who practiced it, wanted to kill the Duke of Anais?’
— ‘Yes. If we can use that fact to our advantage, we might be able to lure the Duke to our side.’
It was a pretty good situation if taken out of perspective. To be able to bring the mighty Duke of Anais to our side.
But Cassian frowned silently.
— ‘No, even so, we cannot completely exclude the Duke of Anais from suspicion.’
— ‘Hmm. There’s nothing wrong with the Duke of Anais, he’s perfectly clean.’
Yes. Objectively, with all feelings aside, he was.
But… ‘He’s a highly, extremely suspicious individual, even when all matters are taken out of the equation…’
Cassian gritted his teeth.
‘The Duke of Anais doesn’t even have an entourage. Everything is a wasted hand.’
He’ll do nothing but hurt the sweet, innocent Astel. He hadn’t slept well that night, with bloodshot eyes and a pale face.
‘Ah, being the flower of the capital and all that crap and stress…’
Gritting his teeth, he yanked open the door to the Knights of the Rose’s headquarters and shouted.
“Ropa Shelind, the head of the Order!”
“Oh, no, a child is falling.”
“What do you mean, a child falling?”
The Knight commander scratched the back of his head in response to the barrage of facts.
“…Yes, what’s the matter, I’m very anxious to see the true Lord Cassian Gray.”
“I heard that His Highness the Duke of Anais is coming to the capital again.”
“…?”
Ropa raised his chin as if to ask why he was asking.
But Cassian spoke steadfastly, “It hasn’t been long since he was here before, why would he come again?”
“Alas, well. Officially, it’s for war preparations. That time it was just a short visit for a meeting, but this time there’s been an announcement sent out across the capital.”
“Ha…”
Cassian cleared his throat. Ropa scrunched up his nose in confusion.
“Why are you sighing? Anyway, this time he’s not coming up as leisurely as before. There are a lot of people arriving, and the Duke has ordered a big parade. He doesn’t usually like such ceremonial gestures…”
“… Let’s go.”
Ropa hummed, squinting at him.
“What? I didn’t hear that. Anyway, that’s why I’m in a festive mood right now, Capital, it’s been a while!”
“Ha…”
Cassian nodded modestly, looking distinctly unimpressed.
At least he was respectful and polite to his superior, the Commander of the Knights.
“But—”
“You know what’s interesting?”
Cassian knew instinctively. The story he was most concerned with would come next.
“Eh! Is he bringing a human with him? So it’s hot news, the talk of the town! The Duke’s guardian is not a beast, but a human!”
It was common for nobles to have patrons.
If someone was a Duke, they would have a lot of sponsorship money, and they were greedy for talent.
So, their patrons were so numerous that you could line the streets of a capital city.
But the Duke of Anais was a different story. He had never sponsored anyone before, and he had no precedent for taking on someone’s guardianship, let alone providing financial support.
He’s a fickle man who changes his mind at the whim of even his closest advisors, and now he’s suddenly offering patronage and guardianship.
Not only that, but the person was a human, not a beast.
“And she’s not even a fallen noble, she’s just a commoner!”
“Ha…”
Cassian ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
Ropa paused, “What’s wrong again, are you going crazy?”
Even Cassian couldn’t bring himself to say the word ‘crazy’ in public.
He frowned slightly. Yes, Duke, if you don’t give up those fickle feelings you temporarily have for Astel.
‘Duke of Anais… I’ll make sure you surrender those fickle feelings once and for all.’
I’m still on a quest for revenge, following the clues of the voodoo practitioner. Likewise, I’m pretty sure there’s not much of a connection between the creeper and the Duke of Anais.
But so what? Duke Anais himself was a dangerous madman by nature.
His mere presence in Astel’s vicinity was reason enough to keep an eye on him.
For Cassian, Astel’s safety was the most important thing right now.
She’s the sister he loves most in the world, and he’s going to get revenge so that she may live in a world free of evil.
“So.”
Cassian gritted his teeth and glanced up.
“Huh?”
“I have an unwarranted admiration for the Duke.”
“I thought you said he was a madman.”
“…Well, that’s why I’d like to ask you for a favor.”
A voice chattered at the back.
“All of a sudden, you’re being condescending?”
“Is the mad dog finally getting a decent pint?”
“Hey, shut up.”
The chattering knights in the back fell silent.
Ropa, who had calmed the raucous atmosphere, waved a hand and turned to Cassian.
“What, are you being sarcastic, Sir Cassian?”
“Oh, not at all, for here comes the proud bearer of a heart like a sunflower who wishes to reach out to His Excellency, our dear Duke.”
He felt nauseous, almost sick. But he couldn’t stop himself.
Cassian furrowed his brow and spoke earnestly, “Oh, my duke. Great is our light.”
Luckily, the Knight Commander, Ropa Shelind, was gullible enough to be fooled by Cassian’s acting.
“Impressive, Sir Cassian Gray. Why did you change your mind, you hated him so much?”
Ropa clapped his hands in unison and shook his head as Cassian tried to think of an excuse.
“Ah! Of course…”
“…?”
For some reason, Ropa sounded quite confident. Cassian looked at the captain of the knights with doubt.
The Duke’s expression hardened. Rune patted Bell’s knee, timidly.
“Stupi.”
“…You should say, big brother!”
Bell smiled brightly and clasped both hands in front of him.
“And Astel has promised to marry me!”
The Duke’s mouth twisted at Bell’s cheerful words.
Now there was some competition. The plump cheeks, the sparkling red eyes, and the soft, flowing hair of a silver fox.
Astel’s love of cute things made him feel childishly wary.
“You can’t.”
“What?”
The Duke laughed softly, pulling his hand away from Rune and placing it atop Bell’s head.
“I’m going to give the duchy a golden wedding decree.”
“…What?”
Bell asked, blinking,
“What’s a golden wedding, anyway?”
“That’s right, Broda, don’t know?” (That’s right, Big Brother, what is it?)
“…”
Bell pouted his lips. Even if he didn’t know, it seemed he didn’t want to admit he did, not even if he was dead. The Duke, who had been watching the two children bicker, wiped his face dry tiredly.
“…Tell me, Astel’s favorite thing, not just Bell.”
“Aaah… um, something cute?”
He nodded modestly and listened to the children’s chatter that followed. He felt like he was getting more and more childish, but it was a good thing he didn’t feel bad about it.
The Duke of Anais’ first competitor, the ‘trash‘.
Cassian Gray was also fired up.
‘Cloth from a southern Shilling village, and this village belongs to the Duke of Cornwall’s fiefdom.’
Using voodoo, he managed to pull the link from the dead rat. It was a long process, but it paid off, and with the information Rachel had provided, he realized that the voodoo practitioner was a third-ranked merchant from the South.
— ‘Yeah… The bracelet on his wrist had his identity, and when I checked it, he was once part of the House of Vietry.’
The search for a spy in the House of Vietry turned out to be a fruitful one.
I suspected that the Duke of Cornwall was behind them, but nothing was certain yet. I felt as if I was slowly making my way through a white mist, just as I had since I first decided to seek revenge.
Still, it was encouraging to see that progress was being made.
— ‘Strangely enough, it seems as though disposing of that bastard Duke Anais was the end goal.’
— ‘You mean… that voodoo man, the one who practiced it, wanted to kill the Duke of Anais?’
— ‘Yes. If we can use that fact to our advantage, we might be able to lure the Duke to our side.’
It was a pretty good situation if taken out of perspective. To be able to bring the mighty Duke of Anais to our side.
But Cassian frowned silently.
— ‘No, even so, we cannot completely exclude the Duke of Anais from suspicion.’
— ‘Hmm. There’s nothing wrong with the Duke of Anais, he’s perfectly clean.’
Yes. Objectively, with all feelings aside, he was.
But… ‘He’s a highly, extremely suspicious individual, even when all matters are taken out of the equation…’
Cassian gritted his teeth.
‘The Duke of Anais doesn’t even have an entourage. Everything is a wasted hand.’
He’ll do nothing but hurt the sweet, innocent Astel. He hadn’t slept well that night, with bloodshot eyes and a pale face.
‘Ah, being the flower of the capital and all that crap and stress…’
Gritting his teeth, he yanked open the door to the Knights of the Rose’s headquarters and shouted.
“Ropa Shelind, the head of the Order!”
“Oh, no, a child is falling.”
“What do you mean, a child falling?”
The Knight commander scratched the back of his head in response to the barrage of facts.
“…Yes, what’s the matter, I’m very anxious to see the true Lord Cassian Gray.”
“I heard that His Highness the Duke of Anais is coming to the capital again.”
“…?”
Ropa raised his chin as if to ask why he was asking.
But Cassian spoke steadfastly, “It hasn’t been long since he was here before, why would he come again?”
“Alas, well. Officially, it’s for war preparations. That time it was just a short visit for a meeting, but this time there’s been an announcement sent out across the capital.”
“Ha…”
Cassian cleared his throat. Ropa scrunched up his nose in confusion.
“Why are you sighing? Anyway, this time he’s not coming up as leisurely as before. There are a lot of people arriving, and the Duke has ordered a big parade. He doesn’t usually like such ceremonial gestures…”
“… Let’s go.”
Ropa hummed, squinting at him.
“What? I didn’t hear that. Anyway, that’s why I’m in a festive mood right now, Capital, it’s been a while!”
“Ha…”
Cassian nodded modestly, looking distinctly unimpressed.
At least he was respectful and polite to his superior, the Commander of the Knights.
“But—”
“You know what’s interesting?”
Cassian knew instinctively. The story he was most concerned with would come next.
“Eh! Is he bringing a human with him? So it’s hot news, the talk of the town! The Duke’s guardian is not a beast, but a human!”
It was common for nobles to have patrons.
If someone was a Duke, they would have a lot of sponsorship money, and they were greedy for talent.
So, their patrons were so numerous that you could line the streets of a capital city.
But the Duke of Anais was a different story. He had never sponsored anyone before, and he had no precedent for taking on someone’s guardianship, let alone providing financial support.
He’s a fickle man who changes his mind at the whim of even his closest advisors, and now he’s suddenly offering patronage and guardianship.
Not only that, but the person was a human, not a beast.
“And she’s not even a fallen noble, she’s just a commoner!”
“Ha…”
Cassian ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
Ropa paused, “What’s wrong again, are you going crazy?”
Even Cassian couldn’t bring himself to say the word ‘crazy’ in public.
He frowned slightly. Yes, Duke, if you don’t give up those fickle feelings you temporarily have for Astel.
‘Duke of Anais… I’ll make sure you surrender those fickle feelings once and for all.’
I’m still on a quest for revenge, following the clues of the voodoo practitioner. Likewise, I’m pretty sure there’s not much of a connection between the creeper and the Duke of Anais.
But so what? Duke Anais himself was a dangerous madman by nature.
His mere presence in Astel’s vicinity was reason enough to keep an eye on him.
For Cassian, Astel’s safety was the most important thing right now.
She’s the sister he loves most in the world, and he’s going to get revenge so that she may live in a world free of evil.
“So.”
Cassian gritted his teeth and glanced up.
“Huh?”
“I have an unwarranted admiration for the Duke.”
“I thought you said he was a madman.”
“…Well, that’s why I’d like to ask you for a favor.”
A voice chattered at the back.
“All of a sudden, you’re being condescending?”
“Is the mad dog finally getting a decent pint?”
“Hey, shut up.”
The chattering knights in the back fell silent.
Ropa, who had calmed the raucous atmosphere, waved a hand and turned to Cassian.
“What, are you being sarcastic, Sir Cassian?”
“Oh, not at all, for here comes the proud bearer of a heart like a sunflower who wishes to reach out to His Excellency, our dear Duke.”
He felt nauseous, almost sick. But he couldn’t stop himself.
Cassian furrowed his brow and spoke earnestly, “Oh, my duke. Great is our light.”
Luckily, the Knight Commander, Ropa Shelind, was gullible enough to be fooled by Cassian’s acting.
“Impressive, Sir Cassian Gray. Why did you change your mind, you hated him so much?”
Ropa clapped his hands in unison and shook his head as Cassian tried to think of an excuse.
“Ah! Of course…”
“…?”
For some reason, Ropa sounded quite confident. Cassian looked at the captain of the knights with doubt.
