Chapter 50

✿

The sound of neat heels gradually drew closer.

It’s beautiful, a fresh and romantic gathering place for aristocrats who never get along with each other, his appearance evokes fear even before thinking about it.

It seemed that the angel of the evil spirit had descended to destroy everything.

Gulpㅡ

The three instinctively nervous swallowed loudly at the same time.

Meanwhile, Duke Anais, who entered the dessert cafe, did not even think that he’s presence froze the atmosphere, and thought that the inside was colder and quieter than he thought.

He simply bowed down to the young owner of the cafe’s counter, the capital’s most famous chocolatier.

“I’m here to make a deal.”

The chocolatier, who got up abruptly, recognized the Duke’s face and stiffened.

“Mr. Evan, I heard.”

Duke Anais stared intently at him.

Seeing him stuttering, he looked like he knew about him.

Come to think of it, his assistant’s name was Evan.

The Duke nodded briefly in a desolate manner.

“We signed a contract under the name of the honorary assistant of the Duke Anais.”

“Oh, yes. Yes…”

Who would have known?

The owner didn’t expect the Duke to arrive directly for the sale of the dessert cafe.

They shook hands and bowed their heads.

Soon after receiving the contract handed over by the owner’s trembling hands, he smelled the sweet scent of chocolate.

Then the owner, who was wary, handed over a small sampled piece of chocolate.

I received it, put it in my mouth, and bit it.

As soon as the first bitter taste passed, the deep and sweet scent dominated the palate.

I didn’t like the sweet taste that made the tip of his tongue tingle.

‘Astel likes this kind of thing.’

I was getting to know Astel’s taste one by one. It wasn’t bad to think it was something she liked.

Lost in a light dream, I signed the contract unstoppable.

There was a faint smile on my lips that I didn’t even know existed.

“Let’s divide the contract one by one.”

“Oh, yes.”

“When I go to the North, you’d come with me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind again… Sir.”

It was a contract that had already been made in advance, so it was concluded briefly.

He turned around slowly.

As soon as he turned around, he saw the young girls of noble families frozen in his sight.

Their age seems between eighteen and twenty.

They seem to have just made their debut, so they are probably Astel’s peers.

They were wearing a monastic dress, which, oddly enough, all had a corsage, a form of white flowers tied to their heads.

If it had been him, he would have passed by without hesitation, but he did not miss it and meticulously captured their appearance.

One step…

Two steps…

The complexions of the three young girls who had gathered at the place turned pale.

Flop~

A young girl dropped the gossip magazine ‘Knight and Lady‘ on the floor.

Coincidentally, the page they laid out was the section where Cassian Gray appeared ‘unsurprisingly’.

Duke Anais, who was passing by at the noise, lowered his gaze down indifferently.

Originally, his cold impression found something and quickly cooled down.

He had better eyesight than humans.

‘The flower of the capital, Sir Cassian Gray’s undying energy?’

『Exclusive interview – An enchanting night with him.』

He approached with a lively expression and looked down at the gossip paper.

“It’s Cassian Gray’s undying energy.”

A young girl who had dropped the gossip groaned. He frowned slightly at the sound of hiccups.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a human woman this young, except for Astel, because I’ve only been fighting monsters and was confined to the castle in the north.

He stared at the young girl bluntly.

“Calm down, please.”

Unfortunately, it had an adverse effect.

The moment her eyes met with Duke Anais, fear came over the young lady’s head.

Still, because of Cassian Gray, there was a glimmer of murderous intent in his eyes that was not at all gentle.

“Hic, hiccup!”

Maybe that’s why, instead of the usual eyes, his pupils looked like the eyes of a beast.

It felt more overwhelming than before.

The Duke swept his hair and whispered softly as if sighing.

“The flower of the capital…”

“Yes, yes.”

His gaze fell on the gossip paper again.

“There are even a few words in the newspapers saying that he’s too arrogant.”

It was a chilling voice, not just calm.

『Knight’s Enquire – Sir Casian Gray, who’s kind and sweet by day and unrelenting at night, was the ideal type as number one!』

Sweet during the day and unrelenting at night?

He gritted his teeth and picked up the gossip paper.

“This gossip paper.”

“…Yes?”

“I’ll take it.”

At the one-sided notice, the young girls exchanged glances and then nodded as best they could.

For a moment, they could hear a beast growling.

Probably hallucinating, urgently turning away from reality.

✿

The next day, the Duke of Anais took part in the scheduled court meeting.

Today’s meeting was held in a relatively free atmosphere rather than being overly formal.

The agenda for the war of monsters led by the Duke ended quickly.

After that, a proposal to cut the budget for the magic tower wizards located in the western part of the empire emerged.

“We have to cut their budget.”

“Right. The wizard’s power should not be too strong.”

“There should never be a case like the Count of Vietry again.”

“It would have been an example to have killed the neck of the traitor. There’s a precedent, but how dare the wizards come forward?”

In the past, the heads of the Empire’s largest wizard family, Count Vietry, who attempted to rebel, were hanged by the wall.

Not even a body was left intact.

In the last decade or so, even after such a tragic death, humiliating songs have flowed throughout the empire.

Was it an expression of inferiority towards the chosen ones, who had powers that ordinary humans could not have?

Or was it because of the fear towards those who have thrown the empire into chaos?

The family of the Archmage has long since been reduced to ridicule.

“Just in case, let’s cut the budget.”

A changer who knows how to use magic was outraged.

“It’s certain that there will be a backlash from the tower. They are ordinary wizards. They must have harbored a vicious repulsion like Vietry!”

With multiple interests intertwined, the atmosphere was overheated.

There was only one person who couldn’t concentrate on the spot.

It was Duke Anais.

Now, the sound of the nobles shouting nearby could not reach his ears.

Because Cassian Gray’s promiscuous behavior lingered in his mind.

Last night, he read the gossip paper about Cassian Gray slowly.

『The flower of the capital that melted the hearts of all women from commoners to nobles with his handsome face, intensive exploration of Sir Cassian!』

Cassian was a regular customer of this low-level gossip not only this time but also normally.

The Duke grinded his teeth as he stared at Cassian’s ugly portrait, grinning slyly.

-‘You must give me money!’

In the midst of the loud discussion of the aristocrats, the voice of him requesting money from Astel reached his ears like a hallucination.

Thanks to this, it was the participants of the court meeting who had to accept the life of the beast.

Tired of filling the conference hall, they finally stopped discussing.

But whether they were crying or not, the Duke had no time to care.

Although he was able to properly capture the form of a beast, he could not completely control his instinctive aura.

Duke Anais, who kept his expressionless face and froze the meeting hall, was the first to go outside as soon as the court meeting was over.

As he exited the meeting room, he encountered Ropa, the leader of the Knights of the Roses, nearby.

“The commander of the Knights of the Roses, this Ropa Schelind meets Your Majesty the Duke.”

“It’s been a while.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Then…”

Ropa secretly spoke to Duke Anais, who was about to leave his seat without any regrets.

“Your Majesty has asked the Duke to finally inspect and confirm the power of the Knights”

At that moment, Duke Anais stared intently at Ropa.

I could see sweat welling up on his forehead.

No matter how heresy and arrogant the capital was, I had to pretend to please the Imperial Emperor to some extent unless I was a completely independent country.

‘In order to reinforce the power of the Monster War, l should check the power of the Knights in advance.’

A simple calculation formula stood in the Duke’s head.

As he nodded, Ropa led him happily.

“It won’t take long, sir.”

“Let’s go in.”

Above all else, it was clear that there would be ‘him’ in the Knights Templar.

Cassian Gray.