Chapter 27

There was a deep silence in the conference, and the Duke spoke to those who were looking at him.

“The date of the deployment would be in late spring. Half of the food would be supplied by the Duke, and the other supplies would come from the capital.”

“Ah…”

“A total of 1,000 men would be enough, a mix of infantry and cavalry. Otherwise, we would need a magic swordsman. If there’s anything in need to be coordinated, we would communicate in letters or using magic tools.”

Although he wasn’t focused, the Duke was born a tactical genius.

In his head, he had already simulated all the cases with chess pieces.

Therefore, he summed up the discussion so far in a few words.

A faint admiration spread over the faces of the Knights and Cassian.

The Duke of Anais, who habitually looked at Cassian’s actions, saw the change in his expression.

‘Why are you admiring me?’

Every change in his expression made me feel bad.

Since Astel came to the castle, my emotions have always been unstable.

I looked away from Cassian, thinking it might be due to my companion’s imprint.

* * *

The war preparation meeting was over.

However, Kelter, the current head of the Jaguar family, who sat next to the Duke as he stood up from the conference hall, blocked his path.

“Sir, I have something to tell you.”

How dare you stand in the way of the Duke in front of everyone!

Awesome, Kelter!

Courageous, Kelter!

In everyone’s mind, a question arose as to what the hell was he trying to say.

The heads of the vassal families and the human knights all stopped walking and began to observe the situation.

In fact, there were people who wanted to leave this meeting as soon as possible, but as a protocol, they were also not allowed to leave the meeting hall unless the Duke left first.

Kelter caught everyone’s attention and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“I heard recently that your Excellency was sponsoring a human healer named Astel.”

“Yes.”

Kelter scratched the back of his head with a grim expression.

As he saw the Duke’s expression getting colder, he thought that his plan fell completely out of order.

But if I withdraw from here, my father, Ricardo won’t let me be!

My father, who was called the tyrant of the family, was pressuring me to bring the human healer ‘Astel’ to the Jaguar family.

He said, enduring his trembling legs from giving out.

“This time, Ricardo, the founder of our family, has been greatly indebted to her.”

“Oh, is that so?”

The Duke’s cold expression slightly loosened.

Hah! you might never know!

Kelter said in a serious tone.

“So… to return the favor, I was wondering if our Jaguar family could support her instead.”

He could have asked for a separate meeting, but his father wouldn’t have tolerated it.

My father told me to speak loud enough so that every human and beast in the conference hall could hear.

-‘When the damned bastards fall into supremacy! We need to strengthen the position of the human Astel! Kelter, I think of her as my granddaughter.’

At the same time he said those words, sharp claws appeared from Ricardo’s hands, and his eyes glistened vividly.

Kelter was about to say that his father was also one of that bloody beast.

Kelter, bewildered by his father’s words, asked cautiously.

-‘So what do you want…?’

-‘You should bring her to our family!’

Now that I’ve heard the whole story, I understand why a cold-blooded tyrant like him would suddenly want to support a human healer.

Sweat dripped down Kelter’s back as Duke Anais stared at him silently.

As the head of the household, he worked quietly and lived a faithful life, and he was still puzzled by the fact that he was somehow caught between the two tyrants.

Unaware of the pace, the Duke of Anais gracefully expressed his opposition to him.

“The support of the Jaguar family won’t be accepted.”

His demeanor was elegant, but his eyes were dark.

The Duke’s unique low-pitched voice made him cringe. There was a growl mixed at the end of his words as he finished speaking.

“Because I’m her guardian.”

Duke Anais’s lips twisted firmly.

“The first person Astel saved was me. Not your father.”

Others may not have noticed.

However, Kelter, who was closest to the Duke, had glimpsed of his possessiveness, even faintly, for a moment.

“Yes, yes?”

He rubbed his eyes and wanted to confirm what he’s seeing.

As someone who has seen the Duke Anais for a long time could not have imagined the Duke’s possessive desires.

Because he was a neat person with no obsession with anything to the point of overdoing it.

“Then.”

The Duke seemed uninterested in Kelter, struggling with embarrassment.

Seconds later, the Duke’s attitude became clear as if he had never shown any desires earlier.

As the Duke nodded, Kelter lost all words to say.

“Yes, I understand. Your Excellency!”

The meeting ended like that.

Only those who were present felt the weak war of nerves between the two and sweated the whole time.

Finally, the Duke of Anais, who glanced at Cassian Gray for the last time, left first.

Cassian Gray asked Astel to live with him on an island, and Kelter demanded that Astel be brought into the Jaguar family.

But now Astel was staying at his castle, right next to him.

The Duke had a relaxed smile on his lips at his thoughts.

‘Staying together in his Castle’, the Duke thought to have breakfast with Astel tomorrow morning.

* * *

After meeting with my brother, I naturally got out of the glass garden.

Thanks to the absence of a dinner appointment with the Duke, I went to the delphinium room after having a simple dinner alone.

‘You don’t even listen to my warnings, you stupid Cassian!’

I was deeply bothered because of my overly innocent brother.

But today I have work to do.

Shortly after hiding from her maids, she placed two artifacts on her desk.

I stared at the two artifacts with a trembling heart.

One was a video recording artifact that my brother put in my pocket!

“You idiot, why’d you give me all the video records…”

The cello that flew between us was also a precious messenger bird with fast wings.

But the video recording was different.

If I turn on this magic device, I would be able to see my brother anytime, anywhere.

I could see you whenever I want without delay for a day or two…

‘Was that the reason why you didn’t buy a uniform? It’s really upsetting…’

The goal to get revenge was burning even more.

I clenched my fist and glared at the next artifact.

An artifact in the form of a brooch, not a memento left behind by Sam, who was being burned in hellfire.

Her gaze towards the artifact became more serious.

There are a total of three spies who destroyed Count Vietry and hid themselves in the Duke Castle.

Therefore, there are also three artifacts in total.

At this time, it was difficult to guess who was behind it with just one artifact.

However, this alone was a good thing that could help me move on to the next stage.

‘Each artifact is linked, and one becomes a clue to the other.’

Contemplating, I slowly rubbed the ragged surface of the brooch-shaped artifact.

‘Because there’s a scratch on this artifact… ‘

I began to ruminate over hints from the original.

Unlike Sam, the personal information about the other two spies wasn’t properly described, but there was a clue in each of them.

As I was constantly trying to recall the contents of the original, I was reviewing the <Revenge Manual> that I had kept, and banged my forehead on the table.

Just as I was racking my head in serious anguish, someone knocked on the door.

I hurriedly hid the artifact under the table and glanced towards the door.

If someone came at this hour, it would probably be the maids…?

“Yes, come in!”

The door slid open.

Astel’s rabbit-like eyes grew in surprise as she saw the person who entered through the gap in the open door.