CH 38

Duke, Please Repent! chapter 38

9. Duke and case statement (4)

No, it's fine! The Duke has to take care of me here and there... Do you think Jeon-jae is good on his own?

When I responded by waving my hand, Humanus chuckled, saying that you might be the only one who thought so.

"Am I really serious?"

If Sir Zion thinks so,

I'm sorry, but I can't help it. If you change your mind later, you are welcome, so when that time comes, just tell me.

He said it was a pity, but his expression was blankly written to see if he liked my reason.

- Knock, Knock, Knock.

At that moment, a knock was heard at just the right time, and the servant standing outside the door announced the arrival of Serpence.

"Did you have a good conversation with your father?"

Yes. Thank you for taking care of my aide all this time.

What do you care about, just talk

shared.

Humanus smiled and motioned for Serpens who had entered the room to sit down.

Thank you for the offer. But it was just after returning in a hurry, so I'm probably tired... Sorry, I think I'll just have to go back and rest today.

Serpence politely refused, showing his perfect appearance as a model of manners.

Oops, I forgot about that. Okay, let's go inside. Lord Zion later.

See you again.

Yes, it was fun today. Next time you have free time, please come to the duke's residence!

Puhaha! You say that?

"Isn't it okay for the three of us to play together with the Duke?"

When I glanced at the Serpence, she smiled as calmly as usual and motioned for me to come quickly, not nonsense.

Then we'll go.

"Would you like to see me off?"

It's okay if you don't. Goodbye then.

We left the Imperial Palace, leaving behind Humanus' goodbye.

"You don't want to go back to work as soon as you get back, do you?"

I had just said that Serpens was resting, but I doubted that it was just words, so I asked him as soon as I got on the wagon.

"I think it would be difficult."

In my mind, it means that I want to do the same.

'His workaholic... .'

He added, lack of sleep and the state of using up a lot of divine power to compensate for it?

As he touched his temples, he seemed to feel dizzy.

If it's that hard, will you close your eyes until you get to the duke's house? I'll wake you up.

No. If you fall asleep in this state, it will be more difficult after that.

A serpent who woke up and had a nightmare... . I can't imagine

If Serpence, not anyone else, said that to himself, then the average person would have already passed out.

'After all, no matter how hard you try, you've been walking around inside the barrier full of water... .'

I did just that.

Even if his divine power is strong, there will be a fixed total amount in the end.

I think there were a lot of demons? If the Duke's divine power was exhausted...

It was, but that's not the direct cause.

There is no train station near the Volta Mountains.

Even the station that you have to move for a long time does not go directly to the capital, and it takes quite a while to get around.

He explains that it is faster to ride a horse and move in a straight line.

And by saving time], he poured out his divine power to the running horse and covered it with all sorts of buffs.

Hey, he's really tired... .'

Rather than explain it to me

All in all, it feels like he's talking to himself so he can't fall asleep.

Anyway, because he drove his horse like that, he was able to arrive on Semita Street earlier than me, who was supposed to arrive around tomorrow afternoon.

' Why didn't the horse and serpent suffer more than me?'

I'm sorry for being angry with him this morning.

Business will resume tomorrow as scheduled, so you can go back and rest for today.

As soon as Serpens arrived at the duke's mansion, he left behind only those words and quickly disappeared into the mansion.

next day.

As soon as I went to work in the office, Serpence handed me 1.2 million ass, saying that the price of the scroll I used yesterday was treated as an expense.

'I was going to talk about it, but it's good that you took care of it'

In addition to that, I asked a tailor to take my body shape, saying that I would compensate for the clothes that were now rags.

He said that if he went down to the Duchy this time, his clothes would have arrived.

'Hey, I'm a craftsman, so I'm sure they'll compensate you for the damage you've suffered on the job!'

Welfare was very good.

I thought that the duke of Prasidus was not called the dream job for nothing.

'But I thought this was the end.'

After work, before Solertia came and held out two magic scrolls.

What is this?

This is a scroll engraved with the highest level of defense magic. The Duke asked me to deliver it.

Apparently, even after Serpense apologized like that yesterday, he still felt sorry for me.

I don't know what happened, but you said something very dangerous happened? Are you okay?

The details of the story are not known to the public, but it seems that there was a fire on Semita Street, so it was guessed that it was a big incident.

Ah, yes. The Duke came to the rescue in time...

"If I had known this would be the case, I would have taken care of something better than a low-level one "

No, that alone helped a lot.

"Nevertheless If something like this happens in the future, the trauma is okay, so please tell me as much as you want!"

Saying so, she clasped my hands tightly and moistened my eyes.

I was deeply moved by his kind and gentle heart.

and later.

Through the documents, I found out that she had received an additional 400,000 ass from the duke's family, as well as the top-notch scrolling fee, but that is a later story.

* * *

Again, it's an advisory board.

Serpens, who had been away for a long time, returned, but was scheduled to leave to visit the Duchy again.

Yesterday's day, as it had been in the Duchy, went by in a flash without an eye open.

Today's advisory meeting mainly talked about Semita Street.

It was only now that I heard the story that the fire was extinguished by the imperial wizards who arrived after consuming most of Semita Street.

Rather than being late, it was because the report was delayed because it was an uninhabited street in the first place, and it was early in the morning.

Not just ruins, but ashes

It was unanimously concluded that the redevelopment of this street, which was no longer left, was to start immediately, no matter how much it cost.

It's hard to believe that it's been dragged on for nearly 10 years due to budget issues.

'Is it fortunate that the cost of demolition was reduced by luck out of misfortune?'

I thought, but the cost came from other places I didn't think of.

The fire on Semita Street was caused by a fire created by black magic. Plus, a warlock was killed by the fire.

'It's good to hear something like a curse'

It's a shame, right?'

In fact, there was erosion by black magic, so the entire area had to be cleansed in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

The church will send one bishop-level and five general priests to clean up the streets.

Cardinal Dilucesco spoke on behalf of the Luxmea Order.

It was by no means a beautiful statement to do free service. Now that this has happened, the imperial family is telling them to give the money.

'And the cost will be billed as a voluntary donation in gratitude for the grace of God Luxmea... .One

Since then, discussions have taken place quickly about how to build the street and who will be in charge of the work.

The hands and feet fit so well, it made me wonder why they had left it unattended.

Is that really the advisory council here? Isn't it wrong to enter the parliament of another country? Huh?'

In the end, today's meeting has no dispute.

It proceeded peacefully without a single sheet of paper flying around.

That wasn't enough, it ended 15 minutes earlier than usual, which ended only on time.

The gap between the normal times and the time is so great that even before returning to the duke's residence to eat lunch, he is stunned.

Contrary to the past, when I finished my meal quickly and was negligent, this time, I took my share of papers with me.

As I got on the carriage heading to the train station, I felt the passage of time again.

'By the way, has it already been a month since you decided to speak openly with Serpence?'

Although two weeks were actually about two weeks because Serpens was away .

As I recalled that day in a moment of reminiscence, I also remembered Serpence, who came in through the window in a suspicious outfit.

"Duke, where are you going tonight?"

n O Uh... " -, 匸I

Instead of reading a book today, on my lap

Putting it on, his hand stopped to sign the paperwork against it.

I'm not going today.

Then tomorrow?

After showing signs of contemplation for a while, he opened his mouth more cautiously than usual and in a very low voice.

No. Instead of inspecting this time , there is a place I need to visit a little bit.

If there's a place you're going to go to... maybe that...? Are you talking about there?

He leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice a lot, added, 'Is it dark?'

Serpens flinched and glanced at me with sullen eyes.

'The reaction seems to be right?'

As for the dark district, it was mentioned at the beginning of [Master of the Holy Sword], so my memory is a little vague, but I do remember it as a countship near the capital.

'Isn't it too difficult to get to the Duchy of Prasidus, which takes 50 hours by train from the capital?'

Since it is farther than the Volta Mountains in terms of distance, it seems impossible to overuse the horse.

That's why at night while in the capital

I expected you to be sneaking around... .

'At a time like this?'

Something smelled of an event.

Otherwise, there was no reason to say that I would visit during the busy duchy's schedule.

And even more so if it's in lieu of an inspection.

'Last time we toured together, will we pass this time?'

It's not like I'm looking for work.

Disappearing somewhere alone

There was no reason for Serpence to intentionally do something suspicious.

This is probably for good reason.

"Would you like to go with me?"

Yes?

"I hope your expression is full of curiosity."

Even though he doesn't know his own feelings, he's a serpent who notices the eyes of others incredibly well.

But to say... .

If that's the case, will you take me?

" Did you take the scroll you got from Mr. Reseratus?"

Yeah, I just brought it...

Even though it was just a question for me, Serpens seemed to take it seriously.

Even if he was immersed in thought, his reaction, which seemed to narrow his forehead slightly, was all that was left of him, but this time, he clearly revealed his troubles, which is rare this time.

- Tok, tok-.

As I flicked the hand holding the pen, a dot or two appeared in the blank space of the document.

It's the first time I've seen you worry like that.

Can I just say it's over now?

" then we do. Instead, you should go and listen to what I have to say."

It's like saying I feel like a kid coming to an amusement park with my parents in a group.

"Is that okay? I thought you would say no?"

You decided not to hide it.

While showing a hint of hesitation, Serpence opened her mouth and spoke.

Compared to the past, where people kept their mouths shut when they were in trouble and did other things, this is a huge step forward.

However, since I have a lot to hide, my conscience has been very pricked.

' Do I have to tell him someday?'

I stare at him with a complicated heart

Seeing that, Serpens opened his mouth again with a stern expression on whether he had misunderstood it.

And the conversation we had last time... We will continue when we get on the train.

Last time I was talking about his parents, who was cut off because of Hans, and also why Serpens ran out the window of my room.

I thought I would keep my mouth shut, pretending not to know, but I guess I was really determined.

"Will you continue to follow me after hearing this, or "

Serpence blurted out the end of her words, but somehow she seemed to understand the omitted words behind them.

'what ? Did you hear what I and Humanus had to say?'