CH 11

The Marquis of Lete has made remarkable achievements for the past ten years. This was his first visit in over a year. Considering that the distance between Lete Castle and Tuslena Castle is only two days, and that Jihad himself is unmarried and one of Tuslena’s successors, it could be seen as a very rare case. 

By the way. . .the Lord’s favor is deep with the current head, right? Or were those empty words? 

Among the other family members, he has not seen anyone who treats Tuslena comfortably as Jihad does.

As a result of observing the past few days, it seemed that even the Tuslena son, who was strict in relation to his superiors and subordinates, had less of a temperament in front of his father.

Haha, the family is noisy every day because of the succession fight. In the meantime, the uncivilized nature of the Sanam Bay area is so strong that I can’t help but admire it. 

At that time, the lord gestured to the knight of Tuslena who was standing among the people and commanded, “Bring him.” 

The young man immediately turned to the knight. 

“The great lord is coming.” 

The knight looked around with a look of bewilderment on his face, then reluctantly followed him. 

“I greet the great lord.” 

“Was it Sir Smith?”

Jihad turned his head for the first time at the low call. Seeing the cold gaze filled with subtle distrust, Smith swallowed dry saliva. 

“Yes, Master.” 

“You were looking hard for something. What business do you have that has made you leave the castle for?”

Smith pondered for a moment. 

Do I really have to tell the truth to the lord? 

However, his worries were naturally oxidized when he faced the stern face of the master. 

“. . .I followed Miss Yana, but she said that a boy seems to have been kidnapped in this area, and she entrusted me with the search.”

The Lord asked with surprised eyes, “Yana? Is she here?”

“Yes. She is not feeling well, so she is resting at a nearby store after asking me to search.” 

“Is she alone?”

“. . .Yes.” 

“How absurd! Do you have a good mental head right now? Go get her right now!” 

Smith closed his eyes and then opened them again. He ran towards the market and not long after, he came out of the back alley with a little girl in his arms. 

Sigh. The carriage door opened. 

The first thing Lord Jihad saw was a small, white face. She was a very lovely girl with curly light brown hair and round blue eyes.

Yana, the girl who looked up at them blindly, tidied up her dress with a clap, and climbed into the carriage. 

It was an insignificant action, but the lord felt a sense of difference that had never existed before. 

Something seems to have changed. 

But it was an unprecedented awareness, because young children grow everyday. 

Besides, wasn’t it rare for Yana to come out of the annex because she was weak from birth? The days when he stayed in one place with the head of the family were at most a couple of times a year, and he hardly saw the child. 

So a child like that came out of the castle alone? 

It was a surprise in many ways. 

About that, Rin, who was crouching next to a man dressed in black and sitting face to face with the Duke, thought this: Because I’m out of luck, I have now been caught by the Duke. 

Even Smith, the thought that the lady was caught wandering around made him angry. 

She let out a long sigh and bowed her head first. 

“Hello, Grandpa.” 

The man looked quite surprised by the greeting. 

The problem is then that Yana glanced up at the huge man sitting next to her. 

Who is this guy? 

The black haired man, who seemed to be in his late twenties or early thirties at most, had a sharp gaze as if to scan her soul. 

“Uh, and –”

As if understanding Yana’s hesitant behavior, the Lord clicked his tongue briefly, “Tsk. Tsk. Why are you frowning, Jihad? Yana was so surprised that she couldn’t even say hello properly.” 

Jihad?

Where did  I hear that name – ah! 

It was the name of the fourth uncle who sent Yana flowers and medicine! Rin was quite surprised. 

He’s a soldier who doesn’t have any particular weakness. This family has decent talent. 

Well, it’s Tuslena, isn’t it? 

Since ancient times, the family has been a swordsman family that has produced many generals with the honorable Berger. One in four children was likely to succeed. 

“Hello, Uncle. I received the medicine you sent. Thank you for caring about my health.” 

“. . .Uncle?”

I thought it was a polite greeting, but Jihad twitched one eyebrow and looked at Rin’s face. It was as if she had said something that she shouldn’t have said. 

However, he soon turned his head without a proper answer. Do you ignore every child you come across? 

“I hard about it from Sir Smith, Yana. How did you get involved in such a thing?”

At the Duke’s questioning, Rin recalled what had happened in the pub three minutes ago. 

It all started from the moment she stole the Cheonranghwan from the owner of the pub. 

The pub’s owner testified that the boy in the middle of the torture chamber had not been kidnapped. 

“Eek! What is this about kidnapping?! He is the head of the suspicious men the lady talked about. How insidious it is. He always changes his appearance every time we meet. Anyway, he’s not the naive and pitiful boy you think he is.” 

He denied it with a disgusted face, so it didn’t sound like a lie. 

Yes, it’s rather plausible. Looking back, the boy was quite relaxed for being kidnapped.

“Then, my business is over with the Cheonranghwan, but keep in mind, nothing happened today. I haven’t been here, and you’ve never seen me either.”

“That’s what I wanted! Damn, if it wasn’t enough that my identity was revealed and the fact that I was subdued by a kid. . .No, I don’t even want to think about it.” 

“Well, I’m glad we got along well with each other, but who were those weird guys?” 

Scared to answer to Rin, the owner of the pub hardened his expression. 

“Don’t ask me, because they are dangerous. The moment the lady found their identities. . .”

Instead of continuing, the pub owner raised his thumb and slowly slit his throat. 

Rin, too, didn’t want to get involved in useless work, so she quietly left the pub with only the Cheonranghwan handed over. 

It was speculated that Smith, who could not help much, was caught in the master’s field of view. 

Rin shook her head. 

How much should I tell the Duke? 

Tuslena’s Head is not very interested in the matters of the house. 

If he did have interest, then Yana wouldn’t have lived with this kind of treatment, and would have visited her at least once when she collapsed because of the Celestial Flower fruit, but the master didn’t do that. 

So even if I secretly blame Roman, there’s a high chance that it will backfire.

“Yana.” 

When I didn’t answer the call and stayed still, the Duke asked with a puzzled look, “This isn’t like you. Has anything happened recently?”

.. . Did something happen? 

“Did you not hear anything?”

“Heard about what?”

At that moment, my mind flashed. 

You don’t know about the Celestial Flower incident! 

You weren’t out for a day, you were out for several days! 

If so, you have a chance. 

“It happened a while ago. I misjudged and ate the fruit of the Celestial Flower that grows in the poisonous greenhouse.” 

The brow of the Head crumpled. 

“What?”

“My second uncle, who was very angry about that, threatened to send me to the Pindias Great Prayer. I came here because he would not meet me even if I apologized day and night.” 

“What does that have to do with leaving the castle?”

“I was wondering if he would meet me if I bought him a present.”