CH 27

Ashley suppressed her rapid heartbeat as she headed to the main house. There’s only one path road from the main house to the stables, so if the chief magician headed to the stables, they’d meet him halfway. As she thought so, they met the chief magician, who just came out from the back door of the main house.

“Sir chief magician, I apologize to have kept you waiting.” Fernan deeply bowed down.

The chief magician nodded, his face looked as if he had eaten something bitter. He was wearing a gold stole over his robe. He was small, thin, and he looked nervous.

“Lord Clyde—”

“This is Miss Ashley, whom the Chief Magician wanted to meet.” Fernan interrupted the chief magician’s attempt to fulfill his duty as he introduced Ashley.

“Ah, I am Ashley El Wollett.”  She lifted up the hem of her dress and bowed. It was quite hard to lift since it was not as flowy as usual, but there was nothing that she could do.

“Aah, it’s you―”

When he remained silent, staring at her intently, she felt uneasy.

“Uhm…what is it?”

“Oh, pardon me. I have been sent by His Majesty the king to see what kind of woman you are since you were chosen by Lord Clyde. After all, he never showed any interest towards a woman.”

“…Is that so?” She felt as if she was a rare creature.

The chief magician took a step closer to have a careful look at her as he was ordered. At that moment, his eyes widened, “What’s going on? This smell! Did you go into the stables?!”

She turned pale. It must be the smell of miasma. She was completely used to it that she didn’t notice. It must’ve come from the dress that she’s wearing.

‘What should I do?!’

“The stables is a place where only the direct and selected royal family members are allowed to enter. What was Lord Clyde thinking—!”

“Chief magician.” Fernan interrupted him in a calm tone of voice, “Please do not misunderstand. Miss Ashley has never been anywhere near the stables.”

“But I can definitely smell――!”

“With all due respect, Miss Ashley is Master Clyde’s fiancée.”

“What?” The magician was stunned at his blunt words. Ashley too.

Fernan continued with a smile, “Master Clyde is very attached to Miss Ashley and wouldn’t leave her at all. Except for the stables, of course, but other than that, he is by her side every hour of the day. Enough to have a hard time seeing them. I suppose the scent caught onto her from Master Clyde’s robe.”

“That can’t be―”

“We servants don’t even know where to look anymore. Isn’t that right, Miss Ashley?”

She was shaken by Fernan and felt flustered, while the magician’s questioning gaze pierced her.

‘What should I say?’

Fernan is trying to fool them with a smile, so all Ashley needs to do is just nod. She knows that, however she is not a good liar. She could easily be seen through at a young age. It is still the same now. While the other party is the magician, even if she doesn’t say a word, he might detect a lie just from her demeanor and facial expressions.

“Is that so, Miss Ashley? It’s actually hard to believe that especially to those who usually know Lord Clyde.” He meant the usual friendly Clyde, but takes a step back and keeps a distance especially from women.

The magician looked at her doubtfully as if his eyes were shooting daggers at her. Ashley thought hard and she decided to tell the truth.

“…Yes. Um, Lord Clyde seems to have been enjoying himself very much these days. Also, since I’ve arrived, there has been a lot of new things going on, so it’s been, how should I say, very exciting.” she looked straight back at the magician since she was not lying. It was mainly about the black wolf.

The chief magician averted his gaze in surprise, “―I see. It seems that you two are very close. I’m glad to hear that you two are getting along so well.” There was probably nothing more that could be said.

Then Fernan spoke, “So what is His Majesty’s congratulatory message to Miss Ashley?”

“Ahem, he said, ‘Congratulations on your engagement. Please come visit us at the royal palace anytime.’”

“Such kind words from His Majesty. I am sure Master Clyde would be delighted. Wouldn’t you agree, Miss Ashley?” 

Again, Ashley nodded at Fernan’s words, “Yes. I am grateful for those kind words. Thank you very much.”

The chief magician nods, “Well then, I’ll be going along. His Majesty has asked me to check on the stables while I’m here.”

‘I knew it!’

Were they aware of the black wolf? But why? To Ashley’s haste, the chief magician stops as he recounted suspiciously, “I met Hank and Jeanne earlier and they briefly greeted me, however they did not even make eye contact. What did this mean? I need to ask Lord Clyde about this too.” He apparently knows the king’s suspicions, but he doesn’t know what the problem is about. 

Since he’s the chief magician, he must be able to break the fake barrier in the stables. They must not let him leave.

‘But how?’

Fernan hurriedly stopped the magician heading for the stables, “Please wait.”

The magician turned and frowned, “What is it? I would appreciate it if you stay out of my way.”

“No. I do not intend to stop you, chief magician. It’s just that, how should I put it?” 

“Fernan, I do not know exactly, but there is something going on in the stables, right? Hank and Jeanne are also involved. I understand that it’s under Lord Clyde’s orders, but they are under my supervision. I need to check the stables. Stopping me is useless.”

Fernan still kept his smile, though his face clouded as he tried to squeeze out the words in a distressed tone, “It’s actually a secret from Master Clyde and I had wondered whether I should tell you or not.”

“What is it?”

“Actually, it’s about Hank and Jeanne.”

“I  see. I’m in the middle of something now, so I’ll ask you about it later.”

“Master Clyde has stopped me from speaking and said to directly report to his brother, so there’s no need to tell the chief magician.”

The chief magician’s smile faded from his face.

“―what did he mean?”

“I apologize. You seem to be in a hurry right now, so I’ll talk to you later. However, since Master Clyde is heading to the royal palace for the queen’s birthday celebration, he will automatically meet His Majesty the King.”

“What is it? Quickly tell me.” The magician went closer to him while Fernan gravely shook his head.

“I am afraid that I cannot tell you about it here. I have served the Sargent family since the time of my predecessor.  It is very painful for me to betray my master. However, I have known the chief magician for a long time, and I do not feel comfortable sitting idly while watching your position to possibly be endangered.”

“What is it? Tell me.”

“Let us go somewhere else. I can never say it here.”

“—very well.”

The serious Fernan left followed by a slightly pale-looking chief magician.

‘…how much of this is true?’ At first she thought that Fernan was lying to buy time, but the tension was so great that she couldn’t tell whether it was a lie or the truth.

‘What if it’s all true?’

Fernan glanced back at the confused Ashley and smiled at her with his usual gentle smile.

‘So it was a lie!’ She was shocked. It was all an act? And the chief magician was completely convinced?

‘As expected of Lord Clyde’s trusted butler.’

As one would expect from a house that entrusted a demon beast from the royal family. The servants are not ordinary. Ashley looked at the back of the two with admiration.