CH 60

That’s why he kept pushing me away. There were already dozens of marriage proposals sent back by Noel. She wondered why he cut her off so coldly, but it was only because of a ‘woman.’

“As expected, it’s fun, Noel.”

Camilla, flashed her eyes in interest. Next to her, the escort knight shuddered his shoulders at an eerie feeling.

“Good job, Hulingo. You told me something unexpected,” said Camilla, looking down at Hulingo, who was lying flat. “You went through a lot of trouble getting here.”

“N-no. Compared to the grace bestowed upon Lady, it is a mere insignificant thing.”

“No, how hard it must have been to come here to have been tailed, right?”

“Yes, yes?”

Camilla slipped back and winked at the escort knight. Hulingo, who hadn’t yet grasped the situation, looked up anxiously. It was then something sharp cut through the air.

“Keugh.”

Hulingo’s servile face was stained with astonishment. He grabbed the nape of his neck and vomited blood.

Camilla felt that was still lacking. You’re leaving room for being caught? She stepped forward and pushed Hulinog’s body down. Hulingo stuck to the floor, opened his mouth and soon became motionless. But no one there commented on what Camilla did.

“Sir Hal.”

“Yes, Lady.”

“It’s okay to be caught, so find out where the flower shop Noel visits.” Camilla, who looked at Hal carefully, continued, drawing up the corners of her mouth. “And about that woman.”

“I will take your orders.”

Camilla glanced down at the blood on her shoes with a seductive smile.

* * *

It was the next day.

“…Do I really need to do this, Louis?”

“It is Your Excellency who said that you would win her heart by stimulating the lady’s compassion.”

“Ugh.”

Aster frowned as he half-raised himself from the bed. This was because he was embarrassed to pretend to be a patient despite being healthy.

Annoyed by it, Aster said while swiping his bluish-silver hair, “What about the thing I ordered you to find out?”

“If it’s about the ointment from the temple, I’m still investigating it.”

Aster looked at Louis with a surprised look. “It must not be as easy as I thought.”

“The security of the temple is more complicated than expected.”

“Hmm, just that much? There’s nothing you can’t break through if you’re determined, Old Man.”

Louis paused for a moment before continuing. “There are many variables in this case. First of all, it turns out that there’s no problem with the ‘special ointment’ sold at the temple.”

“That means someone only touched the supplies that were supplied to the Waieos family.”

“That’s right, so I can’t move hastily. It’s not clear how far they’ve been involved.”

Aster, who stood still, nodded. “That means we need to be careful.”

“That’s right. At this point, the Waieos family could be in a dangerous situation if someone behind the temple discovers it.”

“Hmm. That makes sense. But I don’t want to drag it out too much. Long tails are bound to be caught.”

“We’ll find the person involved as soon as possible.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just take Ethan with you? I’m sure he can smell one thing incredibly well.”

“You mean that daredevil?”

Louis shook his head. “He’s the guy who stole 30 gold from the lady just for mere snacks. I don’t know what he will cause if I bring him to the temple.”

“Tsk.”

Aster kicked his tongue low when he thought of Soda, who jumped up here and there with its gray fur. Ethan who as a child used to whine and groan,  even to his master.

“Well, okay. He’s Old Man’s grandson, so Old Man will take care of him.”

Louis chuckled. “Rather than that, it looks like you have returned the lady’s 1,000 gold. Will that be okay? Even later, if the lady finds out the arsonist of Dream-seeking Paradise is the Grand Duke—”

“It’s Jayra, not me. And it was because I sympathized with her.”

“Are you blaming it on me now?”

“It was also your idea to put her on a leash of 1,000 gold so that Lusi won’t run away.”

“Yes, I did it. But I’ve never told Your Excellency about arson?”

“Anyway, isn’t it a good thing? As Old Man said, I took over the moneylender and settled Lusi’s debt. And I, no, Jayra, cleaned up the mess without a hitch. Is there any more perfect result?”

Louis sighed at Aster’s shameless reply. “…Your Excellency is right in the end.”

“Then that’s enough of the problem. What happened to him?” Aster, who leaned his neck as if bored, asked indifferently.

“They said he departed from the western region two days ago, so he should arrive by noon.”

“Really? It’s a lot later than I thought.”

A sudden madness formed in Aster’s languid eyes. “But I should say thank you, right? He’s a hidden contributor who helped to get Lusi back.”

“Even if it wasn’t intended, it had a big impact.”

If Viscount Milan hadn’t handed the debt to Simon, he wouldn’t have attracted her so easily. Of course, even without Viscount Milan’s help, his competent butler would have found another way.

Aster recited low with a cool smile. “Anyway, I’m extremely grateful to him.”

He intended to give Viscount Milan as much as he had received, whether it was gratitude or punishment.

Knock, knock.

“Your Highness, the lady is here.”

“…!”

Hearing Logan’s words from outside the door, Aster quickly buried himself in the bed.

Looking at the grand duke curled up like a surprised rabbit, Louis said with a smile, “You can come in.”

When the door opened, Elusiana, with her dark brown hair neatly tied back, carefully entered.

“Hello, butler.”

“You came early again today, Lady. Did you have any trouble coming?”

“No. Heilla guided me. And she also gave me the key to the entrance.” Elusiana took the key out of her arms and said humbly, “But I don’t know if I can keep this. It would be a big problem if I lost it.”

The key she was holding was an artifact that lifted the barrier of the Grand Duchy Sestein. It was clear that it was an excessive item to allow a mere maid to pass safely through the grand duchy’s main gate safely just by owning it.

“You don’t have to worry. The key to the grand duchy can only be used by those who have been imprinted on it.”

“Ah, I’m glad to hear that.”

She kept forgetting this place was the Grand Duchy Sestein, the prestigious family masters of magic. The fact that there were no servants and maids in the grand duchy was possible because all of them were replaced with magic. So how common was this artifact? Elusiana’s eyes naturally turned toward the bed as she kept the key.

“Is His Excellency still sleeping?”

“Yes. It looks like he has been through a lot.”

“Didn’t the pain get better at all last night? Sir Butler also worked hard yesterday.”

A sincere concern spread to Elusiana’s face as she spoke as quietly as possible. Louis answered with a happy smile as if he was looking at his proud granddaughter. “Thanks to Lady’s concern, I’m fine.”

“Phew, that’s a relief. I was really worried.”

Elusiana, who swept her heart, smiled lightly only then. “But what should I do when he gets sick like this every time? Even the slightest exertion makes him short of breath. Is there really no cure?”

“He will be fine over time. Time is the answer to His Excellency’s illness.”

“Umm, then, why not cut his work time a bit? I think His Excellency has too much work to handle in a day.”

“Hmm.”

Louis nodded his head and glanced at the Aster, who pretended to sleep. He could see Aster’s red pupils rolling quickly from side to side.

“That’s possible. I hadn’t even thought of that until now.” Louis continued, giving her a subtle look. “Then, Lady. Could you please spare some time?”

“Yes? Time?”

Elusiana’s eyes twitched and naturally turned to Aster. She was just talking about the grand duke’s illness, so why did the butler ask her to spare some time?

“Then, what about the grand duke?”

“Sir Logan will be here.”

“Ah, that… would do.”

“Then, follow me.”

Elusiana followed the butler out of the room, withdrawing her worried look.

* * *

Swift.

“Drink it.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Elusiana, who took a sip of the tea Louis brewed, and put down the cup. “But what’s going on?”

“Haha. I’ll tell you that later. More than that—” Louis smiled softly. “Lady really doesn’t need the thousand gold I paid you in advance?”

“…Yes? Ah, yes. That— haha. It just happened. Thank you for taking care of me… I’m sorry to bother you.”

Elusiana smiled awkwardly and scratched her head. Even now, she thought it was lucky to get 1,000 gold back from the grand duke. Although it was suspicious that the grand duke, who was passing by the Dream-seeking Paradise, caught the arsonist and the thief who set the fire there.

“That’s a relief. Please let me know if you need it later.”

“No, it’s okay… really.”

Debt was really annoying.

Elusiana’s fingertips curled up as her strength went to them. Louis, who looked at her gently, brought up the point.