CH 88

“Welcome, Sir Butler.”

“You must be having a hard time today, Lady.”

“Haha, don’t mention it.”

Elusiana greeted him with an awkward smile. The butler, who smiled at her stiff smile, turned to Aster and hesitated.

…Huh? If he wasn’t mistaken, the Grand Duke was exuding a deadly aura that was about to explode around him.

“Your Excellency, did something happen?”

“…Nothing.”

“If so, is there anything that is making you uncomfortable?”

“It doesn’t exist.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Loui’s gaze turned to Elusiana in response to Aster’s pretentious answer. At that, Elusiana shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

Could it have been that she is dissatisfied with Aster’s appearance now? Aster scratched his head in an annoyed tone as if he was displeased.

“Tsk. If you have anything to report, do it quickly and leave, butler. Don’t tell me you visited my office to chat with my aide.”

“Hoho, there’s no way.”

“That’s a relief.”

At Aster’s callous reply, Louis erased his laughter and looked straight into his red eyes. “I have an urgent report for you, Your Excellency.”

* * *

After letting Elusiana off work early, Aster leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes. “When did he come in?”

“Three days ago.”

“My older brother came back three days ago. But why didn’t I know that? Sir Logan. How did it happen?”

“…I apologize. It’s because he’s moving so secretly… so we’re late to locate him.”

Logan, who was a few steps behind Louis, bowed his head.

“So where is he now? Given that he has gone unnoticed so far, it seems that he’s not relying on himself.”

“He’s in a villa nearby.”

“Villa?”

Logan replied nervously. “…It has been confirmed that the villa belongs to Count Eragost.”

“Ah, so that’s how it happened.”

Logan swallowed his breath at Aster’s calm reply. It seemed that the longer his calm tone continued, the shorter Logan’s lifespan would be. Logan unwittingly swept the nape of his neck.

“What was he doing after that? Three days is not a short time.”

“I will report it.”

Only then did Aster’s eyes turn to Louis. Light irritation passed by his expressionless face.

“First young master has been confirmed to have been in contact with two families. They’re Count Hailan and Count Juridan.”

“Really? I don’t know about Count Hailan, but Count Juridan is a bit surprising. As far as I know, the two of them don’t have a close friendship.”

“I think their interests are in sync.”

“Interests? I don’t know what kind of interest should be established between the two to reduce the resentment accumulated over the years. Hmmm. Could it be because of that?” Aster frowned lightly as if he had noticed something.

The absence of the former Grand Duke, Heinrihi. Genoyer, a direct blood relative of the former Grand Duke Sestein, had the right to directly confirm the life or death of the former Grand Duke. A moment of cooperation would be enough to bear for the two counts who were more loyal to Heinrihi than anyone else. More than anything else, they would have wanted to present a well-versed successor through Heinrihi.

“As you guessed. The two counts seemed to want to ensure that the successor’s sudden replacement was justified.”

The former Grand Duke, who was returning to his hometown, was attacked and ended up in a state of wandering between life and death. The information known to the public was like that. No one knew clearly whether he was really attacked or whether he was wandering between life and death. The same was true of the place where the former Grand Duke was being treated. There were only rumors that came and went.

“What a useless waste of energy. No matter what they do, they won’t get anything.”

Louis stared at Aster with deepened eyes. “First, their forces, including the young master, are gathering faster than expected.”

Aster smiled as if it were ridiculous. “That’s what I wished for, Butler. There is no better bait to bring out the hidden traitor. Right now, the two counts are the ones who promised me their loyalty not too long ago.”

“…That’s right. But, I wonder if too many vassals will die.”

“It’s something that will be filled in gradually. Old Man knows better than me. Did you have any compassion for them in the meantime?”

Louis looked at Aster still. It was around that time a light sigh escaped from his expressionless face. Louis replied, meeting his straight gaze. “If that’s what Your Excellency wants. I look forward to the future struggle.”

“Struggle?”

“Your Excellency, who will take the place of those who died, will be very busy.”

Aster’s eyebrows, which had been nodding calmly, twitched once.

“Of course, Your Excellency will do your duty admirably, right?”

Louis grinned, then chuckled. Aster, who was trying to pass things on, twisted his brow as he looked at Louis.

Tsk. This old man is like a serpent.

Although Louis was speaking in a roundabout way, his words were meant to compromise within a reasonable line.

At that time, Logan, who was still holding his breath, intervened with a face full of questions.

“E-excuse me.”

“Why? Do you have something to say?”

“That, first of all, the young master would rally his power, but would that make any difference?”

Aster smirked at Logan’s naive question. Aster’s figure looked like he was being sarcastic, but Logan was really curious, so he patiently waited.

“What do you think, Sir?”

“Your Excellency has succeeded in the title. It was allowed by the emperor. But now the young master has come back and asked for it back… I don’t think it’s necessary to rally his power.”

“That’s not wrong.”

“…Is there anything else?”

“Do you really want to know? If you’re curious about it, I’d like to tell you personally.”

Logan involuntarily gulped down his dry saliva at an unusually friendly question. This was an ominous sign as if the satisfied beast in front of him would eat the prey in front of it or not.

Logan waved his hand with a panicked face. “No, not at all! I guess my head went crazy for a while. It was enough for a knight to be good at using a sword. Not to use his brain.”

“I prefer smart knights to stupid ones, Logan.”

“Haha, did you? Ah! I forgot I have training in the afternoon.”

“Really?”

“Yes! I-I think I’ll have to go now.”

“Then it can’t be helped. I can’t be greedy and take your training time away.”

“S-salute!”

At Aster’s words, Logan rushed out of the office. Aster clicked his tongue in pity as he watched the door slam shut with a bang. “Tsk. What a waste of a big size. How did he slaughter all the monsters of the northern part with such a bird’s head?”

Weren’t most of them destroyed at the hands of Your Highness? Louis, who thought so, shook his head.

“What’s with that unpleasant look, Butler?”

“Your Excellency misunderstands. Rather, are you going to just watch it like this?”

“Of course.”

“First of all, doesn’t the first young master move like this mean there is a way to reverse his current situation?”

At that, Aster’s red pupils narrowed with an interesting light.

“If it weren’t for that, he wouldn’t have risked his life by setting foot in this empire,” Louis said with a grave face, narrowing his brows. “Your Excellency must know what it is.”

Aster knew. In addition, he had the ‘way’ that Genoyer was looking for.

At that leisurely smile, Louis spits out words as if he is fed up. “Looking at your expression, I don’t think I need to worry about this.”

“That’s right. It’s a useless worry.”

Louis nodded, shaking off his sudden uneasiness. “I understand. I will completely follow the will of Your Excellency.”

After Louis left, Aster took out the magical seal of Grand Duke Sestein from deep inside the drawer. Seeing that, he raised the corner of his mouth. Genoyer’s stupidity in leaving the magic seal without knowing how to use it made him burst into laughter.

The Magic Lab, the records there, which were only granted to the direct descendants of Grand Duke Sestein, could only be accessed with a magic seal. That’s why Genoyer was determined to die and wanted to find this place. It was to open the record containing what happened that day two years ago. To somehow find the magic seal and get his position back.

But there’s no chance of that.

Instead, Aster was going to prepare at least a suitable welcoming gift.

“Please, I hope my brother will not be disappointed.”

Aster smiled deeply as he put the magic seal back into the drawer. The seal, protected by dozens of barriers, soon disappeared without a trace.

* * *

After leaving the Grand Duchy of Sestein, Elusiana’s gaze briefly returned to the office on the second floor.

What’s going on? It looked pretty serious. Louis’s words that he had something to report in a hurry somehow bothered her. But she soon shook her head.

His Excellency will tell me what I need to know. More than that— He should take a rest. The Grand Duke worked all morning. Louis came in at the time of taking a break, so it was clear that he would be focused on his work again.

“I don’t know if he’s going to faint or not.”

Her face naturally darkened when she remembered the Grand Duke trying to fulfill his responsibilities with a sickly body.

“Sir Butler will take good care of him, right?”

When it came to the welfare of the Grand Duke, Louis was the one who cared more than she did.

There’s Sir Butler there. Who am I worried about? That thought crouched in her mind like a pupa.

Elusiana turned away with a wry smile. But her worries were completely forgotten the moment she reached Waieos Mansion.