Chapter Twenty-Seven and a Half: Some Advice (Part 1) ~William’s POV

As the meeting ended, the number of participants in the spacious conference room gradually decreased.

Sighing, I rubbed the wrinkles between my eyebrows. So far, the only things we talked about were a source of headache.

War is so distasteful.

I was currently in a five-story building called the conference tower. All the floors in this building, except for the third floor, were full of conference rooms, where several meetings would be held every day.

“Milord.”

I saw Frederick walking towards me. He’d been busy traveling back and forth to the mansion and the knight’s group, so I assumed he had something to report. I jerked my head, urging him to explain.

“That woman is in No. 4. Also, it seems that they’ve treated her.”

“Why would she need any treatment?”

“Elsa went to settle the score for the sake of the young lady.” Frederick spoke calmly.

While listening to that, I reached for a glass and took a sip of water.

Speaking of which, I recalled the red blood dripped from the cheek of the woman that was pinned down by Elsa.

Despite how talented Elsa was, I had a slight issue with her violent tendencies. But this time, it can’t be helped. I didn’t know how far Elsa went, but as long as that woman survived, I didn’t really care. Elsa probably knew that as well.

“I went to her room earlier, and the young lady seems to be feeling unwell.”

“You should’ve started your report with that.”

I panicked and tried to stand up, but Frederick held my shoulder, so I sat back down. When I looked up at Frederick, his expression was as calm as possible, I couldn’t grasp what was on his mind.

“It seems that there was a visitor in the morning… The Duke of Fuchsberger. The young lady welcomed him.”

The moment I heard that name, I stood up and walked away without saying a word. This time, nobody could stop me. I left the conference room and found the man in question in the lobby that connected every conference room.

The man with dirty blond hair and sharp hazel eyes. His butler stood behind him like a shadow. Just as the duke was about to leave after having a conversation with a civil official I recalled seeing during the meeting, I stopped him.

“…Duke Fuchsberger.”

“Hey, William.”

The duke turned around and faced me, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“Before the afternoon meeting, I went to say hello to your wife. I wanted to thank her for the other day.”

“I thought I told you the other day that I don’t mind you seeing her as long as I’m around, right?”

“Unfortunately, you and I both have hectic schedules and don’t have time to see each other. Don’t worry, that feisty maid was always by her side. She’s amazing, isn’t she? That maid was holding back the entire time, all-smiling, but not once did she let her guard down.”

“Do be careful. She won’t tolerate anyone hurting her lady. If you lay a finger on Liliana, that maid might chop your hand off?”

“Haha, that is terrifying.”

The duke laughed out loud, sounding amused.

On the outside, we appeared to be on friendly terms, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. The glittering, beautiful ambience hid something most vile.

“—By the way, did you know? Two cats, a mother and daughter raised by the duke, came into our house early in the morning.”

The duke’s hazel eyes showed a hint of surprise.

As a busy person, once I entered the room, not even my servants were allowed entry. Frederick was an exception because he was my butler. He also bore the title of the division commander’s special assistant.

I’d been constantly attending various meetings and discussions in this building since morning, so no wonder he couldn’t contact me. Besides, the duke should be attending an executive meeting in the royal family’s residential area this morning, presided by the king himself. Unless it was a really pressing matter, I doubted I could contact him.

“First thing in the morning, the mother cat rode in a carriage bearing the duke’s crest, while the daughter rode in a carriage bearing the crest of the count family.”

The duke’s eyes twitched ever so slightly.

Not only did Sandra drive to our house in the duke’s carriage, she threw her weight around as if she was the duchess. Compared to that, Margaret, who boarded the count’s carriage, was still better. After all, the Count of Eighton family was still considered as Liliana and Cedric’s family. Anyone who saw Margaret alighting from that carriage would’ve thought that she was visiting a relative.

But in the case of Sandra, people would be under the impression that the Duke of Fuchsberger, who had bad blood with the Marquis of Springfield, visited our house early in the morning.

Moreover, the former Countess of Eighton, who’d just been divorced the other day, was using that carriage. As if that wasn’t enough, according to our servants, the window of the duke’s carriage was open at all times, so Sandra’s face was plain for everyone to see.

For the aristocrats, nothing could be more interesting than that, even if the duke had no intention of making Sandra his second wife.

In the first place, the duke probably hadn’t told anyone that he was sheltering Sandra. Fed up with that, Sandra resorted to drastic measures.

The duke said something to the butler behind him, who nodded and excused himself.

“…What happened to the cat?”

“The younger one pounced on my wife, so I caught her and threw her into a cage. The older one was still behaving, so I locked her in our guest room to prevent her from escaping.”

“Did she get injured?”

“After being thrown into a cage, she—”

“—I don’t care about that girl. By that, I was referring to the marquess. When I saw her earlier, her younger brother was sleeping on her lap, so she couldn’t stand up. Well, I persuaded her against it, but could she have been hurt?”

I shook my head at the somewhat unexpected question.

“I was there too, and Elsa caught the cat and trained it, so my wife didn’t suffer any physical harm. For some reason, the two foolish cats are adamant about replacing my wife.”

“Then, the young cat shall be put under house arrest until she finds a marriage partner.”

The duke sighed as if he had eaten a bitter bug.

…If anything, that girl took matters into her own hands because her marriage partner had been decided.

Rather than ‘decided,’ more like a selfish assumption on their part, because I had never agreed on any of that.

“Funny, because that’s what I’ve been trying to do. When I introduced her to a wonderful owner, the duke got in the way. Regardless of how you feel, you can’t control everything.”

Alphonse, who was attending the meeting as the crown prince, appeared out of nowhere and put his hand on my shoulder. Caddock stood next to Frederick, watching the events unfold.

On the surface, Alphonse may appear to be smiling gently, but the fierce glint emanating deep from within his sky-blue eyes told of something else. He glared menacingly at the duke.

“…I’ll go fetch the mother cat right away. Do whatever you want with the younger cat. I owe her nothing, so feel free to take her off my hands.”

Alphonse lit up with joy as he grinned widely.

“That’s great! Finally, I can conclude the business deal! Thanks to the duke, our exchange will be smooth!”

“It would be a great honor to be of any use to His Highness.”

The duke bowed, and Alphonse nodded haughtily at his subject.

“Don’t worry, Your Grace. I’ll be sure to give her a wonderful owner and promise to give her eternal happiness. But, Your Grace…”

The duke, who was still bowing, slightly raised his head.

“I don’t know the nature of your debt to the mother cat, but try not to cling to her painful claw and keep the Duchess in your heart.”

Alphonse’s voice was calm and gentle, like the tranquil sea.

The duke firmly closed his eyes. His fist, which was clenched next to his body, trembled ever so slightly. He may be holding back the urge to scream. Alphonse’s words were too much for him to bear.

“…I shall keep that in mind.”

Barely able to squeeze that out, the duke stood up.

“Then, come to pick up the mother cat as soon as possible. Be sure to reprimand her well and don’t neglect her training.”

The duke nodded deeply, turned on his heel, and quickly walked away, disappearing aimlessly behind the wave of people who had just come out of another conference room after the meeting.

As Alphonse beckoned to me, the two of us headed for the upper floor, where the many guest rooms were located.

Compared to the lower floor, which was full of conference rooms, it was much quieter there. I quickly made my way towards the room in the back, where Liliana was.

“…Did you know? There’s a theory that the crown prince and the deputy division commander are actually twins.”

“I know, I know…Apparently, I behaved quite differently as a crown prince compared to when I was the deputy division commander that people began to suspect we’re two different people. But if anything, the deputy division commander is closer to my true self.”

Alphonse, as always, burst out laughing.

Even though we had known each other for 23 years, the way Alphonse carried himself when he was the deputy division commander and when he was the crown prince was so different, even I had my doubts at times. As a crown prince, Alphonse was a fine successor full of dignity, while as the deputy division commander, Alphonse was skillful yet a bit lazy.

I can see why people start those rumors…

“By the way, how far do you plan on following me?”

“Huh? Well, I just thought of saying hello to Lily and giving Ceddie a hug.”

I stopped when Alphonse followed me to the front of the room. At Alphonse’s sudden appearance, it was somehow possible for Eric, the knight stationed in front of the room, to further straighten his already straight posture.

“Sorry, but today is no good. The onslaught of those bitches has left my wife tired and unwell, you see.”

“That’s rough.”

Alphonse’s sky-blue eyes flickered in surprise.

“In that case, I shall arrange for Dr. Morgan to come visit her. Wouldn’t it be better if it’s someone she knows? Or should I call a female doctor?”

“No, Dr. Morgan is good. Can you help me?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you. Al, please return to the Order of Knights first. I’ll be sure to attend the briefing on human trafficking organizations.”

“Sure, that’s fine. Oh, by the way, can I do whatever I want to that stupid girl?”

“I don’t mind, but it seems that Elsa had done some damage as well.”

I didn’t know the details, so I glanced at Frederick. Frederick grinned in amusement.

“After she broke a teacup, the left half of her pretty face was pierced with the shard. It didn’t help that Elsa proceeded to slam her face against the table afterwards. I asked for first aid, so the small shard and the bleeding should’ve been treated.”

Frederick chuckled.

Should I be worried that the couple were so similar to each other? Except that Elsa was more direct than Frederick, who kept his cards close to his chest. In my opinion, Frederick was way scarier than Elsa.

“Wow, that happened!? How fascinating! Caddock! Time to go1 I’ll be sure to send some get-well gifts to Lily and Ceddie later!”

Beaming, Alphonse turned on his heels and quickly left. Caddock rushed to follow him from behind. Frederick also said, “Then, I’ll summon Dr. Morgan.” And left. I patted Eric on the shoulder to thank him for his efforts and went inside.

That guestroom was a bit special, so there was an antechamber before entering the room.

Julia, a female knight, was standing in front of the room connecting the antechamber to the back room. I returned her knightly courtesy.

“Are there any other guests besides the duke?”

“There’s none.”

“I see.”

Julia nodded, looking somewhat confused, and opened the door for me.

Because the curtains were drawn, the room was dimly-lit, but Cedric noticed me and immediately came running over. I picked up Cedric, who buried his face in my stomach.

His usual smile wasn’t there.

I could hear his sniffles.

“What’s wrong, Ceddie?”

I asked Cedric as I walked towards the bed which curtains were closed.

“Hic, S-sister… hic… Sister is…”

Amidst his sobs, Cedric tried his best to form words.

Ariana came to my side and told me. “He was holding back his tears…”

Apparently, my cute little brother felt relieved when he saw my face. Lovingly, I picked up Cedric and placed a kiss on his pale gold hair.

“What about Lilana?”

I asked Elsa, who was waiting next to her bed.

“She’s sleeping. Her fever seems to be a bit high, so I think it would be best to arrange for a doctor.”

“I’ve summoned Dr. Morgan. Let me see her face.”

Elsa’s expression as she went to open the curtains that surrounded the bed.

Liliana was asleep, submerged in a sea of white sheets. Her usually pale cheeks were now red, and I could see her chest rising and falling as she took a pained breath. I sat next to her, still holding Cedric.

“Can’t we go back to the mansion yet?”

“I just found out from the duke that there’ll be another meeting with His Majesty the King in the afternoon. We should be able to return by nighttime, but it also depends on Liliana’s condition.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll remain here for another hour, so Elsa and Ariana should take a break at the dining hall. If you collapse, Liliana will be sad, and I’ll be in trouble too.”

“…Understood.”

Elsa was in contemplation for a few seconds. In the end, she somewhat reluctantly bowed to me, changed the towel on Liliana’s forehead, and then left the room with Ariana.

In the room where there were only the three of us, I laid down on the bed, pulling Cedric into my arms. Cedric tightened his grip around my neck. While gently patting his small head, I turned to face Liliana.

She was in deep slumber and showed no signs of waking up. I reached for her hand, which was hanging outside the blanket. Due to the fever, her hand, which was usually mild in temperature, was scalding hot.

“Sister… Hey, Sister… What do we do…?”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. Dr. Morgan will be here soon. I’m here for you. Everything will be alright, Ceddie.”

When Cedric looked up, his snowy cheeks were glistening with tears. I wiped his tears with my unoccupied hand, and kissed his forehead to soothe him. Cedric kissed my cheek and clung to my neck again. I quietly waited for Morgan’s arrival, cradling his back.

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