Chapter Thirty-Three and a Half: A Visit (~POV: Alphonse)

“I’m sorry, care to repeat it again?”

“The lord and his wife are in the middle of a lovers’ quarrel.”

Arthur, the dandy butler of the marquis’ household, calmly and matter-of-factly told us something outrageous. Behind me, Caddock and Mario, who I brought along, looked confused. Actually, my expression might not be that different.

Arthur spoke, “Seeing is believing,” and started to walk away, with us following him in a hurry.

Today as well, the servants of the marquis’ household were working briskly. But somehow, they seemed happier than usual.

Four days had passed since the kidnapping. Mario, Caddock, and I—in fact, the entire Order of Knights—had been very busy. As such, our visit had to be postponed at a later date. Well, it couldn’t be helped, duty called. I also had to visit the duke to report on our progress.

Anyway, we each brought gifts for the sick. And of course, we’d sent a notice in advance, so Will and Lily must’ve been aware of our visit. But they were in a lovers’ quarrel?

“Why did they fight?”

I asked Arthur, who walked briskly ahead of me. Arthur turned his head slightly to look back at us, before smiling subtly with a hint of amusement.

“The lord wants to prostrate himself before the lady, but the latter refused to entertain the idea.”

“Huh?”

I was even more loss after hearing the explanation.

The two behind me also tilted their heads.

“After fully regaining his memories, the lord wants to kneel in repentance for the cruel treatment he’s shown the lady. However, the lady refuses, saying there’s no need for him to do so. We servants have no reason to oppose it, so the lady is fighting hard with only Cedric on her side.”

“Did you tell Cedric about it? That his beloved brother-in-law once neglected his dear sister?”

“No, the lady said, ‘If you tell Cedric, I’ll get a divorce!’ So the official reason is that he couldn’t prevent the kidnapping three days ago. …The young lady seems to think that first year of their marriage was important.”

“Wasn’t she neglected during that time? Will was so terrible back then! I even thought of cutting him off, you know.”

“I agree. And then, he accidentally lost his lost his memory, right? If it was me, I’d run to the monastery at that point.”

Mario shrugged, and Caddock nodded vigorously, as if he agreed with that opinion.

Arthur smiled wryly and surprisingly agreed, “Me too.” But he went on, “But…”

“The young lady believed that thanks to that year, she could face Lord William, who’d lost his memory. The days she spent peacefully, surrounded by Elsa, Ariana, Melissa, Phil, me, and the many servants gave her the confidence to face her husband. Certainly, she often said ‘Elsa taught me,’ so I don’t think there’s any lie in those words… Had she been a newcomer to our family, there’s no way she can deal with a misogynistic, distrustful husband.”

“She’s too kind. If I were in Lily’s position, I’d step on Will’s head as he kneels and begs. Then, I’d make him buy all the jewels and dresses I want.”

“We’d hoped she’d do that as well. However, the lady of this household is humble, merciful, and compassionate.”

Thus, I realized that even this levelheaded butler was angry at Will’s actions. And that everyone had a soft spot for Lily.

While we were talking, we were approaching Will’s bedroom.

“Now that I think of it, how are his injuries?”

“The lord is a strong man, so he can handle being whipped just fine. But the burns are severe and will definitely leave scars. Well, he’s a man and a knight, so I don’t think it’ll bother him. However, according to Elsa, the young lady seems a little concerned.”

“Lady Liliana is very sensitive. I don’t think she can bear the thought of Will receiving another scar.”

Caddock nodded vigorously. It seemed that my bodyguard was more of Lily’s follower than I thought. I could see why, though.

“—Also, the lord got injured protecting the young lady. It seems that she was quite upset about that too.”

“He may be my cousin, but shame on him for making Lily sad.”

I shrugged my shoulders, and Arthur stopped walking, laughing in a troubled manner.

“My Lord, we have a guest. May I let him in?”

Frederick answered instead of Will.

“Please.”

Then, the door opened and we all went inside.

“But that day, you promised that you won’t prostrate yourself!”

“No? I merely listened to your request. I never said that I wouldn’t.”

Lily sat on Will’s lap at the edge of the bed. Cedric sat on the other side. They were still arguing about whether he should prostrate himself or not. They were arguing, alright… but from an outsider’s perspective, it just looked like they were flirting. Even Cedric was happily reading a picture book on Will’s lap.

“Didn’t you say they were fighting?”

“As I said, they’re having a lovers’ quarrel.”

Elsa said with a straight face, gesturing to the lord and his wife. Ariana was next to them, smiling, saying, “They get along so well, don’t they?”

“Aren’t they just flirting?”

“No, no, no. This is actually part of Milady’s plan. She thought hard about it, and finally came up with a way to prevent Lord William from standing up. Milady is really adorable, isn’t she?”

Elsa put her hand on her cheek and smiled. This maid really adored Lily.

“—But I won’t rest easy until I kneel and apologize. As your husband, I couldn’t protect you.”

“I’m unscathed. If anything, I should be the one to kneel down and apologize for getting Lord William and the duke involved…”

“You don’t have to do that!”

In a panic, Will tightened his arms around Lily’s waist.

“I’ll just prevent you by keeping you on my lap.”

…You know what? I don’t care.

We hadn’t slept properly for the past four days, cleaning up after the incident. I tilted my head, wondering why I had to witness my best friend’s lovers’ quarrel when I’d been up all night.

“Ah, Lord Al! And Lord Mario and Lord Caddock, too…! Please stop Lord William! He keeps saying he’ll kneel and beg!”

If the one who requested that was Will, I’d have hit him and get things over with. However, this was the request of the adorable Lily. Lily’s tearful eyes and slightly troubled face were extremely cute. For the time being, we worked on our brains, which hadn’t been working much since we’d been up all night.

“How about hitting him?”

“But that’ll only hurt him…”

Mario’s suggestion was shot down in an instant.

Caddock’s lips moved rapidly.

“Caddock said, ‘Why don’t make him kneel’?”

“But that’s what I’ve been trying to avoid!”

Caddock’s simplest method, which I’d translated for him, was also rejected.

“Ah! In that case, Lily should just get angry at him properly once.”

“But I’m not angry…”

“Will is a knight, after all. He’s upset that he couldn’t protect you. So if Lily gets angry, I think that’ll calm him down.”

I suggested to Lily with a smile. Lily looked back and forth between me and Will. Seemingly having made up her mind, she looked up at Will and pointed her index finger at him. We tilted our heads. Cedric also looked up.

“L-Lord, William, I’m going to get angry—hya!”

In that moment, our hearts were pierced. It went without saying that William hugged Lily and Ceddie tightly.

With Will writhing in defeat, the lovers’ quarrel seemed to have come to an end for the time being.

Lily got off his lap, and Ceddie reluctantly got off as well.

“Here you go, Lily. This is a get-well gift for you. Cedric, take this.”

“Oh, this is unnecessary, I’m not bedridden… Thank you.”

“Thank you!”

I prepared a cute little bouquet of flowers for Lily and an assortment of baked goods for Cedric. Next, Caddock handed each of them his handpicked novel. He was quite a bookworm, after all. From Mario, Lily received some laces he’d woven. Meanwhile, he gave Cedric an outfit designed after a knight’s uniform, which would transform the latter into a little knight. Cedric was very happy and thanked Mario. Lily’s face also brightened at the sight of the beautiful lace.

Ceddie said he wanted to try it on right away, so Lily considerate left the room with the maids, leaving only the men.

“…You guys didn’t come to visit me?”

“Well, here I am, aren’t I? Caddock.”

Caddock stood in front of William, who seemed confused, and handed him a stack of papers tied with ribbon.

“Here, the purpose of my visit.”

Will frowned even more at my smile.

“Well, it’s no fun bringing you flowers. Anyway, I’ll someone pick up the documents tomorrow, so please look them over and handle them by today.”

“You hate me, don’t you?”

“I care about you a lot.”

“I’ve prepared some chairs, so please use them.”

Will’s eyes were getting more and more confused. At the same time, Frederick prepared chairs for us. We all sat down next to Will, who was lying on the bed.

Leaning against the pile of cushions, Will untied the ribbon. He immediately looked through the documents.

“The autopsy on Sandra’s body has been completed, and it’s now in the morgue. Have you told Ceddie?”

“…Not yet. Ceddie has been mentally unstable lately, and won’t leave Liliana and me. He’s always cheerful during the day, but at night, he gets really anxious and even starts crying. He’s been pretty calm lately, but… I just can’t bring myself to talk about this.”

I replied to Will, who looked up from the paperwork.

“But maybe it’s better not to tell him at all, and wait until he’s an adult.”

“Maybe.”

Will nodded with a complicated expression, then lowered his gaze to the paperwork again.

“…And what about Aqrab?”

“That’s a complete mystery. I had someone chase him after that, but he got away. Afterward, we set up checkpoints all over the capital. He’s still on the wanted list, but we haven’t heard of anyone else who’s seen him or anything similar.”

“The search is still ongoing, but there’s a possibility he might’ve left the capital. So, we’re expanding our search.”

Mario added to my explanation.

“As for the McNish Company, where Lady Liliana was about to be married off… well, see for yourself.”

Mario reached for the stack of documents in Will’s hand, pulled out the one he was looking for, and put it on top.

“We’ve found seven bodies in the villa of Rudolph, the president of the McNish Company. They’re currently being sent for autopsies. All of them have been embalmed and dressed in wedding dresses. For a moment, I thought they were still alive. They were probably around 17 to 22 years old. They were all young and beautiful. However, most of them were sold to pay off debts, so we’re having trouble identifying them. By the way, another unit has been sent to the perverted old man’s villa. They are due to return tomorrow, so see you then. I’ll come again to report.”

“What about the main residence?”

“His son and wife live there. He probably didn’t show that side of himself there.”

“I see. There could be hidden rooms or passages. Search and comb everything, including the main residence.”

“All right. Since it’s for Lady Liliana, I’ll do my best. Once this is wrapped up, I’ll make as many dresses as I want for Lady Liliana!”

Will was unfazed by Marietta’s sudden appearance, and instead advised her to be “neat and tidy.”

“I mean, Will. You were going at it pretty hard. It was hard to clean up after that. Don’t kill all of them? How was I supposed to obtain testimony?”

“My Liliana’s life was at stake, so how could I go easy on them?”

“That’s true, but you should’ve left at least one person alive… I mean, the guy you chopped off both arms was a senior executive called Liyan. If he’d lived, we might’ve been able to hear a better story. The rest are just small fry, so the information the low-level guys have is limited.”

“But didn’t you cut off the head of a low-level leader?”

“That was, well, it was to cheer you up? I have to boost morale, right?”

Putting himself aside, Will sighed and smiled wryly as if to say, “Oh dear.”

“Caddock, Mario, you guys explain the rest. I’m going to go and see the duke.”

I stood up and put my sword on my waist.

“The duke is mostly asleep nowadays. If he is, come back right away.”

“Hm.”

I replied perfunctorily and left Will’s bedroom. I was thinking of going alone. Ever since I was a child, I’d often come to his mansion. However, Frederick kindly offered to show me around.

“Is the duke really that unwell?”

I asked the man walking in front of me.

“Well… our lord is young and has the stamina of a monster, so he recovers quickly. As for the duke, he suffered quite a lot because of the poison. He’s been in and out of sleep for a while. Dr. Morgan is stationed in the room next door, and the young lady is looking after him diligently. I think that’s also because she has no hesitation in going over there.”

Frederick said matter-of-factly as he went down the stairs.

I simply replied, “Yes,” and lowered my eyes.

My parents were generally on good terms with each other, and Will’s parents were so close that they could vomit sugar. But I thought that the duke’s marriage was no less warm.

In truth, the duke merely worked so hard on diplomacy because of Lady Eustasha. If not for her, someone as remarkable and cunning as him wouldn’t have remained in the Kingdom of Cression.

Lady Eustasha loved this kingdom and its people. As such, I was sure that even if the duke had done some bad deeds, he’d be on our side in the end.

After all, he was always trying to protect what Lady Eustasha loved.

“…This is Frederick. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has come to visit.”

Before I knew it, Frederick was standing in front of the door of the drawing room, calling inside. After a moment, I heard James answering, “Come in.”

The door opened with a clang and I went inside. Even though it was daytime, the room was dim. The curtains were closed on the four-poster bed, so I couldn’t see what was going on inside.

“…How is the duke?”

I asked James in a low voice as he came over.

“He’s awake now, so if you’d like to talk, please come in. We’ll wait outside.”

With that, James left the room with Frederick. He looked a bit haggard. But I shrugged, thinking it was understandable. Since his master was unwell, he must’ve been exhausted and tired.

I approached the bed and gently opened the curtains with my fingertips.

His weak hazel eyes slowly turned toward me, and a small smile tugged on his lips. I drew the curtains open, stepped inside, and sat on the edge of the bed.

“You’ve aged a lot in just four days.”

“Don’t I?”

I narrowed my eyes at the brittle voice.

The duke, lying slumped in the large bed, looked unbelievably small. His cheeks were sunken, and he had stubbles. His gentlemanly appearance was no longer there. He looked like he could perish at any moment.

I looked around and noticed a water bottle by his bedside. I asked him if he wanted a drink. After a short pause, he nodded. I put my arms around his back, propped him up, and brought the water bottle to his mouth.

—Gulp…

I heard him gulp. After drinking three sips, the duke averted his face slightly to communicate his intentions. I placed it next to me and gently laid the duke down.

“Your Highness has grown a lot,” the duke said, his voice clearer than before.

“It feels like just yesterday, you were forcing me to pick you up… but before I knew it, you were able to help me up.”

“What a foolish thing to say. I was forcing you to hold me when I was only five or six years old. That was twenty years ago. I’m twenty-six this year. As soon as the new year comes, I’ll be twenty-seven.”

“Is that so?”

The duke let out a slow breath, laughing.

The room was silent again, and I felt the air becoming a little heavier, so I spoke again to shake it off.

“I’ve personally confiscated the wheat that you hoarded without permission.”

His hazel eyes blinked in surprise.

“Tomorrow, as per your wish, the wheat will be sent to Destricao. In return, I’ll receive the weapons and gunpowder that Destricao had hidden and was trying to send to the Fortis Empire. I’ve stopped the iron sand mining project planned in the Kauskuzakh Mountains in the North of Destricao. Although it was a vassal state before, Destricao is now an ally under our complete control.”

Why? He mouthed.

“Aren’t you underestimating me? I know that your wife’s—Lady Eustasha’s other hometown is a village rich in nature at the foot of the Kauskuzakh Mountains in Destricao. The place where Lady Eustasha grew up and loved… You wanted to protect it, right? You even risked of being suspected of treason. Did you think I’d object?”

“If the trade of weapons and gunpowder becomes public… there’ll be another war.”

“Fortis couldn’t even prepare half the wheat we gave them. And yet that country was trying to take over Destricao. I reported that information to their leader. Destricao is a small country that has protected itself with weapons and gunpowder. With Fortis Empire as its opponent, it has no choice but to submit.

“Fortis is desperate to destroy our country at all costs, but the other vassals know that it’s more peaceful under our control than under Fortis. They may be looking for an opportunity, but unless they’re extremely foolish, they won’t waste the lives of their people.

“Destricao maybe a small country, but it has built a long history through its wisdom. It must’ve decided it’d be better to join forces with the Kingdom of Cression.”

I slowly stood up and looked at the duke.

“On that night of full moon, didn’t I say this? This kingdom is mine—and so are all of its people. Try to harm even one of those, and I’ll no longer be the cute little prince that you know so well… No matter how much older you’re than me, you’ll always be my beloved child. I’m a generous, tolerant man who’ll become a king, so…”

I took the duke’s hand, which was placed above the blanket, and tightly gripped it.

“I won’t allow you to die on your own. I intend to leave all the diplomacy with Destricao to you. So hurry up and get better.”

“…Your Highness.”

“If you continue to weaken and die like this, Lady Liliana will be the saddest of all. That lovely and kind lady will continue to blame herself for the rest of her life. The one who will be the least forgiving of all is Lady Eustasha, who has a strong sense of justice and is kind to everyone.”

I smiled faintly and took his hand. Then, I put the duke’s ring that I’d been entrusted with on his finger, which was slightly tapered at the base. The duke stared at the ring in a daze and looked up at me.

“Choose a way to die that Lady Eustasha will be the most proud of. You know that this isn’t it, right?”

The duke covered his face with one hand and nodded quietly. I watched as he did so and placed my hand on the curtain.

“Rest properly and get better quickly. Got it?”

The duke nodded quietly again.

“Well, good night.”

With that, I closed the curtains and turned on my heels.

As I left the room, James and Frederick, who seemed to have been deep in conversation, looked up.

“James, if there’s anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask. The duke is my cousin, and my father’s nephew. My father and mother are very concerned about him. When he’s feeling better, please come and see us at the castle.”

“Yes, I’ll certainly inform the lord.”

“Okay, then I’ll be heading back. I plan to stay for another hour.”

“Understood.”

I raised my hand and headed back to Will’s bedroom. Frederick followed shortly after.

“Freddie.”

“Yes?”

“You dote on Elsa a lot, but… I also want to get married. Do you know anyone who’ll be a good match?”

“It’s not a question to ask to a mere butler. There’s no way I know of a young lady I could introduce to someone like His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Haha, that’s true.”

I laughed out loud and Frederick shrugged his shoulder in exasperation.

---

***T/N: Awww lol I thought the duke wanna defect just because

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