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Chapter 09

The obvious argument—that he was their lord—wouldn’t work on those people. What meaning could persuasion have for someone who had conquered the battlefield alone, without ever relying on his subordinates?

“It’s for your sake, Duke. If you look at things more broadly, your world will grow wider too.”

“For my sake…”

He narrowed his eyes slightly, as if sinking into thought.

Since his birth, most of what Eckart had seen was the monster-infested North—a brutal land where blood splattered and corpses piled up as he cut down enemy after enemy.

That’s why the white magic that brought him peace must have felt all the more precious to him.

But I wanted him to know emotions beyond obsession.

Gratitude. Cherishing something. Affection. Longing. When all those memories were buried beneath obsession and only frustration remained, he had been swept away by the voice of the demonic sword.

“I hope your world will be filled with many kinds of joy, Duke.”

For a while, only the sound of the wind could be heard. Eckart neither agreed nor disagreed; he simply stared at me.

“…Was that presumptuous of me to say?”

There were times when his red eyes felt endlessly cold. This wasn’t one of them. In fact, whenever he looked at me, they often shimmered as though they could melt anything.

When I turned my gaze away slightly, Eckart slowly spoke.

“No, Cielina. More importantly—there’s a leaf in your hair. May I remove it?”

“It’s not a bug you’re calling a leaf, is it?”

“Of course not.”

With such a gentle smile, who would ever think he was the mastermind behind everything? I realized that I liked his smile.

Eckart placed his hand atop my red hair and plucked away a green leaf. His large, sinewy hand brushed lightly against my ear before withdrawing.

A strange current passed between us for a moment, and he joked as he showed me the leaf.

“Shall we use it as a bookmark?”

“Why would you? Just throw it away.”

“Yes.”

Whether he meant it seriously or not, he set the leaf down on the grass with a lonely look in his eyes. I didn’t know what kind of trick it was, but the leaf stayed neatly in place instead of being blown away by the wind.

Before I knew it, the break was over. The knights had reassembled, standing around and watching him carefully.

“I don’t want to go.”

“But you have to. You’re the head, Duke.”

“I’m thinking of retiring.”

“…I’ll be watching from here.”

He delayed for as long as he could before finally leaving, clearly reluctant. It felt like ripples spreading. When I placed a hand lightly over my chest, my heart was beating fast.

Is it because it’s hot?

I went back to watching the knights train. While I did, someone approached me. Silver hair fell down like elm leaves.

“Blanche?”

“Ciel, you were here! How could you leave me behind?”

“Huh? The Duke said you wanted to be alone. I was worried about you.”

“…I never said that?”

I clicked my tongue softly. That petty man must have brushed me off with an excuse just to shake Blanche off. Blanche was already about to plop down beside me.

“Ah, wait. A handkerchief.”

As I rummaged through my things, I realized I had given my handkerchief to Eckart earlier.

He hadn’t returned it and had simply taken it with him. Since he was in the middle of training, I couldn’t exactly go ask for it back, so I tried to give Blanche my seat instead.

“Sit here. There’s a handkerchief spread out.”

“Whose is it?”

“The Duke gave it to me.”

“What? Then I’ll give you mine too.”

I refused repeatedly, but in the end I was the one sitting on two handkerchiefs. I held out three strawberry-flavored candies I’d been taking from my pocket one by one.

“Want one?”

“Yeah.”

Blanche mumbled that it was tasty. When I added that Eckart had given them to me, her expression stiffened.

“…Should I spit it out? No—since you gave it to me, Ciel.”

Then she stared intently at Eckart, as if assessing his skill. His movements were hard to follow with the eye, yet she observed him tenaciously.

“Were you interested in swordsmanship too, Blanche?”

“Not at all.”

She squinted, perhaps because of the sunlight, and continued.

“Just… how strong would you have to be to beat someone like that? Even an entire legion—no, the whole imperial army—couldn’t do it.”

“Probably not. Wait, why are you asking that? You’re not planning to fight the Duke, are you?”

“To win you, I’d have to fight him.”

“Blanche!”

After our brief bickering, she suddenly asked in a serious voice.

“Ciel. If you had great power, what would you use it for?”

“How great are we talking?”

“Power as strong as the Duke’s. Some unknown, transcendent ability.”

“Hmm.”

I possessed an abundance of both divine power and magic.

If I’d lacked ability, I wouldn’t have been able to escape the Lussolit Ducal Castle, nor would it have been easy to flee to another country and survive later on. So I thought of my current power as just enough.

“I like things as they are. I’m not sure I could handle any more power than this.”

Some powers, like the curse of the demonic sword, were harmful instead.

Just then, a bird fluttered down and pecked at the grass. As Blanche watched an insect get snapped up, she hugged her knees and buried her face.

“Ciel. What happens when you die?”

“…Why are you asking that?”

“The afterlife, reincarnation—do you think things like that exist?”

Ever since I’d nearly been injured earlier, she’d been acting strangely. Worried that our heroine might secretly have a terminal-illness setting, I grabbed Blanche’s hand tightly and pressed her.

“Blanche. Are you sick anywhere?”

“Of course not.”

“Then what’s going on? If something’s bothering you, you have to tell me.”

“…Okay.”

She answered in a lonely voice and pulled her hand away.

I wanted to leave the two of them as soon as possible, but my concern for her was genuine.

Since I’d twisted the original story, I hoped Blanche would live a long, happy life this time—rather than taking her own life because of someone else.

At the center of the western Lussolit Ducal Territory stood the ducal castle. Ramel was having tea with nobles her age.

“Welcome. The sunlight is so warm today—I wanted to enjoy tea time with all of you.”

When she smiled brightly, both the male and female nobles melted.

On Ramel’s finger was a red ruby ring symbolizing her house. As she toyed with her teacup, she deliberately displayed it.

At first, the nobles had been curious about Cielina’s whereabouts, but when the Duke began openly favoring Ramel, all they could think about was currying favor with her. Besides, it was about time for both Rita and Ramel to start hearing talk of marriage.

“Lady Ramel, this is such a lovely tea party. How is the outdoor garden maintained so beautifully?”

“All of Trey’s desserts are not only delicious but so delicate!”

“I’d love to learn from your sense of style, my lady.”

Ramel accepted their praise as only natural.

As the lively conversation flowed from topic to topic, one young lady casually brought up Eckart. Young, handsome, wealthy, and the guardian of the North—he was a figure of interest to every noble.

“I hear Duke Croden has returned after subjugating the North again. He’s truly remarkable.”

“Yes. I heard the remaining knights and the white mage are on their way as well.”

“Oh, do you think Lady Cielina participated in this war too?”

“She must be incredibly skilled. I heard she once served as the Duke’s personal mage. At this rate, who knows—they might even be dating!”

Three years.

For three full years since Cielina left the ducal castle, Ramel’s insides had burned. That bug she had always looked down on was thriving outside the castle walls.

Of course, Ramel didn’t show it.

In fact, even though it was a topic she ought to have disliked, she had spoken favorably of Cielina all this time.

Others didn’t know, but she herself was like a cuckoo chick that had pushed out the original egg and taken over the nest.

To avoid being treated that way, the more that thought crossed her mind, the more saintly Ramel behaved.

That was why the other nobles had felt comfortable bringing up Cielina as well. But Ramel didn’t want to hear any more.

“I’m really proud of my sister, who’s active as a white mage.”

She fiddled with her teacup, her shoulders drooping, then deliberately changed the subject, pretending to miss Cielina.

“But… may we talk about something else? Talking about my sister makes me miss her.”

“Of course!”

“Lady Ramel, don’t be upset. We weren’t thinking.”

And once again, people showered Ramel with praise.

After the tea party ended, Ramel remained alone, savoring her tea. Then Rita, who had shed much of his boyishness by now, approached her.

“Sister. Did you enjoy the tea party?”

“So-so.”

Noticing the cause of her irritation, Rita spoke in a voice laced with concern.

“You seem troubled.”

“Yeah. That bug—who does she think she is, strutting around like that!”

Rita had heard Ramel’s childhood story so often it was etched into his ears.

Before the former duchess Chenil died, Lisel had been nothing more than a hidden woman, living in a village on the outskirts of the ducal lands. Even though she received child support, she had to keep the child’s father a secret.

Because of that, Ramel had been mocked by commoners for not having a father, and anyone and everyone would approach her, suggesting she take on a new stepfather.

The hole that formed in her heart back then still hadn’t been filled, so Ramel tried to pour affection indiscriminately onto others—no, she tried to receive it. Wanting to be filled to the brim…

Rita knew this well.

“Yes. Lady Cielina’s title, her relationship with Duke Croden, even the abilities of a white mage—they should all belong to you, Sister.”

When he said the word “abilities,” a greedy glint flashed in Rita’s eyes, but Ramel, lost in her own emotions, failed to notice.

“You think so too, right?”

“Of course. Ah—how about this, then?”

“Do you have a good idea?”

“We should contact Duke Eckart Croden. Before the relationship between the two of them deepens any further, you need to make your presence known. If it’s Father, he’ll gladly grant the request.”

For Ramel, it was both a way to approach Eckart and a chance to confirm her father’s love.

To ensure that Ramel wouldn’t later grow greedy for even the position of heir to the ducal house, Rita subtly egged her on.

After finishing his sparring match, Eckart entered his office.

Cielina’s face suddenly came to mind—how she’d sat beneath the fresh green tree. Her quiet whisper that the world would grow wider had felt as mysterious as a fairy’s.

Will the world really grow wider?

The monsters that periodically invaded the North, and the pain of curses, occupied most of his world. Even now, reports of monster sightings were piled up.

He had slaughtered so many monsters it felt meaningless to count them. No matter how many he cut down, more always appeared.

Lately, their numbers had decreased somewhat, thankfully, but he couldn’t let his guard down. The duty passed down from his ancestors felt like an eternal punishment that would never end.

He was sick of it.

Before meeting Cielina, he would have thought that life—without thoughts or emotions—was all there was.