TCTR 53

Chapter 53

“This happened in my territory. It goes against the rules I set and even against imperial law. At the very least, I have to let them know that what they did was wrong. That’s my responsibility.”

I spoke firmly, but it was useless.

Both Hian and His just shook their heads.

Since neither of them would let go of my wrist, I finally forced it away with strength.

I stepped into the center of the commotion to bring it under control.

The man had already shown his violent nature by hitting my lady, and now he even raised his hand at me as I tried to stop the fight.

The man, rushing toward me, tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground.

Just then, the soldiers arrived, and the situation was resolved without major issues.

Afterwards, people slowly dispersed.

As I tidied my clothes, Hian and His approached.

In voices that had lowered slightly, they spoke:

“I really don’t understand.”

“Do you know you almost got hit earlier?”

“I know. I even saw you guys trying to rush out even though you said you wouldn’t help.”

Still feeling grateful, I smiled and said so. Hian clenched his teeth.

“So you just stand there while the girl with us gets hit? What kind of gentleman would the Empire consider that acceptable? If that man hadn’t tripped on his own, I wouldn’t have let it slide!”

That was me making him trip without anyone noticing.

“You were worried about me, right? Thanks.”

“It’s not about worry…!”

“I just hope that if you’re going to care about me, you’ll care about others too.”

“Why should we do that?”

A snappy reply came immediately.

“Because I’d be happy if you did. That incident a moment ago might have been a minor disturbance to you, but for that girl, it could have been a matter of life and death.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just caring is enough to make it worthwhile.”

I expected them to flare up, but surprisingly, they said nothing.

I lifted my head to check their expressions, but at that moment, Kischel called me through the communication channel, so I waved at them.

“Then, see you on my birthday.”

I walked away with slightly lighter steps.

A day off after a long time.

Although I didn’t spend it in complete peace, I thought it wasn’t a bad outing.

“….”

“….”

It was a little disappointing that I didn’t notice the sharp gazes following me from behind.

✦ ✦ ✦

My birthday party was approaching.

Maybe because it was the first one, I realized how exhausting it was to prepare for a party as I skimmed through the guest list—and then I froze at a familiar name.

Henya Giselle

The memory of Eshedwa requesting her to be invited came back vividly.

‘Why does Eshedwa want Henya Giselle?’

Could it be related to why he needs me?

I pressed the pen, full of ink, hard onto the paper, and a round black blot spread.

‘He probably thinks that because I believe I’m under a spell, I’ll be blindly on his side no matter what happens. That allowed me to ease my guard.’

A crisis can sometimes become an opportunity.

‘When I meet her this time, I need to shift this relationship once again.’

If I just wag my tail the way he wants, I’d only be used and discarded.

So, for now, at this party…

“Duke.”

At that moment, Kischel, who was organizing the party guest list for me, shook the paper with a smile.

“Why do these documents keep coming in?”

He sighed.

I patted his head and said something completely unhelpful.

“If I do this well, I might be able to sleep before midnight today.”

“…If I die from overwork, please bury me in a sunny spot.”

“I think I’ll be buried there too. I’ll bury myself next to you.”

“You’ve made it. Only people from the Ducal family can be buried in a sunny spot like that.”

He collapsed onto the desk, trying not to laugh.

He finally laughed after shrugging at the warm air.

“My father wasn’t even buried there. I guess I’ll be there someday.”

Kischel approached the stove, which had been turned off because it made him sleepy.

When I snapped my fingers, a small flame appeared, and I put it into the stove.

After poking at the firewood a few times with a poker, Kischel leaned into the warmth and shrugged.

“Please make sure to bury me with you too.”

“Of course.”

“Maybe in about eighty years would be perfect.”

Eighty years? That would make roughly a hundred years of life. That’s plenty.

“I wonder if I can live that long?”

Kischel looked back at me.

Our eyes met for a moment, and I slowly raised my body from where I had been lying.

“You have to live.”

He answered simply and changed the subject.

“Seeing you here, it looks like the lady of the house is doing all the work. Usually, the lady organizes a party like this, right?”

I was tired, but at least his joke made me feel a bit better.

“Not bad, huh?”

“….”

“Political marriages are something we have to do, even if we don’t want to, seeing how our parents were. It would be nice if you handled some work around this house.”

I waited, wondering if he had more to say, but there was no response.

Curious, I looked up at Kischel.

Our eyes met again.

“You already seem to be working hard enough. How much more do you want to exploit me? And this is a marriage you only do once, so you should be careful.”

Kischel let out a deep sigh and came closer, forcing me to straighten my heavily bent back.

“If you keep playing such tricks, I might just take the duke’s seat for myself. If you don’t want that, marry someone you truly love.”

Ahh… the posture Kischel made me hold was uncomfortable.

I wanted to flop back onto the bed and laze around.

“How can you say something so fairy-tale-like? You know how dreamlike it is for a noble to marry the one they love.”

Eshedwa briefly came to mind, but his face only brought a bitter feeling.

“It could be possible.”

I put a piece of chocolate into Kischel’s mouth.

“Yes, I hope that even you marry someone you love.”

Neither of us had much of a family, so it was hard to even imagine building a future with someone we loved.

Kischel rolled the chocolate around in his mouth before replying:

“I don’t think I’ll ever find someone I love.”

I chuckled quietly.

“If neither of us finds someone we love, it wouldn’t be so bad for us to marry each other later.”

Kischel laughed a beat later and sat back, leaning backward.

He skimmed through the pile of letters and muttered:

“Not bad. I could become the Duke’s partner, gain status, and the Duke could adopt a slave to command for life…!”

Suddenly, Kischel jumped up from his seat.

The chair crashed onto the marble floor, and I reflexively stood up in surprise.

“Duke? Kischel! What’s going on?”

Someone outside knocked on the door after hearing the noise.

Worried about why he was acting like this, I fidgeted in the middle.

“It’s nothing, so don’t worry!”

Just as I called out, Kischel suddenly dashed into my arms.

“…?”

And we collapsed onto the carpet together.

Ouch.

I was so surprised I couldn’t even brace myself.

Fortunately, Kischel supported the back of my head as we fell on the carpet, so neither of us got hurt.

“What’s wrong?”

“….”

I called out to the deeply bowed Kischel, but he didn’t respond, leaving a flood of question marks in my head.

Since he kept flinching, I patted his back for now.

What’s wrong with him… seriously.

“Inerea.”

Ah!

It had been so long since Kischel called my name that I was even more surprised than when we had fallen moments ago.

‘How many years has it been since I last heard that name?’

I slowly lifted my upper body.

“What’s wrong, Kischel? Tell me.”

“I got a reply.”

“A reply?”

His voice sank deeply, almost buried in the air.

He sat between my legs, his head bowed, so I grabbed his cheeks to force him to lift his head.

“From the Rümen Empire…”

He avoided my touch and collapsed onto the carpet.

Kischel lay back on the carpet, covering his eyes with his arms, only moving his lips.

“The sorcerer who can cure the Duke’s illness has sent a reply.”

I was so shocked that I grabbed Kischel’s arm.

My heart started pounding, blood rushing through my body.

“…What?”