Lucia sat in the receiving room using her free time till dinner to embroider a handkerchief. Her embroidery skill had improved quite a bit. In the past, the embroidery of Damian's name at the edge of the handkerchief looked quite nice from afar but up-close, it looked less intricate. Now, even on a closer look, there was almost no misalignment.
'I'll send some books along with the handkerchief this time. There are good books for the child to read.'
It had almost been a year since she first saw Damian in the north. Because the child grew so fast, Lucia wondered how much he had grown. When could Damian be brought to the capital? His heartless father would never bring up Damian first if Lucia did not ask.
'Tea parties are good for public opinion if you makes good relationships. I have to work hard for Damian. The child's position is bound to be rejected. I have to make a path.'
It wasn't something she could avoid by saying meeting people was too complicated. As she embroidered, Lucia affirmed the responsibility that she should have as the mother of a child.
"Milady."
Jerome came in audibly and began to talk.
"Master sent a message. He said his return today is likely going to be later than expected. And although it will be a little later than dinner time, he wishes to have dinner together."
"Is that so?" (Lucia)
Yesterday, he told her he would probably be late today. Hearing that he was unexpectedly coming back earlier, Lucia felt better. Seeing the glow on his Mistress's face, Jerome turned his head and laughed.
The couple's show of love wasn't fazed by the servants and it grew stronger day by day. Usually, the madam was swept up in his master's pace but the madam did not show active dislike as before.
The overflowing affection between their masters had quietly affected the servants. Today, Jerome received a resignation from a maid. The maid was getting married. This was already the third case.
"Jerome. Are there still party invitations for me these days?" (Lucia)
"Yes, Milady. They are increasing more and more."
"Exclude balls or large scale gatherings. Pick out invitations for mainly small tea parties."
"Yes, Milady."
Jerome fixed his gaze on the handkerchief that Lucia was embroidering. The handkerchief with flower embroidery that his master always carried in his coat flashed into his mind.
His master's change was really surprising. He was someone that never carried a handkerchief because he hated cumbersome things. Jerome tried hard to recall the faint former visage of his master. His master was changing from a savage wild beast to a tamed animal. But strangely, the new change was nice to look at.
It didn't mean the Duke was a tough master in the past. He was an extremely rational person so he was never one to nitpick pointlessly.
It was just occasionally. Jerome was keen enough to catch the hidden bloodlust coming from his master. Jerome had never encountered a terrifying visage but he got the chills. It was at the worst when his master came back from hunting, and very rarely, there were times when Jerome felt like something that his master usually suppressed was coming out.
However, for about six months now, Jerome had not felt such a thing from his master. To phrase it excessively, his master who was wearing the skin of a 'human' was now becoming a real human.
"Milady. What do you think of gifting master an embroidered handkerchief as well?"
"The thread I use is thick so my embroidery will ruin a silk handkerchief."
"Not a silk one but a cotton handkerchief…"
"Jerome. How can a grown man carry this around?" (Lucia)
Jerome's expression was strange as he watched his Mistress chuckling. As expected, the Madam did not know. Well, since serving was entirely left to servants, it was natural she didn't know.
"Even if Master doesn't carry it around, he will be very delighted with Milady's gift."
"Mmm…my skill is embarrassing though…alright, I'll make one with his name on it."
Jerome broke out in a grin. A great butler who understands his master's thoughts. The name of the man who was called to be a butler was Jerome.
* * *
Hugo arrived home a little later than dinner time. Fabian had something to report separately so he followed Hugo inside. He thought of seeing Jerome whom he hadn't seen in a while and having a meal together as brothers.
As soon as Hugo arrived, many people came out to greet him but Hugo was only happy to see one person. He wrapped his arms around his wife's waist and pulled her into his chest then he greeted her with a light kiss.
"I'm back." (Hugo)
"Welcome back." (Lucia)
It wasn't easy to do this in front of the servants but Lucia's face was flushed with many subtle feelings that she didn't hate at all.
"What about dinner?" (Hugo)
"You told me to wait."
"If you're hungry, you could've eaten first."
"I'm not that hungry."
Hugo turned to Jerome and asked.
"Is the meal ready?"
"You can go to the dining room right away." (Jerome)
When the Master and Mistress of the house entered the dining room, the gathered servants scattered in search of their respective jobs. They all had impassive expressions that stated they had something to do now.
The servants had reached the point where they thought that if the ducal couple were together, they would definitely do that. The older servants knew from experience that a frigid relationship between their masters would make the atmosphere at home suspenseful and anxious so they preferred this and thought it was very good. In this situation where everyone was satisfied, there was one person that was unable to be.
"You. What are you doing?" (Jerome)
Seeing Fabian who looked stunned with a gaping mouth, Jerome clicked his tongue.
"…I think I'm seeing things now." (Fabian)
"Wait for me while I serve during dinner. Either you wait in my office or have dinner first, do as you please."
Fabian held back Jerome who was going to the dining room.
"Is it like this everyday? I mean, do they do these goosebumps raising act everyday? Why is no one surprised?" (Fabian)
"Well. They are used to it now." (Jerome)
The end is coming. This is a sign of the world's destruction. Jerome glanced pitifully at Fabian who was murmuring with a dark aura around him, then he headed for the dining room.
* * *
While they were taking a walk after dinner, Lucia told him that she had signed a new dressmaking contract with Antoine. He didn't say anything but from his expression, he didn't seem pleased at all.
"I like the dresses Antoine makes. I plan to continue commissioning Antoine in the future." (Lucia)
"It's up to you."
"Therefore, you cannot have a different contract with Antoine."
"…What contract?"
Lucia had only speculated that he had signed some contract with Antoine. She thought it was strange for the cost of the coronation dress to be so cheap. But when she told Antoine, 'it is a contract with me', she could make a guess from Antoine's reaction. There was a contract between her husband and Antoine that she didn't know about. So she stealthily poked her husband and he also looked caught off guard. Thus, the guess hardened into conviction.
"I've talked a lot with Antoine about the last contract." (Lucia)
"…"
Lucia's ambiguous words sparked Hugo's misunderstanding. Antoine told his wife everything about the contract!
If Antoine knew this, she would pound her chest in distress. Antoine had that much tact and common sense. No matter how much Lucia interrogated her, she would have kept her mouth shut about the dual contract and the blank check of the coronation dress. And as a matter of fact, the dual contract was meant to be used in the future and the Duke declared termination the contract before it could even take effect. The real gain was just the blank check.
"I didn't want you to worry too much about money." (Hugo)
Hugo nursed a grudge against the talkative designer. The Duke of Taran whose resourcefulness was as good as his fighting prowess had fallen for a very poor inducement.
"I won't be so sensitive to that issue in the future. Don't make a situation where you and someone else knows something but I alone don't. I'll be much more upset when I find out about it." (Lucia)
"Okay. I won't." (Hugo)
When Lucia stopped walking, Hugo also came to a stop. Looking into his questioning eyes, Lucia spread her arms and embraced him. She had a lovely, gentle husband all to herself, and she was thankful for him. Feeling his arms wrapping around her to return the hug, Lucia's heart was filled with happiness. She wished this moment could last forever.
***
Fabian sat on the sofa in Jerome's office, propping his chin with his hand and looking out the window with a hollow expression. It was dark outside but it was still visible enough to see a pair of silhouettes hugging in the distance. Fabian's lips twitched.
"How long is this walk going to take? At this rate, daybreak will come." (Fabian)
He wanted to give his report fast and go home. Some people have a wife and children!
"What have you been so unhappy about for a while now?" (Jerome)
Jerome sat at his desk doing his work but he was unable to remain a mere spectator of the noisy Fabian so he spoke to him.
"Leave me alone. I'm trying to get over my shock right now." (Fabian)
Fabian's mouth had fallen open again when he saw the two of them (Lucia and Hugo) holding hands lovingly after dinner and going out for a walk.
"It's a happy occasion if the two of them have a good marital relationship. Your problem is you have a skewed view of everything." (Jerome)
"I work for my lord because my view is skewed! Do you know how neglectful…! …Forget it. Why am I even talking to you? You servile child. Don't go anywhere and call yourself our parent's son." (Fabian)
Jerome gave the grumbling Fabian a pitiful glance. Fabian listlessly looked out the window then suddenly, he turned around and flew into a rage.
"This is all because you have no idea! Do you know what type of person he is? If you see what I've seen, you won't be able to be so calm!" (Fabian)
For the first time in his life, Fabian wanted to show his brother how his master was in his memory.
"So what. What exactly is the problem? Do you like the image of Master that you have in your head?" (Jerome)
"…It's not that. I mean, I'm worried. Don't you know that the saying 'if a person changes all of a sudden, they'll fall ill' is for a reason?" (Fabian)
"Don't worry too much about useless things. And watch what you say. After all, it's the mouth that makes a problem out of nothing."
Fabian glared resentfully his heartless brother then he continued grumbling to himself.
* * *
Fabian filed his report on target 'David Ramis' which he had compiled through close surveillance of the subject. It was the final result of long endeavors. The introductory part of the report was personal information about the target. Age, family relations, friends, and so on and so forth. Hugo roughly skimmed through it.
"The target's personality is undergoing various evaluations. Some people think he is a good person, and some people think he is a narrow-minded and cunning person." (Fabian)
Reputation in the public was extreme. To the nobles that he got along with, David was a nice person, but to the people with low status such as servants or powerless nobles, David mostly had a bad reputation. Hugo had seen a lot of people whose outside was different from their insides, so he wasn't really surprised.
Hugo read the dubious part concerning David in the report. Allegedly, a few years ago, David touched a maid and the maid got pregnant. Officially, the maid was said to have quit serving after receiving a reward. But the unofficial truth was different.
"You mean there is someone who claims that this maid is dead?"
"Yes. According to the maid who was her friend and worked with her, the woman suddenly disappeared without mentioning anything about leaving. The maid also said that the woman wasn't someone who would disappear without saying goodbye. Apparently, she looked strangely anxious a few days before she disappeared and her friend had heard her crying while pretending to be asleep." (Fabian)
"What about the maid's trail?" (Hugo)
"Because it's an old incident, there is hardly anyone that remembers it. I went to her hometown but even her family didn't have any news." (Fabian)
"So there is no proof, only circumstantial evidence." (Hugo)
If it was discovered that the heir to a Duke had killed a maid, it was difficult to deal him a blow, let alone punish him. However, such cases were very important in figuring out the character of the other party. David was someone who could do more dangerous things than Hugo thought.
It was not uncommon for a noble to abuse or kill their servants under the pretext of punishment. But regardless of if they framed their servant for a crime, the fact that they killed the servant was revealed anyways. It was different from secretly killing the servant and disguising it as another fact.
"The father of the target was angry because of the incident with the maid. And after that, there was no touching of any maid in the mansion." (Fabian)
"A leopard cannot change its spots. So he went to the brothels next?"
Hugo mumbled as he looked at the report.
"With his status, there must be a lot of women throwing themselves at him." (Hugo)
"I investigated by asking around the prostitutes he spends the night with, and apparently, he has a sadistic hobby. He likes his partner to be completely submissive so he can deal with them as he pleases. I believe it would be difficult to find a noblewoman to fulfill such a hobby."
Hugo was a little annoyed. Why did he need to know the sexual activities of this perverted crud? This meeting was held to see if there was any need to be on guard against the pathetic bastard even after investigating him.
As far as David's personal details were concerned, he couldn't care less. Hugo read the part detailing David's recent enthusiastic gathering of people and chuckled.
"New Nation Youth Association? This lunatic." (Hugo)
Was it that the man didn't know how dangerous it was to add the word, 'new nation'(1) to his organization? It was a good enough title to make one suspect that he had power-sweeping intentions to raise up a new country. There should be standards to some extent before using words.
Hugo was suspicious about the man's intelligence, maybe he was missing a few screws somewhere.
"So outwardly, the asserted purpose is to attract young talent. Is the organization really made with ulterior motive?" (Hugo)
"Rather than ulterior motive, it's not faithful to its original purpose. The target is not just gathering young talents but young talents that follow him."
"Basically, a gathering of just pathetic bastards." (Hugo)
Trash would always be trash, no matter how many you put together. Hugo couldn't see any worth in paying attention to such an organization where the only thing 'grand' about it was the name.
"There are few areas that are worthy of attention. The target is positioned as president so he is practically leading the direction of the organization's rules and activities. The specific details about that is written in the supplementary book." (Fabian)
Hugo picked up the supplementary book that was next to him and looked over its contents. When he saw the content about David, Hugo sneered, 'this fool' and his somewhat bored expression turned stone cold.
The dangerous elements were hiding here.
The two biggest opposing forces of power were the King and the nobility. The King pushed for strengthening of royal authority, and the nobility pushed for the expansions of soldiers and the guarantee of autonomy over their territory. But among the nobles without territory or peerage, there was a third force that was dreaming.
They were mainly intellectuals such as scholars and insisted on national management by professional intellectuals. They said that through the introduction of a system, the King and high-ranking nobles should eliminate the way of gathering together to discuss national affairs, instead they should make laws and law-elected ministers should manage the country. They advocated legalism saying that even the King should have to follow the law.
The power of this group was still insignificant. Very few people were interested in their claims. However, Hugo knew. He knew that their claims would grow stronger over time, and they would grow into a force that could not be ignored. It was knowledge he had gained from entering the secret room after becoming Duke.
A very long time ago, when the Madoh Empire ruled the world, the normal humans saw nobles as people who were as strong as monsters, but the nobility were just mortal beings that were similar in strength.
Apart from the fact that they used magical powers, they developed in a similar way to the world that humans have currently built. The nobles of the Empire were also divided into ranks and discriminated against each other; there were those who had more and those who had less. They were no different from the humans, they fought to have the upper hand and possess more than the other.
The emergence of a third force armed with knowledge but no real power also happened in the Madoh Empire. Some of their claims suited the King of the Madoh Empire who wanted to suppress the nobility.
When the King began to make use of this third force, they grew in strength, riding on the back of the King, and then one day, they separated from the King and formed their own force. When that happened, nobody was able to ignore them. The rise of a new force that was supported by the majority, ended up relatively weakening the royal authority as well as the authority of the existing nobles.
The knowledge in the family secret room gave the head of the Taran family the power to get a broad view of the world. Being able to roughly grasp the flow of the word wasn't any different from being able to see the future.
The flow of the world could not be stopped. However, it could be slowed down artificially.
'A fast development is troublesome.'
The heads of the Taran family never used the family knowledge to seek the development of the world. As long as the head of the Taran family remained master of the North, development was difficult. A kingdom with moderately strong royal authority was ideal. The more chaotic the human world was, the more progress was made in the flow of the world. Keeping the North alive and dealing with whatever issues the country had, whenever it had it, was not a pointless thing for the Taran family. Because humans that were satisfied with the present did not seek change.
If it was the past Hugo, he would not have cared about this upcoming power. However thinking had changed. For Hugo, at least, until he died, the Taran family should be doing well, and he wanted his heir, Damian, to smoothly enjoy the power and riches of the family.
"Find out more about these guys." (Hugo)
"Yes, sir. And there's one more thing you need to know about the target. It's in the last section of the report." (Fabian)
Hugo picked up the report about David again and as he looked over it, his expression became strange.
"Duke Ramis put a tail on his son?" (Hugo)*
"Yes. It's not simply shadowing, it seems to be a full-on investigation. We were careful not to let them know of our existence."
Hugo fell into deep thought. He tried to figure out the intention of Duke Ramis.
'It looks like Duke Ramis isn't pleased with his eldest son. Maybe he plans on changing his successor.'
If all went well, it looked like things would take care of themselves even if he didn't do anything.
"Do I continue monitoring the target?" (Fabian)
"Don't pull everyone out and if you see any odd behavior, report it." (Hugo)
"Yes, Your Grace."
"Good work. And try asking around for this item."
Fabian accepted the paper that the Duke passed to him. He looked closely at the picture that was sketched on the paper and realized it was a pendant. It was uniquely shaped, different from commonly seen pendants.
Hugo had met with the Count once without Lucia's knowledge. The asserted purpose of the meeting was the gate. He told the Count that he would take steps to ensure that the Count could use the gate whenever he wanted to come to the Capital and then he asked the Count about his real purpose, which was the pendant.
[Are you interested in antiques?]
The Count wondered and asked.
[It seems to be precious to my wife so I'm thinking of looking for it.] (Hugo)
The Count chuckled then he made a detailed sketch of the pendant. Hugo wanted to look for the pendant and then surprise his wife with it. Since she missed her mother very much, she would definitely love the gift. He was already feeling great at the thought of her happy face.
"If it has an owner, shall I simply bring back that information?"
"No. Use any means possible and bring it to me. You don't have to report the interim process."
Fabian replied in the affirmative and looked at the picture of the pendant again. It must be a great item seeing as the words 'use any means possible' came out from his lord's mouth.
'Is it a magical tool? If it's the national treasure of another country, it'll be a little annoying to steal.'