Chapter 19

“What is it?”

My murmur was buried by the loud noise and wasn’t audible to other people, but Blackie understood and answered me.

[That sword, I don’t think it was made with just light iron.]

“What?”

Without realising it, my voice grew louder.

Brody, who was talking to Treon, turned to me.

I hurriedly lowered my voice and asked.

“What do you mean? You think that it wasn’t just made using light iron?”

[That water.]

What Blackie meant to point out was the water used to cool the heated sword.

[I don’t know much about iron, but I do know about water. If you dip a sword made entirely of light iron, it would have been hotter. But the temperature of the water is lower than it should be.]

“How do you know that, Blackie? Have you ever tried making a sword before?”

[I told you. I know everything about water.]

Wow.

I’m not sure who did it, but it didn’t seem like they sealed away Blackie for no reason.

He noticed that even though his powers were sealed, how strong and powerful would he be when the seal has been lifted?

I didn’t quite understand what he meant when he explained that he knew about water, but now I seem to grasp it a little.

“Madam. What are you doing?”

Treon saw me talking to Blackie and approached me.

“Hmm. It’s nothing.”

For now, I will keep this a secret.

They lied about the materials used to make the sword.

I’ll have to think further about how I will deal with this information.

*  *  *

Please do not repost. Read only at Dropped Inks.

In the end, we did not meet Count Martech.

Instead, Count Martech’s second son had dinner with us. 

“Haha. I’ve been so busy these days, so I only managed to greet you now, Duchess. My name is Tickle Martech.”

Tickle Martech was a young aristocrat.

He looked about the same age as Treon, and someone who seemed interested in fancy hairdos and sleek shoes.

He greeted me, but he was not polite.

With a smirk, it was an attitude towards a young ordinary girl, not a Duchess.

From first sight, he had consistently been looking down on the duchy.

“A pleasure to meet you, too.”

“I heard that the Duke recently got a new wife, but I didn’t realise she was such a lovely girl.”

In terms of status, I, a Duchess, was far more superior than him, who held no title, yet he spoke casually without shame.

Instead of pointing out his attitude, I simply smiled.

‘Sure. Keep looking down on me like that.’

The more you underestimate your opponents, the more weakness you will show.

“But what about the Count? Isn’t the castle owned by the Count?”

“My father is attending to valuable guests. It’s alright since I’m in charge of the agreements with the Valruga anyway. Shall we eat first before we talk?”

As he beckoned, the servants began to prepare food on the table.

I stared intently at Treon and Tickle’s faces.

‘How do I bring up Treon to the conversation?’

Fortunately, Tickle brought it up first.

“But, wow, I’m surprised. Usually, Treon would always come alone.”

“You already know our butler?”

I purposely spoke in a more cheerful tone than usual.

I blinked innocently and spoke in a high-pitched tone, hoping that he’d look down on me even more.

“Of course, since Treon always comes on behalf of the Duke of Valruga.”

“Butler is awesome! Even though I’ve arrived today, the journey was so tough that I didn’t want to come ever again.”

He laughed out loud at my childish attitude.

“Well, even before that, I have a deep connection with Treon. We are in the same age group, so we had a lot of affairs together.”

A meaningful smile appeared on his face.

“How was he like? Butler is always so strict at the castle, so I’m very curious!”

I said, imitating Treon’s stiff expression.

“Haha. Treon’s personality is not that amazing. Well, he made his social debut around the same time as me. Treon had a talent for flattering. He almost worked in the Imperial Palace since he made a good impression on the Emperor.”

“Really?”

Saying that he was good at flattering was nothing useful, but it was my first time hearing that he almost worked at the Imperial Palace.

I glanced back at Treon, but he only focused on his meal with perfect etiquette.

As if he couldn’t hear our conversation.

“You should be careful, too. Don’t believe that good-looking face, you don’t know how much he’s played around. There was a time, in the garden with a maid…”

“Tickle. Please mind what you say in front of the Duchess.”

Treon interrupted Tickle.

For a moment, Tickle stared at Treon fiercely.

Then, he smiled and changed the topic.

“Oh, I forgot. Of course, the Duchess should be protected.”

Wow, what was he even trying to tell me?

I was sure of one thing.

Tickle Martech hated Treon.

He had no good intentions when demeaning Treon.

So what’s with Treon’s sensitive reaction?

Perhaps he simply didn’t want me to meet with such a strange guy?

Or did he just not want me to be get insulted by Count Martech?

But Treon’s reaction was too sensitive for that.

After eating in the uncomfortable atmosphere, we went back to our respective rooms.

I was tired from walking around all day today, but I couldn’t fall asleep yet.

Dawn is when everyone is fast asleep.

Wasn’t this the perfect moment to talk about something suspicious?

Blackie and I leaned on the wall that faced Treon’s room and listened closely.

“Can you hear them?”

Blackie nodded his head at my question.

Divine beasts have excellent five senses.

In the original story, there was a reason why everyone was going crazy to sign a contract with them.

There was a time when there was a rumour that someone had a divine beast in the original story, and a big fight almost broke out to obtain that divine beast.

Since I have Blackie now, there is no need to covet someone else’s divine beasts.

It was the moment when I was struggling to fight back the sleepiness from leaning against the wall for so long.

[Master. He moved.]

“Huh…!”

I shook my head and slapped my cheeks with my hands.

I almost fell asleep.

I left the room after counting to ten, in fear of being caught if I followed him right away.

Then, as I was about to move when I saw Treon disappearing at the corner.

“Madam? Where are you going?”

“!”

Surprised, I turned around and saw Bircher standing there.

He took a glance at me and turned to the corridor where Treon had disappeared.

After grasping the situation in an instant, he asked.

“Are you following after Treon?”

“……Yes.”

This is not the time for this.

If I keep talking to Bircher, I might lose Treon.

I got impatient and only stared at the corridor where Treon had disappeared.

“You don’t have to worry so much. I’ll take you there.”

“You know where he’s going?”

“I was about to sleep when he sneaked out, so I followed after him. You can rest assured, I have a tracking spell on him. Treon is smart, but my magic is superior.”

“……”

“You didn’t have to go out in person, you could have me do it. Where did you place your shoes?”

“I forgot them since I left in a hurry.”

“Then, let me handle it.”

“You and Treon are friends.”

And I’m a stranger.

Bircher is a loyal servant.

He treated me as a duchess from the first time we met, and he was never disrespectful.

However, Bircher was also Treon’s friend.

Both of them were born in the Valruga Duchy and grew up together.

I don’t think Bircher would betray me, but sometimes people would turn a blind eye when a close friend faces injustice. 

When I weighed a childhood friend and myself, who had barely been in the castle for less than three months, how many people would truly be on my side?

Hearing my words, Bircher smiled a little.

“Of course, Treon is my friend. But you are my master.”

Bircher knelt down in front of me.

“If madam commands me to cut Treon’s head off, I will obey instantly. Because that’s what I should do.”

Bircher curled his eyes and stretched out his hand.

“Let me take you. This is not the Valruga Duchy, so it’s dangerous to go alone, madam. Let me escort you from now.”

“……Okay.”

I was hugged by Bircher.

Bircher gently lifted me up.

“I’ll handle everything, so all you have to do is give me orders in a comfortable and safe state.”

“Alright, hurry up and chase after Treon.”

As I held onto Bircher tightly and gave the order, Bircher winked his eye.

“Don’t worry. Hunting, assassinating and gathering information is my speciality aren’t they?”

As Bircher hugged me and took a step, my view quickly changed, as though I was jumping through space.

“W-What’s this?”

“I’m using magic. And madam, you shouldn’t make loud footsteps when you’re chasing after someone.”

“You heard that?”

I raised my heels and walked as softly as I could.

“It’s my speciality.”

With confidence, Bircher chased after Treon without being noticed by anyone.

On the way, Treon ran into several servants.

The servants didn’t stop Treon, as if they knew he would visit.

Finally, Treon stopped in front of a door.

The door was carved with fancy grapevines, giving an idea of the identity of the person behind the door.

It was either Count Martech or Tickle Martech, whom I met in the evening.

“I don’t think there is anyone around. It seems like he deliberately made the servants leave.”

Bircher dropped me off at the door and commented.

It was increasingly suspicious.

Bircher fumbled through the gap between the tightly closed door and the door opened without a sound.

It was an admirable skill.

“Did you learn these things from the secret organisation?”

“Of course. These are all necessary.”

When I was first introduced to Bircher, I remembered that he was an unprecedented genius in the whole secret organisation.

Bricher and I peeked through the small gap.

Unlike the dark hallway, the room inside was brightly lit.

There was a cabinet full of wine bottles and a desk stacked with papers.

Then, I saw Tickled Martech sitting on the sofa and Treon kneeling in front of him.

“I apologise.”

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