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IBP 39
As announced, Grand Duke Rivera arrived at the Duke of Ardos's estate.
He had requested a private audience to find and reward the benefactor who had saved his younger brother's life.
‘Up to this point, everything is within the realm of normalcy, but...’
Inside the drawing room of the Ardos estate.
The aide standing near the sofa found himself unable to speak.
‘What is with the looks on the faces of the Ardos family?’
He hadn't expected Duke Ardos, and the direct descendants Chloe and Ruth, to all be gathered here in the middle of the night.
Furthermore, the way they were looking at him felt as if they were seeing the 'aide of the thug who dared to drag our precious youngest child into a closed room in the dead of night.'
‘I clearly heard that he requested a private audience with the baby from Duke Ardos and received permission to take her?’
...He might have mentioned it beforehand, and he might have received permission.
But it was still a sudden request for a private meeting.
He opened his mouth to try and smooth over the situation.
“I mean, His Highness the Grand Duke visited in haste after hearing the news, so please be understanding...”
After concluding the monster war, Grand Duke Rivera had been hunting down the person who killed the spirit beast.
“Gaa, gaaaaagh!”
“Y-Your Excellency? I think that guy is begging for his life. Since we've only been killing magical beasts, killing a fellow human feels a bit... pitiful...”
“Don't be sympathetic. He's worse than a magical beast!”
The Grand Duke smirked, wiping a blood-stained cheek.
“If I let that thing live today, he'll go off to kill other spirit beasts, won't he?”
“That is...”
“Those who kill innocent lives deserve to die. Ah, no. Perhaps I should use him for experiments with the magic tools I'm developing?”
And so, Grand Duke Rivera continued to smile like a demon even while killing someone...
The soldiers trembled as they watched the Grand Duke smirk without even wiping the blood from his face.
“The Grand Duke is, well, a very terrifying person.”
The butler of the Ardos estate whispered to the aide as if asking him to understand.
“Don't worry. Well, he does have the nickname 'Mad Scientist'...”
Grand Duke Rivera possessed two supernatural abilities: 'Crafting' and 'Swordsmanship.'
He was a man who devoted himself to creating all sorts of magic tools through his crafting ability, and he enjoyed splitting magical beasts or traitors in half with the swords he forged.
A gentle psychopath.
He always wore a bright smile and was insanely kind.
However, when he occasionally lost his focus, he went completely insane.
He was quite affectionate toward only one person, Caligo, so one could say he was basically kind to children, but...
‘Actually, that's not something you can fully trust either.’
His inner thoughts were far too opaque.
Besides, didn't he say something suspicious before the private audience with the baby?
“It just so happens I have a magic tool I want to test in the Ardos Duchy.”
He had mounted his horse while clutching a blood-stained magic tool.
‘Isn't that a tracker? Why is he taking that?’
At that time, the aide had thought while staring blankly at Grand Duke Rivera's back.
But, my lord?
Do you plan to kill the target? Shouldn't you wipe off the blood of the magical beast before going?
...That's how it was.
Recalling the past, the aide squeezed his eyes shut.
Just then, the sound of a table cracking echoed through the room.
The aide narrowed his eyes to gauge the source of the noise.
Ruth Ardos spoke with a gruff expression.
“No, I just can't stand the fact that the Grand Duke had a private audience with my sibling while covered in blood. Shouldn't he have bathed, knelt, and offered a bouquet of flowers before the meeting? We should have been allowed to observe! Huh?”
“...Calm down. He is the Grand Duke, Ruth.”
“Ah, seriously. I can't even be alone with our little one...”
The aide glanced at Chloe, who had told Ruth to calm down, and thought.
‘...Chloe looks angrier than the muttering Ruth.’
Her knuckles were white from clenching her fists so hard.
And right then.
Duke Ardos suddenly stood up.
“Ahem! The private audience should be ending soon. Let us bring Coco. Ahem!”
“Pardon?”
...Hasn't it been less than five minutes?
“Why? When the Grand Duke requested the audience, I told him it was only possible for exactly three minutes. Ahem!”
Are the people of this family too overprotective?
Watching Grand Duke Rivera emerge from the closed room, the aide let out a deep sigh.
‘Well, it's understandable to be overprotective.’
Having a private audience alone with the Grand Duke.
Unless one had a heart of steel, it would be hard for a five-year-old child to endure.
‘Look at that. My lord's expression is completely cold...’
...Far from it, he was smiling radiantly.
However, the aide's heart shrank even further.
‘That's the real signal for hell.’
Did the conversation not go well?
Did the baby ask for something too excessive?
But she is the benefactor who saved the one and only Lord Caligo; surely he could grant that much?
Just as all sorts of irrational thoughts dominated the aide's mind.
Grand Duke Rivera scooped Coco up into his arms.
‘Gasp.’
The aide's eyes widened.
“Goodbye, Princess. Come to think of it, I'm sorry I couldn't bring flowers.”
“Flowers are fine.”
“Ah, are flowers a bit too early for a five-year-old lady?”
He gave a light biseu greeting on the girl's soft and lovely cheek.
“Yuck!”
“Ah... Oh dear, my apologies?”
Coco made a sound of disgust and turned away from him.
His gaze looked at Coco with interest.
The aide's jaw dropped.
And at the same time, Duke Ardos, who saw the two in the hallway, muttered.
“You know.”
“Yes?”
“That kind of cheek kiss is something even I've never been able to do.”
“That... pardon?”
“Therefore, it is only natural that the Grand Duke was rejected. Ahem!”
No, wait.
Clearly, until a moment ago, his lord had been cold.
He even smelled of blood!
“Will you be heading straight to the Grand Duchy after the audience?”
“Yes. I have no intention of staying here anyway.”
“Then what about...?”
“As for the child named Coco, it'll be over once I provide an appropriate reward. I only need to bring Caligo.”
It wasn't a hallucination!
‘No, what on earth happened during their private audience?’
...Let's go back to about thirty minutes prior.
To the moment the two began their private audience in the closed room.
* * *
“The benefactor's name is Coco. I heard she saved Caligo.”
“Yes!”
“Looking at this... it doesn't seem like she simply saved him.”
A scent of curiosity emanated from Grand Duke Rivera.
‘Is it because Caligo keeps following me around like a cat?’
I stared at him, thinking deeply.
Then, Grand Duke Rivera smiled softly and spoke kindly.
“I can take you to the Grand Duchy and buy you some very nice things, or I can give you gold and jewels if you wish.”
Everyone in the world tells me that I will receive gold and jewels as a reward.
But such things were completely useless to me.
‘All I need is my sister's affection.’
So, I sank into deep thought.
I decided to ask for the thing that caught my eye the most in the <Catalogue> Duke Ardos had shown me.
“Give me the Stone of Eternity.”
“...Pardon?”
“Why?”
For the first time, bewilderment appeared in his eyes.
“The Stone of Eternity is a family heirloom of our house. It was created by the first head of the family, who was a jewelcaster...”
“Yes!”
“It is an heirloom that could only be exchanged for something equivalent to an entire fortune.”
I lifted my chin proudly, as if flicking a tail upward.
“Then give me your entire fortune as a reward! Then I'll take that and exchange it for the Stone of Eternity!”
At that moment, the Grand Duke's eyes gradually widened.
Then, he burst into laughter without even covering his mouth.
“Puhahaha!”
“Why are you laughing?”
“...No, it's nothing.”
“It's an heirloom, will you give it to me?”
“I will.”
“And about that Stone of Eternity. That...”
I stood on my tiptoes and whispered into the Grand Duke's ear.
“What?”
His eyebrows shot up.
It was a look of intense interest.
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