Ch.129Duke’s Council #2

When staying in someone else’s home, one tends to be more tense than when at one’s own place. Being more mindful of others and feeling somewhat uncomfortable is unavoidable. Especially when that home belongs to a duke.

“Excuse me. May I have permission to enter for a moment?”

Knock, knock. A servant from this household seemed to have some business as they knocked on the door.

Having nothing to hide, I naturally said it was fine and allowed the servant to enter.

“Hmm. I see everyone is resting comfortably.”

However, instead of a servant, a middle-aged man appeared, slightly surprising me.

It was the master of this house, whom I had only seen a few times at the king’s birthday parties and had no personal connection with.

“Yes. Thanks to your consideration, we’re quite comfortable.”

“I’m glad to hear that. It seems my efforts were worthwhile.”

Helena, who had been sitting on the bed chatting with me, approached the duke as if nothing had happened and offered her hand for a handshake.

Her movements were so naturally fluid and quick that there was no sense of awkwardness.

It was the quick reflexes befitting a master.

Duke Caliwood took Helena’s hand and nodded slightly as he saw me slowly approaching from behind Helena.

“The Grand Duke is here as well. Come to think of it… is this our first meeting in an informal setting?”

“Yes. I apologize for not being able to properly communicate due to the circumstances.”

“In that case, I should apologize as well. We both have much to do, which makes things quite difficult.”

Allon Caliwood, the current Duke of Caliwood, led the conversation quite smoothly despite his seemingly gruff appearance.

Thanks to this, I felt some of the tension in my shoulders ease, though I couldn’t completely relax.

After all, he was a duke too.

“Seeing that you’ve come in person… do you have something to discuss?”

“There’s no particular reason. As the host who invited guests, I simply stopped by to check if the hospitality has been lacking or if there’s anything uncomfortable.”

The duke answered my question with an air of nonchalance.

Moreover, everything he said made perfect sense, leaving no room for suspicion.

After inviting a fellow duke, he couldn’t very well not show his face.

“Thank you for your consideration. We’re staying comfortably thanks to you.”

“I’m glad to hear you’re comfortable. Well then, please rest well. If you need meals or anything else, feel free to say so anytime. I’ll arrange for servants to bring them to your room.”

Having apparently said all he needed to, the duke gave a light bow and left the room.

I stared blankly at the duke’s retreating back, then called over a servant standing nearby and asked:

“Ah, by the way, what about Duke Killinear?”

“Duke Killinear, you ask? He hasn’t arrived yet.”

“…I see. Thank you. You may go.”

“Y-yes, understood…”

As the still visibly tense servant left, silence fell over the room.

It was a very brief silence.

Because Helena threw out a question with sparkling eyes.

“By the way, when are we going to buy fabric? I think now would be the perfect time.”

“Now? Now…”

Tomorrow, a meeting would be held under Duke Caliwood’s supervision.

As Helena said, now was the only time to buy fabric.

After the meeting, we planned to leave this place and return home immediately.

Therefore, thinking she was right, I got up.

Walking around the market and passing time would probably help ease what little tension remained.

“Pardon? Why fabric?”

Ellen, who had kept quiet until now, perhaps thinking it wasn’t her place to interject, tilted her head in confusion.

Since I had only discussed this with Helena, it made sense that Ellen would look puzzled.

I spoke as calmly as possible, suppressing the slight embarrassment rising within me.

Then, I could see Ellen’s eyes taking on a strange, expectant gleam.

It was a reaction both different from and similar to Helena’s, which made me unconsciously swallow.

.

The market in Duke Caliwood’s territory was bustling with activity.

There were countless people who had come from other territories to buy fabric, as well as small groups making purchases together.

As the saying goes, “where there’s a needle, there’s thread” – with so much fabric available, there were many related shops as well.

I first checked clothing stores just in case, but couldn’t find what I wanted.

In the end, buying the fabric itself was the answer, as planned.

─I heard Krauser’s duchy is crawling with dark elves… seems it’s true.

─They really are as dark as the rumors say.

As we walked through the market, whispers could be heard here and there.

Since I could hear them, Ellen certainly could too, but her expression didn’t change at all.

She probably wouldn’t be shaken by something so trivial… but I was reminded once again of how far we still had to go.

“Ebony. I’ll take this.”

In this era, undergarments were mostly made of white cloth, with other clear, bright colors being the next most common.

Colors like sky blue or light green would be examples of this.

“Ebony?”

When I held up the black silk, Helena tilted her head.

She didn’t seem to dislike black, but she looked quite puzzled. It was understandable, as it wasn’t a conventional choice.

“I like black. Do you dislike it?”

“Not at all. I don’t mind. I was just curious.”

“That’s good then.”

I had worried she might not like it, but fortunately that wasn’t the case. Thanks to that, I could purchase several bolts of ebony fabric without hesitation, and we could head straight back to Duke Caliwood’s mansion.

Sometimes I wonder if all this effort is necessary, but the one who wants something has to put in the work.

With that thought, as I was walking toward where we had left our horses, my eyes were naturally drawn to a passing carriage.

It was a carriage with a familiar emblem.

Moreover, the carriage seemed to recognize us too, as it slowed down and gradually came to a stop.

And for good reason.

The emblem on the carriage clearly belonged to Duke Killinear, and the man getting out of the carriage a short distance away and approaching us was indeed its owner.

“Oh. The Grand Duke has already arrived? You’re as prompt as ever.”

The owner of the carriage, Luke Killinear, approached with apparent delight and extended his hand.

I shook his hand, exchanged light greetings, and then spoke while looking at Luke.

“Yes. I happened to arrive early. The Duke has also come at quite an early hour.”

“It’s an invitation from the duke with the most experience among all the dukes in the kingdom. No matter how brazen I might be, I couldn’t treat such an invitation carelessly.”

Unlike the Killinear or Krauser duchies, which have already undergone generational changes, the Caliwood duchy is still Allon Caliwood’s world.

Luke was subtly criticizing him while smiling frivolously.

“My, the Duchess has come as well. You two are still in good harmony, I see.”

“Yes. I’m glad to see that Duke Killinear looks healthy as well.”

Luke quickly greeted Helena, who had been standing quietly behind me.

It might have seemed like he was treating the duchess as a mere backdrop, but Helena accepted the greeting calmly. Though she didn’t show it outwardly, she seemed quite pleased with the comment about our good harmony.

“Ah, by the way, the identity I lent you last time—it seems you didn’t end up using it after all. I heard you resolved everything on your own.”

After exchanging somewhat formal greetings, Luke brought up an unexpected topic.

As one of those who had suffered great losses due to that merchant, he had every right to mention this subject.

“Yes. It just turned out that way. Were you disappointed?”

“A little. When else would I have the opportunity to have the Grand Duke as my subordinate, even if only in appearance?”

“Oh. Come to think of it, it could be interpreted that way. That must be quite regrettable from the Duke’s perspective.”

“Haha. Indeed it is.”

Though it was a topic that would have more than warranted anger from Helena or Ellen, they maintained impassive expressions, knowing it was essentially a joke.

Thanks to this, we were able to finish the conversation without incident and return to the mansion together.

“Have you perhaps become a bit friendlier with Luke Killinear?”

After dinner, Helena asked while drying her hair with Ellen’s help in the room.

Seeing her in such thin nightclothes despite it being winter, her intentions seemed somewhat obvious.

“Friendlier? No. I definitely don’t consider us friends. If anything, I feel more uncomfortable.”

“Really? For someone who says that, you were chatting quite pleasantly outside.”

“I was just trying to match the atmosphere in my own way.”

Luke Killinear still makes me uncomfortable, and I’d rather not deal with him if possible.

As the respective leaders of the noble faction and the royal faction, our relationship isn’t good publicly either.

That’s why I had planned to disguise myself as a scout for the Killinear duchy.

I thought no one would expect me to disguise myself as a subordinate of a rival.

But that doesn’t mean I feel any closeness to Luke.

I’m grateful that he granted my request, but maintaining a good relationship based on that feels very uncomfortable.

It seemed better to just maintain an appropriate level of tension as we are now.

My attempt to match the atmosphere—that is, to appease Killinear—was in that context.

This territory belongs to the neutral faction, and the leader of the noble faction is also here.

Although he responded to Duke Caliwood’s invitation, it doesn’t mean he’s on our side.

In the end, thinking of the expression that even a mutt eats half in its own territory, I thought it best to handle things as smoothly as possible.

Flipping that statement around, it meant we weren’t even getting half the situation right now.

“Not even getting half the situation… That’s true. There’s no benefit in being confrontational.”

“Indeed. After all, it’s someone else’s home, and moreover, the territory of the neutral faction’s leader, so it’s not exactly comfortable.”

Ellen and Helena seemed to agree with my words, each adding a brief comment.

Then suddenly, as if having a fit, they competed to see who could praise me more, causing things to heat up excessively.

I eventually cooled them down… but it felt unusually draining.

“…Sorry.”

“I apologize.”

“As long as you understand.”

Fortunately, they bowed their heads, seeming to recognize my fatigue.

Thanks to that, I was inwardly relieved that there wouldn’t be a bigger argument.

“But… you haven’t asked me to gather information. Do you have something else in mind?”

After taking a moment to catch my breath and alleviate my fatigue, Ellen, who was sitting at the edge of the bed, asked.

It was a natural question, as we usually tried to keep our ears open for trivial conversations when visiting other nobles’ mansions.

I just didn’t feel the need to do so this time, which is why I hadn’t put Ellen to work.

“No, I don’t.”

“Ah… should I do some simple investigation now?”

“It’s fine. You don’t need to. Rather, trying to uncover intentions might just make things more complicated for me.”

To begin with, if it’s serious enough to call three dukes for a meeting, it’s likely a grave matter.

Looking into such matters in advance would only give me a headache without providing any real solutions.

Additionally, we’d find out everything tomorrow anyway, so there was no rush.

Also, while I might consider finding leverage against Luke, there seemed no need to seek out weaknesses of Duke Caliwood, who just wanted to live quietly from my perspective.

“There’s no rush. We’ll find out everything anyway, and there aren’t many people here. That means, unlike the noble gatherings we’ve attended before, this isn’t an environment conducive to uncovering Duke Caliwood’s secrets.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Though I asked you without much thought back then too…”

Anyway, there was no need to have Ellen try to uncover secrets at this point.

That was my conclusion, and Ellen nodded silently, indicating she would follow my words.

As I said earlier, we’d find out everything tomorrow anyway.