Duke Ignis

After it was revealed that traces of Duke Ignis led north, the Duke’s search team naturally requested cooperation from the lord of the northern County, Count Wentos.

Since it was a search mission carried out by the royal family, and the person in charge of the search team was Princess Aine, who had a personal connection with the Wentos Count family, and the person leading the search team at that time was Eve Ignis, Count Wentos readily accepted the cooperation request.

Shortly thereafter, news came that the heir to the Duke’s family, Young Master Andrew, and Duchess Rachel had returned, so Eve hurriedly departed for the Ignis Duchy with a few subordinates, and the Duke search mission was handed over to Count Wentos, who took responsibility for carrying it out.

Although few people lived in the County, its territory was vast, encompassing the entire north, making it a place where searches were not easy.

However, Count Wentos, who had lived in the north for decades, led his elite soldiers in thoroughly searching the entire northern region like catching mice.

Nevertheless, Duke Ignis, who had been difficult to find, was eventually caught in the search net in a very unexpected form.

“Ugh… uuuugh…”

“F-Father…”

Riel murmured, standing blankly in front of the door with a pale face.

Understandably so, as the condition of the man in the room was miserable.

He had a very thin body as if he hadn’t eaten properly, and his skin was dry, indicating a serious health condition.

The red hair he would have passed down to his children had turned white, and his hair was disheveled, perhaps from frequent seizures.

“…It’s serious.”

“That’s after we intervened to get him to this state; it was even more serious when we found him.”

After greeting father who was at the guesthouse, we followed father’s guidance to a room in the guesthouse where the Duke was.

According to father, Duke Ignis was found at the northernmost boundary line of the north.

It was the place where the territory said to have belonged to the Demon King in the past met the Wentos County.

Duke Ignis had rushed to the northern boundary of the County as if being chased by something frightening, in a terrible state, and soldiers who happened to be patrolling around the boundary discovered him.

Of course, the soldiers didn’t recognize him as Duke Ignis, but he was clearly a person in a dangerous state, and they subdued him primarily to prevent him from going to a dangerous area.

Although they subdued him, he thrashed about with terrifying strength, and when spoken to, he rambled incoherently like a madman. Seeing this, the soldiers reported that they had captured a suspicious person, and father, who was in the midst of searching for the Duke, went to check personally.

“Ugh… aaaaargh!!”

A middle-aged man who looked around nervously and raged in fear as if he had seen something frightening.

Even father, who knew Duke Ignis’s face, did not recognize him at first.

That’s how serious Duke Ignis’s condition was.

“Father! Father!!”

“Ugh… uuuugh…”

Riel approached him and firmly held his hand.

Although Riel desperately called out to her father, there was no change in the Duke’s condition.

“Ugh… aaaaah!!”

“Kyaaah!!”

“Riel!!”

Rather, despite Riel desperately speaking to him from the side, he flailed his arms in a frenzy, causing Riel to fall helplessly.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes…”

As I supported Riel who had fallen, she grabbed my hand and slowly stood up.

Though she said she was fine, her face showed an extremely disheartened expression.

“He’s been in this state since we found him. He sometimes stays calm before raging, but whenever someone approaches him, he almost certainly lashes out…”

“So that’s why you isolated him in the guesthouse.”

“That’s right. I’m sorry to Sylvia, who cherishes the plants…”

Father looked at mother apologetically, but mother shook her head as if it didn’t matter and said:

“It doesn’t matter. It’s not like the plants are harmed.”

The botanical garden was a quiet place where usually only mother, who manages the plants, and her gardeners visited.

If so, the unused guesthouse in the botanical garden was the perfect place to isolate the Duke.

“His condition seems more serious than what I heard from Princess Yuril.”

“…This is the work of fairies.”

“…?!”

Startled by the sudden voice, I turned my gaze to where it came from.

Lilu was standing with her arms crossed, looking at the Duke.

But why was she here?

“Lilu…? Weren’t you guided to your room?”

“I sensed that the Countess was hiding something, so I secretly followed later.”

“My goodness.”

As expected of an elf.

No, it might not be because she’s an elf, but because she’s Lilu.

“What do you mean by ‘the work of fairies’?”

When Riel tried to ask calmly, Lilu observed the Duke once more before speaking.

“…Fairies specialize in mental manipulation, but this seems to be a case of emotional amplification.”

“Emotional amplification?”

“Yes. It’s the ability to amplify emotions such as sadness, joy, fear, goodwill, and so on. It’s a rather trivial ability that can be resisted if one has strong magical power within their body, but…”

Lilu frowned as she spoke.

“Once you’re caught with a vulnerability, you end up in this state without fail. If it were a magic that completely manipulates emotions, that would be one thing, but this ability manipulates emotions during the process of feeling them, making it trickier to undo. They’ve done something troublesome…”

…Indeed, while inserting non-existent emotions might be one thing, amplifying emotions that one naturally feels would make it harder to resolve, as they are genuinely one’s own feelings.

Judging from the Duke’s condition, they probably struck at a moment when the Duke was feeling fear.

Moreover, given his white hair, it’s heartbreaking to even think about how much fear he must have felt for such a long time.

“How could this… Father…!”

Riel expressed her distress in a voice that sounded like she was about to cry.

Duke Ignis sat blankly, quietly mumbling something.

“Is there no way to fix it?”

“…Even if the fairy released the ability, it will take time since he’s been consumed by amplified emotions for so long.”

“Father… Father…”

Riel collapsed and sobbed.

All I could do at that moment was to hold the sobbing Riel tightly.

Naturally, the discovery of the Duke had already been communicated to the royal family and the Ignis Duke family.

Only Princess Aine, who was in the Empire, hadn’t been informed, but she was planning to come here as soon as she finished her business in the Empire, so there wouldn’t be a major problem.

After deciding that the Duke would recuperate in our Count family’s guesthouse until his condition improved, I lifted Riel, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion after crying.

“I’ll take Riel to her room to sleep.”

“Yes, she seems very upset.”

Mother gently stroked Riel’s head as she slept.

Having cried for a long time, Riel’s face, with her eyes reddened, seemed slightly more peaceful.

“Wait a moment, Kyo.”

As I was about to leave the guesthouse, father called out to me.

Wondering what it was about, I looked at father.

“Tonight, we will have guests coming from far away. You should attend as well.”

“Pardon? Me?”

“Yes. Besides you, your mother, Asta, and… Kino will also attend.”

“…Is the guest important enough for the entire family to attend?”

Father nodded.

What could it be? Even so, if the entire family is gathering to welcome them, it must be royalty or high nobility.

“Tonight, Duke Grace and his entire family will be visiting.”

“Ah.”

That’s right.

Now that I think about it, there was such a conversation, wasn’t there?

[This is just my personal apology, and I think the Duke’s family will soon visit both families directly to apologize formally.]

That’s right.

Carlena Grace definitely said that.

But I didn’t expect the entire Duke’s family to visit.

Even if the purpose of the visit is an apology, it’s still a Duke’s family, moreover, the entire family coming from far away.

Naturally, we would need significant preparation on our side as well.

“I understand.”

“Good. Make sure not to be disrespectful, dress neatly, and conduct yourself properly.”

“Yes.”

Though I said that, I didn’t feel particularly comfortable inside.

I still don’t particularly like the formalities of nobility.

Well, as a noble myself, I’ve at least gotten accustomed to appearing that way on the surface.

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

“Alright, see you this evening.”

I laid Riel in the room where she had stayed before.

Since Riel’s personal maid Luca had perceptively prepared the bedding, I just had to lay Riel down.

I covered Riel, who was sleeping while quietly breathing, with a blanket, and sat in the chair prepared beside her.

I quietly stared at her face.

Finally, we were able to find Riel’s missing father, Duke Ignis.

But the Duke’s condition was very poor, and he even failed to recognize his daughter Riel and pushed her away.

Riel had a very shocked expression at that time.

“Riel…”

I reached out and stroked her forehead.

As I stroked her forehead, which held a warm heat, and continued to look at Riel’s face, I too collapsed in that spot due to my weary state.

Evening time.

A gathering where the families of the two houses, excluding guests, greeted each other.

Dressed in unfamiliar elaborate formal attire, I looked at the Grace Duke family in front of me.

Suddenly, I felt a soft touch on my arm.

The warm body temperature of Riel, who had clung to my arm, was felt through my formal attire.

…How did it end up like this?