CHAPTER 3.10

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

“Hey, why is this place…….”

“It is a place that contains the history of the Duke’s castle.”

“…….”

Audrey couldn’t understand it.

She hadn’t even begun her work when Duke Fritz brought her to the ‘Memorial Room’.

“This is my father. The last Duke of Frit.”

“……oh.”

“They say we look a lot alike.”

The Duke of Frit stood before the portrait of his father and looked back at Audrey. He seemed to be making a friendly comparison.

“But I don’t think I am.”

“…….”

“My father may have been a good knight, but he was not a good husband. He prioritized his empire over his family, and my mother was very lonely.”

Derek glanced up at the portrait next to him, a frail-looking woman. Her face was smiling, but it looked like she was crying.

“I, in no way, resemble my father.”

The Duke of Frit turned straight to the next room, which still looked as if it had just been created.

“The Life of Derek Fritz……?

It was unusually spacious. It was like a museum, with the Duke of fritt’s possessions arranged in chronological order, as well as memorable events. It was a far cry from the portraits of past dukes hanging one after another.

“I was born on the seventh day of July, in the year one thousand three hundred and ninety-nine, in the year of the Emperor, a fine boy of four kilograms.”

“……?”

“And this is my umbilical collar. It’s the first thing I ever wore.”

“……!”

Audrey’s mind reeled, wondering what she’d heard.

“What, what, what, why are you telling me this?

She’d been thrown into the middle of a sea of information.

But the Duke of frit picked up the next artifact with a straight face.

“This is the bowl I used when I was two years old. He’s never had a favorite meal since birth.”

“…….”

“And her development was ‘enormous’ from an early age. She never had any illnesses, and never got very sick. She is naturally very healthy and strong.”

Audrey didn’t know how to react.

What was she supposed to do? The proud-looking face kept staring at her. Like a hound dog waiting for praise.

The unexpected bragging continued for a long time after that.

How old he was when he learned military tactics, how he felt when he first felt the sword, and even how much his first emergency fund was.

“Of course, I’m never going to have an emergency fund again. I think it undermines the trust we have in each other.”

“…….”

“Really.”

“Oh, yeah…….”

There was a deep pleading in his voice as he repeated himself.

It was none of Audrey’s business whether the Duke of Fritz had an emergency fund or not, and he was relieved to hear her answer.

The years passed quickly, and the Duke of Fritz was now in adolescence, his tiny ears gone, and his armor filled with weapons of grisly ferocity. The black stains on his armor conjured up horrifying images.

“Is it now?

Derek’s hands shook with nervousness.

He’d already given her enough basic biographical information, from his family to his conception to his birth, so now it was time to tell her on his charms.

Derek drew his longsword, an elaborate longsword.

Thrust.

“Hic!”

“This was a gift from my father before our first battle. It was forged from the iron of Faichar.”

“……!”

The sharp sound of iron flew through the air like a rainbow. At the same time, her heart began to beat frantically. Audrey stiffened like a plaster statue, unable to lift a finger.

“It is the strongest and heaviest iron in the world. The weight of it would allow me to steadily decapitate him.”

“……!”

“With this sword, I killed two thousand two hundred and fifty-nine enemy soldiers in the ‘first’ battle alone. They say it was the ‘greatest victory’ in the history of the Empire.”

The madness of the day flashed in his eyes as they scanned the sleek blade.

Audrey looked like she was about to faint. The unnecessarily detailed description made her feel like she was standing in the middle of a battlefield. She could almost smell the blood on her nose.

“On that day, this armor was stained with the blood of the enemy.”

“……!”

“And the large stain you see here is the blood of Malidagor, the historic general of Vejr. I left it behind to show my children someday.”

Derek, who had been recounting his exploits, turned round in triumph. Dodo must have been fascinated by his bravery.

But contrary to his expectations, Dodo’s complexion turned pale.

“Sin, I’m sorry, kitten, I’m sorry.”

“…….”

“I’m, squeamish, woof! Hey, I’m weak…….”

“……!”

Derek wished he hadn’t.

He hadn’t realized that Dodo was so squeamish, and he couldn’t believe he was telling bloody war stories in front of her!

But no matter how I thought about it, he was a man with no particular charm, and the only thing he had to show for it was the strength with which he slit his enemies’ throats. A terrible feeling of self-loathing washed over him, as he wondered what he had done with his life.

“You pathetic worm!

Derek stared at the remaining space. There were at least a hundred stories he hadn’t told yet. They were all about his war exploits.

But Derek turned away as if he hadn’t seen them.

A moment later.

A relieved Audrey stood in front of the Duke’s secret storeroom. According to custom, only the Duke and Duchess were allowed to enter.

“Oh, is this the kind of place I’m supposed to be shown?

But Duke Fritz was unperturbed and opened the door with a key.

“I’ll give you a key to any place if you wish.

He didn’t want to charm her, but he wanted her to know that his heart was in the right place. It was all Dodo’s anyway.

The duke’s secret storeroom was filled with heirlooms, rare jewelry, and ornaments. It was a storeroom, but it was as opulent and grand as a drawing room. So much wealth that Audrey was stunned.

“This is the necklace the Fourth Duke used to propose to the Duchess. No emerald has yet been found larger than this one.”

“Oh…….”

The Duke of Fritz bothered to tell Audrey the story behind each of his precious items. But Audrey was having none of it.

“What is wrong with me? I was sure I was fine…….Her stomach began to churn again.

It had been like that since she’d entered the warehouse. She felt like her whole body was drained of energy, along with an unpleasant feeling of helplessness. As if someone was secretly stealing her energy.

“Ah, it’s a relic of the first duke. It’s called a magic tool, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work now.”

“……!”

Where I put my hand, trying to hold on for dear life, was a picture frame made of gold. It was cracked in the middle as if it could open to either side, but a faded magic stone was embedded in the top like a lock.

How dare you tamper with the first duke’s relics! Angrily, Audrey withdrew her hand and retreated.

But at that moment, a powerful feeling of helplessness came over her like nothing she had ever felt before.

“……That’s strange.”

Derek’s gaze fell on the First Duke’s relic. The magic stone, long since blackened to the point of death, had begun to emit a strange glow.

Then a blindingly bright light poured from it.

“Black!”

“……!”

Audrey blacked out.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

A darkened bedroom. In the middle of a bed draped in sackcloth, Audrey lay like a mountain lion.

And there was a pair of eyes looking at her longingly.

“……my, kitten.”

It was Derek, nursing a world-weary face, holding the unconscious Dodo before him like a sacrifice, pouring out reflections like incantations.

“You must wake up. There are so many things I have yet to say.”

“…….”

“There are also many things I wish to do for you, so please…….”

But Dodo did not wake up easily. The duke’s physician, the most famous councilors, priests, and even an astrologer were summoned, but there was no improvement.

He snapped.

“Your Excellency, this is Chief Wizard Bark.”

“……I’m leaving.”

As a last resort, Derek summoned the duke’s chief mage.

─Bang!

He threw the first duke’s relics onto the table with a flourish. He looked visibly angry.

“This is it. This rotten piece of stone attacked Dodo with a beam of light.”

“Yes? But magic stones don’t attack people unless they’re offensive magic tools.”

“Anyway, it glowed and fell. There must be some kind of connection.”

“Let me take a look.”

The Chief Wizard began to diagnose the First Duke’s magic stone with several tools.

“Magic stones don’t have a lifespan. They go dormant when the power infused into them is depleted, but they can be reactivated at any time by an infusion of magic.”

“So?”

“This magic stone was just activated from its dormant state, and that’s how it emitted the light.”

“Then…….”

“Yes. The magic stone was simply energized. Though it appears to have been stolen from the magic stone, technically.”

Derek glanced involuntarily at the bedroom door.

“Magic? Infusion? Light?

He wasn’t sure he understood correctly.

So…… that damned stone dared to absorb Dodo’s magic, and the disenchanted Dodo fell?

“But Dodo is not a mage. His brother is a mage.”

“If you have a mage in your family, so be it. It’s possible that you, Dodol, are a magic wielder.”

“……!”

Well, if you have a wizard in the family. I suppose you may be one of them.”

“……!”

Derek’s face lit up.

‘Dodo, the magic wielder…….’

This was a completely unexpected development.

The Kryant Empire captures all magic wielders and throws them into their infamous magic towers. Like Dodo’s brother. They usually spend ten to fifteen years there.

So will Dodo be going to the tower, too?

“No!

Derek turned pale and fed up. He couldn’t let this be the end of his life. Something had to be done.

“Do you know if infusing someone with magic-”

“Derek, you’re talking about trouble! If you do that, you’ll lose both of your lives!”

“…….”

Damn. Disguising ourselves as magic wielders and going in together is out of the question.

That leaves us with one option. Keep it between you and no one else.

“Why, why do you look at it that way?”

“…….”

The ‘two’, of course, did not include Chief Wizard Bark.

“Perhaps you should disappear.

Bloodshot eyes stared fiercely at the prey before him. It was easier to keep a secret than it was to destroy the secret itself.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊