“Giddy up.”

The farmer pulled on the reins of his horse and stopped the cart. At the same time, the man who had been lying on the pile of straw woke up.

“Mister, Are you sure this is the place?”

“Yeah, this is it.”

The man quickly jumped down from the cart and brushed off the straw from his coat.

He stretched out and looked at the castle that stood in front of him.

It was a beautiful structure with a big lake behind it and facing a bustling town. The walls of the outer castle surrounded it like a fortress, and the four spires rose high above it like they knew no sky.

“Thank you for the ride here, Old man.”

“It’s nothing; I was passing by it on my way home. Don’t worry about it.”

He bowed silently and pulled the reins for his horse to start walking again. The remaining man passed through the bridge over the deeply dug moat and stood in front of the castle drawbridge. 

A guard at the watchtower gave a hand signal to the gatekeeper to allow the man to come through, and soon the massive and heavy drawbridge began to descend slowly. The man who was staring at the river with a blank face started to walk across the bridge to the other side.

Rowena Philone. A girl who was the only niece he had, and some son of bitch was locking her up.

Moments later, a tall, blonde man with a slender figure came to meet him.

“Rodrick Dephons?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Genok. His Excellency’s personal assistant.” 

“Ah, I see. It’s nice to meet you.” 

Jeremy smiled and accepted the other man’s handshake. As they shook hands, Genok stared down at the man. He was a man who looked to be in his late thirties; he had messy brown hair and wore a shabby suit.

“I sent a carriage to bring you, sir.”

“Oh, it was uncomfortable, so I stopped a cart that was passing by and rode it.”

“Is this the luggage you brought with you?”

“Oh, yes.”

Jeremy nodded. What he was carrying was a light bag, too light to the point where it might be blown away.

Since he wouldn’t be staying long anyway, there was no need to bring many things.

“You are welcome to stay here. You can discuss the details with Miss Philone, and your contract will be for a period of six months, starting from today.”

Genok led Jeremy to his room without bothering to call a servant to do so. While Jeremy was admiring the comfortable, spacious room, Genok’s explanation continued.

“You will not run into his Excellency. You can do whatever you want in your free time outside of class, but you absolutely must not tell anyone what you see or hear here, whatever it is. I will write down a notarized memorandum for that.”

“Oh. You don’t have to worry about it. I have one life to live. Why would I do such a thing?”

His reply sounded strangely sharp. Genok thought it was strange, but he decided it was just a coincidence and changed the subject with a smile.

“Thank you; I’m glad you understand. Anyhow, I was worried about how to welcome you since you’re a famous writer, but I’m relieved that you made it.”

“You’re giving me too much credit. Even so, I am currently taking a break from writing and am in need of money.”

Jeremy sat down on the tall, soft bed and put his index finger and thumb together to make a circle. Genok doubted his eyes at the gesture, which explicitly means money.

Jeremy smirked and suddenly asked.

“By the way, I was also surprised at how young the Duke’s assistant is. You seem to be quite skilled.”

“What?”

“You look about 29 years old. Am I right?”

“…Yes, I am.”

Startled, Genok nodded. He had often been told by people that he looked much older than his actual age.

Jeremy shrugged his shoulders and spoke while yawning.

“I’m so tired. Do you mind if I take a shower and take a nap?”