Chapter 52
“Here we go again.”
Persha Duchy’s ever-loyal aide, Del, sighed deeply.
Until just a little while ago, Kainel had been eating well, regularly visiting a local stew shop. But recently, he’d stopped touching food altogether.
“What does he mean, the taste has changed?”
When Kainel abruptly stopped going to the stew shop he’d frequented almost daily, Del grew curious — only to hear that His Grace had complained that “the flavor was different.”
To be sure, Del had gone himself and tasted the stew, but he couldn’t find even a hint of difference.
He’d even made the head chef try it, but the man also shook his head — there was no change whatsoever.
“So the problem really was the person cooking, huh?”
It turned out that the owner — the one who had been preparing the dishes during Kainel’s visits — had recently left her position for a while.
And when Del found out she was now working as the temporary secretary to the Tower Master, he was completely floored.
“A secretary to the Tower Master, of all things…”
He didn’t know what kind of conversations had gone on between them, but he’d heard rumors that the Tower Master had been visiting that shop often. Had they grown close that way?
In any case, Del had spotted her again during the last Imperial Council meeting and tried to strike up a conversation—only to be met with despair when she said she wouldn’t be working at the shop anymore.
“Then where’s His Grace supposed to eat now?”
He barely managed to hold back that question.
“Advisor Del, Count Osselte Ellusia has arrived.”
“Ah! I’ll go greet him.”
At that moment, a servant approached to announce a scheduled visitor.
Hurrying to the mansion’s entrance, Del saw an elderly man step down from a carriage.
“Welcome, Lord Osselte.”
“Mm. Is His Grace the Grand Duke in?”
“He’s waiting for you.”
Del led him toward the study where Kainel was waiting.
Knock knock.
“Come in.”
When the two entered, they found Kainel surrounded by mountains of paperwork.
Even with a guest present, Kainel didn’t lift his eyes from the documents until Del gave a discreet cough. Then, finally, he rose from his seat.
“Sit.”
At Kainel’s gesture, Osselte took a seat, eyeing the young-looking Grand Duke with a peculiar expression.
He had heard plenty of rumors — but this was his first time seeing the man up close.
He looked no older than twenty, and yet Osselte knew well that the Grand Duke had lived for over three hundred years.
It felt a little strange, being addressed so casually by someone who looked like a youth.
“You want Aether, is that it?”
“That’s correct.”
Kainel went straight to the point without any small talk, and though Osselte flinched slightly at the abruptness, he soon smiled in satisfaction. He preferred men who didn’t waste time on meaningless pleasantries.
Aether.
A rare mineral — found only in the northern Persha Duchy.
It was more efficient than coal and thus one of the most sought-after fuel sources on the continent.
The problem was, the Persha Duchy had closed its borders for so long that the supply had been completely cut off.
Now that the Grand Duke had finally reappeared in the capital, Osselte thought this was the perfect chance to reopen trade with the North.
Though already rich beyond measure and well into his sixties, Osselte still personally involved himself in any business that could yield a great fortune.
Kainel, watching the spirited old man before him, tapped his fingers lightly against his desk.
“If you grant me the exclusive rights to Esolin, I’ll give you the exclusive rights to Aether.”
“Esolin, you say…”
Esolin was a type of grain — less glutinous than wheat. Some nations used it as a staple food, including the Kingdom of Katusha, which bordered closely with the Persha Duchy.
Although Katusha and the Empire were currently allies, they had fought long wars in the past and could easily turn against each other again.
“So he plans to use Esolin to pressure them.”
Two-thirds of all Esolin circulating on the continent came from the Devrika Empire.
And the one who held its trading monopoly was none other than Osselte Ellusia, who had come here today to negotiate.
“Very well.”
Judging that it was far from a losing deal, Osselte nodded in agreement.
“We can discuss the finer clauses when we draft the contract.”
“Agreed.”
Seeing that the discussion was wrapping up, Del served tea to both men.
“Please enjoy.”
“Thank you.”
Standing quietly beside Kainel, Del smiled faintly.
Now that the Grand Duke’s business was done — it was his turn to speak.
“I hear there’s been quite the development in House Ellusia recently.”
At his smooth remark, Osselte’s expression stiffened slightly.
“…You’re well-informed.”
“It’s no small event, after all — the emergence of a new head of house.”
It hadn’t yet been officially announced, but anyone in noble society already knew.
The head of the Ellusia family had changed.
Rumors were spreading quietly among the nobles that Crell, who had poisoned his master, would soon stand trial.
All the connections Crell had painstakingly built among the aristocracy were now abandoning him faster than anyone else.
“I can only imagine your shock when you learned the patriarch’s ring was a fake… Even I felt sick hearing it.”
“Haha, I’d heard the Persha Duchy’s intelligence network was impressive, but to know even that…”
Only a handful of people within the Ellusia family knew about the ring’s true nature — not even the rumor mills had reached that far.
Osselte’s eyes sharpened, wondering where such sensitive information had leaked, but Del kept his calm.
He couldn’t possibly serve Kainel if he cowered this easily.
Finally, with a sigh of defeat, Osselte spoke.
“There was someone who found and returned the real patriarch’s ring. If not for that person, it would’ve been difficult to convict Crell.”
If not for the testimony of the Fire Spirit King, Jubellios, the former patriarch’s death would have remained buried under suspicion forever.
“A benefactor, then. Someone from House Ellusia?”
“No. That’s the strange part…”
“What do you mean?”
Del leaned forward, curious — he hadn’t heard the full story either.
Kainel, however, didn’t even glance at them; he quietly sipped his tea, uninterested in the affairs of a minor noble house without Grace.
“The one who found the ring,” Osselte said slowly, “was the Tower Master’s temporary secretary.”
“…Temporary secretary?”
But at those words, Kainel immediately set his teacup down.
If it was that temporary secretary of the Tower Master’s, then—
“She… found the ring?”
Osselte’s eyes widened slightly at Kainel’s reaction.
That tone — unmistakably familiar.
They know each other? But how?
How could the Grand Duke and a mere temporary secretary possibly have any connection? There shouldn’t be a single thread linking them.
“Tell me everything about that day.”
“…Pardon?”
“From start to finish. Every detail.”
“…”
How bold, prying into another family’s affairs so openly.
Osselte’s mouth hung slightly open in disbelief.
But the silence didn’t last long.
“You owe me for this, Your Grace,” he said finally. “And remember — everything I’m about to tell you is strictly confidential.”
Kainel, who had shown barely any interest even while discussing monopolies worth astronomical sums, simply gave a nod — calm and unreadable.
If Osselte could make the Grand Duke owe him a favor, that alone made this a worthwhile exchange.
“We were in the middle of questioning Crell about the ring’s whereabouts,” Osselte began, “when suddenly, His Second Highness barged in…”
And with that, he began recounting in full detail what had happened that day.
