Chapter 12
Not long after Deus left, Karlos called for Dewey.
At his master’s summons, Dewey immediately set aside what he was doing and hurried over, bowing politely.
“You called, Master?”
“Soon, the pigeons will be visiting here.”
“Pigeons” was a crude nickname for priests.
Just like pigeons, symbols of peace that dirty streets and spread disease, priests were called this because, while they preached peace publicly, they secretly carried out all sorts of misdeeds.
It wasn’t unusual for the Temple to send priests to the Esper territory under pretexts like blessings, rituals, or aid for the poor.
In the past, they had even made the absurd claim that they wanted to build a temple within the Esper territory, which had made Karlos furious.
Naturally, any priestly visit from the Temple had always been refused.
But now they were supposedly coming? Dewey looked confused.
“Have you allowed their visit?”
Karlos snorted.
“As if I would ever do something like that.”
Dewey nodded, silently agreeing.
“Then how do they plan to come here?”
Even with the Temple’s power, entering a lord’s territory without permission was impossible.
Unless they pushed it under the guise of the Pope’s will—but that wouldn’t work on the Esper family.
Seeing Dewey’s puzzled expression, Karlos raised an eyebrow, as if even he found the situation strange.
“You really know nothing, do you?”
“Excuse me?”
Indeed, Dewey didn’t know. If he had, he would have already asked Karlos what to do.
“Earlier, Deus brought the newspaper published by the Temple.”
“Deus…?”
“Yes. There was an article about me and Lady Irene. The headline read: [The Loser of the North, Bewitched by a Witch.]”
Dewey let out a hollow laugh, having guessed the content from the headline alone.
“They really tried everything to sneak into the Esper territory. I wonder what they’ll do when the truth comes out…”
“They’ll probably shift the blame. The article wasn’t published by the main temple, after all.”
“But the priests coming here will pretend to belong to the main temple. More accurately, they’ll be the Pope’s lapdogs posing as branch temple affiliates.”
Karlos confirmed this with silence.
“I don’t know their real reason for insisting on coming, but the stated reason is probably to verify whether Lady Irene is a witch or not… Hmph.”
Dewey frowned, imagining the worst.
“You must refuse them. You have to stop those pigeons from entering the Esper territory and meeting with Lady Irene, Master.”
“I could stop them, but the backlash would be severe.”
Rumors in the Empire already painted the Grand Duke of Esper as someone who enjoyed slaughter, had monster blood, and other frightening things.
If Karlos ignored the witch allegations, the Temple would surely seize the opportunity to incite the Empire’s citizens.
Then the royal family could no longer remain neutral, and as Karlos had made pacts with them, he would have no choice but to comply with their request.
“A small spark can grow into a flame that burns down the whole house. Better to suppress it early.”
“That may be true… but I’m worried they’ll disrespect Lady Irene. They might try to brainwash her, tell her to flee, or worse.”
“We’ll make sure they can’t.”
Despite his calm tone, Karlos tapped his fingers nervously on the desk.
“Prepare to receive the pigeons. They’ll appear within two weeks at the latest.”
“Understood.”
“Also, tell Deus to enforce strict security.”
“….”
Dewey hesitated at this additional order, and Karlos clicked his tongue.
“When will they reconcile? A hundred years seems like more than enough time for reconciliation.”
Dewey fiddled with the long silver chain of his monocle.
“I’d like to reconcile too, but that one refuses. Understandably so—he’s the one I almost killed…”
“You weren’t trying to kill him, were you?”
“But he almost died because of me. Actually… he did die once.”
Recalling events from long ago, Dewey sighed softly and lowered his head.
“So, I apologize, but I’d like someone else to deliver messages to him.”
“No. You’ll do it.”
Karlos insisted.
“As you said, meeting often will help them grow close faster.”
Dewey forced a smile.
“That only works if there are no hard feelings. In this situation, frequent meetings might do more harm than good, as you know, Master.”
“….”
Struck at the truth of Dewey’s words, Karlos remained silent.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Even after Dewey departed, Karlos stayed in the room for some time.
“It’s because of you.”
Old memories flashed past like a slideshow. His fingers tapped faster on the desk.
“Because of you… that child…!”
Bang!
Karlos lightly struck the desk, stood up, and moved to the window. Darkness had already fallen across the sky.
He stared at the dim, cloudy sky, unable to even see the moon halo, when he sensed movement below.
“….”
There was Irene, strolling in the garden with Jesse. She had promised to take walks after dinner, and she kept her word.
Karlos perched on the windowsill, silently watching her.
Unaware, Irene wandered slowly until she suddenly crouched near the base of the castle wall. Pointing at something with her slender fingers, she smiled at Jesse.
“….”
Seeing her, Karlos recalled her bright smile in the dining hall as she hugged the book.
If he gave her other books, she would likely smile like that again.
“…He’s crazy.”
Why am I watching her smile like this?
Feeling foolish for thinking such things, Karlos chuckled quietly and stood up. Even so, his gaze stayed fixed on Irene talking and laughing with Jesse.
Soon, the moon peeked through the clouds, casting a radiant glow over her head.
“Thank you for lending me the book.”
It was the second day since Irene had received the etiquette book from Karlos that she returned it.
“Did you only read the part about table manners?”
“No, I read it all.”
“Already?”
The book was thick, containing not only table manners but also social etiquette for nobles.
Yet Irene had finished it in two days, and when Karlos expressed disbelief, she gave an embarrassed smile.
“Yes. I had a lot of time, so I read it quickly. And… may I… read another book?”
Irene cautiously glanced at Karlos before asking.
How afraid of me must she be to even peek at my reaction when asking something like that?
Karlos sighed inwardly, realizing how far he still had to go.
“Very well. What book would you like to read?”
Before Irene could answer, he continued:
“No, I’ll just give you the key to the library. Go and read whatever you like.”
Irene’s eyes widened at the unexpected offer.
“Really?”
Karlos nodded, and her face immediately lit up, her rosy cheeks like ripe peaches.
“Thank you!”
She truly loved books.
Karlos felt a quiet pride, as if he had slightly opened the tightly shut door to her heart—but at the same time, it annoyed him like a thorn in his throat.
He didn’t know exactly why.
Since arriving at Esper Castle, Irene’s daily routine had been simple.
She would wake up, have breakfast, walk, eat lunch, walk again, and eat dinner.
At first, she walked often to familiarize herself with the castle and secretly find a way to escape—but now that was unnecessary.
She had realized it was impossible to sneak out of the fortress-like castle.
Yet she continued walking, mostly because she had nothing else to do. Honestly, it was even more boring than being confined at home.
So when Karlos gave her a book, she was delighted. Finally, she had something to do.
After finishing the book, she felt a little sad, but now she had the library key—something she treated like a precious treasure, placing it carefully in a drawer.
Before bed, she checked if the key was there several times, and in the morning, it was the first thing she looked for.
“….”
Her eyes curved with happiness when she saw the key, her lips forming a small smile.
“Are you really that happy to have the library key?”
Irene nodded eagerly, and Jesse shrugged, as if to say she couldn’t be stopped.
“You’re probably the only one who would be that happy to get the library key.”
“Is that strange?”
“Not strange, just unusual.”
Jesse brushed Irene’s long hair with a paddle brush.
“You’re also the first to ask Master for the library key. Usually, when asked what they want, people request money or jewels.”
“They didn’t ask me what I wanted.”
Karlos had merely asked if she liked books and said she could read as much as she wished. Then he gave her the library key.
“Then if Master asked you what you wanted, would you ask for money or jewels?”
“….”
No, that wasn’t it, so Irene stayed silent. Jesse smiled knowingly and braided her hair neatly.
“As the weather gets colder, tell Master you’d like new clothes.”
“No. What I have now is already too much.”
Irene’s dress room attached to her bedroom was full of clothes and accessories.
When Jesse said all of it was hers, Irene had been stunned.
But she couldn’t possibly ask Karlos for new clothes—it felt too bold.
“Still, the current wardrobe is thin spring and autumn wear. It might be too cold for winter.”
“Layering makes it warm.”
For a commoner like her, thick cotton or fur coats were luxury. Until now, she had layered clothes to survive the cold.
“Still, it might look ridiculous.”
“Really?”
“Of course. So you should ask Master for winter clothes.”
Of course, she didn’t actually need Karlos’ permission—he had effectively already approved it. But Jesse suggested this so Irene could grow closer to Karlos.
The hands tying ribbons at the ends of the braid paused. Jesse’s lips curved slightly downward, and her red-tinged eyes trembled.
“Jesse?”
Seeing Jesse act oddly in the mirror, Irene called her.
“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something else.”
Jesse smiled as if nothing happened, finishing the ribbon neatly and draping a cashmere shawl over Irene’s small shoulders.
“All ready. Shall we head to the library?”
