Chapter 55
“Actually, this townhouse was given to us by His Majesty, you know?”
└ [She really gave everything to him.]
It wasn’t strange for the Emperor to offer compensation for the Duke of Valent being unable to increase his wealth while out on the battlefield.
But the fairies kept adding a weird nuance to it—and now that I knew even Hestina was conscious of it, I couldn’t help but feel complicated myself…
“This time, the Duke staying in the capital is also to see His Majesty. He’s been so busy working, he didn’t have time before. He was focused on solidifying his position as Duke.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that.”
“His Majesty is the same. He needs someone by his side to support him. That’s why he called the Duke.”
└ [So he called him just to keep him close to his side?]
└ [No wonder Hestina feels defensive.]
By “by his side,” she didn’t mean physically right next to him, did she?!
The Emperor awarded the title of Duke to Valent, even risking backlash, because he needed a strong ally.
Maybe the purpose was to show everyone how stable and firm their relationship was.
“But then, why are you worried about the Duke?”
In response to my question, Hestina lowered her voice a little and said:
“Because the Duke listens to His Majesty too well.”
└ [The Duke, a natural-born loyal pup, at it again.]
└ [He listens to Rose too though, lol.]
└ [Maybe he just listens to everyone really well? LOL.]
Hmm, no.
In this context, “listens too well” didn’t sound like she was referring to someone who carefully considers reasonable opinions.
More like… a blindly obedient attitude rooted in loyalty.
└ [Ugh, that blind loyalty again LOL.]
└ [Makes me remember that first night story again 😭 LOL.]
└ [Father, please… no more.]
Now I understood why Hestina brought this up.
She was worried that someone who had risen to the rank of Duke still didn’t have independent opinions and merely followed others.
“I deeply respect His Majesty’s will too, but I can’t just blindly follow everything. But the Duke… I’m worried he might.”
“So what should we do?”
“Rose, can you stay by his side and say, ‘No!’ when something seems off?”
└ [Using Rose as the brakes, LOL.]
└ [Rose: No! / Duke: Yes, ma’am!]
└ [But seriously, is it okay to ask a five-year-old to do that?]
Of course, Hestina wasn’t seriously asking for my help. Just like with the dessert investigation before, she was trying to give me something to do.
If I think of it as a mission, it doesn’t feel like I owe her anything.
Understanding her heart, I replied cheerfully.
“Okay! I’ll watch the Duke from up close!”
But I’m not just any smart five-year-old, right?
Even if I haven’t met His Majesty directly often, I’ve heard a lot about him. I can guess what he might be thinking.
Maybe I could try bringing loyalty and reason into a head-to-head.
‘Especially since His Majesty might oppose Lady Hestina running a business from the duchy.’
If something like that happens, I’ll fully take Hestina’s side.
└ [Rose is securing stock in Mother’s name.]
└ [If she supported the other side, this would turn into a whole different genre.]
I don’t know about genres or whatever, but my future plans are on the line here!
I tucked away Hestina’s request neatly in my head. Now, I had something I wanted to ask her.
“Lady Hestina. What if there’s a bad person inside the Duke’s mansion?”
“A bad person?”
“Yes. Outside, you can report to the city guards, but they can’t just come into the Duke’s residence.”
“That’s true. There are the Duke and his knights, after all. Did something happen?”
I shook my head and replied lightly.
“No. Sir Kin said that since I’m often with the Duke, someone might try to get close to me with another motive.”
“Hm.”
Hestina seemed to fall into thought after hearing my words.
I wasn’t just referring to Kin. In the future, someone might try to cozy up to a maid for inside information.
“I should inform the head maid. Rose, if anything happens, go straight to her.”
“The head maid?”
“She’s someone who worked with the Linward family for a long time.”
Someone Hestina brought with her? Then she should be trustworthy.
Recalling the head maid’s warm demeanor, I nodded.
And so, with each of us carrying our own missions, we moved on to our next task.
The Next Day – Emperor’s Office
“Hahaha!”
The Emperor let out a loud laugh as he looked at Duke Valent seated across the table.
In the Emperor’s hand was a report from the Duke’s aide, Kin.
It might feel like surveillance that Kin reports the Duke’s activities to the Emperor—but the Duke had no objection.
Kin was dispatched by the Emperor from the beginning, and they shared the same goal of serving him.
“I underestimated you, Myers. The people of your domain say you’re a very kind lord, apparently?”
“…I believe it’s more of a talking point than actual praise.”
“That’s not a bad thing either. The more power behind words, the more real they become.”
If the Emperor had wanted Duke Valent to remain a figure of fear, he would’ve kept him as Commander of the Imperial Knights.
But he hadn’t wanted that. That’s why he made him a Duke.
What drew the Emperor’s attention now was the side of the Duke that was far from a war hero. Most notably, the child frequently seen with him.
“The kid followed you of her own accord? She’s got guts. Or maybe she’s just too young to know better.”
Kin had added this comment in the report about Rose: he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
It was a suspicious situation on the surface, yet everything the child had done after following the Duke had benefited him.
She’d softened his image and encouraged the young heir’s willingness to study.
“From an orphanage, huh…”
The Emperor paused in thought, then gave a meaningful smile.
Even if the Imperial Family supported orphanages directly, there were limits. But publicly showing support was a way to pressure other nobles into following suit.
He’d been pondering how to get greedy nobles to act, and now perhaps Duke Valent could be a giant advertisement for it.
“I should hold a party for guardians here at the palace.”
“A party, Your Majesty?”
“Yes. Now isn’t the time to enjoy peace, but to invest in the future. We need to create a stage for those raising talent of their own accord.”
Nobles hate being left out of big gatherings—they’d feel threatened.
A guardian party would promote the fostering of more talent among nobles and send the message that even commoners, if capable, could enter the palace.
At the center of that message would be Duke Valent.
“You should attend with the child too.”
“I’m not the child’s guardian. Baroness Hestina Evnil is.”
Even in front of the Emperor, Duke Valent’s inflexible personality came through.
Hestina worried he listened too well to the Emperor, but obedience and blind loyalty are different.
The Duke might appear compliant, but he was far from blind. He was so firm in his beliefs that not even the Emperor could sway him.
‘I kept him close because he’s different from those bootlickers who pretend to be stupid.’
But sometimes this obstinate side was frustrating.
The Emperor remembered arguing with him on the battlefield, each refusing to bend, and was about to rub his forehead—when the name from the Duke’s mouth caught his attention.
“Baroness Evnil? Ah, the young heir’s mother.”
He’d heard reports about her as well.
At first, he found her admirable for stepping down from the position of Duchess—but then surprised when she chose to stay by the Duke’s side.
That could’ve been off-putting, but she’d wisely taken a different surname from Linward.
The Emperor decided to keep an eye on her for now.
Anyway, this wasn’t the time to nitpick details like who the official guardian was. He returned his gaze to Duke Valent.
“Fine, fine. Then we’ll call it a ward’s party, not a guardian’s party. Just accompany the child as her protector.”
“…Understood.”
He thought Duke Valent had changed a bit, grown more suitable for his position—but clearly, some things hadn’t changed at all.
Where had that “kind and gentle Duke” image among the domain people even come from?
“Raise her well. What you show the world will influence many others. This event is part of that. I trust you’ll show a good example.”
Of course, the Emperor also wanted to see the rumors with his own eyes.
And so, a major new event was added to the schedules of Duke Valent and Rose.
└ [LOL, Father is just as stiff even in front of the Emperor.]
└ [The Emperor’s not bad, actually.]
└ [I was suspicious since so many emperors turn out villains, but this one’s… not terrible? Except the whole spying part.]
Maybe the fairies had gone off to visit their favorite ultimate authority figure again now that they were in the capital.
Suddenly, the comment fairies were full of praise for the Emperor.
‘What the—weren’t you all just saying you liked Lady Hestina before?’
└ [No no, we meant he’s fine as a character LOL.]
└ [We liked that he told the Duke to raise Rose, that was all.]
└ [We don’t wear filters, but Rose figured it out first 😭]
…See? It’s the fairies saying unnecessary things again!
From the way they talked, it seemed the comment fairies had followed the Duke into the palace and overheard something about me.
‘What exactly did His Majesty say…?’
└ [He said… he wants to see you.]
