After Nicole Tesis left, I called the butler and asked him to buy me a train ticket to Martina's estate.
It was to return to the ducal residence in the Duchy of Leopold.
“Can I buy two first-class tickets?”
I asked in return whether Perdes was also returning.
Well, let's go back together for now.
Because I need someone to take over for me while I'm in the basement.
“Let’s do that.”
The butler was out, taking care of things that needed to be done before returning to the duchy when Perdes returned.
It was late afternoon and the sun was slowly setting outside the window.
“Count Tesis was right.”
Perdes said, plopping down on the sofa opposite me.
“The bracelet was procured by Count Smith instead.”
“Where did Count Smith buy that bracelet?”
“He bought it at Eclair.”
Eclair was a shop specializing in custom magic accessories and operated by appointment only.
“What’s even more interesting is that the Count of Smith pre-ordered that magic bracelet from Eclair two months ago.”
“Are you saying you were going to give it to someone else?”
“That may be so, or it may have been intended as a birthday present for you.”
Oh, that could be possible since it coincides with my birthday two months ago.
By the way, did Count Smith send me a birthday present?
I received gifts from so many people that I can't remember.
If he did send it, I might want to check to see if the gift has been enchanted with something weird like eavesdropping magic.
“Where are you going?”
As I stood up, Perdes stood up as well and asked.
“I was just checking the gift ledger to see if the Count of Smith had sent me a birthday present.”
“Oh, then you don’t need to check that. That guy didn’t send you a birthday present.”
“How do you know that, Perdes?”
I, the recipient of the birthday present, don't remember, so I asked him why he knew, and Perdes answered with a smirk.
“How would I know? I know because I saw the gift ledger before. You were the one who saw it at the same time.”
When he says I saw it too, I mean when I entered the birthday gifts that came into the ledger.
It was surprising that he still remembered something that happened a month ago, and that I only glanced at it briefly.
“I guess Count Smith was going to send you the bracelet as a birthday present, but for some reason, he couldn’t, so he tried to give it to you through Count Tesis.”
I nodded as I sat back down.
“Then I should check the gifts that came from other Imperialist nobles. They might have used strange tricks like Count Smith.”
Perdes also sat down again and answered.
“I’ll do that. You have other things to do.”
“If you do that, I would appreciate it.”
As he said, there are many other things to do.
It was more certain that I would leave it to Perdes rather than check it myself since I am ignorant of magic.
“Thanks to you, Perdes, I was able to tell right away that the bracelet was wiretapped. Thank you so much.”
“No. I’m glad it helped.”
Perdes scratched his cheek, feeling a little embarrassed.
“Then let’s return to Leopold’s duchy tomorrow.”
I was going to leave Perdes in the capital, but then changed my mind and decided to go with him. It was an excellent choice.
“Ah. There’s a place I want to go before returning to the dukedom.”
“Where?”
“Can I ask you one thing before you answer?”
“Of course.”
“Was your father, the late Duke Leopold, by any chance a man skilled in magic or well-versed in it?”
Why are you suddenly asking this?
It was a bit out of the blue, but it wasn't a difficult question, so I answered right away.
“I don’t know if my father was good at magic, but he wasn’t very good at it.”
Now that I think about it, my father wasn't really that knowledgeable about magic.
Whenever he had to do something related to magic, he would ask the wizards about this and that because he didn't know anything.
Perdes' expression became even more serious after hearing my answer.
“Really? Then what the heck is it?”
“What's the problem?”
“It’s not that there’s a problem, it’s the locking magic circle that was hanging on that drawer. It was an ancient magic circle that has now disappeared.”
“Ancient magic circle?”
Perdes nodded and continued.
“The magic circles that are widely used today are simply more convenient adaptations of ancient magic circles. Ancient magic circles are effective, but they require a lot of mana, so they had many problems with commercialization.”
“But, you say that ancient magic circle is hanging in my father’s drawer?”
“That’s right. I don’t know how old that ancient magic circle is, but it’s been over 500 years since it was last used.”
500 years. It was a long time, even just hearing it.
How did my father know about the magic circle that disappeared 500 years ago?
No. The person who knew that wasn't my father, but the wizard who put a locking spell on the drawer.
“The ancient magic circle is as difficult to cast as it is to remove. The Master said that it is impossible for anyone other than the person involved.”
“My father always hired a magician from the Magic Tower, so you can ask the Magic Tower about that.”
To prevent magic from being used in strange places, the magicians of the Magic Tower had to keep detailed records of when, where, and what magic they used.
So there must be a record of the wizard who put a locking spell on my father's drawer.
“I already asked, but there wasn’t any.”
“Huh? That’s possible.”
“I thought it was strange too, so I asked several times, but there was nothing.”
If what Perdes said was true, there were two possibilities.
Or maybe they missed the record on the magic tower.
Or maybe my father hired an unlicensed wizard who wasn't registered with the Magic Tower.
“That’s why I asked.”
I'm having trouble deciding which one to go with.
“I have a suspicion that perhaps the late Duke Leopold himself drew the magic circle on the drawer.”
"Yes?"
I let out a small laugh at the absurd remark that came out.
“That can’t be. I bet my father didn’t even know what an ancient magic circle was.”
“That’s true. I didn’t know that either until I asked the teacher.”
Perdes nodded as if agreeing with what I said.
“Then I should go to the Magic Tower and find out what’s going on.”
I heard there was a place he wanted to visit before returning to the Duke's territory. It must be Magic Tower.
I was curious about the magic circle too, so I wanted to send it to him, but there was something I had to do first.
“I’m sorry, but you can go to the Magic Tower next time, and this time, you can return to the Dukedom with me. There’s something I want to ask of you, Perdes.”
“Really? Then I should go back.”
I thought he was going to ask me what was wrong and if it was urgent, but instead he answered right away, leaving me a bit flustered and my eyes wide open.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Aren’t you curious about what I’m asking you to do?”
"Curious."
“But why don’t you ask?”
“You’ll tell me everything without me having to ask.”
That's... that's right.
“And from what I’ve experienced so far, you don’t always answer everything I ask, so I’ve decided to wait until you tell me first.”
The strangely resigned tone of voice brought about a feeling of apology.
"Sorry."
“What is there to be sorry about? It’s good that you are so careful. And I...”
His voice suddenly dropped, and he quickly turned his head and stood up.
“Oh, it’s hot.”
And he fanned himself with his hand and tried to avoid the trouble.
At first glance, his earlobes and neckline were visible and red.
“It’s only March and it’s already this hot. This summer is going to be incredibly hot.”
“..."
“Oh, you said you were leaving tomorrow, right? Then I should get ready quickly. I’ll go pack my bags first.”
Perdes didn't even look at me, just said what he wanted to say quickly, and then went out.
I'm also a bit dizzy because of the words he poured out.
What really broke my heart was what he said when his voice suddenly dropped.
“I like you like that...”
“...”
For some reason, I lowered my head, covering my burning face.
In times like these, my superior physical abilities compared to most people were of little help.
The day after returning to the dukedom.
I took my 30-minute hourglass and my pocket watch and went into the basement of the Duke's residence.
The dark hallway and the room reminiscent of a study were the same as before.
Even the blood-written writing believed to have been written by Chernosser was still there.
“I guess I’ll have to erase that later.”
Not only was it ugly, but it also smelled bad.
I also didn't like the blood in Chernosser.
Before I started working in earnest, I checked my pocket watch.
“It stopped.”
It had been working fine before I entered the basement, but now the clock hands were ticking.
Surely an hourglass wouldn't work either?
I was worried, but fortunately, the hourglass worked properly.
“I have to leave when the hourglass has made one full rotation.”
Since the given time was only about an hour, not a single second could be wasted.
“Let’s go there first.”
I've never been there before.
A sacred place that only Duke Leopold may enter.
I placed the upside-down hourglass on the table and looked around.
But nowhere was there any visible door leading to another place.
Could this be the place?
That can't be. There's only one way in here. There's no other way.
Convinced that there must be a hidden secret passage, I carefully examined the walls and bookshelves.
"There is."
Finally, I found a small, round gap in the wall that would fit the Duke's ring, so I put the ring in there.
Knock, knock-
Then, with a loud noise, the wall in front of me split in two.
It was to return to the ducal residence in the Duchy of Leopold.
“Can I buy two first-class tickets?”
I asked in return whether Perdes was also returning.
Well, let's go back together for now.
Because I need someone to take over for me while I'm in the basement.
“Let’s do that.”
The butler was out, taking care of things that needed to be done before returning to the duchy when Perdes returned.
It was late afternoon and the sun was slowly setting outside the window.
“Count Tesis was right.”
Perdes said, plopping down on the sofa opposite me.
“The bracelet was procured by Count Smith instead.”
“Where did Count Smith buy that bracelet?”
“He bought it at Eclair.”
Eclair was a shop specializing in custom magic accessories and operated by appointment only.
“What’s even more interesting is that the Count of Smith pre-ordered that magic bracelet from Eclair two months ago.”
“Are you saying you were going to give it to someone else?”
“That may be so, or it may have been intended as a birthday present for you.”
Oh, that could be possible since it coincides with my birthday two months ago.
By the way, did Count Smith send me a birthday present?
I received gifts from so many people that I can't remember.
If he did send it, I might want to check to see if the gift has been enchanted with something weird like eavesdropping magic.
“Where are you going?”
As I stood up, Perdes stood up as well and asked.
“I was just checking the gift ledger to see if the Count of Smith had sent me a birthday present.”
“Oh, then you don’t need to check that. That guy didn’t send you a birthday present.”
“How do you know that, Perdes?”
I, the recipient of the birthday present, don't remember, so I asked him why he knew, and Perdes answered with a smirk.
“How would I know? I know because I saw the gift ledger before. You were the one who saw it at the same time.”
When he says I saw it too, I mean when I entered the birthday gifts that came into the ledger.
It was surprising that he still remembered something that happened a month ago, and that I only glanced at it briefly.
“I guess Count Smith was going to send you the bracelet as a birthday present, but for some reason, he couldn’t, so he tried to give it to you through Count Tesis.”
I nodded as I sat back down.
“Then I should check the gifts that came from other Imperialist nobles. They might have used strange tricks like Count Smith.”
Perdes also sat down again and answered.
“I’ll do that. You have other things to do.”
“If you do that, I would appreciate it.”
As he said, there are many other things to do.
It was more certain that I would leave it to Perdes rather than check it myself since I am ignorant of magic.
“Thanks to you, Perdes, I was able to tell right away that the bracelet was wiretapped. Thank you so much.”
“No. I’m glad it helped.”
Perdes scratched his cheek, feeling a little embarrassed.
“Then let’s return to Leopold’s duchy tomorrow.”
I was going to leave Perdes in the capital, but then changed my mind and decided to go with him. It was an excellent choice.
“Ah. There’s a place I want to go before returning to the dukedom.”
“Where?”
“Can I ask you one thing before you answer?”
“Of course.”
“Was your father, the late Duke Leopold, by any chance a man skilled in magic or well-versed in it?”
Why are you suddenly asking this?
It was a bit out of the blue, but it wasn't a difficult question, so I answered right away.
“I don’t know if my father was good at magic, but he wasn’t very good at it.”
Now that I think about it, my father wasn't really that knowledgeable about magic.
Whenever he had to do something related to magic, he would ask the wizards about this and that because he didn't know anything.
Perdes' expression became even more serious after hearing my answer.
“Really? Then what the heck is it?”
“What's the problem?”
“It’s not that there’s a problem, it’s the locking magic circle that was hanging on that drawer. It was an ancient magic circle that has now disappeared.”
“Ancient magic circle?”
Perdes nodded and continued.
“The magic circles that are widely used today are simply more convenient adaptations of ancient magic circles. Ancient magic circles are effective, but they require a lot of mana, so they had many problems with commercialization.”
“But, you say that ancient magic circle is hanging in my father’s drawer?”
“That’s right. I don’t know how old that ancient magic circle is, but it’s been over 500 years since it was last used.”
500 years. It was a long time, even just hearing it.
How did my father know about the magic circle that disappeared 500 years ago?
No. The person who knew that wasn't my father, but the wizard who put a locking spell on the drawer.
“The ancient magic circle is as difficult to cast as it is to remove. The Master said that it is impossible for anyone other than the person involved.”
“My father always hired a magician from the Magic Tower, so you can ask the Magic Tower about that.”
To prevent magic from being used in strange places, the magicians of the Magic Tower had to keep detailed records of when, where, and what magic they used.
So there must be a record of the wizard who put a locking spell on my father's drawer.
“I already asked, but there wasn’t any.”
“Huh? That’s possible.”
“I thought it was strange too, so I asked several times, but there was nothing.”
If what Perdes said was true, there were two possibilities.
Or maybe they missed the record on the magic tower.
Or maybe my father hired an unlicensed wizard who wasn't registered with the Magic Tower.
“That’s why I asked.”
I'm having trouble deciding which one to go with.
“I have a suspicion that perhaps the late Duke Leopold himself drew the magic circle on the drawer.”
"Yes?"
I let out a small laugh at the absurd remark that came out.
“That can’t be. I bet my father didn’t even know what an ancient magic circle was.”
“That’s true. I didn’t know that either until I asked the teacher.”
Perdes nodded as if agreeing with what I said.
“Then I should go to the Magic Tower and find out what’s going on.”
I heard there was a place he wanted to visit before returning to the Duke's territory. It must be Magic Tower.
I was curious about the magic circle too, so I wanted to send it to him, but there was something I had to do first.
“I’m sorry, but you can go to the Magic Tower next time, and this time, you can return to the Dukedom with me. There’s something I want to ask of you, Perdes.”
“Really? Then I should go back.”
I thought he was going to ask me what was wrong and if it was urgent, but instead he answered right away, leaving me a bit flustered and my eyes wide open.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Aren’t you curious about what I’m asking you to do?”
"Curious."
“But why don’t you ask?”
“You’ll tell me everything without me having to ask.”
That's... that's right.
“And from what I’ve experienced so far, you don’t always answer everything I ask, so I’ve decided to wait until you tell me first.”
The strangely resigned tone of voice brought about a feeling of apology.
"Sorry."
“What is there to be sorry about? It’s good that you are so careful. And I...”
His voice suddenly dropped, and he quickly turned his head and stood up.
“Oh, it’s hot.”
And he fanned himself with his hand and tried to avoid the trouble.
At first glance, his earlobes and neckline were visible and red.
“It’s only March and it’s already this hot. This summer is going to be incredibly hot.”
“..."
“Oh, you said you were leaving tomorrow, right? Then I should get ready quickly. I’ll go pack my bags first.”
Perdes didn't even look at me, just said what he wanted to say quickly, and then went out.
I'm also a bit dizzy because of the words he poured out.
What really broke my heart was what he said when his voice suddenly dropped.
“I like you like that...”
“...”
For some reason, I lowered my head, covering my burning face.
In times like these, my superior physical abilities compared to most people were of little help.
***
The day after returning to the dukedom.
I took my 30-minute hourglass and my pocket watch and went into the basement of the Duke's residence.
The dark hallway and the room reminiscent of a study were the same as before.
Even the blood-written writing believed to have been written by Chernosser was still there.
“I guess I’ll have to erase that later.”
Not only was it ugly, but it also smelled bad.
I also didn't like the blood in Chernosser.
Before I started working in earnest, I checked my pocket watch.
“It stopped.”
It had been working fine before I entered the basement, but now the clock hands were ticking.
Surely an hourglass wouldn't work either?
I was worried, but fortunately, the hourglass worked properly.
“I have to leave when the hourglass has made one full rotation.”
Since the given time was only about an hour, not a single second could be wasted.
“Let’s go there first.”
I've never been there before.
A sacred place that only Duke Leopold may enter.
I placed the upside-down hourglass on the table and looked around.
But nowhere was there any visible door leading to another place.
Could this be the place?
That can't be. There's only one way in here. There's no other way.
Convinced that there must be a hidden secret passage, I carefully examined the walls and bookshelves.
"There is."
Finally, I found a small, round gap in the wall that would fit the Duke's ring, so I put the ring in there.
Knock, knock-
Then, with a loud noise, the wall in front of me split in two.
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