Two days later, Alseid gave a brief greeting to the King and departed for Halias.
He didn't bother to tell the King, but he planned to stop by the Temple of Spenta to look at the earthen spirit stone.
'A very small piece fell off, so I must have kept it.'
The amber spirit stone, called the "stone of earth," was usually sealed and stored in the temple.
It was because of its symbolic meaning, such as the existence of the 'Eternal Flame' in the Temple of Verbti.
However, the priest who greeted him said with a puzzled face.
"Your Excellency, what should you do if you are walking in vain? Please contact us before you come. The spirit stone has been kept in the royal palace for some time."
"Why is that?"
The priest was confused.
"Well, we don't know the exact reason... Maybe it's because the minister has kept his place."
Alseid furrowed his brows.
"Is the minister in his hospital bed?"
"Oh, didn't you know? He collapsed from shock after Meridy Castle was destroyed by fire, but he is not recovering easily due to his old age..."
If the spirit stone kept in the temple was used in Meridy's fire, the high priest could have preserved his seat and lay down.
Although the Grand Ministers used their divine power to seal the stones, the ownership of the Spirit Stones clearly belonged to the royal family.
'Is the minister responsible?'
Alseid asked again to confirm.
"Since when have the spirit stones been kept in the royal palace?"
"I remember it was right after the Great Minister's collapse. The country was in turmoil due to the news of Meridy, so I don't know the exact context."
Regardless of the royal family. If the spirit stone was lost in the temple, the King's shameless attitude can be understood.
He doesn't think they knew about this, but he can't blame them even if they covered it up to prevent confusion.
There is already a lot of chaos about Meridy's work, and if even the spirit stone of the earth is broken, the public will be excited.
'Should I go back to the palace and say I'm going to see the Spirit Stone?'
Alseid thought about it, but if he did, he would look suspicious.
The royal family must be investigating the whole story about the Spirit Stone.
The Hierarch helped Alseid decide.
"Your Excellency. If you are not in a hurry, you will be able to see the Spirit Stone at the Spenta Feast opening event next year."
Ah, the Feast of the Spenta...
In the summer, when the feast of Spenta, the god of earth, returned, the royal family held a grand festival every five years to open the spirit stone to the public.
"Next year is already the year of the holiday."
"Yes, or shall I send a message to the royal family saying that the Grand Duke has come?"
The sincere but savvy Hierarch didn't even seem to see which side Alseid came from.
Alseid laughed softly.
"No, please don't. Don't worry about it because I just stopped by on my way. By the way, if you go back to the main castle, I will send you a winter chamomile that only grows on the north wall. It has a calming effect, so please give it to the high minister and drink it as a tea."
The priest greeted him warmly.
"I wish you all eternity of Halias."
***
"Young Master."
About a week after Alseid left for the palace, the deacon, Fabian, came to visit Caliph.
Caliph responded without taking his eyes off the documents he was looking at.
"Fabian."
"An official from the southern village comes to see the lord. I listened to him and tried to send him back, but what should I do if he felt like he was rooted under his feet? Even if he was already accused of blasphemy against the nobility, he stayed for a long time, so that I had nothing to say."
He finally raised his eyes and saw the butler.
"What are you here for?"
"It's a complaint that the manor manager doesn't keep a proper collection record."
Caliph tilted his head for a moment and then answered.
"...Let's meet him."
The butler added disapprovingly.
"Those who don't know how to read properly will not have enough evidence. His speech is also poor."
Of course it will.
Caliph simply nodded.
After a while, a man dressed in a shabby outfit came into the reception room.
Caliph nodded slightly to him and said.
"His Excellency is on the road, so if you have anything to say, let me do it."
"... Yes."
The man hesitantly pulled out a tattered ledger.
"My lord. No matter how ignorant I am, I won't make any evidence by stealing money from my neighbors? Even if I don't know all the letters, I can still recognize them. But the manager of the manor said he would never recognize me, so I was angry."
When Caliph looked at the ledger that the man was holding out, it was true that it was hard to recognize because it was a series of numbers like a cipher.
He quickly explained.
"That... Since I don't know how to write all the names, I drew a rough sketch of the cultivated land and numbered it and divided it into sections."
Caliph looked up at the man in front of him with new eyes.
"I can recognize it."
"I also recorded the date and amount of rent. Look, my lord."
Caliph opened some ledgers and looked at the man again.
"But the payment details are missing?"
"Yes! That is, it makes some sense! I believed that the lord, or even the little lord, would listen."
"If the manor manager submits a record, the butler must have it as well. Will you wait while you compare the records? Or should you see it with your own eyes?"
He muttered to himself.
"If you know what I see, what's the problem? I think you will take care of it, and I will wait outside."
After the man left, Caliph rummaged through the shelves in one corner of the room.
Based on the records submitted by the manor manager, there will be a final version remade by the butler.
However, his father was not involved in the collection, so it was a little difficult to find.
He was thinking about calling Fabian back when he found the ledger in the corner of the top shelf of the book.
'Here it is.'
When he took out the ledger, he saw a scroll hanging over it at an angle.
'What is that?'
Caliph first searched the ledger and compared it with the man's record.
And only after confirming that there was actually a difference in the numbers did he summon Fabian in.
"Look here, there is no name, but judging from the location of the cultivated land, it's the same furniture, isn't it? The manor official must have recorded it incorrectly."
"...Oh dear. It's not just one or two, it's a pure scam."
"I'll compensate him for the food expenses that would have cost him to get here, the daily wages for a few days that he would have lost because of it, and the consolation money. We also gave him a new one. I'll keep a record of the manor's management so that my father can see it."
"...I'm sorry that I couldn't solve it on my own, Master. He didn't open his mouth to me."
Caliph added seriously.
"I think he was sad that he was ignored. Oh, and I'll give him a good meal."
After sending Fabian away, Caliph looked at the scroll again.
'I can't touch my father's things without permission...'
However, he found it while looking for a ledger, not just looking for it.
'It looks like a painting, so it might be a portrait of my mother.'
So he took out the scroll.
It didn't have a single speck of dust on it, as if it had been unwrapped recently.
When the luxurious ribbon was untied, a portrait really appeared.
It was definitely not his mother's Grand Duchess.
A portrait of his mother, who had dazzling blond hair, hangs in the cloister, but Caliph was the son who remembered his mother most accurately among the three brothers.
He saw his mother until he was thirteen.
However, the woman in the painting had eyes as red as maternal milk and hair that shone like coral.
Cecilia Le Meridy.
She was the only pyromancer Caliph knew and Liana's biological mother.
Caliph stared blankly at the large portraits that were exchanged during the talks.
***
I had been told that I was the third genius of Halias, but it was too much for me to keep up with Shion in subjects that I had never studied in my previous life, such as Tudmour, etiquette, and art.
In order not to bother Shion, I had no choice but to review it while I was alone, and Dorian found it so moving.
"You have been reading books by yourself since you were three years old, and your master will be proud when he comes back and sees you."
Is that true?
Shion must have been reading since he was three years old.
Unlike me, who has all sorts of reasons, he's a real genius.
I didn't know my speed, and Dorian squirmed.
"Then, I am withdrawn because I am in the way."
Before I could catch her, the nanny left, and I continued to study so as not to disturb Shion, who was a real genius.
Soon, I heard a knock.
Knock.
I thought it was Shion, but for some reason, Caliph came to visit.
"...brother?"
I looked up and tilted my head, but Caliph, who had been behaving for a while, didn't smile for some reason.
Seeing that expressionless face, I was scared.
'Huh, have you finally come to your senses...!'
Yes... The Caliph originally hated me.
It was the same in my previous life, and he hated me when I first came here.
I was surprised for a moment when I saw how he handled the fireworks, but almost two months have passed since then, so maybe he has lost his footing.
'Or did you notice something suspicious about me? Oh, I should have been a little more stupid in class...'
Somehow, I always regret taking classes with Shion.
I closed the book with tears of blood in my heart.
Then, with the most silly smile I could, I ran over and hugged Caliph's legs tightly.
"Brother, are you coming to play with Nyana?"
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