Side Story 1. A Story Nobody Knows
Roderick Weishaffen closed the file with a grim expression and placed it on his desk. It was a thin and sparse report, a far cry from the research of a secret agent of the Duke's family over a year.
Even if he checked again, there was no way the amount of poor content would suddenly increase, but he was already so worried that he read it over and over again that he could memorize every sentence.
“Is this the end of the information we can find out?”
“...I’m sorry, Your Excellency.”
At Roderick's deeply worried sigh, the spy, who had not appeared before the Duke in nearly two years, lowered his head as if embarrassed.
As an experienced spy, he thought he had a knack for tracking down people and gathering information, but even for him, this long and arduous mission proved incredibly difficult.
This was because the subjects of the investigation were people who had little interaction with the outside world.
“I’m not blaming you. You did your best.”
At his subordinate's apology, Roderick sighed softly and patted his shoulder. Just because the results weren't satisfactory, he couldn't ignore the time and effort he'd put in.
“Do you still have questions? Perhaps you doubt the Princess’s identity...?”
“...That’s not it. That child is definitely our Aila.”
The spy spoke cautiously, but Roderick cut him off without a moment's hesitation.
The moment he first saw the child, having run a long way, he immediately recognized her as his and Ophelia's daughter. It wasn't just a hunch.
Still, to be sure, he secretly requested a paternity test from the National Magic Academy of the Republic of Tamora and received the results confirming that he was indeed the father.
If rumors of Aila's true identity began to circulate in high society, he planned to reveal it to the world. She was undoubtedly the lost Princess of the Duke of Weishaffen.
At Roderick's confident answer, the spy hesitated and stared at the floor. If he was so certain he was her biological daughter, he wanted to ask why he had kept him in the countryside for over a year.
Of course, he and Roderick weren't close enough to have such candid conversations, so he had to keep it to himself.
“You’ve worked hard. You’ve been through a lot, so get some rest for a while.”
Whether or not he knew his intentions, Roderick smiled faintly and expressed his gratitude for his subordinate's efforts. It was a subtle order for him to retreat.
“Yes, Your Excellency. Thank you.”
"Whatever. I've been on vacation, so it's okay," the spy said, leaving the Duke's office with a heavy heart.
And Roderick, left alone, gave orders not to let anyone in, as he wanted to be quiet, and leaned back deeply in his chair.
‘...What are those calluses on your hands, Aila?’
What was making his heart ache so much was the callus on his daughter's hand, which he had not seen in 14 years.
Aila tried to explain that it was from helping out in the fields and doing chores, but to Roderick, it was clearly calluses from holding a sword for so long.
It was a mystery why she, who had lived with innocent adoptive parents in a deep mountain valley, had the hands of a trained knight.
So he dispatched an undercover investigator to track down the couple who had adopted Aila. It wasn't easy to uncover information about them, who had long ago left the world behind and built their own comfortable home.
It was possible that Scott, who was said to be her adoptive father, had worked as a mercenary in the past, or that he was a former knight and had been learning swordsmanship separately.
But Scott was a carpenter, and his wife, Debbie, was an ordinary housewife. Neither of them had any experience with swords.
It would be better if he could ask himself and get a clear answer, but even that wasn't easy.
Even though they were father and daughter, it felt like a solid wall still existed between Roderick and Aila. The gap of fourteen years was enough to make even a parent-child relationship estranged.
In such an awkward situation, it was impossible to probe him with mere circumstantial evidence, as if he were conducting a newspaper. It would be a wrong step in a relationship that could last a lifetime.
It was at that time that Roderick was racking his brain with all sorts of complicated thoughts.
“Your Excellency, you have a guest.”
Disobeying orders not to come in, the old butler, Lester, came to his office with an embarrassed look on his face.
"Guests? Didn't I say I wouldn't be accepting any visitors for the time being until Aila had fully adapted to the Duke's household?"
Roderick said with a puzzled expression. Normally, the butler would have explained the situation to the guest and sent him away without even coming to Roderick's house.
Moreover, he had already said that he wanted to be alone right now, so there must have been some unavoidable reason why the usually serious and loyal Lester had disobeyed that order and come to see him.
“Yes, Your Excellency. I told you so, but you insisted on seeing Your Excellency... I apologize.”
As expected, Lester finished speaking with an embarrassed expression. A shadow fell over the butler's wrinkled face.
Thinking that the guest who had come to see him must have been a big shot, Roderick sighed and moved to the reception room where the guest was waiting.
Waiting for him there was Winfred, the Crown Prince of this empire. And instead of his ornate Crown Prince uniform, he was wearing simple, everyday clothes.
It didn't seem like an official visit.
“Why have you come without any contact from Your Highness?”
Roderick looked at his friend's son with a slightly bewildered expression.
The Crown Prince, who would have turned twenty this winter, had little trace of his boyhood left.
In reality, he was a full foot taller than most people, and his slender physique made him appear even longer than he actually was. His delicate features, set on a face that had lost its chubby cheeks and become more slender, gave him the appearance of a beautiful sculpture sculpted by a renowned artist.
"I'm so sorry, Duke. Since when have we been so distant? What's the big deal about me coming to you without even contacting you... It's been like this often."
Winfred grumbled with a pout.
This was the only trace of boyhood he had left: his characteristically cheerful and bright demeanor. His consistently pure and uncorrupted personality was his strength.
“...Didn't I tell you that I wouldn't be accepting guests for the time being due to circumstances? There must be a reason why someone who has been so considerate of me has suddenly come to see me.”
Roderick sighed with a weary face. Winfred wasn't wrong.
During the Storm and Stress period, he would run away from home and come to the Duke's residence without saying a word, and when he had troubles, he would come with precious gifts and consult Roderick and Ophelia about his troubles.
Of course, that was before they found their lost daughter, and after finding Aila, he rarely visited unexpectedly, adhering closely to Roderick's policy of not accepting guests.
What kind of wind blew and brought Winfred here like this?
"Hasn't it been too long since you locked the door for that reason? Why do you keep the Princess, whom you worked so hard to find, so hidden? I can't stand the curiosity. Today, I will definitely see her precious face."
The Crown Prince spoke in a stubborn voice. His words were half true, half false.
It was true that he was curious about the existence of the Princess. The trigger was trivial. He had heard from his father that, when he was a child, he couldn't even remember, he had thrown a tantrum and insisted on marrying that girl.
And the reason the other half was false was because of another reason: concern for the Duke and Duchess.
Ophelia was originally a social outcast. Being from a foreign land, she struggled to adapt to the entrenched aristocracy and its throngs of staid individuals.
However, after finding her daughter, she stopped going to official events where she had been absent, so it was natural to be curious about her well-being.
Rodrick was a close friend of the Emperor and actively involved in state affairs, so they saw each other often.
But it seemed strange that his face, which should have been filled with joy at finding his precious daughter, always had a shadow on it.
He couldn't stand the worry that the daughter he'd found might not be real, but a con artist after the Duke's power and wealth, or a despicable character who would cause his parents trouble.
"...I told you, didn't I? My daughter has spent so long with the commoners that she hasn't learned any etiquette. I fear she might offend Your Highness, the Crown Prince, so could you please just leave today? I will be the first to announce it when it's time for people to see it."
Roderick scratched behind his ear, looking embarrassed. But it wasn't a sincere answer.
Aila was a diligent student, working twice as hard as others to master etiquette quickly. Furthermore, even before she began formally studying it, her manners were so neat and elegant that one might have wondered if she had ever learned it before.
And Winfred knew this too, having already heard it from his father, Hiram.
"... Duke."
"I apologize, Your Highness. I understand you are worried about my wife and me. However... Your Highness, your worries are untrue. Aila, that child is my biological daughter, and she is also gentle and kind. Therefore, please leave for today."
Roderick smiled softly, but spoke firmly.
And Winfred, startled by his words, hiccuped. He'd never expressed his concerns aloud, yet the Duke seemed to know them as if he'd read his mind.
'Father and the Duke too... How on earth do they know my thoughts so well? They must have secretly learned mind-reading or something.'
He grumbled and left the Duke's office, completely unaware that his thoughts were clearly visible on his face.
"Oh, you've seen me off. I can go alone. You can take care of other things."
Winfred grinned sinisterly as he sent away his butler, Lester, who had followed him out of the building to see him off. He'd acted as if he were going to go back, but he had no intention of doing so.
“Yes? But that’s...”
"Oh, it's okay. Didn't you stop the horse right in front of your nose? What could happen on the way there?"
He pointed to the horse tied in the garden and said, "I had come secretly, without any attendants, and I had brought only one horse."
Roderick Weishaffen closed the file with a grim expression and placed it on his desk. It was a thin and sparse report, a far cry from the research of a secret agent of the Duke's family over a year.
Even if he checked again, there was no way the amount of poor content would suddenly increase, but he was already so worried that he read it over and over again that he could memorize every sentence.
“Is this the end of the information we can find out?”
“...I’m sorry, Your Excellency.”
At Roderick's deeply worried sigh, the spy, who had not appeared before the Duke in nearly two years, lowered his head as if embarrassed.
As an experienced spy, he thought he had a knack for tracking down people and gathering information, but even for him, this long and arduous mission proved incredibly difficult.
This was because the subjects of the investigation were people who had little interaction with the outside world.
“I’m not blaming you. You did your best.”
At his subordinate's apology, Roderick sighed softly and patted his shoulder. Just because the results weren't satisfactory, he couldn't ignore the time and effort he'd put in.
“Do you still have questions? Perhaps you doubt the Princess’s identity...?”
“...That’s not it. That child is definitely our Aila.”
The spy spoke cautiously, but Roderick cut him off without a moment's hesitation.
The moment he first saw the child, having run a long way, he immediately recognized her as his and Ophelia's daughter. It wasn't just a hunch.
Still, to be sure, he secretly requested a paternity test from the National Magic Academy of the Republic of Tamora and received the results confirming that he was indeed the father.
If rumors of Aila's true identity began to circulate in high society, he planned to reveal it to the world. She was undoubtedly the lost Princess of the Duke of Weishaffen.
At Roderick's confident answer, the spy hesitated and stared at the floor. If he was so certain he was her biological daughter, he wanted to ask why he had kept him in the countryside for over a year.
Of course, he and Roderick weren't close enough to have such candid conversations, so he had to keep it to himself.
“You’ve worked hard. You’ve been through a lot, so get some rest for a while.”
Whether or not he knew his intentions, Roderick smiled faintly and expressed his gratitude for his subordinate's efforts. It was a subtle order for him to retreat.
“Yes, Your Excellency. Thank you.”
"Whatever. I've been on vacation, so it's okay," the spy said, leaving the Duke's office with a heavy heart.
And Roderick, left alone, gave orders not to let anyone in, as he wanted to be quiet, and leaned back deeply in his chair.
‘...What are those calluses on your hands, Aila?’
What was making his heart ache so much was the callus on his daughter's hand, which he had not seen in 14 years.
Aila tried to explain that it was from helping out in the fields and doing chores, but to Roderick, it was clearly calluses from holding a sword for so long.
It was a mystery why she, who had lived with innocent adoptive parents in a deep mountain valley, had the hands of a trained knight.
So he dispatched an undercover investigator to track down the couple who had adopted Aila. It wasn't easy to uncover information about them, who had long ago left the world behind and built their own comfortable home.
It was possible that Scott, who was said to be her adoptive father, had worked as a mercenary in the past, or that he was a former knight and had been learning swordsmanship separately.
But Scott was a carpenter, and his wife, Debbie, was an ordinary housewife. Neither of them had any experience with swords.
It would be better if he could ask himself and get a clear answer, but even that wasn't easy.
Even though they were father and daughter, it felt like a solid wall still existed between Roderick and Aila. The gap of fourteen years was enough to make even a parent-child relationship estranged.
In such an awkward situation, it was impossible to probe him with mere circumstantial evidence, as if he were conducting a newspaper. It would be a wrong step in a relationship that could last a lifetime.
It was at that time that Roderick was racking his brain with all sorts of complicated thoughts.
“Your Excellency, you have a guest.”
Disobeying orders not to come in, the old butler, Lester, came to his office with an embarrassed look on his face.
"Guests? Didn't I say I wouldn't be accepting any visitors for the time being until Aila had fully adapted to the Duke's household?"
Roderick said with a puzzled expression. Normally, the butler would have explained the situation to the guest and sent him away without even coming to Roderick's house.
Moreover, he had already said that he wanted to be alone right now, so there must have been some unavoidable reason why the usually serious and loyal Lester had disobeyed that order and come to see him.
“Yes, Your Excellency. I told you so, but you insisted on seeing Your Excellency... I apologize.”
As expected, Lester finished speaking with an embarrassed expression. A shadow fell over the butler's wrinkled face.
Thinking that the guest who had come to see him must have been a big shot, Roderick sighed and moved to the reception room where the guest was waiting.
Waiting for him there was Winfred, the Crown Prince of this empire. And instead of his ornate Crown Prince uniform, he was wearing simple, everyday clothes.
It didn't seem like an official visit.
“Why have you come without any contact from Your Highness?”
Roderick looked at his friend's son with a slightly bewildered expression.
The Crown Prince, who would have turned twenty this winter, had little trace of his boyhood left.
In reality, he was a full foot taller than most people, and his slender physique made him appear even longer than he actually was. His delicate features, set on a face that had lost its chubby cheeks and become more slender, gave him the appearance of a beautiful sculpture sculpted by a renowned artist.
"I'm so sorry, Duke. Since when have we been so distant? What's the big deal about me coming to you without even contacting you... It's been like this often."
Winfred grumbled with a pout.
This was the only trace of boyhood he had left: his characteristically cheerful and bright demeanor. His consistently pure and uncorrupted personality was his strength.
“...Didn't I tell you that I wouldn't be accepting guests for the time being due to circumstances? There must be a reason why someone who has been so considerate of me has suddenly come to see me.”
Roderick sighed with a weary face. Winfred wasn't wrong.
During the Storm and Stress period, he would run away from home and come to the Duke's residence without saying a word, and when he had troubles, he would come with precious gifts and consult Roderick and Ophelia about his troubles.
Of course, that was before they found their lost daughter, and after finding Aila, he rarely visited unexpectedly, adhering closely to Roderick's policy of not accepting guests.
What kind of wind blew and brought Winfred here like this?
"Hasn't it been too long since you locked the door for that reason? Why do you keep the Princess, whom you worked so hard to find, so hidden? I can't stand the curiosity. Today, I will definitely see her precious face."
The Crown Prince spoke in a stubborn voice. His words were half true, half false.
It was true that he was curious about the existence of the Princess. The trigger was trivial. He had heard from his father that, when he was a child, he couldn't even remember, he had thrown a tantrum and insisted on marrying that girl.
And the reason the other half was false was because of another reason: concern for the Duke and Duchess.
Ophelia was originally a social outcast. Being from a foreign land, she struggled to adapt to the entrenched aristocracy and its throngs of staid individuals.
However, after finding her daughter, she stopped going to official events where she had been absent, so it was natural to be curious about her well-being.
Rodrick was a close friend of the Emperor and actively involved in state affairs, so they saw each other often.
But it seemed strange that his face, which should have been filled with joy at finding his precious daughter, always had a shadow on it.
He couldn't stand the worry that the daughter he'd found might not be real, but a con artist after the Duke's power and wealth, or a despicable character who would cause his parents trouble.
"...I told you, didn't I? My daughter has spent so long with the commoners that she hasn't learned any etiquette. I fear she might offend Your Highness, the Crown Prince, so could you please just leave today? I will be the first to announce it when it's time for people to see it."
Roderick scratched behind his ear, looking embarrassed. But it wasn't a sincere answer.
Aila was a diligent student, working twice as hard as others to master etiquette quickly. Furthermore, even before she began formally studying it, her manners were so neat and elegant that one might have wondered if she had ever learned it before.
And Winfred knew this too, having already heard it from his father, Hiram.
"... Duke."
"I apologize, Your Highness. I understand you are worried about my wife and me. However... Your Highness, your worries are untrue. Aila, that child is my biological daughter, and she is also gentle and kind. Therefore, please leave for today."
Roderick smiled softly, but spoke firmly.
And Winfred, startled by his words, hiccuped. He'd never expressed his concerns aloud, yet the Duke seemed to know them as if he'd read his mind.
'Father and the Duke too... How on earth do they know my thoughts so well? They must have secretly learned mind-reading or something.'
He grumbled and left the Duke's office, completely unaware that his thoughts were clearly visible on his face.
"Oh, you've seen me off. I can go alone. You can take care of other things."
Winfred grinned sinisterly as he sent away his butler, Lester, who had followed him out of the building to see him off. He'd acted as if he were going to go back, but he had no intention of doing so.
“Yes? But that’s...”
"Oh, it's okay. Didn't you stop the horse right in front of your nose? What could happen on the way there?"
He pointed to the horse tied in the garden and said, "I had come secretly, without any attendants, and I had brought only one horse."
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