Callion began to explain in detail to Erna what had happened while she was lying down, to the extent that one would not think he was someone who had grumbled so much.
“First off, the Marquis of Carnarvon is unfortunately alive and well. His condition has improved quite a bit. However, strangely enough, the swelling still remains, so while he is conscious, he still struggles to move. It seems he is scheduled to be put on a carriage and sent back as soon as the new envoy from Havand arrives.”
Callion had overheard some of Havand's envoys whispering in a corner.
Following the news that a new envoy was arriving, the delegation staying in Hessengard was busy preparing to welcome him.
Naturally, there was less interest in the Marquis of Carnarvon. The Marquis of Carnarvon was acting sensitively and openly displaying his displeasure to his attendants, and because of this, the delegation was eagerly awaiting his return.
As she listened to the explanation Callion gave her, Erna ate the fruit he kept putting in her mouth.
“First off, the Marquis of Carnarvon is unfortunately alive and well. His condition has improved quite a bit. However, strangely enough, the swelling still remains, so while he is conscious, he still struggles to move. It seems he is scheduled to be put on a carriage and sent back as soon as the new envoy from Havand arrives.”
Callion had overheard some of Havand's envoys whispering in a corner.
Following the news that a new envoy was arriving, the delegation staying in Hessengard was busy preparing to welcome him.
Naturally, there was less interest in the Marquis of Carnarvon. The Marquis of Carnarvon was acting sensitively and openly displaying his displeasure to his attendants, and because of this, the delegation was eagerly awaiting his return.
As she listened to the explanation Callion gave her, Erna ate the fruit he kept putting in her mouth.
At the same time, deep down, she was surprised at herself.
To Erna, the Marquis of Carnarvon was someone who always appeared in her nightmares. To be precise, whenever he appeared, it became a nightmare.
Even after waking up from a dream, she used to flinch whenever she happened to hear his name, but now she didn't care whether she heard his name or not.
Because she realized that the Marquis of Carnarvon really meant nothing to her.
“Come to think of it, you still haven’t told me the name of Havand’s new envoy?”
“Yeah. It seems our knights haven't been able to figure it out exactly either. From the looks of it, it appears that only a select few within Havand's new delegation know the new envoy's identity. They seem to be keeping him under wraps so tightly that we can't even see his face... Judging by his behavior, it looks like we won't know exactly who he is until he arrives here. In any case, they say he will arrive at the border, rest for two days, and then resume his journey.”
At those words, Erna tilted her head.
“That’s strange?”
Taking two days off meant he was not accustomed to carriage travel. An envoy unaccustomed to travel? It was like saying a fish that is clumsy at swimming.
Even the Marquis of Carnarvon, whom Erna and Callion had just ridiculed so thoroughly, was someone with a fair amount of experience in diplomacy. To think that the person being sent as an envoy to a foreign country, and to Hessengard at that, was someone unaccustomed to traveling by carriage.
'Did they send someone who only looked at documents inside the palace?'
However, there was no way they would send such a person at a time like this. The matter of Havand's envoy continued to bother her.
One who does not reveal the identity of those around him, one who is not accustomed to carriage travel, and yet is worthy of coming as an envoy.
Then, I had an idea.
“...Are you royalty?”
Even so, her doubts were not fully resolved. After contemplating for a moment, Erna put the thought of the Grim Reaper aside for now.
'I'll see him if he comes.'
Even if the King of Havand were to come, Hessengard’s response would not change much anyway. If he is more arrogant and presumptuous than the Marquis of Carnarvon, they simply need to treat him accordingly.
Erna lay with her head on Callion's thigh and kept asking questions.
"What about the ruins?"
“As for the ruins... A few ancient records remain regarding the Irgis Forest, but there are no records from about ten years ago. There was a record of an item leaving the Grand Duke’s castle, but that is all. I tried looking for the servants involved, but contact has already been lost, and all they say is that they know nothing.”
“What is the possibility that it is a lie?”
“It’s high. But even so, we can’t just grab them and pester them to confess.”
“...That’s true, though.”
Perhaps because the council is powerful, Hessengard is a place where the rights of commoners are more guaranteed compared to neighboring kingdoms.
"We could not just drag anyone in and force them to confess without concrete evidence."
"Of course, I could have dragged them in by force. However, it wasn't easy to handle the consequences."
“And do you remember the basement we saw at the ruins, the one Richard Hessengaard went down to?”
"Yes."
“Just in case, I looked around here as well, and there is an underground space. I knocked at the base of the wall Richard Hessengaard had gone down, and found that sounds were echoing in a few places.”
“That means...”
"It means there is a high probability that the pillar is under this Grand Duke's castle as well. For now, there are still too many eyes watching, so I haven't been able to look further."
Callion picked up a cushion at the end of the sofa and placed it in the hand of Erna, who was fidgeting with her empty hands. Still lying with her head on his thigh, she hugged the cushion and wore a satisfied expression.
Callion pulled the tassel attached to the end of the cushion Erna was holding and placed it on her chest. The upper ornament of the tassel was engraved with the coat of arms of the Grand Duke of Hessengard, indicating that it was an item of the Grand Duke's castle.
“Two pillars...”
As Erna fiddled with the decorations, she recalled the appearance of the pillars she had seen in the underground of the ancient ruins.
One of the two huge pillars underground was cracked as if it would crumble at any moment.
And Richard Hessengaard looked at it with a sad face and took his own life.
“The two pillars that symbolize Hessengard. What are two things that are important in Hessengard?”
"Well."
Callion was lost in thought for a moment, then spoke.
"You and me?"
"Stop messing around."
“It’s no joke. Two things that are important and the same in Hessengard. It’s exactly you and me right now.”
At Callion's humorless answer, Erna looked at the decoration in the tavern again.
"There was only one Grand Duke until now, right? We're the first to have two."
“That may be true, but...”
Callion stammered, unable to find a suitable answer. However, even Erna, who had said no, found it difficult to say that Callion's thinking was completely wrong.
One of the pillars was completely cracked. It looked as if it would collapse at any moment.
Erna reviewed what she knew about Richard Hessengaard. He had committed suicide. Everyone was speculating about the reason, but many said that he had taken his own life, following his wife in despair over her passing.
Two pillars. The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess. The death of one. The collapse of one pillar.
'Then, did the other pillar collapse as well after Richard Hessengard died?'
Before she knew it, Erna had come to take it for granted that the pillar was the Grand Duke and his wife.
Events taking place at the Grand Duke's castle are classified. However, since Vanessa is not one of those classified individuals, information regarding what happens here can be obtained very easily. Perhaps everything is already being reported to her.
You can't blame them for that. After all, didn't they themselves look for Vanessa first whenever something happened?
She was the Chairwoman of the Council and the most reliable friend and advisor to the two Grand Dukes of Hessengard.
“Anyway, let’s deal with them one by one. I suppose we should start preparing to receive Havand’s envoys starting today.”
At those words, Callion casually reached out and put down the cushion Erna was holding. Then, he lifted her up and carried her onto the bed. He then spoke in a voice mixed with laughter.
"Come to think of it, there's something I forgot to mention: you're getting two more days off."
“What? I didn’t hear anything like that?”
"I suppose so. I went to give you a heads-up while you were asleep for a moment just a little while ago."
Callion's hand crept under Erna's pajamas.
"So, you won't be able to leave here for two more days."
“Hey, hey? Wait, wait, just a moment!”
“If I do it right now, I feel like you’ll really collapse, so I’ll just touch it for now. And after I get some sleep...”
Callion bit Erna's ear with his lips and muttered.
“Let’s make sure our down there doesn’t even have a chance to dry. So that it forms quickly.”
At those words, Erna screamed inwardly.
Help!
***
Two days later, Erna was finally able to return to work.
"Grand Duke Erna!"
“Grand Duke! Are you alright?”
As soon as she appeared, the wizards who hadn't seen her for a long time rushed out to greet Erna.
The last time they saw Erna was in the Irgis Forest. After that, she went missing and returned to the Grand Duke's castle unconscious, and since she hadn't appeared for nearly two weeks, their worry was immense.
“Uh-huh, I’m fine...”
Erna certainly looked healthy. Her fair complexion was flushed with color. Her skin even had a glow that hadn't been there before, as if she were receiving special care.
However, somehow, the area under her eyes was dark, as if she had stayed up all night. On top of that, she exuded a subtly languid aura.
At that sight, everyone recalled the rumors that had been circulating in the Grand Duke's castle lately.
She heard it's no joke...
They said it wasn't showing up all day and that it was crazy...
The fact that the relationship between the two Grand Dukes had become close was a joyous occasion for Hessengard.
Therefore, everyone decided to keep quiet about the rumors they had heard. "Just have a beautiful love story, both of you." That was the honest sentiment of the people of Hessengard.
After exchanging greetings with everyone, Erna headed to the office. As she entered, the scent of paper, which had suddenly become unfamiliar, wafted in.
"That's amazing."
Erna looked at the documents piled on her desk, swallowed a sigh, and quickly sat down.
“Ugh!”
As Erna sat down in the chair, she had to swallow a groan at the sharp pain she felt in her lower back.
“Callion... you damn...”
As she recalled the events of the past two days, a curse immediately burst from Erna's mouth.
Callion arbitrarily extended her holiday by two days. He, too, suspended work for two days and holed up in his bedroom. And, just as he had declared, she really had to spend the entire day thoroughly soaked.
The really scary thing was that Erna could tell the difference between lying about wanting to quit and saying it sincerely.
Ignoring the habitual 'no's' uttered as one felt like going crazy from reaching climax multiple times, and even though his lower body was bulging menacingly when he reached the point of genuine hatred, Callion neatly withdrew.
“I won’t let you get away with this...”
Erna sprang to her feet and went to the bookshelf. A smile spread across her face as she gazed at the books shelved there. Soon, she took out a book about the Grand Duke's castle and began to draw a magic formula in the air.
"Just you wait and see tonight."
Callion would have happily run to the couple's bedroom again today. However, he would be the one to cry today.
Just as Erna was humming a tune, thinking of revenge, she heard a knock.
"I am Orpheus. May I come in?"
"Come in."
Orpheus, having entered, gave a bitter smile as he looked at Erna.
"I finally get to meet you, Grand Duke, here."
"Huh?"
“No... I thought you would never come out of that room for the rest of your life...”
“...Be quiet.”
As Erna glared at him, Orpheus approached with a weak smile, as if she understood everything.
“Yes, yes. Let me tell you the urgent matter first. I mentioned that a new wizard arrived while you were resting, didn't I?”
"Ah, that person."
"Yes. Actually, I tried having him teach the classes for a while."
"How was it?"
"It's perfect."
Erna was inwardly surprised by Orpheus's answer. Orpheus was just as fastidious as she was. No, sometimes she scrutinized things even more meticulously than Erna did. Because that was her duty as an adjutant.
To think the word "perfect" would come out of Orpheus's mouth.
“Hmm... honestly, I was hesitating a bit because he was a man, but hearing that, I think I should hire him.”
“I understand your concerns. To be honest, being so handsome is actually a bit of a problem. I told you that there are already kids following him around, didn't I?”
Erna remembered asking back if he was better looking than Callion when Orpheus spoke last time.
“Tell him to come in for now. I need to see his face.”
Orpheus quickly went outside. And soon after, she came inside with a man.
The moment Erna saw the man who had entered, she involuntarily jumped up from her seat.
He was a man with blonde hair and blue eyes. Slightly taller than Erna and with a friendly, smiling face, he was certainly a rare, handsome man, just as Orpheus had said.
However, Erna was not surprised just because of that.
The moment Erna saw the man, a face came to mind.
'Callion?'
The new wizard resembled Callion in some way.
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