I gazed at the tip of my healed fingers in shock.
‘I guess the cut wasn’t as deep as I thought.’
Well, it was a paper cut, not a knife cut.
Roughly convinced, I quickly forgot about this. Rather, I was concerned about Isidor. There was no sign of Muffin, who had been coming and going until the windowsill was worn out. His sudden absence left a corner of my mind empty and, on the other hand, worried.
‘Maybe I should ask Margaret to investigate the Visconti family’s movements.’
When I thought that, I was able to get news of him in an unexpected place.
I looked around the bustling academy and asked Margaret.
“Why is the academy so noisy today?”
Margaret quickly told me the rumors.
“As it turns out, there are rumors that the title of Duke of Visconti has been succeeded by Prince Isidor.”
‘Does that mean that Isidor became a duke?’
It was completely unexpected news. And the source of this shocking rumor was alleged to have been the servants of the imperial family. It seemed the imperial family had recently realized that the head of the Visconti family had changed because of the signature at the bottom of the correspondence between them.
Once ignited, the rumors spread as swiftly as wildfire.
‘What on earth happened to Duke Visconti…’
It was not yet clear whether the former Duke Visconti was unable to work due to personal reasons, or whether he voluntarily passed on the position of head of the family. The Visconti family was really secretive compared to other noble families, so only countless speculations were widespread.
‘From Isidor’s atmosphere last time, it didn’t seem to be something expected, but rather something that happened all of a sudden.’
Isidor… was he okay?
As soon as I heard the rumors, I became more worried about him.
‘If I had a phone, I would have contacted him right away.’
The southern territory, where the Visconti estate was located, was quite far from the capital.
‘If I send a letter to the south, it will arrive too late, right?’
Since the title was suddenly inherited, the situation would be hectic, so there would be no time to check the letter properly.
‘What can I do?’
I sighed and fiddled with the quill.
***
The coastal area of the southern territory, ruled by the Visconti family.
In front of the Allea Strait, called the Fortress of Nature, and facing the sea, stood Rhodium Castle, where the owner of the estate, Duke Visconti, was staying.
Splash-
The waves hit the wall and turn into a white splash.
The inside of the castle was enveloped in an atmosphere that was more serene and calm than ever before. It was the opposite of last week’s night, when the lamps were lit all night due to the people who were enjoying themselves.
Duke Visconti, a euphoric and highly impulsive figure, bragged in front of his guests and drank excessive amounts of alcohol before collapsing with a sudden heart attack. After being in a coma for a while, he finally passed away this morning.
Although it was a sudden incident, the Visconti family’s vassals calmly prepared to welcome the young and capable duke as their master. For them, there was not a shred of loyalty to their former master.
Visconti became regarded as an exceptionally secretive family because they had desperately hidden the deeds of the Duke from within.
Duke Visconti brought in rogues and entertainers inside the house for strange parties that were difficult to talk about, and spent time hunting slaves, saying that sitting in the office was a bit of a pain.
From a certain moment, the vassals within the family came to rely on and follow the young heir with outstanding skills and talent more than the insane Duke. The only person in the Visconti family who did not acknowledge Isidor was Albert Visconti, the head of the family.
‘In fact, he was a mean father who felt inferior to his son, who was better than he had ever admitted.’
Count Rivera, an elderly vassal of the Visconti family, withdrew his cold gaze from the former duke’s corpse and approached Isidor, the new duke.
Because he hadn’t taken proper meals after coming down to the estate, Isidor’s jawline stood out even more sharply. Every time he faced the pure white face that seemed to have been wiped out of all emotions, it was frightening enough to send chills down his spine.
“Duke Visconti.”
“That title doesn’t really sound good. It sounds like you are calling my father.”
Isidor said sarcastically.
“In their hearts, all the vassals of the family have already been following you since long ago.”
“…”
“The gold coffin has arrived. I will call the priest and prepare the funeral.”
“Wait a moment.”
Isidor, who spoke in a strange voice, looked at his father, who did not move as if he was in a deep sleep, until he felt like it. The cause of death was a heart attack caused by heavy drinking. Even in his last moments, he was a banal and petty man.
In the end, he won’t be meeting his father anymore, who always had confrontations with him. It was impossible to understand his father, who was a different being from the very beginning.
‘Well, I didn’t want to meet him either.’
However, the fact that he was so indifferent even though his father died made him chuckle.
‘Now I know for sure.’
He didn’t even hate the pathetic human in front of him. The emotion that once seemed to be hate was nothing but contempt and disgust. It was no different from how he felt when he saw a black centipede crawling over his arm.
Even the emotions he felt when he saw his father as a child were all diluted as his memories became damaged.
Obviously, in the meantime, everything had been annoying, boring, and tiresome…
‘Why do I suddenly… want to see her?’
While the priest who came to the castle prayed, he thought of Deborah’s red eyes. When he first met her, her ruby-like eyes were shining intensely with something unknown. But now… they just seemed to shine all the time, for no reason.
He had no idea at the time that he would feel this way.
‘I want to see her.’
While conducting the funeral as duke instead of prince, Isidor counted the time he had to remain in the southern territory. He had to finish the funeral procedure according to the southern way and officially hold the succession ceremony, so it would take more time.
Isidor wrote to Deborah that it would take some time to wrap up the situation. And when he wrote that he missed her, he inadvertently dipped the quill into the ink once more. Perhaps it was because he wanted her to clearly feel his longing.
“Your Grace, a letter has arrived.”
Just as he was sealing the envelope, a letter from Deborah arrived in good timing. Even though it was a letter that must have been sent a few days ago, he felt like he had gotten a reply right away.
Whenever he had the chance, he read the Princess’ letter again and again.
[You must have no time to think, but make sure you eat properly.
Don’t skip your meals.]
Isidor had a meal belatedly. Suddenly, he got hungry. He also remembered how deliciously she ate the meat he cut for her.
[You must be grieving deeply over your father, but take care of your health.]
But there was an error in her last sentence. Rather than grieving, it was a pity that his father died earlier than expected. Because he had to quickly assume the troublesome position of head of the family.
‘The person called my father wasn’t helpful until the end.’
A coffin wrapped in white cloth entered the ground. After the priests prayed for the deceased, the funeral ceremony was concluded. The family’s real internal power was all controlled by Isidor, so the series of proceedings flowed like water.
“At last…”
Count Drain was moved, tears welling up in his eyes.
“The true glow of the Visconti is cast.”
Seeing the new Duke Visconti, who resembled the first head of the family, the servants felt a strong sense of awe and overwhelming excitement. Then, Isidor, wearing a black robe with a golden crown, sat in the center of the place where all his vassals and relatives were gathered.
“Let’s be straightforward and do well from now on.”
A thunderous applause poured out at the words he said with a charming smile, after being expressionless the whole time.
Soon, a banquet commemorating the succession of the Duke of Visconti started.
***
I quickly scanned through the letter Isidor had sent me. It hadn’t been long since he had written this letter, seeing that he had sent it using the teleportation gate.
‘Well, Isidor has a deep understanding of movement magic.’
I tried to suppress my nervousness and read his letter carefully from the first line.
[You must be surprised by my sudden absence.
Rumors about me must already be circulating in the capital.]
He had a fairly accurate grasp of the situation here.
[It’s a sudden change, so it will take a bit more time to return to the capital.]
Thinking about it, Isidor wasn’t that old, but he had to hold his father’s funeral ceremony and handle his family. I was even more concerned because he seemed to be shouldering an excessive burden.
[I’m going crazy because I miss you.]
As I was worrying about him, I saw the sentence written at the back of the letter and rubbed my face, which became flushed without notice.
‘W-what was that.’
I was embarrassed because only that sentence was clearly written as if it had been pressed down; but then, there was a knock on the window.
‘What is it?’
