Chapter 47
“...Charles?” Duke Agnus stopped and turned around to address the girl.
“You were about to depart, Your Grace, yet I couldn’t even bid you farewell properly.” Charles looked charming as usual with her flaming red hair.
“Well…” Duke Agnus sighed deeply at Charles’s unusually solemn demeanor.
“I apologize for turning up without warning at a place like this, Duke,” ventured Cox. “But it wouldn’t reflect well on me if I didn’t even see you off as you left.”
“That’s all right, Cox.” Duke Agnus shook his head and turned back to Charles. “Indeed, Rebrecca and Iceline didn’t show their faces before they left. You seem to be feeling a little better now.”
“Ah. Thanks to the Duke, my recovery has come a long way. Please accept my apologies for burdening you.”
“Is it just my mood, or has our tomboy Young Lady Pontier suddenly transformed?” Duke Agnus pulled a long face, much to Cox’s vocal amusement. Even Cox himself wasn’t used to the young lady’s current demeanor.
Not so long ago, Charles had been a naive young lady who dashed about with no aim and no restraint. “Mister, Mister!” was one of her signature phrases.
“Your father must be proud of you. What a shame, though… I miss the way you were, somehow…”
“Alrighty, Mister! Wanna just do it like we used to?”
“—Eh!?” Cox yelped when Charles abruptly reverted.
“Haha! That’s my Charles. If you’re thinking of visiting the capital, would you care to join me? I heard that your father is also in Arcadia.”
“Thank you for your kindness, but I believe that would be impossible. I promised to pay Cox’s family a visit on my way back.”
“Such a promise, Young Lady…” Cox looked troubled.
“I’m not doing it for you, Cox; I’m doing it for Anna, your beloved.”
“That’s…” Cox sighed and clamped his mouth shut, bringing a cheeky smile to Charles’s lips.
“And… Young Master Joshua?”
‘What the hell?’ Joshua panicked when Charles called out to him. Somehow, her approach set him on edge. All the vassals and knights of the Duchy were watching—it would be pretty irritating if they started spreading rumors.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to eat you.” Charles smiled sweetly.
“Huh!” The knights sputtered.
“You—” Joshua wanted to ask what she was trying to do but was interrupted swiftly.
“This is the mark of our family.” Charles grinned and held out her hand to Joshua.
“Young-Young Lady!?” Cox stuttered. He was the first to recognize the object in her hand: a palm-sized, pure gold pendant engraved with a golden owl. The rest of the audience was equally wide-eyed, boggling at the unexpected appearance of the Pontier family crest.
“Why did Young Lady Charles offer Young Master Joshua such a valuable gift…?”
“Is it possible that Young Lady Charles has taken an interest in Young Master Joshua?”
“What a load of nonsense! Young Lady Charles already has Young Master Babel in her heart!”
“What does it matter? A woman’s heart sways like a reed. They’re not even engaged, so what’s the problem?”
“Ah, says the guy who doesn’t know how a woman’s heart works.”
“What did you say?!”
Joshua’s mood sank. He wanted to showcase his abilities, not lubricate the rumor mill.
“What am I going to do with this?”
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m no snob. It doesn’t mean anything, just…” Charles winked. “I’d like you to consider it an invitation. Please pay our family a visit if you travel to Arcadia.”
“Why should I—” Joshua hesitated because Charles looked like she was about to cry.
“What are you crying over, Young Lady Charles?”
“I’m sure there’s a reason the lady gave it to him.”
“It’s just an invitation, but Young Master Joshua is a formidable opponent.”
Obviously, Joshua’s superhuman senses heard everything.
‘This is…’ The boy was greatly perplexed. All knights need to maintain a certain etiquette towards ladies. ‘If this tomboy actually cries right now, the rumors will spread like wildfire. Everyone will be trying to figure out who I am. No good.’
Joshua grimaced. It would take him at least five years to restore his strength to a decent level. To a certain extent, Joshua had been delighted about the plan of having a made-up identity. He would be able to avoid eyes and slowly accumulate power. All his carefully laid-out plans could be foiled, however, by Charles’s shenanigans.
‘I don’t have to use it if I take it. After all, Arcadia is huge—I won’t see them unless I go looking for them.’
Joshua let out a sigh and look at Charles.
“...Okay?” Charles awkwardly extended the pendant towards Joshua again. “Are you going to embarrass me like this? I’m just trying to make amends for my prior indifference—”
“Ah! Okay! I get it!” Joshua grabbed the pendant. A teasing little smile flickered across Charles’s lips, but Joshua was too preoccupied to notice.
“We have a long way to go.” Duke Agnus coughed politely but wore a mischievous little smile. “We’d best leave soon. Charles, may I visit as well?”
“Of course, uncle—no, Duke! You are always welcome.”
“I’ll have to prepare the Heart Kingdom’s De Bellue in advance! Your father is rumored to be quite the drinker! Hahahahaha!”
“Then I’ll see you again, Lady Tomboy.”
“Indeed, Your Grace!”
“Stay well, Cox.”
“Your Grace. I’ll see you next time.”
“Depart!” The Duke spun around.
“Depart!”
Duke Agnus eyed Joshua’s back as they departed.
‘Perhaps you don’t know what it implies for a lady to bestow their family crest to someone.’
The Duke’s smile was as bright as the rising sun.
***
Avalon Kingdom Imperial Palace.
Jacken, head of the Emperor’s intelligence agency, prostrated himself before the Emperor’s throne.
“Your Majesty, we have received new information regarding Duke Agnus, as you ordered.”
“Tell me.” A glimmer of light shone in his dark eyes.
“Duke Aden von Agnus and his second son, Joshua von Agnus, are expected to arrive in the capital in three days. And…”
“And?”
“The Fourth Prince Kaiser’s recommendation to the Imperial Knights Templar… was declined.”
“What?” Marcus’s eyes popped wide open. “He refused?”
The power of the Imperial Knights could not be overestimated. No noble below a count could take on even a single member. It was no exaggeration to say they were the most powerful military force in the Empire, with the rise of the Imperial family’s power.
Suffice to say, Emperor Marcus believed he was the most powerful man on the entire continent. Joshua, apparently, disagreed. A second son—a bastard, no less. In most families, he would live or die by the eldest son’s grace.
According to the kingdom’s customs, noble families picked the eldest son to succeed the family, unless said eldest son had caused a huge incident that caused him to be stripped of his inheritance rights. To make the situation worse, Joshua was the child of a maid and not another noble’s bloodline. If Babel von Agnus succeeded the family, Joshua would either end up dead or be banished to the rural areas of the dukedom.
The exception was given to those younger brothers who supported the eldest son to succeed right from the start. It clearly wasn’t the case with Joshua.
“...Does he believe he can seize the family with just his own strength? I’m disappointed.”
“It didn’t seem that way.”
“I don’t follow.”
“According to Joshua von Agnus’s letter to Prince Kaiser, ‘I don’t need the Your Highness’s referral. I will obey His Majesty the supreme Emperor’s will in accordance with the laws of the Empire.’”
Emperor Marcus’s eyes slowly opened.
‘You will obediently carry out my commands?’ That could only mean one thing—and it was the safest and most straightforward method for an outsider to control the situation with just their own strength.
‘Only you would be so exceptional.’
“Are you going to tear it down? Our Imperial Knights, the Empire’s pride and joy?”
Jacken tried his best not to attract the Emperor’s attention as the latter's mad laughter rattled the court.
“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!”
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