Chapter 18

“I’m ashamed of myself, duke.”

The next day, when I stopped by the inn and visited the injured, everyone was at a loss. I waved at the soldiers trying to get out of bed.

“It’s all right, it’s all right.”

A sick person is going around.

However, with the Knight Commander’s wink, the soldiers rushed out of the bed and hit their heads in front of me.

Next to him sat on his knees, even the Knights General.

I almost jumped in surprise, but I decided to be mildly surprised because I thought the Duke wouldn’t do anything like that.

“What’s wrong with the patients?”

I broke my arm, making up an arrogant tone as the duke as much as I could.

“What if their wound bleeds and it gets worse?”

My words surprised the Knight Commander and stammered.

“We even lost the assassin. I thought you were going to punish me? So you didn’t kill me right away, and treated me like this.”

The reason I treated him was to punish him?

It was a crazy logic.

I tried to refute that it was not like that, but Cardan, who was watching from the corner, opened his mouth.

“That’s fair enough. The Knight’s Commander didn’t know that his owner was on the verge of being assassinated, and he didn’t have enough skill to kill the assassin he caught at best.”

Hearing it again, it was a plausible.

They brought me here to protect me, but come to think of it, they’ve never done anything right.

Cardan looked at me like a test.

“What are you going to do as punishment?”

I worked my brains out. What punishment would a duke have given?

Apology? Pay cut? Demotion?

Then Cardan’s languid voice came back.

“Flogging? Or maybe you could cut their wrist to stop them from using a sword ever again.”

I was frightened inside. However, given his playful and serious voice, it didn’t sound like a joke.

Even though the unidentified companion’s harshness might be embarrassing, the Knight Commander only bowed his head as if he had been sentenced to the punishment he deserved.

I was plunged into intense agony.

If I stay here, I won’t stand up as Duke of Valois.

But I wasn’t very willing to ruin the wrists of the injured.

Maybe she’s being weak again. But I had no choice but to shake my head again.

“The punishment will be at the imperial palace, so that’s enough for today.”

The soldiers looked up at me with a blank look.

I forced myself to harden my face.

Don’t look weak here.

“Instead, we should not repeat the same mistake next time.”

The first person to move was the Knight Commander.

“I will risk my life to protect you!”

I looked down at the Knight Commander with his head bowed before me. Instead of being surprised by his words, I gave him a hard smile.

“Yes, you will.”

At this point, I felt relieved because I thought I played the role of a duke fairly.

As soon as I looked back with satisfaction, my eyes met with Cardan, who was staring at me persistently.

Only red eyes shone brightly in the deep hood.

His eyes were intense as if he were ripping off every muscle in my face.

“It’s a mercy. Not like the duke.”

I was able to breathe out only after Cardan left the room, hardened by the eyes that seemed to say that I couldn’t deceive him even if the soldiers were deceived.

。+.。☆゚:;。+゚ ☆*゚¨゚゚・*:..゙

“The Count of Gesban.”

Fortunately, the name of the Count easily fell off the tip of her tongue, perhaps because she slept properly in bed last night.

“It’s an honor to meet you.”

“It’s an honor for me.”

A big laugh, Count extended his hand and asked for a handshake.

But as soon as I grabbed his hand, I immediately regretted it. I almost shed tears because I felt like my hand’s bones were crushed.

However, she couldn’t disappoint Count Gesban, who was smiling without malice, so she tried hard to smile.

“The road must have been rough, so let’s leave the horses to the men below and get in.”

The Count pointed to a huge castle.

As a fortress that has to protect the border, the ruggedness that emphasizes practicality rather than glamour and stood out.

“Let’s do it.”

I was willing to follow Count’s servant who came to guide me, but he shouted, flicking his finger.

“Hey! The guy with the hood over there. Don’t procrastinate, take the Duke’s horse and follow the stableman.”

When I followed the finger of the frontier bag, Cardan wearing a hood stood at the end.

“Oh, no!”

I almost jumped.

“I will! I will look after the horse.”

I’ve told other soldiers not to touch Cardan, so far I’ve been able to finish my journey without much noise, but if Cardan goes wild here, political harmony with the frontier and everything else will be ruined.

If Count Gesban is executed, who will protect the border?

However, the Count was so tactless that he could die.

“Why, isn’t that dingy fellow a soldier who came with the duke? Leave the chores to your subordinates.”

I had to be calm at times like this.

I raised my chin at the Count, hoping that Cardan had not been told he was a ‘dingy fellow’.

“No, my dear Count, I’ll have to look at it myself.”

The Count picked up his ears, but soon nodded.

“Well, sure.”

When I got out of the difficulty, I gestured vaguely to Cardan.

The very same gesture that seems to be waving and politely guiding you to come.

“Welcome inside.”

As Cardan disappeared into the castle without saying much, I swept my heart inside.

But my ordeal didn’t end there.

Count Gesban shouted, as he looked around the castle, to see my shoulders start to tremble.

“Hey! Get the fur for the Duke.”

And laughed loudly in front of me.

“Wait a minute, duke. I’ll get the best-of-breed bear fur.”

Bear fur?

I felt a little reluctant, but it’s okay to borrow a cat’s foot as long as it was warm.

“Thank you.”

I was going to wait calmly for the bear fur to come, but Count Gesban looked around and snapped his finger.

“Hey, you!”

I was appalled at the sight of Count Gesban pointing his finger at Cardan again.

“Your master is shivering in the cold, and she’s wrapped herself up. What are you doing without taking off your hood?”

“No!”

I jumped and shook my hand. I didn’t have time to argue about the duke’s dignity or anything.

To stop that count like a bulldozer, all her gestures were insufficient.

“That’s all right. It’s a cheap hood, so it’ll still be cold.”

“Is that so?”

Count Gesban scratched his shiny head.

“It’s definitely a high-quality fabric.”

“It’s cheap. It’s cheap.”

I glanced at Cardan with a smile. I couldn’t see his face because of the hood, but I thought it was still okay because I was standing still.

Fortunately, the bear fur arrived shortly after.

“It looks good on you.”

Count Gesban laughed loudly despite my gloom, as if being eaten by a bear.

“As expected, precious things go well with precious people.”

I laughed bitterly, pushing up the bear’s head, which kept falling over my face.

“Okay, I’ll use it well.”

A smirking sneer came from Cardan’s side.

“What sound–?”

Count Gesban’s head was about to turn, but I screamed in a hurry.

“By the way!”

I rolled my eyes hard to find a suitable subject. At that time, the hallway of the quiet castle caught my eye again.

The Marquis of Sherrington bring his servants around and made them take small things, but Count Gesban was guiding them around the castle himself with only one old butler.

“I don’t see a lot of people in the castle when it’s this big.”

In a flash, Count Gesban’s face darkened.

“Oh, I don’t like it to be noisy, so I let them off on purpose.”

The arrogant response was a well-calculated answer. Apparently, he didn’t trust me completely.

It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the Count’s position.

If you talk about this and that and reported it to the emperor, and if I report that the Count is not doing a good job, it would be very difficult.

But I decided to dig deeper. There must have been something going on with Count’s eyes shaking slightly.

“I started the tour to see if each territory runs well, if there are any concerns for the lords, and if there is anything else I need to look at as prime minister, you can talk comfortably.”

When she made up her soft voice, the rigid Count’s mouth was a little loosened.

“There’s no need to worry about. I’m just faithfully continuing what Gesban has been doing for generations.”

I didn’t give up even after the Count’s hesitating words.

The Count was not easily helped by others due to his high pride in his responsibility.

He’s like a person who calls the customer center only after making things worse by missing the right time while trying other methods.

It seemed that he could relieve his needless sense of responsibility even a little if he let him know that it was not a problem he was having, and that everyone else had troubles.

“Baron Hanae was troubled by the polluted river, and the Marquis of Sherrington was troubled by money.”

I put my fingers together.

“Each territory that came through has its own problems. It’s just hard to run a fief.”

The Count nodded unconsciously.

I laughed more brightly to nail the wedge.

“The count is doing a very good job. But since it’s an important position, you must have a lot of difficulties.”

The count’s face was slightly loosened by the words that praised him but soothed him gently.

“Well, I can’t say no.”

The Count, who stroked his moustache, coughed in vain. And he finally opened his mouth.

“Actually, I’ve been having a problem with my territory since a year ago”

“What is it?”

I tilted my body towards him.

“The people of the territory. They’re disappearing one by one.”
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