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Watching the real madness of Rutis, who always promoted his pawns to knights and operated with five of them, and the fake madness of Tannian, who ditched the bishop strategy for queens, was surprisingly entertaining. They both played well, indulging in eccentric strategies like true veterans of the game.

“A knight killing a priest? What a sign of the end of times.”

“A fair and square victory is the true virtue of a knight.”

The only thing regrettable was that they were still stuck in their silly role-playing antics.

And every time they caused a ruckus, Lather looked at them with a subtly twisted expression on his usually expressionless face as if wondering, ‘What on earth are these people doing?’

‘They’re certainly not normal.’

But from my perspective, Lather was just as weird as they were. How did such a bunch of fools end up here? It’d be hard to gather such a group even if one tried.

I turned away from the embarrassing club members, worried about being late for the tea party.

‘I feel like I’m drinking more tea than water these days.’

Lately, tea felt like my regular drink, and today was no exception since Mother called for me again. A mere rain wouldn’t dampen Mother’s enthusiasm, after all.

Of course, there was no need to go to the rear garden. Why risk adding rainwater to our tea? The problem was that the tea parties held inside the mansion were becoming more lavish.

The bigger the event, the longer I had to sit with them. It would’ve been easier to slip away unnoticed if only there were more people, but it was always the same members: me, Mother, and Marghetta. That was it.

At first, all of the guests were invited to these tea parties. It’s one thing when it’s a small-scale gathering, but it’s tricky to invite some and ignore others when it’s a grand event held inside the mansion. But after showing up once or twice, they started skipping the tea party altogether.

“The prosperity of the Krasius family is a blessing to the Empire.”

Wondering if something was amiss, I asked them. Ainter explained their reason, which roughly translated to ‘The atmosphere between you guys seemed nice, so we’ll opt out as uninvited guests.’

‘Why are they so tactful only when it comes to these kind of situations?’

Why is it that they’re so perceptive about other people’s affairs when their own romantic relationships are ruined?

I understood Irina’s absence since she was a third party, and I get that Louise had sharp insight. But damn it, you guys shouldn’t do this. Think of the hard time I’ve been having because of you.

No matter how positively I tried to think about it, it was infuriating. If they had that level of perception, they should’ve stopped acting like fools until now.

“Hyung, I’m not that clueless.”

And the most annoying brat—I mean, the most annoying person was Erich. How dare he say that in front of me?

He’s not clueless? Does that mean he was just shy when it came to his own love life or something? How did these five idiots end up together?

‘Damned fools.’

But what was the use of getting angry? The fact that I had to go to the tea party alone didn’t change.

“Sir Carl, welcome.”

“You’re here. Have a seat.”

At least there were two, no, three people happy about it, including the head maid. The smile she wore was too warm today.

“I’m sorry for being late.”

Attending the tea party felt a bit awkward, but it wasn’t an unwelcome gathering.

It was certainly better than being summoned by the Crown Prince while I was working. That bastard did nothing but mumble to himself while drinking wine.

For a moment, I imagined Marghetta whining drunkenly. The same action felt different depending on who did it.

“Sir Carl?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

I quickly looked away from Marghetta, who blinked innocently. It felt rude to have those thoughts about her, especially considering her noble upbringing.

After that, the tea party went smoothly except for the incident where the head maid said, ‘It seems the Young Master became shy because of the young lady’s beauty.’

***

I couldn’t just drop the pen from my life.

If that wasn’t the case, then I wouldn’t be here. Did I grab a pencil during my first birthday celebration or something? What’s wrong with me?

“The work gets done quickly with the Young Master’s help.”

“That’s because the head butler had almost finished it.”

I handed over a document to the head butler while massaging the back of my neck. I didn’t expect to be working even after coming to the territory.

Or rather, was it because I was here at the territory? Although it was natural for the heir of the family to oversee the work, I honestly haven’t really played the role properly until now.

‘It feels strange.’

Working in the territory and not in the Capital felt so unfamiliar.

And it was also sad that I was now handling other tasks when I had just finished my workload in the Prosecutors’ Office.

But what could I do? I couldn’t ignore the head butler, who was clearly overworked. His dark circles seemed to sag further down his face every time I saw him.

“I’ll be able to sleep soundly tonight.”

See, he even felt happy about such small things.

‘Poor thing.’

If the head butler had any fault, it was that he got stuck with the wrong superior. The Patriarch, except for military and diplomatic affairs, left everything else to the head butler.

Considering that the Patriarch was also a member of the imperial council, the head butler being overworked seemed inevitable. But just because it was inevitable didn’t make the work any less exhausting.

‘He should be healthy.’

He had to be, so he could continue to work hard when I became the Count.

I briefly thought about sharing the potion I received from the Mage Duchess with the head butler, but then discarded the idea. Didn’t they say that health drinks lost their effectiveness when shared? Then, it would be better to find something else for him.

“Young Master, could you please take care of this as well?”

“Sure.”

I took the document the head butler handed me and quickly scanned it.

From what I heard, a chicken fed with ginseng tasted better, so a well-nourished head butler must be more capable, right?

But the head butler would probably run for the hills if he heard this, so I kept the thought to myself. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

“Oh. By the way, Young Master.”

I got nervous for a moment, thinking that he caught my train of thought.

“The Count of Horfeld changed just the other day.”

“The Count of Horfeld?”

It was an unexpected piece of news. The Count of Horfeld was one of the Empire’s nobles and was a subject of frequent attention. How could this happen so suddenly?

“People come and go so quickly.”

We often interacted with other imperial families, so I’ve met him personally. I should offer my condolences—

“He retired.”

“Oh.”

That explained it. He seemed perfectly fine in the last report.

“The title was passed on to their young master. The reason wasn’t disclosed, but he’ll be the youngest Count of the Empire.”

“He’s even younger than me?”

“He’s only two years older than Young Master Erich.”

That would make him 19. Being a Count at an age when he hadn’t even graduated from the Academy… that would be quite a heavy burden.

“He’s still young; it must be tough.”

The head butler’s expression changed slightly at my comment, but I ignored it.

I was the exception. Wartime and peacetime weren’t the same.

Either way, the imperial council would be bustling for a while due to the change of the Count of Horfeld. Just how much of the previous Count Horfeld’s shares the current count would be able to inherit was still uncertain.

‘It’s going to be busy for a while.’

And whenever such an incident occurred, it was the Prosecutors’ Office that moved. We had to thoroughly check the background of the new count, reassess his close associates, and monitor the scale of justice that was being administered.

Damn it, it looks like I would have to go back to the Capital and start working again. Why did the respectable gentleman retire and make things difficult for others?

***

The Count’s office, which was inaccessible without permission, was an ideal place for secretive conversations.

— So there are no suspicious movements.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

It was also a suitable environment for reporting to the Emperor.

— The Information Department’s report is the same as the Count’s. It was completely calm, without any movement.

I quietly nodded to His Majesty’s words. Indeed, the guests staying in the territory showed no unusual movements.

They stayed inside when it rained and took a stroll when it was sunny, occasionally attending my wife’s tea parties. Just like guests at a friend’s house.

Their calmness made me wonder if they were acting discreetly to avoid my watchful eyes, but it meant that they were genuinely cautious if the Information Department also reported the same.

— Perhaps I was wrong.

“How can Your Majesty say that? It’s only due to our shortcomings.”

The Emperor expressed doubt in his wise judgment, but that wasn’t true. His Majesty was right. It’s only because we haven’t reached the level of His Majesty’s insight.

— These are the ones who played the bold move of enrolling in the Academy. They’re prepared for a three-year stay.

Yet, His Majesty continued without any agitation.

— They aren’t ones to act carelessly even if given the chance to.

I couldn’t deny His Majesty’s words. That’s right. If they planned to stay in the Empire for three years, they would move cautiously. If they didn’t want to be forcibly sent back after just one semester, then they would have to be discreet.

Yes, His Majesty was correct. If they were the kind to reveal their true colors as soon as nobody was looking, they wouldn’t have come to the Empire so boldly.

— Keeping them in your territory any longer might arouse suspicion. Send them back at an appropriate time.

“As you command, Your Majesty.”

Despite the suddenness of their arrival, they were still royalty and guests of the Empire. Leaving them unattended for too long in a foreign territory rather than the Capital would be undeniably suspicious.

— Still, it’s a good thing that we have the Executive Manager.

“I am humbled by Your Majesty’s words.”

I couldn’t raise my head after hearing about the trust that was placed in Carl, the Executive Manager. This showed that His Majesty’s trust extended not just to me but also to my son, the future of the Krasius family.

Indeed. He was the legacy of the Krasius family, a truly remarkable and excellent son.

And with those gracious words, His Majesty ended the communication.

As His Majesty had commanded, it was now time to send them back at the right moment. I owed that much to my wife, after all.

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