Chapter 336: The duke peers into the abyss

“Your Excellency, perhaps you should give up on this visit?” his secretary said, opposing the idea. “It will tarnish your reputation, after all…”

“I can’t do that. Making an appointment and then simply not turning up would be even worse for my reputation. And this is a chance that will never come again,” Hadros said. “Mysterious changes in Duke Alcrem and the nobles who serve him, incomprehensible moves made by Duke Sauron and Duke Hartner, and a stink drifting about the Farzon Duchy… And most importantly, the suspicious behavior of Prime Minister Tercatanis and the Church. Vandalieu Zakkart holds one end of the truth behind all of these things. If I pass up this opportunity now, I may never be able to learn the truth.”

“It is true that the members of the house of Honorary Countess Zakkart are suspicious. But surely a single Dhampir boy does not hold that much influence?” his secretary said doubtfully.

Hadros gave a wry smile. “I don’t believe he’s behind absolutely everything, either. But he should at least know a part of the truth. If I can learn it from him, I should be able to make conjectures about what is currently happening that are exceedingly close to the truth.”

Hadros was certain that something big was going on in the world right now. It wasn’t only the things that he had just mentioned – There had been an inexplicable series of events in the past, beginning with the failed expedition into the Boundary Mountain Range by the Mirg shield-nation, a vassal nation of the enemy.

Hadros had attempted to investigate these matters with the intelligence service of the Jahan house, but they had failed to learn the truth behind these incidents. That was why he wished to meet Vandalieu under the pretense of ‘visiting’ him while he was in a medical facility and had nowhere to run. He couldn’t pass up this opportunity to learn what Vandalieu knew.

“And I have the perfect guard with me, do I not? You may be my secretary, but you are also the ‘Furious Mountain Shield General’ Ludario, one of the Seven Mountain Generals who are the elite force of the Jahan Duchy,” Hadros said.

The Jahan Duchy was the snowiest region in the Orbaume Kingdom, and there were seven towering mountains to its north and east that isolated it from the sea. The duchy’s elite fighting force was named after these mountains, and Ludario was one of them.

Ludario sighed. “Your Excellency, the world is not so kind that I will be able to do everything on my own. There are plenty of enemies so powerful that were I to face them, I would not even be able to buy time for you to escape. And the possibility that we will find ourselves in such a situation is always present. I would have liked for you to bring at least two more of the Seven Mountain Generals.”

Ludario was on the taller side for a human, but he was only a little under 180 centimeters tall. When he stood next to Hadros, a Titan who stood more than two and a half meters tall, they looked like an adult and a child from a distance.

But their strength was the exact opposite – Ludario was powerful, and he would be able to defeat Hadros as easily as he would a child.

“Don’t go asking for the impossible,” Hadros snorted. “We’ve got elite knights in the carriage behind us. Are they not enough?”

“They are not,” said Ludario. “Given their strength, by the time I call for a retreat, they will already be corpses that no longer resemble what they originally looked like.”

“You should be more careful with your words. This is why the military officers don’t like you,” Hadros sighed. “Anyway, it seems that we’re almost there.”

The gate to the Hospital of Psychotherapy was opened by the security guards, and the two carriages from the Jahan house entered the grounds.

The moment he stepped down from his carriage, Hadros’s smile and his composure evaporated.

What is this bizarre atmosphere? It’s like we’re being surrounded and watched by something we can’t see. That’s impossible! This is supposed to be an imprisonment facility.

Hadros regarded this hospital as a mere prison. It was a place for incurably ill patients to be confined under the pretense of hospitalization, and for the children of nobles who did such terrible deeds that they couldn’t be allowed to go free and those that lost the struggle to succeed their house to be imprisoned until they died.

Thus, it wasn’t a place that Hadros, the current duke of the Jahan Duchy, should be fearing.

But the hospital’s atmosphere had changed completely.

“Your Excellency… Something has happened inside the hospital. I do not smell anything like blood, but some completely abnormal change has occurred. I believe it would be wise to turn back,” Ludario advised.

But Hadros decided to press on. “No. If there’s been a change to the extent that you describe, then we must see it for ourselves before the other dukes and the nobles in Central. Ludario, you come with me. The servants can stay in the carriages. Half of the knights will stay here to protect them, and the other half will secure an escape route through the lobby on the first floor… Engage in battle as you see fit. I will take full responsibility.”

“As you will!” the knights said.

Ludario and the knights moved briskly. Hadros took the basket containing the gift for Vandalieu from Ludario and entered the hospital after his knights.

As far as the knights and Hadros could tell, it seemed that nothing odd was happening inside the hospital’s lobby. The hospital workers bowed deeply to greet their noble guest.

“Welcome TO our HOSPITAL, DUKE Jahan. The director WILL be HERE shortly,” said the worker at the reception desk, bowing his head with a twisted smile on his face.

His expression was clearly abnormal at a glance – his smile was so wide that he looked like he was trying to tear the corners of his mouth, but his eyes were wide open.

“Your Excellency… All of the people inside this hospital have lost their minds, and they are under someone’s control,” Ludario whispered to Hadros.

“You can tell?” Hadros whispered back.

“Yes. In the past, I have seen people possessed by Ghosts and people whose bodies were taken over by Demons that do not possess physical forms. These workers look very similar to that.”

Moments after this whispered exchange, an unfamiliar man appeared from the other side of the corridor. The hospital’s director was supposed to be near-elderly man, but the one approaching the duke now was a slender man in his thirties with a monocle and a well-maintained beard.

“Welcome, Duke Hadros Jahan. My name is Luciliano, and I serve as the representative of this facility’s director,” he said with a smooth bow.

His impeccable etiquette made it clear that he was a highly sophisticated man.

“Nice to meet you,” Hadros said shortly. “But what do you mean, ‘representative?’ Has something happened to the director? If so, I haven’t been informed…”

“My apologies. The director is feeling unwell today and is lying in bed. It seems that he ate too much for dinner last night,” said Luciliano.

“Ate too much… Well, if that’s the case, it can’t be helped.”

Hadros and his men had entered the hospital that was filled with a bizarre atmosphere, only to be told by a representative they didn’t know that the director was bedridden after eating too much the day before their visit.

Hadros did not believe this to be a coincidence. The thought of turning around and escaping from this place occurred to him for a moment, but if he did that, he would never learn what was happening here.

And Hadros was confident. Ludario was with him, but Hadros himself was quite skilled as well. As much as he hated the fact, he had been born as a sturdy-bodied Titan, and due to the training that he had received since he was young, his strength was equivalent to that of a B-class adventurer. If the situation called for it, it would be easy for him to punch through this hospital’s walls in order to make an escape.

Thus, Hadros believed that he would be able to escape, even if the situation did become dangerous.

If you don’t enter the Dragon’s nest, you’ll never get your hands on its eggs. I should stop hesitating and press on, he thought.

“I see,” Hadros said. “Please lead the way, then.”

“As you wish,” said Luciliano. “Right this way.”

Hadros and Ludario followed Luciliano… for some reason, not to the patients’ rooms, but into the staff building where the workers’ and doctors’ rooms were.

“This does not seem to be where the patients’ rooms are,” said Ludario.

“You are correct, but it is currently leisure time. Mas… Vandalieu Zakkart-kun is currently in the courtyard,” said Luciliano.

“Leisure time?” Ludario repeated.

“Yes. It is a time where patients are free to walk around the hospital and its grounds. No matter how comfortable the patients’ rooms in this hospital may be, not going outside to get some sunlight and an appropriate amount of exercise is bad for their health, you see,” Luciliano said. “You know, there is the saying, ‘disease begins in the mind’… Ah, perhaps this isn’t such a common saying here?”

“There is a similar saying – ‘a sound mind dwells in a sound body,’” said Hadros. “If I recall, it was a saying left behind by Bellwood, but–”

“More importantly, when was this leisure time system introduced?” Ludario interrupted. “I have no memory of there being such a system in this facility.”

This facility was also used by those with connections to the Jahan Duchy… to imprison individuals that were problematic to them. This hadn’t been possible for Hadros’s uncle, however… The man who had caused Silkie Zakkart Mansion to become a haunted mansion. In that particular case, his crimes had been too great to conceal.

In any case, the Hospital of Psychotherapy was known to Duke Jahan and those who directly served him as an imprisonment facility, not as a medical facility.

It most certainly wasn’t a facility that would allow its patients to walk around outside their rooms for the sake of their mental and physical health – and certainly not outside the building, even if they did remain within the grounds. If it was, then it would be problematic.

“Since last night,” said Luciliano. “At the director’s orders.”

“… Your Excellency,” Ludario muttered in an urgent tone.

“No, not yet,” Hadros said to him quietly.

This hospital had been completely taken over. The director had likely already been killed or imprisoned, and the hospital workers were either obeying because their lives had been threatened, or… it was possible that they had been replaced by patients disguised as staff. Suspecting that this was the case, Ludario was trying to urge Hadros to give the order to flee, but Hadros had decided that there was no danger yet.

As they proceeded through a windowless corridor, they saw expressionless, empty-looking workers cleaning it. Strangely, even as they saw Hadros, they didn’t even give a small bow. They simply stared at him with their empty eyes.

“My apologies. They are terribly possessed… I mean, exhausted,” said Luciliano.

“No, I am not bothered. I do not wish to interfere with their work, either,” Hadros said.

“I am truly grateful that you are such a tolerant and understanding man, Your Excellency,” Luciliano said with a bow.

But Hadros sensed that Luciliano didn’t have a shred of respect for him – though this was a small matter compared to the bizarre changes that were occurring in this hospital.

A groan came from somewhere. A moment later, something crossed the corridor in front of them. It appeared from the wall to the right, then walked through the wall to the left and vanished.

“Get back, Your Excellency!” Ludario shouted in alarm, stepping forward.

“W-what was that?!” Hadros demanded.

“That was a patient,” said Luciliano, who hadn’t even stopped walking.

“A-a patient?! You have a patient that can come out of one wall and walk through another?!” Hadros exclaimed.

“Yes, as you just saw,” Luciliano said matter-of-factly.

“That’s not possible…” Hadros muttered.

“That was a patient who suffers from having multiple personalities, whom Vandalieu Zakkart examined and treated. If multiple personalities sharing a single physical body is a problem, then it would be best for all of the personalities to be able to surface and move about on their own. That was what he thought, so that was what he did,” Luciliano explained.

“I-I am unable to comprehend what you are saying,” Hadros stammered.

Luciliano’s explanation was incomprehensible to him. Why had Vandalieu, who was supposed to be a patient himself, examined another patient? And the result was terrible, too. He had believed that it would be best for all of the personalities to be able to surface and move about on their own, so that was what he had done. Hadros couldn’t understand at all.

If it were possible to think about what should be done and then simply do it, nobody would ever suffer.

“I am in complete agreement with you, but…” Luciliano said as he continued walking.

All around him, silhouettes with no physical form were running about – passing straight through the walls to his left and right.

“Still, I do not quite understand it yet, either. Perhaps it would be best to ask him about it yourself later?” Luciliano suggested. “Well, I don’t know if you would understand even if you listened to his explanation.”

Luciliano opened the door leading to the courtyard.

Hadros and Ludario had no idea what the courtyard had previously been like. But they were certain that it had been completely different from what they were seeing now.

The courtyard, which should have been dim because it was surrounded by buildings, was lit by gentle sunlight. Various kinds of flowers and trees bearing fruit were growing in it, and several men and women that seemed to be patients were having fun on the playground equipment that had been placed here.

Bewildered, Hadros and Ludario looked up to see enormous mirrors on top of the buildings that were apparently reflecting the sunlight into the courtyard.

The buildings had almost no windows anyway, and the ones they did have were extremely small. The reflected sunlight probably didn’t cause any problems.

“Be wary, Your Excellency,” Ludario murmured.

Thanks to his warning, Hadros noticed that all of the trees growing in the courtyard were monsters.

“Luciliano-kun, the trees growing in the courtyard appear to be monsters,” Hadros said.

“Ah, that was something that was outside our control. They became monsters without us noticing… If I had to say, it must have been last night. We were very surprised,” said Luciliano, looking entirely unsurprised.

It was clear that he and the patients sensed no danger whatsoever from the trees that had become monsters.

“They are very helpful, as they grow bright flowers and produce all kinds of fruit. We intend to use their fresh fruit in the meals we provide from now on,” said an unfamiliar voice, startling Hadros and Ludario.

Before they knew it, the person they had come to see was here.

“Good day, Duke Hadros Jahan. I cannot find the words to express my gratitude for your visit today,” he said. “Although it is a modest arrangement, I have prepared a seat for you, so please come this way.”

“Y-yes, thank you for welcoming me here,” Hadros stammered. “It is good to see that you seem well.”

White, wax-like skin. Cloudy eyes. A voice that sounded completely lifeless. Vandalieu didn’t seem well at all.

He followed Vandalieu and sat down on the seat that had been prepared… a rug that had been placed in the courtyard.

Hadros was surprised even further by a lady wearing a dress that was simple and graceful, yet tailored from a fabric of such high quality that he had never seen anything like it.

“It is an honor to meet you, Duke Jahan. I am Amelia Sauron, his wife,” she said.

Hadros quickly regained his composure, remembering that this woman was the one that his spies had investigated – Elizabeth’s mother, the one who had been hospitalized here with a mental illness.

“… Nice to meet you. It is my first time meeting your husband like this, but he has accomplished many great things. It is an honor to be able to speak with him,” Hadros said.

“Why is she here?” Ludario asked.

“It is leisure time. I do not think it is such an unnatural thing for a husband and wife to spend time together, do you?” said Luciliano, who still claimed to be a representative of this hospital’s director.

“… From what I have heard, she is not fit to be here. It may cause improper misunderstandings,” Ludario said, trying to use common-sense arguments. “And you say they are husband and wife, but they are not truly husband and wife–”

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence as his body tensed up, readying itself for combat. His entire body became drenched with cold sweat in an instant.

“I’m sorry, but I have been hospitalized here because I am suffering from a mental illness, and my mind is in a very unstable state,” said Vandalieu, directing his killing intent towards Ludario. “Therefore, I would very much like for any provocative remarks to be avoided. Both on your part and mine.”

“… I must apologize for the impoliteness my subordinate has shown. I am very sorry. He isn’t used to coming to places like this, you see,” said Hadros.

He didn’t feel anything, as Vandalieu’s killing intent had been directed only at Ludario. But given Ludario’s behavior, he could sense that something had happened.

“As long as you understand, it’s fine,” Vandalieu said.

“Dear, if you’re going to be discussing work, then…” said Amelia.

“It’s alright, Amelia. You can stay here,” Vandalieu told her, and then he turned back to Hadros. “Now then, allow me to hear what you have to say. I have some questions for you too, Duke Jahan, so how about we take turns asking each other questions? If the one being asked cannot answer a question, then the one asking may ask another question.”

“… This seems like wordplay in a different sense from what ‘wordplay’ actually means, but very well,” Hadros agreed. “Then let us follow standard practice and begin with some light small talk. First of all, I would like to apologize for what my relatives did to the victims of the mansion that has become your familiar.”

“That’s quite alright. You’re not the one who did those deeds, Duke Jahan, and it’s something that happened in the distant past. Silkie and the others don’t hold any grudge towards you, either,” Vandalieu said.

“I see. I’m glad to hear that.”

“I have a question for you: Have you had lunch? If you would like, I could have some prepared.”

“There’s no need. I have already eaten. I am grateful for your consideration, however. Come to think of it, the dress that your wife is wearing is quite exquisite. Where did you have it tailored? I am ashamed to admit that I have never seen such fabric.”

“I tailored it with the threads I produced this morning.”

“… Hmm? I’m afraid I don’t quite understand…?”

“So, I have another question. May I speak in my usual manner? The only difference would be the pronoun with which I refer to myself, but I am starting to feel my shoulders getting stiff.”

“I do not mind, as long as you permit me to speak in my usual manner as well. So, I would like an answer to my question regarding the fabric…”

“Let me give you a demonstration, then.”

With spitting noises, Vandalieu produced some threads.

“You spat threads from your mouth?! And these threads have become a cloth?!” Hadros exclaimed.

As their conversation continued, Hadros gradually began to enjoy this question-and-answer exchange with Vandalieu. Ludario, having recovered from the incident with Vandalieu that had occurred a few moments ago, tried to interrupt numerous times… and even attempted to outright stop the conversation. But the questions and answers continued.

Before he knew it, Hadros was speaking of his emotions, things that he had never even revealed to Ludario, his trusted friend.

“I was the son born between the previous Duke Jahan and his lawful wife…” Hadros exhaled. “By the time I was old enough to be aware of my surroundings, I was confused by my own birth and incredibly anxious. Whenever the adults around me looked at me, they whispered things to each other, and the other noble children kept their distance from me… even my siblings who shared my blood. My father would frown at me, and my mother would glare at me as if blaming me for something. As a young child, I thought that I must have done something terrible to be treated this way, but I couldn’t understand what it was.”

The tragedy that had befallen Hadros was his atavism… He had strongly inherited the blood of the Titan that had apparently married one of his ancestors in the distant past.

His father, the previous duke of the Jahan Duchy, suspected his mother of infidelity. His mother blamed her husband’s doubt in her faithfulness on Hadros being born as an unsightly (Titan) child.

But other than being a Titan, Hadros strongly inherited the features of both his parents and the features that ran in the Jahan house. As he grew older, the suspicions directed at his mother faded. And so, Hadros was shunned as a failure.

As a young child, Hadros was unable to understand why he was being shunned. He was an outstanding child – with the education that he was given as the child of the duke’s lawful wife, he excelled beyond all standards in his studies, etiquette, swordsmanship, horse-riding, hunting, and even in art.

But his family never praised or acknowledged him.

When Hadros was a child, the Jahan Duchy was a region that was even more discriminating against Vida’s races than the Alcrem Duchy was in the past or the Hartner Duchy was now.

Of course, it was still a part of the Orbaume Kingdom, so the worship of Vida was allowed. But all of Vida’s races belonged to the working class, and there were restrictions on where they could live and what jobs they could work.

Every guard, knight, government official, business owner, and noble in the duchy was a human, Elf, or Dwarf – the races that were considered to be people.

Some of the working class, the lowest class in society, were people of those races. But there wasn’t a single member of a race created by Vida in the upper classes.

In this dichotomized society, Hadros had been born as the biological son of the duke and his lawful wife. If he hadn’t been extremely small for a Titan when he was born – simply appearing to be a rather large human baby – he might have been secretly disposed of.

The suppressed members of Vida’s races and the people who worshiped Vida saw Hadros becoming a capable individual as he grew older and rejoiced, hoping that he could change the Jahan Duchy.

But the more these people placed their hope in him, the more Hadros’s mother and father – the ones whose praise he sought the most – believed that he was a problematic factor that might overthrow them one day. They put their effort into educating and showing their love for his less exceptional siblings.

This situation changed when Hadros joined the Church of Alda and studied its scriptures to the point he memorized them, earning the praise of the head of the Jahan Duchy’s Church of Alda.

That was when Hadros’s parents praised him for the first time. And then he realized what he needed to do to be loved by his beloved parents and family, and earn the trust of his family’s vassals.

After that, Hadros became an upstanding worshiper of Alda. He maintained law and order, fought on the frontlines against monsters with the orders of knights in order to protect the people, exterminated bandits, destroyed an organization of Vampires that worshiped an evil god, and made every effort to solve the food supply issues and economic problems that the Jahan Duchy faced as a harsh, snowy region.

Some of his siblings – particularly his younger brother that was closest to him in age, and his older brother whose mother was a concubine – claimed that Hadros wasn’t fit to be duke because he had been born as a member of one of Vida’s races. But Hadros crushed them with the accomplishments that he had made as a worshiper of Alda and became the duke.

About a hundred years had passed since then, and his mother, father, and his siblings were all beneath the dirt now. Even so, Hadros had never thought to stop being an upstanding worshiper of Alda. After all, he knew no other way of life. He knew no other way of being a worthy member of the Jahan house.

“I never questioned it. I never even paid it any conscious thought. These past hundred years, I have personally crossed swords with the Amid Empire’s army numerous times. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been insulted for calling myself a worshiper of Alda despite being a Titan. But I believed that the teachings of the Church of Alda in the Jahan Duchy, the teachings of the Church that appointed me as honorary high priest, are the correct teachings of Alda! … Was I wrong?” Hadros whispered, firmly grasping Vandalieu’s shoulders.

“I’m a worshiper of Vida, so I have a feeling that you’ve chosen the wrong person to ask, but…” Vandalieu paused for a moment to think. “I don’t think you were wrong.”

“I wasn’t… wrong?”

“No, or at least, I don’t think you were.”

Hadros may have been born to the house of the duke, the most influential noble house in the Jahan duchy, but a child was still a child. It would be wrong to blame him for being unable to do something about the structure of his duchy’s society or the prejudiced views of his family.

It was only natural for a child to desire the love of their parents and family, and if they found a way to be given that love, it was only natural for them to carry it out – especially if it was considered the right thing to do by the society in which they and their family lived in.

Hadros was not even a member of Alda’s peaceful faction; his duchy continued its policies that discriminated against Vida’s races. However, his government did not harshly tax members of Vida’s races, nor did it kill them for no reason. It simply restricted what work they could do and where they could live.

It was likely that there were members of Vida’s races in his duchy that had no freedom and suffered terribly, but as the ruler of his duchy, Hadros was managing and making the best use of his people, which included those of Vida’s races, in an appropriate manner.

“… You’re not going to tell me that I should have become a worshiper of Vida?” Hadros asked.

“I don’t think you becoming a worshiper of Vida would have done any good. In the worst-case scenario, you might have been assassinated while you were still a child. In the best-case scenario, you probably would have been disowned by your family,” Vandalieu said. “And if you’d decided to do it after you became duke, your vassals and the nobles with a court rank of marquis and below wouldn’t have been very pleased, would they?”

Hadros was a talented individual, but he didn’t have the power to transform his entire society. If he had chosen to live as a worshiper of Vida, he would likely never have reached the position he was in now.

And his vassals and the nobles with a court rank of marquis and below trusted him and followed him despite the fact that he was a member of a race created by Vida because he seemed to be a more devout worshiper of Alda than anyone else. If he had become a worshiper of Vida after becoming duke, he would have lost their trust.

In truth, there were some who had been drawn to his personality and charisma, but that wasn’t something that Vandalieu was aware of.

“Of course, I’m a worshiper of Vida, so I will advocate that you worship Vida and do everything I can for the members of Vida’s races in your duchy,” Vandalieu said. “But that is completely unrelated to whether you were right or not.”

“… I was sure you would be more forceful in trying to convert me,” said Hadros.

“If you expected me to try to force you to convert using hot irons and stakes, that’s very disappointing. Only a madman would do that,” Vandalieu said. “I welcome those who come and follow (haunt)… or rather, try to stop those who leave. But I won’t forcibly drag someone who doesn’t want to come in the first place.”

Vandalieu had no intention of forcibly converting someone who insisted on worshiping Alda. It would be a waste of time to engage with them, so he would simply leave them be.

It was possible that Vida, the Goddess of Life and Love, might want him to be a little more enthusiastic about propagating her religion. But just as gods had their own circumstances to worry about, mortals had their own circumstances, too.

“Then why are you speaking with me now?” Hadros asked.

“There’s no rule that forbids worshipers of Vida from listening to what worshipers of Alda have to say… As insignificant as I may be for a religious leader, it would be problematic for me to simply refuse to listen to a person’s troubles, wouldn’t it?” said Vandalieu.

“‘Person,’ huh… I would never have been treated as a person if I’d never begun to worship Alda. Worshiping Alda was the bare minimum that was required of me to be treated as a person. But perhaps that isn’t the case… A person is still a person, no matter what they worship, I see,” Hadros said, and then he began laughing.

Hadros’s laughter grew louder and more uncontrollable, and tears began streaming from his eyes. After watching him for a while, Vandalieu looked around to see that Luciliano was talking to Ludario, who had sat down on the rug and was drinking some tea that Amelia had offered him.

“It seems that your employer has a great deal of pent-up emotions,” Luciliano remarked. “He is crying so much that it looks like Master might become pickled in his tears.”

“Indeed,” Ludario agreed. “He was always the kind of person who rushes through life, but… Incidentally, you were the representative of this hospital’s director, were you not? Since when did you become the apprentice of a patient?”

“To elaborate, the hospital’s director is being represented by me, an apprentice of a patient,” Luciliano said.

“I see.”

Hadros and Ludario’s initial plan had gone out the window when Hadros began letting out all of the emotions that had been buried within his heart – though they had certainly still gained something today… the knowledge that they didn’t need to be overly wary of Vandalieu.

“So, what do you plan to do now?” Luciliano asked. “You are a worshiper of Alda, are you not?”

“That is true, but the Church of Alda in the Jahan Duchy does not forbid us from being under the employment of a member of one of Vida’s races or a worshiper of Vida,” said Ludario. “Besides, I am not a cleric or a priest. I am a humble worker. I shall follow my employer.”

There were some humble workers who would throw away their current lifestyle, their income, their relatives, their wife, and their children for the sake of their religion. But Ludario wasn’t one of them.

“Could it be that Honorary Countess Darcia Zakkart approved of the duke’s visit because she knew things would turn out this way?” Ludario murmured.

It would be terrifying if this were true, as it would mean that Darcia’s wisdom was as bottomless as the abyss, but… this didn’t seem to be the case.

“No, neither Master nor his mother thought about it too deeply. I suppose she was interested in Duke Jahan, so she decided to use this opportunity to let Master meet him and hear what he had to say?” said Luciliano.

Ludario inhaled, filling his nostrils with the scent of tea, and relaxed his shoulders.

“I see… In any case, given His Excellency’s current state, let us continue the conversation over here,” said Vandalieu. “We have a good understanding of the state of affairs in the Sauron Duchy, thanks to her,” he said, glancing at Amelia. “So, is it alright if I ask you about the fact that Prime Minister Tercatanis is gathering fragments of the Demon King?”

“Hmm, I suppose what Master means to say is, could you tell us about it in more detail?” said Luciliano.

Amelia gave a happy laugh as she looked at Vandalieu, who was being held in Hadros’s arms. “You’re getting along with Duke Jahan so well already! I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, dear.”

With Hadros’s arms wrapped around him, Vandalieu learned some very interesting information regarding the fragments of the Demon King.