Chapter 39: The Grand Duke and His Secretary

“…… hmm.”

The day after the discussion about the Divine Soldier. Lute was unusually busy at work. He was checking the report from his subordinate who had been ordered to monitor the divine soldiers.

“…So the trading company belongs to a third country that is close to the Republic, troublesome.”

I naturally sigh at the summarized content.

Although there is almost no decent information available at this point, it is easy to imagine the long and difficult road to a solution just from the contents of the report.

As I was staring at the report with a frown, there was a knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

『── Your Excellency. May I have a moment of your time? 』

“Azure. You may come in.”

“Excuse me.”

The person who visited the room was Azure, who had officially become Lute’s subordinate as his secretary.

“…that’s unusual. I can’t believe His Excellency is awake at this time and even checking documents.”

“That’s the first thing you say to me. You’re getting pretty tainted, too.”

“Thanks to all of you, I would like to say that.”

Azure shrugged her shoulders unapologetically towards Lute, who was mixed with amazement.

The interaction was clearly different from the previous one. Not only because they were now officially boss and subordinate, but more so because Azure was influenced by his other subordinates.

In fact, Azure was initially dissatisfied with her position as Lute’s secretary. Although she was supposed to work as a secretary, Lute had no work to do, which meant that Azure had no work of her own. But that did not mean, of course, that she would be forced to spend the night with him as a woman.

An environment in which one’s own usefulness could not be demonstrated at all. This was frustrating for Azure. In the end, Lute threw Azure aside to help Liselotte, and the problem was solved.

She was slightly dissatisfied with Lute at that time. Whether they knew it or not, Lute and his subordinates were having conversations right in front of Azure, which was not like that of a master and servant. Furthermore, the delinquent grand duke doesn’t even criticize the useless old men who encourage Azure to behave in the same way as they do.

As a result, Azure was tainted. She was now one of those people who, like the rest of his subordinates, would let their unreserved sarcasm fly at Lute.

“It’s really become like the very essence of condescension.”

“Are you uncomfortable?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have the personality to complain about other people’s attitude.”

“Yes. I know.”

“Come on. So, what do you want, Azure?”

With a wry smile, Lute took his eyes off the report and asked for the reason she was there.

As I have said many times, Lute is basically a man of leisure who does not work. There is no reason for Azure, who is Liselotte’s de facto subordinate, even though she is his secretary, to go out of her way to visit Lute’s room.

“Your Excellency, you have a visitor. It’s a sister and a brother”.

But when he heard what it was about, he was convinced. Apparently, Rick and his sister had asked for him.

“Oh. They’re already here. Even though I reminded them, it’s early.”

“Commoners were invited to the lord’s mansion. There is no way they could delay it.”

“That’s true too.…No, wait. Why did you come to tell me this? What happened to the servants?”

“It’s not that I’m negligent. I offered to do some secretarial work for you. After all, this is the first time I’ve had a chance.”

“I’m sorry I’m lazy”

Apparently, Azure considered this contact as her first job as Lute’s secretary.

She even went out of her way to tell him on behalf of his servants, so it can be said that she was very earnest or perhaps even teasing.

Either way, Lute looked up at the ceiling for a while, thinking that the tainting was bad.

“I understand. Let’s go right away. Please show me the way.”

“Is everything alright at your end?”

“Yeah. It’s an important matter, but the content itself isn’t a big deal.”

What was written in the report was only information about the previous day’s movements of the divine soldier and the company to which the divine soldier presumably belonged.

The former was not particularly movement-like, so it has zero significance. The latter contains only the level of information that customers of the trading company would know.

After all, Lute’s subordinates, who were only soldiers, were in charge of this project. Without specialized training, it would have been impossible for them to conduct this kind of investigation.

In the first place, Lute placed his subordinates in order to prevent them from taking some kind of action on that day. Frankly speaking, the investigation was a bonus.

“I have roughly confirmed the contents, and I’d like you to dispose of this report. I don’t mind if you look at it, if you care to.”

“… are you sure?”

“I really don’t mind. At any rate, the people who wrote this don’t even know what they were ordered to do in the first place. The content is going to be thin no matter what.”

Because of the content of the report, Liselotte was the only one who Lute reported to on the divine soldier. As a matter of fact, his subordinates had no idea who he was. They probably only thought it was some kind of suspicious person.

“But they still accomplished their orders well? I’m not surprised. They are excellent soldiers, I guess. Their usual attitude is like that though.”

“That’s right, they’re all old men. They’ve accumulated a fair amount of experience. Their usual attitudes are also that of old men.”

Even if the order is vague, they will carry it out without any hesitation or cutting corners. Their attitude is that of an ideal soldier.

From the point of view of Azure, who is both an aristocrat and a soldier, Lute’s subordinates are so wonderful to the extent that she wants to give a stamp of approval……It’s a pity that everyone except for Heinrich doesn’t think so because of their usual attitude.

“Well, if you are interested, ask Liselotte directly.  If she tells you, then you’ll have to get serious about this.”

“Understood. Then so be it.”

After hearing Lute say that, Azure made up her mind inwardly that she would definitely ask later.

She can’t help but think that asking Liselotte, who is also a former princess, directly is a bit intimidating, but this is an opportunity of sorts.

If she was told so easily here, it proves that Azure is that trusted and valued..

If she is the secretary of the ice god Lute, but is also valued by Liselotte, the former princess and current head of the Duchess family, this would be a plus not only for Azure personally, but also for her family.

“At first, I wondered what to do with the lack of work, but it turned out to be surprisingly manageable.”

“Why do you want to work so much… I don’t understand.”

“It is the pleasure of those born into nobility to serve the empire and prove their usefulness. If it benefits your family, so much the better.”

“Oh yeah. I don’t understand it at all.”

“Even without that, I think it would be better for those who can afford to help to do so.”

“Oh. Then I can understand.”

In fact, the current Gascoigne family does not have much manpower at present. It’s not like there’s a shortage of personnel, but the reality is that they are always busy taking over various tasks.

So it’s not incomprehensible that Azure decides that it’s better for her, who has zero work to do, to help out.

“Well, if you want to do it, you can do it as you like. Anyway, for now, let’s get on with the business at hand.”

“I understand. Let me show you the way.”

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