Chapter 40: The Delinquent Grand Duke and the Inventor Siblings

“This way, sir.”

“Thank you.”

Azure guided me to one of the several reception rooms in the mansion.

“I served tea to the brother and sister, but do you have any requests, Your Excellency?”

“I don’t want tea. I want you to get rid of everyone. Unless it’s an emergency, don’t let anyone near the room until we’ve finished talking.”

“… I don’t mind, but why go that far?”

“I won’t give an explanation due to extremely personal circumstances.”

“Haa…”

Azure had a dubious expression on her face, but Lute didn’t answer any further.

After a while of silence, it was Azure who finally gave up.

“I’m awed. However, as your Excellency’s secretary,  I would like to admonish you not to have too many secret talks of this kind. Although there is almost no one who can oppose your Excellency, the demi-god, for lack of a better word, you are still a newcomer. Secrecy will lead to unnecessary suspicions.”

“Anyone in the nobility would do secret talks.”

“It’s a question of who you’re dealing with. If it is an aristocrat, a merchant, or an influential person in the community with a certain status, there is no big problem. But when it is a commoner like this one……”

“Will there be those who will have strange suspicions?”

It was a natural concern for Azure.

Lute is a newcomer to the empire, and yet he is a powerful demi-god. What would happen if such a person had a secret meeting with someone whose identity was uncertain?

Lute is said to be feared by some because he is a newcomer and therefore not very trustworthy, and by others because he is an absolute strongman.

Low trust leads to suspicion, and fear accelerates suspicion. Azure fears the end result.

“I rarely go out of my way to do things, and I thought it wouldn’t be a problem, but ……. Well, that’s okay. I’ll keep that advice in mind.”

“Thank you for listening.  I’ll leave you to it.”

“Oh”

Finally, Azure bows her head and leaves.

After seeing her off, Lute opened the parlor door.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Heh!? No, no! It’s okay!”

“I’m not waiting at all!”

At the same time as Lute entered the room, the brother and sister who seemed to be stiff in the room stood up with tremendous force.

Their behavior was enough to make you realize how nervous they were. They were so flustered that even Lute couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“Kuku. Don’t be nervous like that. It’s not a public place. It’s fine as usual.”

“No, umm, it would be difficult to do that in the house of a lord. Especially when you anticipate your status……”

“When I told the person in this mansion that I had been summoned by the customer, I was obviously treated with reverence and sent through here. …… I thought the customer must be someone in a very high position. ……?”

“Yeah. Well, I never really told you my name.”

The fearful question from the siblings finally made Lute realize his blunder.

Since the relationship started as a secret one, he had never used a name or even an alias in front of the sister and brother. The fact that they had been untroubled by the nickname “customer” was a detriment to their relationship.

“I am……”

Then, Lute pondered for a moment. He wondered if he should reveal his true position to the two people who were already nervous. He wondered if it would be possible to have a discussion with all the surprise and panic.

However, considering the purpose of this trip, he had to reveal his identity one way or another. Having come to this conclusion, he decided to formally identify himself.

“My name is Lute. Lute Sail Gascoigne. I am the fiancée of Duke Gascoigne, and a magician with the status of demi-god who holds the title of Grand Duke of this country.”

“……Eh?”

“…………What?”

Perhaps not understanding the name, the siblings let out a muffled cry together. After that, there was a moment of silence—

“……I-I, I’m very sorry……!!!!”

Then it exploded all at once.

“Hey, you too, apologize and get down on your knees…!!”

“Oh, I beg your pardon, Grand Duke!!”

The siblings hurriedly apologized and moved to the floor to kneel.

There is not the slightest hint of doubt. No one would be foolish enough to speak such falsehoods in the duke’s mansion.

That’s why Natra’s complexion doesn’t look good. She was pale beyond blue.

They must be reflecting on the conversations they have had so far. And they have realized that their attitude is definitely not a good one toward a nobleman of grand duke rank.

“I, please forgive me for all the disrespectful behavior I’ve shown you in the past…! If you’re going to punish me, I’ll take all the blame! Please do not punish my brother here, and the couple from Uminekotei, to whom I owe so much for hiring my sibling and me. ……!”

“Hey, sister…”

Natra’s cry was so sad. From that scene alone, Lute vaguely guessed what kind of aristocratic image he had among the two of them.

“… Haa. Calm down a little. I’m not going to say anything about yesterday or before that. I told you yesterday. Since I concealed my identity, I don’t care if you act rude.”

“No, but…”

“Just sit down. This whole question and answer is a waste of time.”

“Yes, sir! I beg your pardon, ……!”

Natra apologized again to Lute’s words mixed with exasperation.

The figure is so desperate. It is so much so that I feel a little uncomfortable.

“Why are you so afraid? Do you have any bad memories of the nobles?”

“Yeah, uh, well, that’s not how it is, for nobility…..”

“Ah, Grand Duke. Do you mind if I explain this instead of my sister?”

“Either one is fine. Also, you can use the first person as you like. You have already paid your respects, so don’t worry about the etiquette.”

“I appreciate it.”

Rick’s demeanor was relatively calm, as if he didn’t have the same kind of aversion to the idea that his sister had. He was surprised to learn that his acquaintance was a nobleman of the grand duke’s rank, but he showed little or no fear.

Then Rick begins to tell his story. Their background.

“I think you have a vague guess, but we came from a pretty good workshop. Our main business was metalworking with magic, and my sister was the heir to that.”

“Oh. So magic.”

“Yes. My parents said that she was quite talented, even without any family favoritism. In order to develop that talent, my parents went to the trouble of enrolling her in the Institute of Magic.”

“I see”

“However, there were some people in the workshop who were making a fuss about a woman inheriting the workshop, no matter how talented she was…”

“Oh……”

At that point, Lute understood the general situation.

“So when my sister was about to graduate, my …… parents were killed in an accident. And my uncle, who was a magician and close to the city’s governor, came forward to be the next workshop owner.”

“I knew you’d say that.”

It is a conventional struggle for succession within the community.

Natra’s attitude made sense to me. Most likely, she had been attacked by the governor who was close to her uncle. The most likely case would be that he took advantage of his status and asked her for her body.

Rather than aristocrats, should it be seen as a sense of dislike towards those in power?

“…Well, if you’re having trouble having a conversation, that’s fine. To put it bluntly, Natra is like a bonus.”

“Heh, eh? Is that so, huh…?”

“Yeah. Rick’s the main business. You just sit quietly and drink your tea on the side.”

“No, but my foolish brother might do something, you know, disrespectful. ……”

“Nee-chan. It’s clear that the Grand Duke doesn’t care about that sort of thing. Rather, I think it would be more annoying if you stuttered a lot, because it interrupts the conversation.”

“Hey, you…!”

“Save the sibling rivalry for later.”

“Hiya! I beg your pardon! I will never open my mouth again!!”

“You’re hardcore…”

“Nee-chan…”

Both Lute and Rick were so exasperated that they both let out a gasp of dismay. Then they silently agreed.

Let’s leave her alone in peace.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter