It’s been three months since Rudell visited the Count House of Lagrind.
And, as humans tend to do, his memories of the meeting with the Duchess gradually faded from Rudell’s mind.
Thus, on an utterly ordinary Monday morning…
Yawn…
With a long yawn, Rudell opened his eyes.
As he blinked and got out of bed, the unique cold air of the duchy jolted his hazy mind awake.
Ahhh…
Stretching his body, he murmured while smacking his lips.
“Did I sleep too late…?”
Recently, he had been studying Magic Theory late into the night, not getting proper sleep.
Having already met the Duchess, it wouldn’t be strange if they crossed paths again…
In the worst-case scenario, he figured he needed to at least protect his own body.
“I must go to bed early tonight…”
Making a promise that wouldn’t be kept again today, he got down from his bed.
“Good morning, young master.”
“Good morning!”
After changing his clothes and stepping into the hallway, the handmaids, who were busy cleaning, lowered their heads.
Nodding in response, Rudell moved on, heading downstairs.
“Are Mother and Father here?”
“They’re waiting inside.”
Nodding at the maid’s reply, Rudell approached the door in front of him and opened it.
“Hope you slept well.”
“Good morning.”
“Come in.”
Rudell’s parents greeted him.
Carlos Weinstein and Maria Weinstein welcomed him.
With the sound of footsteps, he sat down between them.
“Rudell, don’t you have something to tell your mother?”
“Well, I don’t think so…?”
As Maria asked while Rudell took a seat, he tried to act oblivious.
At that moment, Maria reached out and pinched Rudell’s cheek.
“Ow ow! Mom! That hurts!”
“I told you not to lie to me, right? I saw the light coming from your room late at night!”
“Owwww…!!”
At that, Rudell couldn’t say a thing.
“Learning Magic is undoubtedly important, but getting enough rest is just as essential.”
“Yes, Father.”
“And you, don’t stay up late doing strange experiments.”
Ahem!
At Maria’s sharp remark, Carlos cleared his throat, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Looking at him, Maria sighed, as if saying, “What do I do with these guys?”
“It’s puzzling why all the men in our house become so engrossed in one thing that they lose track of time.”
“H-Honey, how about we eat first?”
Judging that Maria’s nagging would go on longer, Carlos changed the topic.
At that moment, the dining room door opened, and the maids brought in a cart with breakfast.
Delicious-looking salad, soup, and bread were placed on the table, and they began their breakfast.
After a peaceful mealtime filled with clattering sounds and trivial chatter, as the Weinstein family continued their breakfast with coffee and tea…
“Y-Your Excellency!!”
Suddenly, a loud voice echoed as a man with a desperate expression stormed in through the dining room door.
A large man in a neat uniform.
He was Keston, the Captain of the Guards overseeing the mansion.
“Keston? What’s going on?”
In this sudden situation, the Weinstein family turned to Keston.
“Please forgive my rudeness! We have urgent news!!”
“Urgent news?”
As Keston took a moment to catch his breath and bowed his head, Carlos narrowed his eyes and asked.
What could possibly be so urgent for him to be acting this way?
As Rudell observed the scene, pondering this, Keston’s next words came.
“People from the Lagrind Duchy are looking for you, young master!”
As he yelled that, noisy sounds began to come from outside the window.
*
Moments later, inside a carriage heading to the Lagrind Duchy.
“…”
“…”
As the carriage jolted, Rudell was startled and regained his balance.
Across from him sat two knights clad in thick armor, bearing the seal of the duchy.
Ugh…
Feeling like they were about to devour him with their intense gazes, Rudell let out a low groan.
What in the world was happening?
No matter how hard he tried to think, he couldn’t understand his current situation.
“Um, excuse me…”
Swallowing hard, Rudell cautiously spoke to the knights.
“…”
“Never mind…”
However, faced with the knights’ fierce demeanor, Rudell trailed off and diverted his gaze.
‘I wish I could go home…’
Thinking this sincerely, he gazed out the window.
If the duchy’s people were looking for him, it surely had to do with the Duchess, Leje El Lagrind.
No one else had any connection to him among the people of the duchy.
Therefore, the question now was ‘why?’
Could it be that he committed some kind of faux pas?
Or was there some sort of misunderstanding?
As he recalled memories and contemplated, Rudell dwelled on it for a while, but no clear answer came to mind.
Meanwhile, the carriage continued along the road, heading toward the city that stretched across the wide plains.
Passing through the castle gate, the carriage finally arrived at the duchy’s mansion…
Hah…
Could he really end up here for the second time?
As he thought about the unpredictability of the world, Rudell sighed briefly as he got off the carriage.
At that moment…
“You’ve arrived. We’ve been waiting.”
A woman approached him, bowed her head, and greeted him.
With her neatly tied black hair and maid uniform.
A woman with striking red eyes reminiscent of rubies and glasses perched on her nose.
She was Alma, the head maid of the duchy.
“Ah, hello…?”
“This way please. The young lady is waiting.”
As Rudell fumbled an awkward greeting back, Alma started to walk.
“Wait a moment!”
“What is it?”
Hearing Rudell’s urgent call, Alma turned her head.
“Um… I haven’t received any explanation. What on earth is going on…?”
And, Rudell asked cautiously, glancing around at the other knights.
What he most needed now was an explanation about the situation.
“Huh? You haven’t heard from them?”
“No…”
Nodding at her question, Alma shot a sharp glance at the knights.
Under her gaze, the knights flinched and avoided her eyes.
“You guys… You haven’t given him any explanation?”
“W-We only received orders to bring young master Weinstein!”
Hah…
Looking at the panicking knights, Alma pressed her forehead, looking pained.
Then, with a short sigh, she said.
“It seems there was a misunderstanding. I apologize on behalf of their rudeness, Count Weinstein.”
“Huh? Ah… yeah…”
Rudell’s voice came out in a fluster, taken aback by Alma’s unexpected gesture.
Honestly, he hadn’t expected someone like the head maid of the duchy to apologize right away.
“We’ll give you the full details while we walk. This way…”
“Oh… okay!!”
Saying this, Alma resumed her steps.
Rudell followed behind her.
As Rudell walked through the empty hallway behind Alma for quite some time…
“The reason we brought you was that the young lady wanted to meet with you.”
“Huh…?”
At those words, an astonished voice escaped Rudell’s lips.
What did she just say?
The duchess wanted to meet him directly?
‘Why on earth?’
In utter confusion, Rudell’s mind became a whirlpool of thoughts…
“First, please forgive the rudeness of our family’s people…”
“No, that’s not it…”
Forgiveness or not, he felt that wasn’t what mattered at the moment.
That thought came to his mind, but Rudell was not foolish enough to blurt it out.
“This is it.”
In the meantime, Alma came to a halt, revealing a large door decorated in an antique style.
“Please refrain from rude behavior in front of the young lady.”
“Y-Yes ma’am…!!”
The duchess of the Lagrind Dukedom, one of the esteemed noble families of the kingdom.
If anyone were to act disrespectfully in front of such a formidable figure, that person would likely be suicidal.
With those thoughts, as Rudell answered, Alma nodded and opened the big door.
Wow…
A vast garden adorned with a myriad of flowers.
Upon seeing it, Rudell gasped, momentarily forgetting the situation he found himself in.
Just then…
“How is it? Isn’t it impressive? Besides the royal palace, I doubt there’s another garden so well-maintained in the kingdom!”
Turning at the sound of the voice nearby, Rudell saw a girl with a playful expression looking at him.
%()#%)!#)%@)$#(@_)(*
“Hahaha!! What was that scream? That’s so funny!!”
An indescribable scream escaped his lips, and simultaneous with that, the duchess burst into laughter.
“Young lady, maintain your composure.”
“Alright, alright.”
As Alma sighed lightly, admonishing the duchess, the young lady nodded and cleared her throat.
And then…
“It’s nice to meet you, Rudellheit Weinstein. I’m Leje El Lagrind, the duchess of the Lagrind Dukedom.”
With graceful movements, the duchess lifted her dress and bowed toward him.
Then, slowly raising her head, she sparkled her blue eyes and spoke.
“That makes it the second time, right?”
