Chapter 21: Armand Duchy 04
After my conversation with the Duke ended, it was immediately time for dinner.
The dining hall in the Duke Estate was extremely spacious, and the meal was also incredibly lavish.
During dinner, the Duke asked the members various questions, and the conversation never faltered. Duke Armand gave the impression of being somewhat delicate for the head of a ducal house, but his conversational skills, which kept his guests entertained, were truly befitting the lord of a city of arts and entertainment. Even for me, a noble in name only, it was a very educational experience.
Of course, the members of ‘Guidance of Sol’ themselves are quite diverse, so from the perspective of the head of a noble house, there could hardly be a better source of information. After all, we had the Grand Master of the Adventurers Guild, the Miko Princess of Ozz Country, the daughter of an influential elf, His Imperial Majesty’s younger sister, the daughter of an Imperial Marquis, the daughter of a Beastmen Village chief, and even a ‘Kin of Twilight’ all gathered together.
The Duke himself probably wanted to hear various things from us. The fact that his questions were entirely devoid of political matters and focused mainly on the culture and arts of each country and group was very much in character, though.
What caught my attention was that his wife, Zeolana-joshi, and Mirannella-jou looked surprised each time the topic of our members’ origins came up. Mirannella-jou, in particular, who had some conflict with ‘Guidance of Sol’, gradually turned so pale it was almost pitiful. If this makes her adopt a somewhat more reserved attitude, it would be a relief for us.
After dinner, everyone returned to their assigned rooms, but I called out to all the members and headed to the meeting room. When I asked for a place where the members could gather and talk, the Duke had prepared one for us.
The meeting room had a large table with sofas arranged around it, seeming more like a place for relaxed discussions. The fact that there was still plenty of room on the sofas even with all eleven of us seated was probably typical of a ducal household.
“Sorry about this, right after dinner. We haven’t had time to gather and talk since we arrived, so I wanted to discuss a few things.”
“Considering our purpose for coming here, I think it’s necessary. It’s no problem, Mr. Soushi,” Sphenia replied, and everyone nodded in agreement.
I took out the ‘Soundproofing Magic Tool’ I had purchased in the Imperial Capital from my ‘Item Box’ and activated it. The ‘Soundproofing Magic Tool’ is a magic tool that prevents sound from leaking in or out of a designated area; while our voices wouldn’t leak out, we also wouldn’t be able to hear any sounds from the surroundings. The degree of soundproofing can be adjusted, but this time I set it to completely block all sound.
“Alright, let’s get straight to the point. Frey, did you sense any suspicious presence in this house?”
When I asked her directly, Freynil furrowed her brows slightly and answered.
“I do sense a faint presence, something like an Undead monster, or like the ‘Netherworld Candlestick’. However, it’s truly faint, so I don’t think those things are currently in this house.”
“So, does that mean a suspicious entity might have been in this house in the past?”
“I believe so. At the very least, I don’t think there’s nothing.”
“Hmm, thank you. What about you, Lani? Did you smell anything?”
“I don’t think the people we met today are puppets of that ‘Netherworld Candlestick’. None of them had that kind of smell. But, as Frey said, there’s a very faint, unpleasant odor, so I think it’s highly possible the ‘Netherworld Candlestick’ was here.”
“Is that smell spread evenly throughout the house?”
“Hmm, I wonder. It also feels like the smell is drifting from somewhere. But since there’s a faint smell throughout the entire house, I might not be able to tell where it’s coming from.”
“If I use ‘Purification’ and then have Lani search, perhaps we could find out where it’s drifting from?”
Lani nodded at Freynil’s suggestion, saying, “That might work.”
“Let’s consider that as an option. Has anyone else noticed anything?”
I looked at everyone, but no one responded.
Regarding the ‘Netherworld Candlestick’, we’re somewhat reliant on Freynil and Lani, so it can’t be helped.
After a short while, Sphenia raised her hand.
“Mr. Soushi, it seemed you were summoned by the Duke before dinner. What did you talk about?”
“The main thing was that he asked about what we’ve been doing. Frey’s situation also came up, but since that’s a personal matter, I plan to discuss it only with Frey. However, the Duke himself stated clearly that he isn’t thinking of making Frey return home or anything like that.”
“That is quite strange for the head of a ducal house, isn’t it?” Maricier was the one who said that. Being the Emperor’s younger sister, she likely interacts with various noble houses and understands well the logic by which they operate.
“Apparently, his retainers have been telling him to call Frey back. But the Duke himself said he has no intention of doing so. Well, I don’t know how serious he is, but from what I saw, it didn’t seem like a lie.”
“Mr. Soushi, you are an Imperial Marquis, so he wouldn’t go back on even a verbal promise to you. If the Duke himself said so, I believe we can trust him.”
“Ah, I see. That’s certainly true.”
Considering my title, he shouldn’t be able to say anything careless. Thinking about it that way, what the Duke said today was probably his true intention.
As I was nodding, Dorozitte spoke up.
“Well then, that brings us to what we’ll do in this Duke Estate from now on. If we’re going with the plan for Frey to use ‘Purification’ and Lani to search for the smell, we’ll need to properly inform the Duke. However, he doesn’t officially know why we’re here yet, so we need to tell him that first.”
“You’re right. First, let’s show him the Letter of Authorization from His Majesty the King. I hear His Majesty has notified all nobles about the ‘Netherworld Candlestick’, so if we say we’re investigating that, the Duke should understand. However, what to do about the information that freed slaves are in the mines is tricky. If the Duke himself is involved, he might take some kind of countermeasure.”
“The proper course of action would be to clearly state our objective and request his cooperation. But even if the Duke himself is uninvolved, if someone connected to this series of incidents is inside the Duke Estate, they might take action.”
“That’s true. Regarding the freed slaves, let’s keep the mine information under wraps for now. We’ll proceed under the guise of suspecting a connection to the ‘Netherworld Candlestick’ and start by tackling that issue.”
“I think that’s fine. If we determine that the Duke can be trusted, we can talk about the mines then. Well, I’ll leave that judgment to you, Mr. Soushi. Whatever the outcome, we’ll back you up.” Dorozitte said so with a grin.
Leaving the decision to the leader is probably the right way to go, but she seems to be expecting my ‘Celestial Fortune’ to have an effect there.
“Once Frey’s matter is settled, I intend to immediately discuss the investigation with the Duke, including showing him the Letter of Authorization. Delaying it unnecessarily will only make him think we’re probing him and worsen his impression of us.”
“Agreed~” Lani said, and everyone else showed their agreement. For now, it seems our course of action in the Duke Estate is decided.
We concluded the meeting there for the time being, and I had everyone except Freynil return to their rooms.
Once Freynil and I were alone in the spacious room, she turned to face me.
“Soushi-sama, what did you discuss with my fath… with Duke Armand-sama?”
“Ah, about that. I mentioned it briefly earlier, but the Duke himself apparently has no intention of making you return home, Frey. Of course, it’s a different story if you want to go back.”
“I have no such intention at all.” Freynil firmly shook her head.
“Right. If he tried to force it, I would refuse as well. But as I’ve said repeatedly, the Duke has no such intention. He even said he doesn’t have the right to.”
“Is… that so.”
“And then, on top of that, the Duke said he wants to apologize to you, Frey, for everything up until now. And if possible, he’d like to visit your mother’s grave with you.”
After that, I relayed to Freynil the entire story I had heard from the Duke.
Essentially, the story was that the Duke knew nothing about Freynil.
However, I doubted that this would be much of a salvation for Freynil.
In the end, the impression I got was simply that the Duke hadn’t cared about Freynil in the first place. He said he regretted that as well, but I couldn’t tell how much meaning that held for Freynil.
When I finished speaking, Freynil closed her eyes and thought for a while, then slowly lifted her eyelids and looked at me with her blue eyes.
“…I understand. I would like to hear what Duke-sama… what Father has to say. Regarding the fact that Father didn’t know about me, it’s also true that I never spoke up. And besides, I’ve always wanted to visit Mother’s grave. Soushi-sama, would that be alright?”
“Of course. Doing what you think is best, Frey, is the most important thing. If you’re anxious, I can consider being present as well. What do you want to do?”
Freynil shook her head at that proposal.
“No, this is a problem between me and the Armand family, so I don’t think it would be meaningful to rely on Soushi-sama. I want to meet and talk with him alone.”
“Understood. I think that’s a good idea too. The Frey you are now will surely find a good answer. Well then, I’ll tell the Duke that, but is there anything else you want me to convey?”
“Let me see… I would like it to be arranged so that only Father and I are present for the discussion.”
“So, you mean no one else should be there. I’ll state that as a condition.”
“Yes, please do.”
It seemed the discussion would proceed in a way that was good for both Freynil and the Duke. Though, it appeared Freynil had intended to talk from the very beginning, so this decision was somewhat of a foregone conclusion.
But really, Freynil had become surprisingly strong. That delicate, almost ephemeral frailty she had when I first met her had completely vanished.
All that was left was to pray that by talking with the Duke, a significant turning point would come in her life.