Sir Russell, a white-haired man, was the oldest and most senior member of the council and had been a member of the council since Daphne’s birth.
His eldest son, Gregory was responsible for Daphne’s education and had been loyal to House Steren for many years, having served as his aide since their grandfather’s time as Grand Duke.
He was so skilled that he was commissioned by the Emperor to serve as an imperial vassal, responsible for the education of the Emperor, the princes, and the princesses, but after the death of the Steren, he resigned from his position at the palace and returned to his ducal residence.
Still revered at conferences, he is said to have had an overwhelming charisma in his youth that swayed nobles, but now he’s just one of those nagging inspirations.
Russell, who has developed a nasty habit of picking on Daphne, who gets fed up with his nagging but listens to it all, often feels both pity and admiration for Daphne, who has suddenly lost her family and is dealing with a huge amount of territory and titles.
Russell’s thoughts were with Daphne and Diana.
He had seen House Steren change hands four times since he first joined the family as a young man, and he wanted Daphne to keep a firm grip on what was, in a way, a transitional house. He knew she could handle it.
It was Russell who was the first to realize that there was something more to her than the usual shepherdess, something special about her.
He was also the first to stand up for her when she said she wanted to travel and see the world.
He was also the one who became a father and mother to the Steren’s when they lost their parents at the age of ten.
Regardless, Russell is loved and was loyal to the Steren’s, and that would never change.
The most important thing to him was to stand by his children and grandchildren and guide them in the right direction until the Steren family prospered as his old friend and boss Gerald Steren had wished. To protect them and the family name.
That was why Russell had returned here, despite the Emperor’s protests.
“If you, too, were to leave this palace, I would lose my only friend.”
“Say no such thing, Your Majesty. I will always remain loyal to my lord. What the Empire needs now is not greater prosperity, but an easing of the conflicts that threaten to erupt from within. We need to find the next Archduke if only to quell the chaos that will arise in the absence of Archduke Steren.”
“Determined is the word, Grimm. You’d rather serve a new Grand Duke than a sickly old Emperor.”
“Don’t you say that, Your Majesty”
“Nong, nong. …see. I know very well that Steren needs you. You were once borrowed from House Steren, and you should be returned.”
“You say that as if you’ll never see me again.”
“Once you leave the palace, this place will no longer be as peaceful as it once was… well, it never was…. I hope she at least doesn’t end up like me, surrounded and blinded by pretenders to loyalty, unable to tell what’s right and what’s wrong.”
“Do not say such things. How can you say that the sun of the great Manuar Empire has no light of its own; all the prosperity of the Manuar Empire is due to your Majesty.”
“Why then? Why even my children could not properly defend themselves. I hope Daphne Steren does not end up like me, and that is why I am sending you to protect what is precious. I can’t do that alone. My eyes were opened too late, and if I had listened to you a little sooner, Ethan wouldn’t have died.”
“Your Majesty.”
“I’ve talked too long. You must go. I am unwell and must lie down, and when some stability has returned to the House, I hope to speak with you once more before I die.”
It was Russell whom the Emperor relied on and trusted the most.
He was the only one of the many vassals in the sprawling palace who was genuinely loyal, even if he was often bitter.
Now, three years later, the Emperor’s illness has grown more serious.
Dozens and hundreds of doctors have come to examine him, but none of them have been able to identify the cause of his illness, and there is no cure for this rare disease.
The emperor himself probably knew this well.
That he was doomed to stay sick and die one day.
Now that House Steren was finally settling down, and Daphne and Dioana seemed to be adjusting well to their new lives, Russell thought he should take the time for the Majesty.
Russell is eager for advice, so he visits Daphne’s office, not only to give her advice on horses but also to request his first leave of absence in a long time.
He had heard the news of the capture of the mole. It was nothing special, really.
You know how many spies the Sterens had when Daphne first came to power as Changeling.
Who knows how many assassins, some from their own country, some from other countries.
While Daphne sent her niece to the far south for months of convalescence to protect Diana.
Just when you think things are settling down, a mole comes in.
It was only a few months ago that they executed a suspected spy.
Fed up, Daphne ordered assassins to be executed on the spot before reporting to her, and suspected spies to be tortured before being brought to her.
Daphne, who was used to being the cold northern archduke, was different this time.
“Dio wants Puffy by her side.”
“What?”
“But that puffy is a person, a man. Technically, a slave that I had a bit of a relationship with back in the day.”
I listened closely, wondering what the hell she was talking about.
She was saying that the slave she’d bailed out had traveled and ended up here.
“And now he comes to me three years later, and I haven’t even given him a name or a family name, which is suspicious, and he could be working as a spy for someone, and I was going to kill him, but Dio caught me doing it, and now I’ve got him in prison, and Dio says she likes him, and she wants to stay with him.”
Russell’s insides felt like they were boiling over, so he put on his most patient face and fell into self-meditation.
Yes, he’s at the peak of his blood boiling. Daphne had a liberal view of love, almost to the point of pitying her current restraint.
That was one thing, but why should it have to be a mate whose identity was unclear?
“…But the way he is, he looks like a fallen nobleman of some country. He won’t tell me, but his mannerisms and behavior are oddly aristocratic.”
There’s a lot more to say, but the look in her eyes and the way she speaks are exactly the same as if she were Dioana’s aunt.
“Let’s see him first.”
You can tell someone a hundred times, but it’s more accurate to see it with your own two eyes.
Diana’s favorite is a handsome man, and Daphne has a weakness for handsome men, so maybe he’s a spy who uses them to his advantage.
Or maybe he’s just an innocent slave who wandered in and got lucky and got caught.
The latter is probably more likely than not.
At any rate, there was a purpose.
To find out, Russell decided to see the man himself.
A large man stood very still, staring out the palm-sized bars of the window. His face was hard to make out.
But as if recognizing Daphne’s voice, the man at the window slowly approached the bars.
His dark face came into clear view as he stepped in front of the candlestick.
Sir Russell froze in place as his eyes locked with the man’s golden ones.
“But he looks like a fallen nobleman of some country to me. He doesn’t say it, but there’s something oddly aristocratic about the way he speaks and acts.”
Daphne’s words from earlier seemed to ring in Russell’s ears once more.
A fallen aristocrat? That’s a good thing…!
For a moment, Russell doubted his eyes.
‘Am I getting old and presbyopic and need a pair of glasses? Yes, I’m getting old and need a pair of glasses.
…Or am I old and my guns are blurry? Am I seeing things? Have I finally gone mad?
‘No. That can’t be. He’s already dead.’
The dead are invisible, and what kind of ghost would be captured by humans and mistaken for a spy?
Yes, it’s just another human who looks like him.
…but doesn’t he have too much of the same face to be anything else?
But then again, isn’t it odd that he’s here now, in this place, with the nickname ‘Puffy’?
A shock of this magnitude to an old man is quite disorientating.
He thought it best to return to his office as soon as possible, for if he continued to look at the wiry man, the shock might cause him to grab the back of his neck and collapse.
‘Maybe it’s just the darkness of the place and I’m seeing things wrong.
