The breathing music box.
This is the legendary heirloom of the Duke’s family, gifted by the great wizard Artiz to help establish the duchy. The music box can only be played by those who inherit the Duke’s blood.
“But, you can’t use an heirloom in such a manner.”
“Don’t you know why the great wizard Artiz gave the breathing music box.?”
Count Kale clenched his fist.
The appearance of the first Duke was so beautiful that it was recorded in the empire’s history books.
It was said that a general of a warring kingdom, who was engaged in battle, was killed because he was distracted by the first Duke’s face when his helmet came off, or that an assassin who came to kill the Duke gave up the assassination after seeing his face.
Thus, when the era of peace began, the great wizard handed over the breathing music box., joking that many people would want to sneak into the Duke’s bedroom.
“The second, third, and fifteenth generations have already confirmed the status of illegitimate child with the breathing music box. What’s the problem?
Count Kale gritted his teeth.
‘Damn it. You were prepared in advance.’
Feeling the pressure from the gazes staring at him, Count Kale decided to take a step back for now and bowed his head.
“That’s a good idea.”
“Then I will call you again once everything is ready.”
Ian stood up with a smile.
At that moment, Count Kale called out to Ian.
“Duke. I request a private audience.”
Though he failed to get rid of the girl, he needed to find out what the commoner and the Duke were doing together.
Ian, who was about to leave, turned around.
“If you have something to say, speak on the day we use the breathing music box. I have an appointment with the knights. Ah, Sybel, right? Don’t go back, stay at the Duke’s mansion. Since you’ve staked your life, you should see for yourself.”
Sybel’s face turned pale, and veins bulged on Count Kale’s forehead.
‘Damn it. Is that how you’re going to play?’
“Is it related to the Duke’s affairs as well?”
“Yes.”
As Ian waved his hand and left the study, a sound of something being struck came from behind him.
“Geez. The old man still has some energy.”
Ian spoke to Sebastian, who was following him.
“Note anything that gets broken separately. We will charge for it later. And lock up Sybel in the underground prison.”
“Understood.”
Sebastian draped a coat over Ian’s shoulders.
“It’s cold outside.”
“Yes.”
Although his body no longer felt cold or heat since he could use aura, he couldn’t reject the butler’s goodwill.
Ian walked towards the training ground.
***
The Winter at the Duke’s Mansion Started and Ended with Snow.
No matter how much snow was cleared overnight, the ground was soon covered again due to the falling snow.
“One hundred, one hundred and one, one hundred and two!”
“Ah! Ah!”
“Ugh. You bastard!”
Ian walked along the snowy path with crunching sounds and looked at the training ground.
Despite the harsh cold, the knights were training hard according to the schedule set by Ian.
“Hmm.”
“Duke.”
Ian stopped William from kneeling and extended his hand.
William hesitated before handing over the paper he had kept in his chest.
Before departing for the capital, Ian gave a training method tailored to each knight and issued one command.
Ian issued orders to divide the knights of the Black Wolf Order into three groups: personal guards to protect the Duke’s family, guards to defend the duchy, and reserve knights to regularly subdue monsters and train squires.
William handed Ian a list of knights appropriately distributed into the three groups.
“But why is Claude a reserve knight? Isn’t he one of the strongest in the order after you?”
“…It’s because of his personality.”
After hesitating, William answered with his eyes tightly shut.
“Ah.”
Ian nodded and took out a pen to cross out Claude’s name.
“Duke?”
“Call Claude here.”
William hesitated but called for Claude.
Despite the cold winter, Claude’s body was covered in sweat, likely due to hard training.
“Duke.”
Ian stopped Claude, who was about to show respect like William, and said,
“Kneel.”
“Huh? Yes.”
Claude knelt down, startled, and Ian extended his hand to William.
“Sword.”
William quickly handed his sword to Ian.
Ian touched Claude’s head and shoulders with the sword and said,
“Sir Claude Cassan, from now on, you are appointed as Rose’s bodyguard knight.”
“Huh?”
Claude was shocked, and Ian chuckled.
“Aren’t you going to thank me?”
“Th-thank you?”
“Good. Then wash up and come to the study.”
Ian tossed the sword back to William and turned around.
“Ah, William. Proceed with the list as it is.”
As Ian reentered the Duke’s mansion, Claude, who had been staring blankly at his back, asked William,
“…Commander, what just happened?”
William patted Claude’s shoulder.
“What are you doing? Go wash up quickly.”
When even William turned around, Claude looked even more puzzled.
“Am I the only one who doesn’t understand what’s going on?”
***
Roll, roll.
Two children rolled around on a rug.
Their rolling didn’t stop even as their hair and clothes got tangled, until they were forcibly stopped by the wall.
“That was fun.”
“Yeah.”
A wolf’s ears twitched and a tail wagged.
Rose reached out and petted the wolf ears.
“They’re pretty.”
“You like my ears?”
“Yeah.”
Fenrex’s cheeks blushed.
“Then you can ha…”
“No, that’s enough.”
With a firm tone, Rose, who was lying on the floor, was suddenly lifted up.
Ian, holding Rose, looked down at Fenrex with one eyebrow raised.
“Don’t try any tricks.”
Fenrex clicked his tongue and stood up.
‘That damned wolf.’
Ignoring the wolf who was always after his treasure, Ian looked at the smiling Rose.
“Rose, where did Fred go?”
Rose tilted her head.
“He said he was going to see you.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm. I guess we walk opposite direction.”
Ian sat on the sofa with Rose in his arms, and Fenrex quickly approached and sat beside him.
“What are you doing? Sit over there.”
“No way!”
Fenrex, who used to be scared of Ian, became more brazen as time went on.
He realized that as long as he was with Rose, Ian wouldn’t get mad no matter what he did.
So, he now acted boldly and stuck close to her.
Ian snorted as if in disbelief and started to untangle Rose’s messy hair.
Her well-maintained hair fell softly like silk.
Ian tied her hair up into a ponytail.
As he straightened her disheveled clothes, he asked,
“What did you learn today?”
“Reading and writing, and about history.”
“History?”
“Yes, the history of Loenbaum.”
Ian looked at Rose with satisfaction as she proudly recounted what she had learned.
As the novel had described, Rose was indeed very smart.
“Well done. Rose, you’re the best.”
“Hehe.”
Ian kissed her forehead as a compliment and said,
“I came today because I have someone to introduce to you.”
“Introduce?”
As Rose tilted her head in curiosity, there was a knock on the door.
“Who is it?”
“Come in.”
Claude entered, dripping wet.
Ian, without looking at Claude who was showing respect, spoke to Rose.
“Rose.”
“Yes?”
“This is the person who will be protecting you from now on.”
At his words, Fenrex frowned and shouted,
“I’ll protect Rose! We don’t need him!”
“Did you forget the time you were captured by slave traders? You think you can protect Rose, kid? Even though you got defeated by a dark mage?”
“That was…!”
Fenrex clenched his fists, unable to find words. Ian snorted and patted Rose’s cheek.
“Don’t be scared, okay? He will be following you around from now on.”
When Rose looked at Claude, he tried to smile to appear harmless.
However, with his rough appearance, Rose flinched.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.”
Claude tried to reassure her, and Ian said,
“I will be with you in the evenings, so he only needs to guard you for half a day. Since Rose is afraid of adult men, you don’t have to stay too close until she gets used to it. Remember, your job is not just to protect her life, but also her body and mind.”
“Understood.”
“And for the time being, don’t let your guard down.”
Claude looked puzzled, but Ian didn’t say anything more and continued to play with Rose’s tiny hand.
“Starting now.”
Claude nodded and moved behind the sofa.
‘He will surely make a move.’
Count Kale knew that Rose was Marianne’s daughter.
He had attempted to expel Rose using the wandering knight Sybel but failed, so he would surely try another method.
However, having received a direct recognition document from the Emperor and a baptism along with a middle name from the priest, there was only one thing he could do.
To kill Rose.
It was the cleanest method and would instill fear in Ian, showing that he was nothing but a scarecrow Duke who could do nothing.
When Rose stayed close to Ian as before, assassination attempts were useless, but now, being a curious and explorative five-year-old, Rose often roamed around the Duke’s mansion.
She rolled around on the rug as she had just done, and she explored the mansion, filled with curiosity and eagerness.
Rather than restricting her freedom, Ian decided to place guardians who could protect her.
‘Sir Claude can be trusted.’
Through sparring and tailored training with Ian, Claude’s skills were improving day by day.
Although not on Ian’s level, Claude was more than capable of protecting Rose from assassins.
‘He also has extra lives to spare.’
Ian, who was touching Rose’s cheek contentedly, lifted his head at the sound of the door opening.
“Are you here, Duke?”
It was Fred who entered.
Fred, who had dark circles under his eyes like a panda, looked exhausted.
“Sir Fred. Are you getting enough rest?”
“Haha.”
Fred laughed soullessly.
The tasks handed over by Ian were not things that could be completed with a single effort.
Fred, who had wanted to be an aide, liked long-term tasks that showed significant progress by the end.
However, the tasks Ian gave were not just a few.
Each task was interconnected and had to be handled simultaneously.
Furthermore, the work didn’t end there.
With the tasks overseen by Viscount Logan and the operations of the trading company run by May, 24 hours a day seemed insufficient.
Even by cutting into his sleep time to work and work more, there was no end in sight.
“Take it slow. If you rush, you will burn out.”
‘If someone wasn’t pressing me, I could take it slow.’
For the first time, Fred felt disgruntled towards his lord as he put the documents on the desk and changed the subject.
“I heard members of the branch family visited today.”
“Yes. They acted as expected.”
Ian replied while kissing Rose’s forehead.
“When are you planning to proceed?”
“To avoid future trouble, it should be on the day Logan returns.”
Currently, Logan was at the Magic Tower selling the magic stone entrusted to him by Ian.
Although the distance from the north to the Magic Tower was quite far, the wizards at the tower, who had experienced the large magic stone, would surely use teleportation magic for Logan.
Therefore, as long as the price was right, Logan would return quickly.
“They won’t go down without a fight.”
“I guess so.”
