The duke’s castle, once filled with the sound of children’s laughter, was now overflowing with screams and cries.
Anyone even remotely connected to the side branches was expelled, and those who had directly acted as spies were imprisoned in the underground dungeon and tortured.
Led by William, the palace guards began torturing, and the names of those who had planted spies in the castle were quickly revealed.
The remaining servants, although innocent, were busy keeping a low profile due to the tense atmosphere.
However, there was one person who was unaware of the castle’s tense atmosphere.
That was Rose.
Unlike Fenrex, who had keen senses as a member of the beast tribe, Rose was an ordinary child, and under Ian’s thorough protection, she knew nothing about the bloodbath that had hit the castle.
“Uncle.”
Rose, her cheeks flushed red from the cold wind, tugged at Ian’s arm.
“Hmm?”
“I want to eat that.”
Recently, Rose had started eating a lot, perhaps because she was growing, and she pointed with her mittened hand to a stall.
“Hmm.”
Rose was pointing at a stall selling seasoned kart meat, a type of monster meat.
‘Is it okay to eat monster meat?’
Though he had no bias against street food, Ian hesitated because he didn’t have any information about monster meat.
“Oh, kart meat! That’s delicious.”
Despite it being the middle of winter, Claude, wearing just a shirt, swallowed hard.
“Is it poisonous?”
“No. Kart is a non-poisonous monster, so it’s safe for children and easy to catch, which is why it’s sold like this.”
As Ian nodded, Rose asked Claude.
“Have you tried it, Sir Claude?”
“Of course, young lady. It’s a winter delicacy.”
Rose tilted her head in curiosity.
“Delicacy? What’s that?”
Claude froze for a moment.
Having grown up as a commoner and only trained in swordsmanship, Claude wasn’t sure how to explain a delicacy.
‘A delicacy is a delicacy, but how do I explain it?’
Though he knew what a delicacy was, he didn’t know its exact definition.
As he struggled to find the right words, Ian picked Rose up and said,
“A delicacy is a particularly delicious food.”
“So is the bread I eat every day a delicacy too?”
“Well, it’s more like a unique and very tasty food. Shall we try the food Sir Claude recommended?”
“Yes.”
“Sir Claude.”
“I’ll go get it.”
As Sir Claude ran off, Ian sat Rose on a nearby bench.
“Rose, are you cold?”
Fenrex, who sat beside Rose, put his hand on her cheek.
Being a member of the beast tribe, Fenrex’s hands were warm even in the cold winter.
Rose laughed, feeling the warmth, and shook her head.
“No, not really.”
“Not cold, huh.”
Ian lightly tapped Rose’s red nose.
He wanted to use magic to warm her up.
But this was the place where Rose would live for the rest of her life.
She needed to feel the cold and the heat to grow healthy.
“I’m back.”
Claude returned, holding a plate piled high with vegetables and stir-fried kart meat.
With a beaming face, Claude offered the skewers.
“There’s a lot.”
“It’s sold more as a meal replacement than as a snack.”
“Rose, hold on. Let your uncle taste it first.”
The meat, which tasted like a mix of beef and chicken, was juicy even when stir-fried, and it had a pleasant umami flavor.
The seasoning wasn’t too strong, making it safe for children to eat.
Ian placed the plate between Rose and Fenrex.
“Alright, it’s good. Try it.”
Claude handed the skewers to the two children.
“So this is a delicacy.”
“It’s really delicious.”
Rose and Fenrex, delighted with the taste, eagerly ate the meat and vegetables.
“Why don’t you have some too?”
“Me? Really?”
“Yes. Isn’t there a lot of food?”
Seeing Claude hesitate, Ian invited him to join.
As the three enjoyed their meal, the Ermenia, who had been nestled in Rose’s arms, quietly slipped out and climbed onto Ian’s shoulder.
“Come down. You’re heavy.”
[I’ve never heard of a spirit being heavy! Hey! When are you going to get rid of that wolf pup!]
Others might hear it as gibberish, but the meaning was clear to his ears.
Ian, with a surprised look, asked,
“I thought you accepted him?”
[Who would accept a smelly beast!]
Ian chuckled.
He thought of the spirits he had seen on Earth. The water spirit resembled an elephant, the fire spirit a phoenix, and the earth spirit a mole—all looking like animals.
It was ironic that they criticized the wolf for being a smelly beast without realizing their own appearances.
[Stop laughing and get rid of him! I don’t want to see that beast pup!]
“I don’t have the power. Talk to Rose.”
Ian didn’t like the wolf pup wagging its tail at Rose either. Although he had been persuaded by Logan, he honestly wanted to tie it up and send it back to the beast country immediately.
However, he couldn’t do that because he could see how much Rose relied on Fenrex.
Ermenia responded sullenly.
[I told her, but she doesn’t listen.]
“Uncle.”
Rose called Ian, having finished eating. Ian took out a handkerchief and gently wiped her mouth.
“Was it delicious?”
“Yes! It was really tasty. A true delicacy!”
Using the new word she had learned, Rose looked so adorable that Ian laughed quietly.
“All cleaned up.”
Ian looked at the sky.
The sun was setting. They had been out since morning, so it was about time to wrap things up.
“Let’s head back.”
“Okay. Er, come here.”
– Errrl
Ermenia, who had jumped off Ian’s shoulder, was now held in Rose’s arms.
Fenrex ran up and grabbed Rose’s hand.
Despite being together all day, the two children still had so much to talk about as they started walking, chattering away.
“What’s that over there?”
“I’ve seen it before. It sells things like pens and paper.”
“Wow. How do you know so much?”
Rose marveled, and Fenrex, embarrassed, turned his head away and said,
“If you have any questions, just ask me. I’ll tell you everything.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I can answer all your questions.”
Watching them, Ian snorted.
‘As if he knows that much.’
Ian then asked Claude, who was observing them,
“How is William doing with his training?”
“He’s doing well. He says he’s about to break through the barrier.”
Ian chuckled.
“That’s good to hear.”
The William he had seen in the morning couldn’t even gather aura around his body.
Even if he could sense the mana around him, the process of condensing mana into aura was not easy.
“Do you think it’s difficult?”
Instead of answering, Ian asked a question back.
“What about you? Can you sense mana?”
Claude hesitated before answering,
“I’m not sure if it’s mana, but I do feel something swirling around me.”
Ian looked at Claude in surprise.
“Why do you look at me like that?”
“Because, despite your appearance, you don’t seem to be as dumb as you look.”
Claude scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.
“That’s the first time anyone’s said that to me.”
Ian laughed again and turned his gaze back to the children.
The two kids were laughing heartily, enjoying themselves.
“Sir Claude.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Come to my room after your night training.”
“Pardon?”
Ian’s plan was to increase the number of aura users, starting with William.
But a plan was just a plan.
He couldn’t let someone with talent go to waste because of the plan.
If the talented one was Claude, who assisted Rose, even more so.
‘It wouldn’t be a bad idea to awaken Claude before William. The more aura users, the better.’
Having made up his mind, Ian resumed walking.
The leisurely days were over for now.
***
Logan, who was flipping through documents, rubbed his temples.
“Lord Logan, you should rest a bit,”
Fred said without taking his eyes off the documents.
“With this much work, how can I rest?”
Getting rid of the branch families and cleaning up the castle was good.
But it had created a problem.
Removing the spies left empty positions, doubling the already significant workload for the two of them.
“Does the Duke have any plans to hire more people?”
Logan sighed.
“He entrusted that task to me… but hiring people isn’t easy. Finding loyal people with no connections to the branch families is quite difficult.”
“That’s true.”
Fred’s face was haggard as he lifted his head.
His eyes were filled with exhaustion, and it looked like he could collapse at any moment.
“But we can’t go on like this.”
“Yeah, at this rate, I’ll be the first to die.”
“Lord Logan, how about hiring people from other regions instead of the duchy?”
As Logan was about to pour some tea, he found the teapot empty and pulled the bell cord, asking,
“Do you know anyone?”
“Yes, I have colleagues from the academy who couldn’t find jobs because they aren’t proper nobles.”
“Oh.”
Logan handed the empty teapot to a maid who had entered the study and said,
“I’ll have to talk to the Duke.”
“About what?”
Ian entered through the open door.
“My lord.”
“Skip the formalities, what are you going to tell me?”
“Fred, explain it.”
Fred detailed the people he was recommending.
“How many are there?”
“About five.”
Ian thought for a moment and then called Logan.
“Yes.”
“Check them out through the information guild.”
“Yes, understood.”
After giving his orders, Ian asked Fred,
“Do you have a plan?”
“Yes.”
Fred handed over a document he had prepared.
As Ian reviewed the document, Logan asked worriedly,
“Will the merchants follow the plan?”
“Yes, they will.”
“Why do you think so?”
“It’s convenient.”
Logan tilted his head in confusion.
“Think about it. Why do people use checks?”
“Because carrying gold coins is difficult.”
“Right. It’s cumbersome to carry them around, so they use checks. But to exchange those checks for gold coins, they have to visit a merchant. But what if they could exchange the gold coins written on the check in the city they visit?”
Logan nodded.
“What I’m planning to establish is a place that does just that. Merchants deposit their money with us, and we verify the checks they issue and hand over the money.”
Fred added an explanation.
“At first, it will be for the merchants, but as it expands, it will become a facility used by nobles and commoners alike. That’s when the plan will really take off.”
Ian smiled widely.
Once everyone was using checks for their convenience, he planned to introduce the sweetness of interest.
When everyone started using the bank, changing the currency wouldn’t be a problem.
Even if they didn’t want to use it, they would have to.
“…How did you come up with such an idea!”
Logan marveled.
Ian chuckled and pointed to a few parts of Fred’s plan.
“These, these, and these are too rough. Think them over again. Have you decided on a name for the bank?”
Fred scratched his head.
“I’m not good at naming things.”
“What about you?”
Logan’s eyes widened.
“I just heard about it. How could I have thought of a name already? Do you have a name in mind, my lord?”
‘Of course not.’
Ian was also terrible at naming things.
There were countless people who had lamented the names he gave to his pets back on Earth.
He named the jewelry store ‘Rose’ because he wanted Rose’s name to be widely known. Otherwise, he would have left it to someone else.
Ian fell into thought.
The bank’s name couldn’t be decided as simply as the jewelry store’s name.
It had to be memorable, reliable, and easy to recall.
“…Should I ask Rose?”
