Ten days later.
It had been nine days since Rutus had returned to the knight order, with just over a day remaining before the emperor’s appointed date. Rutus spoke up.
“Have we received any reply from Mason yet?”
The aide lowered his head in response to the irritable tone.
“The communication device we previously used to contact them isn’t working. It seems there’s an issue with the Mason estate’s device, and it’s being repaired at the mage tower.”
“Despite having a mage as the head of the family?”
The response was expected. Rutus placed his elbows on the desk and rubbed his temples.
It had already been four days since they had sent the message. When there was no reply through the communication device, they sent a letter. Still receiving no response, they sent someone in person yesterday.
By now, they should have been able to reach him.
“Well…He has been in his estate since last month, and there’s no immediate way to deliver the message to him.”
“At a time like this, without notifying anyone?”
“He said to deliver a letter to Ratcliffe when he left. Thinking about it, I remember that there was a letter from Mason around that time……”
“Are you kidding me?”
Rutus squinted and asked, implying why this was being brought up only now when he hadn’t heard about it until now.
“I did inform you. You said you understood and to leave it.”
At that, Rutus bit his lip and turned his head toward the pile of letters in his study.
“……”
How long had it been since he checked those?
He had left the business-related letters to his aide and only checked the approval documents.
Similarly, letters without significant value were dealt with before reaching him.
‘The types that make it to the study are usually either urgent or…’
Rutus, rechecking the pile of letters, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He had probably told him to send up letters from families they had connections with.
However, having relied on Mason until he entered the academy, Rutus had no personal connections with any other family.
“…Here it is.”
Reaching out, Rutus grabbed something from the pile of letters and rubbed his neck.
A light beige envelope with a light green wax seal. The symbol of Mason, depicting vines climbing a deer’s antlers.
In other words, he had overlooked it simply because he had been preoccupied with checking letters from the palace.
He hadn’t even opened the urgent letters piled up, so it wasn’t surprising he hadn’t noticed it.
Confirming this, Rutus pressed his forehead and spoke sharply.
“Contact the Mason estate now.”
“Forgive me, but I already attempted it after receiving the news earlier today. However, Count Mason has set up the estate’s communication system to only receive messages that are infused with a specific type of magic…”
“……”
“Since madam’s… passing, we periodically received scrolls containing the count’s magic to contact the former count and countess. But currently, we are out of scrolls.”
The aide trailed off, bowing his head, likely referring to the loss of Ellie’s magic.
Given how rare magic users were in the empire, lacking magic wasn’t a flaw, but Mason was different.
Since the founding hero, the first Count Mason, the family had upheld the legacy of the grand mage for generations.
Despite some not excelling due to weak innate magic, none had ever been unable to use magic.
‘And now, with her magic completely gone, rumors were inevitable.’
It was a significant disgrace.
Measures had been taken to prevent the news from leaking to Ellie, so nothing was said within the ducal residence.
However, he was aware of the rumors among the nobles.
[Could it be a curse?]
[It’s true that Mason was extraordinary in the past, but it’s been over 700 years since the empire was founded, hasn’t it?]
[It’s all old glory. It’s long past its prime.]
[Come to think of it, Wasn’t there some uncertainty about the status of the former Countess? I’ve never heard of a family like that, even among fallen nobility.]
[There were many aspects of her behavior that were un-noble-like. So, one might question her lineage…]
Rutus clenched his hand on his desk, the veins standing out on the back of his hand.
Feeling a headache coming on, Rutus continuously massaged his stiff neck and jaw before speaking.
“If we send a messenger to the Mason estate now, how long will it take to arrive?”
“Using the usual route, it will take about five to seven days.”
“And the unusual route?”
“It’s dangerous, but cutting through the mountains on horseback using a shortcut, it will take about three days.”
“…That means it would take about six to ten days round trip.”
With such a timeframe, using the usual route was out of the question. Even if the Count set off immediately after receiving the letter via the shortcut, it would still take too long.
The only assumption was that the letter would arrive before three days had completely passed, and the Count would use the scroll to come up to the capital.
“……”
Even then, the time was too tight. Rutus rubbed his face dry and took several short breaths.
It was at this point that the aide, puzzled by the ongoing conversation, cautiously asked:
“Your Excellency, may I ask why you need the Count…?”
“……”
“Your Excellency?”
“I need a place to leave the child.”
Even after ten days, the emperor had not withdrawn his order. It was almost certain that he would be sent to the border area.
If a war broke out, who would be in the most danger? Himself?
“It’s too dangerous to leave him alone for a long time…”
No.
In the past ten days, there had been two instances of assassins infiltrating during the night.
Despite reorganizing the mansion’s guards and reinforcing protective magic after the first incident, the security was breached.
It had been some time since he deliberately spread the rumor that he kept the child by his side. If the security and surveillance were breached to this extent…
‘Just how many more were there originally?’
To guard against spies infiltrating the mansion, he had recently given severance pay and recommendation letters to all the new staff hired in the past year and let them go.
Yet, if there were still some he hadn’t weeded out…
The primary target was already as good as decided.
“Mason is not a completely safe place either…”
But it’s incomparable to having no guardian at all.
Even if the guards were increased and protective magic strengthened, the fact that he would be absent from the mansion made it appear defenseless to some.
So, he intended to ask the count to take care of the child temporarily in his stead.
“……”
“Your Excellency, shall I send a messenger immediately—”
“Diego.”
“……”
“If we contact the mage tower now and request an unbreakable protective spell for the mansion… how long will it take?”
Well, I think we need to contact them to find out, but requesting such a large-scale magic spell of that strength would cost—”
“The cost doesn’t matter. Tell them to calculate the quickest possible completion time and let me know.”
You only have an hour. Rutus said as he got up from his seat.
And after that, things moved quickly.
With tight preparations, it was possible within two full days, but access would be restricted to designated individuals, and the magic would not apply once they left the designated area.
Additionally, if an unauthorized person left the designated area, the spell would break.
Upon hearing this, Rutus immediately ordered the remaining staff who had worked in the mansion for a long time to move to the annex.
‘I considered putting the spell on the main mansion, but…’
The main mansion had more people coming and going, and it couldn’t be completed within the remaining time.
Instead, he allocated a sufficient monthly budget to furnish and maintain the largest room in the annex with high-quality items to ensure no inconvenience in living.
Rutus, instructing the butler accordingly, watched as the items were moved busily to the annex.
Then, he spotted a necklace lying in a box tucked away in a corner and spoke impulsively.
“This is a locket.”
“Yes, Your Excellency. It’s not immediately necessary, but since it’s such a high-quality item, we decided to store it in the warehouse for now…”
Rutus half-turned and looked at the door of the room where the child was still sleeping.
‘Come to think of it.’
It was customary to hang portraits of the current head of the family in both the main mansion and the annex, so his was already there, but he couldn’t arrange Ellie’s separately.
Since it wasn’t a place where they would be staying for just a day or two, she had insisted that she wanted to paint a family portrait with the child once he grew older.
“……”
There were not many portraits of Ellie to begin with since she disliked sitting still for them.
Thus, there were not enough to hang in the annex or even in the main mansion. There was only one barely hanging in the central hall, where the portraits of the previous heads and their wives were displayed.
Rutus stared at the necklace for a moment before picking it up and opening the locket. It was an empty locket with nothing inside.
Perhaps that was why he impulsively said,
“…I’ll take this for a while.”
“Yes?”
Without answering, Rutus turned and entered his study, opened a secret safe, and took something out.
[I had a hard time coaxing her to sit down when she threw a tantrum because she didn’t want to be painted. Don’t let her find out, she’d be embarrassed and ask you to give it back.]
[……Brother.]
[……Hey, who are you calling your brother? Speak properly, alright?]
[I didn’t mean it that way.]
[……]
He only had one portable portrait.
The Count had given it to him secretly, saying that it was a copy of the one drawn just before Ellie’s debutante ball.
He had hidden it away without Elliei’s knowledge.
“……”
Click.
Rutus quietly inserted the portrait into the locket, which he had originally intended to take with him on the expedition.
After a moment of hesitation, he also opened a small glass bottle from the safe and put its contents into the locket.
Then, he opened the door to the room where the child was and faced the maid who had been Ellie’s personal attendant. She had come back asking to be accepted again after originally leaving with the other servants from Mason.
“……”
“…Greetings, Your Grace.”
The maid, her eyes reddening as she looked at the child lying in the crib, bowed her head.
Rutus, fiddling with the locket in his hand, spoke.
“I heard that you would go to the annex with the child.”
“Yes, because the young master is still very young.”
“…..”
“The young lady, no…”
“……”
“I thought at least one person should stay to tell him about the late Madam as he grows up.”
“…I see.”
Rutus noticed the moisture in her voice as she spoke, but he simply nodded.
He handed the locket to the maid and said,
“Then you keep this.”
“…?”
“I’ll be back before the year ends at the latest. Make sure to take good care of him until then.”
Tossing the locket to the maid, Rutus turned around without looking back at the child’s face.
…Because he knew that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to leave.
“Your Excellency, it is almost time for you to depart.”
The commander of the knights, who was to leave with him, spoke as he waited in front of the main mansion.
“……”
“Your Excellency?”
“……”
“……”
“…Let’s go.”
And so, Rutus left the mansion.
Little did he know that, contrary to his hopes, it would take him several years to finally return.
* * *
TL/N: NOW, I CAN FINALLY SAY THAT RUTUS’S FLASHBACK CHAPS HAVE COME TO AN END, WE’RE FINALLY GONNA SEE THE NOW ELLIE, ADI AND RUTUS STARTING NEXT CHAP, STAY TUNED!!!!
* * * *
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