“I had sent a maid to check first, in case Your Highness was busy. I apologize if that was inappropriate.”
“There’s no need for that. If you wish to see me, you can come anytime. Or you can simply call for me.”
Watching the Grand Duke kneel on one knee in front of the Grand Duchess, who was seated in her chair, and speak so kindly, Sir Renard, who had followed, wanted to rub his eyes in disbelief.
Our stoic Grand Duke is being this gentle with a lady? He hadn’t even treated Lady Ravalley, whom he occasionally saw and whose movements were quite suspicious, like this!
Now he realized that the Grand Duke he served had long lost interest in Lady Ravalley. The Grand Duke’s gaze towards the Grand Duchess was nothing but warm.
“Thank you.”
As Kaela hesitated and couldn’t find words to say, simply expressing her gratitude, Peon smiled unconsciously. For Kaela, it was awkward and strange to see the brusque and unapproachable Grand Duke willingly lowering himself to meet her eye level.
Having never experienced it before, she kept her guard up.
If it were Beatrice Ravalley, she would have accepted it as a matter of course with a sophisticated nod, but Kaela de Chasser was never like that. At best, she would just say “Thank you” and end it there. How could she be a match for Beatrice?
It would be more than enough if she could just remain as a cute little sister, a much younger sister. And whether Kaela wished for it or not, that was right.
“What did you need me for, Your Highness?”
Sir Renard was truly impressed. Our Grand Duke wasn’t incapable of doing such things; he just didn’t want to do them despite knowing how.
As soon as the Grand Duchess’s maid appeared, he immediately asked what was wrong, left whatever he was doing, and came straight to the Grand Duchess’s office. Even smiling when he rarely did so – the situation was all too obvious.
The perceptive Sir Renard’s eyes met with those of Denise, the maid who had come on the errand. It seemed that maid had also grasped the general situation.
“I have a request.”
“Yes, please tell me.”
Sir Renard was in a very good mood. At this rate, by next year, they might hear the cries of a baby, and see a more relaxed and easygoing Grand Duke. Sir Renard, who had always worried about his lord living such a rigid life, was lost in happy dreams.
“I have something to discuss with Sir Renard, and I’d like your permission.”
Sir Renard, who had been daydreaming, was startled when the Grand Duchess suddenly mentioned him. Peon’s gaze also turned to Sir Renard.
“Why would you need my permission for something so trivial? Just call him and ask.”
“But he’s Your Highness’s knight.”
“If he’s my knight, he’s your knight as well.”
“Thank you.”
The Grand Duchess bowed her head politely in gratitude and turned towards Sir Renard. At that moment, Peon added a word.
“May I stay as well?”
Sir Renard, considering all his numerous battle experiences in Lusenford and his espionage experiences across Crania, had never seen anyone as frightening as the Grand Duke looking at him now.
His excessively calm gaze seemed ordinary at first glance, but Sir Renard knew well that it was precisely this calmness that made it terrifying.
“Of course. I wanted to ask Your Highness as well. Please have a seat, Your Highness. Sir, please sit down too.”
Peon, quite dissatisfied with the sofa in the Grand Duchess’s office, sat down while pondering how to replace it without destroying it.
Kaela, for her part, doubted whether that sofa with its tacky floral pattern could withstand a sturdy, large-built knight like Peon. It must have been newly ordered by the exiled former head maid, but it was already creaking.
Kaela, who had asked Marie to bring tea, was now facing one of Peon’s aides and informants, whom she had never formally greeted before but already knew.
“Sir Renard.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Sir Renard, who appeared quite tense, had extensive connections throughout Lusenford and Crania. With his unique sociability, he knew many people in the Imperial Knights, and Lusenford was like his backyard. He was also one of those who gave Kaela unfavorable glances because he knew too many circulating rumors.
At the end, Sir Renard probably felt angry. Well, he wasn’t the only one who was angry at Kaela for supposedly betraying her lord.
“I’m not familiar with Lusenford, so I don’t know the people here well. That’s why I’d like you to help me,” Kaela humbly requested assistance from the knight. Though she, as the mistress of Lusenford, could have ordered Sir Renard to follow her commands as a knight, she asked like this, which made Sir Renard feel very honored.
“I will follow whatever you ask, Your Highness.”
“I’ve heard that you have wide connections. What I want to know about is Sir Hugo Ferweding.”
However, regardless of his attitude, what the Grand Duchess was saying was increasingly pulling Sir Renard into a quagmire. First, she said she wanted to ask about something regarding her husband to a knight under her husband’s command, and now she’s asking about another knight.
“What I want to know is the accurate and impartial reputation circulating among colleagues.”
“Ah, that fellow is upright.”
“Does His Highness think so too?”
“Yes, he does.”
After confirming once more with the Grand Duke, Kaela asked Sir Renard again.
“Then, what about his wife, Merma Ferweding?”
Kaela thought of Merma Ferweding’s confident attitude that she had seen when she first met the ladies of Lusenford.
“Are the couple alike?”
Of course, that didn’t apply to Peon and Kaela.
“Yes. They have similar personalities.”
“Tell me the behind-the-scenes talk without holding back. Does the wife have ambition?”
Sir Renard hesitated but then answered frankly.
“Yes. To be honest, if the families of the exiled head maid were the mainstream, you could consider Lady Ferweding as the leader of the second most powerful group following that mainstream.”
“That’s the best way to explain it.”
Kaela nodded. Before her death, Lusenford had not given Kaela any information. So she had to figure out the power dynamics of the noblewomen who wouldn’t deal with her by directly confronting them with her whole body.
However, the amount of information she could gather was too little, and Kaela could only make assumptions. So now she was just confirming what she had guessed.
This might be almost the last chance to confirm.
Expectation was a thorn that hurt her. Kaela unknowingly smiled bitterly, and the Grand Duke still didn’t take his eyes off her.
