“Since when?”

After Rubica’s arrival, Edgar secretly went to his office to sleep after the servants left. Carl thought it would be better not to be near him lest others might see him, so he didn’t serve him at that time.

So, he couldn’t tell if this had been happening for some time, or it was a one-off thing.

“Well, he quarreled with his wife, so he must be exhausted.”

Carl decided to think it was a one-off thing for now and didn’t drop the lavender oil on the flowers. The oil was supposed to bring a goodnight’s sleep, but as Edgar was already deep in sleep, there was no need to rely on the scent.

His eyes started to shake as he let the room.

He decided to dismiss it as a one-off thing, but he hoped that wasn’t the case. Edgar and Rubica certainly fought often. To those who didn’t know the true story between them, it just looked like a cute love fight, but not to Carl.

Edgar looked quite troubled in front of her. But strangely, he started to smile more often than before, and he even looked quite amused sometimes. It was certainly different from when he had lived only because he couldn’t die.

‘No, I must not rush.’

Carl recalled his mistake. He had grown up with Edgar’s father and had served him loyally after coming of age. When he told Carl he was dying because of love, he was shaken and committed an unforgivable sin.

Edgar’s father was a man like fire. When he was separated from his lover, he refused to eat and became sick. His wife didn’t even know what it was about, but she was just sad to see her husband sick and tried to make him eat at least a little. However, he just yelled at her.

At the time, Carl thought he truly was dying. He said he would move on if Carl only helped him meet her only once and, in the end, Carl did what he asked. However, it happened again. And again. A month became two, and then a year. Soon, the duke had him prepare the visit to the villa as if it was natural when his wife left to see their son.

-Your Grace, no. Not anymore.

-But Edgar will soon graduate from the Academy, so this will be the last time. Just… please. Let me meet her once again. I will then end this relationship without any remorse. Carl, I cannot live without her.

When Carl refused, the duke would immediately get sick. Then, he kept moaning about how miserable he was to live a life where his love could not be complete. He said she was the only one who accepted him for who he really was. Carl always lived to serve him, and he had no choice but to do as he was ordered every time. And, the outcome was destruction. The duke, who said he loved his lover so much, told his wife he didn’t love her the moment he was busted.

He said the duchess was the only woman he loved.

Only then, Carl realized he had done something shameful. He had been neither a lark nor a guide who brought true lovers together. He had only been an accomplice of that dirty affair.

‘I don’t deserve to think he might be in love.’

He scolded himself. He didn’t deserve to judge Edgar’s state or love. Just like Edgar was living, instead of killing himself, only to take his duties as Duke Claymore, he lived to repent, to be at least of the slightest help in breaking the curse that had been put upon Edgar because of his sin.

What he had to do was clear. To become the hands and feet of the duke who couldn’t move freely, and to make sure no one ever got to find out that he had been cursed.

He moved to the guard’s place. He always sent Stephen, the captain of the guards, first to check to prevent something happening and revealing the fact that Edgar couldn’t walk during the day.

Stephen always did his job without complaining, even when summoned suddenly during late hours. He was good and had heavy lips. If it hadn’t been for him, Edgar and Carl would have missed Rubica when she was running away.

Moreover, he had never told others Rubica tried to run away.

“I’m looking for Sir Stephen.”

Carl spoke to the knight who was on guard. The knight, however, didn’t like that someone was looking for his captain so late at night and didn’t reply immediately.

“What is this about?”

“Order of the duke.”

“He is in the Peace Room now.”

The Peace Room was the place for messenger birds. Carl was confused at learning Stephen was there so late at night.

“He got a letter from his brother and is sending a reply. Should I tell him you are here?”

“No. I’ll go there myself.”

Although Carl was Edgar’s closest man who managed everything in the mansion, he was still much lower in rank compared to the guard knights. Asking the knight to deliver a message for him could offend Stephen, so Carl left him with a polite goodbye and headed to the Peace Room.

The family had a huge domain and many businesses, so it received a lot of news. Latest thesis, scholars’ experiment results, supply and demand of iron to make weapons, development of various chemical ingredients. It all depended on who got what information first. Mana stones carriages were the best at delivering news quickly, but as mana stone used a rare power source, it couldn’t be used like that. There was a message system run by the government but using it could have important documents switched in the middle and information would leak.

So, Claymore raised and managed many messenger birds. Its attendants were not allowed to use those birds to send private messages, but Stephen was a knight. The division that managed the birds was also part of the knight order.

“Sir Stephen.”

Stephen had been tying a little note to the most well-trained and fasted owl. He looked back at hearing someone calling him. His mysterious brown eyes seemed on guard. That was how knights always were. They acted as if they were encountering enemies when called by their name unless it was their master or a fellow knight.

“What is this about? It’s late night.”

“Weren’t you sending a letter to your brother? It’s the duke’s order, but it’s not urgent. I can wait when you are done.”

Carl spoke trying not to sound like someone who was criticizing the knight for sending a private letter using the well-trained owl instead of a pigeon. Fortunately, Stephen didn’t take it that way and shook his head.

“There’s nothing more important to me than the duke’s order. What is it?”

“He is leaving for the capital tomorrow morning. He will arrive there by evening.”

“Is he heading straight to the king’s castle?”

“Probably.”

“I see. I will leave right away.”

He was a great knight indeed. Sir Stephen was great with his sword, well-mannered, and very smart.

Carl expressed his deep admiration and left the room. Stephen stared at him as he left and then undid the strap around the owl’s foot. He spread it and took out a bar of graphite to hastily add a line to it.

‘The duke is heading to the capital.’

Above that sentence, it was written the duchess had recently invested in the development of roses, and although it didn’t seem to be related to the Claymore’s business, Rubica had to be looked into as she did many strange things.

“Sophie, then please.”

Stephen stroked the owl’s head after tying the note back to its foot. It pleasantly hooted and flew out toward the night sky. Unlike other messenger birds, the owl only obeyed him and his brother. When others tried to stroke it, it would bite with its fierce beak or use its sharp claws. Plus, as it moved only at night, it was almost impossible to hit it with arrows.

Stephen turned and left the room without any worries. He knew what he was supposed to do. Exterminate every danger on the duke’s way.

‘So that people will not find out that he can’t move during the day.’

He could already guess about Edgar’s state. But why he couldn’t move at all during the day, he didn’t know. However, he was not going to tear down the trust on which he had worked so hard just to find out why. It would be like cutting the belly of a goose that laid golden eggs.

He was going to find out eventually if he remained at the duke’s side with patience.

***

The decision about mana quartz was big. Rubica got a report about the relatives at the annex requesting to meet her before she even got to dip her hands in the basin of warm water on her bed.

“Where’s Edgar?”

“He has gone to the capital to see the king.”

“So suddenly?”

“Yes. Actually, the king has summoned him more than once… he left early in the morning.”

Ann looked extremely tired.

If Edgar had stayed, Ann would have scolded him even before the relatives did.

Rubica was a little sad to find out he had left without telling her, but she thought it was all the better.

Edgar was the maker of that decision. It would be better for her to meet those relatives mad with betrayal than him meeting them himself. She had decided to do it together. He had started it for her. She would rather be sorry to him if she couldn’t handle even a handful of mad relatives.