In three days, my lovely daughter will turn 15 and she would enter school next month.

“*Sigh* I wish she would just stay here. Peter’s going back as well, so I’ll be all alone.”

I grumbled writing and approving paperworks from the piles of paper that never seem to end. Fervently finishing everything, I wrote clumsily from time to time. Still, I made sure to read and analyze everything properly. Proper management is the key to a successful fief after all.

Tok tok. A knock resounded from my heavy door.

“Your excellency, it’s Killian.”

My butler’s voice said behind closed doors.

“Come in.”

“Pardon me.”

He entered, the door was old and heavy but never once did it creak whenever he enters. Every time I ask, he would always answer: “It’s because I am the Mastris family’s butler.” Like it was a matter of fact that every servant under me should have. Noticing my gaze, he smiled at me filled with duty of service.

“What is it?”

Readily, he gave me another stack of papers. I was finally able to lessen the current stack so I could play with my lovely girl. But this boy who’s only 5 years older than my son, who I treated like my nephew since his father’s service, made my life miserable with just paper! I grumbled once again, with an expression filled with contempt, twirling the tips of my hair on my fingers.

“Calm down milord. It’s the status report for the growing miasma down south. Did you not give me orders for these to take precedence over all others? And here, I also have a report about the capital.”

The capital is always a problem. It’s not enough that I have to worry about my territory, I have to worry about relationships as well. Well, my wife does her job very well so only extremists have made their move.

Killian handed me the reports. The most troubling and urgent one would be the miasma.

“This, how big has it grown?”

“The whole area had been plunged deep with black mana. I’ve sent letters for help from the

Daemons secretly but they haven’t replied yet. I’m afraid someone intercepted the letters.”

I fiddled with the tips of my hair that had a faded red color, then I took a piece of paper and wrote a letter as fast as I could.

The Daemons lived in seclusion just like Beastmen but they’re more amiable when problems such as these occur. They’re humble, quiet and never take credit so long as they receive proper compensation.

I gave the finished letter to Killian and sealed it with magic. Only a Daemon can see and open this letter. Since its contents can destroy the fragile relationship I have with people from capital, I have to take measures.

“Milord, I think you shouldn’t worry too much. Everyone in the capital knows about your reputation, if Turqo becomes a battlefield no soldier from this area nor hunters who knows of you would fight. They would lose any war without you.”

He said so before leaving my room, this man read my mind, he’s too perceptive of his master. But it is true, I know of my reputation and my influence, I’m happy for the loyalty but I am worried for my people, those who do not have power to protect themselves.

He closed the door silently in the same way he entered. Such light movements, sometimes one would wonder if he really is a butler and not a spy.

“Now, who’re the bastards bothering me at such a busy time?”

I sifted through the reports about the capital, inside: numerous pages about huge amounts of unrecorded transactions, a whole lot of secret meetings with the senate, and a large amount of complaints about me. A deep sigh escaped my tired lips and I held my head in surrender.

On the report, somebody finally had the audacity to send assassins to me. Several names of assassination leagues were listed, while I read through them, relief filled my heart. Of every league on the list, only Dragon’s Eye was left out. It would actually mean a cause for celebration.

The Dragon’s Eye is known for their 100% kills. The deaths would often look like a suicide with letters declaring they’ve angered the Dragon’s Eye. Sometimes, the murder was inexplicable due to natural causes, but time and again, their signature would always appear near the body. They also perform complete annihilation whenever they declared being angered by their targets.

Of all their known kills, they always base their kills on one criterion: corruption. They never act on their own accord but they always take jobs that kills those who’re corrupt. Their clients are also satisfied with how they take the spotlight and have all the blames shift towards them.

“I guess I don’t fit their conditions, huh? I can at least have enough room to breath.”

I slumped in my chair scanning my room. A sweet sounding voice and a lute rang from the garden.

“It would be another busy week for me, it seems. They will definitely come during Paige’s birthday celebration.”

I opened the balcony behind me and looked over the garden. Over a couple of hedges, my daughter and his highness’ female friend were singing together. The soft chirping of the girls and the strums of the lute wrapped my ears as the words of the song continued to play.

“Suddenly, you came and suddenly, you’re gone

The gust of wind that you brought

Carried all my wishes when you left.

Can you see? Can you hear?

Oh how I wish you’d hear,

This tiny song of my hopes and dreams

In this tiny world you gave me

Filled this heart with nothing but love.

The world moved, the world prospered

Under my guidance people gathered

They promised to love and to protect

This world that I love as much as I loved you.

Oh how I wish you’d hear,

This tiny song of love and peace

In this tiny world I loved

Filled this heart with regret…”

The warm yet sad song echoed in the garden. Again and again it rang, but the tiny song which they both sang was heavy, filled to the brim with feelings of love.

“I’ve never heard this love song before. I would need to work hard so songs about me wouldn’t be filled with so much regret.”

I chuckled under my breath, the song my daughter sang brought a small escape from my never-ending work. I felt that my youth was brought back again, but as long as I am Felippe Mastris, a Marquis of Eloheim, such wishful thinking can never happen.

“Hah… I want to sing with Paige too.”

And again, a sigh escaped my lips as I dipped my quill in ink.