Vol. 2 Chapter 25: Letters of challenge from the duke

After Patrick’s sudden proposal, a letter arrived at the mansion in the afternoon.

The letter was from Duke Hillrose and had been carefully stamped with the ducal house’s sealing wax. The gardener received this letter from a mysterious man. Patrick and I were afraid to check it.

“It’s for you, Patrick. He wants you to come to the castle today.”

“Is he trying to separate us?”

Although I have no idea about Duke Hillrose’s objective, this letter had one purpose. It was to separate me from Patrick. 

The fact that it was brought by someone who seemed to be the Duke’s subordinate suggests that it was specifically timed. 

Patrick was frowning, thoroughly annoyed. 

“You don’t need to be at the mercy of the Duke. I’ll just ignore him and stay here.”

“He said the capital would be in trouble if you didn’t come. Isn’t the Duke in the capital?”

“But leaving you alone—”

There are two possibilities involving the Dolknes territory and the royal capital, one is a diversion and the other is the real deal. If we think about it, the main objective must be the royal capital. So, the Duke’s goal is to keep me away from the capital?

Is he planning to cause trouble in the capital that Patrick can’t handle on his own?

It’s unlikely, but the opposite is also possible. His goal is to separate Patrick from me and this territory.

“Which one do you think is the real deal?”

“I think it’s the royal capital.”

“I agree, so why don’t I just go to the capital?”

Patrick stayed behind just in case while I dealt with the main issue, which I felt was the best course of action.

There was a moment of silence, then Patrick looked me in the eye and said.

“Yumiela, you will not overlook the crisis in the capital, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“But Yumiela is also worried about this territory, right?”

“Yeah.”

He confirmed my intentions. I have two concerns, but I’m only one person. Patrick will probably let me choose or maybe he’s going to force me to make a choice. 

“You can save one at all cost, but be prepared to abandon the other. Yumiela must choose which one is more serious, the capital or the territory. You can then handle the one you think is more serious while I will handle the other.”

“Hmm.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Was he perhaps thinking he was harsh? The idea was to pick one of them but he will help me handle the other.

He has no intention of abandoning either of them. We definitely will make sure everything is okay because we’re in this together at the end of the day.

“Then, I will watch over the estate, I’m a Lord after all. Please take care of the capital.”

“Alright. I’ll be right back if anything happens.”

“What do you mean by anything?” 

“If I leave you alone. You’re bound to do something.”

Oh, you mean I’m going to cause trouble?

“Am I that untrustworthy?”

“I hadn’t trusted you since you blew the monster summoning flute on me when I was a freshman at the academy.”

“Come back when I blow the flute.”

“Okay, let’s go Ryuu.”

Given that he had zero trusts in me, I trusted him to handle the capital. Despite that, he entrusted the territory to me.

Sensing the unsettling atmosphere in the room, Ryuu, who had been peeking into the mansion through the window, roared. 

Patrick hopped on Ryuu’s back and took off towards the royal capital. 

　　　　　　　◆　◆　◆

Not long after he left, there was a commotion outside the mansion.

Don’t tell me the Duke’s target was my territory all along? The timing was too good, was he waiting for Patrick to leave?

When I rushed out of the mansion, I saw a coach with the Duke’s family crest on it. And the person coming out from the coach was…

“Yumiela-san! I’m here!”

It’s her!

Eleanora came running out of the coach. She ran up to me with such force that my reflexes caught her before she bumped into me. 

“Uhh, what are you doing here?”

“Congratulations on your wedding!”

What is she talking about?

After calming down an excited Eleanora and ushering her inside, I asked her what she is talking about. It was only yesterday that he had proposed to me, how did she know about it so quickly?

“Where did you hear about the marriage?”

“From this letter! So, how did the proposal happen? Oh! The ring looks wonderful, I’ve never seen jewelry like that before.”

Keeping Eleanora occupied with her own excitement, I read the letter she gave me. The letter announced that Patrick and I were getting married and the wedding ceremony would be held in our territory in the near future.

There was no way I could forget sending such a letter. When I checked the envelope, I saw my signature on it. It was definitely my handwriting. 

Was this perhaps the invitation for Patrick’s celebration party? What kind of mistake is this? I never expected Damon to be this careless. 

We are getting married, that’s for sure. We are going to be happy. 

Phew, I got distracted by Eleanora.

Wait, what is it again? The Duke’s coup d’etat? There’s no way he’s going to do that and leave his daughter alone. Maybe it’s like the wedding invitation thing, it might just be a big misunderstanding.

That’s when I noticed the envelope Eleanora was holding under her arm. That was not a letter I sent, right?

“What about that envelope?”

“Eh, Envelope? Ahhh! This is a letter that I have to deliver to my brother.”

“So, it’s a letter for Ronald-san?”

Either way, that letter has nothing to do with me.

Then Eleanora began to tear open the envelope in her hand. There were several documents inside.

“Are you sure you’re allowed to open it?”

“It’s a family correspondence. There’s nothing wrong with me looking at it.”  

I don’t think it works that way? Family members still deserve their privacy… Wait a minute? Other than her brother, she has no siblings and her mother had passed away. Does that mean it’s a letter from the Duke?

She read the documents with a serious look on her face. After she finished reading, she handed it to me and said.

“I’m not sure I’m following this. Can you understand this?”

“Uh… I think that letter was supposed to be for your brother’s eyes only?”

Even though I said that, my curiosity got the better of me and I read the documents. 

It was a written plan for the coup d’etat. They were going to let the monsters attack the capital and in the middle of chaos, they were going to capture the King and the Crown Prince, taking control of the kingdom. With the help of Remrest Kingdom.

There will be a rally from the extremist nobles who are supporting the Duke this evening. 

“I wish I hadn’t read this.” 

I just read something awful. I’m not sure why the Duke sent this to Ronald-san. Is he going to double-cross and join the Duke’s side?

My thoughts raced through my mind when a small memo dropped from a gap in the papers. Eleanora picked it up from the floor and read it. 

“Ronald, please take care of Eleanora. Don’t worry about me, I can take care of myself.”

Can’t say I can predict what her brother will do, but one thing is clear. 

Duke Hillrose is definitely the bad guy. He’s planning a coup. I don’t know how to explain it to her.

She asked me the last question I wanted to hear.

“What are these documents about?”

“Duke Hillr—your father is planning a coup.”

She was going to find out about it sooner or later. It’s just a matter of whether it’s too early or too late, better to nip it in the bud. 

“A coup?”

“Insurrection… ah, something like overthrowing the King? He’s going to overthrow the kingdom.”

“No way….”

“The capital is going to be a mess, might as well stay here. I’ll help you with the shelter.”

She must have been shocked because she looked down and trembled. She then turned her head to look at me and said.

“That’s impossible!”

“But that’s the plan written in these documents.”

“No, it can’t be… I may never be able to marry Prince Edwin.”

I thought she was concerned about whether she would be able to marry the prince, apparently not. Although her voice became progressively glum, she continued. 

“Maybe you hate me.”

“Why are you suddenly—”

“Maybe my brother doesn’t like me either.”

Eleanora kept repeating the negative remarks and feeling dejected. She looked like she was about to cry but it wasn’t over yet. 

“Maybe there’s no one who likes me at all.”

“Miss Eleanora?”

When I approached her out of concern, she shouted, tears streaming down her face.

“But! But I know how much my father loves this kingdom! There are so many things I don’t understand in the world and what other people are thinking but one thing that I know is that my father loves this kingdom!”

Through her tearful eyes, she proudly said that.

Then she buried her face in my chest and wailed like a child.

She ended up falling asleep on my hold as if all those writing worn her out.

After moving her into a more comfortable position on the bed, I observed her sleeping face. Rita offered me a slip of paper timidly. The paper was crumpled. 

“This was thrown in front of our front door.”

“This is….”

The crumpled paper bore the Duke’s coat of arms and the writing was pretty straightforward.

“He’s waiting outside the town.”

You probably could guess who was waiting for me. It’s time to settle the score with the terrible father who made his only daughter cry.

---

Previous | Table of Contents | Next