Chapter 86
Cats are naturally quiet, but if they’re unusually silent for a long time, there’s a high chance they’re up to mischief.
How many times had this happened while living with cats? To avoid being startled by sudden crashes and bangs and rushing over, it was essential to keep an eye on the cat’s movements.
That’s why Ruan continued to watch the Grand Duke carefully, even when nothing had happened for a while.
But at some point…
‘The Grand Duke… seems to be in a better mood?’
Since Ruan started avoiding the Grand Duke, the Grand Duke had been openly emitting a menacing aura. The atmosphere was so fierce that the people of Reinke would unanimously say how scary Your Grace had been lately at every opportunity.
Ruan too had experienced the Grand Duke looking at him with eyes that seemed ready to grab his nape several times, so he knew what they meant. Because of this, he felt a heavy sense of guilt towards both the upset Grand Duke and the frightened people.
But suddenly, from one day, the Grand Duke’s mood improved considerably.
Of course, the people of Reinke only perceived it as a change from “really terrifyingly scary” to “scary as usual,” not feeling that the Grand Duke’s mood had improved. But Ruan could tell.
The Grand Duke was not only in a good mood as if he had never been displeased, but he had become quite triumphant.
‘I haven’t done anything yet? So suddenly?’
Ruan, who had been anxiously pondering without coming up with any significant answers, was momentarily perplexed by this extreme change… But soon he deduced an answer.
From not causing any trouble to regaining his usual majestic demeanor.
In Ruan’s opinion, there was only one reason that explained this change in attitude.
‘The heat must be over.’
Since everything started with the heat, the end of the situation must also be because the heat ended.
Ruan had mixed feelings about the conclusion he reached.
First, he felt apologetic. He had only avoided the Grand Duke instead of doing anything to help until the situation ended. And that was due to his lack of knowledge and personal issues.
Ruan truly realized his inadequacies through this incident.
He thought he fully understood that living with another being meant constantly encountering unfamiliar aspects of a seemingly familiar existence, aspects that could seem perplexing at first glance. But when faced with an unfamiliar situation, he not only failed to handle it properly but was so confused that he could only avoid it. And he couldn’t find a solution until the problem ended on its own.
It wasn’t just Ruan who must have been confused.
Wasn’t this a serious disqualification as a companion human?
‘And above all… this isn’t a one-time issue.’
This heat might be over, but it was really just ‘this heat’.
Ruan hoped to continue living with the Grand Duke. If so, the Grand Duke’s heat was an issue he would inevitably face again and again.
He couldn’t spend every such period like this in the future.
Ruan resolved to make more effort and study to become a happy companion human for the happy Grand Duke.
Anyway… as much as he had worried, thinking that the heat was over did make him feel a bit relieved. He had gained time to calmly think about countermeasures for future heats, and it was fortunate that no additional stress factors were added to the trip to the capital, which was already stressful enough for the Grand Duke.
‘Even so, it doesn’t change the fact that the Grand Duke will be under a lot of stress during the trip to the capital.’
Ruan, facing the upcoming trip to the capital, resolved amidst his feelings of guilt towards the Grand Duke, passion to become a better caretaker, and sympathy for the cat who would have a hard time.
He would serve his cat with utmost dedication and care during this journey.
Ruan’s gaze turned towards the carriage where the packing was almost complete. It seemed they could depart at the scheduled time once the preparations were done.
‘Come to think of it, we’re really going to the capital now.’
Ardenheim, the center of the “Tales of the Sirah Empire” narrative.
In other words, to where the main characters of the “Tales of the Sirah Empire” were.
When he first transmigrated as Reinke Resident 13, he thought he would live a life completely unrelated to the main narrative… but after indirectly influencing the main characters, he was finally going to meet them directly.
Feeling a strange sensation of truly becoming a novel transmigrator only now, Ruan counted one by one the characters he would meet in the capital.
‘First, since Volker called, I’ll definitely meet Volker. I’ll see Marquis Elenroth again, whom I met last time… And at this time…’
That character would be in the capital too.
Rafael Bettin, the illegitimate child of the Bettin ducal family. Louise’s follower and Volker’s hound… One of the representative madmen in the “Tales of the Sirah Empire.”
A sour expression appeared on Ruan’s face as he gauged the main characters he would see in the capital.
It was a crazy lineup without a single normal person. The original characters were all strange to begin with, but were there really this many crazy people gathered in one place?
To think such people would gather and whisper and scheme among themselves.
Suddenly, the capital, which he already didn’t want to go to, felt even more dreadful…
‘But “Tales of the Sirah Empire” isn’t without hope.’
Ruan recalled a supporting character from “Tales of the Sirah Empire” who was the recipient of the letter he had sent recently to announce the Grand Duke’s and his visit to the capital.
Ralph Steiner, the head of a huge merchant group based in the capital Ardenheim, and a dog beastman boasting boundless cheerfulness.
‘It’s been a while since I’ll see him.’
A slight smile appeared on Ruan’s face as he recalled the dog beastman who had left the people of Reinke floundering with aftereffects such as emptiness and hallucinations for about a month even after returning to the capital.
‘I wonder if he’s received the letter by now…’
* * *
“Mother!”
Edeline Steiner, who was sitting in a chair reading a book, closed it with an elegant movement at the sound of the door bursting open and the simultaneous call. She put it down lightly on the table and said,
“Ralph Steiner. Do you think it’s gentlemanly behavior to burst into a room where a noblewoman is alone without any warning?”
Her son, who often forgot about etiquette when too excited, seemed to realize his mistake and stopped abruptly. After a moment of hesitation, rolling his pitch-black eyes that looked just like his father’s…
“Knock knock? Mother? May I come in?”
He belatedly asked for permission with an innocent face.
Seeing him looking around with a clear face, one hand brought close to his chest, Edeline straightened her back that had been leaning against the chair back and replied,
“Come in.”
“Thank you for forgiving my rudeness, Viscountess.”
As soon as Edeline gave her permission, a gentle smile spread across Ralph’s face. Watching her son’s bustling footsteps approaching her, Edeline opened her mouth.
“I see a letter has come from Reinke.”
The news that the Grand Duke of Reinke would attend the Emperor’s birthday banquet this time had already circulated among the nobles when Marquis Elenroth left for the capital.
And the fact that her son, who couldn’t hide his excitement every time a letter came from Reinke, was so excited that he forgot to knock meant that the contents of that letter…
“Yes! I was thinking that if His Grace the Grand Duke comes, the aide would come too, and it’s true! He’s coming!”
At the word ‘Reinke’, Ralph, who was already exuding joy with his whole body, started to overflow with happiness.
Looking at her son, who was spewing happiness like a broken and exploding faucet, Edeline recalled the person Ralph had been talking about constantly since returning from Reinke.
‘Ruan Daen, the aide to the Grand Duke of Reinke…’
Someone who couldn’t leave Reinke except for special occasions like this under imperial law, and the Grand Duke’s closest confidant whom the beastman Grand Duke trusted enough to reveal his secret. Although it wasn’t a widely spread story yet, he was the person who led the recent changes in Reinke. In other words, someone with enough attachment to Reinke.
He was a person who didn’t have many overlapping points in life with Ralph Steiner, who was active mainly in the capital.
Therefore, he was also someone difficult to be with unless one made a great effort to change their life, unless one had enough heart to do so.
Worry flashed in Edeline’s gaze as she looked at her son, who was exactly like her stubborn husband who, despite being extremely gentle, never changed his mind once he set his life’s priority.
But that wasn’t something that would change with Edeline’s words. Instead of expressing her worry, Edeline spoke in a calm voice.
“That’s good news. But you shouldn’t forget your manners just because you’re excited. Etiquette isn’t something you follow only when you’re in a good mood, is it?”
“Yes! I’ll try harder!”
Despite the subtle scolding, her son, already intoxicated with joy and looking ready to spin around on the spot, was just beaming.
Edeline looked at Ralph like this and opened her mouth again.
