# Chapter 57
After meeting Luke and returning, Asher drummed his fingers on the desk, seemingly lost in thought. The Grand Duke of Blake representing the empire and the Anest Ducal Family with significant power in the empire. The only way to escape from these two was through the wishing stone. It was a method to disappear perfectly without any trace or movement being detected. Despite this, Asher still wore a troubled expression.
Toms Aerols. Currently, he was someone who knew a lot about him. Of course, from what he had shown so far, Toms didn’t seem like he would betray him, but it still seemed better to make things certain. Asher called Toms, who was waiting outside, and handed him an envelope he had kept in the drawer.
“What is this?”
“I called you because I’d like you to take a short trip.”
Toms gazed intently at the envelope of money Asher had handed him. He thought that if Toms was perceptive, he would quickly understand why he had given him the money envelope. Sure enough, Toms realized Asher’s intention and spoke up.
“Young Master.”
“I’d just like you to go for a while, and I mean right now.”
Asher interrupted Toms’ words as if saying not to ask for reasons, and gave him a look that told him to leave. It was because he had nothing to say to him at the moment, but Toms looked at the envelope with a thoughtful expression and put it inside his jacket.
“If that’s what the Young Master wishes, I’ll do so.”
At Toms’ answer, which indicated he wouldn’t ask any more questions, Asher gave him a grateful look and stood up from his seat. Perhaps because it was evening, closing the day, the sky was filled with red sunset light. Asher left Toms behind and approached the window to look up at the sky.
“It’s especially beautiful today.”
Perhaps the sky he was seeing now would be the last sky he would see from this place. Asher thought of the fetus quietly settled inside his womb and blinked his eyes slowly with an empty expression.
“Young Master.”
At the call, Asher maintained a brief silence before looking at him. It meant that if he had something to say, he could speak freely.
“Lately, I’ve had the feeling that the Young Master is planning to leave for somewhere.”
“Is that so?”
In response to Toms’ words, Asher neither denied nor confirmed, and gave a vague answer. Then, as if he had been waiting for this, Toms clenched his fist tightly and answered in a weighty voice.
“If the Young Master must leave, I would like to be there too.”
“…”
“I want to continue to guard and stand by the Young Master’s side, just as I have been.”
It was clear from his current actions that he was a good person. The honest look in his eyes and the tone of longing. Since Asher already knew that Toms had vaguely guessed what he was planning to do, he wore a calm expression with a small smile.
“Toms, you’re truly capable. A good knight.”
“…”
“Perhaps you’ll meet even better people in the future.”
“…Young Master.”
Asher unfastened the cufflink attached to his sleeve. It was the four-leaf clover-shaped cufflink that Luke had found for him in the rose garden.
“This is precious to me. And it will probably continue to be.”
“…Are you giving this to me?”
“Because Toms is dear to me…”
Asher expressed his gratitude through his eyes and fastened the cufflink on his wrist. Then, he gave Toms the most beautiful smile in the world.
“I’m glad it suits you well.”
As Asher made a satisfied expression, Toms’ eyes trembled slightly. It felt like he had finally said goodbye to those around him, making his heart feel refreshed. However, unlike himself, Toms bent one leg to the floor, placed his hand on his chest, and bowed his head to Asher.
“Toms Aerols. On a knight’s honor, I pledge to be loyal to my lord, Asher Anest, and dedicate everything to him.”
“…T-Toms?”
Asher stuttered in surprise at the unexpected knight’s oath. Why was he making a knight’s pledge at this moment when he was leaving? As Asher showed a confused look, Toms looked up at him with a stubborn and upright gaze.
“Wherever the Young Master may be, I am the Young Master’s guard.”
He sent a steadfast gaze as if this fact would never change, now or forever. Asher’s eyes reddened with an inexplicable gratitude, but he held back his tears and shook his head slightly.
“Thank you for the oath. But I’ll just accept your heart.”
For his future, Asher continued to refuse until the end, helped Toms stand up, and answered in a colder tone than before.
“I’d like to rest now, could you leave me alone?”
At Asher’s words, Toms’ eyes trembled anxiously before he softly replied, “Yes.” Somehow, his steps seemed particularly lonely, but Asher quietly gazed at the spot where he had left and then pulled out the hidden bag.
“…Now it’s truly goodbye.”
A voice filled with emptiness filled the room. Asher looked around the tidy room, which would not seem strange even if Braden returned, and murmured softly.
“Stay well, everyone…”
With those final words, Asher used the wishing stone and vanished from the room. As if he had never been there…
*
Morning came to the Anest household as usual. Just as it had always been, the servants were busy without a moment’s rest, and the sound of birds chirping could be heard through the windows opened for ventilation. However, on the second floor where Asher had been staying, there was a commotion during what should have been a peaceful and stable morning.
“What’s happening?”
The Duke, who was moving to his seat for breakfast, asked the butler beside him. The butler hurriedly grabbed a passing servant and asked for the reason.
“What’s causing this commotion so early in the morning?”
“Th-that…”
“Come now, speak up quickly, will you?”
At the butler’s words, one of the hesitant servants knelt with a face turned deathly pale and bowed his head.
“…Young Master Asher, who should have been in his room, is nowhere to be found, so we’ve been searching for him.”
“Since when?”
The Duke, interrupting the conversation between the servant and the butler, asked with a murderous face.
“That… since about seven this morning.”
At the mention of seven in the morning, the Duke’s brow furrowed like a piece of paper. Due to the recently delayed heat, he had placed people to monitor around Asher. The Duke instructed the butler to bring them and returned to his room. But none of them had seen Asher leaving his room.
“How exactly have you been handling your duties?!”
“We-We’re sorry!”
As the Duke bellowed in an angry voice, scolding those who had been monitoring, they all bowed their heads and trembled. Poltic Anest. To the public, he was famous for his benevolent image, generous to the needy, but to them, he was no different from a devil. As such a Duke exuded an ominous aura, they all trembled, waiting for his next words.
“Bhelrum, you must silence everyone in the house.”
“Yes.”
After instructing the butler, Bhelrum, the Duke ordered those who were bowing their heads to bring Asher before him immediately.
“If he doesn’t listen during the process of bringing him, you may use violence. Just ensure he’s brought back alive.”
The Duke waved them off with a terrifying killing intent and then slammed the desk hard in frustration.
“How dare you… make a fool of me?”
At the current point, discussions about the engagement with the Grand Duke were quickly proceeding. The engagement conditions were also being tailored as he wished, and it was the timing when everything would fall into his hands once the ceremony was held. But to disappear silently at this timing, just before heat? Declaring that spending heat with someone else was absolutely impossible, the Duke gritted his teeth and muttered the name.
“Asher Anest.”
To escape the eyes of his notorious henchmen. As if vowing never to forgive him, the Duke called for Rune, the leader of the knight group he had been secretly raising.
“At your command.”
At the Duke’s call, the man named Rune quickly paid his respects. As if he had been waiting, the Duke took out a cane he had kept in the cabinet and ordered.
“Bring Toms, who had been guarding Asher, to the basement immediately. If he shows any sign of running away or resisting, you may break one of his legs.”
At the Duke’s words, Rune hurriedly left. The Duke gave a sinister smile, forcibly suppressing his anger due to the headache that was so severe it felt like he might faint.
“In the end, you will fall into my hands.”
He was someone who wielded as much power in the empire as the Emperor, though he didn’t bear the title of Emperor of the empire. As if capturing one youngster was nothing to someone like him, the Duke checked the blade hidden inside his cane.
“I’ll make sure you thoroughly realize how happy the things you’ve enjoyed so far have been.”
Like a messenger from hell, he made his eyes glow ominously and moved towards the basement where Toms would be.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
