Chapter 87
“It’s been a very long time since the Grand Duke has visited the capital.”
“Yes. It’s the first time since he was young. That’s why everyone is very interested in His Grace, but no one really knows what kind of person he is. As a result, everyone seems to be clinging to rumors…”
Ralph’s face filled with indignation as he spoke.
Edeline, remembering the image of a young large dog jumping with joy upon first meeting his beast-kin friend long ago, then breaking household items and being more surprised himself, could guess what words would follow.
She too was well aware of the rumors circulating in social circles about the Grand Duke of Reinke.
Edeline recalled the rumors she had heard as she tilted her teacup.
So, the Grand Duke of Reinke…
“Those rumors are really strange. No, they say His Grace is a ruthless and violent person!”
Recalling the rumors of him being cold-blooded, strict, and oppressive, and the nobles eagerly waiting to see the real ‘Northern Duke who is as cold as the land he rules and strong enough to slaughter monsters’, Edeline put down her teacup. Meanwhile, the dog beast-kin, the only one in the capital with an opposing view, groaned as if this misunderstanding was truly frustrating.
“Even though His Grace might seem a bit aloof, he’s such a good person. But no matter how much I say that, everyone just smiles kindly.”
Ralph’s tail drooped as he recalled recent conversations where his passionate explanations about how kind and good the Grand Duke really was were met with responses like, “Well, if you say so, Guild Master.”
Was this the price of overusing the phrase ‘good person’? But they really were all good people…
While Ralph was groaning with even his ears, which had popped out among his hair, drooping, Edeline quietly took another sip of tea.
She knew it would take just about the time it takes to drink one sip of tea for the dejected Ralph to perk up his ears again and become determined.
Lifting his head suddenly, Ralph said,
“But once they meet him in person, everyone will quickly realize how good of a person His Grace is.”
Although the familiar situation of ‘the misunderstood beast-kin’s debut in social circles’ briefly brought back old memories… there was no need to hastily add words in a situation where she didn’t know much about the Grand Duke of Reinke.
Watching her son recover quickly as always, Edeline replied briefly,
“Yes. I hope it goes as you wish.”
“Indeed.”
Ralph narrowed his gentle eyes slightly at Edeline’s words. His long tail was also wagging gently.
“Ah, come to think of it, you said it’s the assistant’s first time visiting Ardenheim. Everyone is eagerly waiting for His Grace’s visit, so I’m sure they’ll be incredibly busy as soon as they arrive… but don’t you think they’ll have some time to look around the capital together? There are so many places I want to go with them.”
Ralph’s dark eyes began to sparkle as he brought up the topic as if he had just thought of it.
Ralph started listing the attractions in the capital that the ‘assistant’ might like. With each place mentioned, his tail wagged faster. Edeline listened to his story while drinking her tea.
Ralph, who was excitedly listing things he wanted to show, eat together, and do together, suddenly stopped speaking.
As he built up the joyful future of being together, the emotions that built up with it filled his chest tightly. The feelings that were already swelling as if about to float away one by one gathered, filling him from his chest to his throat to the point of aching, preventing any more words from coming out.
So in the end, the only words Ralph could say, as if exhaling a swollen breath, were:
“I want to see them soon…”
* * *
In the swaying carriage, Ruan was lost in thought.
‘What is it?’
Ruan’s gaze turned to the Grand Duke sitting opposite him in the carriage.
Before departure, Ruan had made all the preparations he could to make the carriage as comfortable as possible for the Grand Duke. But even so, a traveling cat couldn’t be entirely comfortable.
The Grand Duke, being carried away from his territory in the carriage, looked quite displeased.
Seeing this made Ruan feel very sorry and regretful about having to take the cat to a far-off place… But he had already anticipated that the Grand Duke would be in a bad mood during the journey. This was something to feel sorry and regretful about, but not something to worry about.
Therefore, the concern filling Ruan’s head now had nothing to do with the Grand Duke’s tail swishing, which was filling the small carriage with fur.
Ruan thought as he removed cat hair from his nose,
‘Why did he suddenly… become close with Joachim?’
Joachim was also included among the knights selected for the Grand Duke’s trip to the capital. This was because he was a knight recognized for his outstanding skills despite his young age.
This much, Ruan had anticipated.
But he hadn’t expected that this Joachim would stick close to the Grand Duke at every opportunity during the journey to the capital.
‘Why on earth?’
If you were to ask if they were originally close, that was absolutely not the case.
Originally, Joachim was a very ordinary person from Reinke who would tremble at the mere sight of the Grand Duke and hurry to leave quickly.
No, to be honest, Joachim was one of those who feared the Grand Duke even more than the average person from Reinke, perhaps because his outstanding skills often led to him being stationed near the Grand Duke during battles. Something about experiencing that inhuman combat power and fighting style up close making it inevitable.
He was so afraid that when Ruan tried to recall how the Grand Duke and Joachim originally got along before departing for the capital, he could hardly remember a scene of them together.
So how did they suddenly become so close?
Last night too, the Grand Duke and Joachim were having a serious conversation. Joachim, who was passionately speaking about something in front of the Grand Duke, would flinch every time the Grand Duke moved, but showed no sign of avoiding him.
He even seemed to be arguing back when the Grand Duke said something. Of course, after doing so, he would suddenly crumple up as if surprised by his own actions and look around nervously for a while… But anyway, it was incomparable to before when he couldn’t even make eye contact.
The Grand Duke also didn’t leave his seat and listened seriously to Joachim’s words, adding a word here and there.
Ruan had never seen the Grand Duke stick so close to another person or have such a long conversation.
‘Actually, I’ve always hoped that by clearing up misunderstandings, people would become more comfortable with the Grand Duke and communicate with him. So Joachim, who was practically the representative of people afraid of the Grand Duke, becoming close to him like this is, if you think about it, a very positive situation…’
But he couldn’t figure out for what reason they had become close, or what on earth they were talking about.
Finally, unable to contain his curiosity, he asked Joachim…
‘I’m sorry, Ruan. I can’t… tell you about this yet. Even if you look at me like that… I can’t say. Even though I love you very much… No, because I love you, I can’t. Can you forgive your brother who must keep this secret, even for the sake of loyalty to His Grace?’
He answered like this, wearing a very unpleasant expression.
Since when were they so close that they even made secrets? Since when did they have such great loyalty between them?
Ruan had so many things he wanted to ask Joachim, but no answer came from Joachim’s mouth as he wore a resolute expression like a prisoner insisting you might as well cut off his head.
In the end, Ruan had no choice but to give up on Joachim, who had turned into an NPC only capable of saying that he couldn’t tell Ruan.
But that was okay. Because Ruan had a lovable and innocent cat who would tell him even the secret of being a beast-kin if he asked.
Ruan immediately asked the Grand Duke about the recent conversations with Joachim and the change in their relationship.
And then Ruan’s lovable and innocent cat…
‘I was told not to tell you. I heard that was an important element.’
…gave this unexpected answer.
He didn’t know since when the Grand Duke had started listening to others so well that he would say things like ‘I was told not to’… But the Grand Duke who said this really didn’t seem to have any intention of answering Ruan’s question.
Ruan, who had been certain that the Grand Duke would answer him, could only stare in bewilderment at the Grand Duke who was tightly closing his mouth and staring elsewhere.
Telling Joachim. Whispering with Joachim at every opportunity…
‘He says he can’t tell me? My Grand Duke cat? To me?’
Ruan was overwhelmed by a feeling similar to when he was left alone after Naru, who had been showering Kim Ha-jin with intense affection, suddenly got up and left without looking back as soon as his mother took out some cat treats.
But just as Naru never returned to Kim Ha-jin who didn’t have cat treats, the Grand Duke did not explain the recent circumstances to the shocked Ruan.
