ISMFB 62

CHAPTER 62…………..

“I heard that you know a way to wake someone who has fallen into a deep, unexplained sleep.”

“It doesn’t seem like just anyone can rouse him. Certainly not you, butler.”

“……It is Duke Ignas. I must ask for your help.”

At this point, Linaria must have already guessed as much.

A clumsy lie would only offend the other party, so the butler spoke without concealment.

“If it were a business partner, I would have gladly told you. But you and I are not in such a relationship, are we?”

“I will accept the proposal you gave me last time. My apologies for going back on it.”

“Before that, there’s one thing I want to make clear.”

“What is it?”

“Why do you go so far to protect Duke Ignas?”

The butler was in the position of pleading to reclaim a proposal he had already refused.
Since Obel held the upper hand completely, he could only confess the truth.

“……It was on the day of the Duke’s thirteenth birthday banquet.”

That day, the banquet had been a little strange.
Because servants without contracts were not allowed to attend, the butler and the rest of the staff had finished preparations and withdrawn.

That discrimination, ironically, ended up saving their lives.

The Duke and Duchess’s greed caused countless deaths, and the young master they served was nearly ruined beyond repair.

If only he, who had watched over them so closely, had offered wiser counsel, perhaps the calamity that befell Ignas could have been prevented.

That guilt still bound him heavily.

“Duke Ignas is…… That is to say, Young Master Noah is someone I’ve watched since childhood. I came to regard him as if he were my own grandson.”

His frail body and gentle nature had always made him the most fragile and precious.

So the butler did everything he could so that when Noah recovered, he could immediately lead Ignas with strength.

“Very well. I’ll tell you. Consider the partnership a bonus.”

Linaria, who had listened quietly until then, nodded without hesitation.

Her forthrightness left the butler dumbfounded. He had expected Obel, being in a superior position, to demand all sorts of difficult conditions.

“Before I tell you how to awaken Duke Ignas, promise me first that you will make his collapse widely known.”

“Then those who have always targeted Ignas will swarm like jackals.”

“That’s fine. That’s exactly why we spread the rumor. Let’s use this chance to see who is enemy and who is ally.”

She insisted that the rumor must also include that he had been poisoned.

Watching Linaria issue orders so decisively, the butler began to wonder if perhaps it was Obel who had truly outwitted them.

And then—

“It’s simple.”

Linaria, after checking on Noah’s condition, gave a prescription as if it were nothing serious.

“Place this in his room. He will awaken within a month, and his health will be even better than before.”

“This is……”

The butler was so shocked he lost his words for a moment.

“Isn’t this a luminous stone?”

“That’s right. You recognized it correctly.”

He had never heard that such a stone had this effect.

But if it was said to have been certified by the Ivory Tower itself, then he, ignorant of Linaria’s collusion with the Tower Master, had no choice but to put his desperate faith in it.

In the end, Noah awoke, and Thomas, who had long coveted Ignas, was defeated—fortunate outcomes.

“H-hey.”

Noah, fumbling through stacked documents, glanced shyly at Linaria.

“Why did you help me?”

No matter how he thought about it, it was strange.
Without Linaria, he would have remained trapped in that small room for life, never knowing that sunlight was warmth and not just a burning flame.

But Linaria had no reason to help a stranger like him.

“Both Obel and Ignas have been closed off for so long. I thought it would be nice if two families with poor reputations got along.”

“T-that’s all?”

“If I must add something, I had a relative who wanted to go out and play with the Duke.”

August.

Noah immediately understood—an old friend’s name.

He repeated it silently to himself.

“If you’re truly grateful, then let’s just be friends who help each other in difficult times.”

“Y-yeah! I will!” Noah nodded fiercely.

“And make sure you carefully read through the business partnership terms. You can’t later claim you didn’t know.”

“Y-yes!”

The terms of cooperation between Obel and Ignas were simple:
Ignas would provide craftsmen, while Obel supplied exclusive ideas and materials.

But when they heard what the business item was, they couldn’t help but tilt their heads at how novel it sounded.

“Oh, right. A gift to celebrate your recovery. It’s also the first result of the venture Obel and Ignas will carry out together.”

A black-haired man, who had been quietly standing behind Linaria, stepped forward holding “it.”

Noah’s pupils widened.

“It’s not the same as it once was, but I did my best. I hope you like it.”

“……”

“Duke Ignas?”

Noah stared blankly at the gift before him.
Then, suddenly, large tears streamed down his face.

Linaria was caught off guard by his unexpectedly intense reaction.

“This is the porcelain I broke last time.”

“I…… I know.”

The gift was a porcelain piece—one of the many treasured luxuries his mother had cherished. He recognized it instantly.

“That time, you called it trash. But the value of an object is ultimately decided by people, isn’t it?”

“……”

“If it pleases you, then isn’t that enough?”

The memory of that day was hazy, but he did remember the porcelain breaking.

It was broken, and therefore trash, destined to be discarded. He hadn’t spared it another thought.

But now—

“Noah.”

The shattered fragments had been pieced back together into its original form.

Along the cracks, gold had been applied, drawing golden lines across the surface.

Like proud scars, they shimmered beautifully.

No one could call it trash anymore.

“Call me Noah. And may I…… call you Linaria?”

This was not trash.

In Noah’s eyes, the porcelain was more beautiful than any flawless one.

“I made good use of the signet ring you lent me.”

Linaria removed the ring she had worn for some time and handed it back to Dante.

“Thank you, Father.”

“I’m glad it was of use. Still, it truly surprises me that the Tower Master himself asked you to help Ignas first.”

“……The Tower Master is softer-hearted than he appears. And since he was confident he could cure it, he pushed it through.”

Linaria spoke as though Magnus had been the one to incite her.

“To think Ignas would do such a thing……”

“Yes, exactly. Surely you’re not suggesting that now that you can take care of yourself, you’ll ignore someone who’s suffering?”

“Not at all. I simply hadn’t realized until today that the Tower Master cared so much about others’ well-being. It caught me off guard.”

“Hmph! You were the only one who didn’t know how full of love for humanity I am!”

“So you mean to say that Ignas truly needs Obel’s help now?”

“Y-yes! I may be able to handle the divine beast, but the problem will still remain even after he recovers.”

“I see. Then for Obel to interact formally with Ignas, we’ll need a pretext.”

Dante, weighing the situation seriously, agreed that helping Noah was right.

But there was one matter that troubled him:
the fact that Linaria herself, as his proxy, would visit Ignas directly.

“From your description, the current Duke of Ignas’s condition sounds perilous. Perhaps I should go instead……”

“If Father steps in directly, it will only escalate. Besides, the Tower Master assured me it isn’t dangerous. Isn’t that right?”

“M-me? Yes. Yes, I did.”

A slight crisis arose, but fortunately Magnus played along.

Only after repeated assurances that Linaria would not be harmed did Dante nod.

“If it’s the Tower Master, then I can trust his words.”

“Yes, you can. Yes, you can.”

To Linaria, it sounded like her father was being overly protective again.

“I’m glad Duke Ignas’s condition has improved so much.”

“He’s even begun trying short outings. Though he still seems weak, so I’ve made an appointment with him.”

“You care for him quite a lot.”

“He still needs much help. I’ll be going now.”

Linaria smiled softly and left. Outside the door, she met Kaas, who had been waiting.

“Kaas, there’s something I’d like to talk about. Would you come to my room for a bit?”

“Sure.”

At that moment, the maids nearby unintentionally overheard.

“Just the two of them?”

“Yes, just the two.”

The more they listened, the more suggestive it seemed.

The maids nudged each other.

‘Could it be?’

‘The lady and the knight……?’

Everyone had noticed the subtle tension between the two lately. But to be so blatant—!

Blushing, the maids quickly withdrew, pretending they had heard nothing.

Unaware of their assumptions, Linaria led Kaas into her room.

Click.

The door closed. Kaas, nervous, swallowed dryly.

Standing before him, Linaria naturally took his hand.

“May I take it off?”

“Yes.”

Kaas didn’t even realize what Linaria meant by “take off.”
But whatever it was, it didn’t matter—so he agreed without hesitation.