Chapter 63
“…The New Year’s Banquet?”
Thermion quietly set down the fork he had been holding.
His brows were deeply furrowed—anyone could tell he was displeased.
The previous Grand Duke and Duchess had been involved in an accident while returning to the ducal castle after attending a banquet. From Thermion’s perspective, even hearing the word banquet was unpleasant.
“Are you planning to attend?”
“I’m still thinking about it. If we go, we’ll need to set out within two days at the latest.”
If they made full use of the gates in the major cities, they could reach the imperial capital within a week. However, considering all the preparations required to attend a banquet, time was undeniably tight.
“Didn’t the invitation for the last banquet arrive in early December? I remember preparations being much easier since Sister-in-law was staying at the town house.”
“This is just my guess, but… the emperor likely had no intention of sending an invitation.”
“His Majesty?”
“We’re officially in mourning. It hasn’t even been a year yet.”
“…So there is something going on.”
At this point, it was no longer just a matter of irritation.
Thermion drained the cold water in his glass in one go and forced his expression to settle.
“What happens if we don’t attend?”
“The nobles will surely gossip, but it’s nothing serious. I can simply write a letter directly to the emperor.”
Ailesia, who had been listening quietly since it wasn’t her place to interject, watched with visible interest.
Even when she’s not present, she still just calls him ‘the emperor’ outright.
Iolene was on very close terms with the current emperor’s mother—the Empress Dowager.
Though there was an age difference, the Empress Dowager cherished Iolene as both a friend and a younger sister, and even on her deathbed, she asked Iolene to look after the emperor.
The emperor, known for his deep filial piety, continued to treat Iolene as an elder of the imperial family. This was also one of the main reasons the imperial court had never dared to act recklessly toward House Letis.
“What do you think we should do?”
“Honestly… it’s not a gathering I’m eager to attend.”
After a brief moment of thought, Thermion spoke with resolve.
“We can’t avoid it forever. It may be better to show our faces.”
“Why?”
“We need to show that House Letis remains strong. And besides…”
It had long been an established fact that the imperial family was keeping an eye on Letis.
To assess the movements of the First Empress, it was necessary to visit the imperial palace at least once.
“If you want to catch a tiger, you have to enter the tiger’s den.”
“In truth, I was thinking the same. There’s a strong chance the emperor himself isn’t connected to the recent incidents.”
“Even so, the First Empress couldn’t have acted alone. There must be nobles supporting her.”
“Since we’ve decided, we should hurry. If we want to reach the capital before the heavy snowfalls.”
“We’ll likely need to entrust the castle to Sir Dayfold for a while. We should also contact the council chair and have him come to the ducal castle immediately.”
“…Why?”
Until then, Ailesia had remained silent, but she suddenly joined the conversation. From this point on, there was finally a reason for her to speak.
“I get everything else. But why do you have to rush to the capital yourselves?”
“Attending the New Year’s banquet isn’t as simple as just showing up. We need to prepare tribute gifts for the imperial family, submit reports on last year’s territorial administration, and present plans for the coming year. There’s a lot to take care of.”
“No, what I’m asking is why you’re trying to move directly at all. Sweetie, want more meat?”
“Yes!”
As she finely cut up the steak on Eleonora’s plate, Ailesia continued.
“If you really wanted to, you could leave right now. Why make things inconvenient? Just stay at the castle, do what you need at a relaxed pace, and arrive on the scheduled date. If you need clothes, you can stop by a boutique in the capital tomorrow morning.”
“What are you saying—no, wait.”
“Our Grand Duke tends to forget about me when he thinks things through. If you keep doing that, I might get hurt, you know?”
“Huh? Uncle, why are you hurting Teacher’s feelings? That’s bad!”
As if she’d been waiting for an opening, Eleonora—who had been quietly focused on her meal—shouted immediately.
“I didn’t do anything!”
“Teacher just said you hurt her feelings!”
“She said almost hurt. Not yet!”
“Then why did you almost hurt her? Bad uncle!”
“You really…!”
Thermion pressed his forehead, finding himself in a childish argument with his five-year-old niece.
Meanwhile, the one who caused it all merely shrugged with a shameless expression.
Unlike Thermion, who looked flustered, Iolene couldn’t quite follow the situation and cautiously asked Ailesia,
“Teacher, what do you mean by saying you can leave immediately?”
“I mean exactly that. Why worry so much when it’s just a single spatial transfer? We can store whatever we need in my subspace.”
“…You can travel directly from here to the imperial capital in one jump?”
“I can go anywhere I’ve personally been before. Even without measuring dimensional coordinates.”
Strictly speaking, she couldn’t measure them—but that was close enough.
When Ailesia answered so casually, Iolene took a sip of wine without showing much reaction.
“Then… though it may be troublesome, may I ask for your help?”
“Of course. It doesn’t matter how many times a day—just let me know the schedule in advance. And if it’s urgent, you can tell me right away.”
“Thank you. I’ll gladly accept your kindness.”
“It’s nothing.”
Just like that, it was naturally decided they would rely on Ailesia’s assistance.
Thermion opened his mouth to say something, but at a glance from Iolene, he ultimately fell silent.
* * *
“You look dissatisfied.”
“It’s not that bad.”
After dinner, Thermion sat across from Iolene in his study.
They had planned to discuss upcoming schedules, but the topic that came out first was Ailesia.
“I keep wondering whether we really need to rely on Ailesia.”
“Does it make you uncomfortable?”
“…Something like that, but not exactly.”
Protecting Eleonora alone felt like a debt he would owe for life—but in the Guardveil Mountains, she had even saved his life.
And that wasn’t all. Counting the help she had given him so far, ten fingers wouldn’t be enough.
Calling it a mere burden no longer did it justice.
“She’s done so much for me, for Ellie, and for House Letis…”
“And yet?”
“I haven’t done anything for her. No—sometimes I wonder if there’s even anything I can do for her.”
“Relationships don’t always require repayment in equal measure.”
“I know that. I do, but…”
Ailesia showed nothing but pure goodwill and affection. She even seemed content and happy just by being that way.
Because she wanted nothing in return, he couldn’t think of any proper way to repay her.
“Ailesia… may care deeply for Ellie, but she wants nothing.”
“…What do you mean?”
“She once said this—that she’d be satisfied as long as Ellie could someday think of her and smile. Isn’t that strange?”
“Hmm…”
“…I don’t know how long she’ll stay here. She could live comfortably and happily anywhere, not just in Letis.”
With a self-deprecating smile, Thermion fell silent.
His title as Grand Duke and even his power as an Aura Master felt meaningless compared to her.
Perhaps it started when he realized she was directing a kind of affection toward him.
“I promised Ellie I’d protect you too, didn’t I?”
“Anyone listening would think I did something amazing. It was nothing special.”
If only she would boast a little—but Ailesia genuinely treated everything she did as insignificant.
As long as that imbalance remained, the distance between him and her would never close.
That realization unsettled Thermion more than he cared to admit.
“Do you want Teacher to keep staying with House Letis?”
“…I don’t know. She’s not someone you can keep just by asking. And I still don’t understand why she dotes on Ellie so much.”
“When there’s no reason, you simply create one.”
“Create one?”
“Yes. If we had to force an example… marriage, perhaps.”
“…What?”
