Chapter 53
Ah, I get it.
They don’t automatically arrest every spy. If they’re not too dangerous, they’re left alone under surveillance. If they remove them unnecessarily, a competent person might replace them—and that could be a headache too.
“I also prefer to stick with people I know, so even if I know someone’s a spy, I leave them be,” said Irix.
“My recent spy under my supervision was also someone my father had managed. Since they died instantly, I could deal with it comfortably. Though frustrating…”
Irix’s eyes darkened as he recalled the event.
“But the other side wasn’t so lucky.”
He probably meant the boy from the legion who had died recently.
“You just went to see your father, right?”
Irix flinched.
“It feels like he was waiting for me to come.”
“And…?”
Irix groaned, burying his face in his hands and slumping forward.
“I… had dinner with him.”
Wow. That must have been urgent.
Irix, who detests dukes like a crawling bug, had faced his father and eaten with him. He held a fork and knife, weapons at the ready, yet nothing happened.
“When did you go?”
“That day… when Senpai went with Zephyr and Maimon to eat the pork knuckle.”
“Oh.”
A few days ago, Irix had left class early. I thought it was because of me doing well, but no—it was because he had business to attend to.
That day, I went with Zephyr and Maimon to a nearby tavern. We bought a huge, famous roasted pork knuckle each and tore into them. Maimon, still underage, only ate the meat, while Zephyr and I drank two mugs of beer each.
“So?”
Irix hesitated, then spoke softly.
“Well… I asked for the house’s chef.”
“Weren’t you curious why your father did that?”
“That would make the story too long.”
“…Alright, I see.”
So he outright asked for the chef to minimize conversation with his father during the dinner.
“And?”
“Because of that, a little… incident happened.”
“Incident?”
Irix’s hands still covered his face. It sounded scary, but probably trivial.
“Tell me.”
“Well…”
Irix had dinner with his father. He asked for the chef, and his father said:
‘No. Just eat, you sit there. But we still have to talk.’
‘…’
“So you just ate together?”
“Yeah.”
I understand. After eating Maimon’s food, I could probably eat a meal prepared by an enemy too.
“A whole duck roasted in the oven came out.”
“….”
“It was delicious.”
I had eaten an amazing roasted pork knuckle myself that day, so I let it slide.
‘Enjoy your meal.’
The duke smiled graciously and cut the duck, feeding it to Irix. Irix hated his father, but forgave the duck. No—he even blessed it. It was that good.
‘Alright, I’ll send a chef to your house.’
Irix felt filial gratitude welling up in his chest. He was so thankful he could die.
‘But there’s a condition.’
He instinctively felt reluctant but accepted it along with the duck.
‘As I mentioned before, I want to host your birthday banquet. Very grandly.’
‘Since when have you been keeping track of my birthday? Do you even remember the date?’
‘Do I need to? The aide remembers and informs me. Ever since I gave you the villa, I’ve been tracking it for a month.’
I hadn’t expected anything, so I didn’t feel upset.
‘This time, you’re an adult. Even ordinary families celebrate such days, but you deserve something extra.’
‘Amazing. My father considers this day important?’
‘All events of the Ducal family are special, Rix.’
Rix.
Hearing his father say that sent a chill down his spine.
‘You are the sole heir of the von Berkhart dukedom. The day you were born is worthy of being celebrated by this house.’
Irix was surprised that his father cared about family honor. If he cared that much, he should manage his private life better. There were still lovers’ belongings scattered around the house.
‘The Empress Dowager also looks forward to your adult birthday banquet.’
I almost threw my plate.
‘She wanted to host it in the palace…’
This time, I nearly threw my knife. A banquet hosted by the Empress and a meal by Maimon would be equally disastrous to compare.
‘I refused.’
Irix silently thanked him for saying something he would never say.
‘It will be at the villa. Even if the Empress cares for you, hosting your birthday at the palace as a non-royal would be overkill.’
This was actually surprising. His father could be sensible.
‘I’ll handle all the preparations. You just attend.’
Irix couldn’t reply immediately. “Preparations” likely included the guest list. His father would surely invite people he didn’t know or dislike.
‘I will choose a few from the legion.’
Then he listed a few names. Irix suddenly preferred the Empress and her ladies-in-waiting—they would at least tire quickly. The duke’s picks were powerful, energetic, and potentially dangerous.
‘I also want to talk with your new friend—the Elpini soldier.’
Irix desperately wanted to refuse.
‘I will send the invitations.’
The duke smiled. Irix wanted to become a “bad son” again. This ridiculous father… what is he even saying?
‘Why are you doing this?’
‘I speak as if I’m teasing you.’
‘Is that a good thing? You know I don’t get along with the legion.’
‘Of course. But now you are doing the work you were supposed to.’
‘What does that have to do with this?’
‘It does. Because of it, you now have extra time. So I thought about what you should do for the next two months.’
‘…’
‘I concluded… a solution so good it’s almost criminal I didn’t think of it sooner.’
I imagined some unprecedented nonsense coming.
‘Let’s become close.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘You and I, let’s get along.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘Our relationship has been awkward. Let’s understand each other, spend more time together, and maybe we’ll even like each other.’
What a nightmare.
I don’t want to know about my father—especially his love life.
Spending time together? I’d rather murder time itself.
I wanted to stab his hand with a knife, but decided to finish dinner first. The duke finished his wine and refilled his glass.
‘The chef will come after the birthday banquet.’
‘Make sure it’s a really good chef.’
He expected some reward for listening to that nonsense. If I failed, he might send a poison maker instead. The duke bit into the duck; the skin crackled crisply.
‘It’s really delicious.’
He gestured with the fork.
‘If you do well, I might send the chef who made this duck.’
Suddenly, I wanted to do well.
“So, in the end, the chef couldn’t be arranged.”
I lay down and looked at Irix. He closed his eyes and said:
“Senpai.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you have to look at me like this?”
“You’re bowing your head, and to see your guilty eyes, this is the only way.”
Irix kept his head down, and I brought two chairs next to me, lying down to observe him.
“Senpai, when were you planning to tell me I was invited to the birthday banquet? On the day itself?”
“I wanted to know the scale of the banquet first.”
“Invited or not?”
“No, to see if you were prepared….”
No matter the size of the banquet, I would probably go.
I lay there, looking at the lavish ceiling of this café. When lying down, you see the full splendor. Even if Irix glares at me from the corner, it’s fine.
“Senpai.”
“Yeah.”
“Get up.”
His face was red. I didn’t want to, so I stayed lying down.
“No.”
Irix looked up at the ceiling.
