Chapter 12:  The Time of the Banquet (4)

The first to leave the banquet hall was Tobang.

As if he had already planned it, he headed straight for the kitchen.

“Lily. I think I’ll need what I mentioned before today.”

He spoke to the maid who had been waiting in front of the kitchen.

Perhaps he had already won their favor with his handsome looks, as he conversed with them in a bright voice.

“Yes, I’ll bring it right away.”

The maids hurried into the kitchen and came out carrying a tray they had prepared in advance.

On it were a beautiful teapot and several pieces of chocolate, all neatly arranged.

He really had used his head.

Tobang set the refreshments on the table as if to show off.

Next, he slightly opened the lid of the teapot so the rich fragrance would spread throughout the banquet hall.

The scent of rosemary, calming just by breathing it in, tickled my nose.

……

Debier silently nodded as he watched Tobang’s actions.

The menu prepared by the candidate of a prestigious family was not ordinary tea and dessert.

The finest tea leaves imported from the East, and dark chocolate chosen with care for the Grand Duke’s palate, who disliked sweetness.

In each and every choice of his, there was thoughtfulness and sincerity.

The Chief Secretary was still watching me, who had yet to take any action.

Now that the chance to offer dessert and tea had been claimed first.

It was as if he was asking what I could do here.

In response, I also took a step forward.

However, unlike Tobang, I did not head for the kitchen, nor for the garden where the Grand Duke was.

I stopped right in front of the Chief Secretary.

“Is there something you wish to say, Roger?”

Debier furrowed his brow at my unexpected action.

“Yes, I have something I wish to request.”

“Your peer has chosen to serve through his own efforts. On what grounds do you presume to make a request of me?”

As expected of the Grand Duke’s closest aide, Debier was cold.

But I, too, was someone who had stood in that same position.

“I have no intention of making unreasonable demands for my own convenience. I am the Grand Duke’s secretary.”

At times like this, it was all the more important to assert my convictions openly.

To show that everything I did was for my lord.

“However, right now, I wish to offer the service that the Duke most needs.”

“The service he most needs…?”

As one who had served only him all his life, Debier showed interest in those words.

Even in the eyes that had regarded me as a trivial creature, a spark of curiosity appeared.

“Yes, to offer that service, I require your permission.”

“Speak. If it is truly for His Grace, I will grant it.”

I placed my fist over my left chest and offered him a respectful salute.

Then, passing by Tobang, who struggled to maintain a calm expression, I stepped out of the dining hall.

Debier walked beside me with his hands clasped behind his back.

Then, when he saw the place where I came to a sudden halt, his sharp gaze flashed.

“I wish to request permission to enter this place.”

What I had dared to ask for was access to the Grand Duke of the North’s office.

“That is a place even official secretaries can only enter after five years. And you, a mere candidate, are asking for it?”

Debier spoke as he elegantly stroked the handle carved in the shape of a dignified black lion.

In response, I calmly opened my mouth.

“Did you not say you would permit it if it was something for His Grace?”

“Even so, I cannot allow you to enter alone for personal reasons. Not unless you were accompanied by His Grace.”

Facing the resolute Chief Secretary, I slowly shook my head.

Then, I raised my fingers to show the number two.

“In that case, please enter and bring out just two documents.”

“Documents…?”

I stepped closer to Debier, who furrowed his brow.

I leaned toward his ear and whispered what I wished to have.

“If the Grand Duke returns after collecting his thoughts, this will be the very first thing he looks for.”

At last, understanding what I was requesting, Debier’s lips parted slightly.

Having served the Grand Duke of the North for over thirty years, he seemed both exasperated and faintly amused, as a small smile unknowingly tugged at his mouth.

“Wait here.”

Once he grasped my intention, the Chief Secretary no longer doubted me.

He proceeded to check the study with graceful movements and, in an instant, retrieved the two documents I had asked for.

As though he had memorized the location of every paper in the office.

……

I held out both hands to receive them.

But Debier, pretending to hand them over, drew them back just before I could grasp them.

“Roger, I have witnessed your devotion to His Grace. However.”

In the dim corridor, his black eyes gleamed coldly.

His piercing gaze was like an eagle of the night, eyeing its prey.

“Are you aware of how arrogant and dangerous your request just now was?”

This trial that Debier had devised was meant to tell me to do the utmost I could within the bounds of a ‘candidate’s level.’

Yet here I was, one who had proven nothing, daring to overstep by presuming to read the Grand Duke’s mind.

Even if the intention was good, the Grand Duke could easily perceive it as insolent and presumptuous.

“I understand, Chief Secretary.”

I slowly lowered the hands I had stretched out.

In the moonlight, my lifeless eyes gained a subtle sheen.

“But do you truly believe that the Duke desires a subordinate whose abilities are limited to delivering desserts?”

“What…?”

The Chief Secretary knit his thick brows at the sight of a candidate daring to question him.

Because of that, his already stern face looked all the more chilling.

“Duke Luton desires only the finest—whether in land or in people.”

I turned my head to look at the countless works of art lining the corridor.

Beautiful vases and paintings.

All were masterpieces created by artists at the peak of their careers, poured into with utmost dedication.

“I have only ever done my best to become the person His Grace needs.”

Debier, who had earned Duke Luton’s acknowledgment over thirty years.

He, too, knew well that if one wished to be recognized by their lord, they had to prove themselves indispensable.

……

For that reason, the old man closed his eyes for a moment.

After a few seconds of silence, when he opened them again—

The savage glint in his gaze had returned to its usual composure.

“Take them.”

Perhaps thinking that this candidate understood the weight of his actions, the Chief Secretary handed over the documents.

Then he quietly locked the office door behind him.

“Thank you, Chief Secretary.”

I accepted the papers and calmly returned to the banquet hall.

Afterward, I set them down beside the teacup Tobang had placed.

―――――――

How much time had passed?

Before long, I heard the Grand Duke’s solemn footsteps approaching from afar.

Quicker and heavier than usual.

Even the sound of them carried his anger.

When the door opened, the Grand Duke entered the hall with a chilling expression.

……

Returning to the now empty banquet hall, the second most powerful man on the continent exhaled a deep breath.

Rough, resonant breathing, like a beast blowing steam through its nose.

The rich scent of rosemary that had filled the hall vanished under the force of that breath.

With brisk steps, the Grand Duke walked to the main seat.

He sat again and stared silently at the long, empty table.

Then, when he glanced down—

His eyes landed on the tea and the document.

Without even needing a closer look, he immediately picked up the papers.

He took out the monocle he kept in his cardigan pocket and put it on.

“Luton Military Supplies, Midyear Performance Report.”

The Grand Duke gripped Edward’s report in one hand.

With a fierce gaze, he reviewed the midyear figures once again.

When he turned one page, then another—

Only then did he finally lift the cooled teacup to his lips, taking a small sip before glancing around the room.

“Debier.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Luton’s golden eyes shifted to where Tobang and I stood, waiting in the distance.

“Why are the candidates still here?”

“They have not yet received any order to leave, so I kept them waiting.”

Looking fatigued, the Grand Duke rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

Then, with an expression somewhat softened, he looked back at us.

“Then, was this tea also prepared by those two?”

The Chief Secretary signaled Tobang to answer directly.

The young scion of a noble family lifted the corner of his mouth in confidence as he spoke.

“I prepared it myself, Your Grace.”

“Why did you choose to serve tea in particular?”

When the things he had prepared were mentioned by the Grand Duke himself, Tobang was certain of his victory.

With his characteristic tall, handsome face, he answered smoothly.

“Because I knew that, due to the discussions during the banquet, Your Grace’s mood would be unsettled.”

He respectfully gestured to the teapot with his palm.

Between the lid’s gap, the label of a famous Eastern trading company’s teabag was visible.

“I have heard that rosemary’s fragrance has a calming effect on mind and body, so I prepared it in advance.”

The Grand Duke of Luton slowly nodded as he listened to the blond secretary candidate speak clearly.

Then, with an indifferent expression, he looked back down at the document.

“To understand one’s lord’s state of mind and create the optimal environment is also a virtue.”

The Grand Duke let out a long breath.

Then, with a wave of his hand, he signaled that Tobang could leave.

“Well done. You may return.”

“Thank you, Your Grace!”

Apparently satisfied with the Grand Duke’s impassive compliment, Tobang bowed his head in gratitude.

After offering a slight nod to the Chief Secretary, he withdrew from the hall.

The Grand Duke swept his sharp golden gaze across the vast dining hall.

Then, as if realizing that nothing at all had changed since before he left, he sighed deeply.

“Send that child away as well.”

The Grand Duke of the North did not ask me a single question.

Without even sparing me a glance, he simply waved his hand, dismissing me.

……

In response, I, too, quietly lowered my head in a parting gesture.

When I left the hall in silence, Debier firmly closed the great doors behind me.

At last, only the Grand Duke of the North and the Chief Secretary remained in the banquet hall.

Only then did Luton lift the teacup and savor the rich aroma.

“The fragrance is pleasant, Chief Secretary.”

“It was a variety the candidate prepared in advance. I heard their family’s territory includes land where it’s cultivated.”

“Is that so? They can’t both belong to the same family. Was it the black-haired child’s household?”

Debier shook his head firmly.

Then, as he refilled the half-empty cup, he spoke.

“No, it was from Tobang Arman’s family, the one who spoke first.”

At the name Arman, the Grand Duke gave a silent nod.

“A son of Baron Arman, then. No wonder—those green eyes are alike.”

He turned the pages of the document with indifferent motions.

Then he reviewed the sword design materials attached to the back of the report, which concerned the Empire’s western region.

“From what I saw, the black-haired child did not prepare anything. The Arman boy simply acted first.”

The Grand Duke already understood the candidates’ circumstances completely.

His golden eyes shone brightly, as if seeing through all things.

“But that, too, only proves a lack of ability. Being born into a lesser house is nothing to be proud of.”

Having already erased from his mind the candidate praised by the generals, Luton spoke in an unfeeling voice.

“If one is born into lowly blood, they ought to know how to overcome it themselves. Why should I hire such people? I am not running a charity.”

He seemed unwilling to waste another moment on the likes of candidates, and returned his attention to the report.

Resting his sharp jawline against the back of his hand, he wore a serious expression.

But—

While he was immersed in his work, his already tense brow twitched sharply.

“No, Your Grace.”

Because Debier had spoken words he never expected.

“Julius understood the true nature of this trial perfectly.”

The Grand Duke slowly raised his head at the Chief Secretary’s words.

Adjusting his monocle, he gestured for him to explain what he meant.

“That child has already broken free of the restraints of his birth.”

Debier, the secretary of thirty years, answered with a faint, rare smile at the corner of his lips.

“All the materials you are holding now were prepared by him.”

The Grand Duke of the North, standing silently with his arms crossed, listening to the secretary’s reply—

He furrowed his brow as if wondering if he had misheard.

“That child…?”

Even he could not conceal his uncharacteristic look of surprise.

“Then this was not prepared by you either?”

With swift hands, the Grand Duke flipped through the report.

Then he pointed to the illustration of the golden lion—the symbol of the Western Grand Duke’s House, the Yekaterina family—which he had never requested.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Debier lowered his gaze to look down at the golden lion with him.

There, the name of Western Grand Duke’s daughter Helena and the arms dealer Leonil were written.

“That child already knows what Your Grace needs most right now.”

……

In the monocle’s lens, the name Helena was reflected.

He stared silently at that name for a moment, then removed his monocle and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Tomorrow, request a ceremonial longsword from Leonil under another business name.”

“Yes, as you command.”

The Grand Duke rose from the main seat.

Then, hands clasped behind his back, he looked out the window with a solemn expression.

“And tomorrow, include that child in the schedule for the arms workshop inspection.”

“You mean Roger, Your Grace?”

The Grand Duke cast a brief glance aside.

The black lion leader was staring at the doors through which the candidates had left.

“Yes. Julius Roger.”

He set the information document about the Western Grand Duke’s house down on the table.

Then, stroking his sharp jaw, he spoke.

“See for yourself.”

See.

At that word, Debier, too, looked at the doors with a resolute gaze.

“Whether he is truly the kind of talent I require.”

Because for the first time, the Grand Duke had shown genuine interest in a mere secretary candidate.

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