Chapter 24: Disquieting News

‘His Grace and Lord Cupihit meet almost every day to ride and train together. They were occasionally seen in close contact with each other—touching each other’s shoulders, for example…’

Having devoured the long sentence, Duncan was unable to move on.

Hmm, Evan? But he is…married. Duncan wanted to disregard the report’s observation, but he took a moment to recall whether Evan’s marriage had been arranged or a love match. And he remembered that Evan had quietly married a girl from a worthless family. According to the rumors, he had caused his mother quite a headache, chasing the girl and snatching her into marriage. Already a father of two, Evan was reportedly devoted to his wife.

“Phew…” Duncan sighed and consoled himself by picturing Evan’s face—he was a rather typical-looking man. Also, he’s older and not exactly handsome.

Slightly relieved, Duncan continued down the list, picturing the face associated with each name and narrowing down the list of suspects. Given Alexandro’s young age, most of these commanders were men significantly older than he was. A moment later, one name gave him a pause.

‘Even though no man is particularly intimate with His Grace, he seems to have maintained a special relationship with Chris Skaloweg, a young knight who was newly appointed as the commander of the 2nd Division. According to covert intelligence obtained from two knights, during the war, His Grace has taken outdoor baths with Sir Chris on a few occasions. While no one suspected a thing, it sure is strange that only the two of them, so late at night…’

Duncan could no longer read on.

‘Sir Chris is the only person that His Grace spars with. These sessions occur in secluded places, and when they emerge from them, their bodies are always soaked in sweat.’

The sentences below danced in front of him. He shut his eyes tight.

Does my son really have abnormal interests? Duncan crumpled up the report and called out to a trusted servant.

“Humphrey!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Humphrey, always by Duncan’s side as his shadow, silently gauged his master’s mood, but Duncan was standing facing the window, his back towards the servant. His hands resting upon his waist, he sighed, as if deep in thought.

“Ha…”

Greedy and serpentine, Duncan was the most powerful man in the empire. Not the emperor, but above the emperor himself.

Despite finally having the power that he had craved all his life, he was unhappy. The unspeakable things that he had kept secret all these years haunted him constantly. In this time of peace on the unified continent, the man who had achieved his ambitions was now plagued with regret for the things that he had never wanted to do.

So he worried. This was an inconceivable thing that should have never happened—and thus a situation that he had never imagined.

Humphrey remained silent. His master was a thoughtful, intelligent man. He patiently waited for the master’s command.

Duncan finally spoke, breaking the heavy atmosphere in the office.

“You have three sons.”

Humphrey, startled, raised his head and stared at his master. Humphrey had never been married.

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“I beg your pardon, Your Highness?”

“Your eldest is an ambitious boy, and the middle one is extremely clever. But the youngest is slow, dimwitted, and continues to get in trouble.”

“…”

“However you cherish and love the youngest the most, because you feel that you failed to care for him as much as you have for the other two sons. You want to do everything you can for this boy.”

“…”

“I have a question for you,” Duncan uttered to his servant, still facing the window. The servant swallowed reflexively—he could not guess what his master was going to ask.

“If your youngest tells you that he’s going out to the desert in pursuit of the woman that he loves…”

“…”

“Would you stop him…?”

With his master’s back still turned to him, Humphrey could not fathom Duncan’s intent behind this question. He only had one son, a war hero admired by everyone in the empire. Does he have two other sons that I don’t know about? But he could not delay further—his master was waiting for a response.

“I would ask him if it was truly what he desired to do, and if he says that he really wants it, then…”

“You may go now.”

…then I would respect my son’s will, was what Humphrey was about to say. He took a moment to gaze at his master’s back and obeyed the order without a word. He still could not read Duncan’s thoughts.

Should I have told him that I would never send my favorite son to the desert? The question seemed metaphorical, but it was difficult to decipher.

His master resembled a rugged fortress that had never been penetrated, always without regrets. However, at present, he seemed to be struggling with an unknown problem.

But Humphrey stopped his thoughts there. Trusting that his master—a man much wiser than himself—would arrive at a logical answer, he returned to his tasks. The tournament demanded his full attention.

♔♔♔

“She did promise that she would stay awake today,” the guard reported to the Archduke in a flustered voice. Alexandro did not respond—whether the slave was asleep or awake did not matter to him.

For the fourth day in a row, he had come to the stables to see Howl. The horse was recovering speedily, and could even stand up when he saw Alexandro, who was bewildered by the progress.

However, the slave girl looking after Howl was perhaps even more bewildering.

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