Chapter 26: 26

Episode 26: Two Degrees of Separation (II)

 

Back then, the older butler was the first to welcome Heinricion when he returned to the grand ducal residence. It was also he who informed grieving Heinricion what had happened.

After a lot of thought, Heinricion called the old butler.

“Your Excellency. You looked for me.”

Heinricion stared at the old butler in front of him.

He was taking care of the Grand Duchy of Adelasia from the time Heinricion was born, and he was more than a servant to Heinricion.

Of those in the current mansion, he was also the one who knew the most about that day.

“At that time, even the butler was not involved in the funeral. So you didn’t even see their bodies?”

“I only saw them for a while from afar.”

The old butler was taken aback by the sudden topic, but soon calmly recalled the memories of that day.

The only thing he could do was glance at the bodies of the previous grand duke and grand duchess lying behind the back of Princess Eristella.

Even that was also almost immediately obscured by the princess, so he couldn’t really see it properly.

“Then the Princess sealed off the mansion, so there was nothing we could do on our own.”

Since that day, the old butler had a psychological debt for not being able to protect the previous grand duke and his wife.

Up to this point, Heinricion was also aware of the contents.

However, looking back now, the shock that even the funeral could not be protected due to Eristella’s atrocities at that time was too great. So there were a lot of things he missed out on.

“I have a question for you about that time. Were there any strange things about the two before or after that?”

The old butler’s eyelids trembled at Heinricion’s question. It meant that something came to mind.

“What you know of the time. Or, if there are things you didn’t know then, but now know. I’d like you to be honest with me.”

‘I can’t miss this.’ Heinricion pressed even harder.

“Why are you suddenly asking about that day? If ever again…”

“No. I think I’m missing something, so I want to check it out.”

At Heinricion’s words, the old butler carefully organized the memories of that time. And he brought out a small question in his memory.

“Maybe it’s just that I’m old enough to give meaning to things that don’t really matter.”

Saying it wouldn’t mean anything…

“It doesn’t matter though. I will make the decision.”

Heinricion calmly waited for the words to come out of the old butler’s mouth. The old butler looked at his master’s expression for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.

“While Your Excellency was away, the previous Grand Duchess’ condition deteriorated rapidly. She could barely get up.”

“…….”

“So, the Grand Duchess’s face gradually darkened, and there were many days when the Grand Duke went out of his way to take care of her.”

It was also communicated through correspondence at that time. His mother, who wasn’t feeling well before but seemed to be getting better, suddenly got worse.

Heinricion was about to stop his work and go back, but the grand duke at the time sent a letter saying it was not necessary.

So he wondered if his mother was okay again, but the news came.

Again, every time he recalled the memories of that day, his heart became heavy. That was why he could not go on like this even more.

“While Your Excellency was away, the Princess visited once.”

“The Princess?”

Heinricion couldn’t hide his surprise. This was the first he had heard of it: that she had come to visit even before the funeral.

It was just like… She seemed to have known beforehand.

It was when Heinricion’s heart pounded and he started to feel dizzy.

“She came looking for the Grand Duke, but I don’t know what they talked about. That’s all.”

‘I guess so.’ Heinricion unwittingly relaxed his stiff shoulders.

For a moment, an idea came into his head. However, Heinricion was not confident that the thought he came up with would be right.

It was when he was about to tell the old butler to let him know if he remembered anything later.

“And this… Even if I say I’ve seen it. No, I must have been mistaken, but…”

“?”

The old butler’s memories did not end there, so he carefully continued this conversation.

“Well… I think I caught sight of something when seeing the Princess off, but I must have misunderstood.”

‘What did you see to make you say that?’ Heinricion made a puzzled expression.

“The Princess had cried… It seemed. Maybe I saw something that could not be confirmed. Even then, it was already dark out.”

Although he was denying it, the fact that he did not forget the probable illusion and brought up the story now was probably because it remained intense in his memory.

Heinricion couldn’t get over those words.

He thought it was something to do with the reason why Eristella was visiting at that time. He wanted to know what the reason was.

He thought so with a dark face.

“As I get older, my memory improves unnecessarily and I think a lot. Going to bed late and waking up early means I have plenty of time to think. It’s just an old man’s frustration. It’s not something worth your mind.”

The old butler looked at Heinricion’s complexion and said anxiously. He didn’t want his own words to confuse Heinricion.

Heinricion smiled lightly to relieve the old butler’s worries.

*******

The old butler who was leaving the office and passing through the hallway stopped walking as if he remembered something.

“Come to think of it, then, Her Highness the Princess… I think she was hurt.”

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He was not sure whether she was already injured when she came to the grand ducal residence or if it was after that. It was a piece of memory that he was missing.

There was a high possibility that this was not the information Heinricion wanted. Still…

“Should I go back and tell him?”

It was when the old butler was about to turn around after thinking. Something tugged at his pants.

“Fox?”

Eristella was looking up at the old butler and pulling his leg with her front paw.

‘Don’t go.’

“Yes…?”

Earlier, Eristella saw the old butler rushing to Heinricion’s call and followed him with some anxiety.

And she secretly overheard their conversation.

‘That’s something you don’t need to tell anyone.’

Eristella tried to hold him back while shaking her head vigorously, but she couldn’t reach the old butler.

“Hmm. Should I call an employee? I don’t know what you want. Can you wait here for a moment?”

No. The old butler would definitely call the employee and go back to Heinricion.

‘I’ll have to throw him out of this place completely before you forget to report.’

When Eristella was contemplating how to catch the butler.

Kwagwagwang!

The sky flashed brightly, and thunder and lightning struck.

‘What a surprise!’

Eristella reflexively clung to the old butler’s shoes at the loud sound that seemed to attack the mansion.

“Come to think of it, today’s weather is very bad. Are you afraid of that?”

Eristella raised her fur and pretended to tremble.

“Haha. I didn’t notice it till now. Come this way. I will take you.”

The old butler embraced the fox and walked slowly down the hallway.

His hand, which covered her ears as if protecting her, was so warm that her body completely surrendered.

*******

After a long night, the sun came up and the office was filled with aides as usual.

But unlike the usual, there was an emptiness in the office. The feeling like something was missing. Everyone knew the cause.

“Accordingly, these days, the fox is busy. In the past, it was always in the presence of His Excellency.”

But recently it has been the other way around.

The fox was never seen where Heinricion was.

“These days, it’s hard to see the fox in the vicinity of His Excellency.”

Anessa and other assistants who were interested in the fox said regretfully.

Heinricion knew well that they wanted an answer, but he pretended not to realize and ignored it.

Not long ago, no— From that day on, Eristella had been running around the mansion, avoiding him.

He, too, had not gone to see her even once ever since the last time he saw her in the library.

‘She’s probably searching for a way to quickly return to her original form.’

But it seemed she just couldn’t find a way by doing that.

It was almost impossible to return a body trapped in a fox to its original state.

It would be fortunate if even a small clue could be found among the books that the family also treated as a top secret.

Immersed in thought, Heinricion’s pen shook regularly.

He glanced at the door fleetingly, then looked out the window once.

However, as he could not find what he was looking for, he turned his gaze to the papers weakly

Rowen, who had been pretending not to notice even after seeing it, finally opened her mouth.

“Your Excellency. Why are you like that?”

“What.”

Heinricion asked soullessly.

“You’ve been upset all day. Aren’t you secretly looking for the fox?”

Rowen was straightforward.

“Be honest. You’re sad that the fox isn’t coming to you.”

The other aides nodded cautiously at Rowen’s stinging words.

“Who said that?”

Seeing this, Heinricion raised her eyes and denied it. Rather, it was a strong negative close to positive.

“It’s showing up all over your face.”

“……!”

“Your Excellency seems to be unaware that your inner self is clearly expressing what is written on your face.”

Stop.

Heinricion’s eyes slowly moved to the left and then to the right.

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