20 - Not Your Son, But Your Father
Episode 20
Lord Procyon cautiously raised his hand.
"Shall I kill them?"
I shook my head.
"Killing is bad."
What I meant was that cleaning up afterward would be a hassle.
"So, it would be good to make it worse than death."
"Would inflicting eighteen weeks of injuries without killing them be sufficient, Grand Duchess?"
"There are things that can be resolved without resorting to violence, Lord Vega."
Now, the two of them wore expressions that seemed to ask what they should do.
I gave them a bright smile.
"There was an incident that caused quite a stir in society a while ago. A certain Count, unable to contain his enormous audacity, had an affair in his mansion and was caught by his wife, running out of the mansion naked. What happened to that Count?"
"Umm, he must have been embarrassed?"
"He became a laughingstock for a long time. Lord Procyon, that's what I want."
I muttered with a deliberately mournful face, saying that I needed to thoroughly disgrace them so that they couldn't recover their reputation even after I left for the North.
"But I hope Gilbert won't be harmed. After all, he's my son now, for better or worse. Shouldn't parents cover up their children's faults?"
"Uhhh..."
"Hmm..."
"That's right... That's what we should do... Even though my son killed two people and assaulted thirty in the Grand Duke's residence, and threatened my life with murderous intent... Even though the guy I want to screw over was just faithfully following my son's orders, I still shouldn't hold my son responsible..."
"Understood."
"I think I understand too."
"Then what should you two do from now on?"
The two of them spoke in unison like kindergarteners.
"First, we'll do some preliminary investigation..."
"And then stab them in the back..."
I slightly frowned.
"What are you talking about? Why would you do that?"
"Huh?"
"Economic and physical retaliation will be done by me and my family. There's something else I want to entrust to you."
I handed them a cookbook.
"You two are supposed to be my guards and meal providers. If I were to give my impressions, the meat was a bit tough, but it was delicious. Overall, the dishes were impressive with no major flaws. Even though the meat was tough. So, I'd like to ask you. For dishes that aren't tough. I hope you won't let that talent go to waste, even for just a few days, and use it to the fullest for me. Are you listening, Lord Procyon? Lord Vega? Can you do that? I can neglect the guard duty to achieve my goal, but I hope the meat won't be tough. Am I asking for too much?"
The two of them made eye contact, their pupils shaking in unison.
Then, Vega stammered.
"If we leave our posts, who will guard the Grand Duchess..."
So, I called you to tell you not to worry about it.
I conveyed my intentions in a gentle voice.
"Please make delicious food."
Procyon's lips twitched at my words, telling them to concentrate on cooking since they didn't have to protect me.
Soon, Procyon, having regained his composure, carefully reached out his hands. His fingertips were trembling slightly.
This young knight with freckles on his cheeks and the bridge of his nose clutched the book I handed him as if it were a secret manual passed down through generations, and vowed.
"Thank you for your teachings. I will make the best dishes for the Grand Duchess."
Lord Procyon's face, as he looked at me, was so solemn that I couldn't readily respond. He continued in a voice filled with emotion.
"You must be preoccupied with preparing to leave, yet you're wasting this precious time for our growth and development. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and don't know what to do. The only way to repay the debt I owe the Grand Duchess is to devote myself to cooking..."
What's wrong with him? He's acting strange.
"Lord Procyon, I'm not telling you to become the king of cooking. I just don't like tough meat. Since I have things to do separately anyway, I was just saying that you don't have to try to catch two rabbits at once and just focus on cooking."
"Yes, Grand Duchess. I will definitely conquer meat dishes."
Did Edith hit him in the head too much?
I pretended to look at my watch, feeling like I wouldn't be able to maintain my composure if this continued.
"Oh my, it's already this late. I have to go."
I quickly ran outside before they could stop me.
Even though my range of activity today was within the Grand Duke's residence, I felt increasingly tired as time passed.
In particular, my head, which had been excessively injected with stress, continued to throb.
Was it because of Monica Elaine, or because of Procyon?
It seems like it's both, right?
Still, as someone who used to be Korean in my past life, I couldn't skip mealtime, so I took dinner with added ginger salad to Gilbert.
As always, Gilbert threw the tray towards me, and all the dishes broke.
However, this time, no one intervened. That's because there was no one monitoring him anymore.
I only dodged the recklessly thrown tray and didn't even pretend to cry.
"Playing with food will bring divine punishment."
I had devised all sorts of tasteless ginger dishes and was someone whose conscience had been paralyzed since birth.
Gilbert opened his mouth, but without uttering any abusive words, he closed it again.
Soon, Gilbert's gaze flickered towards the door.
He was full of suspicion, but a feeling of hope seemed to be subtly rising.
No matter how skilled Gilbert was in swordsmanship, there were over twenty of Edith's subordinates in the Grand Duke's residence, all of whom were knights.
Gilbert knew that fact, so he was probably trying to act cautiously, but if he had that much self-control, he wouldn't have tried to kill me in the first place.
I deliberately provoked Gilbert, pretending not to notice anything.
"Why are you being so stubborn? You're only hurting yourself by not eating."
Gilbert, who had been focusing on all the sounds coming from outside, opened his mouth after a long time.
"You must be mistaking me for your dog."
Huh?
I widened my eyes at Gilbert.
"Oh my, what are you talking about? Of course, dog food is much better than this."
Even Raven eats beef that Sera prepares every morning, son.
I smiled brightly.
"See you tomorrow morning. Even if you miss your mother all night, bear with it."
Gilbert jumped up. He glared at me with eyes shining fiercely, as if he would strangle me right away, and warned.
"If you leave here, I'll kill you first. I'll make you kneel at my feet and beg for your life."
"You're so confidently saying that your future ambition is to be a parricide. Yeah, good luck."
I waved my hand and went outside. I put on a formal latch that Gilbert could easily break, and went to my temporary room on the third floor instead of Edith's bedroom.
As I was unlocking the jewelry box containing the Magical Beast's blood, Sera knocked and came in.
Sera looked at me with a worried face.
"Grand Duchess, are you really going to do it?"
Our Sera is always so worried. A smile bloomed on my face.
"Sera, there are people in the world who understand when you talk to them, and there are bastards who only submit for a moment when you show them the pecking order. What kind of person do you think Gilbert is?"
Sera pondered, "Hmm."
"Of course, he's the latter, but I don't know if that moment will last for a few days. Has the Grand Duke ever used similar methods? The sound of the knights getting beaten up earlier was no joke."
"He's such a listless person that I can't be sure. Do you have the items?"
"Here you go."
Sera handed me a neat maid's uniform and a wig that she used to wear in the Marquess's residence.
The light brown bob wig was similar to Sera's hair color.
"Grand Duchess, I'm really okay. You don't have to risk yourself to avenge me..."
"Sera, you know I don't do things I can't win. I'll come back having won everything."
"Oh, that's not what I meant! I'm worried about the side effects of the medicine!"
"As I said before, Sera, if they were the kind of guys who would listen when you talk to them, I wouldn't have gotten this."
I caressed the vial with a smile that I hadn't completely erased.
I felt a cold sensation.
The Magical Beast's blood in the vial had not changed or hardened despite the passage of time.
―You seem to be making a reckless choice, young lady.
At that time, that Magical Beast didn't hide its concern even though it had chosen me as its contractor.
―Don't misunderstand. It's not that I don't want to give you my blood. My life has already reached its end, so what would I begrudge? But I'm worried about you.
If you take the Magical Beast's blood several times, side effects will definitely occur.
However, the side effects varied depending on which Magical Beast's blood it was, so there were few people who knew it well, at least in the novel.
Ugh, what's the point of worrying about something when there's no immediate solution? It's just a waste of time.
I opened the cap and drank the liquid in one gulp.
Then, I put on the maid's uniform and the wig, and went to find Edith.
"Edith, who has good eyesight and hearing, let's go hunting. I took that 'medicine,' and it doesn't last long, so let's hurry. Can you track the location?"
He got up from his seat and approached me, who had popped out in a maid's uniform.
"I didn't expect to be used so soon."
His voice was gentle compared to what he said.
There was a displeased look on his face as he stroked the light brown wig.
"It's not good."
"I'll let you comb my real hair as much as you want later. Where's Callen?"
Edith didn't feel it was worth answering and silently picked me up.
Then, he kindly used Magic to move to where Callen was.
The surrounding scenery changed in an instant, making me slightly dizzy.
If Edith hadn't held me, I might have fallen in an unsightly manner.
Under the pitch-black night sky, I could see a mansion presumed to be Baron Turner's residence.
