Kalos Dun Esper.

The head of the Esper family and the one and only Grand Duke of the Empire with power second only to the Emperor.

He seemed to have a good relationship with the Imperial family, having once served as the Crown Prince’s tutor, but unfortunately, he had a long-standing feud with the Temple.

It was not exactly known when and why the Temple and the Esper family became enemies.

It was only known that a long time ago, when the Temple was in danger, the Pope requested cooperation from the Esper family several times, but the head of the Esper family firmly refused, causing their relationship to sour. After that, they clashed several times and became enemies.

Anyway, dealing with Kalos, who was rumored to be cruel and ruthless, in addition to being a long-time enemy, was something all priests were reluctant to do. They were also afraid.

But when they were told to go directly to the Esper territory and bring back the witch Kalos was keeping, all the priests gasped and shook their heads.

However, someone had to take on the task, and Trope was chosen because he had met Kalos a couple of times in the past.

Because he had met Kalos before, he was even more reluctant to go. But since the High Priest personally designated him to go, Trope had no choice but to come here.

“The principle is to burn a witch at the stake as soon as she is found. So please hand over that witch to us.”

Since it had come to this, he was determined to complete the mission no matter what. Trope said to Kalos with firm resolve.

However, Kalos merely looked elsewhere with an indifferent expression, as if hearing a dog bark.

“Your Grace.”

“……”

“Grand Duke Kalos Dun Esper.”

When Trope called out his full name, the purple eyes finally turned towards him. The still indifferent expression seemed to have no intention of listening to Trope’s words.

This is indeed not easy. Although it was expected, actually facing it made cold sweat run down his back. Trope inwardly heaved a deep sigh but outwardly continued speaking calmly.

“A witch is an evil being who seduces people to control them like puppets, and ultimately devours them.”

Tok, tok. The sound of tapping on the armrest echoed steadily.

“But since Your Grace has taken a witch, everyone is worried that you might have been bewitched…”

Thud, a dull sound cut off Trope’s words. Kalos tilted his head slightly.

“Who’s worried about me?”

“Of course, the people of the Empire…”

“Tell me exactly who.”

At Kalos’s pointed question, Trope thought of several people.

“Well… first of all, His Holiness the Pope is worried.”

He mentioned the name of a powerful figure that even Kalos wouldn’t dare to challenge.

Kalos’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Thankfully, it seems to have worked. Just as Trope was feeling relieved, Kalos asked.

“There’s not a shred of lie in saying that the Pope is worried about me, right?”

No matter how much of a Grand Duke he was, he couldn’t casually refer to the Pope, the most sacred being.

“How dare you…”

“How could you so casually refer to His Holiness…”

When Kalos casually called him ‘the Pope’, a small commotion broke out among the priests.

Trope was also very flustered, but trying to maintain his composure, he answered.

“Of course not.”

“Pfft.”

Kalos then burst into laughter as if he had heard a very amusing story. It was clearly a sneer.

‘I thought it had worked, but I’ve fallen into a trap instead.’

Belatedly realizing this fact, Trope’s lips trembled, but in the end, he couldn’t say anything and just lowered his head. He didn’t know what to say, and it seemed that no excuse would work anyway.

“Your name was Trope, wasn’t it?”

A chilling voice was heard from above. Trope, with his head still lowered, answered that it was.

“You say the woman I brought is a witch?”

“Yes. That woman is a witch.”

“What’s the evidence that she’s a witch?”

“That woman is the culprit of the arson case that occurred in Silas’s territory…”

“Are all arsonists witches?”

Trope hesitated for a moment at the question that came back before he could finish speaking, then opened his heavy mouth.

“That’s… not the case.”

“Then why do you think she’s a witch? No, is she even the real culprit who set fire to Silas’s territory in the first place? You seem so certain, so there must be evidence.”

Trope couldn’t say anything in response to the barrage of questions that seemed like a rebuke.

All he had heard was that a woman named Irene was the culprit who set fire to Silas’s territory and that she was a witch. He hadn’t heard any evidence or other stories.

To begin with, Kalos was the first person to argue about evidence in such matters.

Whether commoners or nobles, when the Temple came out to judge witches, everyone handed over the suspects without a word.

“Slandering the woman I brought as a witch and threatening to hand her over without proper evidence.”

The voice spreading coldly pounded Trope’s eardrums harshly. Trope waved both hands frantically and hurriedly denied it.

“N-not at all! How dare I threaten Your Grace. I just heard that the woman might be a witch and…”

“She is not a witch.”

Kalos said firmly as he stood up.

“So stop wasting time and go back.”

As Kalos turned to leave, Trope desperately shouted.

“We cannot leave until we confirm that the woman is not a witch!”

Tak, Kalos stopped and turned his head to look at Trope. Unable to withstand the piercing gaze that could have stabbed him dozens of times if looks could kill, Trope bowed his head.

“Si-since Baron Silas reported that woman as a witch, we have an obligation to check whether she is a witch or not!”

Even in this situation, Trope faithfully fulfilled his duty without forgetting it.

Kalos’s lips curved crookedly.

“Are you saying you don’t believe my words now?”

Trope trembled and bowed his head.

“It-it’s not that, but as we are in a position to make a fair judgment, without clear evidence that she’s not…”

“There’s probably no evidence that she is a witch either.”

“……”

He was right. Trope, at a loss for words, closed his mouth.

“If you want to investigate her, bring evidence first. Evidence that I can accept, that is.”

Kalos threw out a unilateral notification and then left the audience chamber.

Dewey, who had stuck close behind him, said in an incredulous tone.

“I thought they had some grand plan when they arrived so confidently, but it’s such a shallow trick. How much do they underestimate us from the Temple’s side to come at us like this?”

“They’re not underestimating us, they must have some other scheme.”

Kalos answered indifferently, but his mind was complicated.

The priests’ reactions were too different from what he had expected.

He thought they would entangle him in a plan as intricately woven as a spider’s web as they always did, but this was too sloppy, even for being sloppy.

“Of course that must be it… but it’s still too sloppy.”

Dewey, seemingly thinking the same thing, tilted his head and said.

“It makes me feel foolish for being so tense and wary of them. I don’t understand what they’re thinking at all.”

“Still, don’t let your guard down. We don’t know what kind of trouble those guys might cause and where.”

“Of course. I won’t let my guard down until the moment those bastards leave this land.”

Satisfied with Dewey’s reliable answer, Kalos nodded, then suddenly stopped.

Dewey, who stopped along with him, let out a small exclamation as he spotted Irene walking towards them from the opposite direction.

“She looks like a fairy.”

As Dewey said, Irene, dressed in a light blue dress, looked mysterious and beautiful like a water fairy lingering by a lake.

On the other hand, her face was slightly pale. She also looked a bit frightened.

As soon as Irene spotted Kalos, she quickly approached. The blue dress skirt rippled softly with each of her movements.

Finally standing in front of Kalos, Irene looked up at him, who was more than a head taller than her, breathing heavily.

“Haa, am I late?”

Kalos said nothing and looked down at Irene. She was much prettier up close. Especially her red lips, which seemed more lively than usual, caught his attention.

“Your Grace?”

“……”

What am I doing right now?

Kalos, belatedly coming to his senses, frowned and ran his hand through his hair.

Interpreting this as anger, Irene fidgeted nervously, and he sighed briefly before speaking.

“You’re not late.”

Thanks to acting more foolishly than the priests had thought, there was no need to show Irene to them anymore.

Kalos was about to say that she could go back now, but he swallowed his words. It seemed a shame to send her back when she had dressed up so prettily for once.

So what should we do?

After pondering for a moment, Kalos remembered that Irene liked to take walks and asked.

“Have you been to the greenhouse garden in the north?”

Irene shook her head. She had seen the northern greenhouse garden while exploring Esper Castle on her walks, but she hadn’t entered it.

“Then shall we go together?”

When Kalos held out his hand, Irene alternately looked at that hand and his face. She didn’t understand why he was suddenly suggesting going to the greenhouse garden, not to mention holding out his hand.

“The priests might be watching from somewhere, so I think it would be good to show them a scene of us dating appropriately.”

“Ah.”

So that’s what it was. Finally understanding the added explanation, Irene nodded and gently placed her hand on Kalos’s outstretched one.

At that moment, feeling as if an itchy spot had been satisfyingly scratched, Kalos smiled contentedly and enveloped Irene’s hand.

On the other hand, Irene felt uncomfortable and awkward holding hands with him, but without showing it, she quietly followed Kalos’s lead.

At a glance, there were those who looked at them strangely as they left, holding hands tightly as if they were lovers.

“……”

“……”

It was Jessie and Dewey.

Of the two people who were staring at Kalos and Irene with half-dazed faces without saying anything, the first to open their mouth was Jessie.

“… Is it possible for those pigeon bastards to spy on the master’s private life?”

Dewey, who had finally come to his senses, chuckled.

“Of course not.”

It wouldn’t be possible in Esper Castle, even if it might be in the capital or other territories.

Kalos, who couldn’t possibly not know this fact, had said strange things about the priests possibly watching from somewhere and took Irene away, so they were bewildered and dumbfounded.

Once again, silence fell, and this time Dewey was the first to break it.

“Well, come to think of it, the young lady is a part of the master. It’s not unreasonable for the master to want to be with her.”

Jessie said in a small voice.

“But the master has never been like this before.”

“Just because it’s never happened before doesn’t mean it can’t happen.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Think positively, Jessie.”

Dewey patted Jessie’s shoulder.

“Thanks to the master taking a more active approach than before, things have become easier. At this rate, the flower will bloom smoothly, and everything will return to normal.”

Unlike the brightly smiling Dewey, Jessie’s face sank slightly with gloom.

She glanced at the corridor where Kalos and Irene had disappeared, then nodded her head.

“Yeah. I hope the flower blooms quickly.”