Under continued pressure, Trope reluctantly agreed. As Kalos said, even if he reported to his superiors, the response would likely be the same as his own thoughts.

Still, he felt uneasy about ignoring protocol. Even if it was an unavoidable situation, the superiors would surely have something to say about disregarding procedure.

With many other issues piling up, Trope was even more worried about how the superiors would react.

“Then we will depart first thing tomorrow morning.”

He needed to return as quickly as possible to report to his superiors and beg forgiveness.

They also needed to hold a meeting to discuss how to proceed.

Since the witch trial was over, there was no reason to remain in Esper territory any longer, so Trope decided to leave tomorrow.

Kalos swirled the wine in a fresh glass and asked,

“Are you sure it’s alright to leave so soon?”

“Pardon? What do you mean…”

Before Trope could finish speaking, the dining hall door burst open, and Deuce entered, dragging someone by the scruff of their neck.

“You need to take your colleague with you.”

Deuce practically threw the person he had dragged in like an animal in front of the priests.

It was the corpse of Liam, the priest who had died after trying to help Irene escape by making advances on her.

“…!”

Trope jumped up in shock at the sight of his colleague’s corpse. The other priests reacted similarly.

The priests had been searching for Liam’s whereabouts. They would have been worried even if he had just disappeared, but Liam had boasted that he would resolve this issue before he vanished.

They were puzzled about what problem he intended to solve and how, but as time passed without him appearing, their concern grew.

Surely nothing bad had happened to him. They had been anxious, but their worries became reality.

Not knowing what Liam had done to Kalos to be killed, Trope could only look down at him with a bewildered expression, unable to say anything.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Kalos spoke first about the cause of Liam’s death.

“That bastard spouted nonsense about falling for her and wanting to run away together.”

It truly was nonsense. Priests were destined to devote their body and mind to God for life, unable to even date, let alone marry.

Occasionally, some would claim to have found true love and remove their priestly robes, but the Liam they knew wasn’t that kind of person. He had never shown any such inclination.

Moreover, the woman in question belonged to the Grand Duke. Propositioning her to run away together was tantamount to declaring a death wish, so Trope and the other priests couldn’t believe Liam had done such a thing.

“Did our brother truly say such things?”

When Trope asked on behalf of the priests, Kalos snorted in disbelief and picked up his knife.

“Are you doubting that I’m lying?”

As the sharp blade cut into the steak, it revealed a red cross-section still bloody from being undercooked.

Trope shuddered as if his own flesh had been cut, trembling as he replied.

“N-No, that’s not it. I was just asking to confirm. How could I dare doubt Your Grace?”

“Then you acknowledge that priest’s wrongdoing?”

Even if he was the Grand Duke of Esper, he shouldn’t have killed someone so carelessly. Especially since the victim wasn’t a mere commoner, but a priest.

Of course, if Liam truly had been caught making advances on Irene and was killed for it, there would be nothing to say. But that was purely Kalos’s claim, so the temple could pressure him under the pretext of investigating the truth.

So Kalos was trying to make them acknowledge that this incident was clearly Liam’s fault, to prevent the temple and those hiding behind them from saying otherwise.

“…”

Seeming to have caught on to Kalos’s intentions to some extent, Trope remained silent for a while before answering with an awkward smile.

“That’s what I think… but I’m not sure how the High Priest or others will view it.”

Kalos laughed, impressed by Trope’s efforts to avoid the trap he had set.

“Then you can testify when the time comes.”

Of course, it wasn’t a warm, welcoming smile, but a cold sneer like that of a demon straight from hell.

“Isn’t that right?”

“That’s…”

As Trope hesitated to answer, Kalos set down his knife forcefully, openly displaying his displeasure.

At the same time, Deuce casually showed the pommel of the sword at his waist.

Answer or die.

“O-Of course.”

Trope quickly replied, filled with rising fear, while inwardly making a resolution.

He had to prevent the temple from making an issue of Liam’s death at all costs.

Otherwise, they would surely end up like shrimp with their backs burst open after getting caught in a fight between whales.

*

Although no blood had been spilled, Irene ended up with severe indigestion after returning to her bedroom following the dinner that was no different from a war.

It was partly due to forcing herself to eat while pretending to be calm in the murderous atmosphere where she couldn’t tell if the food was going into her nose or mouth, but there were other reasons as well.

For instance, seeing a dead person’s corpse during the meal.

The fact that she was involved in that person’s cause of death.

Directly confirming with her own eyes that the Duke of Esper was as cruel and ferocious as the rumors said, and the fear that she might be killed just like that priest, among other psychological factors that compounded her indigestion.

A walk in the garden might help, but the problem was that Kalos had forbidden Irene from taking walks for the time being due to the unfortunate incident in the hallway earlier.

He had added that if she really wanted to, he would accompany her, but…

“I don’t want to.”

No one in this world would want to take a walk with a man who might stab their heart at any moment.

For the same reason, Irene hid the fact that she was in pain from Jessie as well. If Jessie found out, Kalos would surely know too. She didn’t want him to know she was in pain.

“Ugh.”

“Oh my, miss!”

However, as the indigestion stemming from psychological and emotional pressure progressed beyond simple discomfort to nausea, Jessie eventually found out.

“Why did you hide it until it got this bad?”

“I’ll be fine soon… ugh.”

Due to the rising nausea, Irene couldn’t finish her sentence and retched, covering her mouth.

Jessie patted her back worriedly and said,

“This time we really need to call a doctor. This is serious.”

Usually, noble families had a family physician in charge of their bloodline members, but the Esper family didn’t have one.

The only member of the Esper bloodline was Kalos, and as the lord of the underworld, he would have no need for the help of a human doctor.

The one fortunate thing was that there were human doctors in the Esper territory, but the problem was that bringing humans into the castle required Kalos’s permission without exception.

Normally he would never allow it, but this time was an exception, so he might permit it.

“I’ll ask the master and bring a doctor, miss.”

“W-Wait a moment!”

Irene urgently grabbed Jessie’s arm as she turned to leave.

“Please don’t tell him. That I’m sick… please don’t tell the Grand Duke, Jessie.”

Irene’s pale face earnestly pleading was very pitiful. But sadly, Jessie couldn’t grant her request.

Aside from needing to tell Kalos to bring a doctor, she had been ordered to report even the slightest thing that happened to Irene.

“Please, Jessie.”

So she should refuse, but why couldn’t she bring herself to do so?

Jessie gazed down at Irene’s beautiful face, drained of color, then smiled faintly and grasped Irene’s hand that was tightly holding her arm.

“Alright. I’ll do as you ask.”

*

“…so we need to bring a human doctor from the territory.”

Although she had promised Irene she wouldn’t say anything, Jessie didn’t keep that promise.

From the beginning, Jessie had no intention of keeping her promise to Irene. More precisely, she couldn’t keep it.

Before being Irene’s personal maid, Jessie was a subordinate who had sworn loyalty to Kalos. Naturally, Kalos’s orders took precedence over her promise to Irene.

So she did report, but she felt very uncomfortable doing so. This wasn’t the first time she had done such a thing, but it was the first time she felt this uneasy about it.

Have I opened my heart to her too much?

Unlike the people I’ve met so far, she’s a lovable person, and she’s necessary for the master, so it’s natural that my heart would open to her, but…

“Very well. Bring one.”

Jessie, who had been lost in her own thoughts, snapped out of her reverie at Kalos’s response.

“It’s not too serious, is it?”

“I’m not a doctor, so I can’t say for certain, but it seemed like severe indigestion.”

“Is that so?”

Was what happened in the dining room that shocking?

He didn’t think there was anything particularly special about it. He had even given her advance notice so she would have time to mentally prepare before going to the dining room.

He couldn’t understand why Irene had become so severely ill, but he dismissed it, thinking that humans were naturally weak creatures.

On the other hand, he worried about how she would weather the storms to come if she was this fragile.

It would be a disaster if things went wrong again before the flower fully bloomed.

“Call the doctor immediately, and report the results of the examination as soon as they’re available.”

“Understood.”

“No, when the doctor arrives, I’ll go with you to see her.”

Feeling somehow dissatisfied with just receiving a report, Kalos decided to see Irene himself.

“Um… I apologize, but I recommend not going to see the young lady in person.”

Jessie cautiously dissuaded him, showing reluctance.

“The young lady doesn’t want you to know that she’s ill.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know that either… Shall I ask her?”

Kalos considered for a moment, then shook his head.

“Never mind. Just keep it a secret that I know.”

He didn’t feel like visiting if she didn’t want him to know.

There was no particular reason to do so either.

It should be fine to just receive reports from Jessie like this.

He decided that was the right thing to do, but for some reason it didn’t sit well with him, so Kalos remained sitting on the sofa with his arms crossed for a long time after Jessie left, looking sullen.

*

Fortunately, Irene had no major problems other than indigestion. The medicine the doctor prescribed was very effective, and her discomfort quickly subsided. The nausea disappeared completely.

Thanks to this, Irene was able to fall into a deep sleep without suffering any longer.

In the dark bedroom where steady, soft breathing echoed, the tightly closed door opened silently, and Kalos entered.

He approached the bedside where Irene lay and gazed down at her sleeping peacefully without moving.

Although he had heard the report that she was better, he had still been worried, so he felt relieved to see that she really did look fine.

On the other hand, he frowned, finding it strange that he wasn’t satisfied with the report and ended up coming to see her sleeping form in person.