‘That morning, I had sent letters to informants planted in various locations asking them to find information about the seed of Klepiades….. Why is there still no news? Did no one obtain any information?’

I let out another deep sigh.

Was the vivid nightmare I had like reality a premonition that I might face such a difficult situation? With a discouraged expression, I checked the remaining letters. They were full of invitations and greetings from nobles I had barely even conversed with properly.

As I was sorting them into those that needed replies and those that didn’t, I discovered a gray letter with nothing written on the outside.

It was a letter sent by an informant collecting information in the northern part of the empire. I immediately checked that letter with renewed interest.

The head of the magic tower, Erzed, is convinced that the magical reaction is ‘because Klepiades bore a seed’.

Rumors say Erzed is desperate to obtain that seed. So if you want to get that seed, you need to move quickly.]

“Ah!”

The moment I confirmed the contents, I let out an involuntary cry.

This was it. This was an opportunity given to me by the gods. I absolutely couldn’t miss this chance. I tore that letter into small pieces, then pushed them into the burning fireplace along with the letter fragments I had collected earlier.

After that, I quickly scribbled a short letter and knocked on the door connecting my bedroom to Annie’s bedroom.

“Annie! Annie!”

“Yes, young lady!”

Annie quickly poked her head out, dressed in comfortable attire. I handed her the short letter I had just written and said:

“Go to the Haven ducal residence right now and deliver this letter.”

“At this hour?”

“Yes. It’s urgent. Quickly.”

“…Yes, young lady.”

Annie answered with a bewildered expression before returning to her bedroom. It seemed she was going to change into an outdoor dress.

After a while, I handed the letter to Annie who had finished preparing to go out, and once again sank into deep thought. Now that I knew where the seed was, I needed to think of a way to safely retrieve it without being detected.

* * *

Late at night when the bright moon had hidden its face in the clouds.

Elliot returned to the mansion. He handed his cloak to the butler waiting for him at the entrance.

“Was there anything unusual at the mansion while I was away?”

Then the butler, who had neatly folded the cloak over his left arm, replied:

“Actually, a little while ago, the maid of the Yusten duke’s daughter delivered a letter to me and left.”

Elliot immediately turned to him and asked:

“Where is that letter now?”

“I placed it on the desk in your office, sir.”

The butler answered. Elliot headed straight for the office. There, adjutants Oliver and Roger were handling the backlog of knight order work. They jumped up in surprise, looking at Elliot with wide eyes.

“You’ve returned, Your Grace!”

“You came back earlier than expected. If we had known, we would have waited at the entrance.”

“It’s fine. That’s why I returned quietly on purpose. You two just finish handling the backlogged work.”

Elliot brushed off their words in a gruff voice, then headed to his desk. He immediately checked the contents of the letter placed on the desk.

He put down the letter with a meaningful smile and spoke to Oliver, who was looking at documents:

“Sir Oliver.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“How many days would it take to ride from here in the capital to the Forest of the Holy Maiden in the northern Aikan snow mountain region, using a horse with enhanced magic?”

“…Hmm. It would take a full two days at least.”

“Then what if we used a scroll with instant teleportation magic? How long would that take?”

“Ah, in that case, two hours would be sufficient. There’s a teleportation magic circle drawn in Fort Genia, the closest to the Aikan snow mountain region. From there, you can ride a magically enhanced horse to the Forest of the Holy Maiden. But why are you asking this…?”

Oliver, who had been faithfully answering Elliot’s questions, trailed off as he asked. Elliot replied in a gruff voice:

“According to the letter from Duke Yusten’s daughter, the seed of Klepiades is there. I need to go find it.”

“What? The seed of Klepiades?”

“You mean that legendary seed? But I heard it only bears fruit once every thousand years. Are you sure it’s really there? Hasn’t the duke’s daughter misunderstood?”

Oliver and Roger cried out in succession. Elliot glared at Roger with a cold gaze and asked:

“Has the duke’s daughter ever made a wrong prediction or a misguided plan until now?”

“…No. She hasn’t.”

Roger answered in a timid voice. Oliver hesitantly asked Elliot:

“…Pardon my impertinence, but may I ask why you want to find that seed, Your Grace?”

Elliot briefly explained the facts that Christine had told him and the princess a few days ago. When he finished speaking, Oliver nodded and asked:

“I understand. Who are you planning to take on this expedition?”

“Myself, Duke Yusten’s daughter, Sir Roger, and Sir Gwen. The four of us will go.”

Elliot answered, turning to Roger. Roger immediately put down the documents he was looking at and stood up, saying:

“Understood. Then I’ll call Sir Gwen right away and prepare.”

“When do you plan to depart, Your Grace?”

Oliver asked again. Elliot answered without hesitation:

“I don’t know that either. I intend to move according to Christine Yusten’s plan.”

“…Ah.”

“So Sir Roger, make all preparations with Sir Gwen so that we can depart even tomorrow.”

“Yes, understood, Your Grace.”

Roger answered like that and left the office. Oliver spoke to Elliot as he sat down in the office chair:

“But will it be alright? It seems a bit insufficient to protect you and Duke Yusten’s daughter with just Sir Roger and Sir Gwen.”

Elliot laughed with a sound like air escaping, as if he had heard an amusing joke.

“Sir Oliver, do I look like I need someone’s protection right now?”

“…Of course, Your Grace, as a Sword Master you would handle most crisis situations without difficulty, but there are always unexpected situations, aren’t there?”

“There are no such unexpected situations. In this empire, no, on this continent, there are only two people with the power to defeat me. One of them has already left this world, and one has disappeared. In other words, no swordsman on this continent can defeat me now. …Of course, they won’t be able to touch even a fingertip of my subordinates and the person I need to protect.”

Oliver expressed his concerns, but Elliot flatly dismissed those worries. Then he stood up from the chair and picked up an old ceremonial sword placed at one side of the office.

As he did so, a strong aura flowed from his body holding the sword. His aura reacted to the aura of the previous owner, Princess Liz, that remained on that sword. Oliver bowed his head towards him and said:

“I misspoke out of concern for Your Grace and the duke’s daughter. Please forgive me.”

“I know what you’re worried about. But we can’t move with many knights on a mission that needs to be done in secret.”

Elliot said that as he put down the ceremonial sword again.

“Let’s stop here, and you should return to your quarters to rest too. It’s already quite late.”

“…Yes, understood, Your Grace. You should also return to your chambers to rest now.”

After Oliver left, Elliot, left alone, threw Christine’s letter into the fireplace. After the letter disappeared without a trace, he too headed for the door.

“…Ugh.”

At that moment, Elliot felt a sharp pain. He reflexively brought his palm to his left chest at the pain that felt like his heart was being poked with a blunt needle.

‘Strange. Has something gone wrong?’

As he frowned at the unusual pain, it disappeared as if it had never been there. Thinking it was probably just some strain on his heart due to recent overexertion, Elliot headed to his bedroom without much concern.

* * *

The next morning.

“Young lady, are you awake?”

I opened my eyes at Annie’s voice from outside the door as I was sleeping slumped over the dressing table. My body was stiff and my head was foggy, but I didn’t feel too bad. Last night, I had finished thinking about how to go get the seed of Klepiades without being detected by Duke Yusten or Danae. I cleared my throat and called out towards the door:

“Yes, come in.”

After bathing and finishing my preparations, I turned to Annie and said:

“I’d like to have breakfast with uncle this morning. Could you send word to the main building? I have something important to tell uncle.”

“Yes, young lady.”

Annie left the room at my words and returned before long.

“The head of the family gladly agreed.”

“Alright. Thank you, Annie.”

I immediately got up. As I entered the dining room of the main building, I saw Duke Yusten sitting at the head seat. I curtsied slightly to greet him.

“Good morning, uncle. Did you sleep well last night?”

“Yes. Good morning, Christine. Come, sit here.”

Duke Yusten said, pointing to the chair on his left. As soon as I sat down, the duke asked about my business:

“So, what is this urgent matter you needed to tell me?”

I lowered my voice and answered:

“I mentioned to you before, uncle? That I was thinking about ways to increase the income of our territory.”

“Oh, that’s right. Have you come up with any good ideas?”

The duke asked, brightening. I nodded and continued: