“……It’s okay. More importantly, have you decided when you’ll go to get the seed of Clepiades?”

“Yes. I was thinking of leaving the day after tomorrow. What do you think, Your Grace?”

“I don’t mind when we depart. I’ve already instructed the knights to prepare.”

The Duke answered readily. I bowed my head slightly to him in gratitude before continuing.

“Thank you, Your Grace. Besides you and me, who else will be accompanying us?”

“I plan to bring Sir Gwen and Sir Roger. If too many people move, it will draw attention in various ways.”

“I was actually going to mention that part. As expected of you, Your Grace.”

I said with a smile. At those words, the corners of his stoic mouth turned up ever so slightly.

“But what excuse are you planning to give the Duke to slip out of the mansion?”

“I told him I’d be going to the territory I’ll receive when I marry, to test methods for increasing the territory’s income. He seemed a bit suspicious since the method is somewhat radical, but there shouldn’t be any major issues. I’ve prepared for that point in advance as well.”

“I’m curious about this radical method. Why don’t you tell me about it, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure. There’s no reason I can’t tell you.”

I fully disclosed to him the conversation I had with Duke Yusten today. The Duke exclaimed in admiration as he said to me:

“If that’s possible, it could greatly increase grain production not just in the Yusten territory, but throughout the entire empire. Would you explain this method to Her Highness the Princess later as well?”

“Of course. I was planning to do that anyway.”

“……You truly are an extraordinary person. I don’t know how you come up with these ideas every time. Even if you combined the wisdom of all the nobles in His Majesty’s secret investigative team and the Privy Council, they wouldn’t match up to you alone.”

The Duke showered me with praise in his gruff voice. Embarrassed by his demeanor, I said:

“……Oh, it’s not that impressive.”

“No. It is. No wonder that cunning Duke Yusten trusts you, his niece, more than his own daughter and wants to discuss everything with you. For someone like you to be helping me, I must be truly fortunate.”

My cheeks flushed red at his following words. Unlike Duke Yusten’s praise, which was laced with intentions to deceive and use me, the Duke’s pure admiration and gratitude touched my heart more deeply. My heart swelled with an indescribable feeling.

I hesitated, unsure how to respond to his words. At that moment, he spoke, lost in thought:

“Then all that’s left is to arrange how you’ll join us while evading the eyes of the Duke’s knights.”

“I’ve thought about that in advance as well.”

“What do you have in mind? I hope you’re not planning anything dangerous like when you saved Viscount Miles’ life.”

The Duke asked, raising one eyebrow. I answered with a smile:

“Don’t worry. This time it’s not such a dangerous method. I’ll take advantage of when the carriage briefly stops.”

“……When the carriage briefly stops?”

“Yes. Even riding horses enhanced with magic, it takes a good twelve hours to get from the capital to Flima Castle. We can’t use instantaneous teleportation magic either. There’s no reason to install an extremely expensive magic circle in such a poor and small territory.”

“……Hmm.”

“So we usually travel by horse, but even horses enhanced with magic can’t run for twelve hours straight without rest, so the carriage stops twice on the way to that castle. Once at Yeltz Castle, and once more at Kolbertz Castle.”

I said this while making eye contact with him. The Duke chuckled before continuing my thought:

“And it’s about a two-hour ride on magic-enhanced horses from Kolbertz Castle to the Aikan snow mountain region.”

“That’s right. So when the carriage stops at Kolbertz Castle, I plan to get out of the carriage wearing a robe. Since women usually wear robes when traveling long distances anyway, no one will find it suspicious if I come out dressed like that. Once I get out of the carriage, my informant who will be waiting there will take my place and board the carriage.”

“Is this informant trustworthy?”

“Yes. They’re one of the few people who are loyal only to me, so it’s fine.”

“That’s a relief. If we couldn’t trust that person, I was thinking of lending you one of my knights.”

“Don’t worry about that. ……But there’s one problem here. To avoid being discovered that I’ve snuck out, I must return to Flima Castle by the next morning at the latest.”

At my words, the Duke muttered as if lost in thought:

“……Accounting for the time wandering in the Saint’s Forest, we’ll need at least 12 hours… Do you think it’s possible?”

“It’ll be a bit tight, but it should be fine. Especially since you’re a Sword Master, Your Grace, so we should have no problem finding the seed of Clepiades.”

I reassured him, speaking with confidence. He then met my eyes and smiled kindly.

My heart seemed to drop at the sight of his handsome face smiling at me. My face, which had just cooled down while discussing this plan with him, flushed hot again. I averted my gaze from him to suppress this emotion. At that moment, the Duke frowned slightly, sighed quietly, and muttered:

“……You always avoid my gaze like that once you’ve finished speaking. Does this mean you don’t want to converse with me, making eye contact, about anything other than work or plans?”

At those words, I hastily turned my gaze back to him. Just as I was about to say that wasn’t the case, that he was misunderstanding—

The Duke squeezed his eyes shut as if in pain, then collapsed to the floor.

“Your Grace!”

I screamed and rose from my seat to approach him. I cradled him in my arms, laying him across my lap, and placed my hand on his forehead. It was so hot it nearly burned my hand. I lightly patted his face with my palm as he gritted his teeth and breathed heavily, and shouted loudly:

“Butler! Sir Oliver! Sir Roger! Is anyone there? Please come quickly!”

“What’s the matter!”

At the sound of my shout, the butler and Sir Oliver burst through the reception room door and rushed inside. Upon discovering the collapsed Duke and me, they moved immediately. Oliver lifted and supported the fallen Duke, while the butler extended his hand to me. As I stood up, Oliver asked:

“What on earth happened?”

“I don’t know either. He suddenly collapsed.”

“Damn it! I’ll call for a doctor right away.”

Oliver, who had laid the Duke on the long sofa in the reception room, ran out the door. Meanwhile, the butler soaked a handkerchief in cold water and placed it on his forehead. I sat beside the Duke, fidgeting anxiously as I could only watch him. It felt like I should be doing something right away to save him, but I didn’t know how to move. My mind just went completely blank.

At that moment, Oliver returned to the reception room with the Duke’s personal physician. I immediately made way for him. The doctor nodded to me in lieu of a greeting before examining various parts of the Duke’s body. Oliver asked anxiously:

“What illness has His Grace contracted?”

The doctor shook his head and hesitantly replied:

“……Well. I’m not sure either.”

“What do you mean, you’re not sure!”

Oliver grabbed the doctor’s shoulders and twisted them as he shouted. The frightened doctor hunched his shoulders and continued speaking:

“I’m at a loss as to the cause too. He’s not coughing, and there’s no sign of poison or assassination tools. His heart isn’t beating irregularly, there’s no strange sound from his lungs, and his whole body isn’t burning up with fever either. Only his head and heart are hot. How can I make a diagnosis in this situation!”

“Damn it! We can’t just leave the Duke like this! At least give him some medicine to bring down the fever!”

Oliver raised his voice and pressed the doctor. The doctor nodded weakly and rummaged through the black bag he had brought. I bit my fingertips anxiously as I looked at the Duke with concerned eyes.

‘An illness even the doctor doesn’t know the cause of! What kind of disease could this be!’

Watching him struggle to breathe occasionally, I felt like I was going crazy with worry. I couldn’t just stand by like this. It felt like I should immediately take a carriage out to bring in another doctor. As I was thinking that, suddenly a thought flashed through my mind.

‘If it’s not a deadly poison, and he wasn’t attacked with a sword or assassination tool……!’

Then it must be magic.

Realizing this fact, I shouted towards Oliver:

“Sir Oliver! Send a letter to Her Highness the Princess right away, asking her to send a court magician to the Duke’s mansion!”

“……What?”

“If it’s not an illness or poison, and he wasn’t attacked with a sword or assassination tool, then the only cause left is magic! Since it was able to take down the Duke, who is a Sword Master, it must be a very advanced magic that only highly trained individuals can use! A court magician should be able to figure it out!”

Oliver’s eyes widened in surprise at my words. He nodded vigorously and said:

“I see! Then I’ll go to the palace immediately!”

With those words, he left the reception room again. I watched the doctor anxiously as he poured medicine into the Duke’s mouth, clasping my hands together. And I prayed fervently that he would be safe.

* * *

Not long after, the court magician Toth arrived at the Duke’s mansion.

The elderly magician with long white hair and beard carefully examined various parts of the collapsed Duke’s body. Oliver asked him anxiously:

“How is it, Lord Toth? Do you have any ideas about why His Grace collapsed?”

“Don’t rush me. The first priority is to bring down the Duke’s high fever.”

Toth dismissed Oliver’s words with that reply, then placed both hands on the Duke’s forehead and chanted a spell.

“……Ugh.”

At that moment, the Duke let out a short groan and opened his eyes. I hurriedly approached his side.