Jemero immediately stood up, opened the door, and unintentionally raised his eyebrows at the confident figure of Jocelyn. What happened to her, who had not stepped foot in the western part for a while? How long had she been standing outside the door?

Cediloy, like Jemero, silently observed Jocelyn with the same thoughts. There was no change in his expression, but his eyes were constantly watching Jocelyn. Suddenly, he recalled the events of a few nights ago. The night when Arianthe and Swan fell asleep with him, and the shadows moved like sliding under the door crack, illuminated by the light.

It seemed like it was happening again. Cediloy pressed his tingling nerves by massaging his temples.

“Jocelyn, what’s the matter?”

“Your Grace, a letter has arrived from the capital.”

“For me?”

“Yes.”

Cediloy, who had been silently watching her, nodded slightly, indicating for her to come in with the letter.

Jemero, holding the doorknob, stepped aside, and Jocelyn entered as if she were the owner of the house, confidently flipping her hair. Even though her rank was high, it was not the behavior of a servant. Nevertheless, Cediloy made no mention of her actions.

However, Jocelyn’s attitude of presenting the letter was polite to the point of appearing humble. Not only that, she had already found a small brush to sweep away the crumbs of the sealed wax and the knife for tearing the letter, placing them neatly on the table.

Cediloy almost burst into laughter with a sudden disappointed expression.

Well… Jocelyn remained unchanged. That consistency eventually became foolish blindness, and that blindness turned into cruelty.

Seeing his expression becoming peculiar, Jocelyn spoke.

“Your Grace, what is the matter? If the contents of the letter are uncomfortable, I will take it and burn it.”

Cediloy laughed for a while, lowering his head in a disappointed expression.

“Jocelyn, you truly give me your sincere loyalty. Are you unable to bear even a few lines of text that bother me?”

Jocelyn responded without a change in her breathing, only blinking once.

“That is my duty, Your Grace. Just as one should never forgive someone who harms the lord of this land, even if it’s just a letter, it would be better to burn it if it disturbs Your Grace’s heart.”

Suddenly, Cediloy thought of his long-dead younger brother.

When Verbou was alive, receiving scorn and disdain from Jocelyn, who was nothing more than a servant, he bitterly hated her, convinced that she was truly mad. Perhaps even if he knew that she was his mother-in-law, there would have been no change in Verbou’s opinion.

And now, Cediloy was also thinking the same as Verbou. Jocelyn was a crazy person. She had gone mad due to the forced loyalty injected into her since childhood, and she had become even more mad because of her pride in that loyalty.

Cediloy said nothing more and lifted the letter knife to tear open the envelope. Then he looked inside.

As there was no sender written on the outer envelope, initially, he thought it might be a secret letter sent by the King of Elmerat. However, there was no signature or seal, and, above all, the handwriting scribbled was quite different from that of the Elmerat king.

As Cediloy slowly read down the text, he suddenly burst into a bitter laugh. When Jocelyn asked what was sent in the letter, he replied:

“A letter from my friend, Viscount Clopf, living in El Raoutika.”

Despite the answer, Jocelyn still did not leave the spot and seemed to be stuck in place, wanting to know the reason behind the letter. Cediloy said:

“Soon, he will be visiting the Duke’s residence with the second prince. That’s what I know.”

“Understood, Your Grace.”
“And, go to El Rautica in my place.”

Upon hearing those words, Jocelyn’s eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“Are you telling me to go to the capital?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but I am the housekeeper of this mansion. I am concerned that if I leave my post, the morale of the servants may be disrupted. Instead, send Mr. Jemero in my place.”

“Jemero has a specific task that I assigned to him. Or perhaps, do you have another reason for not being able to go to the capital, Jocelyn?”

There were many reasons. Jocelyn couldn’t leave the Duke’s residence even for a day. During her absence, that cunning woman, Maiana Dawson, could do who knows what. Moreover, there was also the issue with Swan. The child had just entered the Duke’s grasp. If she could manipulate Celidoi using the child…

“Jocelyn.”

Celidoi’s voice lowered slightly. This time, it carried a tone of reprimand. Jocelyn maintained her composure, turning her head in various directions, but ultimately, she couldn’t find a valid reason to resist Celidoi’s command.

“I understand, Your Grace. I will gladly go. What do you want me to do?”

“It’s a simple task. Go to the jewelry street in El Rautica, there’s a jewelry store called ‘Ezran.’ It’s the most famous place on that street, so anyone can direct you. Retrieve the item I left there.”

“What is the item, Your Grace?”