“Gillian will be here tonight, and we haven’t heard from the Redoks yet.”

“Being anxious won’t change the situation.”

I had approached it with too human emotion. Myself. What was I saying to Sicar, who would remain calm even if Gillian’s blade was pointed at his throat right now?

Suddenly, my throat was dry, so I gulped down the water Sicar had left behind. At that moment, Sicar’s nagging about not drinking water too fast came to mind, and when I sneakily glanced at him, sure enough, he was looking at me with narrowed eyes.

“There’s only the two of us here, so give me a break for drinking like this.”

“No matter how it’s just the two of us here, for you to indirectly kiss me. You’re quite bold.”

Indirect kiss… I’m too tired to speak.

Speaking of which, is Redoks really not coming? Unable to bear the anxiety any longer and about to get up from my seat, Durion rushed into the room. Durion seemed to be slightly out of breath, as if he had run very urgently.

“Duke! The Count of Redoks is here.”

“Really?”

“What should we do? Should we kill him and take his head?”

Whenever Durion, who is usually fine, says something villainous like this, it really feels as if he’s a villain.

“No, he’s my invited guest. Bring him here.”

“Here… to the study?”

“Yes.”

Durion had driven the carriage when we visited the Count, but he didn’t know what conversation we had, so he still seemed hostile to Redoks. I wonder how he will react when he finds out that Redoks is going to be our ally.

While waiting, Durion came dragging Redoks by the arm, and Redoks was coming with a resigned expression.

If I didn’t know the relationship between the two, I would have asked Durion to be a little more affectionate to Redoks, but knowing the hostility they’ve felt so far, there was nothing I could do but make an awkward face.

As Redoks sat down, he gave a wry smile.

“Your Grace was right. The royal guard was looking for a blond boy in the slums. Now I will ask you. What do you want from me?”

“What we want is the help of your friend and that wizard guy, Jermi Aiker.”

“And after that?”

“Are you arrogantly asking about my plans?”

“At least I should know what picture you are painting.”

“Oh, there’s one more thing. You are going to directly teach Prince Kian.”

“Are you telling me to take the Prince as my liege right now? I can’t accept that yet.”

“So, you’re saying you would welcome Gillian as your ruler?”

“I mean, I can’t accept the Prince as my ruler right now.”

“That’s my choice.”

“I can’t let that happen.”

The situation is urgent, and these people are playing mind games. I stood up abruptly, propping myself on the table.

“Wait! Let’s do this. First, help Kian. And watch. Watch how Gillian governs. Sicar will step back.”

Hearing my words, Redoks turned to Sicar and asked,

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then I have one question. Do you plan to step back and watch even after placing the royal son on the throne?”

“I have to see if the state affairs are well managed. That’s why I’m here.”

“Understood. I’ll call Jeremy soon. He’s outside. And I need to think more about the Crown Prince’s lesson you mentioned.”

Sicar frowned at Leidoks.

“Jeremy is here? If so, Durion wouldn’t have failed to report?”

Leidoks calmly pointed out the window.

“He’s over there.”

Looking out the window, a white bird was flapping its wings.

“As you can see, I’m holding a baby, so you go open it.”

He could have called a servant, but Sicar ordered Leidoks like he was dealing with a subordinate. Nevertheless, Leidoks didn’t look upset, and responded without any particular expression.

“Understood.”

As soon as Leidoks opened the window, a white bird flew in, flapping wildly, and quickly transformed into a cute man with short hair. He was wearing a hooded robe, unmistakably the garb of a magician.

He sat down heavily on the couch, brushing off the white snow on his head, shaking all over without anyone telling him to sit down.

“Oh, Duke. Oh, hello… Ahchoo! Hello, did you? Do, do you know how cold it is… Ahchoo! Leidoks suddenly told me to come, come quickly… Ahchoo! I had no time to take a, a carriage and had to transform into a bird… Ahchoo! I thought I would freeze to death while flying here!”

Sicar waved his hand once, as if Jeremy’s words were noisy.

“So, what do you want?”

“A cup of warm tea!”

He was quite cheerful, just like in the novel. I stood up and said to Jeremy.

“I’ll get you a cup of warm tea.”

Jeremy looked at me and casually said ‘yes’, but then his eyes widened in surprise.

“Ah, ah! Yo, your hair and eye color?!”

Ah. Black hair and black pupils must be unusual.

“A little unique, right? I’m a foreigner.”

Jeremy’s gaze was quite shaky, he must have been startled a lot. Leidoks sighed and nudged Jeremy.

“Jeremy. It’s the duchess.”

Yes. That’s exactly right.

I gave Jeremy a slight smile, as if to tell him not to be too surprised.

“So, sorry. Du, Duchess. I was impolite.”

“It’s okay. It can happen if you don’t know. Now, I’ll go get a cup of warm tea.”

“Yes, Duchess.”

Despite his apology, Jeremy couldn’t take his eyes off me. Perhaps it’s because of his curious nature? Sicar, looking displeased with Jeremy, took out a small jackknife and threw it at the couch where Jeremy was sitting.

“Dare to stare at my wife? If you do it again, the next knife will be aimed at your throat.”

Only then did Jeremy quickly bow his head.

“So, sorry. Duke. I just couldn’t help but… because it’s so amazing…”

Because of Sicar’s character, who can’t tolerate anything against his authority, it must have been Kian’s reason that he threw it at the couch instead of an arm or a leg.

Jeremy should know. If he wasn’t careful, he might have been unable to use one of his arms or legs today.

Wait a minute. Didn’t he just say he couldn’t drink water because his hands were full? Is that a magic hand that only appears when needed?