By Zephyria Hugo changed the investigator in charge of Leonardo’s interrogation. In addition, he treated him as a witness only in the Frost territory case, acknowledging his efforts and contributions related to solving the case.
The possibility that he might be involved in the escape of the Delberg merchant was constantly raised, but it was not accepted due to insufficient evidence.
In response, Hugo and Flynn did not mention, as if they had promised each other, that Terzio, whom they met in Frost territory at that time, smelled of seawater.
Instead, they issued instructions to investigate in the direction related to the Delberg merchant’s ‘tail cutting’ method.
Hugo, who had spent the night at the Council due to a lot of work and had briefly closed his eyes in the rest area behind the legion commander’s office, was finally able to leave work in the afternoon of the next day.
The carriage he was riding in had just passed through the east gate of the Imperial Palace, passing through several intermediate portals from the main gate of the Council.
There were particularly many guards at the east gate, and the guards of the Imperial Palace who were guarding the gate saluted the carriage with the Agrizendro family crest. The number of heads clearly meant something, so it wasn’t a very welcome sight.
Soon, the carriage entered a forest path where long, pointed trees stood in a row towards the sky.
Light occasionally entered between the dense trees, and overall, a lush and cool breeze blew. There were no other carriages or people passing by other than the carriage Hugo was riding in, so the wide road was very leisurely and quiet.
The white carriage of the Agrizendro family passed through the secluded path in the forest for a short time, then quickly entered the portal of the intermediate gate that appeared again.
Passing through the portal, unlike the forest path just now, this time a downtown area with tall buildings and shopping districts appeared. However, the appearance was slightly different from the downtown area of the Imperial Palace.
If the buildings in the Imperial Palace were dazzling and the epitome of splendor, the buildings here were mostly made of monotonous white, navy, blue, and light gray colors, and their scale was majestic but gave a sophisticated and clean impression.
Instead of using various colors, delicate carvings and precise and regular patterns decorated the large and magnificent buildings in various places.
Above the buildings, along with the Laina Rogia Imperial flag with a golden sun drawn in the center of the red background on the left and the navy background on the right, the flag symbolizing the Agrizendro family, with a silver sword and shield drawn on a navy background, fluttered side by side.
This place borders the Imperial Palace and is three times the size of the Imperial Palace land area.
In addition, this place is the largest territory in Laina Rogia, stretching widely from the northeast to the southeast based on the Imperial Palace, and is also a gathering place for civilization second only to the Imperial Palace.
It has a pleasant and cool climate throughout the year, so many people prefer the climate here, and as the territory is large, more people live here than in the Imperial Palace. It used to be a Grand Duchy, but it was completely absorbed into the Empire and demoted to a Duchy, so many of its own administrative foundations and culture remain.
The old name of this place is Sanctus Logia. It was also called Saint Logia, and hardly anyone can be found who calls it by that name now.
Instead, today people call this place Agrizendro territory.
The Agrizendro family has traditionally sworn allegiance to the Imperial family, supported the Emperor, and valued the etiquette of lord and vassal. They are an Emperor faction family, one of only two Dukes in the Empire.
And Hugo Agrizendro, who has the surname of such an Agrizendro family, was the General Commander of the Central Branch of the Council and the young Duke Agrizendro, called the Sword of the Empire in this Laina Rogia.
Laina Rogia is an Empire with a very strong Imperial family, centered on Imperial power, and the laws enacted by all central government agencies under the Imperial family come from the Emperor and the deliberative body that advises him. A formal separation of powers exists, but at the center of it all was the Emperor.
In other words, as the Emperor became the law, the aristocratic forces that checked him were greatly weakened, and as a result, the meaning of status other than the Imperial family was much more faded than in the past.
For this reason, the boundaries in which commoners and nobles lived were not strictly divided, and even in the Council, where Hugo was involved, commoners and nobles could be seen working together without distinction of status.
However, the class system was not abolished.
The aristocratic class still existed, and there were still many parts where their unique sense of authority remained, so there were social gatherings and balls held during the season, and their own invisible and damp cultures also existed.
Commoners still had to show respect to the nobles, live as territory residents in their territories, and easily associate with the lower nobles while also admiring their lives.
Almost all of the high-ranking officials in the political field were from aristocratic backgrounds, so it was difficult for commoners to seize opportunities. As a result, the economic field was naturally dominated by nobles, and large businesses that made money were often established by noble families.
In this land, status has faded compared to the past, but it clearly still exists.
In such a place, the title of Duke has quite a variety of meanings. Hugo enjoyed wealth and fame, but at the same time, he had to be loyal and dedicated to the Empire.
Joining the Council was his will, but it was customary for noble children to work in government agencies, so it was easy to find nobles who had advanced into government agencies besides him. Perhaps that’s why Hugo’s involvement in the Council was regarded as one of those typical customs.
However, among those nobles, Hugo uniquely performed the duties of the Council’s legion commander and took on difficult tasks, such as going directly to distant places, which did not suit his title. The reason for this was not only to be loyal to the Empire, but also to protect his own position.
Although he was a Duke, his position in the Agrizendro family, where forces were divided within the family, was not very solid.
Thanks to this, Hugo returned to his territory after a long time after going to Frost territory to chase Leonardo. Like Leonardo, he was very tired due to the unexpected journey and fierce battle, but he did not dare to think about resting because a mountain of work was waiting for him.
After passing through the portal of the gate in the city center once more, the white carriage he was riding in soon arrived at the large gate leading to the Agrizendro mansion. The guards on the tower, who had confirmed the carriage approaching from afar, slowly began to open the huge gate.
Passing through the gate and passing along the well-maintained road that stretched out in front of it, another tightly closed iron gate opened. Then, the entrance to the mansion, which was comparable in size to the Imperial Palace, appeared in the distance.
The servants of the Duke’s family were waiting for him in front of it, and they looked as small as ants because the mansion was so large.
The mansion was a harmonious blend of navy, silver, and white, and was imbued with a magnificent and antique style like a temple. The embossed and engraved patterns decorating the mansion were quite regular and densely arranged, and the white statues decorating the surroundings all took different poses, yet gave a strangely orderly and cold feeling.
When the carriage Hugo was riding in arrived in front of the huge mansion and stopped, the attendant waiting respectfully opened the door of the carriage. From inside, the Duke Agrizendro, wearing the white uniform of the Council, appeared.
“Welcome, Master.”
As he got out of the carriage, the servants lined up on both sides bowed to the Duke.
Hugo nodded briefly, as if he was used to it, and moved towards the central door of the mansion at a brisk pace. The butlers and attendants, and his close knights, immediately followed him.
Entering the interior of the mansion, a vast hall unfolded, and the huge portrait hanging in the middle of the magnificent staircase leading up on both sides clearly showed who the owner of the Duke’s family was.
The young Duke’s glossy, dark navy hair in the portrait created a calm and imposing atmosphere.
Neat eyebrows sat neatly above the slightly protruding brow bone past the straight forehead, and below it, the deep and quiet blue eyes, shaded deeply, shone gently like jewels in the deep sea.
The high and straight nose, neatly closed lips, and firm jawline made it clear at a glance that he was quite handsome.
Hugo glanced at the huge portrait of his face once without meaning, then took off his uniform cloak and coat and handed them to the attendant, and went up the stairs. Among the several butlers, the one who seemed to be in the highest position followed closely behind Hugo and asked him.
“Master, have you had your meal?”
“Not yet. I’m busy, so let’s take care of the urgent matters first. What about the matter I asked you to do before I left?”
“We have tried to have the vassals of the designated Duchy handle the work as much as possible, but there are quite a few tasks that are still waiting to be processed because final approval is required. And some of them―.”
“The Grand Duchess must have taken care of them.”
“…That’s right.”
Hugo, as if it was a common occurrence, received the report and went straight into the office. As expected, there was a mountain of documents piled up on the desk. As soon as he sat down in the office chair and took off his gloves, the attendant took his gloves and took them away, and another attendant naturally poured tea into the prepared teacup.
The Grand Duchess Hugo mentioned was a senior member of the Council with a high position and also a relative of Hugo. She was the aunt of the previous Duke Agrizendro and had considerable power and influence within the Agrizendro family.
In addition, she was very displeased with Hugo inheriting the title as the family’s successor, so she deliberately ordered him to do Council work so that he could not go out and take care of the territory’s affairs, creating a justification.
It was the rule of the Agrizendro family that when the Duke was absent, the next highest and most legitimate person in the family had the authority to exercise power as an agent. And currently, the person acting as that power was the Grand Duchess.
The butler handed Hugo the documents he was holding and said,
“Will you not be traveling far for the time being?”
“Well, nothing has been confirmed yet.”
“Then, how about scheduling the meeting with your retainers after you have finished all the Council matters?”
“No, it must be done as soon as tomorrow. Since they told me to return quickly because of the peninsula issue, it seems I will have to leave the mansion again.”
Hugo answered, quickly reviewing the documents the butler handed him, and then asked,
“What is the status of the financial statements related to the new business the family is promoting?”
“I am classifying and preparing them separately. I will complete them soon and place them on your desk in the office so you can review them immediately after dinner.”
“Very well, I appreciate it.”
At that moment, footsteps echoed in the hallway, and someone hurriedly ran to the office door. He shoved his arms into the attendant’s uniform, straightened his clothes, and knocked on the office door. Hugo, without taking his eyes off the documents, said,
“Enter.”
As the door opened, Flynn, in his attendant’s uniform, entered, panting as if he had rushed over.
“Haha, I’m sorry. The Council meeting ended late, so….”
Flynn smiled awkwardly as the head butler, standing next to Hugo, looked at him as if his behavior was unseemly. Soon, some of the documents in front of Hugo floated in the air and were neatly placed on a table slightly away from the office desk.
Hugo, while signing the documents, said to Flynn,
“It’s already organized, but check the main points one more time.”
“Yes, I understand!”
Flynn answered energetically and sat down on the sofa in front of the table as if he was used to it. Then, he put on glasses designed for speed-reading, picked up a pen, and began to read through the documents quickly.
Hugo signed a few urgent documents and handed them to the head butler, who was standing by. The butler, after receiving the documents, bowed and left the office with the other attendants.
Flynn was the adjutant to the Council Commander and one of Duke Agrizendro’s closest attendants.
Having spent a long time in an orphanage as a child, he was taken in by Hugo, who visited the orphanage, and grew up in the Agrizendro family, learning from the work of a servant. Hugo gave him opportunities for learning and choice, but Flynn joined the Council, hoping to become Hugo’s right-hand man, the one who had brought him in.
He had been working with Hugo for a long time, also serving as a kind of secretary.
His main task at the mansion was to assist in handling matters related to Hugo’s territory. His speed of work and acquisition was so fast that the head butler of the mansion was eyeing him to train him as one of the prospective butlers.
His scope of work was already equivalent to that of a butler, but Flynn was also performing duties for the Council, just like Hugo, so he did not have enough time to serve as a butler for the mansion, and he remained an administrative attendant.
A quiet silence flowed inside the office, and except for the occasional butlers coming to deliver documents or servants passing by, only the sound of turning pages and writing could be heard.
After quite some time, Flynn stared at the amount on the last document for a long time, as if his eyes were blurry, and then underlined it heavily. He took it to Hugo and said,
“Master, isn’t there a specialized orphanage from Bermuda in Allender Castle? Someone anonymously donated 3 million Bell to it again.”
“3 million Bell?”
Hugo, who was also processing documents, took off the glasses he had been wearing, rubbed his blurry eyes, and asked back.
“Yes, and anonymous donations of 2 million Bell each were made to all the Bermuda orphanages in Parlo Castle, Iberisk Castle, and Horn Castle. Finally, an anonymous donation of 5 million Bell was made to the Bermuda Education Foundation.”
“Is it every three months again?”
“Yes, it is.”
For several years, someone had been making large anonymous donations to Bermuda-related facilities every three months.
He did not know the situation in other territories, but the anonymous donor was focusing on orphanages for Bermuda children within the Agrizendro territory.
At first, they tried to find the donor, but the donor conveyed that they wanted to hide their identity, so they continued to receive only anonymous donations.
“To donate such a large sum of money regularly. Who on earth could it be?”
“It’s not easy for anyone to donate their money. I’d like to give them an award if I knew who they were… but it seems the donor doesn’t want that.”
“Since they are donating to Bermuda-related facilities, this person must be from Bermuda, right?”
“Yes, probably.”
Hugo took the document that Flynn had marked and scanned its contents. According to the date, it was just yesterday.
As Hugo was from Bermuda, his territory had more organizations and facilities to protect people from Bermuda than other places. And the most representative of these facilities was the orphanage, which could directly take care of Bermuda people who had nowhere to go.
However, what was unique was that this continuous anonymous donation was not made through a donation organization, but in a way that the donor directly delivered a bag of money to the donation facility. It was the most direct and sure way to donate, but that also meant that they did not trust the donation organizations connected to the orphanage.
Considering the move to donate intensively to Bermuda facilities, it was a reasonable guess that the anonymous donor was from Bermuda. The moment he thought of Bermuda, Hugo thought of that poor fellow who said that he was the only one who could protect himself.
That fellow who did not trust others. And himself in the past who had the same thoughts. Even the anonymous Bermuda donor who did not trust donation organizations.
“Why are all the Bermuda people so suspicious….”
Hugo said that, signed the document, and stamped it. He then scanned the contents one last time and placed it neatly on the desk.