By Zephyria 
“I have no intention of stepping down gracefully, whether you become the Crown Princess or the Empress…”
Tap. With a light sound, he landed and swaggered over, acting more like a boisterous mercenary rolling around in a back alley than a great mage. Judging by his particularly exaggerated attitude, he was trying to show that he was upset in his own way. I didn’t even snort.
“But I can’t say that I congratulate you with a good heart.”
“You’re acting as if you’ve ever been around me with a good heart.”
“Haha, you noticed?”
He was only glib, even though he had never pretended to be innocent. Even so, in the current situation, Lennox was the most powerful and almost the only helper I had. Without saying anything, I offered him a seat.
“By the way, where did you leave your Teleportation magic and come in through the window? Are you trying to imitate an assassin?”
“Of course not.”
Lennox said that he had been trying to talk about it anyway. He said that whenever he tried to use Teleportation magic to come to my side, the magic simply wouldn’t move.
“At least, even if it’s not as good as what I gave to Young Master, I happened to get my hands on an object containing the power of an Ancient God, and only then could I teleport to the front of the mansion.”
The magic of the unparalleled great mage suddenly stopped working. The reason was too clear. It must be because of that damn god who was always smiling slyly by my side. Lennox complained that he had come in officially and was afraid that Allen would notice, so he had been working hard to climb over the fence.
“Was there really a need to do that…? That guy probably knows what you and I are talking about right now…”
Allen knew exactly what kind of conversation I had with the Crown Prince. He had lost the authority to read and manipulate my thoughts at will, but he had not lost the omniscient view of looking down on me.
But Lennox answered with a triumphant chuckle.
“I understand why you think so. It’s probably because you’ve heard so many things while living with it. But in my estimation, it cannot eavesdrop on someone who is under the protection of another god. If you think it has been eavesdropping on your every move, it’s probably not eavesdropping on you, but eavesdropping on someone else who is with you.”
In fact, Lennox said that before he got his hands on the new Divine object, there were constant obstructions, as if someone was watching him, but after he somehow possessed the Divine object of the Ancient God, all external interference stopped, as if he could no longer be touched.
…It wasn’t 100 percent certain, but it was a somewhat plausible story.
Once I finished talking to Lennox today, Allen’s reaction would make it clear.
“Anyway, there were results. I traced folk tales and legends to find places where traces of the Ancient God remained, and I also tried to move my magic to teleport to Young Master’s side whenever I moved places. But what’s interesting is that in some places, my magic was so tightly bound that I couldn’t even reach the vicinity of the capital, let alone the mansion, and in other places, I almost succeeded.”
“You found other places where traces of the Ancient God remain?”
“…I guess that’s the conclusion. It means that it’s a place where the power of God is relatively less influential.”
My expression must have brightened without me realizing it. Lennox smiled back at me and sighed strangely, leaning deeply against the back of the sofa.
“I didn’t want to give this recommendation to my Young Master, who is already being praised by the people on the streets as the future Empress… but there’s really no other way.”
“What…”
“I never thought I’d have to say these words myself. Haa…”
He kept sighing and took out a well-folded piece of parchment from his arms. Then, with an attitude that he hated to hand it over, he forcibly gave it to me.
“What is this…?”
I nervously unfolded the folded piece of paper, and at the same time as my eyes read the sentence written inside, Lennox’s voice floated lazily in the air.
“You must go to the North. The answer is there.”
I will come to pick you up soon.
A short memo with no sender or recipient written on it. It was Carlisle’s all-too-familiar handwriting.
“Welcome back, Little Duke!”
“Ah.”
Carlisle Graham nonchalantly replied, slowly relaxing the nerves that had been on edge with tension. The old butler, who was guarding the Graham House in the capital, seemed quite resentful that the sole great heir of the Grand Duchy had to enter the capital secretly, as if making a night raid, but Carlisle didn’t care much. All that mattered to him was that he had finally returned to this place, where Noah Hamilton was based.
“What would you like to do? Are you hungry? Shall I prepare a meal? Or shall I have a bath prepared?”
As was the case with the time-honored retainers of great noble families, the old and loyal butler was beside himself with pity for the Little Duke, who had secretly infiltrated the capital through unofficial channels. If it were other noble families, walking around the mansion after sneaking in would be like a loud advertisement saying, ‘I’ve come, so arrest me immediately,’ but Graham was different. Even the lowest of the low servants guarding the townhouse in the capital were filled with deeply loyal people who served the Graham family as their lord.
“It’s fine. I don’t intend to stay long, so I’ll rest for a moment and leave right away.”
“Are you going to pick up the Little Duke’s wife…?”
“That is so.”
“However… that person…”
The old retainer’s eyes were full of helplessness. It was as if he was looking at a young grandson who was unable to send away what should be sent away and was caught up in lingering attachments. Well, if he had heard the love story of the Crown Prince and the prospective Crown Princess that was rampant in the capital, he would have been more than justified.
In that supremely pure love story that the Crown Prince himself was spreading and actively reproducing, Adrian Pearson and Noah Hamilton were affectionate lovers who had built up their feelings for each other year after year, deceiving everyone and not giving up on each other despite Duke Grachio’s interference. It was as if no one could interfere between the two of them.
To those who were only in the capital’s townhouse and not in the Graham estate, it would seem that Carlisle was unilaterally interfering between such a solid couple, running like a moth to a flame in a hopeless unrequited love.
“I gave him my heart.”
“…Little Duke.”
Carlisle’s attitude in confessing that he had already given him the oath of a companion, which he would only give once in his life, was simply calm. He was not anxious or resentful. That made the heart of the observer even more pitiful.
“And he said he would accept it.”
“Yes? If that is the case…”
“I can’t convince you at the moment. However, what you’re worried about will never happen. I guarantee you that much.”
If you were to ask someone who had their roots in the North to choose between the Pearson Dynasty and the Grand Duchy of Graham, 100 out of 100 would choose the latter. So it wasn’t a concern about loyalty to the Imperial Family or coveting the one who would become the Crown Princess. It was only a concern that his precious lord would get hurt… that the wolf, who could not accept anyone else, would wither and die alone forever… That was all he was worried about.
“……Yes. Please go, Little Duke. I will be waiting.”
Carlisle Graham, having packed his bags, shot out like an arrow into the darkness. He didn’t want to delay even a moment longer. He was already late enough because of the Crown Prince’s interference. He had been constantly requesting entry into the capital since the situation in the North had been somewhat resolved, but the Crown Prince kept rejecting his request, citing the instability of the political situation. He had never felt so annoyed by the rule that the direct line of the Grand Duchy could not enter the capital without the approval of the Imperial Family. The permission had not yet been granted. In the meantime, he had made a fuss about his engagement to Noah Hamilton in such a hasty manner… Even though he had expected Noah to become the Empress, he didn’t feel very good about being completely excluded from the situation like this. Still, Carlisle was willing to endure it. If that was what Noah Hamilton wanted, he could certainly do it.
‘Ha, I didn’t think it was possible to be this biased.’
‘Speak plainly, magician.’
‘Tsk… The Young Master needs you. The Graham bloodline, through which the Blessing of the Ancient God flows.’
But if he needs me…
‘Let’s do this. First, you and I will join forces to separate that damn God from the Young Master.’
‘Damn God…?’
‘…It’ll be a long explanation. Have a seat.’
I didn’t want to be apart from him for even a moment.