Chapter 31

Chapter 31 - A Sign (1)

“Young Duke! What on earth happened? Are you hurt anywhere? Did someone drag you away?!”

Tollin blurted out frantically, turning the young duke this way and that.

“Tollin, I’m fine. I didn’t hurt so much as a fingertip.”

Plin felt a strange sense of déjà vu at the fact that Tollin’s glasses were gone, but before he could realize the reason, Tollin noticed the absence of the young duke’s outer coat first.

“What happened to your outer coat? Was it taken from you?! What bastard was it! This Tollin will make sure he does not die easily!”

Plin could hardly bring himself to say that he had walked out on his own, gotten lost alone, and then received help to get back out, so he first calmed Tollin down.

“I took off the outer coat and gave it to someone myself. No one dragged me away. I went out alone.”

Since he could not lie, he quickly added that.

At that, a slight sense of betrayal, relief, and great shock appeared on Tollin’s face, but since he had already confirmed that the young duke had not hurt so much as a fingertip, he quickly composed his expression.

The young duke, who had been anxiously watching Tollin sigh, quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him once he seemed to have calmed down.

“Tollin, I know I did wrong, and I truly feel sorry. But right now, you have to follow me. There is a child collapsed inside the alley. It seems he fainted because I startled him, but he will not wake up.”

Perhaps realizing that the condition of the child, which the young duke poured out without even taking a breath, was unusual, Tollin quickly came to his senses.

“Jack, search the alleyway the young duke came out of. There should be a collapsed child. Take him to a nearby temple.”

“There should be another child guarding him beside him. I left my clothes with them, so you should recognize them quickly. Both of them were unbelievably thinly dressed and terribly skinny. Hurry. I will guide you.”

“Young Duke!”

Tollin hurriedly called the young duke to a stop when he tried to run back into the alley after saying that.

“Please wait here. Jack and the knights will find the child.”

At Tollin’s words, the young duke shook his head.

“No. I wandered around inside and quite a bit of time has passed. I know the location roughly. If we go together, we will surely find them faster.”

At that firm appearance, Tollin swallowed dryly.

They were not welcome targets.

Publicly, the absurd rumor that Duke Feedus had chosen commoners over the imperial family was going around, and right now, vagrants were beings he did not want to get involved with.

Most of all, this was after he had heard Ego Crisa’s unusual words.

He did not want to let the young duke roam around this area even a little longer.

He did not want to bring up the unpleasant incident with Ego Crisa now and make the child anxious.

“There is no need for you to go personally. The knights are fast enough on their feet. I think it would be better for you to wait safely with me. Besides….”

“Tollin.”

Plin’s small hand, which interrupted Tollin as he tried to persuade the young duke, grabbed his arm.

“I know what you are worried about.”

At the young duke’s words, Tollin’s eyes widened.

“But you know, don’t you? Feedus does not turn its eyes away from fear. Besides, I promised I would definitely help them. Our promises are heavy.”

Tollin had not expected such a young child, who had not even undergone the Tinas ritual yet, to think that far, and he could not bring any of the many persuasive words rising in his mind out of his mouth.

Looking at Tollin, who could not say anything, the young duke continued.

“And if you are worried about me, then of course Tollin and Jack should come with me.”

Even with the small strength of the young duke, who smiled maturely and tugged at his arm, Tollin was helplessly dragged along.

The small back of the child’s head overlapped with the back of his merciless former superior’s head, and Tollin shut his eyes tightly.

He had already known it, but Tollin sensed that his future superior would work him just as hard as his departed superior had.

‘I should tell him to study moderately starting today.’

As he was dragged along, Tollin moved his feet while deciding that once they returned to the ducal house, he would reduce the study time of the young duke, who had matured far too much for his age, and greatly increase his playtime.

* * *

In conclusion, the children covered with the young duke’s outer coat were not found in the alley.

While they searched for the place where the young duke had found the children, they did run into several children, but all of them were older than what the young duke had described.

“Tollin, the little child called the older child Seya. That must be his name. Temples record the names and ages of children who are born, do they not? We might be able to find them.”

Jack, who had been listening to the child’s words from beside him, looked at the young duke with pity.

Should he call it fortunate, or unfortunate?

This carriage accident would undoubtedly create a huge wave between the Crisa family and the Feedus family.

A carriage accident that had happened during an outing with the young duke of all times, the eldest son of the Crisa family who seemed certain to have caused the accident, and the guards who had happened to empty the young duke’s carriage at just the right time.

What had happened today was undoubtedly a deliberate accident aimed at the young duke.

The guards detained in the mansion’s prison had torture waiting for them, disguised as somewhat rough interrogation.

Because Tollin would do anything to uncover the mastermind who had targeted the young duke.

Even if they were young children, they would not be able to avoid that blade.

In a situation where it was unclear whether the young duke had avoided disaster thanks to the children, or whether the children had lured the young duke, Jack knew that Tollin would not treat the street vagrants as kindly as the young duke imagined.

He would probably find the children by rougher methods than the young duke had mentioned, sit them down, and interrogate them first.

No matter how mature he was, the young duke was still a child.

Jack thought it was necessary to protect, to some extent, the innocence of a young child who had not even completed the ritual, and he had not doubted until now that Tollin also agreed with this.

He thought Tollin would say they should immediately ask the temple for cooperation.

“There is no need for that, Young Duke.”

At Tollin’s answer, which was different from what he had expected, Jack looked at Tollin without realizing it.

The young duke did the same.

“Hm?”

“Since they are young children, they will first try to sell your coat, Young Duke. If they are simple children, they will sell it to a clothing shop, but since they are children without homes, there is a high chance they will use illegal channels. If we send people to search, we will be able to find them faster. I will immediately order people to look into those who handle stolen goods. We respond to illegality with illegality.”

Jack barely held back the words, Is that something you should say to a child? from rising to his throat.

It was an impulse he had truly not felt in a long time.

After Duke Agony Feedus had passed away, or so they had come to know, Jack had never objected to anything Tollin did, believing it to be a rational choice, so he somehow swallowed that impulse.

The young duke also looked flustered.

“Is, is that all right?”

Tollin smiled gently at the young duke.

“Young Duke, money, authority, and ability are things one accumulates for times like this. You are worried about those children and want to find them quickly, do you not?”

“That is right.”

Tollin continued speaking to the young duke, who nodded.

“Then you may use a certain degree of expediency. As far as your capacity allows.”

Jack, who was listening to the words coming from Tollin’s mouth, nearly screamed.

Ignoring Jack, who was wondering whether he should grab Tollin by the collar even now and ask what he was saying to a child, Tollin added.

“However, only within the line where others are not harmed, and only up to situations that can be controlled.”

For now.

Jack had the illusion that he had heard those words added at the end.

After watching Tollin send the young duke into his own carriage this time, Jack, once left alone with Tollin, finally could not hold back and opened his mouth.

“.....Lord Tollin, I say this carefully, but should you not have spoken differently to the young duke?”

Even after saying it, Jack thought Tollin would answer sharply.

But Tollin spoke quietly.

“Jack, this may sound sudden, but the young duke really resembles the previous duke a great deal.”

“......”

At Tollin’s mention of Duke Agony Feedus, whom he rarely brought up, Jack pressed his lips shut.

“You and I both saw firsthand how futile it is when someone who has only ever grown straight is broken.”

Jack, who had witnessed Duke Feedus’ execution with him, silently listened to his words.

“The young duke I saw today was a person who was more than the duke, if anything, and certainly no less. In that case, is it not necessary for us to teach the young duke how to sometimes be crumpled or bent?”

Once again, Jack had no choice but to quietly nod.

Because he too knew very well how emptily Agony Feedus had disappeared.

Jack’s feelings toward him still remained somewhere between betrayal and love-hate.

Even so, that did not mean Jack felt no sorrow at all over his death.

There was no way he would wish for the same end for his small, mature master.

“And the fact that we must find the children quickly is not an exaggeration either.”

Tollin furrowed his brow.

“These must be handled more urgently than digging into the Crisa count family.”

Seeing Jack’s expression, which seemed to say he did not understand why they had to go that far, Tollin turned his gaze toward the entrance of the alleyway where the young duke had wandered.

“Jack, today, among the children roaming the streets, how old did the youngest child look?”

“Pardon? Well, that would be.......”

Jack, who had been about to answer, could not continue for a moment.

Among the street vagrants, who were already small for their age, there had not been a single child smaller than the young duke.

“.....It is unfortunate, but you know well that when the world becomes difficult, the first to lose their lives are the young and the weak. I think it is natural that there are fewer children.”

“That may be so.”

Tollin readily agreed with Jack’s opinion.

“But if there is someone targeting only the young ones, then that may become a problem in its own way. This area is currently under the control of the Feedus family.”

Tollin gave a low, firm order to Jack, who swallowed dryly.

“Move before the Crisa family erases all the evidence.”

However, Jack never ended up carrying out Tollin’s order.

* * *

The next day, news arrived that the eldest son of the Crisa count family had been imprisoned after it was discovered that he had given bribes related to the capital’s hospital business.

* * *

A guest came to the Feedus ducal house from early dawn.

This time too, the blue-haired visitor who arrived without so much as a single letter immediately asked for the acting head of the family, Tollin.

At that familiar rudeness, the servants said nothing and guided the guest to the reception room according to Tollin’s orders.

“I did not know before, but it seems our family does not know what procedure is.”

To Tollin, who welcomed the guest while rubbing his furrowed brow, the second son of the Crisa family, Paal Crisa, answered.

“You have become much sharper since I last saw you.”

At Paal’s tone, which brought to mind a certain indifferent person who had sat in the same place not long ago and said something similar, Tollin quietly placed his hand on the desk.

“....Did you know? That eldest brother was connected to the imperial family.”

“Who knows.”

“That damned ‘who knows’. Do the people of that family not know how to have a conversation without that phrase?”

Irritated by the ambiguous exchange that had begun again, Tollin lightly sneered.

At that sight, Paal laughed softly.

“One thing is certain. Brother has made his decision. Many things will change from now on, Tollin.”

“Can you laugh? This cannot be a problem involving only Ego Crisa. Explain properly what is going on.”

Bribery was an absurd charge.

There was no noble family that did not offer tribute to the imperial family for one reason or another.

Even if they did not deliberately bring offerings, the imperial family took no small amount from them, so the word bribe itself felt meaningless.

At the news that the eldest son of the Crisa family had been arrested on such a charge, noble society, which had once heated up and cooled down over the topic of the fall of the Feedus ducal family, once again boiled over with gossip.

The Crisa family was a count family, but it had long shone as a symbol of integrity.

People go wild when something clean is soiled.

Tollin had felt that keenly while serving as the acting head of the Feedus ducal family.

Paal, his smile gone, finally opened his mouth to Tollin, who raised one eyebrow as if asking what he was just watching for.

“Do you truly think Brother tried to harm the young duke?”

At those words, Tollin frowned.

“Do I really look like a snot-nosed brat who cannot distinguish right from wrong? I know at least that eldest brother did not intend to kill him.”

Though that day, his eyes had gone dark for a moment and he had struck him once.

After finding the young duke and regaining some composure, Tollin had begun to notice one strange point after another.

If Ego had truly set his mind to attack, there was no way he would have caused an incident personally in the center of the capital.

“I could not be certain whether he had truly tried to kidnap the young duke or not, though.”

Or perhaps something had happened that he had urgently needed to stop, even if it meant causing an accident.

Tollin looked once at his younger older brother, who still sat there with an unreadable expression, then continued speaking.

“Seeing as you are asking me that way, I suppose that was not it either.”

“Yes. You were always a child who was fearful, but quick-witted.”

At Paal bringing up unnecessary childhood stories, Tollin waved his hand dismissively.

“You did not come here to drag up old memories, did you? What is the situation? I need to know the situation too, so I can either get Ego out or respond to whatever is threatening the Feedus family.”

“There is no need for that.”

The helping hand he had extended, half because he thought he had struck an innocent person and half because he intended to look into the strange movements shown by the imperial family, was blocked by Paal’s firm answer.

To Tollin, whose expression seemed to ask what kind of nonsense that was, Paal spoke calmly.

“There is no need to worry about the Crisa family. There is no need for you to step in now.”

At Paal’s indifferent answer, Tollin felt his head cool down.

“You are saying something similar to eldest brother. Well, I suppose I am an outsider who ran away from the Crisa family.”

He was not particularly belittling himself or resenting the other person.

He merely spoke as if conveying the plain facts, and Paal did not point out or correct his words either.

Tollin continued calmly.

“Did I not say it? If this is a problem related to the Feedus family, I cannot simply overlook it either. It is certain that someone tried to kidnap or harm the young duke, is it not?”

“The Feedus family merely got caught up in it. They were just a little unlucky. This is entirely a matter of the Crisa family.”

“Just unlucky, you say?”

To Tollin, who asked back in disbelief, Paal nodded.

“There will be no more occasions for the Feedus family and the Crisa family to become entangled. So you only need to keep struggling along as you have until now. Until that small young duke grows enough to inherit the Feedus family.”

Thinking that Paal’s obnoxious choice of words grated on him endlessly, Tollin glared at him.

“Then why did you come all the way here? Is eldest brother involved in the carriage accident from last time? If it is the carriage that had the accident, I have preserved it as it was, so I can hand it over.”

“I came because there is something to give you.”

After rummaging for a moment in the breast pocket of his coat, he took out a rough paper envelope smaller than a letter envelope and placed it on the desk.

Tollin did not immediately pick it up and asked.

“What is this?”

“Who knows.”

“....If the person giving it does not know, then who on earth does?”

To Tollin, who spoke as if pressing down each word, Paal gave a small shrug.

“Probably only Brother knows.”

“Did Ego Crisa tell you to deliver this to me?”

“Who knows.”

As if teasing Tollin, who asked in confusion, Paal once again gave an ambiguous answer.

“....Do you know that you could be dragged out of here right now?”

At that half-threatening remark, Paal shrugged.

“Do you remember the tree behind the mansion where we used to play when we were young?”

At the old story that had suddenly begun again, Tollin’s expression crumpled with a crunch.

“...Yes, I remember.”

Though whether that could be called a memory of playing together was questionable.

He pictured the large, beautiful tree near the lake that the three brothers often visited during their break time.

And along with it, he pictured the foolish child who had stared for a long time from below at his brothers, who climbed the tree with ease while their weak and frail youngest brother could not climb it, then turned away without even being able to ask them to lift him up.

It was not exactly a pleasant memory, so Tollin rubbed his brow as it furrowed on its own.

“It was buried under the base of the tree.”

“How do you know that means it was left for me?”

What if it was a private item eldest brother had secretly buried?

“Who......”

“No. I do not need an answer. Is this all you came for?”

Worried that his stomach would burst from frustration, Tollin cut off the words Paal was about to say, which would no doubt be that infuriating ‘who knows’ again.

When Tollin spoke as if he had lost even the strength to get angry, Paal stood up without hesitation.

“I will go.”

“I will not see you out.”

At the cold tone, Paal nodded slightly and left the reception room just like that.

Tollin picked up the envelope, which was heavy compared to its size, and stared at it for a long while.

Inside the envelope, where the light of the reception room seeped through, the shape of a key showed faintly.

What key is this?