DSB 78

Yutis organized the mountain of documents while asking Mahan about what happened today.

“Why didn’t you stop him?”

Yutis had been receiving reports of Norman’s movements from Mahan. He didn’t want Norman approaching Lebel.

And after learning that Norman was a mage and had once been Lebel’s attending physician, he became even more wary.

“Young Madam said he wanted to talk. I think he got tired of him coming over and over. It must’ve been getting on his nerves.”

“My wife, you mean…”

Yutis threw the papers irritably. He was too busy negotiating contracts to spend proper time with Lebel.

What good was being so close if he couldn’t go to him?

He placed a hand on his forehead and recalled the first time he saw Norman. A man with a detached expression similar to Lebel’s. He stood among others, yet didn’t mix with them, like water and oil.

But when he saw Lebel, his eyes lit up. Yutis had seen the joy of a child discovering a strange toy, greed, and possessiveness.

He hated that look being directed at his wife. When he glared at Norman, Norman’s gaze changed immediately.

He hid his desire as if used to doing so, wearing an emotionless smile.

That smile irritated Yutis even more.

‘Maybe what I hate even more is that my wife seemed interested in him.’

Lebel wasn’t someone who met people just because it was bothersome for them to come all the time. Yet Norman managed to move him.

That day, Lebel walked as if he were searching for someone, and that person had been Norman.

‘Mm, I don’t want to go either, but I guess I have a reason now.’

Lebel had looked out the window with reluctant, slightly wary eyes. Yutis realized he didn’t intend to explain any further.

“The conversation was more about the demonic beasts, the North, and your rut than about Young Madam himself.”

“He was more interested in the North than my wife?”

“Yes. Or maybe he chose his words because I was there.”

“If he adjusted his words because of you, he should’ve avoided digging into the North instead.”

Yutis scoffed. Norman was interested in Lebel. That was why he persisted in trying to meet him.

But he also seemed interested in the North. Maybe that was why he joined the delegation.

The envoys were staying at the main castle. Since they were negotiating contracts, encountering him should’ve been natural, but Norman moved alone instead of with the others, making it the only reason he had escaped Yutis’s eyes until now.

Which only made Yutis more curious about his intentions. He couldn’t forget that look he had seen.

Had Lebel not realized? Even Yutis knew, and Mahan had noticed and grew wary. Lebel never paid attention to others’ gazes. Yutis loved that but also feared it. It felt like someone might snatch him away if he let down his guard even a little.

“Where did you say Bron is now?”

“We received a message that he’s on his way. He should be arriving soon.”

As soon as Yutis heard from Lebel that a mage was involved, he sent a messenger bird to Bron. To deal with a mage, he needed another mage.

“From what you saw, did he seem like someone who’d harm him?”

“I’m not sure. He doesn’t seem hostile, but he definitely is curious about Young Madam. He must look different from how he appeared in the capital. I’ll block his approach as much as possible.”

“Good. There’s nothing good in letting him get close.”

Yutis quietly gathered information on Norman, the so-called mage. When asked about why the delegation traveled with a mage, the envoys answered that it was to defend against demonic beast attacks.

The strange part was how the envoys avoided mentioning Norman whenever possible.

During meetings, Norman alone failed to understand something everyone else grasped immediately, and while they tried hinting that something had to be done, they reacted flusteredly and stalled with vague answers, as if they had no real solution.

It took only a bit of digging to learn why. Even among the envoys, Norman was someone they couldn’t easily approach.

To satisfy his own intellectual curiosity, he didn’t hesitate to sacrifice other lives. He didn’t listen to advice or commands, not even from the Crown Prince whom he served as court mage. If he found something he wanted to do, he abandoned orders and went off to conduct something else entirely.

‘If that mage causes trouble in the North, aren’t we the ones who’ll suffer?’

‘This isn’t the Empire. If he has any sense, he won’t try to shed blood.’

‘How can you be sure? Don’t you know the rumors about him drawing blood several times when he was His Highness’s physician? And look at him coming here shamelessly after failing to cure His Highness’s illness. He must be planning something! That’s why he visits His Highness every day!’

‘…Let’s keep a close watch. You all know what happened in the Citra territory. There’s no harm in being cautious.’

He had once lured monsters into a village to conduct an experiment, sacrificing innocent people and effectively taking over the entire village.

When the count who ruled the territory tried to stop him, he even threatened him, and when the count became an obstacle, he made him a test subject as well.

In the end, an entire territory was ruined because of him. Even so, he wasn’t punished and remained the Imperial court mage. Even if the Crown Prince protected him, it was excessive.

Such a man had come to the North as part of the delegation.

And now he was showing interest in Lebel.

The envoy’s behavior was strange. Yutis understood that they needed meetings to negotiate the contract, but the number of matters they brought up was excessive. The sluggish pace of progress was entirely because of them.

It felt as if they had some other purpose. The fact that they allowed Norman to roam freely was surely related.

“There is a bigger problem.”

“What is it?”

Yutis’s eyes darkened.

“…He knows the details of the recent incidents in the North.”

“I silenced everyone.”

When word came that the envoy was arriving from the Imperial Capital, Yutis’s first action had been to strictly order the servants and the territory’s people to keep quiet.

“That is why it is suspicious. Earlier, when I returned Karon, I questioned the servants. According to someone who saw a servant talking with Norman, I questioned that servant, and he claimed he never talked about anything.”

“What?”

“It doesn’t seem like the servants lied. I think he used magic. Should we raise it as an official complaint?”

Mahan wanted them gone from the castle as soon as possible, just like Yutis.

“Tsk. There’s no way to prove it. He’ll just act shameless. Did he find out about my wife’s ability?”

“He didn’t seem to know about that. I’m not sure what magic it was, but maybe something that forces truthful answers when asked. What he knew in detail was about your rut and how Young Madam spends his time in the castle.”

“What’s already been leaked can’t be helped. But do not let him find out about my wife’s ability under any circumstances. Warn the servants about any magic as well.”

“I already told the servants not to walk around alone and to avoid speaking with him.”

“And they said they’ll tour the territory, right? Assign watchers. Do not lose him.”

“I’ll assign someone highly capable.”

It was a relief that Lebel’s achievements had not yet spread to other territories. If the delegation had heard on their way, not only Norman but the other members would have been interested in Lebel.

“Since Karon is with them, don’t worry. Young Madam gave him the order, so he won’t miss anything. He has a keen nose, maybe because he’s a demonic beast.”

“Even if he’s young, a demonic beast is still a demonic beast.”

Yutis sighed. He worried that Norman’s curiosity might have grown after meeting Lebel.

Of course Lebel had his own reasons, but after telling him to be careful, he had still chosen to meet Norman. Even inviting him into his room.

Yutis remembered the silence that had lasted a bit too long when he questioned him. The red eyes that looked down at him had wavered with the smallest hesitation.

He didn’t like that hesitation. Nor did he like how he never asked anything of him, yet whispered to Caron, “There’s no one but you to leave this to.”

“My wife seems to dislike me meeting that man. Am I so unreliable…”

“Sir? Why would that be? Young Madam relies on you immensely. He is simply… very, very detached as a person.”

“I know that. Which is why it’s more dangerous.”

Lebel, who always disliked moving, had moved once he sensed Norman’s presence. The fact alone made Yutis angry, and Lebel didn’t seem to realize that.

Yutis’s expression remained tense, so Mahan spoke carefully.

“Young Madam is worried about you.”

“…About me?”

“You’ve been staying at the main estate constantly because of how busy you are. You haven’t been able to eat meals together lately, so he seems quite worried about whether you’re eating properly.”

Yutis chuckled. He also wanted to enjoy meals with Lebel, but the envoys kept inviting him under the excuse of negotiations.

And he was too busy coaxing the envoys. He had to find out the real reason they came to the North aside from the pact. It cost quite a bit of money, but he managed to gather several pieces of information.

Including what Norman had done to Lebel. The emperor was greedy, and the nobles under him were no different.

“My wife always sees me as soft.”

“…If only he would worry a little more about his own food intake instead.”

Yes, that sort of reaction was the normal one.