We sat across from each other at the table. I sat in the back, while Carat and Mathieu sat opposite me.
Carat leaned forward eagerly, her lips parting like a bird's beak as she declared, "Isa, no, Mathieu is single! There's absolutely no problem with you meeting him."
As soon as Carat finished speaking, she quickly drank from the teacup on the table to calm herself.
"Aha." I nodded. "So, he's a single man who has returned, so to speak."
"Pffft, pick it up!" Tea gushed violently from Carat's mouth.
The man, who was called Mathieu, calmly handed Carat a handkerchief and continued speaking smoothly. "…Just call me Mathieu. I was told you needed an escort and a partner."
"Oh, yes, but perhaps… could you clarify your identity?" Although he had been introduced by Carat, I couldn't help but feel suspicious at this point, given the numerous enemies I had. He must be an aristocrat, but this was the first time I had heard the name Mathieu.
I guess I don't know him because I'm an academy professor.
I looked at him, recalling Carat's face, which had emphasized that he was an academy professor and a trustworthy person. Henry's Father, or rather, Mathieu, began to speak, his gaze fixed on my steaming teacup.
"I hold the title of Count. I'm also conducting research at the academy. I've only recently returned to the capital, so you probably aren't very familiar with me."
Carat awkwardly shifted her gaze between the dark-haired man and me, then affirmed awkwardly, "Uh, um. His research achievements are enormous."
He unbuttoned his shirt with a strange expression, but I couldn't concentrate well because of the glimpse of flesh visible between the buttons. I hurriedly looked away.
Strangely, when I saw his face, I seemed to lose my composure. Every time I looked at the handsome Dominic, I thought my eyes had become accustomed to beauty, but it didn't seem to be the case.
When I remained silent, Mathieu opened his mouth with a gentle smile. "If necessary, I will send you documents to prove my identity."
"Yes, then please send them to 'Mel's Stationery Store' in front of the academy." I nodded and replied.
I could check the documents he sent with Dominic at the stationery store to see if he was connected to Hildegard Knaful or not.
I need to call the three jaks and have them check.
The world is treacherous, so you have to be extra cautious.
By the way… even if I look at him again, all I can say is that he's truly handsome. How could such a person be a professor?
No, Meldenik. Get a grip.
That man is a man with a child.
I'm in business now.
Let's keep my mind straight.
I squinted my eyes so as not to see his body exposed through his shirt. Damn, I think I could see better because I narrowed my eyes.
He continued, his eyes closing into half-moons as if he knew how I was feeling. "I'm really looking forward to the ball. I heard that the thief who stole my things will be visiting the ball."
"…A thief?"
"Yes."
At his short answer, I tilted my head in confusion. Stealing from nobles. That thief has a lot of nerve, I thought.
At that time, Duchess Hildegard Babyloa was temporarily confined to the mansion. Due to this failure, the Duke had ordered her to be banned from going out for the time being. Of course, she was technically detained, but she was free and comfortable, except that she was not allowed to leave the premises.
This time, Hildegard had lost a great deal. The Duke of Babyloa had lost trust in her, and her close confidant, Viscount Tern, had disappeared.
In a stern atmosphere, Hildegard raised her teacup and took a deep breath. She was now enduring the Duke's full wrath.
"What kind of shameful thing have you done!" The Duke's roar resounded loudly.
"No, spending that money to buy a welcome seat that is useless to any partner? Donating it for free? And then being treated like a tin can? Are you sane now?"
Hildegard bit her lip.
At first, I nodded because it was a good plan.
If they failed, they would blame everything on her. Although he was her husband, he was such a despicable person.
"…It was a painful mistake."
"Ha, really, you're so stupid!"
Of course, she understood his anger. The damage caused by the welcome seat was enormous. It was not a difficult expense for the Babyloa family, a great tycoon, but for the Duke of Babyloa, who was a miser, every penny must have felt like a waste.
Besides, she couldn't accomplish anything even after paying so much money. It was painful for her to be deprived of her influence and reputation.
Hildegard bit the flesh inside her mouth.
"The deputy, Viscount Telne, who made a mistake due to hasty judgment, was fired. He was declared missing."
She was going to blame everything on the incompetence of her agent. However, the Duke of Babyloa was narrow-minded and ignorant, so he could not tolerate a single failure.
"What are you talking about? You are stepping down for the time being. Do you understand?" He crossed his arms in front of him and made a nasty sound.
"…Yes." Hildegard replied quietly.
"Meldenik, doesn't that child have the ability? There was a rumor that the curse had not been lifted." The Duke, who had been lost in thought for a while, brought up rumors circulating in social circles. It was the bloodline of the Marquis, who was known to have been cursed by dragons for a long time. Of course, he thought it would be a useless hand. If she has the ability, the story will be different.
His mind began to get busy.
"No, it looks like there's a magician." Hildegard shook her head silently.
But the Duke didn't care and shouted, "What magician? How could she hire a magician in her situation?"
Meldenik had been given money when she left the mansion, but it wasn't a large enough sum to hire a magician to do such a thing.
"But I'm not sure if she has the ability or not." Hildegard covered the twisted corners of her mouth with her red-painted fingertips.
She recalled a conversation she had with her daughter, whom she had contacted through video yesterday.
'Mother, what about Meldenik… Even if she awakens her abilities, she will die anyway.'
'What do you mean by that?'
'It's literal. My mother doesn't know. Why is there no surviving relative of the Marquis Kinnoa except Meldenik?'
'It's because of a curse. But it is clear that the child has escaped the curse. I saw it! We may be in danger.'
'Alas… Let me see. I'm sure Meldenik had mana.'
Sheria smiled strangely innocently.
'I'll be back soon. After the excommunication trial. See you then. And then, Meldenik…'
'Child, what on earth is going on?'
'She's going to die. Because of the stigma left by the dragon.'
Sheria was wearing a priest's robe, and she held a pure white sword in her hand. It looked as if she was going to stab Meldenik to death with the sword.
Her daughter looked quite different.
Even as Hildegard recalled her conversation with her daughter, the Duke of Babyloa was smiling and praising himself with satisfaction.
"Fortunately, it's before the excommunication trial, so I need to bring him back." The Duke of Babyloa muttered quickly and began to weigh the profit and loss.
Seeing him change his attitude like a flip of a palm over just one success and failure, Hildegard couldn't help but laugh.
After a while, the Duke of Babyloa jumped up and left her drawing room.
Hildegard, who was looking at his back, gritted her teeth with a terrifying face. He was in a position where he killed those who stood in his way and framed those who tried to break his will.
It was a well-built castle. It was not a sand castle that would collapse with a single blow from Meldenik.
She could never be deprived of what she had.
Yes, the excommunication trial. The excommunication trial is just around the corner.
Now that this was the case, Meldenik had to be excommunicated unconditionally.
Hildegard thought of the small amount of money she had.
I have to lobby. Be sure to get her excommunicated.
After excommunicating Meldenik, she could kill her when she was no longer a noble. It was too easy to touch someone who wasn't a noble.
…Wait, if he knows that Meldenik has use, Duke Hesmann won't stand still.
The Duke of Hesmann was strangely obsessed with Meldenik. Looking at the two of them, she could tell that he had no feelings for Meldenik, but when she tried to bring up the story of breaking up the marriage, he was disgusted. As if he was going to marry Meldenik for real.
Hildegard opened her bloodshot eyes towards the closed door.
No way, he wouldn't dare to betray my daughter, would he?
The best groom in the empire had to belong to her daughter.
She became even more nervous.
"We need to speed up the excommunication trial."
No matter how much Meldenik struggled, if she got excommunicated, it was the end anyway. Wasn't it obvious in the words of a woman who had been deprived of her empty aristocratic title?
"It's death." Hildegard leaned back on the sofa with a smile.
At that time, someone politely knocked outside the office.
"Duke Hesmann has visited."
"Come in." Hildegard quickly replied to the chief attendant.
After a while, the Duke of Hesmann entered the drawing room.
He's so angry.
He entered with a face full of anger and sat down on the sofa opposite Hildegard. Hildegard looked at him with a frown.
"…Welcome."
"What exactly is going on? Meldenik used illusion." His eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept well.
Hildegard whispered in a low voice. "That's right."
"…Are you sure? It can't be, can it? The fact that the family's bloodline cannot use mana is not a fact that has been known for one or two generations. How did that woman—!"
Duke Hesmann, who sat in front of her, looked quite nervous and unstable.
"How Meldenik used illusion, and the reason for this, we will have to find out somehow in the future."
Hildegard, who was watching Duke Hesmann dryly wash his face, rang the bell on the table and called for her servant.
"Bring Your Excellency the Duke a drink."
The exploratory gazes between the two intertwined.
Duke Hesmann stood up stiffly. His arrogant face was filled with displeasure and nervousness.
Suddenly, Hildegard wondered what kind of trick Duke Hesmann was holding. Her intuition was speaking.
Certainly, he looked more precarious than before.