Chapter 448 – Chapter 448 Magic School Shutra (3-59)
In the evening, I was invited to a dinner hosted by the Duke.
It was a place where only people from the duke’s family could gather without outsiders.
That is, only I was invited.
I wanted to eat at a rectangular table as usual, but this time I ate at a round table.
The duke, Anna, me, Karin, Louise… Five of us sat around the table and ate.
I didn’t know because I didn’t pay much attention to the table until now, but after hearing Karin’s meaning of the table we’re sitting at, I learned an interesting fact.
(Putting a round table means acknowledging you as an honored guest.)
(Huh? Isn’t that just a table?)
(When your father sits at a table where no honorable mention exists, it means that he recognizes you as an equal.)
(Ohh….)
If you think about it, being the head of state may not mean much to me, but it must have a lot of meaning to the head of a noble family.
Giving up such a position meant, after all, that he truly appreciated me.
As soon as the meal began, the duke formally thanked me.
“Thank you. If it weren’t for you, the duchy would have been in real trouble. As the head of the family, I would like to thank you.”
“No. I have been treated like this, so I would like to thank you.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
The duke gave me a hearty smile, then looked at Anna with a worried expression.
“I was worried because I couldn’t meet you earlier because I wasn’t feeling well… Are you okay?”
“Yes, earlier I was not in a hurry to prepare. I’m sorry I couldn’t come to meet you.”
“… Okay Take good care of yourself.”
The duke was Anna’s husband.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t meet her because she wasn’t ready.
No matter how aristocratic they were, they probably knew how to go beyond the level of adornment between husband and wife.
Even though Anna’s son, Louis, was also accompanying her, he refused to meet her.
Louise looked at me, sitting next to her Anna, looking at me with disquiet, then began to change her look to look concerned as she turned her gaze to her Anna.
“Mother, I was really worried.”
“Thank you for your concern. But thanks to you, I was able to stand up again like this.”
Haha.”
Louis suddenly smiled at Anna’s uplifting figure, but when she heard Anna’s next words, the smile sank into her face again.
“Thanks to the guest you invited, I can smile like this again.”
“Ah..Haha… That, that’s right.”
When Anna smiled at me sitting right next to her, Louise went back to focusing on the meal, ignoring me with a furrow between her brows.
In the middle of the praise relay, we started to move on to an important topic.
Karin silently placed her knife on her table and quietly opened her mouth.
“Jeff Potts… I never thought you would do something like that.”
“Hmm….”
Everyone listened to Karin’s words, and she couldn’t open her mouth easily.
It was because I had to break neutral the moment I opened her mouth and answered Karin’s words.
Whether it’s a denial or an affirmation of Karin’s words, one of the two must come out….
In the end, it was the Duke who reluctantly opened his mouth.
“Once, I sent a letter to Count Potts. I’ll probably hear the news before the letter arrives and run… Let’s wait until then.”
“Honey, you’re not thinking of passing it on quietly, are you?”
“Hmm….”
The duke secretly began to look at Anna.
No matter how absolute the family head was, Kai Brandtrup was already in a situation where Anna had taken the initiative.
Even if you forgive the man who tried to rape her… His reputation as the head of the household would also suffer a significant blow.
Whether it is true or not, rumors will circulate all over Levin that Duke Brandrup has an interest in Count Potts.
Even as her husband, she would be disqualified, and there was a risk that her prestige as a duke would fall to the ground.
But even so, it was impossible to execute Jeff recklessly.
It was because there was a fear that notoriety would spread for having executed the same nobleman for an unsuccessful attempt.
A ray of light leaked out to the duke who was watching Anna.
“Mother, calm down. No matter how wrong Jeff Potts is, if he is executed lightly, there is a high possibility that he will not come out of the Potts family as rational.”
“Hmm….”
Hearing Karin’s words, the duke seemed relieved and began to look at Anna’s eyes.
Anna nodded her head even though she was dissatisfied with Karin’s words.
“Yes, you are right. I am so excited.”
“I understand your mother’s position. If I had suffered like that, I would have said the same thing as her mother.”
“Okay… Well, now that we’re here, let’s talk about that.”
Anna confirmed that everyone’s eyes were on her, and she continued her story.
“Of course, let’s pretend there was no talk of marriage to Jeff Potts.”
The duke nodded his head, as if he had already sensed that it was a story to come, and Louis began to speak gibberish in bewilderment.
“Ha, but isn’t it a story everyone around you already knows? First of all, listening to Sir Jeff’s story and forgiving….”
“Louis… Do you then want to connect your sister with the guy who tried to rape your mother?”
“It’s not like that… I wonder if we need to take a more rational approach….”
“I am disappointed in you.”
Looking at Louise’s bewildered look, Anna didn’t answer. She let go of her fork and knife and stood up.
“I’m not feeling well, so I’ll get up.”
“Oh, mother! It’s not like that….”
It was a disrespect that could not be thought of in a situation where she had a guest in front of her.
But no one pointed out Anna’s rudeness.
I laughed inwardly at her fidgeting Louise in bewilderment.
‘Dumb~’
In the end, Anna quietly left her restaurant while I laughed inwardly, and Louise began to put on her head and look desperate.
As soon as Anna left, Karin’s criticism continued.
“I didn’t know that a family other than my mother could be so precious.”
“Can’t you shut up?”
It was the moment when Louise’s harsh words were in her mouth.
Bang! Bang!
“How rude is this!”
“I’m sorry!”
“Sorry.”
Karin and Louis bowed their heads to Baro and began apologizing.
“… Let’s start eating again.”
“Yes….”
So the meal went on again.
However, the joyous atmosphere that I felt at the dinner earlier began to feel heavy enough to weigh heavily on my shoulders.
But even in the midst of this, Karin opened her mouth first, probably thinking that a conversation was necessary.
“Come to think of it… Is Jeff Potts still conscious?”
“Okay. First of all, they called the doctor and are receiving treatment, but the wound is not normal, so it will take time to recover.”
“Okay… But I have a question for you.”
“What do you mean?”
The Duke quietly lowered his knife and began to listen to Karin.
The duke, who had been lightly suppressed by Anna until now, began to straighten her shoulders with a much lighter expression when she was gone.
‘It looks like he must have been caught in a terrible way.’
[….]
As I was thinking that, Karin spat out a bombshell.
“The drug Jeff Potts had… I think I got it from someone in the middle.”
“What are you talking about!”
It was none other than Louis who responded to Karin’s words.
He startled even the Duke with a loud voice that was completely unsuitable for a quiet place.
As all eyes turned to him, Louis, who finally came to his senses, shook his head and began to make excuses.
“Sorry, sorry. I wondered if someone had something to do with my mother….”
“… Keep talking.”
After understanding Louis’s appearance, the duke began to listen to Karin’s story again.
Karin mentioned me and started explaining that Jeff couldn’t have moramine powder.
“Jeff Potts came to Levin without an attendant. And he even heard that Mr. Seong Su-ho here did a perfect inspection of his belongings. Jeff Potts has to wait on the dean. By the way… Where did the medicine suddenly come from?”
“In other words… Did someone give it to you?”
“Yes, me and… Seong Su-ho, who is here, thinks so.”
The duke’s, Karin’s, and Louise’s puzzled gazes were fixed on me, and I spoke to them.
“Yes, when I checked, there was definitely no such drug.”
“Sir, could it have been a mistake? It must have been well hidden since it was a drug with evil intentions….”
“No, it was related to the dean, so I thoroughly checked. Even Professor Sonya checked with me, so there must be no mistake.”
Louis suddenly broke out in a cold sweat and began to fidget.
But everyone was paying attention to my story and not paying attention to his condition.
Except Karin….
“….”
Karin looked at me out of sight, and she smiled softly.
Karin nodded her head again and continued her story.
“Currently, Moramine powder is being blocked from distribution in the County of Potts, so it is difficult to obtain it. If you interrogate Jeff Potts after he wakes up, you’ll quickly get some information about the source.”
The duke listened to Karin’s words, thought for a moment, then nodded her head and replied in a deep voice.
“Yes, there is some truth in what you say. As soon as Jeff Potts wakes up, I’ll check it myself.”
“Yes.”
With Karin’s answer, the meal started again.
However, the dining table, which seemed to be silent, made other people frown with harsh sounds.
Dalgrak, Kirik, Dalgrak….
“….”
The duke narrowed his eyes as he looked at Louise, who was scratching the tableware with a knife, in contemplation, and opened her mouth.
“Where are you sick?”
“Sorry, sorry. Uh, it reminded me of my mother….”
“Yes, you can. Drink some wine and chill out.”
“Yes… Sorry.”
However, the sound of Louis’ disregard for eating manners did not stop until the meal was over.
And….
“….”
Karin, who was satisfied with Louise’s appearance, secretly held my hand under her table while she smiled at me.
***
As soon as Louis entered her room, she became restless and began to wander around her room, continuing her madness.
“Fuck… Why is this….”
At first, when she heard the news that the viscount had been kidnapped, she was in a good mood when she headed for the Duke and Atler.
It was because of the fact that she was freed from the hectic schedule of being dragged along by the duke.
She even started to get more excited when she heard the news that the dean, Seong Su-ho, and Karin were going to the place where she was rescuing the viscount.
If the dean directly stepped forward, the task itself would surely go smoothly.
She secretly expected Seong Su-ho and Karin to get hurt.
And the biggest reason she made him feel better was Luna.
In the first place, Lewis had no objection to Luna going anywhere.
She was just annoyed at the fact that she was with Sung Soo-ho….
Louis arrives at Atler with the anticipation of meeting Luna….
“Ha… Why did things turn out this way….”
I couldn’t even meet Luna because I was checking the Duke and Jeff’s case all day.
But to him, the irritation caused by not being able to meet Luna right now was just a passing shower.
The real problem was that a cataclysmic meteorite called Jeff was heading towards him.
“Jeff, if the bastard gets one word wrong….”
If Jeff were to say that Lewis was the source of the moramine powder, the Brandrup family would be outraged.
“If Jeff tells my story, he’ll just say he’s lying. However… If that piglet steps out….”
It was Louis who gave Jeff the moramine powder, but the first process was from Count Potts.
If Lewis accused Jeff of being a liar, Count Potts would not stand still.
If such a story came out of Jeff’s mouth, there was a strong possibility that it would spread like an epidemic and spread beyond Levin’s kingdom to Stra.
“Once a strange rumor spreads, it will grow out of control. And Karin, that crazy bitch won’t miss this opportunity.”
If it was just rumors spreading, I would pass it off moderately, but the problem was that Jeff’s actions caused too much repercussions.
Her successor position would not be jeopardized by a rumor, but her trust in Anna would hit rock bottom.
“Nope. There’s no way her mother ever doubted me. First….”
Louis bit his fingernails with his teeth, jumped up, opened the door, went out, and started heading somewhere.
“We’ve got to coax bastard Jeff somehow.”
