Chapter 48
A week had passed since Karon acknowledged me.
Nothing major had happened in the meantime.
Just that now, properly recognized as an heir to the Nebula Duke family, I'd started taking heir classes in earnest?
Now, let me pose one question.
It's said that in the past, the empire's administrative power couldn't cover its vast territory.
In that situation, the emperor signed a treaty granting autonomy to four dukes, right?
So, how many businesses and affairs does this Nebula Duke family, ruler of the south, handle?
"A ton..."
In the office assigned to me, I muttered that while sifting through countless reports.
Businesses using magic stones, real estate, various transportation ventures, exports to other countries.
And these were just the legitimate, above-board ones. There were also shadowy, or plainly illegal, operations in the underworld, making the volume beyond imagination.
Reports overflowing with businesses and tasks.
"Ugh."
I stretched to loosen my stiff muscles from reading reports, then took a drag from the cigar I'd prepared, inhaling slowly.
Hoooo...
Exhaling a mouthful of cigar smoke, I scanned the reports piled on my desk.
'But it's less than I expected...'
To be honest, was it an insane amount of work? Not really.
These countless reports before me were mostly ones I'd requested just to get a grasp on what tasks existed.
The actual workload I'd have to handle as duke would probably be about a fifth of this.
The duke family wasn't in a position to micromanage every business, issuing orders like "do this" or "do that."
The people running those businesses weren't incompetent enough to need such directives.
With centuries of accumulated know-how in administration, what more could I meddle with?
Stirring things up would just create more work, and my goal was simply to maintain the status quo.
Luckily, my past life experience running a large organization to screw over my country came in handy.
Without it, I'd have been lost.
'Ugh...'
Recalling my past life brought back that nauseating feeling.
To shake it off, I dove back into the reports.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
About thirty minutes later, as I was skimming through, a knock sounded.
"Come in."
Creeeak.
"Pardon the intrusion, Master Abel."
"Hm? Mist?"
Turning to the door, I saw Mist in her usual maid outfit, bowing gracefully.
"I apologize for interrupting your work."
"Nah, it's fine. I'm just about done anyway."
In truth, I'd nearly finished reviewing all the reports on the duke family's affairs from the past week.
"So, what's up?"
I hope it's what I'm thinking of.
With that in mind, I looked at Mist.
"Lady Belias asked me to inform you that she wishes to meet this afternoon around 3 p.m."
"Got it...?"
By the way, I happen to enjoy researching abilities and mana quite a bit.
Isn't it fascinating? Especially studying smoke manipulation, not to mention mana—an energy that only existed in sci-fi in my past life.
Research, they call it, but simply put, it was playing with mana.
Releasing it, turning it into spiderweb-like mana threads, or messing around with smoke.
People in this world saw it all as training, but I didn't feel that way.
No, it was more like entertaining amusement to me.
"Tell her I'll come by this afternoon."
In that sense, this meeting with Belias was one I was looking forward to.
Telepathy magic—rarely used due to its difficulty.
Chatting with a master who wielded it freely would be quite encouraging.
"..."
Mist watched Abel humming a little tune in excitement, recalling her conversation with Belias.
'I'll relay that exactly.'
[Yes...]
'But why talk like this right in front of the door?'
Mist eyed the door, reinforced with a magic barrier that forbade entry. Multiple layers strong enough to hold off even a skilled knight for hours.
[Please don't ask. Please...]
Belias's voice from inside carried a torrent of emotions.
And the most prominent one was probably...
'Embarrassment?'
Why? How?
Mist didn't know.
She was unaware that when Belias mentioned tea with Abel, Sebastian and Nella had nearly gone berserk in reaction.
Belias fidgeted endlessly, tugging at her clothes, with premium pastries and top-grade tea laid out before her.
'Aaaah.'
The outfit prepared by Sebastian and Nella.
To be fair, she planned to shed her beloved perception lowering robe for the tea with Abel, if only to let him get familiar with her face.
She knew well how rude it was to wear a hood during tea.
But.
BUT!
'This is NOT it!!!'
The dress they prepared matched her purple hair—a slightly ashen shade.
But problems arose.
Having lived hooded for so long, they didn't know her grown measurements. Using assassin-sharp eyes, they'd estimated based on her distorted, concealed figure under the robe.
Accounting for that, they'd chosen the dress.
Resulting in a disastrously revealing look.
Her breasts strained to burst out; without pressing them down, they might overflow. Delicate shoulders left bare, straps already slipped.
'This is straight-up harlot wear?!!'
No—from her view, worse than that.
'Ugh...'
Belias screamed internally.
She was losing her mind.
To face Abel for the first time like this?
Worse, her personality kept her from asking to change.
How could she even say it?
If it was just too big, she'd speak up.
But her chest was too small for it? Ask to swap because of that?
'How do I even SAY that?!'
"Ahh... Uwaaa..."
For the first time in ages, she babbled aloud, not telepathically.
Glance.
Deep in panic, Belias peeked at the wall clock.
3 p.m. invitation—time was running out.
'Eek! Only two hours left?!'
What to do?
Her mind went blank.
Staring blankly at thoughts of Abel, she escaped into delusion—a survival instinct to avoid madness.
'...'
Her dazed mind echoed with past voices.
[Master Abel probably wants to build rapport with Lady Belias.]
[And that rapport might be between man and woman.]
Sebastian's words from a week ago.
Build rapport.
Between man and woman?
With me and Abel?
Incest?
No, cousin or distant relative marriages still happened among nobles, even if rarer now.
'Is it... possible?'
Her dazed mind spun rapidly.
Escapism, sure—but as a direct bloodline of the Nebula Duke family, her intellect was exceptional.
Of course. Without genius, she couldn't master both alchemy and magic.
Though now using it for denial.
The duke would scoff if he saw.
'Yeah, it works?'
We shared duke blood, but weren't siblings.
By degree, far beyond eighth cousins.
Past duke stripped of power, the head made a bold move: contracts with dispossessed kin, freeing them on promise of no threat to the family.
'Lots of talk back then.'
Even direct lines questioned it.
But it saved the family in this crisis.
'So we're basically strangers...'
Belias blankly pictured Abel.
Gray hair like cigarette smoke, unlike her murky purple. Her dark circles versus his decadent vibe.
'Do we match...?'
"Uh-heh..."
A creepy laugh slipped out unwittingly.
Snapping from delusion, she checked the clock again.
'Huh...?'
Abel was due afternoon.
But now the clock read...?
'2:30?'
Only thirty minutes left?!
[Huh...?]
Reality crashed back.
Her heart pounded, blood rushing to her head.
Thirty minutes till Abel arrived.
"Ughhh..."
Checking the clock, I gathered the reports I'd skimmed.
Full review done—no more staring at those damn letters. Liberation washed over me.
'Thirty minutes left?'
Hmm...
Eying the wall clock, I pulled a cigar from my pocket.
'A bit tight, but if I smoke fast, thirty minutes should do.'
So thinking, I leisurely cut the end with my cigar cutter, lit it, and puffed slowly.
Plush sofa, cigar aroma filling my mouth.
Utterly relaxing.
. . .
Time passed. Cigar finished, clothes changed, I followed Mist to build rapport with Belias, boss of [Dark Shadow].
The door opened.
Staring at the unfamiliar woman, I could only say:
"Who...?"
[Please don't ask. Please...]