Chapter 33
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: The Valtan Baron's Visit
-----------------------------------------------------------------
While Your Highness was away, someone from the hostile Valtan Baron's family visited and met with Grand Duchess Your Highness.
At those words, I handed off what I was doing to the Storm Knight Order and rushed straight back to the mansion.
'This is insane.'
The rough snorts from the black horse carried me back to the mansion.
I couldn't help but regret my judgment.
'I was being too complacent.'
I had thought that since some families were hostile toward me and feared Cassius's power, they wouldn't dare come looking for me easily.
But thinking about it, there were plenty of ways they could.
The current situation was essentially right on the brink of war.
And I believe the first key to victory in any war is information.
So even if we held the advantage, even if the enemy faced a mad grand duke, scouting ahead was essential.
Yet I had overlooked that and foolishly allowed the Valtan Baron's family to approach the mansion.
And another problem was the value they placed on Yelena.
'Yelena might even be... a more important target than me.'
The reason was simple.
From their perspective, if they could just win her over or bring her to their side, they could manipulate the mad Cassius however they wanted.
After all, she was the woman a grand duke mired in madness for years had married.
Of course, our marriage was a sham. But the problem was that to outsiders, it didn't look that way.
We had chosen a sham marriage precisely to make it appear real.
So this was... nothing less than me being too complacent.
BAM!
"Yelena!"
The moment I arrived at the mansion, I shook off the servants' assistance and searched for Yelena.
I already knew from the letter that arrived ahead of me that there were no issues, but I wouldn't feel at ease until I saw her myself.
'If Yelena had even the slightest scratch because of this...'
Not a physical wound, but if the Valtan Baron's family had said or done anything untoward that left even a small scar on her heart.
They would pay dearly for it on our wedding day.
"Casshu?"
Yelena, hearing my shout from afar, approached with a puzzled expression.
Then, for some reason bursting with excitement, she came bounding over like a puppy begging for praise and started chattering away.
"Right, Casshu. You probably heard from the letter, but someone from the Valtan Baron's family came by. So I teamed up with Lady Kreuz and splendidly sent them packing..."
"Lena, you're not hurt anywhere, are you?"
"Eek..."
I gently gripped her shoulders and quickly checked her face, hands, and such.
Yelena, who had been flopping around in my hands like a paper doll, stopped me.
"Hurt? There's nothing like that. They didn't even make contact in the first place..."
"You're sneezing nonstop even in the north's weather. How could I not worry?"
"Huh?"
Fortunately, she seemed fine overall.
Of course, that was just the visible parts.
If there were wounds elsewhere, Lucia would have let me know.
"Anyway, you could praise me now, Casshu."
"For what?"
"Ow! I just told you!"
I was joking.
I already knew from the letter.
That Yelena had put on an excellent act to keep the Valtan visitor from entering the mansion.
And not just chasing them off—she had made sure they left with gifts while imprinting her naive image firmly in their minds.
Honestly, it was a brilliant move.
'Thanks to that, the rebels' guard must be way down.'
Yelena could show two distinct sides.
One was a wise and poised grand duchess, proving she was no easy mark.
Or the other: a naive young lady freshly arrived in the north, barely an adult.
Naturally, the former would raise the rebels' suspicions.
Already outmatched by Cassius in power, and now the one who could handle him had a sharp mind too?
That would be a nightmare scenario.
But the latter opened possibilities—like using schemes to even the odds despite the power gap.
In other words, it lured the rebels into even deeper complacency.
"Lena."
"Yes."
"Well done. But next time, think more about your own safety."
"......Okay."
I meant that seriously.
And perhaps sensing my sincerity, Yelena nodded obediently.
After confirming Yelena's condition, I inspected the items the Valtan Baron's family had sent.
They were filled mostly with glasswork crafts from foreign lands.
They had probably used the excuse of worrying about breakage to try getting inside the mansion.
But Lady Kreuz had deftly deflected them, according to the letter.
'I need to treat House Kreuz well.'
We accepted the items, but that didn't mean the matter was fully resolved.
There could be some trickery I wasn't aware of.
So the next day, I summoned someone.
"It's been a while, Your Highness."
"Thanks for coming, Nailus."
It was the narcissistic sub-male lead, Nailus.
I could call him so casually because he had just been appointed the new head of the Mage Association's northern branch.
'Honestly, I didn't expect this.'
I worried he might rage that it ruined his career, but it was the opposite.
"Thanks to this, I'm remaking this broken-down northern branch to my exact tastes."
"Good to hear."
To a narcissist's tastes—who knows, maybe he'd filled the branch with mirrors.
Anyway, I asked the 8th-grade mage to check the Valtan items for any magical anomalies.
I offered to trade some monster byproducts, but Nailus said he'd do it for free.
"It's fine, this much."
"Really?"
"Yes. I'm already using my connection to Your Highness to perfect the human network I've built."
Hmm... whatever that meant, if he was happy with it, fine.
While examining the items, Nailus brought up something from before.
The investment in the Engineering Research Institute.
"By the way, Your Highness, you invested the compensation we gave you into the Engineering Research Institute."
"Any issues?"
"If it were other branch heads or headquarters mages, they'd have flipped out. The setup is pretty awkward, after all."
The Mage Association and Engineering Research Institute were rivals.
Yet I had used compensation money extorted from the Mage Association to fund their rival.
In their eyes, it was like sponsoring the enemy with their own funds.
"But I see it differently."
"How so?"
"Even if they got that money, the Engineering Research Institute is still far off. Other mages might disagree, though."
His narcissism leaked out as easily as breathing.
But that's why he was reliable— so consistent.
"That said, I'm a bit disappointed you didn't come to the Mage Association first."
"It was necessary. Not every territory resident can afford the Mage Association's prices."
"Ah... so it was for the people. Anyway, no issues. Just ordinary decorative items."
"Good."
"Your Highness, may I ask one thing?"
"You didn't charge for inspecting the decorations, so if it doesn't cross the line, I'll allow it."
"It's about the famed Grand Duchess Your Highness—and questions related to Your Highness."
"......"
I hesitated for a moment.
Was it okay to talk about the heroine Yelena with the sub-male lead Nailus?
I had already arranged things so they wouldn't cross paths before, and even today.
If I said something wrong and sparked his curiosity about Yelena...
I had no idea how this narcissistic sub-male lead would act.
Cassius was one thing, but the male leads in Until the Ice Flower Melts all had a screw loose somewhere...
Honestly, I didn't want to talk about her right now.
"Ask away. I'll judge whether to answer after hearing the question."
"As the rumors say, did your love for the Grand Duchess cure Your Highness's madness?"
"......?"
Why the hell was he asking that?
Nailus loved himself.
He felt everything about him was perfect, and everything he did was close to truth itself.
If he had walked the path of faith instead of magic, he might have declared himself a god and started a cult, he loved himself that much.
So he couldn't understand it.
Loving another person.
'Can loving another dissolve even madness?'
This was an unknown realm for Nailus, who had never loved anyone but himself.
Unable to hold back, he asked the man before him.
The Northern Grand Duke, who had been coldly composed, showed a flicker of surprise before calmly replying.
"...Yes, the rumors are true. My love for Yelena freed me from the madness."
It was really true!
Then this might be worth researching.
If love held such powerful force as he said... applying it to self-love could make him even more perfect.
'Hm?'
Just then, Nailus sensed a presence nearby through magic.
A woman. She had overheard something and was hastily fleeing.
Moments later, as he left the mansion, Nailus cast a spell to identify her.
'If she's from a family hostile to the grand duke, I could score some points.'
His connection to House Winterguard was highly appealing.
He easily located the woman.
And soon realized she was none other than the grand duchess the grand duke had fallen for.
'Yelena Astria...'
Surrounded by maids, she wore a flurry of expressions.
Brief as it was, her faces were as varied as Cassius's when thinking of his grand duchess.
-Really? Grand Duchess Your Highness? His Highness said something like that...!
-Ugh...
Nailus quietly observed.
Then soon lost interest and turned away.
'......She's ordinary.'
Just like the countless lovestruck girls he'd seen at the association or elsewhere—nothing more, nothing less.
His junior female mage assigned to assist him at the northern branch was more appealing, even.
'...No way.'
Still, it was incomprehensible.
Love for others.
With that conclusion, Nailus left the mansion.