Clearing the Score (Part 1)
Himmel wiped the sweat from his brow as he moved the piles of documents onto his desk in the study room.
Even though it was winter, his body still heated up with movement.
After sorting the documents in order, he turned toward the window. The silent, quietly falling snowflakes looked beautiful to his eyes.
At nearly seventy, this elderly man, Chief Butler Himmel Gertol, had risen to his position under the late Duke Havertz.
In retrospect, it was almost unthinkable that he had survived the purge days.
Despite his position as the deputy ruler of the territory, he had maintained good relations with Douglas Havertz and had only managed the duchy’s affairs, which allowed him to keep his position.
Charlotte would have found it difficult to clean out all the main pillars of the territory and then handle the aftermath.
So, what did Chief Butler Himmel of the Havertz territory actually do?
Fundamentally, he oversaw the territory’s finances, administration, and all general oversight duties. However, a subtle change had occurred recently.
Now the true owner of the duchy, the lord, was living in the ducal castle instead of before.
To put it bluntly, his days of acting as Isaac’s aide had become the majority.
The entrance ceremony was probably ten days away.
Soon the owner would depart the territory again, so it was necessary to inspect the governance system as much as possible…
Afterward, he would return to his usual managerial duties, but first he had to prepare thoroughly for the day his two owners left the territory.
Fortunately, there were no major problems in the process. After the chaos of the past month, the territory had stabilized remarkably quickly.
Probably because Isaac was a lord with a completely different personality from the late duke or his daughter.
Himmel recalled each and every person of the Havertz family he had served until now, one by one.
First, there was Douglas Havertz, a cold-blooded killer who wouldn’t bleed even if pricked. Then Charlotte Havertz was like a volcano that would explode the moment touched.
Both were people he did not want to serve as direct subordinates. At most, he could have had veto power as the territory’s steward.
In contrast, Isaac Havertz… Well, he had a generally mild temperament and also knew how to care for his subordinates.
For Himmel, a superior who didn’t listen to his advice lightly was quite novel, which was why he could work even harder.
Creak.
Eh?
At that moment the study room door opened. A young man with silver hair and blue eyes, his shoulders dusted with snow from his coat, entered.
“Oh, you were already here, Chief Butler.”
“Welcome, Your Grace.”
Himmel gave a wry smile and approached Isaac, brushing the snow from his shoulders.
Isaac was a duke who seemed delicate in some ways yet had a cold, detached side in others.
“Ah, thank you.”
“Not at all.”
The floor of the study room was now dirty, but it was no big deal. The maid who had been following him hesitantly anyway picked up the broom with a bright face.
She probably didn’t even dare to touch him…
It wasn’t an incomprehensible causality. Himmel now understood that Isaac did not care much for physical contact with his servants, but the same was not true for the low-ranking maid.
He shot the maid a glance, then stopped beside the desk and followed Isaac.
…
Isaac settled into his seat lazily and first picked up the neatly sealed document.
The piles of documents were things Himmel could have handled, but the seal on this particular one gave off a completely different impression.
“The mark of the green ram.”
Isaac murmured softly. Himmel unconsciously swallowed his dry saliva.
Because that was the only possible symbol. The green ram was the only crest a subject of the Imperial Academy could use—i.e., the declaration of the dragon clan.
Of course, Isaac had been the one to write the letter first, but he had not anticipated the reply coming back, so the tension he felt was natural.
Dragon clans that existed in the current era were notoriously eccentric, making it impossible to guess what device might be inside.
Himmel, unable to do anything, fixed his gaze on the wax seal with all his strength.
“…Your Grace.”
“What is it?”
“What if the letter paper suddenly explodes?”
“No way…”
Isaac gave a forced laugh, but deep down he felt uneasy.
Himmel, who didn’t know the green dragon Tia well, had probably been scared off purely by legends and rumors.
…What if it is?
Isaac was not that naive. Having always observed this world from the most omniscient perspective, he knew a great deal about the academy’s principal.
First, Principal Tiamat was definitely not a villain. That much was certain. But whether she was eccentric… well, let’s see.
Fundamentally, she was a light person who would float away if you touched her lightly.
It was not that she lacked weight; rather, her mind was as hazy as clouds, making it difficult to pierce her true nature.
But you could trust that she loved her students… and she was not a subordinate of the emperor even though she headed the Imperial Academy.
With the emperor’s and the Sword Saint’s true intentions still unknown, the only reliable backer Isaac could count on at this point was her.
So, several days ago, he had personally written this letter to gain her help regarding the tension with the emperor.
…I wonder what she’ll say.
Isaac, who was not tense for no reason, focused his blue mana on the tip of his finger.
After gently breaking the seal… he held the paper up with narrowed eyes.
“…”
“…”
Fortunately, the letter paper did not explode or spew fire.
…
Both Isaac and Himmel sighed in relief at the same time. Isaac more so.
She wasn’t a woman without any mischievousness in her depiction, so honestly I was a little scared.
After opening the letter, he could hesitate no longer. Intuitively, it felt like an ordinary non-magical letter with no mana.
…Wait.
But when he read the content, he could not help but be momentarily stunned.
[Before the entrance ceremony, don’t you want to have a drink with me and Lottie?]
It was only one sentence.
Isaac blinked, turning to Himmel, who gave him the same dazed expression.
Could there be hidden meaning? Isaac shone his deep blue gaze in suspicion and scanned the entire letter.
Unfortunately, the result was clear.
“…There’s nothing.”
When he shook the letter, a small note fell out. It contained only coordinates.
Probably telling him to come this way.
“A tea time with the dragon clan…?”
Isaac frowned and murmured, while Himmel, noticing his reaction, spoke awkwardly.
“Congratulations…?”
“…”
“Hah, sorry.”
Isaac’s icy glare immediately made Himmel shrink.
…That was close.
Isaac let out a long sigh and clicked his tongue. There were still many documents to handle today, but…
“We’ll have to advance the departure date.”
Yeah.
Himmel spoke in a low voice, and Isaac nodded silently. They had been preparing to match the entrance ceremony exactly, but now an extra schedule had been added, so they needed to move faster.
After all, there were still several tasks left for Isaac.
First, eliminating every last subordinate of the Sephirot who had been lurking in this territory for over ten years.
He already knew their names and positions. They had planned to handle them all at once in two days, but advancing even slightly was fine.
“Cain. Elena.”
Right after deciding, Isaac murmured their names in a cool voice.
Himmel flinched and took a step back involuntarily. The moment the voice echoed, the shadows on the floor wavered.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The two figures who appeared were a black-haired man in a gray robe with a sword at his waist and a red-haired woman wearing gloves that reached her wrists.
Except for their hair color, their faces were hard to make out, but their body curves were enough to determine gender.
Himmel felt a chill run down his spine.
…These people.
He had heard rumors that Isaac kept three or four close aides who had no connection to the ducal family.
But seeing them in person for the first time… he could not help but shrink back from their mysterious appearance.
“Chief Butler.”
“Y-yes?”
Isaac called Himmel at that moment, and luckily the reply came quickly.
Isaac spoke only briefly, without much concern.
“It’ll probably be a little late today. Sorry, but I’ll have to leave you to handle the rest of the overtime work.”
“Ah, yes! We’ll do that. Please go ahead without worrying about me.”
Himmel quickly recovered and gave a firm nod. What else could he do but handle the documents anyway?
Isaac lightly patted Himmel’s shoulder, left the study room, and Himmel bowed deeply to see him off.
All he could hope for was that the lord of the family would return safely without any incidents.
Looking at the back of a mage who appeared out of nowhere in a robe, there was probably no need to worry.
*****
While leaving the study room and the duchy behind and slowly descending the ducal castle, I encountered Lottie, who was lounging around in the living room.
She was eating ice cream and flipping through a magazine when she spotted me and brightened with a “puff” expression—
“…Um, Oppa. Is there somewhere you’re going?”
She tilted her head curiously after checking my outfit. Since we shared almost every schedule, she would naturally be curious.
I ruffled her hair while answering.
“Something came up. I heard there’s a riot in the northern district of the city, so the knights are supposed to handle it, but it seems like a rough bunch.”
“Eh…? If it’s something like that, shouldn’t we call the knights? Why are you—”
“…Um, I need to look into something.”
Lottie pouted with a confused expression, but I couldn’t explain further.
At least she didn’t need to know the facts about the Sephirot.
Those vermin could be handled directly by me and my subordinates.
I had worried she might follow, but luckily today seemed to be one of her fatigue days.
“Alright, then. Go ahead. Come back early.”
She sprawled on the sofa, sucking on her ice cream.
I felt relief inside, about to leave—
“Wait.”
I froze involuntarily. Cain and Elena, who had been following, stopped abruptly and stood at attention, but
I had no time to spare for those two right now. Precisely, they had disappeared.
…Something feels off?
There was definitely a sense of unease or foreignness. Even an 8th-circle instinctive intuition would suffice.
I stared at Lottie with a serious face, breaking into a cold sweat.
Precisely, the light-colored ice cream bar she was holding.
“…Lottie.”
“Eh? What?”
“That hard bar… you know.”
“…”
“…Not that?”
I asked with utmost seriousness.
Lottie simply gave a silent eye smile.
“What do you think?”
My mouth opened wide.
This crazy little sister…?