The Burrow Duchy (2)
Second Queen Serane Soladin stepped into the carriage and, as if flinging them away, tore the elaborate ornaments from her hair. Sweeping back the long strands that fell across her forehead, she scowled.
It was a rather savage expression for a queen of a nation to be seen wearing, but Serane couldn't have cared less. Forcing smiles and flattery was for outside. Out here, in a space completely sealed off from the world through layers of magical wards, bothering with any of that nonsense would make her head explode.
"They said everyone was dying, and yet everyone looks perfectly healthy. What is going on here?"
At a voice too sharp for its own good—the kind that could carve a man apart with words alone—the man seated across from her pressed his lips into a flat line.
He was one of the Second Queen's most trusted confidants and a sworn retainer of House Bedford. He had anticipated this complaint well in advance. Years of standing at her side taught a man to grow accustomed to that temper eventually.
"My apologies. I should have investigated more thoroughly."
"Yes. You should have. At this point the whole trip was a complete waste of time."
When Serane carelessly tossed the vial she'd been holding in her lap, the Queen's confidant scrambled to catch it. The liquid inside was a priceless remedy effective against a host of diseases—far too precious to be surrendering to the carriage floor.
"Instead of earning a debt of gratitude, I'm treated like an unwelcome guest."
This was a woman who meant to somehow shove her dim-witted son onto the throne and seize royal power for herself. She had invested precious time to come all this way hoping to add even the smallest thread of goodwill with House Burrow, and in return, Serane had gained nothing at all.
Worse, she'd been treated as a nuisance and all but shoved out the door.
"Starting with that insolent little brat of House Aln, nothing has gone right today."
Before visiting the Burrow Duchy today, Serane had spoken with a girl named Lucy Aln, doing her utmost to win the child's favor. The girl's own value was considerable, but more than that, Serane had reasoned that drawing Lucy in would bring Benedict Aln along with her.
Yet today's conversation had been a complete failure. Part of the problem was that House Burrow—reluctant to receive visitors in the first place—had sent word abruptly summoning her over, cutting the exchange short. But even before that, Lucy Aln's attitude had been poor.
"That girl. She never opened her mouth once."
From the moment the conversation began, Lucy Aln hadn't offered so much as a nod of her head, let alone a proper greeting. She'd simply kept her lips sealed and stared at Serane as if appraising goods at a market.
So she's not merely an insolent brat.
How tiresome.
"Thanks to her, my entire day has gone down the drain. Ahh. Infuriating."
As the Second Queen raked her hands wildly through her hair, the flustered man offered an excuse in a hurried voice.
"The trip wasn't a total loss, Your Majesty. The atmosphere inside House Burrow was unusually quiet."
"What nonsense are you spouting now? They've been like that ever since they lost their eldest son."
"I'm aware of that as well, but today the mood felt somehow—"
"Shut it. Before this irritation turns toward you."
Just as Serane nodded in satisfaction at her confidant, who had clamped his mouth shut with all haste, someone knocked at the carriage door.
"Your Majesty. It is Nabil."
"Enter."
Nabil took in the wreck of the carriage's interior without the slightest reaction and closed the door behind him.
"Did the conversation with that little brat go well?"
"No, Your Majesty."
"...Hm? What do you mean, no?"
"She was somewhat... discourteous."
"Lady Aln?"
Having decided to make use of Duke Patran, I headed straight for Joy's dormitory to meet with her. The daughter of a duke was bound to have some means of contacting her father.
Considerations of courtesy or proper procedure didn't exist for me. When a dungeon needed clearing a whole hour sooner, why would I waste thought on such things? Barge in first, and if I hit a wall, then improvise.
"You wish to contact my father?"
Yes. Can you arrange that?
"Sure. I'll ask the Careless Duke. Is that doable?"
"Of course it's possible, though I can't promise he'll take the call. First, let's go insi—no. Wait. One moment, please."
Cutting herself off mid-sentence, Joy hastily shut the door. A short while later, a string of crashes and clatters erupted from within.
So her room's a disaster, I take it.
A disaster was fine. A disaster was tame, even.
As I'd observed all this time, the Airhead Lady was a perfect villainess on the surface and hopelessly careless underneath. That trait of hers extended to her room as well. Joy's room, which almost no outsider ever laid eyes on, renewed its claim to being an absolute pigsty every single day, as if to prove the point.
Knowing it would take ages for that room to get presentable, I didn't bother standing there waiting. I went back to my own dorm and tidied myself up instead.
Even after I'd taken my sweet time and returned, the crashes from Joy's room showed no sign of stopping. It was only after another five-odd minutes of waiting that Joy finally emerged, out of breath.
"Sorry to... keep you waiting... Come in..."
Her room differed little from the one I remembered from the game. An elegant chamber bathed overall in hues of red. A place anyone would nod along to and agree suited Joy perfectly, were she to live there.
Look closer, though, and the carelessness showed in corners everywhere. A scrap of trash jutting out from under the bed. The hems of half a dozen garments poking out from the gaps of the wardrobe. Bookshelves stuffed in such a frantic rush that top and bottom had been swapped at random.
It was a scene where one careless touch would send the whole elegant illusion crashing down. For a moment a mischievous impulse flickered in me, but I forced it down. Give in, and the day would be over before I'd managed a single word with Duke Patran.
"I found it for you. You can use this crystal orb."
Having apparently dug it out in the course of tidying up, Joy held the orb out to me, doing her best impression of composure.
Why not just hand me the orb and skip letting me in, if this was how it'd go? I decided not to point that out.
Taking the crystal orb from Joy, I poured mana into it with practiced ease, and in response the orb began pulsing with blue light. Once the pulsing finished, the connection to the other party would go through.
Hm.
He's not picking up.
A minute passed, and the orb's pulsing carried on without resolution. With Benedict, the call always connected before a single second elapsed—enough that I'd never once glimpsed the orb pulsing at all.
"He must be terribly busy today."
Seems like it.
"A cute girl like me calls him and gets ignored. Honestly, how mean."
Couldn't be helped, if he wasn't answering. I'd left word with Joy, so it would reach him eventually. If all else failed, I could go through Alsaetin or the Neumann family instead. Don't rush. Nothing good ever comes of rushing a dungeon.
"Um, Lady Aln? Since it may take a while, why don't you have some tea and relax a—"
That was the moment. The pulsing orb suddenly froze, and a man's face rose above its surface. A rugged, ferocious face that no one would question even if a villain's cackle came booming out of it.
"Forgive me, Joy. Something urgent came up."
It was Duke Patran. He started to offer his apology with a laugh that seemed to suit a cigar, then caught sight of my face and arched a single eyebrow.
"Lady Aln? Strange. Isn't this Joy's orb?"
It is...
"Careless Duke. Surely you can see what's going on. I asked the Airhead Lady to put me through to you."
"You asked Joy? Strange. This spotless room is surely nothing like my daughter's."
"Father?"
"Ah, were you standing there the whole time? Then someone should have said so. You weren't startled, were you?"
Letting out one of his signature, monstrous laughs, he soon clasped his hands together, rested his chin upon them, and asked:
"In any case—what is it you need?"
Instead of the customary pleasantries nobles so often exchanged, the Duke cut straight to the matter at hand. "Your Grace."
Perhaps that had struck him the wrong way, because Joy piped up—but Duke Patran was firm.
"You didn't call merely to exchange greetings with an old man, did you, Lady Aln? From your position, this way is far better, so no complaints."
Just as he'd guessed, I much preferred getting straight to business over trivial pleasantries. Small talk, from my standpoint, was practically a minefield.
Reading a person fairly well after barely a few words exchanged. He really was a capable man. He just kept tripping over his own carelessness.
Then let's get right to it. You see...
"Since the Careless Duke apparently can't manage his time, I'll come to the point. Frankly put—I want to pay a visit to House Burrow."
"The normal route is difficult, so you mean to make use of me?"
Without my explaining a thing, Duke Patran saw through my purpose in an instant and pressed on.
"Easily done. House Burrow may shun visitors, but there are limits to even that. Someone of my standing can push hard enough to force the door open."
Exactly as I'd predicted. With territory close to theirs and a rank equal to his, I'd figured Duke Patran could apply more than enough pressure.
"You would spend a favor on it? It might be a waste of Duke Patran's name."
True enough. The personal power Duke Patran wielded was immense no matter which direction he pointed it—using it on something like this did feel like a shame.
But playing all those RPGs taught me something: hoard a resource because it's too precious to use, and an absurd number of times you simply never use it before the end. So the right move, once you're confident a resource will pay for itself, is to spend it. Unless it's a one-of-a-kind unique item in the world, anyway.
I'll take the favor.
"Ha! Very well. I'll grant your wish, then."
With a laugh, Duke Patran accepted my request. He said only that he would arrange for the visit within three weeks—he never asked why I wanted to pay a get-well call, or what I intended to do once inside the Burrow Duchy.
Was that his way of saying none of it mattered, since a favor was a favor?
Once the orb's light faded, I rose from my seat, stretched, and organized my thoughts.
That settles the first problem.
Now what remained was compiling a list of the anomalies that might exist within the Burrow Duchy, and gathering ways to detect them.
With midterm exams coming up soon, I supposed I'd just have to juggle both. My head was going to be a mess for a while.
"Lady Aln."
I turned at Joy's voice. She was looking at me with strangely uneasy eyes.
What? Why are you looking at me like that? You look like a child whose favorite toy just got taken away—
"Are you interested in Prince Burrow?"
...I'm sorry, what?
"...What?"