The Duel of Duties and the Fire Spirit's Debut
"I'm sorry, brother."
The moment Liam stepped into the room, he bowed his head without even taking a seat. The Duke regarded his younger brother with a complicated expression for a moment, then gestured toward the sofa.
"Come in and sit down."
Liam walked over in silence and sat across from the Duke.
"I've heard. Derrick stole from the mines."
"...I'm beyond shame. It's all my fault for being negligent. I should have beaten the habit out of him long ago, but I couldn't bring myself to be harsh with my own son, and now it's come to this."
Liam kept his eyes lowered as he continued, his words dripping with penitence.
"Even with ten mouths, I have no excuse. Everything comes back to my failure to raise him properly."
"You should have beaten the habit out of him? What is that supposed to mean? Explain yourself, in detail."
"...I was too embarrassed to tell you until now, but the truth is he'd fallen into gambling, and there were several small incidents because of it..."
"Gambling?"
It was a reason the Duke had never once imagined. Every time he'd met Derrick, he'd thought the boy had grown up well, taking after his father—so what kind of bolt from the blue was this? It was such a shocking revelation that had anyone but Liam been speaking, he never would have believed it.
"At first it seems he did it once or twice for fun. I told myself he'd grow out of it and just gently talked him around. But then one day I found he was nearly addicted. I scolded him harshly and even got him to promise he'd never set foot in a gambling den again... and in the end it came to this anyway. It's my fault for using busyness as an excuse and not keeping proper watch over him. I'm ashamed to face you, brother."
"If that's the reason, then the fault isn't yours alone. It's mine as well."
"...Pardon?"
At the Duke of Randert's sudden words, Liam lifted his head.
"Most of the reasons you're so busy are because of me, are they not? So I must bear my share of the blame."
"No, brother! What are you saying? It's my own inadequacy as a parent. When I first learned of his wrongdoing, I should have given him a stern lecture, but I dismissed it lightly and let it pass. The fault is mine, and it is grave."
"Well, you're not the only one to blame—your wife must have suffered terribly through all this."
The Duke could not suppress his bitterness at the realization that while he had been drowning in grief over losing his son, his brother's household had hardly known peace either.
"...While I was in Hamilton, he seemed to keep his urges well in hand, but as it turns out, every time I left, he practically lived at the gambling dens. And then he ran up an enormous debt."
"So he laid hands on the minerals to pay off that debt."
At last, everything fit together, and it all made sense.
"They say gambling turns a man into something less than human once he's in its grip, and Derrick is the very picture of it. To dare lay hands on the minerals of the ice mine! He's my own son, but madness is the only word for it."
Thinking back on it, Liam's voice rose in exasperation, utterly dumbfounded.
"Do you have any idea what those minerals are? He knows better than anyone how much you treasure the ice mine—how could he commit such an act! He must have completely lost his mind."
"So where is Derrick now?"
"...The Full Moon Knights are guarding the estate on Bayul's orders. I instructed them to take him to the prison for now."
The decision had clearly not been an easy one; Liam's face went pale for a moment.
"I will discipline myself alongside him. I raised him wrong, so I deserve a fitting punishment."
"You are innocent. I have no intention of binding you with some absurd notion of guilt by association, so just get some rest."
"No, brother. Don't let me off. I bear a clear responsibility in this too."
"The responsibility will be laid at Derrick's feet."
The Duke of Randert's voice was resolute.
"I will not go easy on him just because he's my nephew. At twenty-three, he is a full-grown man. If he commits a crime, it is only right that he faces punishment for it. We will determine the severity through investigation, so go home and get some sleep. You look a wreck."
"I'll handle it myself. I don't want to burden you any further, brother."
"That would be cruel to both you and Derrick. The two of you will struggle just looking at each other—how could the investigation possibly proceed? I'll entrust this matter to Sadad."
"...Sadad?"
"Yes. So you go look after your wife and Lilith instead. The shock won't be easy on them. Sadad!"
At the Duke of Randert's call, Sadad, who had been waiting outside, promptly opened the door and entered.
"You called, my lord Duke?"
"The Full Moon Knights have taken Derrick to the prison. Go confirm it, then begin the investigation. When he started siphoning off minerals, by what method he smuggled them out, where and how he sold them—round up everyone involved and investigate thoroughly. Leave no stone unturned."
"I'll see to it with all possible speed."
"One more thing."
The Duke of Randert stopped Sadad, who was turning to leave.
"Find every illegal gambling den in the city of Hamilton and shut them all down. Dice, gambling tiles, mahjong, cards—anywhere money is wagered, I want every last one of them raided and closed. Miss nothing!"
He would tear the problem out by its roots while he was at it. Only then could the same thing never happen again. That was the Duke of Randert's own way of protecting his nephew, Derrick.
So don't take it to heart.
Liam said nothing, but the Duke knew better than anyone what must be churning inside his brother.
Children were children, no matter what. However disgraceful a son's misdeeds, the heart of a parent who worried for that child was the same in every household.
His brother was a wise man who would surely overcome it on his own, but the gravity of the matter weighed deeper and deeper on the Duke of Randert's mind all the same.
Having safely survived their dinner interview (?) with Count Leonett, Bayul and his friends moved up to Aidan's room on the same floor, and only then were they finally alone together.
It was the first time they'd all gathered like this since the break began. He couldn't speak for the others, but Bayul had an enormous amount he wanted to say—so much, in fact, that he hardly knew where to begin.
"Oho, so this is your room, Aidan? From the empire's richest family, I expected something lavish and grand, but it's not quite that, is it?"
"Compared to the Chairman's tastes, it's practically austere."
Since Eli had already visited Rayegar's mansion, it was easy enough to guess the environment he'd grown up in.
"Why are you suddenly bringing that man up? You're ruining my mood!"
"I sent a letter there, isn't that how you ended up coming here?"
"What? You sent a letter where?"
Eli's handsome face twisted as if he'd just heard the most ridiculous nonsense.
"I told you, didn't I? That I would never set foot in that place."
"I know. I remember."
"Then why did you send a letter there?"
"I figured it was worth a shot. That was the only place I had to reach you. How desperate do you think I had to be to try it?"
"Desperate? Did something happen?"
It was because Eli had run into Quinn by chance in the city, on her way to Aidan's house, that the two had come along together. Quinn herself had only followed after hearing about Bayul from Ian—neither of them knew anything.
"Ingrid! Because of this little creature, I nearly died of fright today! Good grief!"
Recalling the day's events brought the cold sweat back. Aidan pointed a finger at Ingrid perched on the crown of his head and let out a long, weary breath.
"Why Ingrid? She's sitting there perfectly prettily."
Eli waved a belated greeting at Ingrid, whom he hadn't seen in ages. She was usually dozing off at this hour, but for some reason today she was wide awake.
"Comfortable being home, are you?"
"Squee!"
At Eli's question, Ingrid blinked her enormous eyes and chirped adorably, as if to say yes.
"Has she started molting?"
There was no visible change in her appearance, but listening to Aidan, Quinn suddenly remembered Rayegar's warning.
"Right—Quinn. And here I thought you were the observant one."
"What! Really? She molted? Where?"
Eli came close and examined her carefully, but he could find nothing amiss. Wasn't molting supposed to mean changing into a different form?
To clear up the bewilderment written across his friends' faces, Aidan opened up about the horrifying ordeal he'd experienced in the basement.
"What? Ingrid grew bigger than YOU?"
"Is that even possible? I've never heard of an animal that could change its size at will. Is that why they call it a Shapeshifter?"
"You don't believe me? I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."
The memory of Ingrid, surrounded by a swarm of rats and trembling violently, made Aidan's blood boil all over again.
"She'd grown to the size of a mountain, but she still thought she was a pygmy owl. One flap of her wings would've sent every one of those rats flying with room to spare—but she just huddled in a corner shaking, and it drove me absolutely insane."
"Ingrid will need an adjustment period too. Remember Bar? Training should help."
"You mean that servant at your place? Creepy-looking guy."
The one-armed cook who'd spouted nonsense about how a baby Shapeshifter would make a fine meal. The mere memory of him creased Eli's brow.
"Watch your mouth, Eli. Do you have any idea how much help that man gave me today? If it weren't for Bar, our Ingrid wouldn't be sitting safe and sound on my head right now!"
"Getting cozy with them already, huh? Why are you flying off the handle like this?"
"His Tamer ability is no joke. Compared to him, I'm a baby taking its first steps."
"What kind of ability did he show you?"
"It must be something incredible, for you to say that."
Eli and Quinn asked almost simultaneously. To the two of them, Aidan's communion with animals already seemed remarkable in itself—and now he was claiming someone was far beyond even him? Their curiosity came gushing out.
"...Um, Aidan! I've been meaning to ask—where did your father and mother go? I thought we'd see them at dinner, but we didn't."
There was nothing good to come of attention settling on Bar, a demon. Flustered, Bayul hid his unease and bluntly changed the subject.
"Ah—Father's away on business, and Mother went to visit our grandparents' estate with my little sister Clara. I wanted to show you all our Clara too. What a shame."
Aidan, who never missed a chance to brag about his little sister.
Every time the toddler came toddling over shouting 'Lil' brother, lil' brother,' she was so achingly cute that Aidan's heart would drop clean through his chest.
"Oh, right! Tempesta! We still haven't seen him!"
Thinking of his adorable little sister naturally brought the wind spirit to mind. He'd barely gotten to play with the boy at all before the break started the moment they'd met.
"Call Tempesta out! It's been ages since I've seen his face!"
"Ah, about Tempesta..."
"Wait! Before that—Spinel! You have to tell us about Spinel first!"
They'd done little more than exchange a passing greeting with Spinel in order to make it to dinner on time. Aidan shouted, somewhat worked up.
"Who's Spinel?"
"Bayul, what's wrong with him?"
"Well, you see, it all started when..."
"Hey, you two—don't freak out, okay? A fire spirit has finally appeared!"
"A fire spirit?"
"Seriously?"
Cutting off Bayul mid-sentence, Aidan's lips twitched with suppressed glee.
"But do you know what that spirit called me?"
"...?"
"Lord Aidan. She calls me Lord Aidan."
Remembering the awkward circumstances of their first meeting, Aidan burst into giggles.