Knox's Darkest Secret
Even if it was rough and crude, it couldn't be helped.
Right now I was empty-handed, without any well-laid information network or skilled informants to rely on.
And Senior Jake seems like he might know something.
As if sensing my gaze laced with quiet expectation, Senior Jake crooked a single finger, beckoning me closer.
I quickly dipped my head toward him and strained my ears.
“Rookie.”
“Yes?”
“Knowing will only get you hurt.”
“...Then if you don’t know, just say so.”
I was the fool for expecting anything.
“You always strut around like you know every rumor that floats through Knox.”
“This is all advice for your sake! Words that’ll become your bones and flesh!”
Senior Jake raised his voice instead.
“This isn’t just anywhere—this is Knox! Sure, it’s a proper ducal house now, but until recently… Anyway, it’s a far more brutal place than you imagine.”
I had to uncover the ‘darkest secret’ of that brutal place if I wanted to survive.
“Sigh.”
When I let out a heavy breath in frustration, the other seniors mistook it for disappointment and took my side.
“Don’t be like that, Jake. The youngest is bound to be curious!”
“Right. Let’s see… There was that interesting rumor, wasn’t there?”
“Remember the old story? You know, around the time the previous duke passed away…”
“Why are you bringing that up?!”
The senior with the buzz cut’s casual remark made the one with the early-gray hair snap in anger.
The previous duke?
Killion Knox had definitely told me to find out ‘Knox’s darkest secret.’
No matter how monstrous he was, something involving his own father could certainly be called ‘dark,’ couldn’t it?
I latched onto the thread I’d barely caught before it could slip away.
“If it’s about the previous duke, shouldn’t I know about it too?”
When I asked with a serious attitude that clearly showed this wasn’t mere curiosity, the smiles gradually faded from the seniors’ faces.
“Hmm, yeah… You should probably know so you can be careful.”
In the end, the early-gray senior scratched his head roughly and opened his mouth.
“It’s nothing complicated. You already know the previous duke, Leonard Knox, died very suddenly, right?”
His death was a shocking event that shook the entire continent.
He had gone out on a routine territory patrol and died in a mana train accident.
The ducal title of Knox—which at the time could make even the emperor tremble—had been left vacant with no preparations whatsoever.
Killion Knox had just come of age at eighteen, and he had a younger half-brother, Elias, who was ten years his junior.
The problem was that Killion and Elias had different mothers.
The first duchess, who gave birth to Killion, died of illness when he was only three. And the relationship between Killion and his stepmother—who entered the family a few years later after his father’s remarriage—had never been good.
“The rumor that His Grace was involved in his father’s death?”
“Shh, shh!”
Even though I had spoken in a low voice because the topic was what it was, the early-gray senior pressed a finger to his lips and kept glancing around.
Not that there was anything out here but darkness and trees beyond the castle walls in the middle of the night.
“There’s no one here but us.”
“Don’t you know that in Knox there are always ears listening? Anyway, the real issue came after that. Killion acted as proxy duke for a few months out of necessity. Doesn’t that seem strange? The eldest son had reached adulthood, yet he didn’t immediately inherit the title?”
“Usually they try to avoid leaving any gap if possible.”
Especially in cases like the previous Duke of Knox, who had died so abruptly.
Both externally and internally, showing the family was still solid was the top priority.
“At the time, the duchess—Reneta—tried to make her own son Elias the next duke. She pulled the vassal families to her side and…”
“Agh, this guy talks too much! Why is the introduction so long!”
The buzz-cut senior burst out in irritation.
It seemed uncomfortable for him to speak at length about the dark history of the Knox clan.
“To put it simply, after that the still-young Elias also died, and people whispered that our duke had killed not only his father but his brother as well. But the rumor that actually spread like wildfire was that the real culprit was Reneta.”
“His own mother?”
“Yeah. She was quite the unusual woman in many ways. Even as the lady of the house, she had her hands in various Knox businesses.”
Senior Jake, who had been quietly listening to the buzz-cut senior, quickly added to me.
“Anyway, ever since then the name Reneta has become a kind of taboo word, so Rookie, you watch your mouth too.”
“Come on, if it had happened recently I could understand, but why bring up something from so long ago?”
“Yeah, you’ve got sharp eyes so I’m sure you’ll handle yourself well.”
Senior Jake nagged me until the very end like he was laying down the law, then hastily changed the subject.
As expected of a heavy drinker, the new topic was alcohol.
“Have you tried the new wine that just came into Peter’s restaurant? It’s not too sweet and has a crisp finish—it’s absolutely killer!”
“No matter what you say, Uncle Yannick’s beer is the best!”
Both Peter’s and Uncle Yannick’s were names of small restaurants inside the Knox castle walls.
As they passionately argued, veins standing out on their necks while each praised their favorite spot, I ended up learning the signature menus of each restaurant and the drinks that paired best with them.
I chimed in at appropriate moments while organizing everything the seniors had told me inside my head.
Killion Knox had killed his young half-brother and stepmother to clean house, then inherited the ducal title.
That was the information I had gathered back when I was with the Wickers, and it was considered the established theory.
Yet the people inside Knox are saying something completely different.
When collecting information on noble families, it always started with the servants—maids, coachmen, that sort.
What they saw and heard with their own eyes and ears might be exaggerated, but it was usually fairly accurate.
It’s worth digging deeper.
This was the first mission Killion Knox had thrown at me, staking my life as the wager.
I was determined to see that arrogant face of his—convinced I could never uncover it—twist in defeat.
With that vow, I tossed several more heavy logs onto the campfire that had already shrunk considerably.
Thud!
“Ow, that’s hot! Rookie, you bastard, can’t you be more careful?!”
The buzz-cut senior, hit by sparks that flew up when the log landed on the fire, snapped irritably.
Ah, my mistake.
Killion Knox’s shameless face had floated into my mind, and without realizing it I’d put too much force into my hands.
Fortunately, no one seemed to have noticed the handprint I left on the log that had gone into the flames.
I lowered my head sheepishly.
“Sorry about that, Senior.”
***
The night shift that had felt like it would never end finally concluded as dawn broke.
Senior Hartman stretched grandly.
“Ugh, I’m dying. Worked way too hard—my whole body aches.”
Worked? All you did was play cards in the guard post.
The seniors who had been patting my shoulders as I grumbled inwardly left one by one.
“We’re heading out. Make sure to do the handover properly when the day shift arrives.”
“Yes, take care.”
Of course, cleaning the guard post before the shift change was also the youngest’s job.
After tidying up the mess the seniors had left, finishing the handover to the day shift, and stepping outside, a full morning had already arrived.
“Rookie!”
“Lady Rookie, we’re here!”
The ones running toward me while cheerfully calling my name were the maids who worked in the annex.
“It’s been a while.”
“Lady Rookie, have you been well?”
“My colleague said you were hospitalized in the infirmary!”
“I heard the rumor that the one who stopped yesterday’s commotion was you, Rookie—is it true?”
The clear voices chirping like birds in their maid uniforms suited the fresh morning air perfectly.
“The rumor already reached all the way over there? It was me, but it really wasn’t anything that impressive.”
When I answered with an embarrassed expression, they shook their heads so hard their tied-up hair swung wildly.
“Rookie’s still so young! The fact that you showed courage in such a scary situation is already amazing!”
“But is it okay for you to be on night duty already?”
“Yep, I’m fine. A bit tired, though.”
“When you’re tired, sweets are the best medicine!”
What they held out was a small paper bag giving off a sweet, nutty aroma.
These were very grateful people who had occasionally visited me with homemade desserts ever since I first entered Knox.
“Now that Rookie’s heroic deeds have become known, the number of people wanting to join our Rookiefan Club has expl— mmph!”
“Haha. She must’ve eaten too much sugar while baking cookies since dawn. Talking nonsense already.”
“These are freshly baked so they’ll be delicious. Eat them all by yourself, Rookie!”
The other two desperately covered the mouth of the one who had said something incomprehensible, shoved the bag into my hands, and dragged their colleague away.
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
I waved back at the maid who was still trying to say what seemed like a goodbye despite her covered mouth. Mixed in with their gradually fading footsteps was one foreign sound.
Clink, clink.
It was coming from the blonde maid on the far right.
“Hmm.”
I opened the paper bag and took a bite of what was inside. As expected, the freshly baked cookies were delicious.
That man really likes sweet things, doesn’t he?
An old piece of information I had acquired long ago and tossed into a corner of my mind suddenly resurfaced.
“This should work as an excuse.”
I closed the paper bag, held it in one hand, and headed toward the main building while chewing the remaining cookie.