C127
I contemplated my healed fingers with confusion.
I suppose it wasn't as deep a paper cut as I thought.
Well, I didn't cut myself with a knife, just with paper.
I convinced myself and quickly forgot about it.
Instead, I was worried about Isidor.
There were no Muffin messages coming in and out of the window sill.
His sudden absence left a corner of my heart empty and made me anxious.
"Should I ask Margaret to investigate the Visconti family?"
While I was thinking about that, I heard the news from an unexpected place.
I was looking around the bustling academy and asked Margaret.
"In the academy today?"
Margaret quickly told me the rumors.
"It turns out there are rumors that Sir Isidor has been granted the title of Duke Visconti."
"Does this mean Isidor became a duke?"
It was completely unexpected news.
Moreover, it was assumed that the start of this shocking rumor was from the imperial servants.
Apparently, the imperial family had recognized the change in the head of the Visconti family through letters exchanged recently between the imperial family and the Visconti family.
The rumors that had ignited spread rapidly like wildfire.
"What the hell happened to Duke Visconti...?"
It was still unclear whether the former Duke Visconti couldn't work due to personal reasons, or if he voluntarily handed over the title of the head of the family.
Visconti is a family with many secrets compared to other noble families, so there were all kinds of speculations.
"From the atmosphere of Isidor I saw last time, it doesn't seem like an expected matter, and everything was quite unexpected."
Isidor... will he be okay?
The moment I heard the rumors, I kept thinking and worrying about him.
"If I had a cellphone, I would have contacted him immediately."
The southern part of the Visconti estate was quite far from the capital.
"If I send a letter south, wouldn't it arrive too late?"
He must feel unsettled by the sudden succession, so he might not have time to properly review the letters.
*What should I do?*
I played with the pen while swallowing a sigh.
-------------------
The coastal region of the southern provinces was ruled by the Visconti family.
Facing the Alea Strait, called the natural fortress, was the Rhodium Castle overlooking the sea. The owner of the estate is the Duke Visconti.
Splash-.
The waves crashed against the walls and then turned into white splashes and crumbled.
The inside of the castle was enveloped by an atmosphere quieter and calmer than before.
It was the opposite of last week when people celebrated all night.
Duke Visconti, a self-indulgent but highly impulsive person, suddenly collapsed from a heart attack after drinking too much alcohol while boasting in front of his guest.
After being in a coma for a while, he finally passed away this morning.
It was a sudden incident, but the vassals of the Visconti family were quietly prepared to welcome the young and capable duke as their master.
Their loyalty to the former head of the family didn't exist at all.
The reason Visconti had been considered an extremely reserved family was due to a desperate attempt to hide the behavior of Duke Visconti.
Duke Visconti had strange parties with ruffians and artists inside the mansion that were difficult to express.
He spent time saying it was painful to sit in the office.
At some point, the house's vassals began to trust and follow the young, more skilled and talented successor than the deranged duke.
The only person in the Visconti family who didn't recognize Isidor was Albert Visconti, the head of the family.
"Indeed, he was a bad father who felt inferior to his outstanding son rather than recognizing him."
Count Rivera, a former vassal of the Visconti family, averted his gaze from the corpse of the old duke with coldness and approached the new duke, Isidor.
Isidor's jaw looked sharper as he didn't take care of his meals properly after coming down to the estate.
Every time he faced that pale, expressionless face, it was terrifying enough to send shivers down his spine.
"Duke Visconti."
"That title, it seems I can't get used to it. I feel like you're calling my father."
Isidor said sarcastically.
"All the family's vassals have been following him wholeheartedly since before."
"..."
"The golden coffin has arrived. I'll call the priest and prepare the funeral."
"Wait a moment."
Isidor spoke with a voice full of authority, then looked at his father, who didn't move as if in a deep sleep.
The cause of death was a heart attack due to excessive alcohol consumption.
Even until the end, he was a typical and insignificant human.
Eventually, there would be no days to meet his father, who always had arguments with him. It was impossible to understand his father, who was a completely different being from the start.
"Well, even though I never wanted to meet him."
However, the fact that is not so surprising despite his father's death came as a realization.
Now he knows for sure.
He didn't even despise the pathetic human being in front of his eyes.
The emotion he once thought was hatred was only contempt and disgust. It wasn't much different from the emotions he felt when he saw a black centipede crawling on his arms.
Even the emotions he felt when he saw his father during his childhood were all distorted by damaged memories.
Everything was obviously annoying, exhausting, and gloomy...
"Why suddenly... do I miss her so much?"
Throughout the priest's sentence who visited the castle, he thought of Deborah's red eyes.
When he first met her, her ruby eyes shone intensely without knowing the cause.
But now only... without any reason, without trying at all, they shone intensely.
At that moment, he had no idea that he would feel this way.
"I want to see her face."
Isidor calculated the time he needed to stay in the southern region while handling the funeral as Duke, not as Sir.
More time was needed to complete the funeral process in the southern route and formally assume the title.
Isidor wrote a letter to Deborah telling her that it might take some time even though the funeral had finished.
Also, when he wrote that he missed her, he accidentally dipped the pen back into the ink.
"Duke, a letter has arrived.
As soon as he sealed the letter, Isidor received a response from Deborah immediately.
Although the letter was sent a few days ago, he felt the need to respond immediately due to synchronization.
Whenever he has time, he reads and rereads Deborah's letter.
[You must be very busy, but you must eat well. You shouldn't skip meals.]
Isidor had dinner later. Suddenly, he felt hungry. He also remembered her delicately cutting and eating the meat.
[You must be grieving for your father's death, but take good care of your health.]
However, there was a mistake in her last sentence.
More than grieving, he regretted that his father died sooner than expected.
Because he needed to take over the bothersome position of family head immediately.
"The person called father was no help even until the end."
A coffin wrapped in white cloth was buried in the ground.
The funeral ended after the priests prayed for the deceased.
The series of processes went smoothly because Isidor was in full authority to take over power within the family.
"Finally...
Count Drain was moved to tears.
"The true light of Visconti is radiant.
The vassals felt overwhelming joy seeing the new Duke Visconti, a direct copy of the portrait of the first family head.
Then, Isidor formally dressed with a golden sword and sat in the center, where all the vassals and relatives had gathered.
"Let's get straight to the point, let's do well in the future.
Thunderous applause poured out when he said that with a slight smile after being expressionless all that time.
Then, a banquet in commemoration of the new Duke Visconti began.
------------------------------
I quickly read Isidor's letter.
It didn't take long for this letter to arrive since he sent it using a teleportation gate.
"Well, Isidor is well-versed in teleportation magic."
I carefully read his letter from the first sentence while barely suppressing nervousness.
[You must have been surprised by my sudden absence. So you may have heard rumors about me spreading through the capital.]
He accurately calculated the situation.
[It was a sudden death, so it might take me some time before I can return to the capital.]
Now that I think about it, Isidor is not that old, but he had to go through his father's funeral and even take care of his family.
I felt even more worried as he seemed to carry a huge burden.
[I miss you so much that I'm going crazy.]
Amidst the worry for him, I saw the sentence written on the back of the letter and suddenly rubbed my flushed face.
"What, what the hell."
I felt nervous because the sentence was written clearly, as if he had pressed the pen with force, but soon heard a tap on the window.
"What was that?"
I hastily got up and approached the window.