Chapter 159

“Huh?”

So, Jenis has lost all contact?

Thus… has he gone missing?

“How do you know that?”

“Well, yesterday a letter came to the mansion addressed to me. It was from Big Brother Jenis…”

Ioliene said this as she handed me a letter.

I took it and examined it.

The contents… excluding various pleasantries and unnecessary embellishments…

“Perhaps I might be away for quite some time…”

Ioliene nodded as she continued speaking.

‘What’s going on?’

“It might just be that it’ll take a few more days like Big Brother said, but for some reason, I’m extremely worried… He clearly wrote in the letter that he’d return yesterday. And… how should I put this… his handwriting seems a little off.”

“Handwriting?”

“Yes, here…”

Ioliene handed me two letters.

One saying he’d be back soon, and the other saying it would take longer.

Honestly, I couldn’t really tell the difference, but since Ioliene, as family, is so sure about it, there must be some kind of difference.

Looking at her anxious expression, I thought.

Even though I don’t know exactly what’s happening, this moment feels like an important turning point.

“Swoen-sama… what should we do?”

‘If Jenis is involved in something suspicious, this might be our chance to stop his plans beforehand.’

I had planned to investigate what Jenis was doing when he arrived, so moving with her wouldn’t be a bad idea.

“Who else has seen this letter?”

“Just me so far.”

“You have no idea where Senior Jenis went, right?”

Nods.

“Ioliene-san, let’s start by confirming what we can, one step at a time.”

“What do you mean?”

I looked at her confidently and replied.

“I think we can narrow down where Senior Jenis might be.”

“Really…?”

* * *

The place Ioliene and I arrived at was…

The only bridge leading into Einhardt Castle.

Einhardt Castle was built on an island in the middle of a large river. If someone came or went here, there would definitely be a record of it.

So if Jenis left the territory, I was confident we could find his name.

Since I’m part of the Serpina Army, I’m in a position where I can ask soldiers about entry and exit records.

And since Jenis is also a member of the military, it would be even easier to inquire about him.

And the result…

“So his name isn’t on the list?”

“Yes, that’s correct. It seems Master Jenis hasn’t left the territory.”

‘Good.’

If he had left the territory, this would become a problem beyond my ability to help.

But if he’s still within the territory, there’s hope we can find him.

After hearing the explanation about the entry and exit records from the soldier, I came out from beside the watchtower.

Ioliene, who had been waiting outside, asked worriedly.

“Did you find anything?”

“Fortunately, it seems he hasn’t left the territory.”

“If so, then let’s immediately inform Brother Irian and organize a search party-”

“No, please wait a moment.”

If we mobilize regular troops to form a search party, Serpina will definitely hear about it.

And if she finds out, and this turns out to be treason… not only will the entire Al Caskey family be wiped out, but many others involved will lose their lives too.

As punishment for treason, that’s understandable, but all the resentment will inevitably focus on Serpina.

She already draws hatred from everyone.

Yuri and Anima acted wrongly due to their grudges against her, Lin felt humiliated just by associating with her, and even Lady Luna has lost family and hates Lady Serpina.

It’s almost like the whole world is designed to hate her.

So, the best way to protect her as much as possible is one thing.

To minimize the number of people she makes enemies with whenever possible.

Even during the recent incident where my advice helped uncover the rebels early, it wasn’t hard to detect their animosity toward her.

As a ruler, it’s unavoidable that she’ll get her hands bloody, but if we can avoid killing, that’s the best.

Ideally, we’d prevent rebellion before it happens, but just not killing the Caskey family alone would avoid forming many grudge relationships.

So, now isn’t the time to escalate this situation.

We can tell Serpina when the treason is confirmed.

Now all that’s left is explaining this to Ioliene…

I can’t outright say “I suspect your brother is planning a rebellion,” so how should I explain this?

“Swoen-sama…?”

“…”

Let me phrase this carefully.

“A search party might actually put Senior Jenis in danger if he’s really missing. If he’s been kidnapped somewhere, confirming the search operation could unnecessarily provoke them.”

“Kidnapped… are you saying my brother was kidnapped?”

I checked if “Has Jenis Al Caskey been kidnapped?” but…

[Unknown]

‘Figures.’

Of course, it’s impossible to guess.

Should I take comfort in the fact that even if the result comes out, they probably won’t tell me the location?

“It’s still just a possibility at this stage.”

“But if we don’t form a search party, isn’t there nothing we can do? And if he really has been kidnapped-”

“Ioliene-dono.”

I placed my hand on her trembling shoulder.

“!”

Feeling her body gradually calming down, I looked her in the eyes and spoke calmly.

“There are times when haste requires patience. I’ll help you, so please don’t worry too much.”

“A… Yes, I understand.”

Thankfully, she understands.

Then first, I need to figure out why Jenis is doing this.

Though I’m not certain, maybe talking to the person he’s been obsessing over will give us some clues.

“Ioliene-dono, calm down and follow my instructions.”

“Tell me what to do.”

“How long does it take to get from here to the Al Caskey mansion?”

“Huh? Um… It’s not too far from Einhardt Castle, but why suddenly-?”

I looked at her puzzled expression and said.

“We’re going to meet Irian-dono now.”

*

I got in the carriage with her and left through the castle gates, heading toward the outskirts of the Aingard territory.

The sun was setting, which made me a bit worried, but fortunately, according to her, it didn’t take long to reach the Al Caskey mansion.

“We’ve arrived.”

Getting out of the carriage, I surveyed the massive mansion in front of us.

Even being on the outskirts, owning a mansion of this size inside the territory shows that the Al Caskey family is indeed quite influential, as I suspected.

“Please, this way.”

Following her, servants greeted us with great respect.

“Miss Ioliene, you’ve come. Excuse me, but who is the person following behind you?”

“He’s a guest of Brother Irian.”

“Is that so.”

The elderly maid became very polite upon hearing that.

“In that case, shall I guide you-”

“It’s fine. I’ll handle it, so please don’t worry too much.”

“Shall we prepare a meal then-”

“I’ve already eaten. It’s fine.”

“If Miss says so…”

That way, we entered the mansion without much trouble.

*

Inside was ordinary.

Well, when I say ordinary, it gave an elegant and luxurious impression that would be difficult to call the mansion of a fallen noble family.

Considering that most noble families have lost their influence since the Era of Chaos began, this level is quite impressive.

That way, following her a few more steps, we arrived at a room that seemed like a reception area.

“This is where we should wait.”

“Isn’t Irian-niisan back yet?”

“Yes. He’s very busy working.”

Even though I figured his work in this world would be mostly agriculture, commerce, training, etc., it seemed odd he was so busy…

With the development of the territory and castle, there must be many areas requiring manpower.

By the way, I’ve been continuously summoned by Serpina these past few days, so I haven’t really been assigned any specific tasks. If anything, giving advice to her would be my task.

How much time passed?

With the sound of the door opening, a handsome man with black hair walked in from afar.

I recognized his face.

“Irian-niisan…!”

Hearing Ioliene’s voice, Irian turned and asked.

“Ioliene, what’s the matter? I heard I have a visitor.”

“Yeah… it’s…”

Ioliene gestured to me with her eyes.

“…”

I stood up and gave a slight bow.

Irian returned the bow and spoke.

“Was it you who came looking for me?”

“Yes.”

“Sorry for keeping you waiting. So, you’re Swoen, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Ah, Swoen. What’s the matter coming here without any particular reason?”

“Would it be alright if I explained slowly?”

“Hmm, that’s fine. Ioliene, you may leave.”

“No, Ioliene-dono can stay here.”

“Hm?”

“It’ll be easier to explain with her here.”

Upon hearing my words, Irian’s eyebrows twitched slightly, then crossed his arms and started eyeing me cautiously.

“Swoen, surely you aren’t…”

“…?”

And then,

He brought up something I had never even considered.

“You’re not here to propose to Ioliene, are you?”

“Brother…!!”

Embarrassed Ioliene bowed her head deeply, her face completely red…

While observing Irian’s appearance carefully.

Young lord ruling the house, active on the battlefield, regarded as a promising talent within the Serpina army…

Since he doesn’t exist in my memories, it’s likely he dies at some point.

“Then let’s get straight to the point. Ioliene-dono, would you mind explaining?”

“Ah…”

With Ioliene regaining some composure and nodding,

She briefly explained the situation as I had instructed earlier.

“Jenis’ attitude seems a bit off lately?”

“Yes. He keeps getting angry and won’t even deal with me… I thought maybe you knew something about what happened to Brother Jenis.”

“And the reason you came here-”

“As his roommate, I’m also worried about Senior Jenis. Since he’s been absent from our accommodations recently, I was concerned… Just happened to run into Ioliene-dono who was looking for him, so we decided to come together.”

“Hmm… Still feels suspicious.”

“!”

Irian kept alternating his gaze between me and Ioliene.

Still suspicious about the relationship between me and Ioliene, huh.

Sorry, but I’m already engaged to someone else.

Irian remained deep in thought with his arms crossed.

“Don’t really have any guesses.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Jenis wasn’t exactly an ambitious person.”

“But he always talked about you. He looked up to you so much… When I saw Senior Jenis so obviously down, I naturally thought it might be related to you…”

“That’s thoughtful of you, but eventually, he has to live his own life. A man bearing the name Al Caskey shouldn’t keep envying others forever.”

“Anyway, don’t have any guesses at all?”

“Guesses…?”

Irian paused for a moment, then slowly opened his lips.

“Doesn’t seem directly related to current events, but… there was one time he raised his voice at me, which was rare.”

“What was it about?”

“Oh? Would you mind telling me?”

“…”

Irian looked at the cold tea on the table and said.

“Actually, it’s a bit complicated to talk about in front of you, Swoen.”

“Complicated?”

“What do you mean, Brother…?”

“Hmm…”

Irian sighed a few times before continuing.

“You know about the newly appointed deputy commander of the occupying forces, right?”

‘Ah.’

Upon hearing that, I realized why he hesitated to bring it up.

Irene Julieat.

The red-haired knight who took the position of deputy commander of the occupation forces that was supposed to go to Irian.

‘That name coming up here…’

Maybe coming to see Irian was the right move after all.

*