“We shall talk about it in detail later. You must have been through plenty of trouble, great job. We have prepared a room for you to stay in the mansion, so take the guild members with you and take a good rest. For now, you don’t have to worry too much about this.”
At first glance, Tom’s words seemed to be harsh, and Tag almost felt sad for a moment, but remembering Noel’s words he had heard in Kreisen, he gave a slight nod.
“Alright. Please take good care of us.”
Tom, who had expected Tag to be upset, was surprised by his rather nonchalant reaction.
It seems that a lot more things have happened in Kreisen than I thought.
Seeing this development, Tom thought it was quite a shame not being there with him to witness this change in person. However, each of them had a different job, so Tom quickly shook off his disappointment.
“Just as the Duke expected, all the assassins were killed instantly by having their throats pierced.”
“I see. There was nothing I could find out about the assassins anyway.”
“Noel, what is going on?”
Irene, who was watching from the side, asked, perplexed. From what she heard, it appeared that someone murdered the captured assassins while they were on their way. But what was expected?
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you in advance. I couldn’t tell you because I was afraid you’d feel uneasy on your way back.”
Noel said with an apologetic expression to Irene, who could not hide her confusion.
“But what exactly happened?”
“The assassins were killed on our way.”
Irene’s eyes shook.
“I knew on my way back that they would get rid of the assassins. But I let it slide. Rather, I intentionally reduced the number of guards around there.”
“Why is that? If the culprits die, we cannot unmask who is behind them.”
“They will never reveal the mastermind because they did not know who was behind it all.”
At his ambiguous words, Irene’s expression blurred.
“Then there was no need to kill them. The assassins wouldn’t have breathed a word anyway...”
“They would never leave a single trace behind. If the real perpetrator’s identity is uncovered, the other party will be in a lot of trouble. That’s why they have to eliminate the smallest chance of risk.” Noel looked at Irene with soft eyes as he spoke.
He looked as if he had already known who was pulling the strings from behind. But the exchange could not last any longer as the Great Kristen came out to meet them.
“Welcome home, sweetheart, Noel.”
“I’m back, grandfather.”
“I’m back.”
“Right, you two have had a hard time coming all the way back here. Besides, there was a regrettable incident, or so I heard?”
The mercenaries who glanced their way and guards who were disposing of the corpses shuddered. They felt the murderous intent at the end of his words.
However, the Grand Duke quickly regained his neutral expression and spoke warmly.
“Let’s talk about it later. The long journey must be tiring, so go in and rest. You will be busy again soon.”
The Grand Duke spoke vaguely, but his meaning was clear.
The conference and succession. Having understood the meaning of his grandfather’s words, Noel nodded without complaint.
“Alright, then Irene and I will get inside now.”
“Yes, take a good rest.”
“Let’s go in.”
Irene gave a slight, respectful nod at the Grand Duke and headed to their room with Noel. The servants who recognised the couple while walking down the hallway bowed their heads quickly. Since Noel’s succession to the throne was almost inevitable, their attitude toward him became more polite than ever before within the Grand Duke’s residence.
Upon returning to the room, Irene took off her robe and sat down on a chair.
“Irene, you are tired. Would you like a cup of tea?”
In response to Noel’s question, Irene smiled faintly.
“You are tired, too.”
“I have enough energy to serve Irene a cup of tea.”
To his tricky answer, Irene made a face indicating she was good without it, but Noel gestured her to wait and went into the backroom to get the tea.
“I’m really fine, though….”
As the journey was urgent, no matter how strong he was, he would be worn out. With that, Irene felt kind of guilty to receive this special treatment from him. Nevertheless, she thought it would be rude to reject his good deed, so Irene sat quietly and waited for him.
Patiently waiting for his return, she turned her head and looked out the window. Unlike the annexe, the main building had a clear view of the garden in the Grand Duchy, giving a clear picture of the seasons.