After giving Ileil some more “important” instructions, Gro arrived early at the conference room arranged by Duke Lokas. The young duke was already there. Gro walked past the guards and approached the head of the table, greeting Lokas:
“Good morning, Your Grace.”
“Morning.”
Lokas appeared busy with something and answered without looking up. The table was covered with documents that seemed to have been recently unsealed. Gro glanced at the text on the papers out of the corner of his eye and immediately understood what the duke was working on.
“Your Grace, you must be investigating the files of those three missing persons that Sister Emilia mentioned, correct?”
Gro stood behind Lokas, resting his chin on his hand as he looked over the documents the duke was reviewing. He showed not the slightest bit of reverence toward the duke.
“You’re right… Mr. Gro.”
Lokas didn’t hide his thoughts. He finally looked up and gave Gro a sideways glance, sighing somewhat helplessly:
“Your adopted daughter—Miss Ileil suspects that Sister Emilia is one of the main culprits behind the princess’s assassination attempt. To be safe, I requested the church in the nearby town that registered Sister Emilia’s information for her records, and I also looked into the three missing people she mentioned.”
“Heh. Trusting Ileil’s intuition was the right call. Sometimes she’s even sharper than I am.” Gro nodded, then chuckled lightly:
“It seems the control over population movement in the territory under Your Grace’s jurisdiction isn’t very strict—which is why the forces of the Mor Believers were able to grow here, and even a witch managed to sneak in…”
Gro said this, but the duke didn’t seem particularly bothered by his sharp criticism:
“Yes…” Lokas sighed. “There’s nothing that can be done about it. You can see for yourself how my family has declined. The territory we hold is nothing but this remote, barren land on the border of Aressto. I only have the title of ‘Duke’ in name.”
Lokas narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze turning sharp:
“That’s why whenever you call me ‘Your Grace,’ I can’t help but subconsciously take it as a provocation.”
“My apologies, my apologies. Please forgive my rudeness. Then how should I address you? After all, as you know—I’m just a crude commoner.”
“Those were just some of my complaints, Mr. Gro. You are my benefactor. You may address me however you like on such small matters.”
“Is that so? That’s good then.” Gro breathed a sigh of relief. “If only that kid Ileil could be as understanding as you.”
“……Miss Ileil is indeed a very decisive person.”
Lokas recalled how Ileil had confronted him mercilessly last night and found it difficult to comment much further. He had thought that Gro’s adopted “daughter” would have picked up some of Gro’s smoothness and way of handling people—no matter what—but from his brief interactions with Ileil, he had already sensed something special about the silver-haired girl.
“I’m a bit curious, Mr. Gro.” Lokas put down the document in his hand and stared into Gro’s deep blue eyes:
“Why do you always call Ileil ‘kid’?”
“This…” Suddenly being asked about this topic, even the usually skilled actor Gro couldn’t answer the duke’s question with complete calm:
“Ileil has always been rather wild and unrestrained since she was young—compared to those quiet girls. That’s why I got into the habit of calling her ‘kid’.”
He couldn’t let Lokas continue discussing Ileil.
Gro thought to himself. Although Duke Lokas was currently on the same side as him, no matter what—Lokas was a proper citizen of Aressto who believed in the Dawn Goddess. If he learned that Ileil was a witch, no one could guarantee what kind of trouble it might cause.
It was time to steer the conversation back to today’s main topic.
“Speaking of which, Your Grace. In these reports of missing persons, have you seen the name ‘Lilian’ anywhere?”
Gro quickly interjected, and upon hearing the name, Lokas frowned:
“Lilian…?” The duke repeated. “I don’t recall hearing this name. Did you hear it from Miss Ileil?”
“Not exactly.” Gro shook his head and continued:
“It doesn’t matter where I heard the name. What’s important is the girl’s identity.”
“Who is she?” Lokas frowned even deeper after hearing Gro suddenly bring up a stranger’s name.
“You should remember—I recently cut off the head of that ‘Blood Axe’ Regnar. I only barely managed to defeat him with everything I had.”
Gro paused, forcing a bitter smile at the corner of his mouth:
“While fighting him, I felt something was off about his condition. Even someone like me who knows almost nothing about magic could tell he was being controlled by something. Even his eyes weren’t as clear as they used to be.”
“What is the relationship between Lilian and ‘Blood Axe’ Regnar?”
Lokas pressed. From the reports given by the night patrol guards and Gro yesterday—the one who ambushed the two missing mercenaries on the road could only be the deceased Regnar. All clues pointed to him.
“Lilian is Regnar’s daughter.”
Gro replied in a calm tone. “And from what I know—after ‘Blood Axe’ Regnar left the northern country of Kastit, he had been living in Grey Rock Town on the border of Aressto. That place should also fall under your territory, Your Grace.”
“……”
Lokas remained silent. His expression became exceptionally grim at this moment. Gro looked at the duke, whose pupils had contracted slightly, and continued in a gentler tone:
“Of course—I’m not blaming you, Your Grace. It’s impossible for you to know every single movement of people in your territory at all times. Besides, according to the local residents of Renn Town, that wolf-headed man from the Northern Border was actually quite an upright and decent person while living in Grey Rock Town.”
“……Mr. Gro, when exactly did you gather this information?”
Lokas looked somewhat surprised, but Gro simply smiled nonchalantly:
“Yesterday. If I didn’t have that saint watching my back, I wouldn’t have dared to go alone.”
“Is that so?” The duke still looked somewhat astonished. “Then when did you find out about Lilian…”
“I’ve known about Regnar for a long time. If I hadn’t discovered clues about his ‘resurrection,’ who would want to disturb a reformed executioner? After all, I’m hardly a champion of justice…”
“My negligence…”
The young duke lowered his head and said through gritted teeth.
“It’s not your fault, Your Grace.” Gro patted Lokas on the shoulder. His tone rarely became gentle:
“The fact that you provided a place for those who had nowhere else to go… is something worthy of praise in itself.”
Gro removed his hand and continued:
“Do you know why I suddenly brought up Lilian, Your Grace?”
“What…?”
Lokas followed Gro’s gaze toward the open door of the conference room, looking out into the corridor:
“Regnar’s daughter, Lilian, is already dead.”
Gro spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear:
“I suspect… the reason Regnar attacked me more than half a month ago was because someone manipulated him using the matter of his daughter.”
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