Chapter 7

The silver-haired man, Enoch, introduced himself properly as the Duke’s aide. He released a long sigh, complaining that he was forced to play the part of a butler whenever the Duke traveled abroad, before leading Lino to his quarters.

Lino’s room was the very last one on the third floor. It hadn’t been assigned; Lino had chosen it himself. Is it not too far from His Highness’s bedroom? It’s also quite a distance from the study… Enoch hadn’t bothered to hide his disapproval, but Lino ignored him and stuck with the most distant room available.

Had the Duke genuinely needed protection, he wouldn’t have dismissed dozens of knights and kept only two. For a man who casually embedded mana stones into a limousine, this mansion was undoubtedly crawling with invisible, foolproof security measures.

When told he could rest today and begin his escort duties tomorrow, Lino nodded his agreement. He carefully avoided meeting Enoch’s gaze, keeping his head bowed and his bangs low to obscure his eyes and brow. He was a firm believer that the three things that formed a first impression were the face, the eyes, and a person’s preferred physical trait.

Grumble.

His stomach let out a tiny protest. He’d been so busy preparing for the capital that he’d skipped breakfast, and he hadn’t touched a drop of water in the limousine. He’d been too terrified that touching anything might damage the priceless mana stones.

Lino decided he needed to shove something into his stomach before the noises became audible. Small annoyances like this had a habit of accumulating into a grudge. He wanted to avoid being liked, but being despised was equally problematic.

His primary goal was to stay quiet and return safely to St. Margia. His secondary goal was to secure a decent payout of tips and gifts. To achieve the second, he had to avoid amassing too much ill will. So, he cautiously broached the subject. He was starving, but he desperately wanted to avoid dining with the Duke.

“Um… regarding dinner…”

“It will be brought to your room.”

Lino had to fight to keep his lips from curling into a wide smile at the answer. Thinking about it, it made no sense for the bodyguard to dine with the distinguished guest.

“You seem a bit peckish, so I’ll have a light snack sent up immediately.”

“Ah… thank you.”

Dammit. The sound had been minuscule, yet the man had heard it. Why did this happen the moment he resolved to avoid ill will? At least he’d delivered a proper thank you.

He felt a twinge of anxiety at the way things were already stumbling on his first day, but he comforted himself with the thought that such a minor incident wouldn’t even be remembered.

Once Enoch left, Lino finally took a proper look at his quarters. The parlor—which doubled as a living area—the bedroom, and the bathroom were roughly the same size as his quarters at the Haklan estate. It wasn’t that the guest room was small; it was that his room at the Haklan mansion had been absurdly large for a child. Regardless, this space was more than generous for a single occupant.

Lino collapsed onto the parlor sofa and began reviewing what he knew about the Duke.

Duke Castillion Luz Grondil from the Cartia Empire.

He whispered the full name, but nothing else came to mind. It was a natural result; Enoch had provided absolutely zero information beyond the name.

Lino had meticulously organized his knowledge of any noble Baron Haklan might interact with. A Duke of the Empire would be socially obligated to at least pretend to care about ancient theology for the sake of high culture. This would inevitably lead to an invitation, a lecture, or at least a record of communication. Consequently, Lino found it bizarre that his mind held zero information on Duke Castillion Luz Grondil.

I wish I had even one more piece of data.

Enoch hadn’t disclosed why the Duke had come to Zetina or how long he planned to stay, and he hadn’t invited any questions.

Maybe he’s just here for a vacation?

It was a possibility. What business would a Duke of the Empire have in a bean-sized country like Zetina? It had no local specialties, no famous figures, and no thriving culture or art scene. Thinking about it, Zetina was a painfully boring country with zero notable tourist attractions.

Then it must be for personal reasons.

That would explain why he hadn’t disclosed his purpose.

Having processed the Duke’s mysterious visit, Lino finally allowed the man’s face to resurface from the depths of his mind. It had left an impact so violent it could only be described as a permanent scar on his consciousness. Given his circumstances, Lino hadn’t seen many people, and he rarely watched the media where the elite flaunted their beauty, yet he was certain the Duke’s appearance was peerless among men and women alike.

This only fueled his suspicion. A man that beautiful should have been famous across the entire continent. Yet, the title of the continent’s greatest beauty still belonged to the Marchioness of Disson in the Zetina Kingdom.

Is my data that outdated?

Lino whispered the name again. Castillion Luz Grondil, Duke of the Cartia Empire. Duke Grondil. Lord Grondil. His Highness. No matter how many times he said it, it felt alien.

“Grondil. Grondil… No matter how hard I think, I can’t recall a House of Grondil.”

He frantically searched his memory, but no high-ranking noble by the name of Castillion Luz Grondil appeared. Wait, is he a fraud? An imposter? He considered the possibility but immediately dismissed it. Impersonating a minor noble was common, but this was too large a scale. This wasn’t a petty Baronet from a tiny kingdom; impersonating a Duke of the Empire required a level of suicidal insanity that was impossible without a complete lack of a brain.

Furthermore, there had been nearly thirty knights in that parlor. If it were a scam, they would all have to be accomplices. But Yuneria was an actual noble.

Wait, is he…?

Lino scratched his cheek and retrieved the mobile phone from the bag of supplies Enoch had provided. He’d only seen photos of these symbols of wealth and power in books; holding one was a first. His hand trembled slightly as he pressed the power button.

Anyone with enough wealth to hand these out to temporary escorts must be an actual noble.

Had this been before he joined the order, he might have stuck with his gut and labeled them as frauds. But Lino had been severed from the outside world for years. While Rodic occasionally brought back gossip from his tavern trips, the man was obsessed with women and couldn’t care less about high-level news like a newly appointed Duke in the Empire. Even if it had been all over the TV, he would have ignored it.

His data was three years out of date. The days when he could pride himself on knowing every noble house in the Empire were long gone.

With awkward fingers, Lino navigated to a portal site and searched for ‘Castillion Luz Grondil.’

“…Oh? He’s real.”

The search results were sparse, but the moment he saw an article from the official Imperial media of the Cartia Empire naming Castillion Luz Grondil a precious benefactor of the Imperial family and bestowing the title of Duke upon him, Lino’s suspicions vanished.

The photo attached to the article obliterated any remaining doubt. The man standing beside the Emperor was undeniably the Duke Grondil he’d seen in the parlor. Though it was a profile shot, he recognized the brilliant silver-gray hair, the sharp bridge of the nose, and the pristine white skin.

He looked like a thick, overcast winter day.

Duke Grondil was entirely white and hazy. In the parlor, he’d been obscured by the knights, and once they’d fallen, he’d tilted his head and allowed his hair to hide half his face. Ironically, that was why Lino was certain the man in the photo was the same person.

He’d been so busy staring at his own boots to avoid Yuneria’s piercing gaze that he’d been stunned by how tall the Duke was when he stood up. He hadn’t seen him clearly, but the shadow the Duke cast over him as he walked past had proven he was vastly larger than Lino.

I felt like I was being swallowed alive…

Thinking about that oppressive sensation, Lino frantically ruffled his hair before freezing.

Wait… this is fine, isn’t it?

If remaining a quiet, invisible mouse was impossible, perhaps he should just pivot to being a total fool. He’d been confident he could stay invisible among thirty knights, but now that it was just him and Yuneria, he’d be compared at every turn. He needed to ensure he was the “lesser” of the two. If he wasn’t naturally incompetent, he’d have to make sure he appeared that way.

Lino sank deep into the plush sofa, his mind working frantically to plot how to survive in this massive mansion.