ITIF Chapter 86

Even If We’re Family

Shaking his head at her incomprehensible psychology, Kavelaseth made his way to his office.

And immediately summoned Count Preston.

“You called for me?”

As Count Preston entered the office, Kavelaseth asked.

“Any new information from Joshua’s side?”

Count Preston shook his head.

“Not yet. I plan to visit the Imperial Palace tomorrow to find out how the situation is progressing.”

As Kavelaseth let out a light sigh, Count Preston carefully added.

“Your Grace, I heard that Lady Amaterasu will be staying at this mansion starting today…”

Nodding indifferently, Kavelaseth said.

“Since we don’t know what methods Joshua and the Empress might employ, it seems better to protect Lady Amaterasu here for now.”

“…I see. Then have you also decided how to explain this to Duke Amaterasu?”

“I plan to submit a marriage proposal as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.”

Count Preston blinked his surprised eyes and asked.

“That… I’m not sure Duke Amaterasu will agree.”

“Giselle now shares the secret of the Alliance as well, so there’s no reason he couldn’t permit it.”

“You told her? About the Alliance’s secret?”

Count Preston looked at the indifferently nodding Kavelaseth with a shocked expression, then soon seemed to accept the inevitable reality as he lowered his gaze and said.

“…Understood.”

Count Preston calmly accepted the fact that there was now one more master to serve, then voiced a question that suddenly occurred to him.

“Besides the Alliance’s secret, did you tell Lady Amaterasu any other important matters?”

Kavelaseth nodded slightly.

“I see…”

The fact that Kavelaseth was the Emperor’s first child was unknown to all but a very few even within the Alliance.

Learning that he had shared even top-secret matters, Count Preston judged that Kavelaseth’s feelings toward Lady Amaterasu must not be shallow.

****

The next day.

As soon as the sun rose, Mikhail burst into the ducal mansion and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Kavel! Kavelaseth Cardia!”

Due to Mikhail causing such a commotion from the crack of dawn that the mansion seemed about to collapse, employees with sleepy eyes had gathered at the mansion entrance to watch the situation.

The butler, who was anxiously watching Mikhail among them, bravely stepped forward.

“Welcome, Young Duke Amaterasu. Currently, His Grace is…”

The butler tried to respond quickly, but failed. Because Mikhail’s eyes had slightly lost their reason.

“Move aside.”

“…”

Just as the butler who had been blocking Mikhail’s way stepped slightly to the side.

Looking down from the spiral staircase railing, Kavelaseth drawled.

“How noisy from this early morning.”

Having just washed up, his black hair was slightly damp, and his attire was also comfortable shirt-wear.

“Kavel!”

Like a beast of prey spotting raw meat, Mikhail rushed up the stairs where Kavelaseth stood.

The employees of the Cardia ducal house couldn’t even think of blocking the next head of Amaterasu and could only stamp their feet anxiously.

“Wh-what should we do, Butler!”

Soon the employees’ gazes fell on the butler.

Excluding the head of house Kavelaseth, the butler was indeed the highest authority in this mansion.

However, he too was merely an employee, and the reality was that he didn’t have the power to stop the next head of the Amaterasu ducal house.

Nevertheless, the butler let out a light sigh and followed Mikhail up the stairs.

“Y-Young Duke…”

That’s when it happened.

“Follow me.”

Kavelaseth only spat out one word and turned around.

Soon both Kavelaseth and Mikhail disappeared from the butler’s and employees’ view.

“Butler. Shouldn’t you go see?”

The head maid said, and the other employees nodded.

“I was thinking of doing just that… Prepare tea to serve them both.”

At the butler’s instruction, the gathered employees busily prepared tea.

Someone transferred boiling water to a teapot, while someone else prepared tea leaves and teacups.

“Ice, how about we also put out ice? He seems quite angry…”

Someone among the employees suggested, and the employees nodded saying it was a good idea.

Thanks to the employees working together, the tea set was quickly prepared.

“Butler, please hurry and go.”

The head maid said, placing the tray in the butler’s hands.

“…R-right, I should.”

The butler ascended the stairs receiving the employees’ expectant gazes.

Though the employees urged him to hurry and go even while knowing he truly had no power to stop the next head of a ducal house, which felt rather heartless.

And just as he entered the second-floor reception room.

“So you’re saying… you want to marry… our Giselle?”

Gone was the menacing aura as if he would grab Kavelaseth by the collar and shake him at any moment, and Mikhail asked with considerably gentler eyes.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Mikhail’s questioning eyes were full of doubt.

Just then, the butler who had entered the reception room set down the tray he was carrying on the table.

And quickly assessed the Young Duke Amaterasu’s mood.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like there would be trouble, but to prepare for any possible situation, the butler prepared the tea somewhat slowly.

Then, recalling what he’d heard about the Young Duke Amaterasu cherishing his sister greatly, the butler placed tea in front of each of them and bowed.

The butler who left the reception room immediately made his way toward Lady Amaterasu’s bedroom.

****

Picking up his teacup and glancing at the butler leaving the reception room, Kavelaseth soon opened his mouth.

“I was just about to send word to you and Duke Amaterasu anyway.”

“About the marriage?”

Kavelaseth, who had drunk the hot tea, nodded and said.

“Your sister has learned the Alliance’s secret.”

“What! How on earth did that happen?”

To the surprised Mikhail whose eyes widened, Kavelaseth quietly added.

“Because I told her.”

“…What?”

Mikhail, who had been blinking stupidly, suddenly shot up from his seat.

“Are you insane?”

Seeing that Mikhail’s eyes had gone a bit wild, Kavelaseth gripped the sofa armrest and quickly surveyed the surroundings.

If he couldn’t calm Mikhail’s excitement, it seemed he would need to issue an evacuation order for the mansion.

That’s when it happened.

“Brother Mikhail?”

Giselle Grante, in a comfortable outfit with just a shawl simply draped over a thin dress, walked into the reception room where Kavelaseth and Mikhail were.

The butler was with her.

“Giselle!”

Mikhail immediately approached Giselle Grante and exclaimed.

The murderous aura he had been scattering just moments ago had completely disappeared, and he looked like a large dog delighted to meet its eagerly awaited owner.

At Mikhail’s drastically changed appearance, Kavelaseth let out a hollow laugh.

“Ha…”

Giselle Grante, who had no way of knowing what Mikhail had been like earlier, looked at the two with a puzzled expression.

She had been asleep until just moments ago.

Feeling some commotion, she opened her eyes to find someone knocking on her bedroom door.

When she cracked open the bedroom door and looked beyond it, the butler was standing there.

[What’s the matter?]

[I apologize for the early hour, but…]

As Giselle Grante nodded, the butler, looking somewhat troubled, suddenly said.

[Young Duke Amaterasu is currently at the mansion.]

[From this early in the morning?]

[Indeed.]

The butler nodded with quite earnest eyes.

Though puzzled, Giselle Grante quickly threw on her shawl and opened the bedroom door.

[Did he come to see me?]

[…Th-that seems to be the case.]

The butler’s answer was somehow unsatisfying, but she left her bedroom thinking he must be worried about her staying out overnight yesterday.

[Where is he?]

[This way.]

The butler promptly guided her with an expression as if beholding a savior.

And as soon as they arrived at the reception room, Giselle Grante realized why the butler had come to get her.

“Are you insane?”

Right before her eyes, Mikhail suddenly shot up from his seat.

His body was tensely coiled as if about to lunge at Kavelaseth at any moment, and his eyes were… a bit wild.

Honestly, she was scared.

But she mustered her courage and opened her mouth.

“…Brother Mikhail?”

As soon as he heard her voice, Mikhail whipped his head toward her.

At the same time, Giselle Grante’s shoulders reflexively stiffened.

Because even though they were biological siblings, he looked too dangerous.

“Giselle!”

Upon confirming her face, Mikhail immediately came to her and examined her all over.

His gaze checking if she was hurt anywhere was quite attentive.

“Are you all right?”

At Mikhail’s question, Giselle Grante showed her bewildered expression as is and answered.

“Yes? Well…”

Actually, she wasn’t all right.

The aftershocks from yesterday’s shock hadn’t yet subsided. But that didn’t seem to be what Mikhail was asking about.

“I was worried. I was so worried I couldn’t sleep a wink, and Father was also very worried about you. I thought about rushing over as soon as I heard the news, but the time I confirmed Kavel’s letter was too late…”

Mikhail firmly grasped her hands and rattled off his words.

Roughly, he wanted to storm into the Cardia ducal mansion immediately, but worried it might disturb her sleep, so he came here as soon as the sun rose.

‘How considerate…’

While thinking that, Giselle Grante was quite flustered by Mikhail’s attitude, acting as if reuniting with family he’d been separated from for years.

It was partly because she’d never had family who genuinely worried about her this much before.

Then Kavelaseth suddenly shot up from his seat.

“…?”

Striding over here, he firmly grasped Mikhail’s wrist that was holding Giselle Grante’s wrist.

And said.

“Let’s talk with that released, shall we?”