ICM Chapter 105

It was evening when twilight was settling in. Even when the study door was knocked upon, no answer came from within. The butler who had come to announce mealtime hesitated in front of the study.

‘He didn’t even have lunch today.’

If he was asleep, it seemed he should wake him now. Just as the butler was about to grasp the door handle, the study door burst open roughly.

“Oh my, Your Grace.”

Drushia burst out as soon as the door opened. Having suddenly emerged, he stopped when he spotted the butler. The butler skillfully erased his surprised expression.

“I was just thinking of waking you.”

Still, no answer or reaction came. The butler fell silent, sensing something strange.

Drushia’s face was pale as never before. His eyes were wide open, his face half-dazed, and his parted lips trembled slightly.

“Your Grace?”

“…Where is Ashika?”

At the unexpected question, the butler blinked quietly.

“Lady Igraine? She would naturally be at the Igraine estate.”

“Lady Igraine? What do you mean calling my wife that, butler?”

“W-wife? Wait, did you get married already?”

Could it be that his absence from the capital was for such a reason? He had been wondering about Drushia’s unusual behavior lately.

“Oh, no matter how urgent it was!”

Lady Igraine as the duchess. The butler’s composed expression crumbled as he stammered, not knowing what to do.

Drushia’s face twisted grotesquely. His expression said ‘What kind of crazy talk is that?’

“Butler, what on earth are you talking about?”

“No, Your Grace. When were you planning to announce this? What about the ceremony? Did you bring in a bride without even holding a ceremony?”

“What is this…”

Drushia’s face filled with confusion as he looked around the corridor. As if discovering something unfamiliar and alien, he looked around and examined his own body once more.

Then he began running down the corridor.

“Your Grace! Where are you going?”

The elderly butler chased after him. Passing servants stared wide-eyed at the two, not knowing what was happening.

Drushia ran straight up to the fourth floor. The place he urgently opened the door and entered was the room with portraits of past family heads.

Drushia walked quickly, scanning the walls of the spacious room. Finally, after making a complete circuit of the room, he turned to the butler.

“Where’s the frame?”

“Frame? What frame do you mean?”

“The frame with the portrait of the first family head. The one with the blue-purple gem embedded in it.”

The butler’s eyes widened.

“How do you know about that? The former emperor took it before Your Grace was even born, and we still haven’t gotten it back.”

“Huh.”

A bewildered sigh escaped Drushia’s lips. Cold sweat trickled down his spine.

“…Ashika is at the Igraine estate?”

“Probably?”

As soon as the words ended, Drushia rushed out of the room again.

“Your Grace!”

The old butler forgot all about propriety. He too ran across the estate, following his master who was acting half-mad.

“Bring a horse immediately!”

Drushia’s voice rang throughout the estate.

“Your Grace, at least send a letter to Lady Igraine first…”

“Your Grace, where are you going?”

Kalf, who had stepped out briefly for paperwork, came outside at the unexpected commotion. Drushia was running to the stables, unable to wait even the brief moment for a horse to be prepared. The butler following behind answered Kalf instead.

“He’s going to the Igraine ducal estate.”

“Why there? To meet Duke Igraine?”

“He’s looking for Lady Igraine.”

“She’s not there. I sent a carriage earlier as instructed, so she won’t be at the estate.”

At Kalf’s explanation, Drushia stopped abruptly.

“You sent a carriage? Where to? Where did Ashika go?”

Deep blue eyes glared at Kalf. They were fierce eyes that seemed ready to devour him if he didn’t answer immediately.

“Well, to the safe house…”

Drushia’s face crumpled. He looked completely unable to understand what was being said.

“Lead the way.”

“Pardon?”

“Wherever it is, guide me to where Ashika is!”

At the fierce shout, silence fell instantly. The butler, Kalf, the stable keeper, and the servants who had come outside all stopped moving and stared wide-eyed in shock.

Though he had a prickly temperament and could be spiteful, he wasn’t one to shout carelessly. While everyone was flustered, Kalf was the first to regain his composure.

“I’ll escort you. It would be better to move discreetly by carriage. You there, prepare a carriage.”

The stable keeper immediately ran to call for a coachman as soon as the order was given.

“Butler, bring His Grace’s overcoat.”

The bewildered butler nodded and returned to the main building of the estate.

“I sent a carriage a few hours ago, so she’s probably traveling now. If you go to the safe house first and wait, you can meet her.”

Despite the cool weather, Drushia’s face was soaked with sweat. Like someone who had sprinted at full speed, or like someone who had just recovered from a severe illness. Drushia roughly wiped his face and spat out curses.

Until they left the estate, Kalf asked nothing and calmly maintained his position.

Drushia dismissed Aegonite, who wanted to follow, and left the estate with only Kalf. The carriage carrying the two men passed through the central district and turned onto Amanoia Street.

Amanoia Street was where the large temple and priests’ residences were located. It was a street with few passersby, naturally formed forests mixed sparsely with buildings. A place close to the city center yet good for avoiding people’s attention.

The carriage stopped at the corner of a building across from a simply built white building.

“That’s not a safe house?”

“It’s a place usually used as lodging by priests. You asked for a location close to the Igraine ducal estate but where guards could hide easily, so I chose this place.”

At Kalf’s explanation, Drushia’s expression became ambiguously troubled.

“The personnel stationed here are…”

Drushia, who had been muttering to himself, stuck his head out the carriage window. Trees grew thickly around the building, creating deep shadows.

Whistle.

When Drushia whistled, someone suddenly popped out from the shadows. Dressed in tree-colored clothes like yellowing trees, with unkempt, bushy hair. No matter how you looked at him, the person didn’t look like a knight.

“Division Commander, greetings!”

“Why are you here?”

Recognizing the person’s face, Drushia looked dumbfounded. The person who had been smiling pleasantly glared with bulging eyes and asked back.

“No, Division Commander. What are you saying after forcibly dragging me here when I was trying to leave the empire?”

Drushia’s face changed strangely, as if understanding yet not understanding. After mulling it over repeatedly, he finally retrieved a somewhat confused fragment of memory.

“Ah… right, that’s correct.”

Thinking that the knights alone had limitations, he had sought out useful people from among those who had been under his command during his military deployment days and brought them back semi-forcibly. Why was he only remembering this now?

“But how long do I have to do this? It’s good that I won’t get eaten by jellyfish, but it’s terribly boring.”

Even at the man’s cheekiness, Drushia didn’t respond. His face changed subtly moment by moment, making it difficult to read his thoughts. He repeatedly pressed his temples deep in thought, then wiped his face.

His face, which had been healthily flushed, was now pale like a sick person’s, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. Finally, Kalf spoke instead of Drushia, who was lost in thought.

“Please maintain your position until there are orders. If you need more personnel for guard duty, contact me.”

“Well, it doesn’t seem like that’ll happen anytime soon…”

“Would you please return to your position?”

“Then I’ll be going. Division Commander, I’ll see you next time.”

The man sent a suspicious look toward Drushia before nodding and leaving his spot.

Drushia still looked confused. After staring at the closed carriage door for a moment, he suddenly flung it open and stepped outside.

Instantly, his large frame lost balance and swayed.

Kalf extended his hand, but instead of accepting help, Drushia grabbed the carriage wall and leaned his head against it. His ragged breathing made him look like a patient in a panic attack.

“Are you alright?”

Finally, Kalf couldn’t help but ask. Instead of answering, Drushia raised his head to check toward the building.

“There… is that the carriage?”

In the middle of the quiet street, a carriage was approaching from a distance. It was an ordinary-looking carriage you could see anywhere, so it was hard to distinguish at first glance.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Even with a face that looked ready to faint, Drushia didn’t take his eyes off the carriage.

Soon the carriage stopped and the door opened. At that moment, Drushia even stopped breathing and waited for the person to emerge from the carriage. Thump, thump – his heart pounded so loudly it shook his entire body, yet he didn’t blink once.

The first person to emerge from the carriage was a tall woman with reddish-gold hair. It was Jeanne.

White, slender fingers wrapped around the hand she extended. Under the streetlamp, a woman’s face appeared clearly as she emerged from the carriage.

Drushia stared at the woman in a daze.

Long black hair tied back in one bundle, creating a stark contrast with her white face. A woman’s face that looked cold but was actually infinitely warm.

The building door opened and the two people disappeared inside. Guards stationed in various positions could be seen dispersing from their hidden locations. The woman surrounded by thorough protection inside and out was Ashika.

“Ah ha, ha…”

Blood surged through his body that had seemed ready to collapse. It boiled up so intensely that he felt dizzy with ecstasy.

She was alive. She was alive. She was there before his eyes as a living, breathing reality.

“Ah hahahaha!”

Drushia laughed. He was so overjoyed that he couldn’t help but laugh. The laughter filled with euphoria echoed through the dark night street, leaving a long resonance as it faded away.

The moonlight was obscured by dark clouds, and the night sky sank into even deeper darkness.