Rubica had to eat alone in the morning and there was nothing Edgar could do about it. Finding this out would only make him stressed. To Carl, Edgar was always more important than anything else, so he decided to not report it lest he got hurt.

“I’m sorry. I thought there was no need to report it as it didn’t concern Her Grace’s health.”

“What? Do you think that makes any sense?”

Edgar accusingly asked again.

“Then there must have been many things you didn’t tell me just like this.”

His voice sank and it meant he was extremely mad now. To Carl, it was more fearful than the time Edgar grabbed him by his collar.

“Even you think I don’t need to know about her as I’m her husband only in name?”

“What?”

Carl was being accused about something he didn’t even think of. He was so confused that he couldn’t make proper excuses.

“Because our marriage is not real but a deal with a time limit?”

“Your Grace!”

Edgar sounded so hurt while grabbing his head and frowning painfully.

“I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

The shock, even bigger than when Edgar cut his wages, hit him. Right now, Edgar was even more hurt because of what he did to protect him. Carl felt like the world was crumbling down under his feet.

“I swear, I’ve never thought like that. You are her one and only true husband.”

“Enough.”

Edgar cut him short. He couldn’t handle the pain in his chest, but he couldn’t spend more time there. Rubica was still waiting for him at the dining hall.

“Bring all the ladies-in-waiting and maids to me. I want to talk to them one by one.”

Carl made a mistake, but so did Ann. She had confused everyone including him by thinking Rubica was pregnant. Of course, she had acted out of goodwill, but she never asked him even when she had such an important misunderstanding.

‘I used to think I have led this family well, but…’

He couldn’t have been more wrong, and he felt so useless. If he couldn’t even be reported about his own wife, what good was being excellent at work and being praised by the others for that?

“I’ll call them right away.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Excuse me?”

And Carl, who he had believed to be smart, was now acting like a fool.

“Rubica is having dinner now. If I call her ladies-in-waiting now, would she be able to eat?”

“Oh.”

“This is your problem, you always put me at the center. Do not do that from now on.”

Carl blinked. He was the butler of the Claymore Family. If he didn’t have the duke as his top priority, who was he supposed to be concerned about?

“From now on, always think of Rubica first.”

“What?”

“Do not ask back. Just say yes.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Carl was very confused, but he loyally replied yes, partly because he could instinctively tell Edgar would immediately kick him out of the mansion if he didn’t.

“Good.”

Carl’s immediate answer made Edgar feel at least slightly better than before. A little while ago, he had been so outraged that he almost hit someone or smashed something, but he didn’t because Rubica would have some doubts if he went back with red marks on his hand.

“I’m going back now, so get rid of that gloomy face and smile. Okay?”

“What? Oh, um, like this?”

“Don’t force a smile like that… oh, forget about it. Just shut your mouth and look solemn like usual.”

Edgar checked Carl’s expression more than once, checked his expression too, and then went back to the dining hall.

‘But he is looking really awkward…’

Carl couldn’t say his thoughts out loud as he followed his master.

“Sorry. It took slightly longer, right?”

Rubica stared at him as he sat down with an awkward smile.

‘… has he been to the loo?’

It was nothing wrong with having to go during a meal sometimes. When that happens, you try to fight it, but sometimes it brings an unbearable pain. Maybe that’s what just happened to Edgar.

‘But he looks too fine for that.’

She kept staring right at him, so he couldn’t stand it and asked, “Is there something on my face?”

“Oh, no.”

Rubica smiled. Asking if he had been to the loo during dinner would be way too rude. Instead, she started to talk about the dishes on the table and resumed to eat. Her knife and fork moved fast unlike before, and Edgar smiled happily at seeing that.

How could she eat so well with her small, cute mouth? He was so proud of her even though it was something everyone did.

“Rubica.”

He called her name, but then a servant ran into the hall.

“Your Grace!”

After he yelled that, he took a step back. He hadn’t been told Edgar came back, so he thought the duchess would be alone in the hall. However, to his surprise, she was with her husband.

“What is it?”

Edgar asked, not trying at all to hide he didn’t like being interrupted while talking to Rubica.

“Oh.”

The servant looked at Rubica, and it seemed like he brought a piece of news for her.

“Speak.”

Edgar ordered him to speak. He hoped to not have any secret between her and himself.

The servant hesitated, but he hiccupped at Edgar’s fierce glance. In the end, he said what he had come to say.

“It seems like Lord Sesar has gone missing in the Flenus Mountain.”

“Missing?”

“What?”

Rubica shouted in surprise. She had met Lord Sesar two weeks ago. At that time, he had been really proud of his newly built greenhouse. He showed Rubica various roses from every corner of the world which he gathered for his experiments. They were all pretty, but Sesar promised to make even more beautiful flowers and present them to Rubica. He looked so determined that it felt like he would never leave his greenhouse, and he had gone missing at Mount Flenus? It was hard to believe since the mountain had all kinds of dangers.

“Mount Flenus? Why on earth would he go there?”

“Oh, um, he went there to get wild roses.”

Rubica wished she could grab her head. She hadn’t been reported by Sesar that he was heading to Mount Flenus. He should have at least told her about it before going to such a dangerous place only to get some wild roses.

He did have a strange way of thinking, but he was an old man with a white beard. So, she believed he would be able to take care of himself, but now…

“Has he brought any knights with him?”

Rubica was still lost in shock, so Edgar asked instead. He didn’t seem to be very surprised by Sesar’s sudden disappearance.

“No, he went alone.”

But even he sighed at hearing that. Lord Sesar had always been short-minded. He must have focused only on getting wild roses and forgotten about how dangerous Mount Flenus was.

“Send a searching party…”

Edgar was about to send his knights to find Sesar, but then he got another idea. There was a way to take care of the problem that had been bothering Rubica and him, the disposal of the adventurers he had already hired.

‘Wait.’

Many monsters were living on Flenus Mountain. There wasn’t any monster strong enough to kill hundreds of people like those which infested the dragons’ territories, but there were a lot of nasty ones.

Although the Claymore’s knights were strong, they weren’t meant to fight such monsters. Knights were supposed to kill people, not monsters. On the other hand, although the adventurers were not as good as knights at fighting against humans, they were great at handling monsters.

‘Oh, maybe I should thank Lord Sesar.’

How could he go missing at the right time and at the right place like that? Edgar wasn’t worried much about him. He was a weirdo and had gotten himself into dozens of troubles while he wrote the book about the plants in the Seris Mountains. It would have cost at least ten lives, but he always came back unharmed. It was like even death itself avoided him.

“Oh, what should we do? That mountain is really dangerous.”

However, Rubica didn’t know about Sesar’s past and was extremely worried which made Edgar almost pout. He truly didn’t like it that she was giving her attention to someone else.

“Don’t worry.”

However, Rubica didn’t know about how Sesar had lived till now and kept frowning. It seemed like it would be impossible to continue eating, so Edgar had a servant remove the dishes.

“We can send the adventurers I’ve hired for mana quartz as a searching party. They will be able to find him soon. Lord Sesar is a little… messy. He leaves many traces. I assure you, he will be found in a day or two.”

“But what if something happens to him?”

“That is not going to happen.”

Edgar sounded so sure of it.

“But…”

Still, Rubica couldn’t get rid of her worries. Edgar then thought it would be better to show her than to explain with words.

“Follow me.”

He stood up and walked out.