Our trip went off without a hitch.

On the way, I realized how remote the manor was from civilization.

When I asked Shania's parents where they lived, they said, "Dubhan: the nearest town."

I'll give them that it was the closest town, but I wouldn't dare use the word "near" to describe how far that town was from the manor.

It took us half a day to get to the closest thing to a semblance of civilization.

This means Shania and her parents must make a similar trip every week to supply the manor with food and supplies.

I salute their dedication.

They usually arrive at the manor early in the morning, shortly after breakfast, implying that they left their homes the night before.

It must be a time-consuming task to complete each week.

Perhaps I should ask Maa to reduce their delivery frequency to once every two weeks?

But doesn't that imply that they'd be paid less?

Overall, I think I should keep it closed. After all, I've seen them do it for nearly nine years, so I have no say in the matter.

It's possible that it's not even a consideration for them.

That's why I should mind my own business.

Let us return to our journey:

Despite not being able to read the book I had planned to read on the road, I found another way to entertain myself: the scenery.

I was used to seeing green countryside, but the lovely green I saw skimming along the road was simply stunning.

From the carriage windows, I could see a green and vibrant landscape, mountainous reliefs, and a blue and cloudless sky.

Winter was approaching, but the sky was graciously clear and the sun was radiant.

It was the same sky and sun as in the manor, but with the exquisite landscape, it felt very different.

We stopped several times along the way, in a few of the many towns that dot the duchy.

Not all duchy nobles were stationed in the duchy's capital.

Typically, only the highest and middle-ranking officials resided there.

Low-ranking nobles were usually assigned to a small estate, such as the towns we visited.

These low-ranking nobles were usually subordinate to one of the five great families and were sent there to exploit the resources available in their domain on behalf of one of the five great families.

All of the towns we visited were run by nobles who reported to Grandfather Emilien Edouard's family.

We mostly stopped in these towns to eat, rest, and give the horse that pulled the carriage a break.

We resumed our journey once we were finished.

.

Our final destination was finally within sight after four days on the road.

"You see that, Boy. That's Beaumont's capital: Beaufort, the city of my ancestor, our ancestors. " Lord Emilien declared proudly.

I could see the city from inside the carriage; it was a massive city surrounded by a massive wall.

This was Beaumont, the duchy's capital, at the heart of the Duchy of Beaumont.

The buildings within the city were impressive, but six tall buildings stood out in particular.

There were four massive castles, one at each cardinal point of the city, another in the middle of the city that appeared to be more overbearing than the four others, and the final one was a massive structure located between the castle in the north and the castle in the middle.

Five of these six structures were the castles of the five great families, with the final one serving as the church's cathedral.

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After a short final ride, we arrived at Lord Emilien's castle.

We were now in the courtyard.

When Lord Emilien and I stepped out of the carriage, several people, whom I assumed were servants based on their clothing, were already waiting for us in the courtyard.

"Welcome back, My Lord.," they all greeted in unison while bowing their heads.

With a wave of his hand, Lord Emilien simply dismissed them.

"Where is he?" Lord Emilien enquired about the group.

"He is in the library, as usual, my Lord." A man dressed as a butler responded.

"I see. Landau, Get one of the guest rooms and a room for his butler, the masked man over there, ready for this boy and his butler. And Rufus, get someone to show you around. "

The masked person in question was Syrus.

It had been established in advance that Syrus would have to hide his identity under a mask. After all, he had served my father since he was 2. It would be very obvious if the former head-attendant of the son of the Duke were to serve a mysterious young boy with an unknown background.

Thus, it has been decided that Syrus would wear a mask and go by the name.

"He's in the library, as usual, my Lord." A man dressed as a butler replied.

"I see. Dessler, Prepare one of the guest rooms for this boy and a room for his butler, the masked man over there. And Rufus, get someone to show you around. "

"Yes, Lord Emilien." A masked man acquiesced.

The masked man in question was Syrus.

It had been decided in advance that Syrus would have to hide his identity behind a mask; after all, he had served my father since he was two, and it would be very suspicious if the former head-attendant of the Duke's son were to make a sudden appearance out of nowhere serving a mysterious young boy with an unknown background.

As a result, it has been decided that Syrus will wear a mask and go by the name Rufus.

"Perfect, Come, boy, there's someone I'd like to introduce you to. " He said this while patting me on the back of my head.

"Someone?"

"Yes." He said it with a smile but didn't say who it was.

We then proceeded to the castle's main entrance.

As soon as we walked in, all I saw was a massive entrance with a plethora of stairs and doors.

We climbed one of those stairs for about five minutes straight until we arrived at a large hallway.

A group of people led by the shortest person of short stature were approaching us from the other side of the hallway.

They were close to us at one point.

Finally, I could see what the short-statured person looked like.

"Welcome back, my Lord," each of them said as they bowed their heads.

Except for the person of short stature, everyone bowed and paid their respects to Lord Emilien.

Due to the distance, I mistook it for a girl. But when his mouth opened to say something, I realized I had made a wrong assumption.

"Welcome back, Grandfather. I apologize for not being able to welcome you at the entrance. The one I assumed was a girl who spoke in a boyish voice.

Because he had long hair like me, I assumed he was a girl.

Silver hair that is long and let down.

The same blue eyes as Lord Emilien.

That person only had silver hair and blue eyes in common with Lord Emilien. Aside from that, that person had the features of a cute little girl.

Nonetheless, based on his voice, it was an undeniable truth that he was a boy.

When I was younger, it would have been difficult for someone who had never seen me to tell if I was a boy or a girl, but over the years, perhaps due to the time I spent training in the forest, I developed a certain air of masculinity, but this guy maintained the same girly air I had years ago.

He was about the same height as me.

I couldn't tell if he was older or younger than me, but based on his long hair, he couldn't be older than ten.

"This is nothing. It's not like I announced my arrival to you." He then looked at me. "But since you’re here, there is someone I'd like to introduce to you." As he said this, he patted my back and encouraged me to introduce myself.

"This one is Ronandt, May the Accursed's mighty and everlasting be upon us."

"This one is Mael, May the eternal blessing of Kiady upon us."

"Ronandt is the son of a friend of mine; he came from afar to see the famous hero of our Duchy and one of the seven holy paladins: Armand Aubrecht."

"But isn't Lord Armand supposed to return in three months? Mael asked, his face filled with suspicion.

"Yes, but you see, this Ronandt over here is a very punctual person." So he came here early to avoid being late. As a result, he will be our guest until then. "

"I see."

He made it clear that he was still unconvinced by Lord Emilien's explanation and didn't want to continue the debate.

"So Mael, I'm counting on you to get along with him."

"I'll do my best, Grandpa," Mael replied, with a small nod.

"And where is she?" Lord Emilien enquired about Mael.

Mael's face turned dejected in response to Lord Emilien's question.

He exhaled a long sigh and said.

"Grounded since Grandpa's departure." She won't be able to come over for at least a week or two. "

"Oh, that's a pity." His tone indicated that he was deeply disappointed by the news.

"Don't tell me you're going to introduce him to her. as if utterly horrified by the prospect.

I'm still not sure who "her" is, but the "him" Mael was referring to was unmistakably me.

"Yes, I'm confident they'll get along. After all, as the saying goes, "birds of a feather flock together." Mael then began to examine me from top to foot. He eventually began to look me in the eyes.

"Now that I think about it, he really does resemble her."

"Who is "her""I inquired of Lord Emilien.

When I asked him a question, a nasty smile appeared on his face.

""Her" is—well, for the time being, I don't think I need to tell you who she is; you'll run into her one of these days. "

"I…, I see."

Lord Emilien made it clear that I would not learn anything about the identity of the famous "She" from him.

When I turned to look at Mael, he immediately averted his gaze.

"Now that you two have met, though it's a shame "she" isn't here, it's time for us to get some rest. I'm sure Ronandt must be very exhausted from our long journey. Right? "

"Yes."

I wasn't particularly tired, but it would be impolite to say no here, and I was curious to see what my rooms looked like after it's my first time being in a castle.