Chapter 13

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: The Coming Storm
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—Click.

As the office door closed, Diello slowly shut his eyes, then opened them again.

His gaze, now cool and detached, swept over the spot where the contract had been.

—Thump, thump.

He knocked on his desk, and Rick entered the office without a sound.

His expression was light, as if he already knew his task.

“Should I follow them?”

Diello gestured to him.

“Yes. The one who just left… no, follow the one who was won over by Cartiel.”

Mirta.

A cold smile touched his lips.

He looked out the window as he continued.

“They will be wary of Argenta’s eyes for a while. The moment they try to contact Cartiel, report to me immediately.”

He would deal with it himself.

He conjured a small flame at his fingertip, then extinguished it.

“Yes, sir.”

Rick replied cheerfully despite the grim order and slipped away as quietly as he had appeared.

Diello paid no mind to the man’s reaction.

He knew exactly what kind of person Argenta’s current head of intelligence was.

Mirta was now completely under Argenta’s watch.

They would be monitored more closely now than they ever were within Argenta’s walls.

“The certainty of success, you say.”

Diello let out a slight laugh.

He was recalling the words Croire had left him with just a moment ago.

*‘They can’t betray you so easily. They need to be certain of success.’*

His smile deepened.

“You’re right, Croire. Those who pride themselves on being clever won’t betray anyone unless they’re certain of success.”

—Scrape.

The sound of a chair dragging across the floor echoed loudly in the office.

He slowly approached the window and watched the carriage departing the estate in the distance.

“But they *are* certain.”

He whispered, as if Croire herself could hear him.

The current head of the family, who seemed uniquely incapable of properly handling his powers.

The arrival of a Pero from House Alloje into this precarious situation.

Worse… that Pero was a fake, and it appeared Argenta would be at the mercy of Alloje for some time.

Even if the head of the family had strategically entered into a contract marriage with a fake Pero, the situation would undoubtedly seem unstable to some.

After all, they didn’t know when the real Pero might arrive.

He had expected deserters to emerge.

And Argenta’s code does not forgive such people.

It was about time to thin the herd.

“Urgent news, Your Grace.”

At that moment, a frantic knock sounded at the office door.

A knight, who entered the instant Diello pulled the bell cord, knelt on one knee and bowed his head.

“There are reports of unusual activity in the 4th District of the Infinite Sea.”

“…The 4th District?”

First the 3rd District, and now the 4th. He narrowed his eyes.

“Field Commander Redius requests Your Grace’s deployment.”

“…!”

At those words, Diello was, for the first time in a very long time, genuinely surprised.

He knew Redius, the administrator of that area, very well.

He was the man who had contributed greatly to Diello’s ascension to this position after he’d lost his parents in an instant. He was also his uncle.

And he was a cautious man.

For such a person to personally request his deployment meant the situation was far more serious than he had thought.

Diello hastily grabbed his coat.

* * *

That afternoon.

I was told Diello had left on a sudden deployment.

“Without a single word?”

It was a little baffling.

He was someone who would tell me about even the most trivial things, so did this mean he didn’t even have a moment to spare?

“Yes. A problem has arisen in the 4th District.”

Pielle, who was teaching me about the duties of the lady of the house, replied.

I paused, my hand hovering over the documents she was handing me.

“You mean the Infinite Sea, right?”

“Yes.”

Pielle glanced out the window.

From here, we had a clear view of the distant sea.

Though, of course, we couldn't see the monsters and other horrors it contained.

“It seems he’s on edge because of the last large-scale attack.”

No matter how kind or seemingly gentle he was, he was still the head of the family, born with powerful abilities.

He wouldn’t get hurt fighting monsters.

“Still, he’ll return safely…”

I took the documents regarding Argenta’s affairs again.

The title on the folder was simple.

“…‘The Shadows’?”

Flipping through the pages, I learned that this, like the magical contract, was another tradition that had existed since Argenta’s founding.

As I read the lengthy explanation, Pielle, standing beside me, summarized it simply.

“The Shadows are those who deliver provisions to the families of individuals who have fallen in the line of duty while carrying out Argenta’s missions.”

“Oh…”

I can say this with certainty.

Alloje had nothing like this.

As I turned the page, my gaze fell on one particular section.

[Additional 편성 for This Quarter’s Shadow Beneficiaries]

And the name written below it.

“Roa…”

It was Roa, the one who had been called a sinner.

I was told he was buried near the sea, a symbol of his duty to protect it even in death.

So this person’s family would also receive support from the Shadows.

“The Head of the family gave special orders to take into consideration Roa’s efforts to control the situation by burning his last ounce of strength.”

Pielle explained, seeming to know what had surprised me.

I smiled warmly.

“That sounds like him.”

Pielle, who looked as if she was about to reply, said nothing.

“Pielle?”

When I turned to her, she finally spoke.

I had clearly seen a strange expression flash across her face for a split second.

“…The families who receive support from the Shadows, unlike the common people of the domain, can live in abundance without worrying about their livelihood for the rest of their lives. Many in Argenta are satisfied with that.”

“The common people… who *aren’t* Argenta?”

I raised a slight eyebrow.

I had assumed they wouldn’t provide this kind of support to everyone in the domain.

I think the ‘Argenta’ Pielle was referring to were the people who worked here in the Argenta ducal estate.

If there were people receiving such special treatment, wouldn’t that create talk of discrimination among the domain’s residents?

But the statistics said otherwise.

This was a domain whose loyalty to the main Argenta family was higher than any other.

In fact, many parents were so eager for their children to become one of the Argenta that they had them study about the family from an early age.

“So, what are the conditions to become one of the Argenta?”

At my question, Pielle conjured a flame at her fingertip.

It was, of course, the same fire wielded by the Argenta.

“This ability. I have heard that in Alloje and Cartiel as well, the retainers who work in the ducal estates are those who possess the respective family’s abilities…”

She tilted her head at me as if asking for confirmation.

I nodded.

“That’s right. In Alloje, too, it’s mostly people who can manipulate water who work in the ducal estate. But the atmosphere is a bit different.”

For one, not everyone in the Alloje estate possessed the ability to control water.

While the head of the family could grant the ability to those born without it, it was unlikely any head would enjoy parting with a piece of their own power.

Least of all the greedy Duke Alloje.

I tilted my head as I flipped through the papers.

“For starters, there are people without abilities working in the ducal estate, and… I’ve never even heard of things like the Shadows or the contract.”

This was clearly a tradition unique to Argenta.

Pielle smiled warmly at my words.

“That is likely the reason for the difference in atmosphere between Argenta and the other two houses.”

She pointed to a section of the document.

It detailed the welfare provided to those who became one of the ducal estate’s ‘Argenta.’

As soon as someone became one of the Argenta, their family would begin receiving support from the Shadows.

Furthermore, the families of the Argenta could freely decide their residence, be it in a dedicated Argenta building near the ducal estate or anywhere else they desired within the Argenta territory.

Not only that, but the monthly stipend paid to an Argenta was equivalent to a common family’s living expenses for an entire year.

“Oh…”

Policies like these would not only enhance Argenta’s prestige within the domain but also contribute greatly to fostering loyalty and a sense of belonging among its people.

Just then.

—Knock, knock!

An urgent knock came from the door.

This was my office, not Diello’s.

Someone was looking for me this urgently?

“What is it?”

I asked, my voice somewhat loud. The door clicked open.

“Pardon the intrusion, my lady.”

The man’s attire was somewhat disheveled.

His hair and the cuffs of his trousers were covered in dust.

He looked as if he had just ridden in on horseback.

“The 4th District is requesting additional troops.”

“What?”

My eyes widened.

“But Diello went there, didn’t he?”

Diello Argenta was the one person in this entire domain who could wield Argenta’s power most potently.

And they still needed reinforcements?

“The Head of the family himself gave the order.”

My eyes shot wide open.

“…Ah.”

Pielle seemed surprised as well, but my shock was for an entirely different reason.

After Croire Alloje and Diello Argenta were married.

And shortly before the real Pero arrived at this estate, an incident occurred.

In the 4th District, Redius Argenta would go berserk and die.

This had to be the moment just before that incident.

My gaze locked onto the knight.