Chapter 6 – Part 3 (Volume 4)

Duke Miles sighed. Though he didn’t want to speak about it if possible, knowing he had to provide some explanation to the Emperor, he spoke obediently.
 
“Depending on the circumstances, I am considering a marriage with Marquis Grit.”
 
“Marriage? With whom? Arlen and Marquis Grit?” Shannua asked incredulously.
 
Shannua repeated it as if he had heard something he shouldn’t have.
 
“Yes.”
 
Unlike at the banquet, the Duke of Miles conceded meekly.
 
“You’re going to let the scandalous rumors about the two of them become true?”
 
The words were loaded with negative undertones.
 
“A scandal should end as a scandal. Why bury such filthy rumors in the Duke of Miles’s family?”
 
“Now that I have answered Your Majesty’s question, please tell me: Are the Marquis and Marchioness of Grit still married? Are they considering divorce?”
 
The Duke of Miles, who had no excuse for the words he’d spit out at the banquet, spoke as if he hadn’t heard Shannua.
 
“There are no pending divorce proceedings.”
 
Shannua replied with a frown.
 
“Neither the Marquis nor the Marchioness of Grit have ever mentioned divorce.”
 
“…… Is that so?”
 
So that means there is no problem between the couple. Duke Miles couldn’t tell whether he should like this or not, so he answered with a sigh.
 
“Ah, he did ask for a favor.”
 
When Duke Miles looked at him expectantly, Shannua crushed his expectations.
 
“He said to reject and use it as kindling whatever his wife sends.”
 
Though Eli never said it so harshly, Shannua exaggerated deliberately.
 
“Duke Miles, the Marquis of Grit, has no intention of divorcing her wife. If he did, he wouldn’t have sent his wife to Devens.”
 
The Duke looked at him as if he didn’t know what that meant.
 
“If he wanted a divorce, wouldn’t it be quicker to directly show the most disgraceful rumor to his wife?”
 
Come to think of it, Lord Grit had never once refuted the rumors surrounding himself but had never dragged Lady Grit into the gossip either.  Rather, it was at a party Marie Grit attended that the Marchioness’s involvement in the scandal began.
 
Shannua chuckled inwardly as he watched Duke Miles realize this fact only now.
 
He probably didn’t think much of it because it was a woman’s affair.
 
Well, like most people, except for a few who knew the Marquis of Grit well.
 
“Whose decision is this?”
 
He asked what he wanted to know most.
 
“Does it matter?”
 
“It does. They’re my closest friends. I can’t just stand by when my cherished lancheon gatherings are at risk of falling apart. You know very well how much I value those gatherings. So, why make such remarks knowing that?”
 
Shannua kindly explained his reasoning.
 
“There is no need for His Majesty to concern himself with this matter.”
 
But despite his kindness, the Duke of Miles stated he wouldn’t speak further.
 
“Then I will take my leave.”
 
The Duke of Miles bowed and left the room.
 
“He’s not in his right mind. Everyone is crazy.”
 
Despite the laughter in his voice, Shannua’s face was stony.
 
Duke Mile’s face was equally stiff as he exited the room.
 
Between Eli Grit and Marie Grit, who were competing for the Marquise of Grit, was the Marchioness. The Marchioness of Grit, a powerless woman, had been the subject of rumors about their power struggle.
 
And among the rumors was her own daughter, Arlen Miles. He didn’t have to look to see who had put her own daughter there.
 
“How dare they use my daughter like this…?”
 
Duke Mile’s brow furrowed.
 
His already unwilling heart grew firmer.
 
***
 
“This should be easy if you learned it from Leton.”
 
Eli pushed the paper toward Emily.
 
It was hard to see Leton these days; he was more busy trying to get things done as quickly as possible.
 
“It’s about crops.”
 
“Right.”
 
He patted Emily’s head in praise. Emily smiled proudly at the touch.
 
“It said there was a lot of crop damage, so why?”
 
Eli asked, not removing his hand from her hair.
 
“Disaster. The wind was blowing too hard, and a landslide washed away the soil and damaged the crops.”
 
Emily replied, gently pushing his hand away. It was a habit she’d developed as a child when her brother bullied her.
 
Eli patted her gently on the head to let her know she’d done a good job.

“So why was it only this time of year that it did so much damage?”
 
“Well……. typhoon? Flood?”
 
It was hard to guess with the limited information available, so Emily spat out the first thing that came to mind.
 
Eli held out another piece of paper next to her. This time, Emily automatically unraveled the phrases.
 
“Deforestation… They cut down many trees.”
 
Emily said it as if she realized it as soon as she read it.
 
“Why do you think so?”
 
“Because they didn’t limit the logging for the village festival. 
 
It is said that to encourage people from other territories to come see it, more boats were launched than usual, and temporary shops were built around the festival.
 
“They would have used wood that can be easily installed and removed later, and if they thought about recycling after demolition, they would likely have used wood, right?”
 
Emily sounded a little unsure as she spoke. Eli gestured for her to continue.
 
“The festival would have been a success, but if a new tree had been planted in place of the one that was cut down, it wouldn’t have had enough time to grow…… and assuming the weather was bad that year, wouldn’t the damage have been worse?”
 
She sounded a little unsure of himself.
 
“Exactly. Disasters often strike at opportune moments.”
 
“…….”
 
“So, for your homework, how would you solve it? Answers are due tomorrow.”
 
Eli put the paper away as if he’d finished his work.
 
“By tomorrow? Homework? …Am I in class right now?”
 
Emily asked, feeling weird. She looked like she just realized why she was doing homework here.
 
“If you’re going to do it, you might as well do it properly, right?”
 
“But that’s…”
 
“You said you were bored. Time to go.”
 
Emily rolled her eyes at his condescending response.
 
“Have some tea.”
 
Ruby brought the tea just in time. There were also some simple cookies.
 
The other day, she finally finished the apples Eli had bought. Dominic was happy to be out of the apple pie rut and had declared that she wouldn’t be making apple pie for a while.
 
Instead, she started baking Aaron’s favorite cookies.
 
“Enjoy your tea.”
 
“Thank you.”
 
Thanks to Ruby’s outwardly nonchalant demeanor, Emily didn’t feel awkward these days. Maybe it was more because she was distracted, but for whatever reason, Emily was glad.
 
“Can I take a look?”
 
“Sure.”
 
Ruby asked, looking at the papers in front of her, and Eli nodded, handing them over.
 
“I’ve never seen them before.”
 
“Have you never been to my study? I’m sure there’s a lot in there.”
 
“Oh, you always seemed so busy when I was in your study; I didn’t get a chance to look around. So, this is what you’ve been doing?”
 
While Ruby casually spoke, Eli and Emily flinched.
 
“It’s hard……”
 
“You can interrupt whatever I’m doing in the study from now on.”
 
She had no idea what he was talking about, so she put the papers down, but Eli suddenly grabbed her hand.
 
“What?”
 
“I don’t have anything more important to me than you, which means you don’t have to duck out of the way of my work.”
 
“…….”
 
“…Of course, I may have made you feel like that. Even though I know…”
 
Eli muttered, more exasperated than angry, as he wrapped his arms around Ruby’s waist and buried his head in her shoulder.
 
“Okay, I will.”
 
Ruby smiled faintly and gently stroked Eli’s hair as he leaned against her.
 
Emily sipped her tea, her head tilted slightly away as she realized the rapid progression between them.
 
She had seen this so many times in recent days that her cheeks didn’t flush or panic as they had the first time.
 
She simply glanced at the two of them and smiled slightly.
 
* * *
 
“A letter… seems to have arrived.”
 
Frank shook his head and handed Sorvan the letter.
 
“It’s not even a letter. What is something like a letter?”
 
Marsha, who was reading a book in the parlor, laughed as if she found Frank’s comment amusing.
 
“Really?”
 
However, the letter Sorvan received lacked sincerity at first glance.
 
Could it be from the Emperor? In that case, Sorvan, judging that it must have been urgent, hastily unfolded the paper without considering sincerity.
 
“There’s no need for you to come anymore. My wife is doing well. You have your own position, don’t you? Gratitude for helping Ruby will be separately acknowledged.”
 
The handwriting was hastily scrawled.
 
There was also a kind note saying that he would inform Damon, the steward of Viscount Grit, about the acknowledgment so Sorvan could visit him.
 
The first thing Sorvan felt after reading the letter was bewilderment.
 
Then came curiosity about how Marquis Grit knew where Ruby was.
 
It must be the Emperor again. He must have learned of Ruby’s location and told Marquis Grit.
 
In other words, it was because of Sorvan that the Marquis of Grit found Ruby.
 
“Where are you going, brother?”
 
Marsha called from behind, but Sorvan was too distracted to hear her as he left the parlor
 
“I must see the Emperor.”
 
He then secretly made a request to the person watching him.