2. His Circumstances (2)

Quite some time had passed since then.

Constantine had left the imperial capital and returned to Kramer territory, handling his usual duties and subjugating demonic beasts.

Upon returning to the Kramer territory, Caligo became excited and chattered even more frantically.

Rising with dark circles under his eyes from not sleeping properly for days, he stood by his bedroom window and stared blankly outside for a while.

Unlike his mood, the outside was quite clear.

— Master. Are we going subjugating today too? What species are we hunting today? Or are we going tomorrow?

Over several weeks, he had once again come to the brink of madness.

If he hadn’t known, it would have been one thing, but after experiencing that tranquility and warmth, it was even harder to endure.

‘…Should I go to the imperial capital?’

But what could he do even if he went to the imperial capital? He couldn’t just barge into House Debov every time. That’s not something he could do repeatedly.

‘A regular way… to meet her…’

He needed some method.

— Master, are you listening to me? Are there still many demonic beasts in Aberdeen territory? Why are there so many there? How about going to help?

What could there be? Something she wouldn’t refuse…

— Have you caught all the demonic beasts in the ravine behind the ruins? Wouldn’t there be more by now? Master?

“…The ruins!”

The mention of ruins reminded him of something. Constantine jumped up.

— Are we going right now?! Going to subjugate near the ruins?!

While Caligo bounced around excitedly, Constantine opened the secret room connected to his office. A bookshelf fixed to the wall moved to reveal a hidden space.

He went inside and brought out a small box. A small box made of black wood.

Raising Caligo’s power to seep into the black wood, faint light traced along the patterns carved on the outside, and with a click, the box opened. Inside lay a large black diamond about the size of a child’s fist.

He picked it up and held it up to the light. As light passed through, letters carved on the surface became visible.

‘Arlesian. It’s definitely Arlesian.’

In fact, this jewel was the key to opening the entrance to the secret chamber of the ruins, known as Kramer territory’s last ancient heritage. This was a secret passed down only to the head of the family, saying that when the content carved on the jewel was deciphered, one would learn the location of the secret chamber’s entrance.

The reason the ruins remained undeveloped was because a warning was passed down with the jewel that ‘if the door is forced open by incorrect methods, a terrible disaster will unfold.’

However, the Arlesian carved on the jewel was so difficult that even renowned scholars gave up, and worse still, as time passed and they grew distant from the <Arles-Promesa> era, it became a forgotten language, making the possibility of translation fall even further.

Yet they couldn’t not try. This was one of the duties passed down through generations of Kramer family heads.

‘Yes. This is it.’

Constantine himself had studied quite a bit of Arlesian, but when he saw Saena before, she far surpassed his level.

‘It’s more than enough an excuse.’

He wrote a letter as courteously as possible.

While being careful not to show impatience, he emphasized that this was absolutely necessary work.

It was indeed necessary work. The translation of the Arlesian carved on the jewel was something family heads had strived for over hundreds of years.

There were several secrets that the previous Kramer family head passed down only to the next head when transferring leadership, and one of them was about these ruins and the jewel.

Whether it was real or just an old legend, they said there was a method within the ruins that could solve any danger that might threaten the empire in the future.

And when the time came, that answer would be revealed.

“Ha.”

Fortunately, an accepting reply came.

Had he ever been this anxious in recent times?

Even when he’s surrounded by dozens of demonic beasts, he hadn’t felt this tense.

Afraid her mind might change, he sent a reply listing all sorts of compensatory conditions, saying he could show her Arles-Promesa era antiques when she came to House Kramer, and show her Morev right before her eyes.

Hoping that at least one of those various conditions would catch her interest.

* * *

The duke moved to the imperial capital via warp gate the day before their appointment.

And the next morning, he woke up early, washed, and looked in the mirror. Concerned about the dark circles that settled darkly under his eyes, he massaged various parts of his face while paying attention to his grooming.

He changed clothes several times too. Though his outfits were all quite similar with little difference, for some reason, he wanted to wear clothes that looked prettier(?).

And he waited for her.

Why does time flow so slowly?

Though he had told the butler to guide her to his office when she arrived, he couldn’t even wait that brief moment and went down himself.

As he came down the stairs, his eyes met hers as she was entering.

— That woman again! Master!

In that moment, he felt a great energy spreading from her and reaching him.

‘Has her energy grown stronger?’

That energy which had felt almost buried before was distinctly tangible today.

Constantine reached out his hand while feeling that gently spreading energy. Something soft and warm…

— Aaah! This feeling is strange–!

Meanwhile, Caligo went berserk.

And matching Caligo’s rampage, something jumped out from the basket held by the maid Saena had brought and rushed toward her.

He momentarily extended Caligo’s power to catch it but withdrew his power again as it felt similar to the energy emanating from her.

“Oh, I’m sorry. My puppy snuck in…”

Saena looked at Constantine to apologize, seemingly flustered, but was startled.

— Strange! It’s strange! Kuaaa!

Caligo twisted his body and dashed outside. Not satisfied with just that, he called forth Morev and took on its form before heading toward Saena.

It happened so quickly that he couldn’t even control it.

“Caligo!”

In his urgency, Constantine ended up shouting the Guardian Spirit’s true name. Just before she could touch the Guardian Spirit, he barely managed to exert his will to withdraw both Caligo and Morev simultaneously.

Fortunately, there was no physical damage.

“Ha… I apologize, my lady. He’s not usually this unruly…”

He apologized in embarrassment.

“Were you not frightened?”

“No, not at all. It was fascinating and pleasant.”

Usually, people would be terrified when such a large beast form appears before them, but Saena merely showed a curious expression.

She appeared very calm yet had a strangely strong disposition.

Anyway, the reason Caligo had a fit…

“It seems to be… because of this one.”

He couldn’t figure out what it was.

She called it a puppy, but it was definitely not a puppy.

Its appearance was closer to a wolf, and judging by its energy, it didn’t seem to be even a wolf.

Moreover, its wary attitude toward him was similar to how Caligo acted when facing Saena.

Constantine received the small beast with Saena’s permission. Though it struggled wildly in protest, he remained unmoved as he examined the energy he felt from direct contact.

‘…What is this one.’

It was something he had never seen before. Neither beast nor Guardian Spirit. If he had to describe it, it was closer to a spirit, but different from spirits too.

However, one thing was certain…

‘The Covenant of Protection… Someone has placed a Covenant of Protection.’

He could feel something like a protective barrier overlaid on Saena through this beast as a medium.

That was probably why he had sensed the smell of spirits from her.

‘Hmm. Interesting.’

Could this be related to why he felt peace from her.

Though he vaguely thought so, it was hard to make any definitive judgment as it was a type of power he had never seen before.

A protective power without a Guardian Spirit?

‘Perhaps I should have paid more attention when hearing about House Debov’s history.’

Saena was mystery itself. It had long since surpassed mere interest, and he truly wanted to know her more deeply.

After the brief commotion, the two settled in his office.

Constantine passed her the black wooden box he had already unlocked, requesting her to interpret it.

“But… um, Your Grace. If it’s about Arlesian interpretation, there must be plenty of experts better than me.”

As expected, she expressed doubt and asked.

He had anticipated she might ask this, so he managed not to show a startled expression.

“I’ve met several Arlesian experts, but haven’t seen any with satisfactory skill.”

This wasn’t a lie. Her Arlesian proficiency was too excellent to be considered self-taught at home.

“Moreover, this interpretation work requires a certain level of security, so outsourcing it would be… hmm.”

This too was true. The location of the ruins’ secret chamber entrance couldn’t be allowed to leak to anyone if interpreted.

Though it was a request mixed with much personal interest, there were clearly official reasons too.

“…But rumors might spread about you and me.”

“……”

Inwardly, he thought ‘I don’t mind.’

No, he even thought ‘That would be better.’