‘It’s because of me.’

The influence of the Duke of Mercedes extends far and wide across the Empire.

Visible and invisible, everything is touched by Mercedes’s influence.

But they don’t maintain themselves; they are all upheld under Cardien’s pen.

Yet, despite being with me for only a short time, not even a couple of days, but a whole ten days, the paperwork has piled up like this.

‘That’s a lot of papers.’

If Cardien hadn’t been here to manage it, it would have been much worse.

I looked at him with troubled eyes.

‘He seems even more exhausted now.’

He looked so gaunt when I saw him early this morning, I was surprised, but now it seems even worse.

“What’s wrong?”

He asked with a puzzled expression as I stood there silently.

Finally regaining my composure, I told him my purpose.

“Well, I’ve been told that the diary is in your possession.”

“A diary?”

He gave me a look like he didn’t know what that was.

I hastily explained.

“The diary I took out of the cave with me the other day.”

“Ah.”

He nodded as if remembering now.

“Yeah, it’s with me.”

At his words, I couldn’t help but brighten up.

Thank goodness, it wasn’t lost!

I quickly approached him.

“That diary, I need it. Can I have it?”

He stared at me, then bent down and opened a drawer.

He pulled a worn green diary out of it and handed it to me.

“Thank you!”

I thanked him profusely and took the diary.

A worn, smudged, green diary.

’This must be it.’

It was Jeffrey’s diary from that day.

I glanced over at Cardien and asked cautiously.

“Your Grace, did you happen to check inside?”

Cardien glanced up at me in response to my question.

“I did.”

I was momentarily taken aback but then nodded.

’Well, it was found amidst all that chaos.’

It would be stranger not to check the contents.

Swallowing nervously, I inquired.

“Did you notice anything strange?”

Cardien looked up at me, his lips parting slightly.

“I suppose not even I could find anything,” he said.

“What?”

What did he mean by that?

If he found something, he found something. If not, then not.

To say he couldn’t find anything…

’I’ll find out for myself.’

“If you’re done, you can leave. As you can see, I’m pretty busy.”

“Of course, I apologize for the intrusion.”

I turned on my heel.

I was about to head back to my room to examine the diary. But my steps halted right in front of the door.

I couldn’t move my foot away, as if it were glued to the floor.

Eventually, I let out a deep sigh.

‘How can I leave after seeing him like this?

After a moment of hesitation, I turned back to him.

He looked up from his documents with a questioning expression as I approached.

“Your Grace,” I began hesitantly, “May I offer my assistance?”

“What?” He looked at me as if I’d spoken a foreign language.

I set the diary I’d been clutching onto the nearby surface before continuing, “For the tasks at hand. While I can’t handle documents requiring your direct signature, I can certainly help with sorting and reviewing.”

During my tenure, I often assisted with clerical work.

After all, you know, you used to take advantage of me quite often back then,” I added with a wry smile.

I awaited Cardien’s response.

After a moment, his lips parted.

“Why ……?”

His voice was cynical and cold.

Anyone else might have been taken aback by that tone, but not me.

I’d seen too much of Cardien to be intimidated by a single voice.

‘At least I know this man is not as cold as his voice and mannerisms suggest.’

I responded calmly.

“Your Grace, the fact that your workload has piled up so much is partly my fault as well.”

“It’s not your fault,” he replied nonchalantly, flipping through the papers.

“All the events transpiring within this mansion are my responsibility. My insistence that you shoulder that responsibility is simply an abuse of power. “

His voice was dry and cold.

I can’t believe this is the same man who chose to flee the previous morning because he couldn’t answer my questions.

Normally, I would have just walked away, thinking, “There’s no point in arguing further.”

But this time…

“Then let it be an abuse of power.”

“…….”

In response to my assertive statement, Cardien stared at me expressionlessly, and I returned his gaze steadily.

I spoke again.

“As you said, what happens within this mansion may be your responsibility. You are the owner of Mercedes.”

“………”

“Nevertheless, I still wish you would have a bit less burden on your shoulders.”

I meant it.

The Cardien I knew had lived a fiercely independent life until now, enduring without anyone else’s help. So, wouldn’t it be good for him to receive a little assistance and ease his load?

Cardien silently stared at me for a moment, then dropped his gaze and spoke.

“Observing you, it seems like you don’t even hear my words.”

“That’s not true. I listen more attentively than anyone else.”

“Since you won’t listen to me anyway, do as you wish, Tutor.”

I could sense a hint of resignation in his tone.

Knowing that this was Cardien’s way of granting permission, I grinned widely and nodded.

“Yes!”

* * *

‘Wow, no kidding…….’

Late at night, back in my room, I stretched out.

‘This is crazy.’

There’s no end to the damn paperwork.

And every single one of them was important, so I had to read every single word carefully.

I was smugly smiling as I recalled the memory from earlier.

‘Total defeat.’

Cardien’s workload far surpassed anything I’d experienced before.

‘He does this every day?’

Sure, today’s workload was likely increased due to the backlog of documents, but even considering the usual workload, it was definitely not ordinary.

‘But at least some progress has been made.’

Thanks to being in top condition after regaining consciousness, I was able to handle the documents quickly.

By the time the sun had set, Cardien’s office, once buried under piles of paperwork, had returned to being an ordinary room.

Even though I’d become a wreck…

“Anyway, now all that’s left is…”

I looked at the diary I had placed on the side table and then got up.

The green diary, covered in fingerprints.

Taking a deep breath, I untied the string that bound the diary shut.

I wondered what would be written inside this diary.

It felt like opening Pandora’s box.

With nervous anticipation, I turned to the first page.

But…….

“Huh? What is this?”

I looked at the first page of the diary and was stunned.

There was something scribbled on the paper.

But it wasn’t in the Imperial language.

It was unrecognizable characters.

At the same time, I understood what Cardien had said.

’You won’t even be able to find it.’

“Indeed, this is why it’s unclear whether it’s suspicious or not.”

Since I couldn’t understand the content itself.

Perhaps due to being too tense, my heart rate even dropped.

I flipped through the back pages all at once.

Sure enough, although it was densely written, it was still unrecognizable…

But why does this seem so familiar?

Surely, it’s the first time seeing these characters…

Wait a minute, this.

“It’s Jeffrey’s!”

In a sudden realization, I covered my gaping mouth with my hand.

Jeffreyan, literally created by Jeffrey.

How did I know?

“Because I’ve seen it.”

Once, by chance, I borrowed a book from Jeffrey, and it was inscribed with an unknown script.

So, I wondered if it was related to theology and asked him directly.

‘Huh? What’s this? Hmm. Actually, it’s a secret, but I’ll tell only Livia This is Jeffreyan. What language is Jeffreyan? Haha, no, it’s not. This is my own created script. Alright, I’ll tell only Livia. You’re my friend. This script is….’

I began to decipher each character, groping through my memory.

That’s how the first line of the diary started.

[I met her.]