Invitation of the Crescent Moon - Chapter 67

Ashika looked down at the letter in her hand, biting her lip. After waiting a moment for her racing heart to calm, she stood up, letter in hand.

The silver candlestick on the shelf was burning brightly. Ashika brought the letter in her hand close to the candle flame. A thin sheet of paper took only an instant to burn.

Watching the black ashes flutter about, Mia spoke up.

“My lady. How should we respond?”

After confirming that even the last fragment had burned to black ash, Ashika’s hand fell limply.

“My lady?”

Mia anxiously studied Ashika’s expression. A cool face whose thoughts were impossible to guess. A face familiar to others but still strange to Mia.

‘What could have been in that letter to make her so serious? Weren’t the two of them fond of each other?’

Ashika, who had been deep in thought, finally spoke.

“Tell Duke Talion I’m sorry.”

It was a concise instruction without any excess. Finding the answer severely lacking, Mia’s mouth gaped.

‘She could at least write a simple note.’

If she returned empty-handed, her master would surely glare at her, but she couldn’t dare throw a tantrum at Lady Igraine. Unable to do one thing or the other, she could only feel her insides burning with anxiety.

“Mia, you may go.”

“Yes, my lady. I’ll go out tomorrow depending on the situation.”

In the end, unable to add even one more word, Mia nodded.

‘At least I have Mia.’

Having any kind of connection to Drushia was a comfort to Ashika.

After confirming Mia had left, Julma, who had been waiting outside the office, entered.

“Julma, what happened with the racetrack incident?”

“They concluded it was a riot by patients suffering from delirium.”

“That’s absurd.”

The report she had been eagerly awaiting was far from what Ashika had expected.

Despite the confusion, one thing was clear in her memory: the patients had appeared suddenly and all at once.

“How could so many people have appeared out of nowhere? Their movements were suddenly cut off at one point, and they didn’t even investigate that?”

“Do you think there was someone behind it?”

“I heard from Nile that with that disease, by the final stages, the pain makes it difficult to maintain clear thinking. How could such people have gathered there?”

Both the poorhouse fire and the racecourse riot were not simple accidents. It was clear someone was trying to bring the Grand Duke’s territory issue to the surface.

“As it happens, the nobles have suggested turning part of the Grand Duke’s territory into the Emperor’s direct territory and dividing the rest to be bestowed upon nobles without lands.”

At Julma’s report, Ashika was so dumbfounded she lost her words.

“This is just my speculation, but…”

Julma took a deep breath and continued carefully.

“It seems someone is targeting the Grand Duke’s territory. I understand there has been much talk among the nobles about Igraine and Talion monopolizing the Grand Duke’s territory.”

“They’ve lost their minds. Do they think the Grand Duke’s territory is some hidden treasure vault?”

“Though it’s desolate now due to the blockade, in the past, it was a territory as wealthy as Trellyn. It could be tempting.”

“Leaving out the enormous costs that would have to be poured in first.”

She wanted to throw a year’s worth of accounting ledgers at the nobles targeting the Grand Duke’s territory. Perhaps seeing it firsthand would make them realize the reality.

“For now, Talion has said he would withdraw if the Noble Council intervenes, and Duke Igraine has expressed the same opinion. It seems that for the time being, even His Imperial Majesty will not directly touch the Grand Duke’s territory.”

“Grandfather?”

“It is surprising that the Duke has stepped forward.”

Until now, Weive had shown not even a speck of interest in the Grand Duke’s territory. Though he didn’t begrudge the money going in, he had never deliberately examined it either.

‘I thought he would want to let go of it at the first opportunity.’

It was only natural since the tax revenue from the Grand Duke’s territory was minimal while the costs were endless. Even if imperial control were lifted, it was a place too remote to expect development in the future.

“Where is Grandfather?”

“After leaving the palace, he didn’t return to the mansion but went to the garden.”

“To the garden?”

It was behavior unlike the usual Weive. Weive traveled throughout the empire under the pretext of work and spent little time in the capital. Even when he stayed at the mansion, he rarely left his bedroom and office.

A bleak life knowing nothing but work. Even his only son couldn’t understand his life, and Ashika had given up long ago.

‘Why would someone like him go to the garden?’

Ashika left the office immediately. Her footsteps were anxious as she crossed the corridor and left the mansion.

Urging the servants, she went to a hunting lodge far from the main building. In front of the now virtually abandoned building that no one even maintained anymore, she could see a faint light leaking from inside.

‘What are you doing here?’

Ashika hesitantly opened the door. In the space piled with all sorts of tools, only the small lantern light illuminated the wide interior. Due to the dimness, the person in the far corner was just a flickering silhouette.

“Who’s there!”

A sharp voice flew from inside, having heard the door open. The familiar voice with its sharp edge felt strange.

“Grandfather, it’s me.”

The other’s movement stopped, and a moment of silence fell. After a brief clattering of objects colliding, Weive could be seen rising from his seat and dusting himself off.

“What’s the matter? Did you fall?”

Worried, Ashika’s steps quickened.

“No, no.”

Weive hastily waved his hand.

Ashika held a lantern. As she drew closer, Weive’s figure, shrouded in darkness, became clearer. The next moment, Ashika stopped in her tracks, eyes wide.

“Grandfather…?”

Weive was the epitome of a proper nobleman. He always dressed formally and applied pomade to ensure not a single strand of hair fell out of place, combing it back neatly.

A man who never showed a single flaw at any moment now appeared covered in dust, looking so unfamiliar it seemed almost alien.

“If you need anything, shall I call a servant? Or should I tell Buzri to come in?”

“That’s enough. I just happened to misstep.”

By now, Weive’s voice had returned to normal.

“More importantly, what brings you all the way here?”

That was the question Ashika wanted to ask. She wanted to ask why someone who never left the main house was in a dusty abandoned building. However, Weive clearly wanted to change the subject.

‘Even if I ask, he’s not the type to answer.’

There was a more important issue at hand.

“I heard you visited the imperial palace today.”

Recalling the meeting he had attended during the day, deep wrinkles furrowed Weive’s face.

“It wasn’t anything significant. The Emperor was just being capricious.”

“I heard orders were issued to investigate the Grand Duke’s territory.”

“I was thinking of sending someone tomorrow anyway. I know people suitable for this kind of work.”

It meant he would commission the work externally rather than using internal personnel. As expected, Weive had no interest in this matter. He was just trying to maintain appearances.

However, Ashika couldn’t let it go. A series of incidents over the past few months had been pointing consistently at the Grand Duke’s territory. She even had an ominous feeling that if they passed over this lightly, something bigger would happen.

“That’s not enough. We need a comprehensive investigation of the Grand Duke’s territory together with Talion. Give me full authority. I’ll lead this task.”

“Why would you go to such a place!”

Startled by the sudden outburst, Ashika froze.

Though never affectionate, he had never raised his voice at her. Even after shouting, Weive looked surprised at himself.

“There are plenty of people who can go to the Grand Duke’s territory without it being you. There’s no need to seek help from Talion either. So don’t involve yourself in this matter anymore.”

Weive’s attitude was stubborn. But contrary to his firmly set face, his black pupils trembled anxiously.

“You have other priorities. You’ve rested enough, now it’s time to prepare for marriage.”

“Grandfather, I’m not yet…”

The sudden mention of marriage was startling. Surely Ashika’s marriage wasn’t an urgent matter?

“I heard you declined the invitation to the ball from the Sincladelt ducal family? Send a letter accepting it. Engage in proper social activities, not useless ones like racetrack events or Baroness Isna’s salon.”

Ashika bit her lip and lowered her head. Those were the places she had deliberately chosen to avoid others. And even that method only worked when Weive turned a blind eye.

“Don’t think of postponing marriage any longer. If you don’t decide, I’ll handle it myself, so be aware.”

Weive’s gaze, urging marriage, was stern. It was a rather cold look for gazing at an only granddaughter—yet also an anxious one.

****

Duke Talion’s residence was operating busily without any fuss. They had heightened security and restricted entry as much as when Drushia had been unconscious from poisoning.

“Send someone to Maiheller territory. Dig up everything—including all the families connected by blood or marriage to the vassals’ houses.”

Drushia’s instructions were clear. The issues he had agonized over for the past month had finally found direction.

For now, there was no visible evidence. The only suspicious element was an uncomfortable, uncanny feeling.

Although they had broken off the engagement, some faint trust in Shafri remained. However, all of that evaporated the moment he met Marquis Maiheller. It was a warning cried out by instinct.

‘The instincts I honed on the battlefield got dull after just a few years in the capital.’

Now that the Grand Duke’s territory issue had surfaced, Drushia felt more crisis than ever.

‘After shackling both families for decades.’

A sense of crisis that the Grand Duke’s territory might become an even greater disaster. It might be time to withdraw from the Grand Duke’s territory issue, which wasn’t even worth keeping as a troublesome burden.

“I wonder what Grandfather thinks.”

The loyal warrior Neoren had never complained. But Drushia was different. He had no intention of continuing to embrace a troublemaker that offered neither benefit nor advantage.

Following Drushia’s instructions, knights staying at the capital residence were urgently dispatched to various regions. Four days after the racetrack incident, a letter arrived from Neoren asking him to return to the territory.