Chapter 92: The House of Senestia

“It’s odd, I haven’t seen Sushia around lately.”

“She must be busy with the affairs of the duchy.”

Sushia, who usually barged into the office at this hour, shouting things like, “Today’s snack~ What will it be~ Peep-peep Phoenix~” while raiding the snacks and tea, had been nowhere to be seen lately.

Thanks to that, the office had been rather quiet.

Aside from the occasional manager-level officials who came to report, it was mostly just Lia and Ascal.

There wasn’t really a need for anyone else, as Lia worked enough for ten people.

“It’s getting a little cold. My hands are freezing.”

Although the empire had a mild climate, winters could still be quite chilly. Lia’s hands, busy organizing reports, had grown slightly cold.

“Should I turn on the magic stone heater?”

“No, there’s a better solution.”

Lia approached Ascal, who was seated in the executive chair. Without hesitation, she grabbed his hands tightly.

“Could you share a little warmth with me?”

His hands were cool and pleasant to the touch, soft. Lia’s fingers playfully squeezed and massaged Ascal’s hands, her fingertips teasing the back of his hand.

“Lia, where I come from, there’s a fun hand game. Would you like to try?”

“A fun hand game? Now I’m curious.”

Ascal grasped Lia’s slender wrist firmly, cutting off circulation.

“Alright, now clench and open your palm more than twenty times.”

Though confused, Lia followed Ascal’s instructions. Ascal then tugged on her hand, making sure no blood could flow through.

Finally, he pressed his index finger into the center of Lia’s now pale palm, tracing slow circles.

Lia’s white palm flushed red in an instant. She tilted her head, feeling a strange tingling sensation.

“This feels… strange. But fascinating.”

“We used to play this all the time when we were kids.”

“Let me try it on you.”

As Ascal extended his hand toward her, he suddenly sensed something watching them and turned around.

The snake (Yunryong) and the white puppy (Baekryong) were staring at them.

Thanks to the divine tree’s power, both had grown a bit larger than before.

“It’s getting hot here, real hot. At this rate, you two might end up making a baby.”

“I want to try that! Looks fun, Yunryong.”

“Sorry, I don’t have hands.”

“Useless.”

“Ahem, ahem.”

Embarrassed, Ascal cleared his throat.

“Cold... Turn on... the heater...”

That sluggish voice—it was the Celestial Turtle. Ascal’s eyes widened as he spotted the turtle crawling on the floor.

“…Why are you here?”

Being a cold-blooded creature, the Celestial Turtle couldn’t regulate its own body temperature. It would be sensitive to both cold and heat. But wait—could the Celestial Turtle even walk on land?

“Water... I need... water... I’m drying up... Help!”

Without delay, Ascal hurriedly fetched a tank of water. The legendary Celestial Turtle was on the verge of collapse.

Once inside the tank, the turtle swam contentedly.

Even the island on its back seemed pleased. Upon closer inspection, Ascal could see that the native earth tribes were burning incense atop it.

In any case, they had unexpectedly added a turtle to their growing entourage of pets. If anyone saw this, rumors would start that the head of the evaluation department was a collector of exotic pets.

“Kid, you got lucky with the divine tree. Now, show your respect to your seniors.”

Yunryong immediately asserted her dominance.

“Pathetic… How… old… are you…? I’m… two thousand years old.”

“I’m ten thousand.”

“...Elder.”

The hierarchy was immediately established. Satisfied, Yunryong slithered up Ascal’s arm and perched on his shoulder.

“Everything is going smoothly. The Divine Tree has grown halfway already. It’s growing at an absurd rate.”

“Now that I think about it, what happens when the Divine Tree fully matures?”

Yunryong fell silent.

Suddenly, the weather turned violent, with a storm brewing and lightning striking out of nowhere, as if a murder mystery were about to unfold on a remote island.

“Do you want to know? I think I could tell you now—the secret of the Divine Tree.”

“It might be a truth too heavy for a mere mortal like you to handle. Are you sure you’re ready?”

“The reason we all gathered… near the Divine Tree is because...”

Ascal scratched his head, watching the mythical creatures set the mood.

“Let me guess. It turns into a World Tree, some long-lost elves emerge, or the owner of the Divine Tree gets the power to change the world or something?”

The storm immediately cleared up, and the sun shone brightly.

“How did you know?”

“Are you a god?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“...Wow.”

It was just a cliché guess, but it seemed to hit the mark.

“As expected of my contractor.”

“I’m glad I came here. Good job, Ascal.”

“Later… can you… scratch… my back?”

The mythical creatures’ opinion of Ascal shot up, while Ascal’s opinion of them dropped dramatically.

***

Lately, there had been a rumor circulating among the Empire’s nobility.

It was said that a winning lottery ticket that could make someone a duke was floating around the Imperial Capital.

Naturally, the subject of the rumor was Sushia.

The person who marries the only daughter of the Senestia Duke’s family becomes the next Duke of Senestia.

To top it off, they said this Senestia lady was a beautiful woman with silver hair. The opportunity was enough to turn the heads of single nobles, married men, and even widows alike.

As a result, Sushia was under the greatest stress of her life.

“My lady, you’ve received a mountain of letters again today. A total of 131. Shall I read them to you?”

“Send them all to the trash!”

She was miserable.

Sushia used to enjoy leisurely strolling through the capital, but now that was impossible.

The last time she tried, she had just come out of a bakery with a loaf of bread when some thugs began to harass her.

What was even more ridiculous was that a man in flamboyant clothes suddenly appeared and drove the thugs away.

And then he said:

“Are you unharmed, my beautiful lady?”

Sushia ran away.

Then, when she visited her favorite tea shop:

“Cocoa? A cute choice. How about trying an adult’s tea this time?”

A mature woman in a dress with exposed shoulders, clearly trying to flirt with men, made an advance on her.

“No! I like cocoa!”

No matter where she went, these awkward encounters kept happening.

In the end, Sushia was forced into a semi-voluntary shut-in life at the Duke’s mansion.

‘The Evaluation Department… it would be perfect if I could just go there...’

The people in the Evaluation Department would treat her the same as always.

But there was a reason she couldn’t go.

‘Because I’m in love with you Ascal.’

“Huhhhhh!”

Just thinking about the confession made by the seaside turned her face bright red.

“What do I do, what do I do!”

She stamped her feet in frustration.

“How can I ever face them again?”

In reality, there was no real reason she couldn’t.

All she had to do was brazenly burst into Ascal’s office like always, steal some snacks, and carry on.

But.

Something felt off.

Every time she tried, her feet wouldn’t move. Her chest felt heavy, and her heart pounded.

This had never happened before.

Why now?

“It’s love.”

​

The head butler listened to Sushia’s concerns and provided a simple diagnosis.

“Love? What are you talking about? There’s no way! Me? In love with the minister? That’s impossible! I’ve been fine all this time!”

The butler replied calmly.

“Even with people you’ve known for a long time, love can bloom from the smallest of triggers. Now, why don’t you try calling his name five times? That Ascal fellow.”

“Ascal, Ascal, Ascal, Ascal, Ascal.”

Nothing. She felt nothing.

Sushia let out a relieved sigh.

“See? It was all in my head. Whew, I might like the minister, but love? That’s ridiculous. Now, time to head over to the Evaluation Department.”

At that very moment, her heart started pounding again.

“Why is this happening?”

“Hmm. This time, try calling him ’Minister.’”

“Minister, Minister... Ah...”

All this time, Sushia had been referring to Ascal by his title rather than his name. That’s why her body was reacting to the keyword ‘Minister.’

‘Wait, does this make me some weird woman obsessed with titles…?’

Sushia shook her head in denial.

“Anyway, this is obviously just a misunderstanding or some temporary condition. I need to fix this. Butler, arrange some marriage meetings!”

The butler retrieved the letters from the trash.

“Understood. I’ll narrow down some suitable candidates and set up the meetings. Please prepare yourself, my lady.”

“Of course. I couldn’t possibly like that clueless, occasionally foolish, sometimes overly serious Minister, right? There are plenty of handsome men in the world.”

It was a denial.

But Sushia had no idea. She was now entering the famous five stages of grief.

****

The former Duke of Senestia, Doppelganger, had settled in the Allied Nations. With a string of successes, he’d accumulated a good amount of wealth and connections.

“Doesn’t it feel like we’ve lost our purpose, Leader?”

“Yeah. We still need to exact revenge on the Empire...”

Doppelganger responded while scrubbing a grill.

“But the Empire is far too strong now. I can’t see a single weakness. Plus, we’ve lost the powerful backing of the Senestia Dukedom.”

“How long until your next transformation cycle, Leader?”

“Soon. In about a week, I’ll be able to transform again.”

Doppelganger had the ability to transform into others. However, after each transformation, he had to wait a considerable time before he could do it again.

“What about transforming into the Commander of the Allied Nations?”

“Hmm. Could I infiltrate? It seems difficult.”

“You’ve changed, Leader.”

The Tracker, washing dishes beside him, was filled with anger.

“The old Leader was more confident. No matter how impossible the task, you never doubted yourself.”

“Even if you say that...”

Doppelganger sighed. Their group had scattered, and now only the Tracker and himself remained. There didn’t seem to be any realistic way to bring down the Empire.

‘I wonder how Cecilia and Sushia are doing.’

Maybe it wasn’t that he was their pillar of strength—perhaps they had been his all along.

‘I miss them.’

At first, he thought he could use them and throw them away whenever he wanted.

But as time passed, Doppelganger realized that it was impossible to do so.

‘I’ll never see them again. I deceived them after all.’

​

A fake husband and a fake father.

By now, they must resent him.

Of course they would—he had deceived them for so long. He’d be lucky if they didn’t curse his name.

“Could I get one skewer, please?”

“Y-Yes! Coming right up!”

For a moment, his thoughts paused.

Doppelganger hurriedly grilled the meat after taking the order.

“Here’s a hot skewer for you. Enjoy your—”

He froze mid-sentence.

The woman in front of him, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, slowly lifted it to reveal her face. Her eyes were brimming with tears.

“…Cecilia?”

Why was Cecilia here?

Doppelganger’s mind spiraled into confusion.

“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

“I’m sorry I deceived you all this time.”

“No. Not that.”

He thought for a moment.

When had Cecilia realized that he was a fake?

Perhaps…

“Why did you run away alone? Why did you leave me behind, come all the way out here, only to suffer like this…?”

Cecilia gently wiped the charcoal smudges from Doppelganger’s face with a handkerchief.

“I wanted you all to be safe. I wanted you to hate me.”

“Well, you succeeded in the latter.”

Cecilia cupped his face in her hands.

And then—

“I hate you so much.”

Ignoring the dirt on his face, she kissed him.

Her hat blew off in the wind, and her silver hair fluttered in the breeze.

Doppelganger had a wife.

A pamphlet, carried by the same wind, fluttered into the shop.

It was a flyer, announcing a search for the “Prince of the Night.”

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

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