22. Duke Kalinos Awakens
It was three hours before Giselle went ahead and blew up the maze-like altar. Vientin was at the banquet hall, summoned by the emperor.
“Something very entertaining is about to happen.” The emperor announced to everyone, wearing a foolishly proud smile.
“The empress, you see, has decided to hold a small prayer gathering in honor of peace. She also suggested we use the occasion to strengthen our camaraderie.”
“The social gathering after the prayer meeting was prepared with great effort by Lady Cordelia, the illusionist. Isn’t that right, Duke Inferna?”
At another noble’s flattery, Duke Inferna burst out laughing. “Yes, hahaha! Now that you mention it, my Cordelia says she very much wishes to meet Duchess Giselle Kalinos.”
The moment he singled out Duchess Kalinos, all eyes turned to Vientin. Duke Reshaniel, who had just set down his wine with elegant poise at the mention of ‘Duchess Giselle Kalinos,’ was no exception.
With everyone’s attention on him, Vientin spoke in a low, decisive tone. “Is that so? I would prefer to be the only one who sees her.” His out-of-place, cheesy remark instantly froze the atmosphere.
Regardless, Vientin’s gaze was fixed on a man. More precisely, at Duke Reshaniel, dressed in a pure white suit that suited the place as if painted into it, holding flowers in his arms.
Though the bill had failed to pass and Duke Reshaniel had lost face, only a few knew the full details. Many still praised and fawned over him as if even his whims were sacred. In short, an extremely irritating sight.
Vientin had heard whispers that today Duke Reshaniel intended to propose to the lady he had set his heart on. If he even dares to try courting Giselle…
As Vientin’s gaze turned even colder, the emperor hastily waved his hands. “Hoho. W-We cannot disturb newlyweds. D-Duke, would you like to head home?”
“Yes. To my lady…” With a sudden urge of competitive spirit, Vientin fixed his stare as if dismissing Duke Reshaniel’s bouquet. “I believe I should present her with flowers myself.”
Right on cue, Duke Reshaniel’s indifferent voice followed. “No matter how beautiful a flower may be, it only lasts a season.”
Vientin looked at Duke Reshaniel and curled his lips in a mocking smile. “Duke Reshaniel, unlike yours, my flower will be eternal. I’ll just have to invent one that never withers, through repeated experiments and research.”
It was romantic, sure, but there was something oddly off-kilter about the statement, and the crowd buzzed with murmurs. Yet, fairly satisfied with his own statement, Vientin departed like the wind.
…Some time passed. Vientin returned to the research laboratory within his family’s mansion. He ordered the researchers to create a ‘bouquet that doesn’t wither,’ and in one hour and thirty-two minutes, acceptable results were produced.
“We’ve finally done it, Your Grace. We’ve created a flower that will never wither!”
“When you spray this potion, even a real flower becomes everlasting, just like an artificial one. Please accept this bouquet, crafted with the utmost care by our researchers!”
A vibrant, multicolored bouquet was handed to him. But even at this point, Vientin was far from satisfied.
“The angle of the petals is off by about 176 degrees. That won’t do. Arrange them at exactly 180 degrees.”
“Oh, 180 degrees?”
“Yes. Exactly 180 degrees is the most beautiful.”
“Of course, it has to be 180 degrees to match the golden ratio!” The researchers’ eyes gleamed with a touch of madness.
With a rather pleased expression, Vientin thought to himself. Until Duke Reshaniel’s, I shall give a bouquet befitting the golden ratio and confess that I wish to be with Giselle. To be precise… He was thinking of making sure Giselle wouldn’t even have the opportunity to come into contact with trash like Duke Reshaniel. In that moment, his eyes gleamed with a madman’s light.
* * *
Tick, tick, tick. The former Duke Garno looked at Giyet, who’d come for a house call, with a puzzled expression. “Doctor Giyet. What’s wrong?”
“A-A-A-Absolutely nothing.”
“Nothing at all?”
“Y-Y-Yes.”
“It doesn’t seem like nothing to me.” Giyet froze in place like a broken wall clock, then ran his hands over his face.
Garno, still eyeing him curiously, asked again, “I’ll ask once more. Is something the matter?”
“There’s nothing wrong.”
“Then… Hmm, would you like to see this composite sketch of Doctor Wot?”
At the mention of Wot, Giyet sprang to his feet. “I-I-I’ll look at it next time! Well, I-I-I’m busy today, so I’ll be going now!”
“…Doctor Giyet?” Garno started to voice his confusion, but could only stare blankly at Giyet’s retreating back.
Standing up so abruptly in front of a high noble was quite a breach of etiquette, but since Giyet looked so unwell, Garno couldn’t bring himself to stop him.
What should I do? Panicking at the mention of Wot, Giyet blurted out nonsense and fled, then worried over what to do. He waited anxiously and restlessly in the garden where he could see the main gate of the Kalinos family, his head in his hands. But… They haven’t arrived yet. If they’d arrived safely, that person would have shown up at the mansion with confidence…!
Half a day has already…
Ding—The clock tower chimed, and Giyet shot to his feet.
…just pass.
All sorts of horrifying imaginations swept through his mind. Giyet rushed through the hallways of the Kalinos Mansion. He didn’t care how the servants looked at him.
In the distance, he spotted Duke Kalinos emerging from the research lab. To be precise, the duke was holding a bouquet. For a duke, the gentle smile on his lips made him look genuinely happy, but Giyet had no time to worry about such ordinary happiness.
“G-G-Greetings, Duke!”
“What is it, Doctor Giyet? You look like someone in desperate need of a doctor.”
“T-That’s…” Giyet glanced around hurriedly. Fortunately, as usual, there was no one near Duke Kalinos. Most people preferred not to get too close to the duke. Thanks to that, he was able to lower his voice just a bit and speak quickly. “T-The thing is. My grandmother and Lady Wot have been kidnapped. And I can’t get in touch with them.”
The duke stared intently at the babbling Giyet before speaking. “If they were kidnapped, then of course there would be no contact. My condolences. I shall dispatch the guards. And the mages as well. They’ll help with the search.”
Neither his grandmother nor Giselle had been found yet. He had no idea how to get through this crisis. Tears welled up in Giyet’s eyes as he muttered, “T-This isn’t something to be so calm about.”
“I did express my regret. I’ll have the guards summoned right away.”
“That’s… I mean, please come with me.”
“…You want me to come with you?”
“Yes! Be-Be-Because…”
It had been half a day and at least ten more minutes, and there was still no word. That could only mean something terrible had happened to them. A tear slipped down from Giyet’s eye.
“Because Lady Wot is Lady Giselle!”
“You must be suffering from a touch of heatstroke. Don’t talk nonsense.”
“N-N-No! It’s true!”
Duke Kalinos fixed Giyet with a cold stare as he kept spouting what sounded like nonsense, then finally spoke. “So your claim is that my wife, Duchess Giselle Kalinos, is in fact the renowned doctor named Wot…”
“Y-Yes.”
“And that my wife, has now, been kidnapped?” He stared hard at Giyet, then gave a small nod. A vial of truth serum suddenly popped out of his pocket. “Drink it. I need to verify this.”
“W-What is this?”
At times like these, one must act rationally. Unaware that his own eyes were gleaming with madness, Duke Kalinos gently pushed the potion into Giyet’s mouth.
“It’s a truth serum. I always carry it. For idiots who won’t tell the truth.”
“We don’t have time for this!” With a look of exasperation, Giyet uncapped the vial and drank it down. Gulp, gulp, gulp. As soon as Giyet had swallowed every last drop, the same answer as before came out of his mouth. “Lady Giselle is Lady Wot, and she’s been kidnapped by some thugs! I know where she is.”
For a moment, Duke Kalinos’s gaze wavered. There was no way his truth serum, infused with all his engineering expertise, could be flawed.
With a soft thud, the bouquet slipped from Duke Kalinos’s hand. And just like that… he turned a perfect 180 degrees, his favorite ‘golden angle.’
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