I’m Just a Counselor Chapter 110

Her voice became more determined.

“Make sure you quickly assess the size of the avalanche, and don’t let the beast go on a rampage while you’re at it…”

 

Estella paused as she followed the instructions from the book. 

 

‘A private residence close to Mount Alliot… must have had Hazel in it.’ 

 

Biting her lip, Estella finished the instructions for now. 

 

Then she followed the bustling knight out of the room.

 

In the midst of everyone’s hustle and bustle, Melvin caught her eye. Estella grabbed him and asked.

“Where’s my brother?”

 

Melvin, frowning slightly, told her where Jeremiah was.

“He said he was going to find the Aurora Rose, and then he rode off.”

“Aurora Rose, what’s that?”

“It’s a rose that blooms under the Northern Lights. They’re supposed to be found on Mount Alliot.”

 

‘Does that mean Jeremiah is on Mount Alliot right now? 

 

Estella’s face went white. 

 

The avalanche wasn’t something he could stop just because he was a strong knight; natural disasters were fair to all, strong and weak alike.’

 

“We must find out my brother’s condition!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

With his head bowed, Melvin hurried off. Meanwhile, Estella grabbed the other knight and said,

“There lives in Hazel a woman named Vanessa Assel… No, you know her face, don’t you, Sister Vanessa?”

“Yes. Did Miss Vanessa… live in Hazel?”

“I want you to find out if Miss Vanessa has been evacuated safely, please, quickly!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

Everyone in the Duke’s castle knew that Vanessa and Estella were very close, so the knight didn’t question Estella’s instructions and set off for Hazel.

 

Alone, Estella bit her nails with anxiety.

 

“What am I going to do?”

 

She had no sister or brother to help her now. She was on her own, and her decisions would either save or hurt many people. 

 

Estella fought back the urge to cry at the sudden enormity of the situation.

 

‘You agreed to go it alone, and you said I’d be good at it, so you can do it, Estella.’

‘You’d read in books how to deal with situations like this. Just keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll be fine.’

 

‘The people in the ducal family are all used to this kind of situation. They’ll take care of it, even if your instructions are a little inexperienced.’

 

Estella patted herself on the back. But an inexplicable feeling of unease continued to plague her. It didn’t take long for the source of her anxiety to be revealed.

 

The knight who had traveled to Hazel to report Vanessa’s status returned. Estella muttered in disbelief. The knight was at a loss for words, but he answered.

“Yes, ma’am. The villagers said they saw her riding somewhere on a black horse. They said that the man riding with her on the black horse looked like the Duke”

“So she and my brother went to… hah, to get some flowers, the aurora roses or something?”

“Maybe…”

“Why did they suddenly go to get that!”

 

Estella exclaimed. The knight didn’t know what to say, so he silently shut up. Then, a voice answered for him.

 

“There is a fairy tale on Jeremiah’s bookshelf called The Princess with the Heart of Ice. In it, the Aurora Rose. It was given to the princess by a stranger with a heart of ice.”

 

Estella turned toward the sudden interruption. A man with a familiar face was sitting on the couch.

“I asked the local bookseller, and he told me that he had told Vanessa the story of the Aurora Rose the other day, and it’s the princess’s birthday in a few days. Put them together, and you have your answer.”

 

“…….”

“Vanessa thought of giving the Aurora Rose as a gift to the princess for her birthday, and Jeremiah didn’t see her going to pick it alone, so he followed her.”

 

‘It was a plausible theory. This was my first birthday with Vanessa, and it was also the day I became an adult. Vanessa would have wanted to give me a special gift. He was also right that Jeremiah wouldn’t leave her alone.’

 

Pondering this, Estella gestured for the knight standing in front of her to leave, then turned to him.

“Mr. Shane, what are you doing here? I knew you weren’t your average gardener, but…”

“Princess.”

 

‘Now that I thought about it, Shane’s title of her had changed from “Ms.” to “Princess.” Calling her brother whatever he wanted.’

 

Estella paused for a moment, then nodded. Shane grinned.

“You know it’s called the Winter Crown?”

“…I’ve never heard of it.”

“Because Jeremiah didn’t want you to know, but I think you should know now. See, you’re technically in command of the Dukedom now, right?”

“…….”

“Hmm. Technically, we don’t support Jeremiah, but the entire Oppenheim family.”

 

Frowning, Shane explained about the Winter Crown. 

 

‘The Oppenheimer’s direct intelligence organization. The other hand of Oppenheim, the one that helped Gazoo and made it possible for the Oppenheims to rule the entire north smoothly.’ 

 

Estella’s eyes narrowed when she heard that Shane was the head of the organization.

 

“I wonder. I always thought it was a little odd the way my brother referred to Mr. Shane. Then I remembered that Sir Melvin also referred to Mr. Shane as… Sir Melvin knew who Mr. Shane was, didn’t he?”

 

“Well, he’s Jeremiah’s lieutenant, so he’s bound to know someone he works with.”

“So Sir Melvin knows, and I’ve been wearing Oppenheim’s surname all this time and didn’t realize it.”

“As I said, Jeremiah didn’t want you to know, since we’re technically people who operate in the shadows, and he wanted you to see and hear only good things. Besides,you aren’t even of age yet.”

“I know he was worried about me, but I’m a member of this family, and the age of majority… is almost upon us!”

 

Shane’s eyes widened as he watched Estella speak with determination. 

 

‘Apparently, the sister Jeremiah had been so worried about was no longer just a fragile child.’

 

“I won’t be a burden to him, and in his absence, I’m in command of the duchy, right? That, and the Winter Crown. I heard you’re taking over the entire Oppenheim family.”

“Yes. The Duchess has the right to command us.”

“Then let’s get moving, first we need to send a rescue party to Mount Alliot…”

“Princess, do you remember that fairy tale, The Princess with the Heart of Ice?”

 

Estella looked at Shane uncertainly at the sudden question.

 

“No.”

“Hmm. I heard it was a story Jeremiah often read to you when you were younger, and I thought it might be special to you.”

“…….”

 

‘Maybe that’s why Jeremiah went looking for the fairy tale flower.’ 

 

The thought of it made her cringe.

‘I’m not that sister anymore. So if he brought me those flowers, I wouldn’t know what they meant.’

 

A momentary feeling of melancholy washed over her, but she quickly shook it off. 

 

I’m not going to think about this anymore. What was more important was Jeremiah’s undying affection. Now it was clearly directed at me. She couldn’t let herself forget that.

 

“It was a childhood thing, you can forget.”

 

Estella replied in a broken, pointed voice. Shane only shrugged. 

 

Estella left him alone and summoned her knights to quickly organize a rescue party. Then, another challenge came her way.

 

The duke’s butler stepped in front of her and said,

“Lady, shall we stop preparing for the banquet?”

“If we stop now, won’t it be difficult to hold the banquet in time?”

“Of course it will, but…”

“I understand you’ve already sent out all the invitations.”

 

He was referring to Estella’s birthday banquet and bat mitzvah. 

 

A banquet that Jeremiah had been organizing until the last minute. 

 

A banquet to announce the coming of age of Oppenheim’s only princess. 

 

He’d probably invited nearly every nobleman in the north, and he’d put a lot of thought into every detail.

 

It would cost them dearly to have a banquet like this suddenly canceled.

 

Estella grunted and rolled her eyes. Shane, who’d been watching her silently, chimed in.

 

“Monetary losses would be one thing, but what would the invited nobles think if the banquet was suddenly cancelled? Jeremiah and Oppenheim’s names would surely be tarnished.”

 

“I’m sure the nobles would make a lot of noise about my brother.”

“You’d have to be prepared for them to start with whether there’s something wrong with the duke or the princess, and then go on to say that Oppenheim is no big deal, or something, and Jeremiah got a bit of attention at the last New Year’s ball.”

 

Shane’s words made Estella make a decision.