I’m Just a Counselor Chapter 91

Julian’s lips curled into a smile as he watched me, the look on his face like a cat that’s been in an accident, and I stifled a laugh without him realizing it.

 

Just as I was about to go off on another blasphemous tangent, Julian finally spoke.

 

“Actually, I called you to the island to piss off the Duke.”

 

“What…?”

 

“Well, if the Duke’s favorite girl is making an extraordinary appearance with me, what… not?”

 

I shook my head, suddenly understanding the whole situation.

 

‘So that’s why Julian kept offering to do things for me.’

 

‘But there was still one thing I didn’t understand. Why did Julian think Jeremiah cared about me? I tilted my head in confusion.’

 

‘Of course, I knew it was because of Kianton, but if someone of Julian’s stature would believe it, I’d think he’d have some basis for it.’

 

Julian quickly put my doubts to rest.

 

“Kianton said he saw you leave the Duke’s chambers in the middle of the night…”

 

“What…?”

 

“Anyway, that’s why he believed you were the Duke’s lover, you know, because the Duke wouldn’t let anyone into his room, especially at night.”

 

Julian’s nervous confession stunned me for a moment.

 

‘Come to think of it, …I ran into Kianton on my way out after putting Jeremiah to bed.’

 

At the same time, I realized that Julian was right, and that he would never do that. No matter how much he wanted to sleep, if Jeremiah hadn’t trusted me, he wouldn’t have let me into his room unprotected.

 

“So, from then on…?”

 

I wondered if I was getting too excited, but I couldn’t help but feel my face heat up.

 

“That’s… I told Lord Kianton at the time, and I told Estella…”

 

I stammered, my voice cracking. It wouldn’t have worked if I hadn’t been blushing, but luckily Julian didn’t seem to notice.

 

“Estella? You call a princess by her first name without honoring her?”

 

“Oh, that’s… I’m the duchess physician and…”

 

“Never mind, you must be really close to the princess, not the duke, because I heard she calls you sister too.”

 

“Where else did you hear that?”

 

Julian didn’t respond to my comment and started grumbling again. I meekly cut into the cake next to him and ate it.

 

Come to think of it, this cake tastes similar to the one I ate the last time I met Julian. It’s delicious.

 

‘By the way, the tea…’

 

It’s similar to the one I had the other day, isn’t it?

 

…Did Julian pick this out for me?

 

‘Oh, no.’

 

But having been through it once, I know how terrifying this what-if is. I stuck my fork in my mouth and glanced at Julian. I can’t say I’m exactly flattering the crown prince with my subject.

 

“…At any rate, my initial thought was that I didn’t care what happened to you as long as you served my purpose.”

 

Julian said, sweeping his hand across his face. His tone was once again awkward.

 

“I guess that wasn’t the case after all. I thought I’d do what I wanted…”

 

“Yeah, well… if you’re going to apologize for it…”

 

“You should have told me…… you needed an escort beforehand!”

 

Julian’s face was almost as red as his hair as he shouted. He looks embarrassed as he speaks.

 

‘Cute…’

 

If Kianton were here right now, he could see that his psychotic boss is actually very cute.

 

I laughed out loud, just enough to keep Julian from feeling uncomfortable. Then he spoke up.

 

“Last time I saw you at the Empress’s tea party with Princess…”

 

“I already know, so just say what you’re comfortable with.”

 

“When you saw… and Estella at the tea party, she told you that the commoners should be treated the same as the nobles, and you said she was strange?”

 

“Yes. Strange.”

 

Of course it was strange. Estella and I come from different worlds, from a society of equals, where there is no class.

 

Knowing that, I didn’t think much of Julian’s words at the time. But now I wanted to tell him.

 

“So you think there’s a difference between commoners and nobles, then?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“What is that?”

 

“It’s…”

 

They say that nobles have different blue blood than commoners, but that’s just a way of expressing their superiority. Julian knew that, of course, so he didn’t answer.

 

“Actually, I’ve felt entitled before because of my status, if I do say so myself.”

 

I scratched my cheek slightly and continued.

 

“Your Majesty, this time I felt something when I saw the slave traders.”

 

“…what?”

 

“That no one has the right to feel superior to another, to trample on those beneath them.”

 

“…….”

 

“Many of the people who will live in the lands you will rule will not be of rank. Should they be trampled on for that reason alone?”

 

Julian narrowed his brow and said nothing. Perhaps it made him uncomfortable to hear me sound so dismissive of even royalty, but I didn’t stop speaking.

 

“Actually, I feel similarly to Estella.”

 

“You are? With the princess?”

 

“I wish His Highness the Crown Prince would treat commoners like nobles and nobles like commoners… Of course, he can’t do that completely, but I wish he would be less discriminating anyway.”

 

“Really? You want me to be that kind of emperor?”

 

I shrugged at Julian, who was still asking.

 

Of course, revealing my thoughts to him wouldn’t change much, but at least Julian would listen to me. I stretched out my feet, looking for a place to lie down.

 

‘At least he won’t call me a traitor for saying this,’ I thought.

 

As if he’d sensed my thoughts like a ghost, Julian smirked.

 

“If you had said that, you would have been punished for impure thought. Then again, so was the princess… It’s okay because it’s in front of me.”

 

“Ahhhh.”

 

I guess this was the place to lie down after all.

 

“Well, I’ll be extra careful, since you’re my vassal.”

 

“…vassal. Well, why don’t you just… What? Me? As your subject?”

 

“No? As of today, you are Viscount Asell, and therefore my subject.”

 

Viscount Asell is nowhere to be found. In fact, I’d say he’s already dead, which would leave me as the only remaining member of the Viscounty of Asell, so if he were to be reinstated, I’d be the Viscount and the head of the household.

 

But the suddenness of his words made me narrow my eyes. I hadn’t given much thought to the title of viscount, but my heart was pounding and I started to feel nervous.

 

“Did you really do the lottery… for me?”

 

“A job done, a price must be paid, and the Duke came to me with a list of what the Earl of Huons did to your family.”

 

…Of course he didn’t really ask, did he?

 

“I don’t know if you realize it, but Imperial law is pretty fair. If what the Earl did was true, I would have had to reinstate Viscount Asell even if I hadn’t made the deal with the Duke.”

 

“Wouldn’t such a thing require a trial, and a verdict from the trial…”

 

“So you’ve just reinstated your family in the name of a deal with the Duke.”

 

Shaking his head, Julian gulped down his tea, his throat burning.

 

Setting his teacup down, he made a hmmm sound and stared at me, then asked.

 

“You don’t like being my vassal, do you?”

 

“Not exactly, but…”

 

“Then I can push some work in front of the Viscount later. And attend the noble council later.”

 

“No, I don’t… I can’t do politics…”

 

I muttered in disbelief, but Julian waved it off, saying, “Oh, you’ll get there.”

 

…When will Julian ascend to the throne?’

 

It was blasphemous to even think about when the Emperor would step down from the throne now.

 

I huffed, not pursuing the thought further. Wouldn’t the future Viscount Asell take care of that for me?

 

“I don’t know if the duke will let me, but…”

 

“What?”

 

“No. Take this.”

 

Julian snorted softly, and I thought he muttered something, but I couldn’t quite make it out. Instead of repeating himself, Julian pulled something out of his chest and held it out to me.

 

I opened the small envelope to reveal a card. The card had an address on it.

 

I looked at it in bewilderment. The address on the card was not Snowflake Manor, and I had never seen it before.

 

“What is this?”

 

“Viscount Asell.”

 

Julian’s reply made me doubt my ears. Seeing my wide-eyed expression, Julian said,

 

“You look like you’ve never heard that before. Why? Isn’t that where you lived before you went north?”

 

“Ah… yes…”

 

“It’ll take a while for the other properties, but I had the Earl foreclose on that one first. Fortunately, no one was living there, so it’s yours again.”

 

“…….”

 

“It’ll need some work, of course, but it’s still better than the Duke’s, so you should take a look.”

 

Honestly, this seemed like something Julian would do to keep me away from Jeremiah, but… I fiddled with the card he handed me anyway.

 

I’d always wanted to visit a viscounty castle, but I never thought it would be like this. My own mansion.