Home/A former empress hides her abilities (roughly)/side story 10

<Side Story 10>

Herbert thought Asil's overprotectiveness was an eyesore, but he did not consider it entirely wrong.

That was mainly because Rianell did not take care of herself.

"How can you carry something so heavy?"

When Rianell tried to descend the stairs carrying a stack of documents that reached up to her chin, Asil quickly snatched them away.

"I am not a patient. I possess ample physical strength to carry objects of this weight."

"But this is not peacetime. You must think of the child in your womb."

"Moderate exercise prevents gestational diabetes and lowers the risk of difficult labour."

"I do not agree that carrying documents counts as exercise, and in any case, you are not moving them for the purpose of exercise, are you?"

Rianell had been intending to take the estate's administrative documents to her room and process them.

"Maintaining appropriate mental activity during pregnancy has the effect of preventing depression."

"…You are the only one who would call that 'appropriate,' Master."

"She's right."

Watching the endless debate, Herbert stepped in.

"All this useless chatter only wears you out. Give it here."

And so the documents passed from Asil to Herbert.

Herbert clicked his tongue at the considerable weight of the bundle, cradling it against his chest so it would not spill.

Though he was not a member of the Vinchenheim household, he figured such minor chores could be handled by him just fine.

"At times like this, eating well and resting well is your job."

"See? Even Grandfather says so. Let's go inside."

Before Rianell could reply, Asil led her into the room.

"You seem to be eating very little—shall I bring you another drink?"

"I have already quenched my thirst and hunger with what I consumed this morning."

Asil kept watching Rianell intently. He was careful with every gesture and expression, striving not to displease her.

It was the first time Herbert had seen his grandson care for a pregnant partner—yet the sight felt oddly familiar, as if he had seen it before…

[Father, Ibi says she's with child.]

'It must be because I've seen it once before.'

"…"

As the face of his long-forgotten eldest son overlapped with his grandson's, Herbert's lips twitched.

Herbert had tried not to think of his son all this while. His eldest was a presence that made his chest ache and his throat tighten whenever he recalled him.

As the head of the west, he had to be strong—he could not be someone who grew teary-eyed at every turn, longing for his son.

Yet now that he thought of him, it did not hurt as much as he had expected.

Partly because time had passed—but also, perhaps, because the grandson his son had left behind was happy.

'…Maybe my son, too, was just as excited to see that.'

Herbert shifted the documents in his arms and walked on.

They had seemed quite heavy—but at some point, he no longer felt their weight.

---

"Oh!"

Herbert nearly tipped over an ink bottle and flinched back, startled. Since he was reviewing documents in a guest room rather than his usual study, the placement of items was slightly different and did not feel natural.

But what truly made him uncomfortable was not the unfamiliar environment—it was the contents of the documents.

'Let's see… This appears to be a budget for the territorial guard. And this is a compiled report on crime rates within the estate—submitted by the security captain, perhaps?'

Beyond that, the papers were filled with confidential information that would allow one to grasp the estate's internal affairs. After even reviewing the names and organisational chart of the security personnel, Herbert set that document aside.

'Am I, an outsider, supposed to be seeing this?'

Then he realised.

'Well—these weren't originally meant for me to see in the first place.'

He had intercepted documents that should have gone to Rianell.

But even thinking about it, it was strange.

Rianell was now the Duchess of Novantium and had little interest in the Vinchenheim dukedom.

'Before marriage, she was a daughter of the house, so perhaps they thought she could handle this level of confidentiality? But these are far too sensitive for that… Are they borrowing a blood relative's hand because they have yet to appoint trustworthy retainers in the east?'

While the Duke of Vinchenheim resided in the capital's townhouse, the affairs of the east had been managed by an estate steward.

Now that Rupert had come down to the estate, the steward had retired.

From Rupert's perspective, he was still unfamiliar with the work, and he had no one to entrust with the family's internal confidential documents—so he was borrowing Rianell's hand, but…

'That's only a temporary measure, isn't it?'

Rianell had come to the estate for prenatal care, not to relocate permanently to the east. After giving birth and recovering, she would most likely return to the capital.

'It would be better to find a well-suited aide as soon as possible.'

But since it was not his place to meddle in another family's affairs, Herbert decided to keep silent.

'I'll just take care of what I can roughly and leave the rest—the young master will sort it out.'

However, when he came across a document he simply could not overlook, Herbert gathered the bundle, tucked it under his arm, and rose.

"Where is the young master?"

"Ah? Oh, he's downstairs…"

The servant was flustered, but knowing that Herbert was a figure even the master Rupert could not easily handle, he guided him along.

Rupert was in the study that the Dukes of Vinchenheim had used for generations.

As befitted a space that had witnessed centuries, the walls were packed with old books and scrolls, and on the legs of a desk so ancient that one could not guess how many generations had used it, the family crest was carved.

The desk appeared to be sturdily built; despite the pile of documents and books atop it, it showed no sign of bowing.

As Rupert placed yet another stack of documents on it, he heard a knock and turned his head.

"May I come in?"

"Yes. Please do."

Herbert was about to thrust the documents forward when he paused, seeing the mountain of papers occupying the desk.

"Oh my—I hope I'm not interrupting while you're busy."

"No, not at all. It's not that pressing."

But the dark circles under his eyes, and the stack of empty teacups piled one upon another, told otherwise.

"So—what brings you here?"

Herbert decided not to waste his time.

"It's about this."

Seeing the documents Herbert set down, Rupert realised they were the ones he had given to Rianell and let out a long sigh.

"You must find it incomprehensible. It is my own greed and sentimentality that have caused me to pass work on to Sister—please, just leave them and go. I will explain things to Sister myself."

"I'm not here to ask about your family history. Look at the contents."

Rupert examined the papers again.

Through the faint, crawling handwriting—blurred from fatigue—a particular phrase caught his eye.

"Love potion?"

The report stated that a drug capable of manipulating others' emotions was being traded, and that they had secured testimonies from victims.

A drug that could sway a person's feelings.

It sounded like something out of a fairy tale—preposterous—but Rupert could not dismiss it.

He knew of a substance with similar effects. He had even taken it himself.

"Su-surely…"

Rupert's lips trembled. Unable to shake off the ghosts of the past, he let out a silent scream—then finally managed to utter a single word.

"Just as you suspect."

Herbert confirmed his suspicions.

"Holy water is being sold in the east."

---

"Could this be the work of remnants of the Old Faith?"

The Old Faith was barely surviving under Emperor Tiren's watchful eye.

Still, it was not as if all the priests who had fled the temples had vanished. It was entirely possible that they were hiding throughout the empire, manufacturing and selling holy water to raise funds.

Rupert did not even consider the possibility that the "love potion" might not be holy water.

The victims' testimonies in the report resonated with his own experience—in ways that could not be known by mere hearsay without having experienced it yourself.

—I felt dazed and possessed the whole time. I don't know why I thought listening to his words was all that mattered back then…

A woman who said the hypnosis had suddenly broken on her wedding day testified as such about why she had broken off her engagement.

Similar testimonies followed.

—I supposedly said I would leave my entire fortune to my second-born, by my own hand. I cannot understand why I signed such a document! That bastard is not my real child—he's a half-brother my dead father forced onto my register…

"Those temple bastards could well be behind it. But there is no evidence that the potion in question is holy water."

"…That is true."

Nor did the use of holy water leave any trace in the body.

Moreover, holy water dealt with the realm of emotion—it was extremely difficult to distinguish whether the victims had truly been brainwashed, or whether they had genuinely harboured goodwill toward the other party in that moment.

"To eradicate this problem, we would need to arrest the manufacturers, but the fact that their base cannot be found is also an issue."

It was natural that the victims did not know the source of the potion, and the perpetrators—who needed the potion to brainwash their victims—were highly likely to actively hide or help the manufacturers escape.

"But we cannot simply leave it alone, can we?"

"No. That is why it's difficult."

"Then I shall propose a method."

"What…?"

"Why overcomplicate it? We'll just go and round them all up!"

Herbert's method was as bold and straightforward as his temperament.

"But that would make it difficult to root them out completely."

"You are the lord here—shouldn't your priority be your people? Your foremost duty is to rescue the victims, not to punish the criminals."

"!"

Rupert was stunned, as if struck on the back of the head.

He had thought Herbert was shouting out of emotion—but it was actually for the sake of the estate's people.

"I-I am astonished."

'One cannot underestimate the wisdom of experience.'

Rupert felt ashamed for having thought of him as merely a cantankerous old man.

"There's no reason to do this secretly. After all, we don't know their base, and it's difficult to find out. Those types operate in the shadows, and the moment their tail is stepped on, they flee faster than anyone, don't they?"

"Yes, that's right."

"But when they hear news of a manhunt, those who use brainwashing drugs to toy with their victims will immediately stop their activities and run. Why? Because that's all they've got."

"Wise words."

Rupert nodded repeatedly.

Herbert, pleased that this young man—unlike Rianell—was docile and easy to talk to, found himself in good spirits.

A good young man deserved a reward. Though Herbert normally disliked meddling in others' affairs, this time he was willing to endure the trouble.

"Just wait here. I'll have them caught in no time."

"No—this happened in my estate, so I should handle it."

"I've always enjoyed work that uses my muscles. And besides, this is just catching a bunch of drug-peddling bookworms hiding in their rooms—it's nothing more than a stroll. Light as a feather!"

'I see.'

Rupert was convinced in his own way.

Herbert, even in the west, had never stayed long in his castle. He was always wandering here and there, so he must have found life confined to the ducal castle stifling.

"Then allow me to accompany you."

"Wouldn't it be better for you to guard the castle? You're staying as the lord's proxy, after all."

"There is no urgent matter, so it should be fine."

Even if there were, with Asil and Rianell here, things would be taken care of to some extent.

"However, if we suddenly leave, Sister might worry—so I will inform her beforehand."

"I don't think she'd worry that much… Well, on second thought, a brief word about going out might be good."

"No—in any case, there's no point in hiding things from Sister. She'll find out eventually. It would be better to tell her everything and then depart."

Herbert appreciated that this young noble, unlike many, did not let pride get in the way and respected others' opinions. But looking again, he worried that perhaps his self-esteem was so low that it amounted to the same thing.

Even now—look at him. He practically treated Rianell as if she could see a thousand miles from a seated position.

"…Well, suit yourself, then."

Seeing no reason to argue with the younger man, Herbert let it pass.

But the very next day—

"If identifying the criminals' hideout is the issue, that can be resolved without difficulty."

When Rianell, having heard the full story, said this, Herbert nearly fainted from shock.

"What?! H-how, I say?"

Did this woman truly see a thousand miles?

Back   Next