Chapter 191

"Lost your mind, you say. Meeting after so long and exchanging such greetings seems rather bleak, don't you think?"

"There are degrees of propriety even in familiarity, and there are limits even to threats."

"I'm sorry about this. I've shown an unseemly sight at such an occasion."

"Wasn't it the other party who was at fault?"

The nerve-wracking confrontation that stung the skin was the first in a long while.

But seeing Leandros treating him like a four-year-old child while being extremely on edge wasn't pleasant to watch.

Because he thought he was mad, he didn't want to burden someone whose mind and body were already suffering, so he pushed away Leandros's shoulder.

"There seems to have been a misunderstanding, Sir. His Highness the Crown Prince appeared to want to show off the fine sword you possess."

"Your Grace!"

"Isn't that right, Your Highness? What you were trying to do seemed rather menacing to others' eyes."

Unless one's eyes were as narrow as slits like a certain Pokémon, there was no way to mistake what Yurik had been trying to do to him.

Of course, Leandros's eyes were also wide open and clear.

But he strung together whatever words came to mind without any preparation.

Leandros called out once more with patience.

"Your Grace."

"That's right, isn't it, Your Highness?"

If Yurik was the final villain of this worldview, shouldn't he have enough sense to catch on?

Fortunately, Yurik looked at him, then put away his earlier deadly cold expression and quickly began smiling brightly while turning his sword back and forth to show it off.

It wasn't like he was some show host.

"That's right. It truly pains my heart that Sir Leandros misunderstood. How is it, Duke? My sword? It can be called a fine sword I recently acquired."

"It's truly excellent. I think this is the first time I've seen such a masterpiece. Please put it away now."

"The Duke doesn't seem very interested in swords."

"My mother raised me rather delicately."

Since both of them were playing innocent, Leandros was on the verge of going mad.

But what could be done? The person he served said it was fine.

He slowly stood up, stepped on the floor, and gave an awkward bow wrapped entirely in the blanket.

"Though the castle is unsightly, since you've come such a long way, I hope you'll stay in whichever room you prefer for as long as you wish."

"I didn't expect such hospitality. Will meals be provided?"

"Do you like grass porridge? It's our servant's specialty. We'll specially put four or five grains in Your Highness's bowl."

"...What lavish hospitality."

Why? He had only been able to eat up to three grains. Their Arndt drank thin porridge mixed with water.

Yurik, who had been speaking sarcastically, leaped over the broken door and disappeared. Seeing his form, it seemed unlikely he would leave the castle today.

Since he had caught his breath, was that enough?

He extended his hand to Leandros, who was kneeling beside him and looking up at him blankly.

"The floor is dirty."

"Was what Arndt told me true? You really haven't gone mad?"

"Although I suffer from severe insomnia and frequently have nightmares, and if I don't drink the water you give me, I spend all day in a mentally weak state impulsively committing erratic acts to resolve my psychological anxiety, I haven't really gone mad."

"...Are you truly alright?"

"Could you not look over my entire body with such a suspicious face?"

Seeing that expression, while he might not know about other things, he could tell that Leandros didn't trust his words.

He spun his body around while checking his wellbeing from every angle.

Huh, spinning like this was making him feel like vomiting.

When his complexion turned yellow, Leandros was startled and carefully lifted him along with the bundle of blankets.

"I'm sorry. I'll escort you to your bedroom."

"What about Arndt?"

"He should be returning from the hunting ground about now. I returned first alone to announce Your Highness the Crown Prince's visit."

"I see."

Thinking of Arndt made him want to laugh a little, but his body, consumed by fatigue, wouldn't even allow him to take a deep breath.

After arriving at the bedroom, Leandros handed him a cup containing bitter green liquid.

When he drank it and lay down, his whole body relaxed languidly and he felt his mind turning white and spreading.

He gladly accepted this moment of perfect mental shutdown and immersed himself in that comfortable moment of peace.

* * *

The dining table, which would normally have looked modest to the point of poverty, was incredibly luxurious today alone.

The cause was the Crown Prince.

Though he had clearly said he came on a secret journey alone, Yurik, who had used his hidden subordinates to fill the castle's food storage as soon as he left the castle, sat with a composed face at the head of the dining table.

Arndt, who had cooked so much that his arms nearly fell off following the Crown Prince's orders, was completely exhausted and declared he couldn't even walk to the dining room.

Thanks to this, the dinner participants were only Yurik and Leandros, just the two of them.

"Sit."

Yurik, who had taken the seat where the Duke should have sat, commanded.

Leandros hesitated for a moment, then found his chair and sat down. The old chair made a creaking sound.

Delicious, greasy smells tickled his nose. From chicken that had been roasted crispy until the outside was glossy and prepared for easy eating, to egg dishes thoroughly cooked in cream loaded with spices and served with beans, salty ham sprinkled with sour lemon juice and lightly blanched asparagus rolls, boiled carrot pieces to eat with mashed potatoes, thick pork steamed with rich brown sauce and rosemary, and sour pickled cabbage and onions to stimulate the appetite.

Besides these, there were endless rows of glossy plates containing various dishes.

Leandros didn't fill the empty plate placed before him.

Unlike him, who didn't even touch the tableware, Yurik was moving his fork and knife while savoring the dishes.

The clinking sounds continued for a while. Finally, Yurik, who had put down his utensils, pressed his lips and asked.

"The servant cooks quite well. Won't you join me?"

"It seems too late to have a meal."

"Are you still unable to break the habits from your page knight days? Now you can eat when you want, as much as you want."

"This way is more comfortable."

His character was still upright to the point of being foolishly rigid.

Yurik habitually smiled beautifully at the stiff words.

"Of course it would be. ...But, about your master, the Duke. His mind didn't seem very sound. You must have heard too? The nearby villagers who saw the Duke were quite startled."

"Is that so?"

"You must believe he'll recover soon. I too hope the Duke will quickly pull himself together. Otherwise, who would deal with the demonic beasts coming from the north, and how could I trust the Duke and return his territory?"

"I apologize for causing you concern."

"No, no. I'm talking about the Duke, not you. I don't like it when a superior's flaw becomes a subordinate's flaw. It's not right either. I'm simply worried about you."

The threat disguised as concern approached subtly. Even while continuing to speak, Yurik thought of more than ten ways to make Leandros come over to his side.

The problem was that every one of those methods was illegal.

Yurik found humans too difficult.

Despite being so fragile they'd die from a single blow, they possessed emotions and intelligence, making them troublesome to accommodate.

Until now, Yurik had usually solved problems by simply killing them or offering them to ancient ones, so the existence called Leandros was too great a puzzle for him.

Why exactly did he serve Hartmann with such devoted loyalty?

How had the former Duchess - Hero Hartmann - captured this black beast?

What was the reason Leandros remained persistently at Hartmann like a specter even after her death?

It seemed like he just needed to figure that out, but he was too clumsy at interpreting something called the human heart.

Moreover, unless he fulfilled Leandros's purpose for him or redirected it in another direction, the moment when he could obtain Leandros seemed distant.

To persuade him not to break, preferably in perfect condition, and ideally to come to him voluntarily - it felt like he was facing the most difficult problem since his birth.

Of course, Sir Leandros hated him, so it couldn't be helped.

Of course, there was background that made it inevitable. But wasn't it too much now?

At this rate, he would end up watching Sir Leandros die of old age without being able to speak to him more than a few times.

Ah, aging. The greatest barrier humans faced. That too needed to be solved.

Yurik, who had been going through the scattered problems one by one, devised a plan that could solve all problems.

"Sir, I think I heard that the former Duchess also had frequent seizures."

"No. She simply had... exhausting dreams. She was originally someone with weak stamina. Like the current Duke."

"It doesn't seem to be only because of that. Didn't tragic rumors circulate about Duchess Hartmann too after she gained Hartmann Castle? The Duke's madness might be due to the castle's geographical conditions. Perhaps evil things have taken root."

"Are you speaking of demons? That's an uncharacteristic statement from Your Highness."

"Demons. Setting aside whether demons as warned in doctrine actually exist, isn't this something that could be investigated once?"

"What exactly do you mean?"

"What lurks beneath the ducal residence. What exactly is tormenting the former Duchess and current Duke."

Yurik rose from his seat.

Looking at the empty seat left with only dirty plates,

Leandros asked himself for the first time in his life.

If Hero Hartmann had truly been suffering in the ducal residence,

Why had he been unaware of this fact until now?

The next day, Yurik disappeared from the castle, cleanly erasing all traces as if he had never been there from the beginning.

Leandros checked the guest room where Yurik had stayed just in case, but it seemed he hadn't broken anything or done anything suspicious.

Instead, on the bed covered with tattered sheets, there was a thin yellow book.

The memo carefully placed on the book cover was definitely Yurik's handwriting.

[May you feel pleasure, even if briefly.]

Leandros hesitated, then took the book.

When he visited Arenheit's bedroom to report, the young Duke had just woken up and was blankly staring out the window.

Without turning his head, Arenheit asked.

"Crown Prince Yurik?"

"He has left."

"It seems he just left."

Arenheit quietly added a few more words, but they were too quiet to understand.

Like the empty shell left after a butterfly flies away, he crawled back into the blankets powerlessly, without any vitality.

"I'll rest."

It was an order to leave.

Leandros bowed and left, turning his back on Arenheit.

In front of the bedroom door, Leandros looked at the light booklet in his hand and let out a small sigh.

Though he didn't mention it specifically because he didn't want to make His Grace more anxious,

What could Yurik's intention have been in leaving this book behind?

Since the food storage was also well-stocked, there was no need to go hunting today.

Thinking he would have some free time, Leandros set off on patrol with the book in his hand.

On the cover of the yellow book he carried, dark letters were elegantly engraved.

[The King in Yellow]