A few days after Eric’s wedding.
Ed visited the Kapeter Duchy upon the introduction of his aunt, Julia.
This was because his aunt’s husband, William Reinhardt, Viscount, had been a bureaucrat in the Duchy.
More precisely, he was a rather special type of bureaucrat called a “Deputy,” which would be similar to the position of Pri Minister in modern terms.
The difference was that the Deputy was appointed by the head of the Duchy — in other words, not the Duke of Kapeter but the Imperial family.
To understand this fully, one would need to explain the history of the Empire’s noble system, but it wasn’t an issue of great importance.
It could be thought of simply as a role that served as a kind of wedge to prove the Duchy’s allegiance to the Empire.
The Duke was the secular ruler of the Duchy, but his rights were ultimately recognized by the Imperial family.
Therefore, the Deputy had a great many duties.
In fact, the Deputy had the sa workload as the Duke himself.
Taxes, diplomacy, tariffs, military affairs, administration, customs, law enforcent—
While the Duke’s responsibility was to review the legitimacy of these tasks and formulate policies, the Deputy’s job was to identify issues in these areas and demand solutions.
They were in a relationship where they essentially mirrored each other’s work.
Recently, however, there had been so difficulties due to an unexpected incident — the sudden disappearance of the Duke of Kapeter.
Anthony, the Duke’s son, was a talented successor, but he lacked the necessary experience.
Given that most decisions in the Duchy were based on “custom,” his lack of experience was particularly fatal.
Naturally, Reinhardt’s duties had piled up in an almost overwhelming manner.
To clarify—
“Stop! Stop! Please state the purpose of your visit and your na!”
“I am Ed from the Fríden family. I have been invited by Viscount Reinhardt and was told to stay here for a few days.”
“Please wait a mont. I will confirm this.”
“Sure, sure.”
“Sorry, but it seems there was no such notice. You’re not listed in the guest registry either.”
“Excuse ?”
This ant that Reinhardt was so busy with his work that he had either temporarily set aside or completely forgotten about his wife’s ‘personal request.’
The reason Ed couldn’t enter the Kapeter Duchy’s residence and was held up was due to this.
“Well then, could you please confirm with the Viscount?”
“It seems you will have to wait until the Viscount returns from the office.”
“When will he return?”
“Normally, he would return around sunset, but recently, he has been working late at the office, so you might have to wait for a few days.”
“Ah…”
“If it’s not urgent, we can introduce you to temporary accommodations for the next few days.”
It seed that such incidents were not uncommon.
The staff mber at the residence spoke politely, but ultimately, the ssage was clear — they had to decline.
“Well.”
In fact, there wasn’t anything urgent at all.
Even if he wasn’t allowed into the residence, there were plenty of places to stay outside.
The only thing distinguishing the inside from the outside of the residence was a tall wall-like fence that separated the two areas.
So, while waiting slowly with so leisure was fine…
‘I’m feeling a bit tired.’
Right now, Ed was more tired than usual.
It was because he had traveled in a carriage, not a train.
After reading a book in the shaking carriage, he felt nauseous and was on the verge of vomiting. His stomach churned, and his head ached so much that it seed impossible to continue reading.
He had heard that the Kapeter residence had a library… He needed to read, but…
Anyway, he just wanted to get inside as quickly as possible and sleep.
“Could I stay in the annex for today? I’m too tired to ride the carriage any longer.”
“Well, if it’s just a simple visit, we can record you as a guest. But in that case, we would have to inspect your belongings and store anything dangerous separately. Would that be alright?”
“Yes, yes. Please do so.”
“Understood. Then, please wait while we check your belongings.”
Ed handed his bag to the staff mber.
When the staff placed the bag on the wooden table, a thud was heard. It was heavy, likely because it was filled with books.
“You have quite a few books.”
“Yes.”
The staff mber began taking the books out of the bag, flipping through them one by one.
They weren’t likely inspecting the books themselves, but rather checking to make sure Ed hadn’t hidden any objects between them.
Then, from between the books, a thin tal plate fell out.
Ah, that was my bookmark. I vaguely rembered where I had left off, so it wasn’t a problem that it had fallen out…
“Hm? This plate… may I ask what your relationship is with Duke Kapeter?”
“Excuse ?”
Now that he thought about it, it was indeed from the Duke of Kapeter.
It was a token that allowed him to borrow knights from the Duchy. Its thickness made it suitable as a bookmark, so he had thought nothing more of it.
“Ah, it’s just that we are sowhat acquainted.”
“I see…?”
Next, a gold fountain pen was pulled out from the bag. It was a fountain pen ant for “Imperial guests of honor,” with the Imperial seal engraved on the cap.
There was no na inscribed on it.
This had been a gift from Lady Es, ant to accommodate Ed’s various identities such as ‘Hor’ and ‘Herodotus.’
“……”
Various odds and ends had also co out.
A silver and jade rosary bracelet sent by the Papacy as proof of being a “Bishop,” a free passport from the Gray Magic Tower and the White Magic Tower that could serve as an identification badge in any country with a teleport gate, a ring symbolizing the “Sage” arbitrarily sent by the Royal Society, the Harren royal seal gifted by the Lazy King as a nto because it would no longer be used, a platinum card issued by the rchant Guild Alliance, and a golden shepherd’s staff that could summon the help of all beastn at any ti─.
They were all small items, so it seed I had just shoved them into my bag and forgotten about them.
I should probably organize my bag later. No wonder it felt a bit heavy.
“I think I’ve taken out everything from the bag… Is there anything you’d like to leave with you for safekeeping?”
“Ah, ah, no! I-I’ll escort you to the official residence right away!”
“Should I put the items back in the bag?”
“I-I’ll do it! Please wait just a mont!”
“Oh, I’ll do it myself. If I just shove them in, the book covers might get torn….”
“Yes! My apologies!”
The staff guarding the official residence was incredibly polite. Thanks to the staff personally guiding , I didn’t get lost and was able to find the accommodation right away.
For now, I would stay in the annex tonight and et my aunt’s daughter tomorrow.
Normally, I would have read a book or two before falling asleep, but…
I was too exhausted. My head was still throbbing from the motion sickness.
“Why does my head hurt so much….”
My stomach churned so badly that I couldn’t even read words properly.
I decided to think about everything else after getting so sleep.
.
.
.
Perhaps because of the fatigue from reading in the carriage.
For the first ti in a while, I had a dream of my childhood. A dream of my very early years─, before I t Isolette. In the dream, my younger self was sitting in the study, reading a book.
My aunt entered the study through the door.
“Oh my, my dear nephew. Reading in the study, are you? But that book seems a bit too difficult for you~. Hehe. What could you possibly understand to be so engrossed in it?”
“…….”
The “” from my childhood… didn’t seem to have a very amiable personality. It’s just that when soone experiences death and lives a second life, their personality tends to develop so eccentricities.
Adapting to a “new life” is not a simple matter like immigrating to another country.
“Nephew? Won’t you have a little chat with your aunt~?”
“…….”
“Nephew…? Can you hear your aunt’s voice?”
To , the “new world” felt like being confined in a rice chest too heavy to move. Like the one they used for Crown Prince Sado. Being reborn as a child while retaining the mories of an adult didn’t rely an becoming “younger.” It was a form of… torture. A kind of psychological tornt where a person is locked in solitary confinent and stripped of their humanity.
The only things I could do all day were lying down, crying, eating, defecating, and resigning myself to the situation.
It was akin to the state experienced by those confined to solitary cells in the forr Soviet Union for re-education purposes, except this world didn’t have a Big Brother or an O’Brien who would release if I claid 2 2=5.
For several days, my eyesight hadn’t developed, so I couldn’t even see the world. All I could hear was a constant stream of incomprehensible foreign languages surrounding . Considering that I had already died and awakened, I genuinely believed I had fallen into hell.
For several weeks, my vocal cords hadn’t developed, so I couldn’t speak. All I could do was scream and cry as a form of communication.
For several months, I couldn’t walk, couldn’t control my bodily functions, couldn’t eat the food I wanted, and couldn’t read the books I longed to. To endure that ti, I had to let go of quite a lot.
For instance.
“Hehe, if you keep ignoring your aunt, I’ll tickle you! Yah!”
“…….”
“…Not ticklish?”
Things like responses to stimuli.
I gave up. I abandoned the “sense of reality” that any living person should inherently feel. The world had beco no different from intangible literature. A world where everything would end as soon as the book cover closed, a mirage in the form of re lines of text.
In my infancy, I adapted to this world in that manner.
[The witch said.]
[“You must give your voice. Co on, stick out your tongue. I need to cut it off to make the potion.”]
[The witch cut off the Little rmaid’s tongue cleanly. Now, the Little rmaid beca mute, unable to sing or speak.]
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