Letter

October rolled around, and Allen turned eleven.

After his first success clearing an orc village at the end of May, he had gone on to wipe out twenty more since. There were still plenty left, but he planned on getting to every last one of them eventually. Naturally, he was starting in the north and making his way south in line with the Baron's desire to resume mithril mining operations.

Thanks to his work, preparations for opening the northernmost mine had sped up significantly—the process that had been expected to take three years at least had now been shortened to two. Hiring laborers for the mine and its associated facilities was also going so smoothly that preparations for the village where the laborers would be living could begin as soon as the snow melted away in the coming spring.

'Everything's going great. I'll keep wiping out the orc villages at this pace, then hopefully clear out the armored ant nests too before becoming an adventurer next year.'

Back when he was eight, Allen had made up his mind that he would resign from service to House Granvelle once he turned twelve. Three very eventful years had passed since then.

'Allen, I leave Cecil in your hands. Protect her.' As the days counted down to the day of Allen's resignation, Mihai's words began surfacing more and more often in his mind.

Just what on earth did Mihai want Allen to protect Cecil from? If the intention behind those words had been for Allen to continue serving Cecil for the rest of his life, then he would have to refuse. He had mulled over the line many times, trying to figure out what else could it mean. Sadly, no answer came to mind.

"So! Royal envoy today!" Rickel commented, sliding into the seat across from Allen's as the boy was eating breakfast.

"That's what they said," Allen replied, thinking about how these breakfast chats had gone on for more than three years now.

Just as Rickel had mentioned, a royal envoy was scheduled to arrive that day. All the servants had been informed the day before that he was to be expected slightly after noon. All personal attendants had been ordered to gather in the dining room on the second floor at the time.

'Is it going to be talk about raising the head tax again?'

No one had heard what the purpose of the visit was. The large majority of royal envoys were quite haughty, so nobody really looked forward to their visits.

***

Noon arrived, bringing with it the royal envoy. Sebas guided him from the entrance hall to the second floor dining room.

Allen stood at attention right behind Cecil, who sat at the lowest seat among the members of the Baron's immediate family. The other personal servants had also taken up positions right behind the respective family member they served. There were no arrangements for food to be served—this would not be a lunch.

Soon, three people walked into the dining hall. The one at the head was noticeably better dressed, making it clear he was the envoy and the other two his aides. He took the distinguished seat at the head of the table as his aides stood at his sides. One of them was holding something.

After Sebas walked over to stand behind his master's seat directly across from the envoy, the Baron said, "Thank you for coming all this way. May I ask what the nature of your visit is today?"

"Mm, House Granvelle has always served the Royal family well. His Majesty has called Baron Granvelle's dedication an exemplar for the other nobles."

"I-It is an incredible honor to receive such praise. As the servant entrusted with the management of the realm of Granvelle, I express my heartfelt thanks to His Royal Majesty."

As someone invested with the exclusive authority to speak on behalf of the King, the Royal envoy's status was above that of the Baron's. The Baron was quite shaken, as this was the first time a royal envoy had ever started a visit with such praise.

The room then fell silent for a while as the Baron waited patiently for the envoy to continue speaking. Thomas squinted at the man as if asking, "What's with him?"

Eventually, the envoy said, "It truly pains me to deliver this, but..."

Those words seemed to be a signal, as the aide holding something made his way to the middle of the long table. Sebas walked forward to meet him and accepted the proffered envelope before turning back and reverently laying it in front of the Baron.

"...A letter?"

"Indeed. From your son."

This exchange between the envoy and her father prompted Cecil to turn and stare at the letter on the table.

The Baron's eyes widened. "F-From Mihai?"

This time, no reply came.

Seeing that the envoy had no intention of saying anything further, Baron Granvelle opened the unsealed envelope and took out a single piece of parchment. When he did so, however, several strands of what looked like lavender-colored thread also fell out. The blood drained from the Baron's face at the sight.

He immediately began reading the letter, but soon blurted out in distress, "What?! But! How can...?!"

"F-Father, what did Mihai write?!"

Normally whenever a guest visited, only the Baron was supposed to speak. The others could only reply when addressed directly by the guest. Cecil had been so unsettled that she forgot this rule and called out to her father, but the man did not respond, his attention focused solely on the letter in his hand, his shoulders quaking.

"Wh-When was this written?"

"They are asked to write these regularly and this is the most recent one, which means it's from around three months ago."

"What?! But that's... This is different from what I was promised! H-How could this happen in only six months?!"

The envoy's unconcerned attitude seemed to have rubbed the Baron the wrong way as he railed at the man, his emotions on full display in sharp contrast from his usual self.

"Your son fulfilled his duty, that is all."

The Baron leaped to his feet, glaring daggers. "I-I bet you purposely stationed him in a dangerous place j-just because I'm a lower noble! Mihai had only just graduated from the Academy!"

"Am I to take those as words directed toward the Royal family?"

"Wha—?!"

The Royal envoy's haughty attitude had remained the same ever since he walked into the dining hall. He used the same stiff and impassive tone as before to give a response that bordered on a warning. The Baron started and swallowed his words back down.

"What is... Let me read it!"

Unable to sit still any longer, the Baroness got up and snatched the letter from the Baron's hands. Halfway through scanning the page, she muttered, "This can't be... M-Mihai..." and fainted from shock. Her personal attendant caught her in the nick of time and carried her off to her room.

"The gratuity payment will be delivered at a later date after your son's register has been properly reviewed and recorded."

The Baron's head had gone entirely blank. None of the envoy's businesslike declarations were reaching his ears.

"Well then, the letter has been delivered, and so my business here is done. I have to head for the next fiefdom now, so I shall take my leave. Baron Granvelle?"

"Y-Yes, my lord?"

The envoy stood up and said, "Remember to continue fulfilling your duty to the Royal family as Baron of the realm of Granvelle." The three visitors exited the dining room, leaving the Baron in a total daze.

When Sebas made to follow along to escort them out, the envoy said curtly, "No need." Silence filled the dining hall until Cecil spoke up in a quivering voice, "Father, wh-what happened?"

Anyone could tell from the way the conversation went just now that Mihai had passed away, and Cecil was not stupid. What she was asking was why he had died and how things had ended up this way.

"That's... Everyone, leave us. You too, Thomas."

Apparently even Thomas, a member of the Baron's direct family, was not allowed to hear what he was going to say. Everyone obediently exited the dining hall, leaving only the Baron, Sebas, and Cecil inside.

***

That afternoon, Allen was to clean the mansion together with the maidservants. While his hands moved, his mind mulled over Mihai's parting words.

'Allen, I leave Cecil in your hands. Protect her.'

Just like the others, Allen had picked up on the fact that Mihai had passed away from the conversation between the Baron and the envoy. That meant the letter was likely his last will. He had expected his own death.

Allen didn't know what exactly was he supposed to feel about it. He was not particularly close to Mihai, they only dueled whenever the latter came back home from the academy during his holidays.

But Allen did respected him for someone more powerful than himself. Someone he couldn't beat no matter how many times he tried.

This incident had also raised some questions and doubts in his mind. But he didn't have any way to know anything. What had happened exactly? How? And why?

Mihai was supposed to fulfill his royal service, which was something presumably every academy graduate needed to. Then, was Mihai's death an accident? Or was this "service" or "duty" whatever it was called, particularly dangerous that only the most excellent ones could hope to complete.

But then again, Mihai was pretty talented himself. Not that Allen knew what the definition of "talented" was at the academy.

Abruptly, a shrill scream filled with rage exploded from the second floor, filling the entire mansion. "THAT MEANS YOU LEFT HIM TO DIE! YOU SENT HIM OFF KNOWING HE WOULD DIE!"

"Wha—?! That's not what I said! W-We nobles have a duty—"

"AND YOU'RE SAYING NOW I HAVE TO DIE FOR THIS STUPID DUTY TOO?! WAS I BORN JUST TO DIE AS WELL?!"

"No! That's not— Cecil! Stop right there. Cecil!"

The dining hall door banged open so loudly that the sound reverberated throughout the mansion. Cecil had apparently rushed out in a rage. The nearby servants all exchanged looks, wondering what might had happened.

That night, Cecil did not show up for dinner.

***

The next morning, Rickel once again slipped into the seat across from Allen's during breakfast. "Hey, did you hear the shouting yesterday?"

"Well, it was pretty loud."

'I think everyone in the mansion heard, to be honest.'

"Looks like it's true."

"...What is?"

Rickel leaned over, gesturing for Allen to bring his head near. Then, in a low tone, he said, "I heard a rumor long ago, back when I was still a houseboy, that the members of the Granvelle family all die early. Apparently it had happened to the Baron's parents and older brother."

It was clear from Rickel's attitude that this was not something meant to be spread around loudly.

Allen continued chatting with him until it was time for him to head up and tend to Cecil. He joined up with a maidservant along the way, and together they went up to the young lady's room, who had skipped dinner the night before.

As usual, the maidservant knocked on the door and entered first to help Cecil change. The moment she stepped in, however, her scream rang out, "LADY CECIIIIIL!"