Chapter 56 – Why Would I Go There?

Every time Kaligo said something like a confession, he was very casual. Perhaps he had no idea – how much she understood each word he says. The words he said very indifferently caused a rippling in her calm heart. In the past, she was sad and hurt by his words and actions, but that must be the reason why she couldn’t hate him.

In any way, Kaligo’s words had the power to make her heart flutter. That nature of his probably hasn’t changed that much.

“Did you… miss that?”

“…”

Ashia decided to muster up her courage again. She was afraid that she might hear the answer she didn’t want to hear, so she decided to ask him the questions she hadn’t been able to ask him.

“Renna Cornelli, the daughter of a Viscount, and Renna Edmund, the Duchess of House Edmund.”

“…”

“Did you miss them… even just a little bit?”

His red eyes that were looking down slowly looked up. When he met Ashia’s eyes looking at him, his slender eyes bent in an arc. “There was never a single moment I didn’t miss them.”

“…”

“At least… until a little while ago. Because now… I miss Ashia Bliss too.”

“…” She couldn’t turn her eyes away from his gaze. Kaligo’s red eyes and low voice were a trap – both her eyes and heart were caught and unable to escape. He was showing her his sincerity for a long time without taking a step back.

“Ashia!!” Just then, a voice calling for her came from the direction of the main building.

Ashia’s head turned to that voice calling her name. “Ven?”

The man who came running quickly was her teacher, Ventus. She rose from her chair.

Not used to using his body in such a manner, Venus gasped for air. “Are you okay?! Haa, aigoo.”

“Are you alright, Ven? Why did you run?”

“Ah, I used too much mana today, so I want to save it.”

“What?”

“I should have gone there myself, but as you can see, I was busy reorganizing the Grand Duke’s mansion’s barrier.”

Ashia then raised her head and looked up at the sky. The deep purple barrier made by magic surrounded the Grand Duchy and everything around it.

“Ah…”

“With this, you will be safe from any attack. It might be even stronger than the Imperial Palace,” Ventus said confidently.

At that, Ashia glanced at Kaligo. He was sitting quietly with the two of them chatting and sipping tea. He seemed to understand why Kaligo shouted that it would be safer than the Imperial Palace.

“Then, are you going to stay in the Grand Duke’s residence for a while?”

“Yes, that’s what happened.”

With Ventus’ appearance, their teatime ended there. Kaligo went back to the office so the two of them could have a conversation, so Ashia and Ventus went up the stairs and talked.

“It won’t be easy to attack here. Even if they attack, there won’t be any danger of the building collapsing or getting hurt.”

The two headed to Ventus’ lab. This was because Ashia told him she wanted to borrow his laboratory.

“I’m sure there’s no shortage of tools here, but do you have any ingredients?”

“Yes, fortunately, I have kept the expensive or hard-to-find ingredients somewhere else. It would be no problem at all.”

Ventus’ laboratory was admirably spacious and magnificent.

As Ashia looked around in amazement, Ventus chuckled and said, “It’s different from the Magic Tower, right?”

“Ah… yes.”

Filling the walls were lines of bookshelves tightly packed with hundreds of thousands of books, and tools needed for research were on one side lined up.

“You can come here anytime and make what you want to make. Of course, just let me know if you need more ingredients. Kaligo will surely save you.”

It means that the person who supplied gold and materials was Kaligo, and for some reason, Ventus’ shoulders and nose were turned up to the sky.

“Yes, thank you.” As Ashia giggled and eventually burst into laughter, Ventus followed her and laughed as well.

“By the way, what floor are you staying in? The room near the stairs has a nice view. It overlooks the garden.”

“Ah….”

Ashia hesitated. Ventus didn’t seem to know that she was staying in the Grand Duchess’ room.

’Should I tell him that or not? He will find out soon enough anyway…’

After thinking for a while, Redin entered the lab. “We meet again, Miss Ashia Bliss.”

“Yes, hello.”

“I am glad you weren’t seriously injured.”

“Thanks for your concern.” Ashia smiled back.

“His Grace is looking for you.”

“Kaligo?”

Then, from behind Ashia, Ventus’ voice suddenly intervened, “Ah, she had only been away for a few minutes. Tell him to be patient.”

Despite Ventus’ grumbling, Redin didn’t pay him attention and looked at Ashia. “He said that he had something to explain to you.”

Explain? Ashia tilted her head. Ah, maybe there was a secret place inside the Grand Duke’s mansion that she shouldn’t go to. If that was the case, then there was nothing wrong with listening to things she should be careful of in advance.

“Ven, I’ll be back later.”

“Tch… okay.”

Ashia followed after Redin and left the lab. The place where she was led to was the Grand Duchess’ room, where she woke up in the morning.

“Kaligo?”

“You’ve arrived.”

When Kaligo looked at Redin and then turned away, Redin bowed his head in farewell, then left the room.

“I have something to explain.”

“Yes.”

Kaligo walked over to the side of the bed and then tapped on the long rope, saying, “If you pull this, the Head Maid Melanie will come up.”

“Ah yes.”

“And if you open the top box on this table, you will find a set of keys. You can open all the doors and safes in the Grand Duke’s mansion.”

“…”

And immediately Kaligo walked to the door connecting the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess’ rooms. He continued his speech, pointing to the part of the door that had been closed. “This door can be opened by pressing and pulling this to open. We haven’t put a safe inside the Grand Duchess’ room yet. If you urgently need gold, you can take it out from the safe inside my room.”

“…”

“And if you look here…”

“Kaligo.” Ashia stopped Kaligo, who continued to speak. “What’s with you?”

“…”

“Why are you explaining this to me now?”

Her question drew a faint line on his smooth forehead. “Kaligo?”