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“His Highness will give it to you just before the ceremony.” Ilyin became curious about the object when Annie smiled, “The ceremony will be held tomorrow or the day after that.”

Ilyin thought things were going fast for something so important, “Have things been delayed a little?”

“Yes, but I heard there had been bad news from the west.”

The avalanche had occurred in the west, and Ilyin thought of her dream. The knights had tried to exterminate the red-scaled monsters there but would have failed before. She remembered that they were called mollies, “Is this related to the mollies?”

Annie blinked at Ilyin’s words, “Did His Highness inform you?”

Aden de Bilften was known to be silent and didn’t discuss his business much. Of course, most of the servants were terrified even to meet his eyes. However, the Delroses who came up to the seventh floor were different. Ilyin wasn’t aware, but the maids on the seventh floor changed to those who had worked here for a long time. Also, the people who came up here were those who were the most loyal to their Duke. Annie was one of them, and also one of the few who knew the Duke and the knight’s leader was the same person.

“Do not make mistakes.” Aden had told her, seeming as if he was going into battle, and it was the first time Annie had seen him lie, or worry that the lie would be known. Annie had wondered who this Ilyin was, and the Duchess was a much brighter person than her guesses.

“There was an avalanche there, and also mollies live there,” Ilyin replied.

Ilyin was smart, and Annie thought she understood why Aden liked her so much as she looked at her mistress. The former Duchess cared about herself rather than the mansion, as she wanted to only go out. However, Ilyin was different, and the atmosphere among the servants had already changed. The Delrose maids secured their position after being pushed away from the center, due to the Duke’s long absences. It was largely because Ilyin asked for them whenever she did something, and that meant other families could not know what the mistress was doing.

Annie had thought Ilyin may be close to the Blue North due to the cloth she’d been wearing, but she was now clearly close to the Delroses after the first night. What had happened during that night? Annie smiled at the thought and blushed.

“Annie?”

Coming back to her senses, after hearing Ilyin’s question, she answered immediately, “Yes. It seems that the mollies have allied with the yesters.”

Ilyin went to the bookshelf without saying anything. She didn’t ask maids to do simple chores, and they served her with more care because of that. Ilyin treated them like human beings, unlike other elders or noblemen.

“Yester…” Ilyin opened the map of the Biflten lands and searched for the word. Thankfully, Biflten used the same alphabet as the Empire, and she found the name in the north with ease.

“They usually live in the north and come down each year to find a colder climate. They had come to the northeast due to the winds there,” Annie explained.

“And met the mollies there,” Ilyin finished for her as she stared at the map. She heard that while monsters lived in separate groups, they never attacked each other. This was bad news.

“Yesters can move much quicker in the cold,” Annie explained as they looked at the map.

Ilyin asked a question as she looked at the Biflten Castle, which was nearer to the Empire than other places, “Does each monster have a different ability?”

While Annie had been going to cut short the explanation, Ilyin urged her to speak and so Annie spoke happily, “Six races live in Biflten, including humans…” There had been seven races before. Ilyin listened to Annie’s words, and Annie pointed to the southeast area between the Empire and the Biflten castle. “Milton’s lived here. They were said to be beautiful and…” Annie nodded as she remembered the monster’s ability, “they were said to predict the future.”

Predict the future? Ilyin’s eyes grew wide as she looked down at the map. The southeast area was the closest to the Empire.

***

The succession ceremony was said to inherit the Duke’s name and his power. The room near the ceremonial room was quiet and dignified. Ilyin sat on a chair in the empty room to receive the Divine Objects. Ilyin’s maids bowed and went out of the room, and she thought that things were done quietly for such an important ceremony.

The Duke’s power affected the Biflten’s future heavily, and the ceremony was small and quiet for such an event. Also, the ceremony was held in the basement, and there were no crowds like at the wedding. Ilyin had experienced the bustling atmosphere in that room and knew that things were very different now.

“I have come from the Bright Elo.” The Elo’s signature yellow was bright gold, and the strange girl was wearing a dress that was exquisitely decorated to show off the family colors.