77 – The Most Important Part of a Party is Recruitment
Siusia’s eyes widened as she read the parchment.
‘You are not my daughter.’
At this point, her pupils swelled to the size of peas.
‘You’re a doppelgänger, borrowing the image of the Duke of Senestia.’
Her pupils then grew as large as watermelons.
“This is absurd…!”
The family she’d shared meals and conversations with, who even bathed (with servants present) together until recently were not her real family but doppelgängers――the content was so outrageous it would be scoffed at even in a play.
Moreover, doppelgängers were mythical creatures, known only in legend as beings capable of flawlessly imitating humans.
They were believed to be extinct.
Siusia continued to read the parchment.
‘You were just a child when I first saw you.
You were being abused by the Duke.
Upon seeing him beat a young child for no rational reason, I made a decision.
This kid would be useful.
So I stole him from the Duke.’
Siusia recalled her past.
In her childhood, her father was a very strict man, not just strict but harsh.
He could lose his temper over trivial matters, resorting to physical punishment.
Every night, her mother’s sobbing could be heard from the bedroom.
It was a past she had deeply buried.
Because one day, her father had changed, as if he ‘became someone else’.
He always smiled at her and treated the servants kindly. Her mother stopped crying.
Unless she committed a grave wrongdoing, her father would admonish her with words, not punishment. Except on very rare occasions.
‘I hate the empire.
The empire disgusts me, Siusia.
They won’t tolerate anyone who’s different.
I, a doppelgänger, was captured by them and experimented on for several decades while alive.
They’ve likely forgotten by now. But I haven’t.
That’s why I sought vengeance.
I gathered others in the same predicament as me and formed an organization.’
The background of the Duke of Senestia was very valuable indeed.
However, that was now useless.
You fools were deceived by me, a shape-shifter.
hahahaha!
Guess you could never know that the skull rolling around on the ground was the reality of the Duke of Senestia.
Well, I guess you’re free to take that skull and appeal to the Empire. Sobbing about how the real Duke was murdered.
So, I’ll be off. I’ve already left to a place beyond the Empire’s reach, you won’t be able to find me ever again.
Live well. Susia, and Cecilia.
Susia, holding the parchment, her hands quivered.
‘Ah, if father was a shape-shifter, then where did mother go?’
She had no idea.
All she knew was that in the middle of the night, Madame Cecilia had hastily packed up and disappeared without a trace.
“So, that’s how it happened.”
After Susia left the basement, she summoned the most trustworthy people, Askal and Julia.
Julia read the magic-released parchment while Askal looked around the basement. If his intuition was right, there should be a hidden space within the basement.
Upon Askal’s touch, part of the wall suddenly sunk into the ground.
And within the hidden space, another concealed area appeared.
Family documents, land deeds, seals, ledger, jewels, and more.
This was a treasure trove.
Containing the prime wealth of the Duke’s House.
“Julia, can we prove the identity with this skull?”
“Yes, it will be rather costly, but it would be possible through restoration magic. We have other alternative methods as well.”
“So proving that the real Duke of Senestia was murdered would be easy then.”
“Yes.”
The skull was spotless.
With no trace of any broken bones.
“We wouldn’t need to send Susia to a monastery or marry her off to another noble.”
“That’s correct.”
“How about for the Duke title?”
“According to the Empire’s law, as long as Miss Susia doesn’t marry, she will become the next Duke of Senestia.”
Ascal lightly tapped Siusia’s shoulder.
“Congratulations, Siusia. You’ve been promoted from Duke Youngae to Duke Jeonha.”
“What? What? …What does that mean?”
“I’m really happy for you.”
Yulia also smiled as if she was truly pleased.
Siusia, still lost in confusion, could only wear a bewildered expression.
“Darn doppleganger! Just wait till I see you! I’ll give you a piece of my mind!”
“It’s truly regrettable. The Duke of Senestia has had to change his name because of the wicked doppleganger….”
At the back, Ascal whispered quietly to Yulia.
-This must be on purpose. This.
-Yes. The Duke, I mean the doppleganger left a lot of evidence behind. It’s too easy to prove.
-Take good care of Siusia.
There are plenty of old tales of dopplegangers taking a person’s form and pretending to be them.
But who expected it to actually happen?
‘Sigh……’
Doppleganger.
What to do about it?
Ascal swallowed his saliva.
Ascal hasn’t seen the emperor for a while.
The emperor rushed to Ascal like a loyal dog who hadn’t seen its master in nearly a year.
“How long has it been――! Count Erlindale! I’ve missed you so much. Visit more often. You know how bored this old man can get.”
“I’m sorry for that, Your Majesty. Are you still drinking the crystal tea?”
“Of course. I can’t quite feel alive without the crystal tea when I wake up.”
Ascal played along with the emperor’s old talk, then brought up the main issue.
The story of the doppleganger.
“What? How is that possible! The doppleganger who escaped back then did what now? Unbelievable, just unbelievable.”
“Siusia must be devastated.”
“Yes. It’s almost like losing his parents in an instant… sigh.”
The aged emperor seemed to have grown more tearful recently.
“What will happen to the dukedom?”
“Hmm. There’s nothing wrong with Lady Sushia inheriting it all. However, wouldn’t it be difficult for her to lead the Duke household on her own? Wouldn’t she require a suitable man…”
“With all due respect, this is an honor, but I’m insufficiently prepared for such a task.”
Askal, sensing a crisis, attempted to head it off.
The Emperor gave him a sidelong look as if to say, ‘What are you talking about?’
“After all, wouldn’t it be natural for you, cough, to form a bond with our imperial family?”
“…Pardon?”
“Do you prefer brunettes, or blondes?”
“…Pardon?”
“hehehe, men will be men. Be honest about your preferences. Or are you saying that our daughters aren’t to your liking?”
Cold sweat trickled down Askal’s brow.
It was as if he had tried to sidestep a fox, only to come face-to-face with a dragon.
The Emperor seemed quite serious, even though Askal had subtly tried to change the subject. Despite his gentle deflection, the conversation kept veering back to marriage.
In the end, Askal played his trump card.
“I love my work! Your Majesty, I want to become your Premier!”
Premier.
Within his dreams, Askal became the Premier, but soon found himself on the verge of insanity due to the overwhelming workload.
He couldn’t even approach the Imperial Palace for a while due to the trauma of that period. Hearing the title of Premier alone was enough to make his stomach churn uncooperatively.
Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be so bad — to work to the bone for just one year, then retire along with the Emperor, rather than suffering endlessly as a member of the royal family —
“That seems difficult.”
“Pardon?”
“The Crown Prince said that if you were to ask to become Premier, I should refuse outright. He threatened to confiscate my pudding in my old age otherwise.”
What kind of red ginseng candy confiscation was this? The Emperor seemed pitiful, his authority stripped away.
The dreadful Crown Prince had thoroughly blocked any avenue of escape.
Askal could almost hear the Crown Prince’s voice in his ear.
“Oh, a good move. But I had already anticipated it.”
It was like playing a game of chess with his retirement at stake.
“But I still have plenty of hidden moves. Crown Prince. You won’t be able to stop me.”
Askal blazed with determination.
Somehow he managed to steer past the marriage talk and the conversation about Sushia came to a close for now.
＜If a suitable spouse cannot be found within a year, Sushia Senestia will inherit the Duke’s position.＞
Before then, a promise had been made to actively support the Senestia family from the Empire.
In the end, Sushia’s titles were as follows:
Sushia, almost a saintess.
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Sushia, who was born to be a duke.
Sushia, the single-serving reviewer.
“If things have come to this, promote yourself. From now on, you’re a 7th-grade official.”
“Where, where did that come from?”
“That’s how I feel. Ah, and Lia. There’s a place I have to go – would you like to take a walk?”
“I’ll be ready.”
Lia stood up.
Ascal was preparing for the last raid on the dragon before retirement.
He decided not to announce it until the preparations were fully in place to avoid causing confusion.
The first new member to be gathered was Sirius, a top prospect who would eventually be called a hero. A half-empire leader, a genius of strategy, a future swordmaster.
‘They should give such a talented guy a good twist.’
Honestly, he had no intention of calling himself a perpetrator now.
It feels as though he crossed an irreversible river.
As the head of the review board, he would appropriately revise the reviews.
Ascal started leafing through the documents.
It was a document compiling his subjective reviews.
Old!
＜Ascal Debrur: Rank E＞
New!
＜Ascal Erindale: Rank C＞
He pulled some strings and jumped two levels.
By the way, the talents located at S are Yulia and Sirius. And the Crown Prince was also awaiting promotion recently.
They are key figures in the dragon raid.
It’s a problem if even one person falls behind.
Unless an outrageous member pops up from somewhere.
So, Ascal headed to the Haven orphanage, or rather, what had now become the Haven training center.
And then…
After a while,
“Oh, Master! Great Master! Do not leave us!”
Upon seeing the students who had climbed onto the desks all at once, Askal felt dizzy.