Chapter 143

A typical weekend afternoon.

Having wrapped up everything related to the Heptagram Society and even captured an assassin at the academy to hand over to the military police, I was enjoying an unprecedentedly peaceful period since my possession.

As a result, the place where I now spent the most time was the Winslet estate’s library.

My biggest remaining concern was the unknown heart condition, and I figured that Winter Winslet, the original owner of this body, might have left some clues behind. So I began digging through the records he had left.

Back when I was a player of Candela of Judgment, I had once enthusiastically pillaged this very place to accuse Winter Winslet, so I was able to easily find the hidden documents scattered around.

As expected, there were numerous investigation materials and research notes related to the cold energy building up in the heart.

Upon review, about half of the information was already familiar, while the other half was new to me.

The research notes revealed Winter Winslet’s devilish genius and desperate efforts to escape death, but so far, it seemed he had achieved little success.

Since he hadn’t identified the root cause of the condition, most of the research focused on ways to manage the symptoms, and the approaches were rather inconsistent.

The only thing that stood out was his most recent research.

It involved absorbing the magical power of heat to neutralize the cold energy… but from between the lines, I could tell he had started exploring ways to artificially generate heat-based magic power because natural sources weren’t sufficient.

However, the methods he explored, such as altering a mage’s magic circuits or changing a normal person’s constitution through curses and black magic, made the research more suitable as evidence in a criminal report than as viable solutions.

Naturally, I had no intention of trying any of it myself and tossed the idea aside.

Considering how Winter Winslet remained a notorious playboy until his death in the original game, it was safe to assume these experiments never succeeded.

I believed it would be better to focus on identifying the true nature and origin of the illness rather than just treating the symptoms.

When I collapsed earlier from the aftermath of the Caraphine explosion, Professor Sophia had said that my condition was congenital.

So perhaps if I could find some medical records from when Winter Winslet was born or during his childhood, I might be able to find a clue?

However, to find those kinds of records, I would need to go to Winter Winslet’s birthplace, the main house of the family… That’s when I remembered that summer break at the academy would begin soon after the final exams.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to visit the Winslet County in southern Laurencia around that time.

One concern, though, was that Winter Winslet had severed ties with his father, the Count, and left the family.

Would the Count even be willing to cooperate?

I was in the middle of such thoughts when—

Knock knock knock.

A knock came at the study door.

“Come in.”

The door slid open, and Dahlia peeked her head through the gap.

“Master, some people have come from a place called Myers Workshop.”

“Did they bring the item?”

“Yes. They were carrying a really large box on a cart.”

“They just barely made the deadline.”

I slipped a bookmark into the journal I was reading, closed it, and stood up from my seat.

“I’ll go see for myself.”

As I stepped out to the mansion’s front entrance, the men who had come to deliver the item were already waiting for me.

One young man, with small, sharp eyes, approached and removed his hat as he greeted me.

“I’m Toby Myers, Baron. I’ve brought the item on behalf of my father. He originally intended to deliver it himself, but his joints have been troubling him lately, so he wasn’t able to make the trip.”

“That’s fine. More importantly, can I inspect the item?”

“Of course.”

The young man took a hammer from his belt and began tapping various spots on the box that sat atop the cart.

With a soft click, the wooden pegs smoothly slipped out from the seamless joints, and the intricately crafted box unfolded like blossoming petals, revealing its contents.

Inside was a model of a palace.

“What do you think? Does it meet your expectations?”

“Not bad.”

“When you first placed the order, you mentioned it looked gaudy, so we removed all the gold and silver decorations. Because of that, both my father and I nearly lost our eyesight.”

“This is better.”

“My father said the same thing. He admitted he was too ambitious when he made it in his younger days. In fact, given the price, he thought he’d never find a buyer unless dirt filled his eyes first. He asked me to express his sincere thanks to you.”

“What about the custom specifications I requested?”

“Every one of them has been completed without a single omission.”

“Good work.”

I paid the remaining balance to the young man and requested delivery of the item.

“Where would you like it delivered?”

“To Isola Palace.”

“Isola Palace? Isn’t that the place this model was based on?”

“That’s right. The model is a gift for a member of the royal family staying there.”

A few days ago, I received an invitation.

For Winter Winslet, invitations were like fallen leaves. No matter how many you cleared away, more would keep piling up.

Among the ones I received that day, two were from royalty, and one of them was from Princess Estelle.

Since her knight Josephine was always by her side, the invitation could be seen as a disguised date request from Josephine herself.

Managing Josephine’s affection level was one of the critical tasks for Winter Winslet’s survival, so I gladly accepted.

The miniature palace was a small gift for the two women, likely feeling cooped up in the royal villa.

“Master, the carriage is ready.”

“Then I’ll be off.”

I sent the cart carrying the gift ahead, then departed for Isola Palace myself.

Even so, I would arrive first.

Despite its name, Isola Palace was less a palace and more accurately described as a villa.

While the scenery was beautiful thanks to the nearby pond, in terms of size and grandeur, it was far inferior to the other royal palaces.

Moreover, it was located far too removed from the capital to be suitable for royal residence, and as a result, the staffing was sparse.

Even the security was minimal. Only Josephine and a few maids seemed to remain at Estelle’s side.

In Candela of Judgment, Princess Estelle was both the patron of the Candela Knights and the one to whom they pledged their loyalty.

Perhaps even in the original story, Josephine had built her relationship with Estelle in this same way.

I didn’t know if the future would unfold as it had in the original game, but as someone who was already flagged for a visit from the Candela Knights in the third-year main storyline, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to cultivate a good relationship with Princess Estelle.

Before I knew it, the carriage had arrived at its destination.

As I stepped down and approached the entrance of Isola Palace, a familiar voice reached my ears from somewhere nearby.

“So the angle of the blade is important, then?”

“Yes, young lady. Aligning the angle of the blade with the direction of the sword’s movement is the foundation of swordsmanship. If it’s even slightly off, the cutting power becomes terrible. Mastering just this alone is enough to be considered a competent swordsman. It may look simple, but even experienced warriors often make mistakes with it.”

“I see…”

Following the voice and circling around the building, I came upon the palace’s backyard.

There, Josephine and Princess Estelle were spending time together.

With a scenic pond in the background, the sight of a knight swinging her sword and a noble lady seated on the stump of a large tree watching her…

It was the kind of scene that would probably be quite popular if captured in a painting.

Josephine was swinging her sword in a loose-fitting linen shirt and baggy shorts, while several swords of different lengths and weights were propped up against a nearby tree beside Estelle.

They were Josephine’s weapons, which she switched between as needed.

At the moment, she was using the longest and heaviest one, and with each graceful spin, the blade sliced through the air with a sharp sound.

When she finished a round of swordplay, Josephine stood her sword upright and steadied her breathing, prompting Estelle to applaud.

“That was incredible! How can you swing such a large sword so swiftly?”

“It’s more about technique than strength. Once you master the proper posture, even you could do it, young lady.”

“Really?”

“…Though your wrists and waist might end up shattered, so I recommend starting with physical training first.”

“In that case, I’ll just stick to watching.”

Josephine gave a soft chuckle and walked over to the tree stump where the princess was seated, resting her greatsword against it.

She reached for another sword, but Estelle stood up holding a towel.

“Oh my, look at all that sweat. Here, wipe it off.”

“Thank you, young lady.”

“Why don’t you take a break now?”

“I still have a long way to go. I’ll just do two more sets and stop there.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t be like that. We have a guest, you know.”

Estelle said this while gesturing in my direction with her eyes.

It seemed she had noticed my presence from the start.

Josephine who only just spotted me widened her eyes in surprise.

“Winter? What are you doing here?”

“I came at the princess’s invitation. You didn’t know?”

When Josephine turned to her side, Estelle gave her a mischievous smile.

“I wanted it to be a surprise, so I didn’t tell you on purpose.”

“Haah, young lady.”

Josephine gave Estelle a reproachful look.

“I must have interrupted your training.”

“N-No, not at all. It’s just… I’ve been staying here with nothing to do, so I decided to get some exercise, that’s all…”

“Then why are you so flustered?”

“Well… look at me right now.”

Josephine’s voice trailed off.

Blushing, she brushed her hand up along the side of her neck.

Her neatly tied silver hair had come loose from the intense training, strands sticking to her forehead and nape. Her white shirt and shorts were drenched in sweat.

“No one would criticize a warrior for sweating. If anything, I think it looks admirable.”

Not that I was saying this because she looked beautiful like that.

Seriously.

I reached out, thinking I could at least fix her hair, but Josephine quickly stepped back.

“Ugh, please don’t come any closer.”

When I tilted my head as if to ask why, she averted her blue eyes and muttered,

“I-It’s just… I probably smell like sweat…”

Her voice was barely audible by the end.

“Your Highness! I’ll go change and be right back. Please forgive my rudeness.”

“Alright. But be quick about it…before someone steals our baron away.”

“Please don’t tease me…”

Face flushed, Josephine crouched down to gather her swords.

Despite how many there were, she hugged them all in her arms with ease and hurried off toward the villa.

Estelle, watching her retreating figure, let out a cheerful laugh.

“Ahaha! That’s the first time I’ve seen Josephine that flustered.”

“Is that so? I see her like that quite often, actually.”

“That’s probably because it was you, Baron. People tend to get nervous in front of someone they like. Honestly, I don’t think she was even that startled when bandits attacked the train.”

“No way.”

“Half a joke, half serious.”

“Anyway, I heard about what happened to you, Your Highness. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Thank you. I owe it all to your fiancée. If Josephine hadn’t been there… I don’t even want to imagine.”

Estelle gave a slight shudder, as if just the thought sent chills down her spine.

“But enough about me. What about you, Baron? It feels like it’s been ages. Have you been well?”

I was about to say yes, but my mouth closed before I could answer.

Perhaps noticing the hesitation on my face, Estelle let out a soft laugh.

“Sounds like you’ve been busy too.”

“One thing led to another, I suppose.”

“At the academy, they probably call you ‘Professor’ instead of ‘Baron’, right? How is life as a professor? I imagine someone like you must be quite popular among the students.”

“Popular, hmm… I suppose you could say that.”

If killing intent counted as interest, then yes…. having accumulated more death flags than anyone, I was certainly the academy’s most “popular” figure.

“With your looks, I bet you get lots of letters or gifts from students too?”

“Oh, absolutely. I’ve even received a few rather… intense letters.”

“Oh my, what kind of letters are we talking about?”

Of course, I couldn’t tell her that one of those “intense letters” was actually a scroll containing a fiery explosion spell, so I let it slide with a smile.

Estelle smiled back.