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The moment the front door of Count Northpoleâs house was closed, he used transfer magic to return to the private room of Duke Laudense house.\nAfter confirming that there was no sign of anyone around, he kneeled down on the spot.\n
â What was that creature!!\n
Violette, in her cat form, touched Hydrangeaâs arm and kissed him on the cheek.\nShe was sly, indeed, but he did not dislike it.\n
Of course, if Violette in her human form had done the same thing, he would have left her immediately.\nBut this time, she was in cat form.\nWhat a cat does is innocent. In Hydrangeaâs mind, it is a given.\n
He remembered the fluffy and soft feeling. It was wonderful.\nAs expected, cats are the best. They are angels that have come down to earth.\n
Thinking of that, he called the butler using the magic bell.\n
âMaster, may I help you?â\n
The one who came was a nervous-looking middle-aged man with brown hair neatly coiffed with hair conditioner. The butler, whose name was Heliotrope, raised the bridge of his glasses with his fingertips and straightened his back at the same time.\n
âPlease deliver a monthâs worth supply of firewood to Count Northpoleâs houseâ\nâFirewood?â\nâYes, firewoodâ\n
It was a strange order, but Heliotrope did not pursue it any further and slipped his pen into his notebook.\n
âAlso, Iâm going to get married soon with Miss Violette from Count Northpole houseâ\nâBy marriage, do you mean that marriage?â\nâWhat kind of marriage is there? Of course it means a normal marriageâ\n
He hesitated whether to tell him about the curse or not. But it would not be a good thing for word to spread outside that Violette could turned into a cat.\nItâs fine to just tell the female servants who will accompany her.\n
Instead, he would order that none of the male servants could approach her.\nBut just in case. He will tell them in a roundabout way that she has special circumstance to make sure.\n
âSheâs a bit of a strange girl. Donât be surprised if something happensâ\nâUnderstoodâ\n
First, he ordered Violetteâs room to be prepared, with furniture, dresses, jewelry, and daily necessities.\n
âMake sure she has the finest things a bride of the Duke Laudense family should haveâ\nâAs you wishâ\n
Normally, the brideâs family would provide these things, but judging from the condition of their mansion, it would be difficult to prepare them. After all, they donât even have the money to buy firewood or a dress.\n
Heliotropeâs expression did not change, perhaps because he had heard the order to buy firewood and deliver it earlier.\nIndeed, he is an excellent butler.\n
âAnd I want you to investigate somethingâ\n
Regarding the assets of Count Northpole. Ten years ago, when Hydrandia investigated it, the financial situation was not as dire as it had seemed.\nTentatively, he had already investigated who Silane von Northpole was and what kind of family he belonged to ten years ago. At the time, his assets seemed like an ordinary noble.\n
He had heard many stories about the deterioration of their finances after his succession.\nHe ordered to him to find out.\n
âIâm counting on youâ\nâAs you wishâ\n
After Heliotrope was gone, he let out a deep sigh.\n
The next day, a letter arrived from Violette. She thanked him for the firewood in polite lettersâ contrary to his expectation. The letter was apparently written by the butler on her behalf. It seems that she could not hold a pen because she could not return from her cat form.\n
At the end, there was a paw stamp of Violette, perhaps as a replacement for her signature.\nWhen he saw it, he fainted in agony from itâs over-cuteness.\nHydrangea, who loves cats, stared at the paw stamp for a while and was soothed.\n
ăâââ\n
A week later, an investigation letter about Count Northpole arrives. What was written there was a surprising thing.\n
It seems that ten years ago, one month before Hydrangea met Silane von Northpole, a big incident had happened.\nThat gentle and good-natured, Silane.\n
He had apparently caused an incident in which he hit a merchant, with whom he had a personal relationship, on the head with a glass ashtray.\nFortunately, Silane seems to have healed the injury using recovery magic, but even though the scar is gone, the grudge remains.\n
It seemed that Silane had loaded the merchant with a large sum of money to keep him quiet about the crime.\nWhy did he choose to hide the crime instead of atoning for it? He didnât know.\n
Was it because he thought that his family name would be damaged if the stigma spread?\nThis was not the only surprising fact.\n
Silane had been inflicted with illness for the past five years. He had retired from the Magic Division and was recuperating. However, the treatment was in vain, and he passed away.\nHis son, Count Northpole, said he was cursed to death, but there is no evidence on that point.\n
It seemed that their assets were used to pay for his fatherâs medical treatment and to bribe the merchant to keep quiet.\nThe hush money payments seemed to have continued even after the succession.\n
The merchantâs name wasâ Tritoma Celsia. He was unscrupulous merchant with bad rumors.\nThe investigation did not reveal what happened between the two.\n
Only the dead Silane and Tritoma Celsia knows about it.\nPerhaps Count Northpole is also aware of the situation.\n
As expected, that family had special circumstances, He felt bitter about his own intuition.\nHow happy he would be if he did not know.\n
Perhaps Violette does not know. She was the only one with beautiful, hopeful eyes.\nThey are not shadowed like Silaneâs or Count Northpoleâs eyes.\n
ââŚâŚDamnâ\n
He want to poison himself.\nHe chose to get married in order to make things easier, but on the contrary, he have attracted problems.\nHowever, he could not just pretend that he did not see this. From now on, Hydrangea needs to move and investigate it alone.\n
First, what kind of forbidden books did Silane read.\nPerhaps there is a residue of magic from the person who touched the book. He also remember the color of Silaneâs magic.\nIt was a gentle green, like a deep forest. He was a wizard who specializes in recovery magic.\n
Tomorrow, he decided to go to the forbidden book room after work was over.\n
âłăâźăâł\n
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