EWH Chapter 79

Scratch, scratch. Flutter, flutter.

The sound of the quill pen busily moving across the paper and the flipping of documents was occasionally mixed with bright chatter.

“And then?”

“What did Young Master Nathan do next?”

“Ah, so Nathan…”

Through the slightly open window, the sound of chatter carried on the wind. Azar’s voice was mixed in as well. As expected, Azar, who had been left alone in the castle, seemed to have finally been caught by the servants. Their barrage of questions was endless, and now it seemed they had settled down and were deeply engrossed in gossip.

The fact that he was the subject of the conversation made Nathan, who was eavesdropping, feel awkward. A wave of heat rose to his face. What could they be so curious about and have so much to ask? Although he hadn’t been able to close the window yet because of Amelia, who was listening intently with a pleased expression, Nathan debated whether he should close it now.

Nathan was currently sitting in the study. It had been several hours since he was led here by Amelia right after breakfast. No matter how much this place was falling apart, there were still things that needed to be done. Of course, since Amelia had already taken care of most of the matters, all he was doing now was simple content verification. However, with two years’ worth of work piled up, the volume was enormous. Even just reviewing it once was consuming a lot of time.

Moreover, what was all this about… After reading the documents several times due to incomprehensible words and content, Nathan felt like tearing his hair out. However, since he wasn’t alone here, he could only slightly furrow his brow without openly showing his frustration.

“By the way, Amelia. Are the people gathered in front of the castle yesterday all the remaining staff in the castle?”

“Yes, that’s all of them.”

“…It’s different from the number written in the last letter I received.”

“Seven people left recently. Don’t worry. As you said, we provided them with letters of recommendation and travel expenses. They’ll contact us when they settle down. By the way, if you check the second document there, you can see the related information.”

“Hmm, I see. You can go now.”

“Then, please call me if you need anything.”

Click.

As soon as Amelia left, Nathan threw down the documents he was holding onto the desk and slumped in his chair, rubbing his tired eyes.

“Phew, what a hassle this is.”

He couldn’t help but wonder if he really needed to do all this. It would all be useless by next year anyway… But if he had to do it, he had to do it. What choice did he have? Nathan let out a deep sigh. The one fortunate thing was that he could finally be alone now. He had been worried since he couldn’t do what he needed to do with someone by his side all day.

His whole body felt stiff from sitting in the chair for so long. Nathan got up, stretched lightly, and walked to the door. He turned the lock to secure the study door and also firmly latched the window. Then he pulled out the book he had slipped under the pile of documents.

It was the magic book imbued with Calypse’s thoughts. In fact, he had occasionally opened the book during the journey to the territory, but Calypse’s voice hadn’t been heard. Still, since Calypse had told him to come here first, would he speak this time? Of course, he still had some anxiety about what would happen if nothing occurred.

“Haa…”

Nathan took a deep breath and carefully opened the book.

[Well, well, I can’t stand to see you alone─!!]

Simultaneously, a booming voice struck his ears.

“Ugh!”

His face involuntarily scrunched up at the loud voice that made his head ring. He almost dropped the book in surprise. Won’t this be heard outside? Whether Calypse knew or cared about Nathan’s worry, he was busy grumbling as he pleased.

[Tsk, tsk, tsk, why is that guy sticking to you like a leech? Huh? I can’t even talk to you! As always, those loved by God don’t have a single likable aspect!]

“H-hey! Be quiet! What if someone outside hears…!”

Nathan was about to close the book again at the booming voice, but he hesitated. It was because of Calypse’s words that followed.

[Hmph, my voice can only be heard by you anyway. You think I can’t manage that much! So don’t worry about unnecessary things!]

“Well, that’s a relief, but…”

Did he swallow a train whistle or something? How could his voice be so loud? Covering his ears seemed to have little effect, so it didn’t seem like he was hearing it with his ears. It felt more like it was being pounded into his head…

[More importantly, human, human. Let me give you a piece of advice. Nothing good will come from getting close to that guy! It’s better to stay away from him as much as possible from now on!]

“…Why?”

[Why? Because you and that guy are incompatible! How can a human who has violated taboos and a human blessed and loved by God be the same!]

“But we get along well…”

Nathan mumbled somewhat dejectedly.

[Nonsense, nonsense! You’re not destined to be by his side! Why don’t you understand that if you stay like this, only hardship awaits you!]

“…”

At those words, Nathan’s eyes narrowed slightly. The nuance of his words was somewhat odd. He could somewhat understand the part about staying away because they were incompatible. But besides that, what Calypse had just said had some inexplicable aspects.

‘What does this dragon know to say such things?’

Could it be that he knows about the original story?