Chapter 42

Hugo changed the investigator in charge of Leonardo's interrogation. He also treated him as a person of interest limited to the Frost territory incident and recognized his efforts and contributions related to solving the case.

There were persistent suspicions raised about the possibility of him being involved in the escape of the Delberg Merchant Group's grand master, but they were not accepted due to insufficient evidence.

At that, Hugo and Flynn didn't mention the seawater scent they had noticed on Tergio when they met him in the Frost territory, as if they had made a promise to each other.

Instead, they issued investigation instructions related to the Delberg Merchant Group's method of "cutting off the tail."

Due to handling many tasks, Hugo, who had stayed up all night at the Council and took a brief nap in the break room behind the Commander's office, was able to leave work only in the afternoon of the next day.

The carriage he was riding in had just passed through the eastern gate of the Imperial Capital after going through several intermediate portals from the main gate of the Council.

The eastern gate had a particularly large number of security personnel, and the Imperial Capital's guards stationed at the gate saluted the carriage with the Agrizendro family's coat of arms. The meaning implied by the number of personnel was clear, so it wasn't a very pleasant sight.

Before long, the carriage entered a forest path where tall and pointed trees stood in a row towards the sky.

Light occasionally came through the dense trees, and a cool breeze blew through the overall lush forest. Since no other carriages or people were passing by except for Hugo's carriage, the wide road was very leisurely and quiet.

The white carriage of the Agrizendro family traveled along the tranquil path in the forest for a while, then quickly entered the portal of another intermediate gate that appeared.

After passing through the portal, unlike the previous forest path, this time a bustling downtown area with tall buildings and commercial districts appeared. However, the atmosphere was slightly different from the downtown of the Imperial Capital.

If the buildings in the Imperial Capital were the epitome of splendor and grandeur, the buildings here were generally composed of monotonous colors such as white, navy blue, blue, and light gray, and their scale was majestic but gave a sophisticated and neat impression.

Instead of using various colors, delicate sculptures and precise, regular patterns decorated various parts of the large and magnificent buildings.

Above the buildings, the flag of the Raina Logia Empire, with a golden sun centered between a red background on the left and a navy blue background on the right, fluttered alongside the flag symbolizing the Agrizendro family, with a silver sword and shield on a navy blue background.

This place bordered the Imperial Capital and had a scale three times the size of the Imperial Capital's territory.

It was also the largest territory in Raina Logia, stretching widely from the northeast to the southeast based on the Imperial Capital, and the second-largest civilization hub after the Imperial Capital.

Many people preferred the climate here due to its pleasant and cool weather throughout the year, and as the territory was vast, more people resided here than in the Imperial Capital. It was a place where its own administrative foundation and culture remained largely intact, as it was once a grand duchy that was completely absorbed into the empire and demoted to a duchy.

The old name of this place was Sanctus Logia. It was also called the Holy Logia, and today, it is hard to find people who call it by that name.

Instead, people nowadays refer to this place as the Agrizendro Territory.

The Agrizendro family was an imperial faction that had sworn loyalty to the imperial household for generations, supported the emperor, and valued the etiquette of the monarch and his subjects. It was one of the only two ducal families in the empire.

And Hugo Agrizendro, who held the surname of such an Agrizendro family, was the young Duke of Agrizendro, known as the Sword of the Empire in Raina Logia, and the Commander of the Central Branch of the Council.

Raina Logia was an empire with a very strong imperial household, centered on imperial authority, and all the laws implemented by the central government agencies under the imperial household came from the emperor and the deliberative body that responded to his advice. Although there was a formal separation of powers, the emperor was at the center of it all.

In other words, as the emperor became the law, the aristocratic forces that kept him in check were greatly weakened, and as a result, the meaning of status other than the imperial family had faded considerably compared to the past.

Because of that, the boundary between commoners and nobles was not strictly divided, and even in the Council where Hugo belonged, one could see commoners and nobles working together without distinction of status.

However, the class system had not been abolished.

The noble class still existed, and there were quite a few parts where their unique sense of authority remained, so there were social gatherings and balls held during the season, as well as their own invisible, shady cultures.

Commoners still had to show respect to nobles, live as residents in the territories they owned, and while easily mingling with lower-ranking nobles, they also admired their lives.

In the political field, most of the high-ranking positions were occupied by people of noble birth, making it difficult for commoners to seize opportunities. As a result, the economic field naturally came to be dominated by nobles, and large businesses that made money were often established by noble families.

In this land, status had faded compared to the past, but it still clearly existed.

In such a place, the meaning of the title of duke was quite diverse. Hugo enjoyed wealth and honor while having to be loyal and dedicated to the empire to the same extent.

Joining the Council was his will, but since it was customary for noble sons to work in government agencies, it was easy to find nobles who had entered government agencies besides that. Perhaps because of that, Hugo's involvement in the Council was also considered one of such typical customs.

However, among those of noble birth, Hugo, in particular, performed the duties of the Commander of the Council and took on difficult tasks, such as personally going to distant places, which didn't suit his title. The reason was not only to show loyalty to the empire but also to protect his own position.

Although he was a duke, his position was not very solid within the Agrizendro family, where power was divided.

Thanks to that, Hugo returned to his territory for the first time in a long time after going to the Frost territory to chase Leonardo. Like Leonardo, he was also exhausted from the unexpected journey and fierce battles, but he couldn't even think of wanting to rest because there were piles of work waiting for him.

After passing through the portal of another gate in the city, the white carriage he was riding in soon arrived at a large gate leading to the Agrizendro mansion. The guards on the tower, who confirmed the carriage approaching from a distance, began to slowly open the huge gate.

Passing through the gate and along the well-organized road stretching out in front, another tightly closed iron gate opened again. Then, the entrance of the mansion, which was comparable in size to the imperial palace, was revealed in the distance.

In front of it, the servants of the ducal family were waiting for him, but they looked as small as ants due to the enormous size of the mansion.

The mansion had a harmonious blend of navy blue, silver, and white, exuding a majestic and elegant style that resembled a temple. The relief and intaglio patterns decorating the mansion were quite regular and densely placed, and the white statues adorning its surroundings gave a strangely orderly and cold feeling despite each taking a different pose.

As the carriage Hugo was riding in reached the front of the huge mansion and stopped, the waiting attendant politely opened the door of the carriage. From inside, the Duke of Agrizendro, wearing the white uniform of the Council, revealed himself.

"Master, welcome back."

As he got out of the carriage, the servants lined up on both sides all bowed their heads to greet the duke.

Hugo nodded briefly as if he was used to it and moved his steps quickly towards the central door of the mansion. The butler, attendants, and his close knights immediately followed behind him.

Entering the interior of the mansion, a vast hall unfolded, and a huge portrait hanging in the middle of the majestic stairs on both sides clearly showed who the master of the ducal family was.

The glossy, dark navy blue hair of the young duke in the portrait exuded a calm and imposing atmosphere.

Above his slightly protruding brow bone, thick and graceful eyebrows were neatly placed, and beneath them, deep shadows were cast, making his deep and tranquil blue eyes shine calmly like jewels in the depths of the ocean.

His tall and straight nose, neatly closed lips, and robust jawline made it immediately apparent that he was a man of considerable handsomeness.

After meaninglessly looking at the huge portrait of his own face once, Hugo took off his uniform's cloak and outer garment, handed them to an attendant, and climbed the stairs. Among the several butlers, the one who seemed to be in the highest position closely followed him and asked Hugo,

"Master, have you had a meal?"

"Not yet. Since I'm busy, let's handle the urgent matters first. What about the tasks I had entrusted before leaving?"

"I had the vassals of the duchy you designated handle the tasks as much as possible, but there are quite a few matters still waiting to be processed as they require final approval. And some of them-"

"The Grand Madam must have handled them."

"...That's right."

Hugo entered the office straight away while receiving the report, as if it was a usual occurrence. As expected, papers were piled up like a mountain on the desk. As soon as he sat in the office chair and took off his gloves, an attendant took his gloves, and another attendant naturally poured tea into the prepared teacup.

The Grand Madam Hugo mentioned was a member of the Council with a high standing in the Upper House and also a relative of Hugo. She was the aunt of the previous Duke of Agrizendro and had considerable power and influence within the Agrizendro family.

She was also very dissatisfied with Hugo inheriting the title as the family's successor, so she deliberately instructed him to handle Council work to create a pretext to prevent him from going out and taking care of the territory's affairs.

When the duke was absent, it was the rule of the Agrizendro family that the person with the next highest and legitimate position within the family would have the authority to exercise power as a proxy. And currently, the acting holder of that power was the woman called the Grand Madam.

The butler handed over the documents he was holding and said to Hugo,

"Will you not have any long-distance business trips for the time being?"

"Well, nothing has been confirmed yet."

"Then, how about scheduling the meeting with the vassals after you finish all the Council work?"

"No, we need to proceed with it quickly, even tomorrow. Seeing that they told me to return quickly because of the peninsula issue, it seems there will be another occasion where I have to leave the mansion empty."

Hugo answered like that while quickly reviewing the documents the butler had handed over and asked him,

"How are the financial statements related to the new business the family is promoting recently?"

"I am separately classifying and preparing them. I will complete them swiftly and place them on the office desk so that you can check them right after finishing your meal."

"Yes, I'll leave it to you."

At that moment, footsteps were heard in the hallway, and someone ran hurriedly to the front of the office door. The person shoved their arm into the attendant's attire, straightened their clothes, and knocked on the office door. At that, Hugo said without taking his eyes off the documents,

"Come in."

As the door opened, Flynn, dressed as an attendant, entered while panting as if he had run in a hurry.

"Haha, I'm sorry. The Council work ended late, so I just..."

When the head butler next to Hugo looked at him as if his behavior was not neat, Flynn smiled awkwardly. Soon, some of the documents in front of Hugo floated in the air and were neatly placed on the table a little distance from the office desk.

Hugo took off the glasses he had been wearing while processing the documents, rubbed his blurry eyes, and asked Flynn,

"Although it's already organized, check the main contents one more time."

"Yes, understood!"

Flynn answered vigorously and naturally approached the sofa in front of the table and sat down. Then, he put on glasses designed for speed reading, picked up a pen, and began to read through the documents quickly.

Hugo signed a few urgent documents and handed them to the head butler who was standing by on the side. Then, the butler who received the documents bowed his head in greeting and left the office with the other attendants.

Flynn was the adjutant to the Commander of the Council and one of the closest attendants to the Duke of Agrizendro.

Having spent a long time in an orphanage as a child, he was taken in by Hugo, who had visited there, and grew up learning the work of a servant in the Agrizendro family. Hugo gave him opportunities for learning and choice, but Flynn wanted to become Hugo's right-hand man by joining the Council.

In that way, they had spent a long time together until now, and he also served as a kind of secretary.

His main job at the mansion was to assist in handling Hugo's territory-related work, and the head butler of the mansion had his eye on him to raise him as one of the prospective butlers due to his fast work processing and learning speed.

Although his scope of work was no exaggeration to say that it was equivalent to that of a single butler, Flynn was also performing Council duties like Hugo, so it was time-constrained for him to concurrently serve as a butler at the mansion, and he remained as an administrative work attendant for now.

A quiet silence flowed inside the office, and except for the occasional butlers coming to deliver documents or servants passing by, only the sound of turning pages and writing could be heard.

After quite some time had passed, Flynn stared at the amount on the last document for a long time as if his eyes were blurry, then drew a thick underline. Then, he brought it to Hugo and said,

"Master, you know the specialized orphanage for Bermuda natives in Allender Castle, right? Someone anonymously donated 3 million bells to that place again."

"3 million bells?"

Hugo also took off the glasses he had been wearing while processing documents, rubbed his blurry eyes, and asked back.

"Yes, and each of the orphanages for Bermuda natives in Parlo Castle, Iberisk Castle, and Horn Castle received an anonymous donation of 2 million bells each. Lastly, the Bermuda Education Foundation also received an anonymous donation of 5 million bells."

"Is it already three months again?"

"That's right."

For the past few years, someone had been making large anonymous donations to Bermuda-related facilities every three months.

The situation in other territories was unknown, but the anonymous donor focused on donating to orphanages for children of Bermuda origin within the Agrizendro Territory.

At first, they tried to find the donor, but since the donor conveyed their desire to hide their identity, they were in a situation where they could only continue to receive the anonymously donated funds.

"To regularly donate such a large sum. Who could it be?"

"It's not easy for anyone to donate their own money. If we find out their identity, I'd like to give them a commendation... but it seems the donor doesn't want that."

"Seeing that they donate to Bermuda-related facilities, this person must also be from Bermuda, right?"

"Yes, probably."

When Flynn handed over the document he had marked, Hugo took it and scanned the contents. Looking at the date, it was just yesterday.

As Hugo himself was from Bermuda, his territory had more organizations and facilities to protect people from Bermuda compared to other places. And among such facilities, the most representative one could be said to be the childcare facilities that could directly take care of Bermuda natives who had nowhere else to go.

However, if there was a peculiar point, it was that this continuous anonymous donation was not made through a donation organization but rather by the donor directly delivering bags of money to the donation facilities. It was the most direct and reliable donation method, but it also meant that the donor couldn't trust the donation organizations connected to the orphanages.

Considering the behavior of intensively donating to Bermuda facilities, it was a reasonable assumption that the anonymous donor was from Bermuda. For a moment, when mentioning Bermuda natives, Hugo thought of that poor guy who said that no one could protect him but himself.

That guy who didn't trust others. And his past self who had the same thoughts. Even the anonymous Bermuda-native donor who didn't trust donation organizations.

"Why are Bermuda natives all so suspicious..."

Hugo said that while signing and stamping the document. Then, after scanning the contents one last time, he neatly placed it on the desk.