Chapter 21

After much thought, Linburton decided to confirm things himself before reporting to the Grand Duchess.

Ten minutes later, he stood in the garden.

As usual, Melissa was wearing that old, tattered dress Seres had thrown at her and was crouched in a corner, busying herself with something.

‘I don’t understand.’

Considering the size of the Grand Duchy, it wasn’t odd for someone to spend time in the garden. But Melissa was outside far more often than any normal person.

‘What on earth is she doing?’

Linburton narrowed his eyes as he approached from behind.

Normally, Melissa was almost unnaturally sensitive to the presence of others, yet now she seemed unaware that someone was right behind her. She was crouched low, moving her hands in small, quick motions.

Rustle, rustle.

A strange sound brushed his ear.

An uneasy feeling crept up his spine.

Something wicked. No, something worse than wicked. Whatever it was, he could feel it from here.

‘Wait.’

He stepped back instinctively, then clenched his teeth.

He was Linburton, knight commander of the great Eisenhart Duchy.

For forty years he had served the Grand Duchess, slaying countless monsters with unwavering courage.

And now he would turn tail and run?

…No.

‘This isn’t retreating.’

Just one step back to prepare for two steps forward.

With that flimsy justification, he began to move away quietly. But the moment he shifted, he met a pair of bright green eyes staring directly at him.

“Ah, Sir Linburton!”

Damn it.

He clenched his fists, feeling a chill run down his back. There was no escape now.

“What are you doing?”

The words tumbled out before he could stop them.

“I heard you’ve been hanging around the records room lately. Why are you acting so suspiciously?”

Ah, mistake.

He regretted it instantly.

How foolish of him. As if this sly stray cat would ever reveal her true intentions so easily—

“I’m doing a treasure hunt!”

Melissa answered cheerfully.

“Actually, I haven’t read a book since I was fifteen, but I figured the key might be inside one of them. So I should look in the records room, right?”

Her tone dropped slightly at the end, and Linburton found himself staring blankly at her.

“Why… would you do that?”

“Because I wanted to experience what it’s like in real life!”

Her eyes sparkled.

Then she suddenly gasped, waving him over urgently.

“Come here, quick!”

Flustered by her frantic gesture, Linburton stepped closer without thinking.

“Aren’t they cute?”

His eyes widened in horror.

Before him was one of the most dreadful sights he had ever witnessed.

Inside a large wooden box writhed hundreds, no, possibly thousands, of insects.

“W-what… is this?”

“It’s a farm!”

Melissa beamed.

“There are farms for animals and gardens for plants, so why not one for insects? When you think about it, we already have one. The silkworm farm for silk spinning!”

Her eyes shone brighter.

“So I thought, why not create farms for other insects too?”

Dear heavens.

Linburton’s jaw dropped.

Melissa pointed proudly toward the crawling creatures.

“Especially earthworms. They make the soil fertile and they’re so cute!”

This woman has lost her mind.

Linburton stared at her pale-faced, utterly speechless.

But Melissa just kept smiling and chattering happily.

“According to Farmer Millon’s studies, earthworms work like plows that till the ground. They eat organic matter and produce nutrient-rich soil, which is the perfect fertilizer. He always said, ‘A land full of worms is more precious than land made of gold.’”

As Melissa laughed lightly, Linburton corrected himself.

No, she wasn’t just a mad stray cat.

She was a bug-obsessed mad stray cat.

“Maybe we can even farm other insects. Beautiful longhorn beetles, stag beetles, or even tarantulas…”

Her cheeks flushed with excitement as she muttered to herself. Linburton quietly turned around.

“Oh, Sir Linburton?”

She called after him several times, but he kept walking, step after firm step.

The time had come to call her.

He had thought about it dozens of times over the past month, but now he knew there was no turning back.

Reaching his office, Linburton picked up a pen with trembling hands.

He gripped it, let go, sighed, stared at the ceiling, the window, then began pacing again and again. But finally, he sat down and gathered what little courage he had left.

He dipped the pen into ink as though plunging a sword into a monster before his resolve could waver. Then, with tight, desperate strokes, he began to write.

To Lady Natalianne.

He shut his eyes, took a deep breath, and began again, his pen scratching furiously across the paper.

Once it started, it didn’t stop.

The words poured out, everything he had hesitated to say for so long.

When he finally set down the pen ten minutes later, his back ached and his palms were slick with sweat.

He wiped the ink and sweat from his hands with a handkerchief, waiting for the page to dry.

Then he carefully folded the letter, sealed it with red wax, and pulled the bell cord.

Even while waiting for a servant to arrive, he tapped the desk nervously, second-guessing every word he’d written.

When his fingers began to ache from the tapping, he realized his gaze kept drifting between the ceiling, the window, and the sealed envelope.

A groan rumbled in his throat.

Was this truly the only way?

If he wanted to back out, this was his last chance.

But—

“…There’s no choice.”

He had tried everything these past few weeks.

He had studied every record he could find, carried out his plans, used every trick he knew, yet nothing worked on Melissa.

It was time to accept it.

He was outmatched.

Linburton pressed his forehead into his clasped hands like a man in prayer.

Yes, he had to admit it now.

He was terrified of insects.

He hadn’t known that before.

Maybe it was because, in forty years of battle, he had never faced a monster shaped like one.

Perhaps that was why one of the methods in the MEP manual had included “throwing bugs” without him realizing what he was doing.

Or maybe it was all thanks to that cursed “fried insect dish” he had once been forced to taste.

“Ugh.”

He shuddered, feeling bile rise in his throat.

But this was something he had to overcome.

Recently, new kinds of monsters had started appearing, ones he had never seen before.

Maybe it was the result of climate shifts, maybe evolution.

Sooner or later, an insect-type monster might appear too.

He frowned deeply.

Yes, perhaps this was actually a good opportunity.

He could rid the duchy of that insect-loving stray and build his own resistance at the same time.

All for the glory of Eisenhart and His Grace.

Knock knock.

The sound of someone at the door pulled him from his thoughts.

A servant entered after a polite knock. Linburton pointed to the sealed letter and gave a short command.

“To the Magic Tower.”

“…!”

The servant’s face went pale.

When he recovered, he asked hesitantly,

“To Lady Natalianne…?”

“Yes.”

At Linburton’s firm gaze, the servant stiffened.

He was summoning her?

Memories of the past flickered through the servant’s mind.

Lady Natalianne might be the Grand Duchess’s youngest child, but she was also the most formidable.

“Understood!”

The servant bowed low, his eyes filled with grim determination, and hurried out of the room.

Linburton watched him leave, lingering on the sight before finally turning away.

It was done.

The letter was gone.

All that remained now was for her to return and drive out that insect-crazed stray.

‘Lady Natalianne.’

Another wrinkle deepened in Linburton’s already furrowed brow.

‘Please, just destroy one building this time.’

He sighed deeply, praying that his judgment was right.

* * *

“Oh my?”

Melissa looked down.

Something was tugging at her skirt.

When she turned, she found a pair of round blue eyes gazing up at her.

“What is it, Shilen?”