Duke Haruman!
Sean didn't recall having any dealings with him, and the man was a Grand Duke at that. If not for Prince Philip's sudden arrival, he might have been the leading figure in the southern region. Someone of that stature wanted to meet with him?
Sean thought back to where they might have crossed paths—it had to be around Koga City. Hadn't he heard that this Grand Duke was fully backing the eldest son of the Hamilton family to inherit the title? The biggest obstacle was the Prince's side, and he himself had just come from Koga City.
But that didn't add up either. True decisions were never up to the lower ranks. Sean was a lord himself, albeit a minor one, but he knew exactly what "decision-making power" meant. Back then, no matter what opinions the residents of Taylemian Town voiced, he accepted them with a smile, but the only ones who could truly change his choices were his close subordinates, Luke and Danti. What others said was utterly irrelevant.
When he'd heard from Freya earlier that the Prince and the Duke had differing views, Sean hadn't taken it to heart, especially after returning from the Prince's residence, he was even more certain. "Waiting for Freya to report the situation to me..."—that sounded nice, but it was really just about learning the status of the Chaos Eye. As for the choice of the Hamilton Count's heir, they could say it was one thing or another—it only depended on who between the Prince and the Duke backed down first.
So Sean figured the Duke's summons wasn't about that. Then what could it be?
Sitting in the carriage heading to the Duke's residence, the tracker at the door hadn't dared to sit with him the whole time. That was a matter of etiquette—unless noble or permitted by one, commoners couldn't share a carriage with him. It showed the other side still observed decorum, though he wondered what special business the Grand Duke had with him.
Looking at the sky, it was already dusk, with less than four hours of daylight left... He'd probably be stuck there until dark.
"Is there something the Grand Duke wants me for?" Sean asked, though he knew the other wouldn't answer.
There was no immediate reply. Instead, a [Thinking!] status appeared above the tracker's head before he slowly spoke. "I don't know. I'm just responsible for bringing the Baron here."
"So you've been following me?" Sean asked another question.
"Can the Baron sense that?"
The tracker continued without Sean prompting. "Actually, I was startled too. The Baron looked back three times earlier, and each time it felt like I'd been spotted."
Though he hadn't directly answered the question, mentioning the three glances back confirmed he'd been tailing Sean the whole way. That explained why [Being tracked...] had appeared in his field of view—it must have escalated from the tracker's prolonged attention. Before, he'd only seen prompts like "being watched" or "being observed," but "tracked" was a first. The sustained focus and continuous following had gradually turned into tracking.
As for why these trackers were outside the Sky-Covering Wings headquarters, Sean guessed it was because Freya had returned, making him, the man accompanying her, a target of interest. For someone of the Grand Duke's status, finding out his background wouldn't be hard... and if there were people inside the headquarters, they might even know his movements in real time.
At that thought, Sean suddenly paused. For some reason, the image of the girl who'd brought him porridge that morning popped into his mind.
...
"We're almost there, Baron," the man outside the carriage said.
Time didn't give Sean much chance to think, but deep down, he felt that girl Ellie was very off.
He got off the carriage. They arrived at a beautifully landscaped garden—it felt like a villa district, with lovely flowers and plants all around and very few visible buildings. Sean guessed this was some kind of estate in Rietis. That a Grand Duke would come here and not stay at the Prince's residence already showed their differing stances. And now being summoned here probably meant no good!
Well, if it came to it, he'd just bluff his way through. After all, he'd often smiled to someone's face while cursing them behind their back.
"This way, Baron."
The tracker acted as a guide, leading Sean into a small villa. The setting was elegant, but the architecture was far less grand than the Prince's residence—this wasn't the Duke's main city after all.
Entering the villa, the furnishings inside were simple. Under the [Watching!] stares of guards and servants, Sean followed up to a room on the second floor. They stopped at the largest door—it was open, revealing the interior, but he waited politely at the threshold.
"Duke, I've brought Baron Weigel."
"Weigel? Let him in quickly." The voice sounded very aged. This Grand Duke was said to be over seventy, elderly even in this world, but he was robust and respected in noble circles for his tough demeanor.
Sean stepped into the room. Seated before him was the white-haired, weathered Grand Duke Haruman. As he saw Sean enter, his hand trembled slightly while adjusting his glasses... He looked very old indeed, but his voice was full of vigor.
"Ah, a Weigel."
"I didn't expect the Weigel family to have lasted to this generation. Very good... very good."
A [Approving!] attitude appeared above his head. [700/700, Friendly]
Age had reduced this old man's max health from a normal person's 1,000 to 700, but why was he friendly from the start! Favorability couldn't be faked—instant friendliness meant he at least saw Sean as an ordinary acquaintance.
Wait... He'd just said the Weigel family had lasted to this generation!
Sean immediately recalled the family tree he'd seen at home, especially the opening about how the first Baron Weigel came to be. The book told of over two hundred years ago, when the first Weigel patriarch saved a duke during a rebellion-suppressing war, earning an exceptional knighthood. So... the Grand Duke before him was from that same family line. His ancestor had saved the Duke Haruman of that era?! So it was an old connection.
Watching the Grand Duke rise from his chair with the help of two servants, approaching with a kind, wrinkled smile...
"Don't just stand there, have a seat. Let's chat slowly..." He then dismissed the other servants. "All of you, leave. Let me talk with the young Baron Weigel."
He sat down beside Sean, holding a teacup filled with a medicinal aroma, his hands always trembling slightly. "In the Haruman family, we have genealogies of all southern nobles, most in separate volumes. But one book records all the vassals of the Haruman family through the ages, and among them is the name Weigel."