Reports from the city where Rafa resides have been coming in almost daily.

Duke Valther reads these reports morning and evening and even whenever he has a spare moment.

Although the content is already familiar to him and the daily reports contain almost identical routines, each time he reads them, he longs to read them again.

Today was no different.

The Duke of Valther turned his gaze to the report, one he had already read several times.

"... As always, he came out to the inn's backyard just before sunrise today.

His beautiful platinum hair, which grows much faster than others, now reaches down to his shoulders, and he still shows affection toward the little bird.

A small scratch was found on his forehead, but it doesn't seem to be of any concern.

I believe it’s probably the work of the little bird.

Upon examination of his skin, there seems to be no lingering poison, and his health appears to be in excellent condition.

After washing up, he performed his usual movements.

He extended his arms slowly to the sides, then lifted them up again. He leaned his body to one side and raised his arm in that direction… It looked like he was rowing. He repeated the rowing-like movements before returning to his original posture.

After completing these actions, he swung his axe lightly, warming up his body, as usual. The wind rose and spread out in all directions.

Though I witness this scene every time, my humble heart trembles with awe, and I find myself leaning in without realizing it.

Today, he participated in the reconstruction work of buildings damaged by the man-eating ant attack. Where others would struggle even with multiple people, he raised the pillars alone and pulverized scattered stones to dust.

As reported previously, he seems to struggle somewhat with the delicate use of wind magic.

It seems he may have lost his concentration due to the small bird's interruption during his work. When he crushed the stones scattered on the ground with magic, the earth beneath sank deeply.

He had to spend some time repairing the ground afterward, so it seems he will not participate in that kind of task any longer.

He appeared to be quite embarrassed, scratching his head.”

A laugh escaped Duke Valther’s lips.

Even though it was something he already knew, the report still made him smile each time he read it.

He laughed for a while before looking up, realizing the butler was standing beside him.

As their eyes met, the butler gave a small nod. He spoke with a gentle smile.

“The request for the phoenix feather has been successfully delivered to the young master.”

"I see," Duke Valther nodded.

He already knew things would turn out this way.

The city of Endes, closest to the Forest of Enchantment where phoenix sightings had been reported.

If he were to request it directly from there, someone might trace the request back to the Duke's house.

So he deliberately placed the request through a merchant company to the guild of a nearby city.

By setting a tight deadline and specifying that the phoenix feather should remain intact, there were very few adventurers who could take on such a request.

During Helga's active years, there were occasional requests like that, but even back then, only Helga could fulfill them.

At present, there was no one who could meet those conditions—no one except Rafa.

He had known this when making the request.

A smile crept onto his lips.

Although it was already practically guaranteed, his heart felt light, as if it were dancing.

The butler, aware of Duke Valther’s mood, also smiled gently.

“The delivery location for the feather has been set to a city close to the capital. The officer has been informed to clear the master’s schedule for the day the young master arrives. For a while, it might be a bit busy.”

"Aah," Duke Valther murmured, clearing his throat.

Thinking about how an already busy schedule was going to become even tighter made him feel a bit exhausted, but he couldn't stop his face from breaking into a smile.

‘How troublesome.’

Even on the day Klaus was kidnapped, his emotions hadn’t swayed this much.

Back then, he believed without a doubt that he would get his son back.

He could never have imagined that it would take more than twenty years to retrieve his heir, stolen by just one person.

But during the first few years when he realized that bringing his son back might be impossible, his heart seemed to sink into despair without his conscious awareness.

Perhaps that despair led him to be suspicious, even when he received Klaus’s message.

After all the years of fruitless attempts, he couldn’t believe such good fortune had finally come to him; the conflict between wanting to believe and being unable to trust might have lingered below the surface even now.

He knew from the reports, yet he still felt an intense desire to confirm it with his own eyes.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

To be sure, that boy had inherited the Duke’s violet eyes.

And he wanted to confirm that Klaus had kept that in mind during his upbringing.

Duke Valther let out a small sigh.

"Humans really are foolish creatures. Who would’ve thought I, of all people, would be acting like this at my age?"

If he thought rationally, it wasn’t wise to meet him now.

If it were just a matter of verification, there were other ways.

But the temptation to see him with his own eyes was irresistible.

As he muttered to himself, the butler lowered his head slightly.

“I am happy about this, Master. You have never, from your childhood until now, truly pursued something of your own. It may have been exemplary as a Duke, but I always found it heartbreaking.”

That was expected for someone in the position of Duke.

Beneath the title lay countless houses and vassals. His every word, every decision, could significantly impact them.

With one careless wish, he could forever alter the life of a father, a daughter, or an entire family.

The authority of Duke Valther was that heavy a burden.

Knowing that, how could he utter even one word carelessly?

Not only himself, but his father and grandfather had lived the same way.

They lived suppressing their emotions, severing even familial affection.

Klaus had been raised the same way.

He had been groomed as the next Duke from birth, receiving rigorous education in mentality, knowledge, and etiquette, unlike the other children.

Duke Valther had put all his efforts into getting Klaus back, not just because of his violet eyes.

If it were not Klaus, but another child meant to be Duke, he would have had to start the education all over again.

Academic knowledge could still be acquired even in adulthood, and lacking administrative skills could be managed by having assistants, but the judgment and mental fortitude needed to be a Duke could not be taught once grown.

In that regard, Manuel had already failed.

His thinking was too shallow to be made Duke.

That child believed that Klaus's only worth lay in his violet eyes, but that was entirely wrong.

Not at all.

Klaus was an important figure because he had been raised as the next Duke.

But more than anything, he—a man who should be a cold and rational Duke—had allowed himself to be swayed by his desire to see his grandson, making such a decision on impulse.

It was laughable if anyone were to see it.

The butler must have also seen through his weak-heartedness.

The butler looked at him with soft eyes and spoke in a low voice.

“Master, just once, just one single time in your long life, wouldn’t it be alright to pursue something you desire?”

“Well, well, it’s unusual for someone like you—the model butler—to say something like that. I remember your father telling me, back when I was young, that a proper butler should oppose his master at the risk of his life if the master goes astray. Aren’t you supposed to be reprimanding me right now?”

The Duke laughed, and the butler bowed slightly.

“If the master persists in wanting something, then even if it means jumping into fire, it is my duty as the butler to follow. Therefore, my actions now are without fault.”

“Calling visiting a grandson a leap into fire is a bit much, don’t you think?” The Duke raised his eyebrows on purpose.

The butler replied with an aloof expression.

“You have lived your life walking only the right path as Duke, which is why, for me, even something like this is an unexpected deviation.”

"...I see."

It sounded like the highest praise the butler could give, which brought an odd warmth to the Duke’s face.

The butler smiled suddenly.

“But I am also very curious to see. Just what kind of person the young master raised by Klaus will be.”

“From the reports, he seems completely unlike Klaus.”

Whether it was just an outward facade like Klaus's or if he really was just as he appeared to be.

If it was Klaus, he would surely have raised the child to be the next Duke.

Klaus knew the secret of the violet eyes, so it’s impossible that he would raise his child just to be used and nothing more.

Surely, he must have educated him to become a Duke.

But then, that did not match the contents of the reports.

“Strange.”

Duke Valther muttered to himself, his gaze returning to the report.

The neat handwriting described Rafa’s daily life in an unassuming manner.

As the Duke traced the words with his finger, the butler quietly slipped away.

----------------------------------------

Since I had already traveled this road once, I thought returning would be easy, but there were no signposts in this world.

I’ve mentioned it many times, but there really are none.

Everywhere I looked, it was either open plains or forest paths, and only features like certain trees, rocks, streams, or villages could indicate whether I was heading in the right direction.

It was a mystery to me how people in this world could navigate this way.

Did they all have a compass in their heads or something?

At least, I didn’t have such a convenient tool.

Jenny had drawn a simple map and added detailed explanations beside it, but after a few days of walking, I realized I had somehow strayed off the correct path.

The village I should have passed through by now had not appeared, even though I was a day and a half beyond when I should have reached it.

She said that after the village, I would find the Forest of Enchantment, but there was no village or even a hint of that forest.

Even if I had lost my way, I still thought I would eventually come across the forest, but something was definitely wrong.

And I didn't even know where I went wrong.

I had thought Tatiana’s presence would help, but since she had not been in this world for long and had never been to the Forest of Enchantment, she wasn’t much help either.

“Just using the map is tough after all. If I’ve been somewhere once, I can remember the path clearly.”

That was impressive.

I had trouble figuring out where I was, even if it was a place I had been to before.

When I lived on Earth, I never considered myself bad with directions.

But then again, maybe everyone on Earth would have struggled as much as I did without GPS and signs.

No one could distinguish north, south, east, and west just from the expanse of open fields.

Seeing the sun’s position to tell east and west—I figured that was a skill to be proud of.

But as I pondered these thoughts and looked at the sky, I lowered my head again.

Knowing east and west didn't help find the path.

The maps in this world were not made that way.

So, I had to retrace my steps, trying to find landmarks that matched Jenny's description.

A tree bent like an old woman or a triangular rock slightly larger than the others.

I felt like I had seen such things on the way, but I also remembered seeing five similar ones.

Sigh.

As I hung my head, Rella, who had been running far ahead of us, suddenly stopped.

"Chirp!"

For some reason, she started coming back.

She flapped her wings as if she was startled.

Rella ran straight to me and began pecking at my foot.

It was her signal to be picked up.

It hurts, you little brat.

Quickly, I held out my hand to pick her up, as she’d keep pecking until I did.

I might have just imagined it, but her beak seemed to be getting sharper.

Comparing yesterday with today was hard, but the difference in strength between ten days ago and today was obvious.

‘So she is growing, even if it’s just a bit.’

Still, she looked small.

Once I put Rella on my head, she flapped her wings loudly.

"Chirp, chirp!"

She was unusually noisy today.

She seemed agitated, but I couldn’t tell why.

“Rella, what's wrong?” Tatiana asked, standing on her tiptoes, her head tilted curiously.

She couldn’t see the top of my head even by doing that, but she always did it anyway.

As Tatiana bounced up to look, she suddenly stopped.

"Ah!"

Her eyes widened in surprise.

I wondered if something had happened to Rella, but looking more closely, I realized she wasn’t looking at Rella.

“What is it?”

Puzzled, I turned my head towards the sky, and saw what looked like two suns in the far distance.

A large sun and a smaller... sun?

“What in the…”

Something was flying toward us, glowing like the sun.

And it was moving incredibly fast.

Suns shouldn't be flying.

“Is that, could that be… a phoenix?” Tatiana said, pointing at the glowing figure.

No way, it couldn’t be.

Even if it was a phoenix, how would it know we were here… Wait a minute.

‘… Come to think of it, I got lost when I left the forest too.’

When I had come out of the forest to find the city, at some point the path had just disappeared.

My gaze drifted sideways.

A tree shaped like a bent bow caught my eye.

It felt like I had seen that tree before, back when I was lost.

‘Could it be?’

I remembered the giant bear that lost its cub and followed me for over ten years, always looking for an opportunity to kill me.

Looking up again, the glowing sun-like figure seemed a bit larger than before.

Its shape was still unclear, but from the way it was moving…

“It really does look like a phoenix.”

It couldn’t possibly be coming to welcome me back for returning its baby.

“What do we do?”

Apparently, birds can track scents too.

That fiery bird seemed to be tracking me and Rella.

What should we do now?