This story will continue from the Little Witch's POV.
My name was Rufe.
After being summoned by Duke Edelweiss's Proxy, I left Alraune behind at our inn and set off for the mansion.
As the carriage rattled along, I spoke with Katarina-san, a Lady Knight who had once served as Saint Iris's personal guard. She shared a startling observation with me.
"Rufe-dono, your sister’s face—Iris-sama’s face during her childhood was the spitting image of your sister."
So Alraune really did resemble Saint Iris. And not just as she was recently, but exactly as she had looked as a child.
Katarina-san had been Saint Iris's guard during those early years. It was likely that few people knew more about the Saint than she did. I decided to press for more details.
"You said my sister and Saint Iris look alike, but how similar are they, really?"
"Let me see... if my memory serves me, although their hair colors are entirely different, one could go so far as to say they are identical."
"...Identical."
"That being said, it has already been six years since Iris-sama passed away. My time as her guard was even further back—twelve years ago, now."
Lady Knight Katarina-san continued, her voice tinged with nostalgia.
"It is possible that I only saw them as identical because I miss Iris-sama so dearly. Perhaps I am simply mistaken, and Rufe-dono’s sister merely shares a slight resemblance."
"I see..."
"However, if it weighs on you that much, Rufe-dono, you might find your answers once we reach the mansion."
"How do you mean?"
"Portraits of Iris-sama from her childhood are displayed within the House of Duke Edelweiss. If you were to see them—"
"Katarina-san?"
"N-No, forgive me. I was just lost in thought for a moment. In any case, Iris-sama was a wonderful person. If only she hadn't been taken from us..."
Talking with Katarina-san made one thing very clear: she still deeply mourned the loss of Saint Iris. I could feel the lingering loneliness in her words.
The carriage continued its journey in silence after that. I had a new goal now: meet Saint Iris's Sister-in-law at the House of Duke Edelweiss and get a look at those childhood paintings. My motivation surged as the estate came into view.
We passed through a gate far too magnificent to belong to a mere house, guarded by a small army of soldiers. Beyond the gate, the grounds stretched out like a vast, private forest.
Was all of this really part of the House of Duke Edelweiss? I had visited the mansion of Margrave Manfred, the lord of Tower City, several times, but even his estate was nothing compared to this.
I began to suspect that Duke Edelweiss was someone truly extraordinary. That suspicion turned into a certainty the moment the buildings came into sight.
"Incredible...! I’ve never seen such a massive, grand mansion!"
The scale of the place was staggering. In a remote area like Tower City, you would never see a building this large. It looked even more expansive than Manfred-san’s manor. But as I stared with wide eyes, the carriage drove right past the structure.
Wait... why?
"Rufe-dono, that building we just passed was the servants' quarters."
"The servants' building!?"
"Over a hundred people serve the House of Duke Edelweiss. That is where the staff resides."
"...Even though it’s that big?"
"There are several other buildings of similar size on the grounds. For instance, that one over there is the Edelweiss Knight Dormitory, where I live."
"That’s the knight dormitory...?"
Every single building looked like a castle in its own right. Was a Duke—even if I didn't want to believe it—actually someone incredibly important?
I recalled Manfred-san mentioning he was a Margrave, but maybe that wasn't a very high rank. Thinking back, he was always so friendly with the townspeople. I’d thought he was just remarkably kind to commoners and Alraune, but perhaps it was because his noble rank wasn't actually that high.
No, that didn't make sense. Everyone had said a Margrave was a high-ranking noble. If that was the case, what did this make a Duke?
"Katarina-san, just how important is a Duke?"
"Ah, I see. Since you are of the Beast-ear Race, Rufe-dono, I suppose you aren't very familiar with human nobility."
"T-That’s right. I only really understand the difference between a King and a noble..."
"No, no, don't let it trouble you. Members of the Beast-ear Race are rare in the Kingdom of Gardenia. It is only natural you wouldn't know."
I was glad I was posing as a member of the Beast-ear Race. Since I was supposedly an outsider, people were willing to overlook my ignorance. This was turning out to be quite a convenient disguise. Maybe I should keep these cat ears out a little longer.
"A Duke holds the highest rank among the nobility," she explained.
"The very top...!?"
"Indeed."
"Is no one higher than a Duke?"
"Only members of the Royalty outrank a Duke."
"Second only to the Royalty... wait, am I about to meet someone that powerful?"
Suddenly, I was terrified. Someone just below the King? How important were they, exactly?
What should I do? If they realized I wasn't actually a Beast-ear girl but a total fraud, wouldn't they be furious? What happened to people who offended someone second only to Royalty?
And it wasn't just that. If my true identity came out—if they realized I wasn't a merchant or a Beast-ear girl, but a Witch... would I be sent to the stake again?
Even in this country, Witches were loathed. The law demanded execution upon discovery. I might be walking straight to my death at the Ducal House.
In a backwater place like Tower City, everyone was too relaxed to notice the details; they’d even mistaken me for an Angel. But this was the city. A Duke was a powerful, sophisticated man; there was no way he would make such a foolish mistake.
Was my life actually in danger?
"I’m sorry. My stomach is suddenly feeling a bit—"
"Rufe-dono, we have arrived."
"......Eh. What is this building?"
Standing before the carriage was a structure that could only be described as a castle. The Off-white Stone Palace was more magnificent than any building I had ever seen. Its walls and roof were adorned with countless stone sculptures, and rugged towers stretched toward the sky. It looked like it had cost a fortune.
But the most jarring thing was its length. It looked like it would take an age just to run from one end of the palace to the other. Why was it so big? Was this actually where the King lived?
"......A Duke really is an incredible person."
"Fufu, it is only natural to be overwhelmed when seeing this mansion for the first time. They had a similar reaction at first."
"They?"
"The merchants over there."
A few familiar faces were emerging from the palace. They were the people from the Pilz Trading Company I had met yesterday. Had they been summoned by the Duke as well?
"What are those merchants doing here?"
"They are delivering goods. They are bringing in the Saint Nectar you provided, as well as other rare items from foreign lands."
"I see..."
The merchants were hauling barrels of Saint Nectar into the palace. I also spotted the items I’d seen yesterday—the Strange Urn and the Strange Clay Figurine.
"Is that Strange Urn really that valuable?"
"Well, who can say? I don't claim to understand art, but they are encrusted with jewels, so I imagine the price is quite steep."
As I stepped down from the carriage, I caught the conversation between a merchant and a man from the mansion.
"What is the meaning of this Strange Urn and this Strange Clay Figurine?"
"These are the rare foreign items we reported previously. Since they are so heavily jeweled, we were hoping to present them to Duke Edelweiss."
"I have heard the reports. However, you still cannot identify their country of origin, can you? We cannot allow such suspicious objects into the Ducal House. Take these figurines and urns back immediately."
A man dressed like a Butler was dismissively waving the merchants away. Despite their wealth, the people from the Pilz Trading Company obeyed without a word, packing up their Strange Urn and Strange Clay Figurine.
It seemed everyone in the Ducal House was important, not just the Duke himself. But the Butler’s words stuck in my mind: "We cannot allow such suspicious objects into the Ducal House."
Thinking about it, I was probably the most suspicious thing here.
"Katarina-san, can I changed my mind about meeting the Duke's Proxy?"
"Eeeh!? Rufe-dono, what are you saying so suddenly!"
"I’m just... worried about my sister. And meeting the Duke's Proxy is scary."
"I understand that being summoned by the Duke's Proxy is intimidating for a commoner. However, having accepted the summons, I believe it would be far more terrifying for you later on if you were to flee now."
"......Good point."
I was doomed. It was frightening, but the woman I was meeting was Saint Iris's older sister. Everyone said the Saint had been kind, so her sister-in-law had to be a kind person too, right?
Katarina-san led me inside the mansion. The interior of the palace was even more opulent than the exterior, filled with urns and paintings that I didn't recognize but were clearly priceless.
Then, I saw a painting of a face I knew.
"That’s Saint Iris."
"You recognize her? This was painted on Iris-sama's fifteenth birthday."
The portrait was displayed in a prominent position near the entrance. It showed a beautiful woman with golden hair. She was a legend in this country, a Saint who was gone but never forgotten. And she looked exactly like Alraune.
Saint Iris had been born in this house. Realizing that gave me a strange sense of achievement. I had finally made it. I hadn't just reached Edelweiss; I had reached the very heart of the Saint's past.
If I was here, I might finally find the truth about Alraune and Saint Iris. Even if Alraune herself didn't know, there had to be a connection. They were too similar for it to be a coincidence.
And there was more to it than just looks. Alraune was a plant, yet she was incredibly powerful. There had to be a secret behind her existence, and the clues had to be hidden here in this mansion.
To uncover the link between Alraune and Saint Iris, I had to meet her sister-in-law, Tulpe Edelweiss.
We stopped before a set of grand doors. Katarina-san announced our arrival in a clear voice.
"Tulpe-sama. I have brought the Beast-ear Race Merchant, Rufe-dono."
"......Come in."
A woman's voice answered from within. My heart skipped a beat when I heard it.
For some reason, the woman's voice struck me as being uncannily similar to Alraune's.
Next time: Little Witch's First Mansion Visit - Part 3.