Chapter 13: Sealed in Silence

*Kiro's POV*

It’s been a 5 days since Sir Reginald took over Serah’s duties, and exactly a week since she left to go back to the front.

The days felt longer without her around — quieter, heavier.

My routine had become a loop.

Wake up before sunrise, stretch, train, prepare breakfast, take care of the young miss, bake, study with her, train, do errands, prepare desserts for dinner, and borrow a few books from the Duke’s library before heading out to practice magic in the courtyard. It's all the same, only the spells are a bit more advanced, I tried learning some advanced ice magic, and fire magic to boost my mana pool and output.

It sounded busy enough to distract me — but the house didn’t feel right lately.

The Duchess… she’s been getting weaker.

At first, I thought she was simply tired from helping with the refugees arriving from nearby towns, and taking care of the manor's affairs, but it’s been two nights now and she hasn’t touched a single dessert I made. She used to ask for seconds.

Mother said it’s strange — even the best doctors in the capital have come and gone, but none can figure out what’s wrong with her.

Father’s letters have been arriving more frequently, each one more grim than the last. The Duke also writes to his family daily, though his tone has changed too — less formal, more... desperate.

“The situation at the front is deteriorating.”

“The enemy shows no sign of retreat.”

“They fight without rest, as if exhaustion means nothing to them.”

It’s been three weeks since the Duke’s army left the capital to meet with the King at the front.

They thought the battle would end quickly, that it was just another territorial dispute. But the enemy’s numbers never seem to thin out. Every day, they bury more of our soldiers. Every night, another unit fails to report back.

A week ago, they received word that infiltrators were within the capital itself — spies, assassins, and saboteurs blending among civilians. That’s when Father wrote that he had no choice but to send Serah back to the Kingdom to investigate.

But the moment her departure was announced, the enemy changed tactics.

They launched repeated assaults — far too organized to be coincidence.

At first, the Duke theorized espionage. Now… he is sure.

“Our soldiers are tired, but not theirs.”

“Something is wrong with their army — each day I remember wiping out knight divisions, but the next day I see the same faces whose blood already stained my sword.”

“Almost a fraction of our forces are either dead or severely injured. We've already requested all the best doctors, nurses, alchemists, and high ranking priests that reside within the kingdom to come, the reinforcements from their ally the kingdom of Lakora is coming to meet with the healers and aid them to the front led by Lakora's King."

Serah, on the other hand, has been doing too well at the border.

According to Father’s latest report, she’s practically holding back an entire legion on her own. She's been given the name "Immortal Phoenix". It's apparently an opposition to the symbol of her title a Phoenix that needs to die in order to be reborn, but she's too stubborn to fall.

Father said it’s getting to the point he’s not sure he can even match her in battle anymore.

He sounded proud — and a little fired up in his words.

Still, even Serah’s situation is about to change.

The Guild has issued an official order: “No adventurer is to take part in mercenary contracts. Participation will be considered political interference. The guild does not support political factions of any kind.”

That includes Serah.

Because of that, she’s been recalled to their Central HQ.

Father didn’t want it to come to this, but he said it’s better than risking her being discharged or worse being branded a criminal. “She’s not a soldier,” he wrote. “And I won’t let her dreams die for this war.”

Then came his latest letter — the one addressed to me.

Delivered quietly by a hawk, which was pretty cool, sealed with his personal insignia.

“Kiro. It’s been several days since the last siege. The men are restless — a silence before a storm situation.”

“Your mother wrote about the Duchess’s condition. Even her healing can’t lift it. That’s not an illness. It’s deliberate.”

"The Duke is restless, he can neither sleep nor eat, but he neither leave the front nor have someone take his place, it's bad enough that a Phoenix class left, we can't afford to lose another one. This is why I wrote to you with my personal seal, the Duke has entrusted my words that you my son are capable. I didn't do this to merely appease an old friend's worry, but I have deemed you ready to take on such an order."

“You must investigate the manor. There’s a traitor within, poisoning her grace.”

“Say nothing to anyone — not even your mother. Our spies suspect the letters to the ladies are being read before they arrive.”

“But no one will suspect a letter addressed to the new boy.”

I read that last line over and over. I knew a day like this would come, but not when I'm not ready. What can I an 8 year old child do to adults molded for war? Even in my old life even if I was a trained fighter, no one is gonna fight barehanded."

For the first time since I came here, I realized how serious all of these was.

But I did what I had to do and accept the duty, and think of some suspects.

Sir Reginald was strict, but he's serving the house as long as the Duke's Academy days. Which could be the perfect time to plant a spy on a young Duke to influence him, but the Duke grew up okay, so I don't think it's him.

The young miss, innocent as she was, couldn’t be involved. After all, she's still a child and that's her own mother.

Mother… no.

The guards and butlers don't really come close to the ducchess, and I've been observing the cook's of the kitchen keenly to broaden my culinary knowledge, so they couldn't have put poison on the food. That leaves, the Head Maid and all the maids under her, but Mother would've figured out if one of them is the traitor by now. Unless it's someone new.

It has to be her, a newly appointed maid from a fallen house of an enemy kingdom. I've seen her come back and forth from the Ducchess's room.

*Author's notes*

I know this is shorter than last week's, but I realized that even though the chapters were long I was pretty much winging it and tho it was detailed it I felt I was leaving too much out.

Lemme know if this Chapter sounded better, cause I plan on keeping this kind of tone for future chapters, thank you so much for understanding! Much love!

                                          -C.P.