Anger He Had Every Right to Feel

His tone was relaxed, as if discussing someone else’s business entirely unrelated to him.

Feeling on the verge of snapping again, Eren let out a deep sigh.
Brennen’s negligence was already a problem beyond Eren’s control, and he had long since given up.
Getting angry would only mean he was the one at a loss.

Honestly, under normal circumstances, Brennen’s attitude wouldn’t have irritated him this much.
But lately, his increasingly severe headaches made him sensitive to even minor issues.

“In any case, let’s do our best for His Grace.”

“I am doing so as well.”

Brennen, who had bowed slightly, left Eren’s study.
Stressed, Eren’s head throbbed again.
He felt nauseous and clutched his solar plexus.

‘Stop.
Stop thinking about it.’

Shaking his head, Eren let out a short sigh.
He had too much to do now to spare energy for Brennen.

Having finished the urgent paperwork, he decided he needed to go into the city and began roughly organizing the documents.
As he pushed himself up from the desk, his vision suddenly spun, and a wave of dizziness hit him.

“Ugh, my head…”

Eren slumped back into the chair, clutching his head.
The blood vessels at his temples throbbed as if they would burst, and his skull rang hollowly.
His heart began to pound, and cold sweat broke out.

This headache was completely unrelated to the hangover.
Since it had happened just a while ago too, it was probably due to his health condition.
But after being quiet for a while, perhaps he had overexerted himself today.
Trying to retrace his morning tasks, Eren frowned.

‘Could it be from using mana?’

He had been moving around the estate all morning, checking the mage-stone lamps, which required using mana.
It was more than his usual amount, but even so, it was strange.
He had never felt this unwell from using mana before.

Mana was similar to the life force within a human body.
Just as there were no humans who existed forever, mana, if overconsumed excessively, was bound to be depleted eventually.

Eren had also seen many people in the military who had exhausted their mana to the limit.
When mana ran out, they suffered terribly, writhing in agony before passing away not long after.

He began to fear that perhaps the same thing was happening to him.

‘But I don’t think I’ve ever used that much mana…’

For mana to run out, one had to use an immense amount all at once, pouring it out.
Eren hadn’t consumed that much mana since leaving the military.
That’s why the situation he faced now was so puzzling.

“I guess I need to go to the hospital after all.”

It was a resolve he’d made who knows how many times before, but this time it held more conviction.
Probably because he was sure something was seriously wrong.

Eren took out the small notebook where he kept Kazen’s schedule.
He needed to find some free time without causing him too much trouble.
Even carving out an hour or two wasn’t easy for Eren.

Since Kazen was going to see his personal physician today for a sleeping pill prescription anyway, he could probably just get a quick check-up while there.
He had neglected paperwork for a couple of days, and work had piled up, but he could handle it when he got back.

Having sorted his thoughts, Eren put the notebook back in his pocket and grabbed his coat.
But as he headed for the door, he sensed a commotion from outside.

“What’s going on?”

Muttering to himself out of habit, even though no one would answer, Eren had a bad premonition.
Instinctively, he wanted to run away.
Of course, with nowhere to go, he had no choice but to face it.

However, before Eren could even grasp the doorknob, the door swung open with a loud BANG!

“Eren!”

Derick, with an anxious face, burst into the room as if being chased, shouting his name.

Derick was a servant around Eren’s age, but they weren’t particularly close, only exchanging greetings in passing.

“Derick, what’s wrong?”

“A-a huge problem! H-His Grace, huff!”

Derick was out of breath, having apparently run all the way here.
Not only that, he looked utterly panicked, as if his soul had left his body.
Eren slowly approached him, grabbing his forearm to calm him down.

“Catch your breath first, then tell me calmly what happened.”

“W-well, you see, huff, Lady Aila has come to visit…!”

Now it was Eren’s turn to turn pale, after just telling Derick to calm down.

“W-why has Lady Aila come to visit?”

“I don’t know.
But more importantly, His Grace is furious right now.
He was shouting to bring you immediately, so that’s why I came to find you.
What did you do wrong?”

Eren could guess that things had taken a turn for the worse.
Aila appearing out of the blue without notice, and an angry Kazen.
Instantly, Kazen’s voice flashed through his mind.

‘And furthermore, tell her not to visit under any circumstances this year.’

Next, he recalled the bouquet, the letter, and his conversation with Jerry, in that order.

‘Did you deliver the letter?
The one for Lady Aila.
I heard from Mr.
Brennen that he entrusted it to you.’

‘I already sent it and came back.’

He hadn’t double-checked since Jerry said he’d sent it.
Jerry might have lied, but Eren, with many other things on his mind, had simply taken him at his word and moved on.

“I should have checked one more time…”

Realizing his mistake, Eren muttered in a small, hollow voice.
Derick wasn’t the least bit surprised and, on the contrary, frowned and added a reproach.

“I knew it.
What are you going to do now?
His Grace is so angry that all the servants are trembling.
Go and try to calm him down before sparks fly.”

Hoo. Eren let out a trembling breath.
He recalled the last time Kazen had been furious and scolded him.
It was when a valuable porcelain piece meant for the annual January Clifford Ducal House charity auction had been damaged during transport.

Of course, Eren had carefully checked everything from packaging to transport, but due to a porter’s carelessness at the time, it had shattered beyond repair.

‘I clearly warned you it was an important item and to handle it with care.
How are you going to take responsibility for this?’

‘My apologies, Your Grace.’

‘If saying sorry could fix this, I wouldn’t have opened my mouth in the first place.
You clean up the mess you made yourself.’

Since mending the broken porcelain was impossible, naturally, there was no way for Eren to fix it.
Fortunately, Harold had bought the broken piece at full price under the guise of a donation, smoothing things over, but Kazen’s anger hadn’t subsided easily.

Remembering what he endured then, Eren briefly felt the urge to run away, afraid of what was to come.
But he had no intention of ignoring his own mistake.

“I’ll handle it.
Thanks for letting me know, Derick.”

Placing a solemn hand on Derick’s shoulder, Eren spoke.
Watching him, a faint glimmer of sympathy momentarily crossed Derick’s eyes.

“…Alright.
I hope it passes without incident.”

Ignoring Derick’s concern, Eren took a trembling step forward.

As expected, the moment he stepped into the corridor, a chaotic atmosphere was palpable.
Familiar servants and people he assumed Aila had brought were tangled together, running frantically down the hall.

Eren cautiously headed toward the first-floor drawing room.
As he approached the door, he heard the sound of something shattering with a crash!

Had an accident happened?
Startled, Eren knocked hastily and, without waiting for a reply, immediately opened the door.
The scene of a room in disarray unfolded before his eyes.

“There you are, Eren.
Come here.”

Kazen, standing by the table, gestured the moment he saw Eren.
He was clearly smiling, but a murderous aura emanated from his face.
Being the guilty party, Eren bowed his head deeply and approached him with quick steps.

“You called for me, Your Grace?”

Fortunately or unfortunately, Aila was nowhere to be seen.
He guessed she was probably where those busy servants had been rushing to earlier.

“Yes, I called.
Clean up this broken cup immediately.”

Kazen pointed to the floor covered with an expensive imported carpet, smiling as he did so.
Scattered shards of a shattered glass were visible.
It likely wasn’t an accidental drop; Kazen had clearly thrown it.

“You could get hurt.
If you could just step back a little and wait, I’ll clean it up.”

Eren spoke as he knelt down, as if it were routine.
He placed his hand on the floor and began gathering the scattered glass pieces.
But the moment he reached for a shard near Kazen’s shoe, the sole of Kazen’s shoe touched the back of his hand.

“…Your Grace.”

Eren froze in place, holding the fragment.
If Kazen put just a little more weight on his foot, Eren’s hand would be injured.

He thought it was only fair to endure that much, as his mistake had caused trouble for Kazen.
So Eren offered no resistance, remaining still and controlling his breath.

“I distinctly remember telling you to tell Lady Aila not to come to the estate.
Did you ignore my words?
Or did you intend to make a fool of me?”