So It Was All a Setup

His legs feeling weak, Eren inadvertently slumped over the billiard table, and Harold hooked his arm under his armpit to lift him up.
Being dragged along by his hand left Eren completely flustered.

“Ah, yes.
Is this how I should stand?”

“Yes, from that stance, just bend your waist like this.”

Harold’s body was pressed directly against his back, creating a rather embarrassing posture.
Just then, Kazen approached, grabbed Eren’s shoulder, and pulled him toward himself.

“That’s not it.
Your posture is wrong.”

“Ah, i-is that so?”

With his waist embraced by Harold and his shoulder held by Kazen, Eren found himself in a strange position, his eyes wide as he froze completely.

“Kazen, you may be good at billiards, but you’re not the type to teach others well.
I’m teaching him properly, so step back.”

“You’ve never beaten me, so who are you to teach anyone?”

Why were they arguing with me caught between them?
How had he ended up inserted into this lovers’ quarrel between the two?
Eren could only think he wanted to disappear into dust.

“Wait, isn’t it a bit noisy outside?”

At that moment, Harold released Eren’s waist and turned toward the door.
Now fully nestled in Kazen’s embrace, Eren also turned to look.

“It’s nothing.
There was a problem with the mage-stones installed in the mansion yesterday; they’ve probably come to replace them.”

“Is that so?
Didn’t you say they were just replaced a few days ago?”

Kazen released Eren’s shoulder and gestured to Jerry.
Jerry, who had been standing in a corner of the room, hurriedly brought a crystal glass filled with brandy and handed it to Kazen.
As he did, his eyes briefly met Eren’s, and there was a strangely mocking glint in them.

“There isn’t a single person in this mansion who does their job properly, so trouble like this happens constantly.
From the butler to the servants, not a single one is competent.”

Kazen spoke irritably and, as if his mood was completely ruined, handed his cue to Jerry.

“Didn’t you say your father hired the butler?
Just fire him.
I’ll find you a good replacement.”

Harold also took the cue from Eren’s hand, handed it to Jerry, and spoke.

“He already signed a lifetime contract with my father.
Keeping him on is actually cheaper than firing him.”

Kazen pressed his fingers to his brow as if his head hurt.

In truth, the reason he couldn’t fire Brennen was probably due to guilt toward his father, but Eren kept that thought to himself.

“More importantly, tell me about that border dispute we discussed earlier.
How is it progressing?”

“Ah, that.”

Harold also took a glass of brandy from Jerry and headed toward the curtained window.
The atmosphere suggested the billiards match was over for now.

“The Kingdom of Felosia is deploying troops to the border.
If their demands aren’t met, it looks like war could break out soon.”

The war that had barely ended with a treaty three years ago showed signs of reigniting.
Eren, who had participated in that war, found himself shrinking back.

“I was thinking of telling Lady Aila that if war breaks out, her safety might be at risk, so it would be best for her to return to her homeland.”

Harold showed concern not only for Kazen but also for his fiancée.
Though Aila had already left the mansion long ago.
So he’s considerate of me too, Eren guessed.
He himself was also someone close to Kazen, after all.

“She would have returned already without me telling her.
If they truly intended to wage war, they wouldn’t have left her here.”

Watching the two of them converse familiarly, Eren felt a strange pang in his chest.
Thinking there must be many stories shared only between them that he didn’t know made his solar plexus ache.

“Enough billiards.
Let’s talk more while having a smoke.”

Kazen sat heavily in the chair where Eren had been sitting earlier.
When he took out his pipe, Jerry quickly produced tobacco and packed it firmly inside.

He was always half-hearted when Eren asked him to do something, but when following Kazen’s orders, he was fairly quick and efficient.
So this was why Kazen had no idea Jerry was incompetent, Eren thought.

“Yes, that’s not a bad idea.
Eren looks tired too, so let’s let him rest.”

Eren, who wanted to meet with the mage-stone installation manager, decided to slip away while he had the chance.

“Then I’ll take my leave.
Please call for me if you need anything.”

“Yes.
I won’t be calling, so go attend to your work.”

Kazen put the pipe in his mouth and gestured impatiently for Eren to leave.

Finally free, Eren hurried out of the billiard room, fearing Kazen might call him back.
He immediately headed toward the first-floor entrance where people had gathered following the commotion.

“So, we’ll replace the urgent ones today, and the rest will be replaced within this week….”

The manager, who had been speaking with Brennen, trailed off as he saw Eren approaching.

“Hello, nice to meet you.
My name is Eren Lloyd.
I work as His Grace’s aide.”

Eren extended his hand to the manager and gave him a quick once-over.
He hadn’t been present when the mage-stones were replaced, so he didn’t know, but this was a different person from the one who came last year.

“Ah, hello.
I’m Dixon Brown.
I supply and install mage-stones for the entire Clifford Ducal household.”

Brown shook hands briefly while scrutinizing Eren’s face.
Though he was smiling, there seemed to be some unpleasant emotion behind that smile.

“Mr. Brown, I have something I’d like to ask you….”

“Just a moment, Eren.
I thought His Grace had entrusted this matter to me.”

Brennen abruptly inserted himself between them, his face displeased.

“Yes, you did say that, but I need to understand what happened to prevent the same mistake from occurring in the future.”

“I performed the work as commissioned.
Mr. Brennen has already verified all the documents.
We are also investigating how the low-quality mage-stones got mixed in.”

As if expecting the question, Brown produced documents he had brought and handed them to Eren.
They were nearly identical to what Eren had examined the previous day.

‘Wait a moment.’

Suddenly, Brown’s signature seemed strangely familiar.
Where had he seen this signature before?
As Eren was lost in thought, Brown snatched the documents back.

“I’ve billed the Clifford Ducal household for the reinstallation costs, so please verify the invoice here.
Fifty high-quality mage-stones.
This is just for the urgent replacements; the rest will take about a month due to supply issues.”

As if his discussion with Brennen was finished, Brown reported in a matter-of-fact tone.

“I see.
I don’t know where the problem occurred, but I’m glad it’s resolved.
If we need anything further, we’ll contact you.”

If he pressed further, Brennen might say something to Kazen.
So Eren had no choice but to step back.

“I’ll go attend to my work now.”

Leaving a brief farewell, Eren hurried to his study.
He rummaged haphazardly through his desk drawers, pulling out various documents.
There weren’t many that Brennen had signed, but he managed to find three or four and examined his signature.

‘The handwriting is identical….’

The way he elongated horizontal strokes, the narrow spacing—it was eerily similar.
This suggested a high probability that Brennen and Brown were close.
If they were close enough for their handwriting to resemble each other’s, perhaps they were family.

He had already suspected Brennen’s behavior was suspicious, but realizing he was hiding something turned suspicion into certainty.
It seemed the two were likely involved in the mage-stone installation incident.

But for what reason would Brennen scheme like this?
The surest way to uncover the truth was to look him in the eye and confront him.

“Let’s have a word.”

Having made up his mind, Eren pulled his chair back with a screech and stood up.
Brennen’s room wasn’t far from Eren’s former study.

But as he headed toward his room, he heard chaotic voices coming from the stairwell.
Sensing a bad feeling instinctively, Eren held his breath, stopped, and listened to their voices.

“I told you.
No one will know it was us.”

“We’ve already made the documents perfect, but still, that guy might catch on.
He’s not someone to underestimate.”

“It’s been going according to plan so far.
As long as Mr. Brennen keeps the Duke calm, he’ll kick that guy out.”

It was the familiar voices of Jerry and Brennen.
Though they were whispering quietly, they seemed unaware that their conversation echoed through the narrow corridor of the stairwell.

“Just a moment ago, I saw him writhing around between the Crown Prince and the Duke like a whore.
Last time at the party, he was dead drunk and came in cradled in the Duke’s arms….”