The Unfilial Heir Who Tries to Kill Me Tempts Me - Chapter 65

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 65.

Though an ill-mannered child model had thrown himself through the window and fled, I still had work to do.
Jack was an exceptional assistant. He read through the documents I’d given him at remarkable speed, organized them with precision, even highlighted the crucial sections before handing them back to me.
It was nothing short of miraculous.
The word “scheduler” hardly did him justice.
If this kid had been born in twenty-first-century Korea, he would’ve become either the most exemplary office worker or a graduate student beloved by professors. I was certain of it.

“Done!”
I threw my arms in the air with a triumphant shout and sprawled across my chair, while Jack carefully verified one last time that nothing had been overlooked before finally setting down his pen.
“I hope I was of some help?”
“What are you talking about, Jack?”
I straightened up, my expression serious.
“Without you, I’d still be here three hours from now just wiping away tears.”
Jack laughed brightly.
He thought I was joking. Every word had been utterly sincere.
“Thank you. With your help, tomorrow’s work should go much smoother.”
“Just say the word whenever you need me.”
“Oh, right. I actually called you here for something else. Mind taking a look at this?”
I handed over the refugee documents I’d prepared in advance.
“What is this?”
“Write your name and your sister’s name here. Once you do, you’ll become officially recognized refugees, and the Empire will grant you its protection until you reach adulthood. Your guarantor and guardian will be the Archduke of Lusiphenia.”
Jack bent over the desk and carefully scanned through the documents.
After a moment, he looked up and asked.
“…Is it really all right for you to prepare something like this for us?”
“What do you mean? The Archduchy has already decided to protect you.”
“But… you’ve already saved my life and Liri’s. That alone is already such an enormous debt….”
Listen to him.
This is what happens when a child grows up too fast.
Kids are supposed to act like kids. It was cruel to put him in a position where he had to read the room even now. No matter how I thought about it, I should never have left those slave traders alive.
I stared at Jack for a moment, then spoke in a firm, deliberate voice.
“From the moment I brought you and Liri to Lusiphenia, this was always the path that lay ahead. Did you want the Archduke and me to become vagabonds, having brought you here only to leave you as illegal residents?”
“No! That’s not it, but…!”
“Then sign.”
There was nothing more to say.
Faced with my unwavering resolve, Jack hesitantly wrote down both his name and Liri’s.
“We’ll need to send this to the Temple by post to receive official authorization, so it’ll probably take about ten days for your Identity Certificates to arrive.”
There was no Temple in the Archduchy of Lusiphenia. So we had to send the documents to Alhaba, a nearby city.
Alhaba was a secluded city ringed by high mountain ranges, and it was the only place in the eastern borderlands that possessed a Temple.
Technically, the Papal See would be the best authority for identity permits, but it was located near the capital, and the procedures were so cumbersome that we’d have to wait a full two months for a reply.
Well, these kids weren’t about to cross the border anytime soon anyway, so we didn’t need authorization from the Papal See.
“Um, Mage?”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you so much. I wouldn’t have survived, and I wouldn’t have been able to bring my sister back, all without you. And now you’re even becoming our guarantor….”
Kaius was the one signing as guarantor, and I was the one receiving the gratitude.
Not a bad arrangement at all.
“I’ll do anything I can to help. So please, trust me with whatever you need.”
Jack’s eyes gleamed with brightness.
Ah, how sweet.
For the first time in ages, I was looking at the pure, unspoiled face of a child, and something stirred oddly in my chest.
I searched for the right words to say—something that would make this a touching moment.
Something like “Children should act like children!” or “You don’t need to thank me. I was just doing what needed to be done.”
Instead, I broke into a gentle smile and tousled Jack’s hair roughly.
“Come back to work tomorrow.”
I’m sorry, Jack.
You’re far too perfect a human spreadsheet to let go.

***

Like any government office, the Temple in the Empire moved with ponderous slowness.
Fortunately, the Alhaba Temple had its systems organized with unusual efficiency, so it processed matters faster than other temples. Thanks to that, I received a reply just over ten days after submitting the documents—a single day beyond the initial ten.
Naturally, I assumed it was the Temple’s response.
“…Returned?”
I stared blankly at the envelope bearing the Alhaba Temple’s return stamp pressed squarely across it. The seal remained unbroken—they hadn’t even opened it.
Instead, an official notice from the Alhaba Temple was attached to one corner of the envelope.

「Due to various incidents occurring both within and outside the city in recent times, we are temporarily halting receipt of correspondence where clear identity verification is difficult. Therefore, any foreign nationals wishing to obtain refugee status must visit this Temple in person to receive their Identity Certificate.」

“What in the world is this supposed to mean?”
Exasperated, I was blinking uselessly when Kaius entered the office with Basel.
“Your Highness, are you aware the Alhaba Temple has stopped accepting refugee-related mail?”
“So I’ve heard.”
Kaius flapped a newspaper he’d brought with him.
I reached out and caught the paper he tossed to me.
“Great. What now?”
The front page bore a large headline: “Massive Crackdown on Illegal Slavery—What Are the Consequences?”
Once the Imperial Court began enforcing human trafficking laws in earnest, nobles and bourgeoisie who owned slaves started filing false reports claiming them as refugees and registering them as such.
The Alhaba Temple, particularly close to Sandwhich, had suffered the most.
Sensing something amiss, the Temple halted mail intake and now issued certificates only to those who passed rigorous identity verification procedures.
“Damn.”
I hadn’t seen this coming.
What do I do?
“What about the other temples?”
“The temples in the northeast region are still accepting mail, but I doubt we’ll get a response. Applications have flooded their way after Alhaba rejected mail intake. Nobles have been tampering with documents to avoid the crackdown, so the Temple authorities are quite on edge.”
Of course. Basel.
For someone who was a Knight only in name, he certainly knew everything worth knowing.
“The maximum period a minor can stay in the Empire without an Identity Certificate is roughly three months, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Once that period passes, they’re classified as Illegal Residents and become subject to enforcement.”
“That’s tight.”
Jack and Liri had been confined in the slave auction block for about a month and a half, and it had been roughly a month since they arrived here. Even being generous, I had only about two weeks left.
There’s no way around it.
I’d really hoped to avoid leaving the duchy for a while.
I set down the newspaper, cleared my desk, and stood to gather my things. As I rose, Kaius’s gaze followed me.
“I’m going to step out for a bit of business.”
“Come with me.”
“What? No, it’s fine. I’ll go alone.”
I waved him off and quickly grabbed the door handle. I was about to slip out when I stopped abruptly.
Wait.
Come to think of it—I’m not their Guarantor. The Guarantor is…
I slowly turned my head back.
My eyes met Kaius’s as he stood from his chair.
After a moment of silence, I managed an awkward smile.
“…Never mind what I just said.”
…….
“Would you come with me?”
Kaius let out a soft laugh.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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