Sigrid

This time, it was Alkerto’s turn to be surprised. Morris nodded.

“She just told me. She’s due for a promotion around autumn.”

“The Imperial Guard, huh.”

Alkerto let out a sharp whistle.

“How many ranks is she skipping with this promotion?”

“From the lowest to the highest in one leap. But she is an Aura user, after all.”

“True, that’s right.”

Alkerto scratched the back of his neck. He put on the shirt and t-shirt he had hung on a tree, after hanging the towel on the well.

“Come to think of it, she’s being directly trained by a Master, isn’t she? That’s incredible.”

At his words, thrown out like a joke, Morris laughed.

“You’re right.”

Aura users were also called Masters. After all, Aura was the dream of all swordsmen. While Aura users might laugh at being called the pinnacle of swordsmanship, that’s how people saw them.

That’s why they were called Masters.

“You know, I’m thinking of focusing more on the sword.”

Alkerto spoke up.

“How long are you planning to go?”

“No, I mean it. Sigrid said I’m not without talent. So I’ve decided to worry less about what others think and increase my sword practice time. The friends I used to hang out with might laugh—”

Alkerto shrugged.

“But they’re not the ones responsible for my life.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“Spar with me sometimes.”

“Sure.”

Morris replied, tapping the handle of his sword. Hearing that Sigrid was leaving for the Imperial Guard made him want to leave too.

A wandering knight.

If he abandoned everything and left, he could swing his sword to his heart’s content. Without worrying about anyone.

‘Should I leave?’

As he pondered absent-mindedly, he suddenly thought of Sigrid. She had said at the ball, as if foreseeing his current thoughts:

—Don’t go anywhere.

He hadn’t had such specific thoughts then, but had she sensed something in him? Had his weariness with his brother’s conflicts shown?

—I won’t go.

Oh no.

He just had to answer like that.

Morris smiled bitterly.

‘Well, it’s not like I could really leave Sig like this…’

The more he heard, the more suspicious the 1st Imperial Guard Captain seemed. Even though he had the backing of the Lunatil Ducal family and was close to the Crown Prince, background doesn’t necessarily equate to good character.

The trust Sigrid showed strangely touched Morris’s heart. When she looked at him with those eyes full of boundless, open trust, it stirred something inside him.

As if she would accept anything he might say…

Morris swallowed and leaned heavily against the well. He rubbed his face and said:

“You’ve made mistakes with Sig before too. Give Marie-Chez a chance.”

“Mistakes?”

“You got angry at Marie-Chez thinking Sigrid had told her, remember?”

“Ah.”

At those words, Alkerto let out a deep sigh. When he apologized later, Sigrid had easily said “It’s okay,” but it felt like he had betrayed her trust.

‘No, that’s right. I didn’t trust her.’

Reflecting, Alkerto said:

“Alright. I’ll think about it some more.”

Although he said he’d think about it, Morris could see the scales tipping towards forgiveness and nodded. He pointed towards the house.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yeah.”

The two men headed towards the mansion, walking side by side. It was Alkerto’s first time joining the brief tea time after sword practice, but everyone acted as if it wasn’t unusual and they had tea peacefully.

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

Duke Fienscha sat silently at the table.

Clink—

The ice in the glass made a sound as it melted. Even under the shade of the enormous tree in the garden, the midsummer heat was palpable. The cicadas’ incessant chirping was deafening.

Droplets of condensation formed on the glass and trickled down. He stared at the letter for a long time.

He hadn’t expected the Crown Prince’s side to approach him again.

‘Or rather, should I say Her Highness the Crown Princess?’

The Crown Princess, Erial, was both a count’s daughter and a member of the royal family. This was because her mother was a princess of Ricaun. Ricaun was a small country located in the western part of the empire. Due to their shared border, the Western Nobles Alliance and Ricaun were on good terms. So much so that there had been talks of marriage between them. However, she married Count Blanche, and their child, Erial, became the Crown Princess.

That’s why Erial could serve as a bridge between the Crown Prince and the Western Nobles Alliance.

It was really a distant connection, but that just showed how poor the relationship between the Western nobles and the imperial family was. In fact, the Western Alliance was closer to the foreign country of Ricaun.

It wasn’t strange that Erial, now the Crown Princess, who had heard stories from her mother about the valiant knights of Ricaun and the Western Alliance, would have goodwill towards the Western Nobles Alliance. Still, he hadn’t expected her to actually send a letter.

‘Was that not a trap then?’

Duke Fienscha recalled the secret meeting that had taken place recently. The meeting place had turned into chaos due to a magical beast. He had arrived late and managed to escape safely because he had already received news that a magical beast would be released there.

At the time, he had naturally assumed it was the imperial family’s doing and was furious, but thinking about it now, it seemed odd for the Crown Prince and Princess to risk such danger.

‘And the one who brought me that information is suspicious too.’

He took his eyes off the letter.

He couldn’t leave the West empty for too long. Even though the barbarians and magical beasts had been quiet lately, one couldn’t let their guard down in the West. Moreover, the central officials sent by the Emperor were complaining about audits, saying too much money was being spent on weapons.

If Duke Fienscha were a bit younger, he would have punched that official in the mouth.

Thinking coolly, supporting the Crown Prince wasn’t a bad idea. But the Western nobles already had many grievances against the imperial family, and there was no guarantee that the Crown Prince wouldn’t stab them in the back.

That was his dilemma.

Additionally, he didn’t want to actively oppose the Emperor. After all, the West still needed central support. Unless they were planning a rebellion, there was no need to provoke the Emperor further.

‘What should I do?’

His eyes narrowed.

After much deliberation, he decided, uncharacteristically, to buy more time.

“Kuron!”

At his call, Kuron, his retainer and chief steward, came running.

“You called, my lord?”

“We’re returning to the main house.”

At those words, Kuron grinned. This short but barrel-chested steward was also sick of the central region.

“I’ll pack our luggage as quickly as possible. No, everyone will pack like lightning, my lord.”

Duke Fienscha handed over the letter, saying “Dispose of this,” and Kuron tore the letter into strips, stuffed them into his mouth, and swallowed. It would be a shocking sight to others, but the lord and servant remained nonchalant.

“If they want a meeting, they’ll send another letter when I come up for the New Year’s gathering.”

“I suppose so, my lord.”

Kuron nodded vigorously.

“Is Leta done with her shopping?”

When asked about his wife’s recent activities, Kuron cleared his throat and said:

“Today should be the last day, my lord.”

“We should head back before she puts a hole in my finances.”

Duke Fienscha said with a serious face.

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

Serios let out a loud “Aaaaargh!” and slumped face-down on his desk.

“Beramund.”

“What?”

“You should secretly follow Duke Fienscha.”

Beramund raised an eyebrow as if to say ‘Oh really?’, but Serios continued:

“And tada! You could talk in the carriage. Or you could even go all the way to the West with him. Right? Say you want to do some practical training. While doing that, you could build trust and become a bridge between us.”

“Everyone would be so happy if the Imperial Guard Captain left his post.”

“It won’t work?”

“It won’t.”

“Ah, really. Why is he going back right now? He’s avoiding me, isn’t he?”

“That’s part of it, but Western nobles don’t stay in the central region for long anyway, right?”

Serios sighed and raised his upper body. His eyes sharpened.

“If Duke Fienscha tried to harm Erial, I’ll kill him.”

“If he meant to harm her, he wouldn’t have come so close.”

“But he didn’t come that close either, did he? He could have done that much just to avoid suspicion. Besides, it might have just been his carriage.”

They hadn’t actually seen Duke Fienscha in person. Beramund leaned back on the sofa, interlacing his fingers as he asked:

“Yet you still want to keep meeting with him?”

“If he’s an enemy, I should keep him closer.”

Serios smiled coldly. Then he sighed and said:

“I think too much suppression will only backfire. Certainly, the excessive military power of the Western Nobles Alliance is a problem, but because that land is barren, they need central support. They say Duke Fienscha reigns like a king of the West, but well.”

He shrugged.

“Rumors tend to be exaggerated.”

“You mean rumors like how he makes people call him ‘Your Majesty’?”

At Beramund’s words, Serios joked seriously, “Maybe ‘Your Excellency’ would be acceptable?” Beramund stood up and asked:

“How’s Erial?”

“They say she’s past the initial unstable period. I can’t really tell, but she insists her belly is showing.”

“Well, she would know best.”

“But I can’t really see it from the outside. Also, she says she wants to meet Lady Ankertna.”

“Sigrid?”

“Yeah, something about wanting to express her gratitude to her lifesaver—”

Serios grumbled.

“That’s so like Erial.”

“It is. But think about it, being summoned by the Crown Princess. It would be a big deal for her too. When I said that, Erial gave up.”

“I see.”

Beramund understood why his cousin hadn’t been nudging him in the ribs to summon Sigrid.

‘I should let them meet when Sigrid joins the Imperial Guard.’

After all, meeting the royal family would be natural once she became part of the Imperial Guard.

Just thinking about her coming under his command made Beramund excited. He couldn’t remember the last time he had wished for time to pass so quickly, perhaps not since he was a child waiting for a pony as a gift.

Serios looked at Beramund with an unpleasant expression.

“You seem to be in a good mood lately.”

“Do I?”

“You do.”

“Well, people have times when they’re happy and all that.”

“That may be true… But I have a headache, and seeing you in a good mood makes me feel bad.”

“Wow, what a terrible lord you are.”

“Aren’t you the retainer who fails to understand his lord’s feelings?”

“I’m sorry for my disloyalty?”

“Don’t apologize if you’re going to question it.”

“Then I won’t.”

Serios made a face that seemed to say, ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake.’

Still, he didn’t particularly restrain Beramund. Others might accuse him of blasphemy and demand punishment, but Serios found comfort in Beramund’s behavior.

At least it reminded him that he wasn’t an absolute being but an ordinary person, and that such ordinary things were necessary.

“Anyway, I guess we’ll have to postpone the Western Nobles Alliance matter until next year then.”

Serios said with a sigh and took a piece of paper to the candle that was lit despite it being daytime, burning it.

Beramund said seriously:

“It would be better to proceed more secretly. If His Majesty finds out, he’ll surely think you’re joining hands with the Western Nobles Alliance to start a rebellion.”

“He’s the kind of person who thinks I’m starting a rebellion no matter who I join hands with.”

Serios said coldly, dropping the burning paper on the floor, waiting until it turned to ash, and then grinding it out with the heel of his shoe.

Knock knock—

Just then, a soft knock was heard. While Serios was kicking the ashes with his foot, Beramund asked:

“Who is it?”

“Brother? It’s me.”

Serios’s face brightened at the voice.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and a young man entered. His sky-blue hair, matching Serios’s, was striking.

“Prince Lee.”

As Beramund gave a polite bow, Prince Lee Rudinal waved his hand.

“No, please be at ease.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Rudinal, about nine years younger than Serios, still had a youthful air about his face. Because his birth mother, the Empress, had passed away less than a month after giving birth to him, Serios felt especially fond of Rudinal.

“It’s about the inspection tour I’m leaving for this winter.”

At Rudinal’s words, Serios furrowed his brow and swallowed a sigh.

“Father is really something, scheduling an inspection tour in winter of all times.”

Winter is a season for staying holed up in the castle, not for inspections. Winter travel always carries the risk of death.

“It’s alright. And if it goes well, it could be good news for you too, brother.”

Rudinal showed a brave smile. Serios lightly patted his shoulder and said:

“There’s no need to push yourself too hard. It’s more important that you return safely.”

“There’s no need to worry too much.”

Rudinal replied with a grin. Beramund watched the close brothers for a moment before raising his hand slightly and saying:

“Then I’ll leave you two to talk comfortably. I’ll take my leave now.”

“Ah, alright.”

“It’s fine if you stay.”

Serios said, shrugging his shoulders. Rudinal’s expression changed slightly, but he soon smiled.

“That’s right. It’s okay if you stay.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll see you next time, Your Highness.”