Chapter 112

“Ah, I see.” The Azure Knights’ confusion quickly turned to understanding. The Quartermaster had an injured arm and couldn’t swim. There would have been no other way to prevent her from being swept away by the current. And of course, he couldn’t do something “trashy” like tying his fiancée to the same rope as those men. So, there was only one answer.

“Please raise your arm slightly.”

“Okay.”

Meanwhile, Rodella was receiving treatment. The improved handcuffs allowed for a sufficiently long chain. Not only that, but when needed, the chain would naturally adjust to allow objects to pass through the magic handcuffs. Gasps of admiration escaped the knights’ lips.

“As expected…” They wondered if deeply loving couples could be this perfectly in sync. Of course, the senior knights who knew that it was simply because they had been cuffed together before pretended not to notice.

And among them, Rodella was in a difficult spot.

“…”

Even though it was wrapped in cloth to stop the bleeding, the seawater in the wound caused significant pain. But her entire focus was on the handcuffs, as if she couldn’t even feel the pain. To be stuck with someone who was trying to avoid her all day… How many days did Felix say it would take to make the key? Until he made the key… it meant she would have to go through all the embarrassing situations she had experienced the last time she wore the handcuffs.

“Hmph.” She let out a short breath. Only now, belatedly, did she realize that she had been flustered by Aivert then, and that was why she had been so nervous and her heart had pounded. Realizing that he had been a special person to her much earlier than she thought, made it even sadder. She wished she still didn’t know. Then things wouldn’t be so awkward between them. Her pounding heart felt cruel. She let out another breath.

Still, she had to say what needed to be said. “Thank you for today. I’m alive thanks to you.” She met Aivert’s gaze. He had willingly jumped into a ship with ongoing explosions, large and small, to save her. One moment he acted like he’d never see her face again, and the next, he risked his life to save her. What exactly were his feelings, she wondered?

Aivert, meanwhile, responded as if it were nothing. “You came back alive because of your own abilities. Royden owes you a debt.” Because the people who would become evidence to unseat Benerix were right there, just as planned.

“Ahem.” The nobles, who were also being treated alongside her, cleared their throats. Of course, the hands treating them were much rougher than those treating Rodella.

“Ugh! Do you know if I’m a centrist or an aristocratic faction member when you treat me like this?!”

“The centrists went into the cabin earlier.”

The noble, having nothing more to say, fell silent. Looking at the noble, Aivert said, “The problem is physical evidence…”

“Ah, the safe!” Rodella exclaimed, suddenly remembering, and tried to get up. But she had to sit back down just as quickly.

“I’ll get it!” A quick-thinking knight brought the safe over in an instant. Even a small safe wasn’t a weight to be casually carried around. But in the knight’s hands, it seemed as light as a sheet of paper.

“I brought it, but… there’s no key to open the safe.” Someone had threatened to throw it back into the sea if they dropped it, so they had dragged it with all their might. But how were they supposed to open the safe without a key? The noble’s face was gloomy as he clutched his trembling arms.

Then, Aivert took the safe.

—RIP!

He tore it open.

“…??” The nobles’ eyes widened at the unbelievable sight. No, was that the sound a metal safe should make? A noble, looking at the bent and cracked safe that seemed impossible to be made of solid metal, muttered, “It’s, it’s specially made…” It was a safe they had brought with great care, hoping the contract inside would help if Duke Benerix tried to deny everything. But it was torn?

Aivert genuinely asked the wide-eyed nobles, “Was it specially made to be waterproof? It didn’t get wet.”

“…” Rodella couldn’t help but laugh at his words.

***

Treatment concluded as the ship headed for the harbor. By the time the series of procedures, including taking statements from the nobles who had declared themselves witnesses, was complete, the ship docked.

“Vice-Commander!”

But the harbor seemed unusually noisy. It didn’t look like there was good news… The sound of explosions must have been heard at the harbor. But instead of rejoicing at their safe return, the harbor became even more chaotic as soon as they confirmed the knights’ arrival.

“What’s going on?” Aivert asked as soon as he stepped off the ship onto the pier. A few Azure Knights quickly approached them. Rodella clearly saw Rodin bowing his head from a distant tree. He also looked grim.

What was it? The moment she thought this, the knight urgently said, “Your Majesty…!”

At the words that followed, both of them widened their eyes.

***

While there were blood relatives who maintained a close relationship regardless of profit or loss, there were also those who, precisely because they were blood relatives, could not be close. The current Emperor and his uncle, Duke Benerix, were such a pair.

If the gravely ill previous Emperor had handed the throne to him instead of the young current Emperor, then the aristocratic faction would not be disregarding imperial authority as they were now. The Empire would have become a much stronger nation.

‘It was truly a foolish choice,’ Benerix thought. ‘It would have been easier for everyone if my nephew had just died.’ This was a thought he’d had even when the previous Emperor was alive. The previous Emperor hadn’t known, but the then-young current Emperor seemed to have been quick-witted.

“It feels like only yesterday you shed tears, saying this uncle scared you, but already you’ve grown so much.”

—Gurgle. 

The sound of wine being poured into a glass distinctly echoed through the room. The spacious interior, open and inviting, was an indoor garden that the Emperor maintained as a hobby.

“…You’ve grown and are drinking with me now. Time is indeed cruel.” Duke Benerix smiled. He poured wine into two glasses side by side and respectfully gestured to the Emperor. It was an invitation to choose a glass. On the surface, it seemed like a pleasant social drink, but in reality, it was an attitude of thorough mutual vigilance. One might put poison in one of the glasses, so the pourer and the chooser were different to prevent such tricks. The Emperor knew this too, and his eyes gleamed with caution.

Seeing this, Duke Benerix chuckled inwardly. ‘My nephew is quick-witted indeed.’ He had to admit now that he had been deceived for a long time by the Emperor, whom he had thought was foolish. To think that Royden had grown so much under the shadow of this fox who pretended to be dull.

“This glass will be fine.” After a moment, the Emperor chose a glass. He had confirmed that the bracelet on his inner wrist, which reacted to nearby poisons, showed no reaction. The Duke shrugged and picked up the other glass.

“Very well. Excuse me.”

—Gulp. His uninhibited manner as he savored the wine. He seemed perfectly at ease, as if he hadn’t played any tricks. The Emperor narrowed his eyes. Duke Benerix was always like this. He would visit the Imperial Palace just enough not to be suspicious. If an ordinary commoner who knew nothing of the circumstances had overheard their conversation, they would have thought they were quite close relatives.

But the reality was different. This gathering, under the guise of fostering camaraderie, was a place for mutual surveillance and probing. Therefore, the Emperor found this situation uncomfortable. Inwardly, he wished the Duke wouldn’t come, and since Royden had started moving seriously this time, he thought the Duke would at least take a break, feigning an excuse. He had thought that given the tensions with the Imperial faction, Benerix wouldn’t do anything that could incriminate him.

“This indoor garden is always the same. It makes one forget the weather outside, Your Majesty.” But he continued to visit periodically as if nothing had happened.

“So, Your Majesty, are you still afraid of this uncle?” It was a question the Duke often asked. The Emperor, as always, shook his head.

“Of course not.”

“It feels empty without the nephew who used to smile like a child.” This, too, was a constant, half-joking remark.

“Regardless of whom a child smiles at, how could a child’s smile be the same as an adult’s, whose heart is rotting?” The Emperor retorted with the same words as always. The Emperor already guessed a few of the Duke’s next remarks: about how he, a person with no interest in gardening, was growing such a thing, or whether he had lost interest in swords, or how he should exercise for his health… Anyone listening would think he was an uncle who deeply loved his nephew.

The Emperor was about to open his mouth, pondering what the Duke’s next repertoire would be, when suddenly,

—Whoosh.

A slight breeze blew in a place where there should have been no disturbance, as if time had stopped. Had the door opened? No one dared open the door without knocking when the two spent time together.

—Rustle.

But the next moment, the Emperor’s eyes widened. It was because he saw a large leaf shaking, not from the wind.

“…!”

Perhaps he was too distracted by it. He realized too late that it was a concealed weapon flying through the leaf. As he belatedly tried to block it with his arm,

“Your Majesty!”

Benerix’s scream-like voice echoed, as if startled by looking in the same direction.

—Thwack!

And the distinct sound of a blade piercing a human body clearly echoed through the garden.

The Emperor’s eyes widened in horror.