Chapter 39

But just as Rodella thought she had misread his expression, a gentle voice cut through the moment.

“There was no need to go to such lengths.”

…Was the Vice Commander always this kind?

Before anyone could linger on that thought, Rodella casually responded.

“Because you went that far, Sir Felix must have put in a lot of effort too.”

“…!”

Whatever doubt had been lingering in Felix’s mind vanished in an instant. He nodded rapidly.

Right. So what if it felt a little suspicious?

“I’ll serve you with loyalty for the rest of my life!”

“Your loyalty goes to His Majesty.”

Aivert brushed off the risky comment as carelessly as swatting a fly, but his gaze was already back on Rodella.

Meanwhile, Rodella pulled a key from the box and tugged at the cuffs.

— Clack!

The invisible cuffs, hidden by magic, were revealed as the keyhole appeared.

With eyes glinting, she aligned the key with the hole.

At last, they could be spared from the embarrassment of being thrown into “couple” situations again!

And then—  

— Click.

With a satisfyingly clear sound, the cuffs disappeared as if melting away.

The magic dispersed, leaving no physical trace behind.

“Ooh!”

Rodella pulled her arm away from Aivert’s with ease.

Of course, with the cuffs gone, her movement was completely free.

“They’re off! Great job!”

Rodella beamed at Felix as she spoke, but Aivert muttered bluntly, “I liked it, though.”

“What?”

Wait—was he into wearing cuffs?

Rodella turned to him. Aivert had his arms crossed.

He couldn’t have done that with the cuffs on.

But his expression didn’t change.

“Sleeping next to you. I slept well.”

Rodella raised an eyebrow.

“You were always up late. I thought you didn’t sleep.”

“Let’s say the quality of sleep was excellent.”

Rodella stared at him, incredulous.

“Sure didn’t look like high-quality sleep.”

“Well, that’s because you were holding me…”

Their bickering continued without a breath between them—until Felix’s voice cut in.

“I-I-I shall be off now!”

He was already backing away. The conversation was getting too awkward for him.

Rodella waved her hand.

“No, it’s not what it sounds—”

“Goodbye then!”

—Bang!

No chance to explain.

Rodella pressed a hand to her forehead. Aivert spoke.

“Isn’t it better for you if they misunderstand?”

Why did his voice stick in her ears more than usual?  

But more than that…

Rodella turned to look at him.

As if he wasn’t part of it himself.

“That’s true, but… not for you?”

At her hesitant question, Aivert was just about to respond—

Knock knock.

The office door rattled with firm knocks.

“Quartermaster, are you in?”

The solemn voice belonged to a knight.

From beyond the door, Aivert sensed several familiar presences.

Knights?

Rodella blinked, momentarily forgetting their conversation.

“Come in.”

Then she glanced at Aivert.

“Why would knights come looking for me?”

“Good question.”

Aivert was already getting annoyed. If they were about to say something stupid, he’d throw them out.

But what they said was nothing like what he expected.

“We were wondering if you could teach us more about how to control our strength?”

What they wanted from Rodella was additional training—more intense sessions on power control.

To the knights, being told to “play with eggs” or carve wooden weapons all day must have seemed laughable compared to training with real swords.

After all, most had become knights to protect others with strength.

He had expected them to resist, thinking it weakened them.

But they’d surprisingly followed along without complaint.

Rodella, knowing that, hadn’t pushed them further.

Yet now—

“More?” she asked.

They nodded.

“Sure, smashing things works—but learning to control our strength precisely helps in both subduing opponents and protecting ourselves.”

“And you saw the results. Fewer injuries.”

That was probably because they weren’t getting hit by falling debris from destroyed buildings…

Rodella scratched her cheek at the unexpected outcome.

“That’s something you should request during regular training time.”  Aivert spoke up.

He wasn’t wrong.

Even if the quartermaster didn’t belong to the Azure Knights’ direct command structure, she was still technically a superior.

Yet they barged in with a request?

That disregarded the knights’ chain of command.

His voice was colder than ever.

“…We’re sorry!”

Realizing their mistake, the knights froze and bowed deeply.

Rodella didn’t think it was a big deal—they hadn’t come at dawn or acted out.

But this was a knight order. Some rules had to be upheld.

“Just don’t do it again.”

That was all she said before rising from her seat.

“In return, today’s training will be tougher than usual.”

“Tougher how?”

Aivert picked up her cue.

“I’ll personally oversee it.”

The knights swallowed hard and glanced at one another.

Something told them… they were in for it.

…But why did the Vice Commander look so annoyed?

Aivert stood there, staring silently down at his wrist, deep in thought.

Meanwhile, Rodella stretched lightly, her expression a little freer.

Goodbye, handcuffs!

That’s what she was thinking.

…Unaware that she would one day wear them again.

***

Since this wasn’t regular training time, participation was optional. Notices were sent to the knights’ quarters.

More showed up than expected.

“Those still struggling with fine control, start by flipping through these thin paper books.”

Rodella had brought everyday objects for training.

Surprisingly, this worked well.

“Lately, I’ve been getting praise at home for not breaking things.”

The married knights were… very enthusiastic.

Rodella, wanting to help those working for peace at home, gave extra detailed instruction.

There were also knights who’d fully followed her training and needed control for combat scenarios.

Those knights, along with the ones who had initiated this special training, gathered before Aivert.

“Bring the wooden swords you made yourselves.”

Aivert, too, set aside his iron sword—which looked no different than the wooden ones—and picked up a wooden one.

Following Rodella’s guidelines, the swords were handmade to match the size and thickness of real ones.

“Yes, sir!”

As they assembled, Aivert checked his distance from Rodella, then lowered the sword in a sweeping motion.

A straw dummy stood before him.

Whoosh!

Despite being just a wooden sword, the slash was so precise and powerful it split the dummy clean in half.

“This is what you’re practicing. But—”

He lifted the sword with one hand.

The blade and handle were completely undamaged.

“—without harming the sword.”

The knights stared in awe.

Rodella thought to herself:

No matter how you look at it…

He never forgot how to control his strength, did he?

Her eyes narrowed.

“You forgot, huh.”

“Can you show me again, like last time?”

She suddenly recalled Aivert’s audacious request.

She hadn’t thought much of it then—too distracted—but now, the word “last time” echoed in her ears.

Did he mean… their time at the academy?

He’d been ostracized for his lack of control. She’d been hated by noble families.

It was just the two of them.

Back then, she’d spent all day trying to train him.

He was the first thing she saw in the morning, and the last before she slept.

Unintentionally, she’d spent her entire day thinking about him.

What had he remembered from that time?

The training?

Or…

Just then, a knight blurted out: “Sir, if you’re this good, why haven’t you used strength control all this time?”

Exactly!

It was like someone had peeked into Rodella’s mind. She wasn’t the only one—everyone was now staring at Aivert.

All attention focused on his answer.

Aivert responded without a moment of hesitation.