Episode 54

Episode 54: What Kind of King Personally Acts as Escort?

Deep within the Kingdom of Calus.

It wasn’t quite a prison cell, but too shabby to be called a guest chamber; in that dim room, two men sat bound.

Leonard and Cedric.

“I wonder how Her Majesty is doing right now.”

Cedric sighed as he stared out the window.

It had been hours since the King of Calus himself had shown up and taken Empress Helena away.

“Since he seemed to recognize Her Majesty, I doubt he’ll harm her.”

Leonard spoke calmly.

In truth, it hadn’t only been Helena who was surprised at that meeting.

Leonard, too, had been caught off guard at the sight of Karssen.

With his sharp eyes, he had recognized him immediately.

So he really was the King of Calus.

The first time they’d met, Leonard hadn’t realized it.

He’d heard rumors but had never paid much attention.

He certainly hadn’t cared to memorize the face of a foreign king.

Besides, the last time, he’d been out on assignment and immediately launched into searching for the vanished Helena upon his return, leaving no time to study up on visiting dignitaries.

It was only afterward, when he’d looked into Karssen, that the truth had stunned him.

He seemed friendly enough, so she should be safe, but…

He couldn’t shake his unease.

If anything, that mild friendliness made him more wary.

Outside the window, the once-untroubled moonlight was being swallowed by drifting clouds.

Dawn wasn’t far off.

Cedric’s voice broke the silence.

“How long do you think they’ll keep us locked up here?”

“Hard to say. But I suspect we’ll find out soon.”

No sooner had Leonard finished speaking than the heavy door creaked open.

“My, my. What an awful way to treat distinguished foreign guests. I do apologize.”

The man dragged a chair over and sat down.

Despite his sympathetic tone, he made no move to untie their ropes.

“I am Moritz, His Majesty Karssen’s chief secretary.”

After that brief introduction, Moritz surveyed them both.

“I’m here to conduct a simple inquiry. I hope you’ll cooperate. It’ll be much easier for all of us.”

“Where is Her Majesty?”

Leonard demanded.

“By now, she’s probably enjoying a pleasant dinner with His Majesty.”

Leonard’s eyes sharpened dangerously at that answer—like a beast whose territory had been invaded.

“We’re her escort. If you know who she is, you should release us immediately.”

“Technically speaking, yes…”

Moritz scratched his head with his pen before continuing.

“But you did attempt to cross the border secretly with contraband. We can’t simply let that slide without investigation.”

By contraband, he meant the explosives loaded in their wagon.

“Ah! And by the way, this questioning is a secret from Her Majesty. She thinks you’ve already been released.”

He chuckled lightly before fixing them with a more serious gaze.

“Anyway, it’s late. Let’s get to the point. What are your identities?”

Leonard silently regarded him.

“Not going to cooperate, I see. I expected as much, so I did some homework.”

Moritz’s tone remained even.

“You’re quite famous, after all. Sir Leonard.”

He cast a meaningful look at Leonard, then turned to Cedric.

“And I’ve heard rumors about you as well. ‘Guardian of the Verdant Grove.’ I always thought that was just a legend. An honor to meet you.”

He knew about Cedric too.

Leonard’s gaze narrowed.

“You’ve got a pretty decent intelligence network.”

Cedric’s title might be well known, but his face was not.

He’d only recently become more publicly visible after being appointed as an imperial mage.

And yet these people in a distant kingdom knew exactly who he was.

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Now, why don’t we talk about the explosives you tried to bring in?”

“……”

“Ah, silence. Interesting. That’s fine. The night is long, and I’m in no particular rush.”

“Is Her Majesty truly safe?”

“Of course. I give you my personal honor on that.”

“Your honor means nothing to me. I’ll confirm it with my own eyes.”

“Ah, ah. Actually, I’d be more worried about your own safety right now. If you keep refusing to cooperate, I might have to get a bit… rougher…”

Moritz’s voice trailed off.

His expression hardened in confusion.

When did this happen?

Leonard’s sword was at his throat.

“What…?”

Just moments ago, they’d been tied to chairs.

In the blink of an eye, Leonard had drawn a sword and was threatening his life.

And the blade he held was Moritz’s own.

“So the rumors of you being the Empire’s greatest sword were true. You were pretending to be tied up all this time?”

“I’m not the only one.”

“What?”

Fwoosh!

A small flame burst out, burning away Cedric’s restraints.

Moritz gaped in disbelief.

“A mage can’t cast without a staff—”

“Ordinary mages can’t.”

Cedric calmly brushed the ashes from his sleeves.

“I see… seems my investigation was lacking.”

Moritz sighed in resignation.

“No wonder even an Empress only brought two escorts.”

He let out a defeated chuckle.

“If I’d known, I’d have brought the whole knight corps to interrogate you.”

“Enough pointless chatter.”

Leonard pressed the blade tighter against his neck.

“Tell us where Her Majesty is.”

After finishing dinner with Karssen, I headed toward my newly assigned room.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t alone.

Karssen had insisted on personally escorting me there.

“What are you thinking about so hard?”

“Just… various things.”

Plans for resisting you next time, maybe?

Honestly, how long was he planning to follow me?

We’d eaten, it was late—shouldn’t he take the hint and leave?

“Your Majesty doesn’t need to see me all the way to my door.”

Really, this kind of special treatment? I wasn’t a fan.

Especially given who he was; it was just too much.

But Karssen replied smoothly.

“No need to feel pressured. I’m only doing it because I want to.”

Oh. That… really does make it more uncomfortable, you know?

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“What kind of king volunteers to be an escort, exactly?”

“Me. The perfect role model for my people, wouldn’t you say?”

“You don’t actually believe that, do you?”

“Of course I do.”

“……”

What on earth was going through this man’s head?

I’d known he wasn’t normal from the moment he demanded I guide him around my palace because he got “lost.”

Really, an ordinary man wouldn’t just announce he planned to steal another country’s empress.

I stifled a sigh.

“Anyway, we’re almost there. Why don’t you call it a night?”

“Now that I think about it, it’s a shame to part ways like this. How about a few drinks, since we didn’t get to drink properly at dinner? Reminisce about our evening together?”

“I don’t have any fond memories to reminisce about with Your Majesty.”

“We can always make some now.”

No. Absolutely not.

Time to refuse.

It was late—I just needed a decent excuse to chase him off.

Except… what could I say that would actually work on him?

I had a bad feeling no ordinary excuse would do.

And then—

“She said no.”

It wasn’t my voice.

A man with pitch-black hair emerged from the darkness.

Leonard.

How did you even get here…?

Before I could process the question, he stepped firmly between me and Karssen.

“I’m sorry, but I think it’s best if you leave now.”

Leonard’s eyes were icy cold as he faced Karssen.

“Ah, so it’s you.”

Karssen let out a thoughtful sound.

“You’re that knight, aren’t you? The one I almost dueled back then.”

Yes, that’s right.

The night before Jerome’s birthday banquet.

When Karssen had shown up unannounced in the palace.

Leonard had come looking for me then, and the two of them had nearly clashed.

“If you’re so close you’d sneak across the border together… you must be more than just a guard. What exactly is your relationship?”

The tension between Leonard and Karssen was unmistakable.

I tried to explain before it got worse.

“He’s my escort—”

“Her Majesty’s special someone.”

Leonard cut me off.

The words that came out of his mouth were completely unexpected.

“Special someone?”

Karssen’s smile deepened—and so did the faint, chilling murderous intent around him.

“Come to think of it, we never did finish our fight back then.”

He was provoking him outright.

Leonard didn’t back down.

If anything, the air around him grew even sharper.

Get a grip, Leonard.

We’re in enemy territory.

The tension between them was getting out of hand.

I couldn’t just watch anymore.

I stepped between them.

“Wait. You’re not actually going to fight here, right?”

“Of course I am.”

“Please step back for a moment, Your Majesty. It’s dangerous.”

“No. I won’t allow this. Absolutely not.”

I shook my head firmly.

Karssen’s eyes flickered as he looked between me and Leonard.

The murderous atmosphere seemed to lighten a bit.

“Hmph. Seems tonight’s not the right time after all.”

Leonard also eased back, though the two of them continued to glare at each other like bitter rivals.

What is wrong with these two? Why are they acting like mortal enemies?

Then Karssen spoke again.

“Tomorrow, I’m planning to open the reservoir and hold a small festival to celebrate friendship between our two nations. I would be honored if Your Majesty would attend.”

As promised.

He was still treating me as an empress.

Because Leonard was here.

A festival to mark the opening of a reservoir, celebrating goodwill between countries—there was no real way I could refuse.

“May I take your agreement as granted?”

“Of course.”

He spoke politely enough, but then turned his gaze onto Leonard.

“And while we’re at it… why don’t we see who really suits Her Majesty better?”

Excuse me?

What exactly are you planning to compete over?

My eyes went wide at his abrupt suggestion.

Obviously I should refuse.

Why waste energy on something so pointless?

Leonard surely felt the same.

After all, there was no prize at stake.

Who would agree to something so pointless?

“Sounds like a good idea.”

…There he was.

The one who accepted.

Karssen’s lips curved into a pleased, challenging grin.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Seriously. Why are these two so dead serious about this?