Episode 80

Chapter 80. The Emperor’s Imperial Guard

“Sir Leonard is stepping down as my escort knight?”

I turned to the knight standing in front of me—Conrad—and asked.

“Oh, no, no! Not quitting entirely, of course,” he said with an exaggerated wave of his hand. “Let’s say he’s… temporarily passed the torch to me? Something like that.”

Conrad chuckled as he spoke, clearly trying to keep things light.

“He’s been swamped lately with things going on in the Order. Seems like he has a lot of urgent matters to deal with.”

“I see.”

I nodded slowly.

He hasn’t looked well lately…

Could something have happened? A quiet unease began to stir inside me at the thought of Leonard.

“Is something going wrong within the Order?”

“Nothing too serious,” Conrad replied, waving off the concern. “We’ve got some transfers happening, plus we’re recruiting new knights. Around this time of year, things always get hectic.”

“Ah, I understand.”

“So you really don’t need to worry.”

Conrad flashed a grin.

“Honestly, the only concern is whether the new recruits run off before they’re properly trained—our commander’s pretty terrifying, you know. Hahaha.”

“Now that you mention it, you’re probably right.”

I couldn’t help smiling.

Yes, it was Leonard. Of course he’d be fine.

“Of course! You know what kind of man our commander is.”

There was a distinct gleam in Conrad’s eyes as he spoke—he truly admired Leonard. That much was obvious, even from this brief exchange. He trusted him deeply.

But then…

Conrad suddenly frowned and turned to the side with a disapproving look.

“Now hold on. Why are you here with me?”

“Why do you think I’m here?”

The man standing beside him replied with a cool voice.

He had dark brown hair and curious gray eyes. Compared to Conrad, his expression felt more serious, even a little curt. He gave me a brief nod in greeting.

“I’m Felix. I’m here to act as Conrad’s leash.”

“What?! Leash? Why, you little—!”

Conrad didn’t even get the chance to finish.

Felix clamped a hand over his mouth without hesitation.

“Mmmph! Let go, you mmph—!”

Conrad’s muffled protest escaped beneath the firm grip, but Felix paid him no mind.

“If he does anything foolish, please inform me right away.”

“Mmmff! Foolish?!”

Conrad glared at him with bulging eyes, trying to object.

I simply watched the two of them in silence.

There was something about them…

“…You two seem very close,” I commented hesitantly.

“We joined the Order at the same time,” Felix replied.

“But I’m far more talented!”

By now, Conrad had managed to free himself and declared proudly,

“So from now on, you can leave everything to me! I, Conrad, will protect Your Majesty the Empress as if you were my very life!”

I laughed again at the sight of him.

“Well then, I’ll be counting on you, Sir Conrad. And you as well, Sir Felix.”

“Haha, leave it to us!”

“You have nothing to worry about, Your Majesty.”

The sudden addition of a second escort.

After that, Conrad truly, truly devoted himself to his duty.

“Your Majesty the Empress, just a moment!”

“…?”

“There could be poison in this. Just in case, I’ll take the first bite.”

“Ah, well. I’d appreciate that.”

“Ahem. Doesn’t seem to be any poison. It should be safe to eat.”

He even played the role of a court lady, tasting my food first.

“Wait a moment! Someone’s approaching!”

“Yes?”

“Ah. Judging by the footsteps, I believe it’s Lady Mary, the lady-in-waiting.”

Like a human sonar, he remained hyper-aware of everyone nearby.

“Ah! Wait! Just a moment!”

“Now what is it?”

“It’s a serious matter. There’s dust on the chair you’re about to sit in.”

“It’s fine, Sir Conrad. A little dust can just be brushed off.”

“Absolutely not. For Her Majesty the Empress to sit on a dusty chair? I’ll have a servant clean it immediately.”

He nearly took to cleaning like a house elf.

And Felix, for his part, was just as dedicated in his role as Conrad’s reins(?).

“Please. Can you just stay still?”

“Stay still? Are you saying you’re not prepared to do everything for Her Majesty the Empress?”

“……”

“Hah. I knew it. My devotion clearly surpasses yours—”

Thunk.

When necessary, a little physical restraint was applied.

At first, the noisy atmosphere had been hard to adjust to.

But after a little time passed, I started to find it rather entertaining.

The maids seemed to enjoy it too.

Yes, everything was peaceful.

So much so that his absence was almost unnoticeable.

“Speaking of which, Sir Leonard—no, I mean Sir Conrad.”

No. Perhaps…

“Sorry, Sir Conrad. Could I ask you to handle this?”

Perhaps I still needed more time to fully adjust.

“Your Majesty. This is the report regarding the matter you ordered last time.”

Marquis Niklad delivered his report to Jerome in the Emperor’s office.

“As you suspected, there does seem to be suspicious activity aimed at Her Majesty the Empress.”

Jerome took the documents from the marquis. They contained detailed information related to the Empress.

‘Honestly, I was genuinely surprised this time.’ Niklad thought to himself.

It would make more sense if the target were a consort; he hadn’t expected a force targeting the Empress herself.

Normally, danger gathered around the person who held the Emperor’s favor.

Unable to suppress his curiosity, Marquis Niklad asked the question.

“Why Her Majesty the Empress, of all people? I also looked into the imperial concubine’s side just in case, but found only the usual schemes of lesser nobles. It was clean.”

“…Who knows.”

Jerome reviewed the files with an unreadable expression.

“That ambush on Her Majesty’s way to the Kingdom of Calus—it’s likely the work of the same group.”

Jerome said nothing, but his eyes darkened slightly.

“However…”

Niklad wet his dry lips with a swift pass of his tongue before continuing.

“Most of the suspects have gone missing.”

“Missing?”

This time, Jerome’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Yes. You’d expect at least a trace of one or two, but we haven’t found a single lead. That either means they’re extremely skilled, or—”

“Someone got to them first.”

Jerome responded calmly, finishing the sentence himself.

“It’s one or the other.”

Marquis Niklad gave a nod.

“Indeed. So I believe it will take more time to uncover who’s behind it all.”

Jerome let out a short hum of thought, then rhythmically tapped his fingers against the table.

“Ah! Also,” Niklad added, as if remembering something.

“I heard Her Majesty the Empress’s escort has changed. It seems Sir Lenard has handed the duty over to someone else.”

“Her escort?”

One of Jerome’s eyebrows lifted.

“To whom?”

“Sir Conrad and Sir Felix.”

“Ah.”

Familiar names.

If he recalled correctly, they were knights from the Second Order.

Both of them were particularly well-known for their outstanding skills. In fact, they were good enough to qualify for the First Order, but had remained in the Second.

Still, no matter how capable they were, they couldn’t be compared to Lenard, the division commander.

“Why the change?”

“Unclear. Perhaps the Order’s workload increased? Even when Sir Lenard first took on the escort role, it was rather unexpected, wasn’t it?”

‘For him to entrust even the Empress’s protection to someone else after showing such concern…’

Considering Lenard’s upright nature, it was not easily explained.

“…I see. Understood.”

“Then I’ll continue to investigate as you instructed.”

Marquis Niklad bowed and began to leave.

But before he could exit the chamber—

“Wait.”

Jerome’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

As always, I was buried in work inside the Empress’s palace.

Papers related to the upcoming equestrian tournament were piling up on my desk.

The more I worked, the more it felt like they were multiplying.

I glared at the mountainous stack of documents as if they were my sworn enemy.

Ugh. This cursed work never seems to end.

“Emily, could you separate out just the guest invitation list from these documents?”

I called out to Emily without thinking—then realized belatedly that she had temporarily stepped away from her duties due to childbirth.

“Right, Emily said she wouldn’t be coming for a while. Come to think of it, didn’t someone new say they’d be joining soon?”

I turned to Countess Chloe.

I vaguely remembered her saying that more staff would be hired for the Empress’s palace.

“Ah! That person!”

Countess Chloe clapped her hands.

“Don’t even get me started. Apparently, they suddenly had a personal emergency and said they couldn’t come after all.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And we’re even trying to hire someone new for laundry and someone to help with garden maintenance, but strangely, it’s been really difficult to find people.”

“Aren’t there any applicants?”

“Oh, there are. I mean, it’s a job in the imperial palace, after all. But everyone who agrees ends up backing out, saying they’ve had some urgent situation or suddenly fallen ill…”

So they were still trying to find new people, Countess Chloe explained.

‘What is going on?’

Did some rumor start that working in the Empress’s palace is unusually hard?

I was still puzzling over it when—

“If you don’t want to cause a scene, I suggest you leave at once.”

A sharp voice rang out from beyond the door.

It was Conrad.

His voice only grew harsher.

“Shall I go check what’s happening?”

“No. I’ll go myself.”

I rose from my seat.

Stepping outside, I saw Conrad and Felix—along with two unfamiliar knights.

“What’s all this commotion?”

“Your Majesty!” Conrad replied immediately, as if he’d been waiting for the chance.

“These men suddenly showed up, and when I asked their business, they refused to say anything except that they had to deliver their message directly to Your Majesty.”

I turned my gaze toward the knights who had come to the Empress’s quarters.

Looking more closely, I realized I recognized them.

They were knights who had once stood near Jerome.

That meant—they were part of the Emperor’s personal guard.

Their white uniforms were embroidered with golden thread.

Most imperial knights wore uniforms decorated with silver.

But those adorned with gold thread were special.

They marked the Emperor’s personal guard.

Why are Jerome’s knights here?

As if to answer my unspoken question, one of them stepped forward.

“An honor to meet you, Your Majesty the Empress. I am Ezekiel of His Majesty the Emperor’s personal guard.”

“And I am Jesipher, also of the personal guard.”

I gave a slight nod to acknowledge their greeting.

“What business do the Emperor’s knights have here?”

What followed was a response I hadn’t expected in the slightest.

“By order of His Majesty the Emperor, we have come to escort and guard Your Majesty the Empress.”

“……!”