Episode 86

Chapter 86. Please Don’t Hate Me

“I ordered that no one be let in. Now I’m curious to see who dares to ignore that.”

Jerome’s face drew closer and closer.

I struggled, but I still couldn’t escape his grasp.

In the end, I turned my head sharply.

“……”

Stillness.

At the same moment, all of his movements stopped.

I could feel Jerome’s gaze still fixed on me.

“……”

With my head turned away, I couldn’t see what kind of expression he was making.

Then, I heard a dry, bitter laugh—and he pulled back.

The pressure pinning my wrists was released.

I quickly moved away from him.

That was when—

“Wait a moment! No, you really can’t go in there right now!”

A commotion erupted outside the door.

“Ah—oh no! Please, you really can’t do this…!”

Leaving behind the attendant’s pitiful voice—

Bang—!

The door burst open violently.

Someone had dared to defy the emperor’s orders.

Blue eyes gleamed with steely resolve.

My mouth fell open in shock.

“Sir Leonard…?”

He had returned.

Just a little while ago — at the Second Imperial Knights’ quarters.

“Ugh! I’m so bored!”

Conrad screamed in frustration.

“I can’t escort Her Majesty, I can’t train—what the hell is this?!”

He smacked a pillow hard.

He hit it so fiercely, the poor thing looked completely deflated.

As if that wasn’t enough, he started swinging it like a sword.

Next to him, his roommate Felix muttered—

“Keep it down. You’re distracting me.”

“How can you meditate in a situation like this, huh?”

Seriously. This guy.

Conrad clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“What did I tell you? You lack passion for Her Majesty. Don’t you agree?”

“Getting mad won’t change anything.”

“Wow. A saint, right here in the room. Why didn’t you study philosophy instead of swordsmanship? You’ve got such a bright future ahead of you.”

“……”

“What? Now you’re not even going to respond? Fine. You’re just scared, aren’t you? Because you know you can’t beat—”

Whack!

“Hey! That was a cheap shot!”

Clutching the back of his head, Conrad shouted.

He grabbed the pillow Felix had just thrown at him.

His grip was full of vengeance.

Felix, meanwhile, had already closed his eyes and resumed meditating.

‘Now’s my chance.’

What a jerk. This time it’s your turn.

Conrad crept forward silently.

Sneak, sneak.

Target acquired: that smug back of Felix’s head.

‘Let’s see how you like it.’

An eye for an eye. A pillow for a pillow.

And then—

“Pillow to the face, you jerk!”

Conrad swung the pillow dramatically—

Clack.

Well, he meant to swing it.

But at that very moment, the door swung open—without so much as a knock.

“……!”

Conrad’s eyes widened when he saw who it was.

“…No way.”

Thud. The pillow slipped from his fingers.

“Captain!”

A grin bloomed across Conrad’s face.

“Captain.”

Felix, too, greeted Leonard with a rare spark of emotion.

Overjoyed, Conrad immediately fired off a string of questions.

“Whoa, it’s really you, right? Do you have any idea how long it’s been?! Are you really back for good? We’ve been waiting forever!”

His voice caught in his throat—emotion welling up from the reunion.

He looked like a baby bird reunited with its long-lost mama bird.

“You’ve been eating properly, right? Your face looks even sharper than before. Don’t tell me you skipped meals again because of work?”

Let me see.

Conrad spun Leonard around, inspecting him from every angle.

Leonard pushed him away, replying—

“First of all, why are you two still here? You should be with Her Majesty by now.”

“Ah… well.”

Scratching his head, Conrad fumbled for words in the face of Leonard’s sharp question.

“We’ve got no excuse, Captain. Felix and I were put on probation starting today.”

“Probation?”

Leonard raised an eyebrow.

“Did you screw something up again?”

“No! Absolutely not! I swear!”

Conrad shook his head vehemently.

“I mean—come on. Do I look like I’ve got a death wish? You’d kill me before the emperor did.”

“Then why were you put on probation?”

“We weren’t told the exact reason, but it’s probably because of yesterday’s outing with Her Majesty—wait, what’s this…?”

His expression suddenly turned serious.

“Your hand… What happened to it?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Nothing? Your hand looks like that and you call it nothing?”

“We’ll talk later. Right now, I need to go to the Empress’s quarters.”

Leonard had only come to check on knight corps matters—but now he turned toward the door.

“Captain.”

“We’ll talk later, Felix.”

Leonard hurried to leave the room.

“Captain.”

But Felix stopped him again.

“……?”

Felix was nothing if not cautious.

It was rare for him to stop Leonard even once—let alone twice.

Leonard instantly sensed something was wrong.

“You need to go to the Emperor’s palace. Right now.”

“The Emperor’s palace?”

“Aren’t you heading to see Her Majesty?”

“Yeah. So why would I go to the Emperor’s palace?”

“Because that’s where she is right now.”

“…What?”

“Lady Mary just came by and told us. Her Majesty went to meet with His Majesty on our behalf. She said if we wait a little, our probation will probably be lifted.”

“……!”

For a moment, I wondered if he was really the same person I once knew.

Leonard’s appearance, after such a long time apart, seemed somehow different. Not only his outward appearance, but the atmosphere surrounding him had grown markedly more dangerous.

“……”

Leonard’s gaze met mine. His deep blue eyes flickered slightly—but only for a moment. His expression quickly settled into something quiet and composed.

“You dared defy the imperial command and enter? You’re quite bold.” Jerome spoke.

Leonard turned his eyes toward him.

“I suppose you’re not too concerned about keeping your life.”

“I had an urgent matter to report. I beg your understanding, with all due respect.”

His words sought leniency, but there wasn’t a trace of apology in his demeanor. That casual, composed attitude made Jerome scoff.

“A report so urgent it’s worth disobeying imperial orders?”

“Yes. It’s of grave importance.”

“Then I’m intrigued. Let’s hear it.”

“Before that…” Leonard’s eyes turned back to me. “Would you grant us a moment of privacy, Your Majesty the Empress?”

What could Leonard and Jerome have talked about?

After returning to my room, a lot of time had already passed, but I couldn’t concentrate on anything. Truthfully, I’d wanted to stay and hear their conversation myself. But Leonard had insisted I be excluded from it.

What on earth was so secretive about it?

I kept turning it over in my head, but no answer came.

“Your Majesty! Do you know who just returned?”

Mary approached excitedly.

I replied casually.

“You mean Sir Leonard?”

“Gasp! How did you know?”

“I saw him earlier at the Imperial Palace.”

“Ahh, I see! I just heard from Sir Conrad. He said both Sir Conrad and Sir Felix are no longer under disciplinary confinement! Even Lord Cedric’s dismissal was canceled!”

Mary jumped with joy.

Thank goodness.

Whatever he did, it seemed Leonard had resolved everything.

“Where is Sir Leonard now?”

“Sir Leonard? I think he’s probably in his office.”

Nodding, I headed straight for Leonard’s office.

There was so much I wanted to ask him.

Just as I arrived, the door opened, and out came Conrad and Felix.

“Your Majesty.”

“I heard the news. The confinement was lifted, right? I’m truly relieved.”

“Yes. It’s a relief, but…” Conrad opened his mouth with a grim expression.
“Please, talk some sense into him. He won’t listen to us at all.”

“Pardon?”

What was that supposed to mean?

“It’s nothing, Your Majesty. Please, go on in. The Commander is inside.”

Leaving behind Conrad’s cryptic remark, Felix opened the door for me.

Inside, Leonard welcomed me with a smile.

“It seems our minds are in sync. I was just about to go see Your Majesty.”

Compared to when I last saw him in Jerome’s quarters, he seemed much more at ease now.

I felt a quiet sense of relief seeing him return to his usual self.

“Where have you been all this time?”

“…There was an urgent matter I had to attend to.”

“Then you should’ve at least said something.”

“I promise I will, next time.”

“Anyway, what were you and His Majesty talking about so secretively—”

Wait.

I broke off and looked at Leonard.

More specifically, at his right hand, hidden behind his back.

He’d tried to conceal it in a hurry, but a sliver of white cloth peeked out—stained red.

Bandages? Blood?

The thought that he might be hurt made my brows knit automatically.

“Sir Leonard, are you injured?”

“Ah, this isn’t my blood.”

The calmness in his voice felt off.

“I don’t believe you.”

“It’s the truth.”

“Alright, then…”

I’ll just have to check for myself.

Taking advantage of the moment he let his guard down, I grabbed his hand.

“……!”

Ah.

So this is what Conrad was talking about.

Leonard’s hand was a mess.

Covered in cuts that didn’t suit his typically firm, steady hands—deep slashes, as if from something sharp. The wounds hadn’t fully closed, and blood still clung to some of them.

“What on earth happened? No, this isn’t the time for questions—you need to go to the infirmary—”

Smack! He swatted my hand away.

“It’s nothing serious.”

I froze.

His unexpected reaction caught me off guard.

Leonard looked just as surprised by his own response. He hurriedly added,

“What I mean is… I’m alright. There’s no need for Your Majesty to worry—”

“You’re clearly not alright, so what are you even saying!”

My voice rose without meaning to.

My rational mind tried to rein me in, but the words poured out of me uncontrollably.

I’d pretended I was fine.

I’d held back for so long.

But all of it—every emotion I’d suppressed—came crashing out at once.

“Someone who vanished for over a month without a single message suddenly shows up, covered in blood. And you think I wouldn’t worry? Really?”

“……”

Leonard said nothing.

I let out a hollow laugh.

Right. I’d forgotten.

His behavior had clouded my judgment. Just because he treated me kindly, I let my guard down.

But no matter how gentle he seemed before me—

He was still this novel’s hidden villain.

Someone who could turn his back on me at any moment.

And yet…

“Still, I thought… at the very least, we were the kind of people who could worry about each other.”

At the very least, I worried about you.

“I guess I was wrong.”

So why did he make things so confusing?

“I’m sorry for being overly sensitive.”

Having said my piece, I quickly turned around.

I didn’t want to show any more of this pathetic side of myself.

Barely clinging to the last shred of composure, I began to walk away.

Back to my room—

“……!”

A gentle force pulled me back.

I lost my balance and stumbled into his arms.

Strong arms wrapped firmly around my waist, as if unwilling to let go.

A large hand cradled the nape of my neck, and then—without a moment’s hesitation—he lowered his head and covered my lips with his.

Warmth spread through me.

The heat he gave me seemed to soothe my scattered emotions.

I didn’t know how long it lasted.

Eventually, his lips pulled away, lingering with quiet regret.

Leonard gently brushed the corner of my eye with a straight fingertip.

Only then did I realize—

I was crying.

His touch, wiping away my tears, was so very tender.

“I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“……”

“For disappearing without a word. For coming back injured. For all of it—I’m sorry.”

“……”

“If I did something wrong, I’ll apologize a hundred times over. So please…”

It was strange.

Leonard wasn’t shedding any tears.

And yet the emotion in his deep blue eyes looked so unbearably sorrowful.

Maybe even more than mine.

“Don’t hate me. Please.”