23. For Whom

“We need to set an execution date for Jerbek Sichenti.”

“He’s still not dead?”

“Didn’t Your Majesty keep postponing it?”

Chief Chamberlain Count George Winter flipped through the stack of documents. Dion feigned indifference while looking out the window. The garden of Kentlen Palace, now more splendid than before, was decorated with new flowers.

Among the common fountains and ordinary flowers, what differed from before was the planting of all kinds of trees. Dion stared blankly at the trees and bit his lower lip.

“Don’t postpone it any longer. You’ve already been lenient enough.”

“How is keeping him in prison for a long time being lenient? Executing him would be the merciful thing.”

“You’ve already tortured him enough, Your Majesty. Haven’t you already pulled out his fingernails twice?”

“I wonder if they’ve grown back by now? Isn’t it time to pull them out again?”

“How about setting the execution date for ten days from now?”

“You want me to let him go this easily? Chief Chamberlain, you’re too soft on him, just like my brother.”

“That can’t be. I’m only saying this because paying attention to him seems like a waste of time. He’s not worth Your Majesty’s attention.”

“Hmm…… How old is my nephew now?”

“Not even a year old yet. He was just born eight months ago. It’s still far off before he inherits the throne, so Your Majesty must continue working. And we don’t know if he’ll inherit the throne. Your Majesty should also have descendants.”

“I won’t marry again, Count George Winter.”

Only then did the chief chamberlain look up from the documents at the Emperor. Dion had opened the window. A cool breeze gently blew into the office.

Dion had three empress candidates, but he paid them no mind. Other kingdoms and nobles then subtly presented their daughters. Several women had secretly infiltrated the Emperor’s bedroom only to be thrown out n*ked.

Even when presented with sensuous, enchanting women, he threw them out without batting an eye, so rumors began circulating that the Emperor’s function as a man was deficient.

But the servants at Aeskis Castle in Drasia and the dragon riders knew how passionately he had loved the Duchess of Drasia.

This was the first time words about not marrying came from Dion’s mouth. Until now, he’d postponed marriage with various excuses. Dion had been keeping in mind what would happen when he found Clementina again.

But now Dion thought that seemed unnecessary. Clementina had no intention of returning here.

Despite searching this much and not finding her meant she had no intention of appearing before Dion.

Dion looked up at the sky with powerless eyes.

“Count Winter. This is no fun.”

“The Emperor’s position is never fun.”

“So I’m thinking of quitting.”

“Not now.”

At Count George Winter’s words, Dion burst into laughter. Then he leaned against the window and extended his hand to Count Winter. It meant to hand over the documents needing the Emperor’s seal.

“If not now, does that mean I can later?”

“Won’t you do it anyway no matter how much I try to stop you? When you find the Duchess, then you can travel for half of half the year. I’ll make it so.”

Count Winter handed several documents to Dion.

“What’s this? Why are you suddenly being so accommodating?”

Dion read each page and stamped the Emperor’s seal. Count Winter thought to himself that despite his words, Dion didn’t do his work carelessly—just like his brother.

The delay in going to find the Duchess must have been due to his sense of responsibility to complete the work he’d taken on. Was that why they separated? Count Winter felt sorry.

“There’s no helping it since you don’t listen no matter how much I nag. I’m changing my approach too. But what will you do now?”

“There must definitely be a spy inside, if we can’t find her this much. Someone’s definitely hiding her from me.”

Count Winter realized he’d never seen Dion happy for even a moment since becoming Emperor. There seemed to have been times when he was Duke of Drasia, but though only a year had passed, it somehow felt too much like the distant past.

So today he wanted to give him even a tiny piece of happiness.

“Who would dare do such a thing?”

“The most likely suspect is Dame Lillian Hunts. Berche believes everything Lillian says, so she could deceive him if she tried. Above all, Lillian isn’t afraid of me. If I told her to quit, she’d run away saying it’s refreshing. You saw that too, didn’t you, Count Winter?”

“Then there’s a high chance she’ll take leave this time to go see the Duchess. In that case, how about having Lillian Hunts followed?”

“How? She flies through the sky on Mago—how do you follow that?”

“That’s true. Then how will you find out?”

Dion put his hand in his pocket and looked at Count Winter crookedly. He hadn’t seen such an insolent attitude since becoming Emperor. The back of Count Winter’s neck tensed. He had a premonition his overtime would increase.

“I’ll take leave too. I haven’t rested once since taking this position.”

“Do that. Go ahead.”

Count Winter answered readily as if he’d expected it. Anything was fine as long as he didn’t say he’d quit immediately.

“Where will you go on leave?”

“I won’t say.”

Count Winter shrugged once and organized the documents Dion had sealed. Then, just as he opened the door to leave the Emperor’s office, his eyes met with an attendant who’d been about to knock urgently.

“What is it?”

“Ch-Chief Chamberlain. The thing is……”

The attendant’s complexion was pale. If it was enough to knock on the Emperor’s office, it wasn’t a small matter.

“What? Speak up!”

“Th-the prisoner Jerbek Sichenti has escaped.”

“What?”

Count Winter frowned and asked again. Escaping from Kentlen Palace’s prison was impossible. No one had ever succeeded in breaking out. Yet how did Jerbek, whose body was falling apart, have the strength to escape?

He didn’t know what Dion would do if he found out. He’d already been obsessed with torturing and tormenting Jerbek to interrogate him about the mage.

But the news must have reached inside the office, as Count Winter felt a firm hand grip his shoulder.

Count Winter squeezed his eyes shut. The current Emperor resembled the previous Emperor’s kind and gentle side, but when he needed to be cruel, he surpassed him.

All kinds of troops would be mobilized to capture him. Count Winter waited for the Emperor’s angry command, but it was needless worry.

“Finally? He’s out at last.”

Dion’s voice was excited. He seemed to have found an entertaining spectacle.

“Did Your Majesty deliberately let him go?”

“Come on, would I do such a thing to a prisoner? I’m the Emperor.”

Dion smiled and shook his head. Anyone could see it was definitely his doing.

“Hah…… What exactly are you planning?”

“I don’t know—you handle it, Chief Chamberlain.”

“What do you mean? You want me to handle it?”

Dion threw off his imperial uniform jacket. A hint of madness flickered in his wide blue eyes.

“Oh no. You can’t. This isn’t something you should do as Emperor. Your Majesty.”

“What did I do? I haven’t done anything yet.”

Dion threw the uniform jacket over his shoulder. The jacket spread wide and fell with a thud to the office floor.

“Handle it yourself. I’m on leave starting now.”

Dion pushed Count George Winter aside and left the office. The eyes of the attendant who’d brought the news and Count Winter fixed on Dion’s back. Dion walked down the corridor, removing the clothes he wore one by one.

Finally, with only a shirt remaining, he unbuttoned two buttons and disappeared from the corridor.

Count Winter was certain one rock dragon would disappear. Perhaps one or two dragon riders would disappear with it too.

The “Chief Chamberlain’s work” the Emperor ordered was probably to overlook all of this.

Dion’s eyes blazed hot as he mounted the rock dragon’s back. If Clementina had decided not to appear, Dion had to change his approach.

It was the moment he vowed that if he met Clementina again, he would never let her go.

Lillian took leave and headed to Drasia. It was the first time she’d taken leave since being knighted. The Emperor who readily granted leave without asking why was strange, but she couldn’t ask him to take it back.

As soon as she arrived at Aeskis Castle, the first person to greet her was the gatekeeper managing the dragon nest entrance. Originally the dragon nest had no one guarding the door. But after Clementina disappeared, Dion had knights guard the dragon nest.

More precisely, it was closer to stationing knights to greet her in case Clementina stopped by.

During Clementina’s stay at Aeskis Castle, the place where she spent the most time in the dawn when no one was awake was the dragon nest, so he thought she might come here if she missed the dragons.

So afterward, mid-level and low-level knights took turns guarding the dragon nest door. Since Clementina had come and gone between the dragon nest and the knights’ training grounds, meddling in various things, the knights maintained quite an intimate relationship with her.

So the knights readily volunteered to guard the door with the expectation they might see Clementina. Dion wasn’t the only one who missed her.

But today’s gatekeeper wasn’t a knight.

It was Noah, the orphan from Richfield under the guardianship of former estate manager Cherbest.

“Noah? Why are you here?”

Noah didn’t answer. He kept his mouth firmly shut and stared up at Lillian. Noah’s speech studies weren’t succeeding easily.

Noah examined Mago, then opened the dragon nest door. Mago entered her nest and collapsed with a thud onto the soft bedding.

Noah picked up a soft towel and carefully wiped Mago’s back with practiced ease. When Noah approached Mago’s feet, Mago even lifted one foot and offered it to Noah.

“You’ve arrived?”

A mid-level knight near the dragon nest approached Lillian.

“Why is Noah here?”

“The dragons like Noah wiping them down. So on days Noah has class, he plays here after class ends.”

“Really? Why didn’t I know?”

“You always rush into the castle, so you probably didn’t know. Usually Noah isn’t outside either—he’s inside the dragon nest with the dragons.”