[Noel, you! Come here right now!!]

Alexandra had a personality as unobstructed as a storm.

She firmly protected the Wilkins family among the imperial family and ducal houses, and also took charge of educating the children as a mother.

[I don’t want to! Being the family head is boring!]

[Is being the family head supposed to be fun or not boring?]

[Just make Tiel do it.]

[Tiel is only two years old!]

[She’ll grow up soon!!]

Unlike other families, the matrilineal Wilkins family had women as family heads for generations.

But the youngest, Lady Tiel, was too young to become the family head. Moreover, her innate magical power was unusually weak.

As a result, the eldest son Noel became the family head.

But Noel, born with a free spirit, adamantly refused to become the family head and often ran away.

[Make Abel do it!]

[You have the strongest magical power! Kieran, catch Noel!]

And catching the fleeing Noel was Kieran’s role, and her most important duty as an aide.

[Just catch him!!]

Noel, who put the family aside and enjoyed pleasure like a wanderer, was Alexandra’s biggest worry and her sore spot.

She worried about Noel until the moment she closed her eyes.

[Kieran. I entrust Noel to you. Even though I know this position will suffocate Noel… I am a cruel mother who ultimately drives her child into danger.]

To Kieran, Noel was her lord, her younger brother, her friend, and her family.

The reason Kieran quietly came to the Hunt family’s camp wasn’t just for the safety of the knights.

[Let’s go into the eye of the storm.]

She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Noel’s innocent smile.

After becoming the family head, as Alexandra said, Noel was slowly dying.

His eyes, which were always sparkling with curiosity, lost their light, and his face, once full of mischief, also lost its expression.

He looked just like an empty shell.

Yet that same Noel was sitting next to Hector, twisting his body but with eyes shining as if he was having fun.

Just like in those days when Alexandra was alive.

Of course, the most surprising was the woman in the robe, Charlie.

[Ah… I’m hungry.]

To move the Grand Duke with just that one sentence.

And that’s not all.

[Maybe it’s because I’ve been in the sun for too long. I feel dizzy too…]

Hector reached out his hand to Charlie with an expression so gentle it seemed unlikely to come from that face.

Could she be the Grand Duchess?

No. If that were the case, he would have known. The entire empire would have been turned upside down just by the Grand Duke’s engagement.

Then who on earth could she be?

[Please take care of my brother. It seems that the person the emperor is looking for and the reason my brother is going on the expedition are related.]

Before leaving for the expedition, Abel’s words flashed through Kieran’s mind.

At the same time, an ominous premonition swept over her.

“Are you really letting them go like this?”

A voice full of dissatisfaction woke Kieran from her reverie.

* * *

“It’s His Grace’s order.”

Leon answered, watching the Wilkins people preparing to leave the camp.

As if defying this, Luke muttered.

“But those cards…”

“Luke.”

Leon, his smile gone, cut off Luke’s words.

“Are you going to disobey His Grace’s orders right now?”

“……”

In an instant, the atmosphere turned chilly as if ice water had been poured.

Indeed, he was the knight commander of the Hunt family.

The pressure emanating from Leon’s aura was enough to make even Kieran hold her breath.

“But…”

“……!”

At that moment, Leon’s sharp blade was pointed at Luke’s throat.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

“Say one more word.”

“……”

“And that head will fly off.”

The Hunt family’s knight order. While their true identity was veiled in mystery, what was certain was that all members of the knight order were the best in the empire.

Naturally, the more skilled one is, the more confident and stubborn they become. To lead such individuals, not only strong power but also strict discipline was necessary.

So Leon’s words were not just a threat.

Kieran, who was watching, hurriedly spoke up.

After all, this happened because of Noel. It wouldn’t be good to incur the resentment of the Hunt family’s knight order because of it.

Also, Kieran knew all too well what would happen to the morale of the knight order if punishment was given now during the expedition.

“We feel a heavy responsibility for losing the cards. If there’s anything you want, the Wilkins family will do our best to compensate…”

“Ha, your best?”

Luke burst into laughter, disregarding the sword pointed at him.

“What good is your best? How are you going to compensate for that?”

“Luke!”

“Who’s going to disobey orders? They should at least know what they’ve lost, shouldn’t they? And His Grace didn’t say not to tell them.”

Luke’s words were not wrong. However, Leon knew that personal emotions were mixed in.

“Stop being rude, Luke. He’s the knight commander of the Wilkins family.”

“……”

Leon, after warning Luke, lowered his sword and stared at Kieran.

“I apologize for my subordinate’s rudeness. I understand the Wilkins family’s feelings, but let’s not concern ourselves with this anymore. His Grace has settled the matter.”

By now, the Wilkins family’s knight order and the Hunt family’s knight order were in a standoff. It was clear as day that this would lead to a physical conflict if it continued.

Just as Kieran was about to turn around, understanding Leon’s meaning.

“To say you’ll take responsibility and compensate for cards given by Emperor Constanti, when you’re just a ducal family…”

“……!”

Kieran looked at Luke in surprise.

Luke sneered as if to say, ‘Now you get it?’

“Can the Wilkins family turn back time or… perhaps bring the dead back to life?”

Luke’s face was flushed with anger as he ground his teeth.

“……”

Constanti of Graham, Kaisis’s grandfather and the previous emperor.

He was a figure praised by the imperial citizens for stabilizing the empire during his reign and leaving numerous achievements.

His greatest achievement was undoubtedly the integration of the three ducal families.

Duke Iwan Edwards, Duke Alexia Wilkins, and Grand Duke Christopher Hunt. The heads of these three families joined forces to subjugate monsters and ensure the safety of the people.

Grand Duke Christopher Hunt and Grand Duchess Diana were also famous figures, no less than Emperor Constanti.

It was an unprecedented era of peace that everyone agreed would never come again.

Of course, as later generations, they can’t know all the detailed inside stories of that time now.

However, it was a legendary anecdote that Emperor Constanti visited the Hunt family under the pretext of viewing the greenhouse and enjoyed playing cards with Grand Duke Christopher.

“Those, those cards…”

If these were cards bestowed by Emperor Constanti to Grand Duke Christopher, wouldn’t they truly be an heirloom?

No, how could such a precious thing be played with by the knight order in the first place?

Leon let out a deep sigh as he watched Kieran, who couldn’t hide her shock.

“It’s nothing, so please leave now.”

How could this be nothing?

At Leon’s words, not only Kieran but also the mouths of the Wilkins knight order members fell open.

“Commander. I’m so hungry my stomach is sticking to my back. The Wilkins family must be hungry too after working hard to find the cards, so let’s disband quickly.”

Percy urged Leon jokingly, hoping to end the situation.

Thanks to this, the frozen atmosphere thawed.

“Yeah, Luke. Let’s go eat.”

As if the cards were really not a big deal, the Hunt family knight order members dragged Luke away.

“This guy. It feels like yesterday when he was sniffling, and now his head has grown so big.”

“When did I ever sniffle?”

“Don’t you remember sniffling while playing excitedly when you first saw snow? Don’t you remember?”

“Why are you bringing up something from so long ago now?”

“Anyway, I’ll go on patrol today, so eat my carrots for me.”

“I’ll go tomorrow, so please take care of mine too. I feel nauseous just looking at anything color orange now.”

One by one, the Hunt family knight order members walked away.

Leon, after briefly exchanging eye greetings, turned around.

Kieran’s shadow, as she stood still, grew long.

* * *

The center of the Hunt family camp.

A red flag fluttered over Hector’s tent.

[Miss Charlie,an amazing tent will be ready soon.]

Luke’s words were truly without any exaggeration.

Although she had only expected a simple tent, the magically created quarters were no less than an enormous house.

From the curtains hanging on the windows to the bathroom, it was as if Hector’s bedroom from the ducal residence had been transported here.

“……”

After the meal that felt as long as a thousand years.

Charlie, who had finished bathing, glanced at Hector leaning against the head of the bed reviewing documents.