At this point in time, Viscountess Schneider was desperate to establish some sort of connection with a high-ranking noble family.

She must have been especially eager to build ties with powerful nobles through Beatrice’s marriage prospects.

The tea party held at the Schneider residence not long ago had been a perfect example.

By choosing not to return the dress she had not ordered, Viscountess Schneider had successfully cleared the first hurdle.

But whether Evelyn would actually be able to wear the dress she had secretly commissioned without Viscountess Schneider’s knowledge at the imperial palace ball was another matter entirely.

And the smooth resolution of that problem depended entirely on Shion.

***

Only a few years ago, this place would have been filled with the magnificent sight of fields of blue-green barley.

Now, it was so dry and desolate that not even a trace of its former beauty remained. Between the densely packed military tents, only withered wild grasses and weeds remained here and there.

Even those had been trampled into the ground beneath the soldiers’ angry boots.

“Harrison, what on earth were you thinking, going there and causing a disturbance?”

Shion roughly pulled aside the tent flap and stormed inside. Harrison, who had only just returned to the army, lowered his head without even having had time to unpack his belongings.

“…I apologize, Young Marquis.”

Shion rarely lost his temper, much like Marquis Ceres himself. Seeing him this furious made Harrison’s shoulders instinctively droop.

Shion could hardly continue berating a man who was already apologizing. He glared at Harrison with blazing eyes before letting out a deep sigh.

“Ha… You couldn’t even hold yourself back for that long without causing trouble. I really can’t believe this. I just can’t…”

Soldiers were generally aggressive by nature, and military law was strict precisely because it was necessary to keep them under control.

A knight who possessed the power to wield a weapon faced severe punishment if he injured a civilian.

This was especially true because among the virtues emphasized during a knight’s investiture were piety, humility, and the duty to protect the weak.

Of course, calling the members of the organization controlling Metton Street “the weak” was practically absurd. But depending on how one chose to interpret things, there was always room to twist the meaning to suit one’s purposes.

A formally knighted member of House Ceres had drawn his sword against civilians.

It was incredibly fortunate that there had been no fatalities, but considering the number of people who had been injured, there was no way to object if compensation was demanded.

If it ended with compensation, that would at least be the lesser problem. Harrison might even find it difficult to continue serving as a knight of House Ceres.

As it was, Harrison was already something of an outsider among the knights.

Normally, one became a full-fledged knight after going through the stages of page, squire, and knight-apprentice.

Harrison, however, was an unusual case. He had spent years working as a mercenary, proving his abilities before being selected as a knight.

The special circumstances of the battlefield had allowed quite a few people to rise from commoner status into the nobility.

Even so, most of the knights serving House Ceres had been born noble. Harrison, on the other hand, was a commoner born and raised on Metton Street.

To knights who had spent years following the traditional path to knighthood, Harrison was unlikely to have been viewed favorably in the first place. The difference in social standing only made matters worse.

Of course, whenever someone picked a pointless fight with Harrison, he had challenged them to a duel and proven his abilities.

But if Harrison continued receiving preferential treatment while the other knights were not, their resentment toward him would inevitably grow.

“Um… I know this might not be the best time to say it, but… fortunately, there were no fatalities.”

Harrison finally broke the heavy silence.

“Fortunately? Ha, seriously… What exactly do you think you did well enough to brag about? No, go ahead. If you have more excuses, then give them.”

Shion’s eyes, which he had been desperately trying to calm, once again burned with anger. But when Harrison continued speaking, the sharpness in Shion’s gaze softened slightly.

“Still, the reason I was able to stop myself from completely losing control was thanks to Lady Ceres, your sister, the deputy commander’s sister.”

It was true, so Shion found himself nodding.

If Evelyn had not stepped forward and stopped him at that exact moment, something far worse would undoubtedly have happened.

Harrison was right. Shion owed his younger sister a great debt.

Although he had been far away, it was still Shion’s responsibility that he had failed to properly control his subordinate.

Thinking of Evelyn made Shion feel somewhat better. But that relief did not last long before another source of anger came rushing to the surface.

“Evelyn went somewhere as dangerous as Metton Street with only one escort…”

His happiness at receiving Evelyn’s letter through Harrison had lasted only a moment. The news before him made his vision swim with sudden anger.

Shion did not hold back. He kicked Harrison in the shin with his military boot.

“Argh!”

Harrison jumped and cried out in pain. As Shion looked down at Harrison, who quickly rubbed his shin, a sudden question occurred to him.

Why had Evelyn gone to Metton Street?

‘Surely not…’

“By the way.”

“Yes, Deputy Commander.”

“Evelyn…”

‘Did she take up gambling?’

Before Shion could voice the absurd thought, he dismissed it.

One could never know what people were capable of, but Evelyn was absolutely not the type to gamble.

“No, never mind.”

Harrison looked at Shion curiously, as though wondering what he had almost said, before speaking again.

“To be honest, I was surprised too. I never imagined someone as precious as Lady Ceres would be in such a dangerous area. Especially considering her escort knight. He had little actual combat experience, but he was fairly skilled.”

“…?”

“But what concerns me is that there was only one knight protecting Lady Ceres. And I hesitate to say this, but…”

Harrison continued talking about Evelyn.

“She was dressed so simply that I could hardly believe she was a lady of House Ceres. Of course, if she had shown up in such a slum wearing a magnificent dress, she would have immediately become a target for those shameless thugs…”

But the longer Harrison spoke, the more deeply Shion’s brows furrowed.

Every quarter, Marquis Ceres sent a considerable amount of gold to House Schneider.

He did so out of gratitude to the family for looking after Evelyn in place of Marquis Ceres and Shion while they were away on the battlefield.

As Harrison had said, Evelyn’s modest appearance could be explained as an attempt to avoid becoming a target for the thugs of Metton Street.

But having only one escort knight was strange. Just as Shion began wondering about it, Harrison continued.

“But you know, the Young Lady of House Ceres really is different.”

“…?”

“She didn’t even scream once in the middle of that chaos. Instead, she was trying to figure out how to survive. The way she handled herself actually reminded me of Marquis Ceres…”

Harrison, who normally did not know the first thing about flattery, continued showering Evelyn with praise.

Well. Hearing someone praise his family was certainly not unpleasant.

Agreeing with Harrison, Shion nodded. But then his gaze fell upon the letter Evelyn had sent him.

“This is not something we can simply brush aside, Harrison!”

Shion suddenly thundered, once again reminded of reality.

“…Yes.”

“Someone could try to make an issue out of this.”

“Who would do such a thing? I only went there to stop my father from gambling…”

“That is what you think!”

Recently, things have been going well. The soldiers were filled with hope and anticipation that the war would soon come to an end.

But separate from that, Shion had recently sensed something strange. It felt as though someone was watching him day and night.

“Ha… This won’t do. Pack your things. We’re going to the capital.”

Shion placed both hands on his waist and let out a deep sigh before regaining his composure.

“…Pardon? Are you serious?”

Harrison stared at him in disbelief. 

In fact, it had been less than an hour since he had returned to the battlefield. Judging by his appearance, he seemed to have rushed back without even getting a proper rest.

The thought of having to leave again immediately seemed to plunge him into despair.

“Someone has to clean up your mess!”

Shion shouted and kicked Harrison in the shin again. The exact same spot he had kicked moments earlier.

“Argh…! All right! Please stop kicking me! You’re going to break my leg!”

Apparently in considerable pain, Harrison had tears welling up at the corners of his eyes. But under Shion’s icy stare, Harrison quickly added an excuse.

“No, what I meant was… If we want to reach the capital as quickly as possible, my legs need to be in working order.”

With that, Harrison lifted the tent flap.

“Shall we go?”

Shion had originally planned to visit the capital in time for the imperial palace ball. But he needed to hurry in order to deal with the trouble Harrison had caused.

Besides, Evelyn’s letter had asked him if he could come to the capital a little earlier than planned.