The man who had been with him.

‘I’m certain of it. The man who was beside Prince Kassian… That was Baron Jason Hamel.’

At this point in time, he was not yet a nobleman. That must have been why no one had recognized him.

Jason Hamel, who was believed to have come from the Kingdom of Umbriel, was an exceptionally talented strategist. Until the war ended, he followed Prince Kassian across the battlefields, repeatedly demonstrating extraordinary tactical skill.

According to the gossip of the more idle members of high society, Kassian had another aide besides Jason, a man named Derek, who possessed swordsmanship impressive enough to earn the recognition of Marquis Ceres himself, known as the strongest swordsman in the empire.

For all their remarkable abilities, both men were notoriously stubborn and proud. The only person capable of commanding them as though they were his own hands and feet was Prince Kassian.

‘But… did he just help me?’

While Alexis had been completely occupied with Kassian, the man had quietly gestured toward Evelyn.

Realizing that he was telling her to leave immediately, Evelyn slipped out of the coffeehouse without a word.

She had no idea why he had helped her.

But once she realized who Kassian was, Evelyn should have rushed straight to him and offered the proper greeting required by imperial etiquette.

There was a reason she hadn’t.

The fact that he had pulled his hat down so deeply that he concealed his handsome face, combined with the fact that news of his official return to the empire had yet to spread, suggested that, just as before her regression, he intended to make a surprise appearance at the upcoming imperial palace ball.

So, even though ignoring him went against proper etiquette, Evelyn deliberately pretended not to recognize him.

‘To go undercover despite the risks…’

Evelyn found him rather unusual.

It was easy to forget when one was in the capital, the very heart of the empire, but they were still at war.

There could be enemy spies or other hostile elements hiding somewhere nearby.

Even the imperial palace was not always completely safe. Outside its walls, the danger was naturally even greater.

That was why most members of the imperial family avoided leaving the palace whenever possible.

If one of them were kidnapped and held hostage by an enemy nation, it would cause tremendous trouble for Alyssium.

Given the circumstances, Evelyn had never imagined that an imperial prince would venture outside the palace with only two subordinates accompanying him.

‘What an unusual person…’

Evelyn was lost in thought when she finally reached her carriage.

Just then, she ran into the escort knight who was heading toward it.

He looked puzzled as he asked her,

“…Oh? Did you happen to forget something?”

‘Well, look who decided to show up…’

Evelyn gave a small sigh.

Then her eyes were drawn to the small paper bag in the knight’s hand.

Apparently, while Evelyn had been arguing with Alexis inside the coffeehouse, the knight had gone on an errand for Beatrice.

In truth, even if he had been there, the knight standing before her would never have been able to protect Evelyn.

His opponent had been Alexis.

The eldest son of Count Osment.

There was a good chance the knight would have hesitated to offend Alexis.

And what if he had actually tried to protect Evelyn from Alexis and ended up clashing with him?

House Schneider would never have protected him afterward.

The Viscount Schneider would never risk turning House Schneider against House Osment over a single escort knight.

The knight himself surely knew that as well.

Although Evelyn was currently under the protection of House Schneider, she was, by birth, a member of House Ceres.

The escort knight would know that too.

Still, it would hardly be strange if he considered the immediate situation more important than Marquis Ceres, a man who might lose his life on the battlefield at any moment.

So whether the escort knight had been present in the coffeehouse or not, the outcome would probably have been the same.

At this point, Evelyn couldn’t help reconsidering his usefulness.

‘If you’re of no use when it truly matters, aren’t you worse than having no escort at all?’

Evelyn quietly stared at the knight.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

The knight seemed confused by her gaze.

“Where have you been?”

The knight turned toward one of the many shops lining the street.

“Ah, I had some business over there…”

But his voice trailed off as though he had suddenly realized something was wrong.

His duty was to protect Evelyn from danger.

Yet he had left her side to run an errand for Beatrice.

Had he realized that Evelyn was pointing that out?

The knight subtly slipped the paper bag behind his back before continuing.

“…I had something to take care of, so I stopped by.”

“Sir.”

Evelyn pointed toward the sword hanging from his waist.

“Could you lend me your sword?”

“…Pardon?”

“Just for a moment. I promise I won’t do anything dangerous.”

The escort knight hesitated for quite some time.

Eventually, he handed Evelyn the sword, scabbard and all.

“Here you are. Please be careful. It’s quite heavy, despite how it looks.”

Evelyn took the sword.

Then, without hesitation, she swung it straight at him.

“What in the…!”

The knight was startled by Evelyn’s completely unexpected action, but his reflexes were quick.

He immediately jumped backward.

Thanks to his fast reaction, the tip of the sword only grazed his neck.

“Why would you suddenly do something so dangerous?!”

The knight glared at her accusingly.

Evelyn answered in an utterly composed voice.

“Do you remember your knighting ceremony?”

If you asked a knight what his most glorious memory was, without a doubt, he would name the day he was knighted.

Even more so if he had never experienced the battlefield.

There could hardly be another day quite as glorious.

Of course, during an actual knighting ceremony, the knight merely received a ceremonial blow to the neck with the edge of a hand.

But Evelyn had decided that this knight needed a more memorable reminder.

That was why she had done what she just did.

“Ah…”

A sound of realization escaped the knight.

Only then did he seem to reflect on why he had chosen to become a knight in the first place.

“Where do you think the wealth of House Schneider comes from?”

Evelyn continued without giving him time to answer.

“Why do you think you were able to avoid being conscripted to the battlefield?”

“And when you first decided to become a knight, whom did you swear your loyalty to?”

Evelyn pressed on relentlessly, intending to awaken the things he had forgotten.

The knight remained frozen for a moment, visibly shaken.

Then, at last, he looked at Evelyn with a meaningful expression.

“I have been terribly disrespectful to you, my lady. I deeply regret it. Even though it is late, I would like to apologize now.”

“I hope you don’t forget what you just said.”

“Of course not!”

Looking at the escort knight, now filled with determination, Evelyn nodded.

“Good. Then let’s go back, to the Schneider residence.”

Once inside the carriage, Evelyn closed her eyes.

She placed a hand over her eyelids, which still felt warm.

The sensation of her cool palm soothing the lingering heat was surprisingly pleasant.

***

“Welcome back, Sister. But why did you come home so early?”

Beatrice chattered as she followed closely behind Evelyn as she entered the mansion.

Her eyes had been fixed expectantly on Evelyn’s hands, but they soon rolled upward and returned to Evelyn’s face.

“…Huh? Why are you empty-handed today?”

Alexis had actually been rather romantic when they were courting.

He often prepared small gifts to make Evelyn happy.

Later, however, he had gone to the trouble of preparing everything twice.

Because he had to prepare something for Beatrice as well.

Beatrice had followed Evelyn on nearly every date, coming up with all sorts of excuses to tag along.

And she had enjoyed everything Alexis prepared for Evelyn right alongside her.

“I’m disappointed…”

Trailing after Evelyn like a child, Beatrice complained,

“You haven’t seen each other in so long. Don’t tell me he didn’t bring you anything?”

At first, Evelyn thought she would simply ignore her.

But then she realized that even if it wasn’t today, the same thing would happen again.

“Beatrice.”

Evelyn stopped and turned to face her.

“Hmm?”

“From now on, please don’t mention that man in front of me.”

“Why all of a sudden? Did something happen while I was gone?”

“I broke up with the young lord of House Osment.”

“…B-Broke up? What do you mean?”

Beatrice cried out in shock.

“That’s what happened. The young lord of House Osment and I are complete strangers now.”

“Why? Why…?! What on earth happened?”