I ordered him with an unusually serious expression.

“Dispatch imperial mages to various regions of Arsis for a while, and instruct them to eliminate any magic beasts on sight.”

“Understood. Since the festival is coming soon anyway, it won’t be a big deal for mages to leave the palace. I’ll give secret orders to the mages while publicly presenting it as helping with the festival.”

“Good. And the Knight Order will continue to protect the palace as they have been.”

Rigan nodded at my command. Soon after he left the room, I turned around. But at that moment, I paused as a sudden question crossed my mind.

‘Wait, does Lord Lerrhagen know about this too?’

* * *

It’s quite obvious, but those who welcomed Sever Kelliard’s return to the capital most enthusiastically were none other than the knights of the Central Knight Order that he had rejoined.

In the Central Knight Order, which consisted of three divisions, Sever Kelliard was someone everyone—regardless of age or gender—wanted to spar with at least once, even if it meant being thoroughly defeated.

As a result, after Sever returned to the Central Knight Order, most of the knights’ conversations inevitably centered around him. Those who had deeply missed having him as the Order Commander were enjoying their happiest days in quite some time.

Proving this point, Johan Isson, a knight of the First Division of the Central Knight Order who was returning from lunch, had been talking about Sever for a solid hour already.

“So this morning, right? When he was sparring with Aaron, the Second Division Commander, right? Aaron swung sideways and he just blocked it instantly, right? It was so cool, I tell you. How can anyone have reflexes that fast?”

“Yeah, yeah, but honestly, isn’t it about time you stopped repeating the same thing? I know the Commander is amazing too.”

Aileen, who had been listening to Johan’s chatter, flipped her chin-length hair back with a disinterested retort. Although she also respected Sever Kelliard more than anyone, her friend Johan had been saying the same thing over and over, and she had practically memorized it by now.

Johan snorted at his friend’s reaction. He ran his hand through his neatly combed brown hair once more and spoke.

“You people just don’t get it. I’m going to tell Jasmine all about it.”

“Your girlfriend still puts up with that? Treat her well. She’s doing you a favor by dating you.”

“What? You…”

“Both of you, that’s enough.”

“But Commander, why do you always cut me off just when I’m about to counter?”

At Johan’s indignant voice, Chains Philon, the First Division Commander who was walking ahead of them, shook his head. Johan made a face full of discontent. As they were about to return to the training ground, they suddenly stopped at the sight of a figure in the distance.

“Oh? It’s the Commander.”

“What? Where, where? Oh, there he is. Wow, as expected, he looks neat and disciplined today too.”

“Who’s that person talking with him?”

“Um… Isn’t that the youngest son of the Delmen ducal family?”

“The Emperor’s aide?”

“Why is the Emperor’s aide here?”

The knights’ eyes clouded with questions. However, this was the imperial palace after all, and while rare, it wasn’t strange for the Emperor’s aide to seek out a duke.

“We’d better not disturb them and quietly head to the training ground. They seem to be discussing something serious.”

Indeed, Sever’s face looked even colder than usual, confirming this observation.

Eventually, the knights quietly headed toward the training ground. However, Johan, who had been glancing repeatedly in Sever’s direction, quietly spoke up.

“Hey, aren’t you curious?”

“Not intruding on conversations between one’s lord and superior is basic etiquette.”

“No, not that. I mean, that ribbon on the Commander’s sword, that ill-fitting ribbon—aren’t you curious about it?”

At this, even the previously disinterested Aileen turned her head. Several knights’ gazes fixed on the sword at Sever’s waist.

A red ribbon fluttered from the elegantly crafted, lavishly designed but not gaudy sword hilt. Since it was clearly out of place with both the sword and Sever himself, questions arose on the knights’ faces.

“That looks like a woman’s hair tie, doesn’t it?”

“I think so.”

“I wonder who gave it to him.”

“There’s so much to be curious about. But I’m curious too.”

“What kind of woman could it be?”

“Perhaps…”

But then, Johan, who had suddenly become quiet and thoughtful, spoke up in a serious, lowered voice.

“His Majesty?”

As soon as Johan’s words fell, a subtle look crossed the knights’ faces. After a moment, Aileen suddenly smacked the back of Johan’s head.

Thwack-!

“Hey!”

“Watch your mouth. That’s not someone you can casually mention.”

“But… what else would our Commander cherish and carry around like that?”

“Besides, His Majesty already has the Princess. You should be more careful about what you say.”

“But you all have been…”

“Shhh.”

Finally, Johan sighed deeply and shook his head.

“I guess I’m the only weird one here.”

“As long as you know it.”

Soon, as Johan and Aileen started bickering again, the other knights intervened and they all disappeared into the training ground.

At the same time—

“I didn’t realize the Central Knight Order was so lively.”

Rigan, who had ‘unintentionally’ overheard the knights’ entire conversation, remarked to Sever.

Having come to inform Sever of the situation on Esht’s orders, he glanced toward the training ground, reacting to the ‘interesting’ conversation that had just taken place.

However, Sever remained unmoved by Rigan’s question. With a hardened face, he addressed Rigan.

“The loose tongues of my knights are my problem to deal with. So, is that all you have to tell me?”

Rigan nodded expressionlessly at Sever’s response. Though this was somewhat disrespectful behavior toward a duke, Sever, knowing that Rigan only showed his ‘human’ face in front of Estria, didn’t bother to point out his attitude.

However—

“I’ve already heard about magic beasts appearing in Cartrier Forest. And not just there, but in other regions as well.”

“As expected, Your Grace’s intelligence network is not to be underestimated. I told Her Majesty you would already know, but she insisted I inform you anyway.”

However, Sever responded to something else in Rigan’s statement.

“Has His Majesty awakened?”

“She’s occasionally conscious enough to handle state affairs.”

“Has there been any deterioration in her condition?”

“For someone so concerned, you were quick to leave the capital back then.”

At that moment, Sever’s eye twitched. Though Rigan knew he was making a mistake, he deliberately chose not to correct his words.

In matters concerning Estria, strangely enough, Rigan always had the upper hand. His position as her aide somehow allowed him to maintain an advantage over Sever. Of course, only to a certain extent.

“I know how wrong that was.”

“Indeed.”

“But Lord Delmen, that doesn’t seem to be your concern.”

Rigan closed his mouth at the chill dripping from Sever’s voice. He recognized this was the maximum level of disrespect Sever would tolerate.

Finally, Rigan bowed his head and moved away. Soon, silence returned to the surroundings. Sever maintained his stern expression and slowly spoke. A low, cold voice quietly resonated through the air.

“The orders I gave?”

“All taken care of. The Magic Tower has expressed their gratitude for the cooperation.”

“Thanksgiving is coming soon. Before then, we must wipe out anyone who dares to bring magic beasts into the capital.”

“Yes.”

“And.”

Sever took a deep breath. After a moment, he spoke.

“Keep ‘this fact’ absolutely secret from His Majesty.”

That had been the condition for cooperation from the beginning.

“As you command.”

The man disappeared as soon as he finished speaking. Sever sighed deeply, his face showing a hint of fatigue.

He habitually placed his hand on the ribbon tied to his sword. The soft velvet texture touched his fingertips, seeming to calm him slightly, and Sever pressed his lips tightly together.

* * *

After that day, there were no more reports of magic beast appearances.

Though there were reports from spies and messengers about the Magic Tower apparently contacting the royal court today, fortunately there seemed to be no more casualties.

– The Magic Tower’s workforce seems to have strangely increased lately. They wouldn’t be recruiting new mages in this situation, so who could be cooperating with them?

While I was briefly wondering about this curious report, I found my answer in Rigan’s words after his visit to Sever that afternoon.

“Duke Kelliard was already aware of the situation.”

“I see? Then those mysterious forces cooperating with the Magic Tower must be the Kelliard ducal family’s mages.”

“What?”

“The Kelliard family’s mages may be inferior to those of the Magic Tower or imperial mages in terms of attack and defense, but in one area—tracking and reconnaissance—they’re exceptionally outstanding.”

Rigan made a somewhat ambiguous face at my words.

“Aren’t you going to punish him? He knew about this but didn’t report it. And he even privately cooperated with the Magic Tower.”

“If Sever Kelliard knew but didn’t report to me, there are two possibilities: either he’s hiding someone, or he believed he could handle it himself.”

But if it were the former, he wouldn’t have revealed that he already knew about it, and if it were the latter, it seemed somewhat presumptuous.

However—

‘You consistently dislike me, don’t you?’