It’s no exaggeration to say that Mel had survived until now thanks to such teachings from Genoa. So this time too, such advice from him would help her survive even from his grasp.

The certain misfortune predicted for her now was being discovered by Genoa. That Mel was actually a fake princess and also the slave who had escaped from Ivanstein in the past.

‘How should I prepare for this, young master? What would make you spare at least my life?’

Mel asked the Genoa of the past, who had been infinitely generous to her. But for quite a long time, the youthful Genoa in Mel’s memory just kept his mouth tightly shut and only looked at her.

Was he making that face because he thought I ran away?

The fact that she could no longer find that kindness, which always smiled at her with a gently shining face whenever she recalled the past, even in her imagination, made her feel somewhat bitter.

Just as tears were about to well up and she blinked her eyes, it happened.

“Ah.”

A thought flashed through Mel’s mind. The one thing she could say in her defense when everything was discovered.

‘The fact that I didn’t actually run away.’

She needed to correct the misunderstanding of that day when Genoa thought Mel had betrayed him and run away. Only by doing so could she alleviate the long-standing hatred in Genoa’s heart. If that were possible, she might be able to appeal to him to understand the circumstances that forced her to deceive him.

Because that was the only thing in this situation that Mel hadn’t deceived Genoa about.

She also knew where to start clearing up this misunderstanding. There was one person who clearly knew that Mel hadn’t fled of her own will.

“Please tell the young master……, even if I die, it’s absolutely not his fault. I was, hic, happy just to have been……, of help to the young master.”

“……I will surely convey that.”

“Please, make sure……”

“I will.”

That knight who was once Genoa’s closest attendant and still guards him from the closest position.

“Bane.”

He was there that day, a person with such deep loyalty that he never lowered his sharp vigilance against the princess of Reibritton harming Genoa.

The face that couldn’t hide its devastation as he watched Mel desperately crawling on the ground for Genoa’s sake, with her back split open from a sword wound that hadn’t even been tended to, was still vivid in Mel’s memory. But she couldn’t ask Bane about that day right now.

“He wouldn’t answer readily. Because I’m the princess of Reibritton.”

That didn’t mean there was nothing she could do. Only she knew the location of “that” which she had obtained at the risk of her life.

“Let’s go back.”

So she needed to go back. To that place where the truth of that day might not have been completely erased yet. To the basement of the Ivanstein mansion.

* * *

In the training ground exclusive to the Ivanstein ducal knights. At an hour that could be called either deep night or early morning.

“Huff, hah.”

Under the moonlight that was gradually losing its strength in the middle of the training ground, Bane swung his sword like a madman. Even as sweat dripped and his sword-wielding arm grew slower, the trajectory of his sword didn’t waver in the slightest.

The two people watching this situation spoke with faces that couldn’t hide their bewilderment.

“I think the captain has gone crazy now.”

“At this rate, the sun will rise. Deputy Captain, please try to stop him.”

“He needs to listen to me for that to happen.”

Michelo, the deputy captain of the Ivanstein ducal knights and Bane’s adjutant, sighed deeply as he watched Bane behaving so uncharacteristically. Bane had been mindlessly swinging his sword like this for quite some time now. Ever since their lord, Genoa, had fallen asleep until now.

“Something must have happened, but I don’t know what it is.”

“You mean he’s not talking to you either, Deputy Captain?”

“When has he ever? I’ve been by the captain’s side for quite a long time, but…… All I know is that the captain’s mind is filled with nothing but the lord.”

“Then the captain’s behavior is because of the lord, right?”

“That’s right. That’s why I can’t ask anything either. Have you ever seen the captain open his mouth about matters related to the lord?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“And you never will.”

Michelo and the knight looked at each other and then sighed deeply once more.

While Genoa, the master of the Ivanstein ducal family, wasn’t an easy lord to serve, Bane, who had been by Genoa’s side the longest, wasn’t an easy person to understand either. Sometimes Bane would lament that he couldn’t understand Genoa’s inner thoughts despite serving him for so long, and Michelo wanted to return those words to Bane.

Michelo could pride himself on having been by Bane’s side for quite a long time, though not as long as Genoa and Bane had been together. After all, he had followed Bane around annoyingly since their days as training knights, which is how he reached his current position and rank.

“It’s because we’re not strong enough yet to be a support for the captain.”

Michelo clenched his teeth tightly and then turned to the knight and asked.

“Let’s start training a bit early today.”

“What? When……”

“Now.”

“Everyone will be sleeping at this hour.”

“Then we’ll have to wake them up.”

Michelo playfully inserted one finger into the knight’s wide-open mouth and then withdrew it, saying:

“While the captain is like that, is it chivalrous to just sleep comfortably?”

“Achoo! Since when was that chivalry?”

“Since the captain started acting like that.”

“Ha. I understand.”

Though Michelo’s answer was playful, the knight knew that he wasn’t joking. The knight hurriedly turned around and ran toward the knights’ quarters. Watching his retreating figure and giggling, Michelo turned his head to look at Bane.

Whether the knight ran far away or not, whether Michelo was looking at him or not, the sharpness of Bane’s sword tip remained consistent.

“Sigh, Captaaain.”

Michelo approached, prepared to be scolded by Bane. Of course, Bane didn’t turn to look at him.

“No choice then.”

Michelo lightly drew the wooden sword at his waist and swung it. Just that was enough to deflect Bane’s sword, which had been cutting through the air, sending it flying to the corner of the training ground.

“……!”

“Can you see me now, Captain?”

Michelo smiled and shamelessly dangled the wooden sword he had swung in front of Bane. Bane’s brow furrowed at the free-spirited display that showed no respect for the sword that a knight should have.

“The sun will rise soon. How long are you going to keep this up? Our lord will be entering the imperial palace again, are you going to stay up all night and then attend him? Is your stamina okay? Are those sunken eyes okay? Won’t our lord say they’re bothersome to look at?”

“That mouth of yours.”

Bane sighed, pressing his throbbing head at the chattering voice. Still, Michelo was satisfied that Bane, who had been so lost in thought that he couldn’t come to his senses, had responded at all, and grinned.

“I know you won’t tell me, but I’ll ask once.”

“……Stop being sarcastic.”

“What conversation did you have with our lord that made you so agitated, Captain?”

“Why do you keep asking when you know I won’t tell you?”

“What else? Just the extreme concern of a subordinate worried about his captain?”

“Ha.”

Bane looked at Michelo’s grinning face and then turned his head to look for his fallen sword. Watching Bane do this, Michelo steadfastly continued speaking.

“The only thing that makes the captain this agitated is issues relating to our lord. Has there been some trouble in the imperial succession process?”

“There’s no such thing. There’s no way anything our lord carefully plans would go wrong.”

Bane firmly cut off Michelo’s question and glared at him, saying:

“You’re paying attention to unnecessary things. You shouldn’t doubt what our lord does.”

“That’s why I’m asking you to reflect on your behavior so that I don’t harbor even the slightest doubt. Hmm?”

“What did I……”

“In this mansion, the only one who can make the captain look like that is our lord alone. But if you make such an obvious death face, what do you think people will think?”

“……”

At Michelo’s words, Bane tightly closed his mouth with a thoughtful expression. Looking at Bane like this and swallowing a sigh, Michelo glanced around once and then continued in a low voice:

“I mean don’t give them any opportunity. Any opportunity to dare talk about our lord using the captain’s name.”

“Your words have merit.”

Bane raised his hand to rub his face, adding warmth to his coldly hardened face. Now that Michelo confirmed he could finally manage his expression, he shrugged and poked Bane in the side.

“But actually, there’s one more person in this mansion who can make the captain’s face look like this besides our lord.”

“Who?”

“Who else? The princess of Reibritton.”

“Haah……”