Chapter 4 – It’s Indecent, Captain! (Part 2)

The sweet week-long vacation ended with busy days. She broke off the engagement and paid off her family’s debt with the salary she had saved.

Rumors spread rapidly from the dessert shop where the incident with Galverd Paraton happened, but it was a blessing in disguise. Most of the rumors were about ‘Galverd Paraton.’

The problem was that her uncle’s issue still hadn’t been resolved.

When she cautiously asked her uncle, who was helping with Earl Paraton’s business, about the matter, he only told her not to worry.

‘But I do worry.’

Still, she had taken care of the biggest headache, Galverd, so she could afford some peace of mind. Yet, something felt very empty.

Like a person who suddenly lost the finish line while running toward a destination.

Snap-.

Crack-.

‘Ah, it happened again.’

Lost in thought, she broke the nib of her quill.

Since returning from the week-long vacation, she couldn’t focus on work. Like a broken person, she kept making frequent mistakes.

Why am I here?

‘I don’t need to earn a dowry anymore.’

I had joined the Knight Order to earn a dowry in the first place. Now that I had worked hard, shouldn’t I just quit and rest comfortably?

Then, after resting, should I prepare for marriage with someone else?

‘I don’t know what’s right anymore.’

It felt like she had been handed a problem with no correct answer.

Drip, drip-.

Ink leaked from the broken nib, staining part of the document.

“Ah!”

She must have unconsciously applied pressure to her hand. Lena hurriedly wiped the ink and put the pen away.

Then she looked at Alhendore sitting beside her with pleading eyes. Sensing her gaze, he turned his head from the documents he had been staring at.

“Ha, again?”

“Yes…….”

He sighed and took out a spare quill from the top drawer. This wasn’t the first time Lena had broken a nib while being absent-minded since returning from vacation.

It was already the sixth time since her return, so it wouldn’t be surprising if this was his last quill.

“Be careful. You might hurt yourself.”

“Yes!”

Receiving the quill, Lena glanced at the captain. It had been a week since she had raided his lounge and ended up in his house.

‘I feel sorry to the captain…….’

Though the captain didn’t seem to care much about that day, she couldn’t help but feel guilty.

It seemed like she was always causing trouble for him.

‘Am I just causing trouble everywhere I go?’

Cutting off her endless self-blame, Lena shook her head and grabbed the stack of documents she was processing.

In her haste, she handed over the approval documents without checking them.

Alhendore, who had been looking through the documents she handed over, raised an elegant eyebrow.

“Lena Leshuriel.”

“Yes?”

“Did you check this before giving it to me?”

Taking back the documents, Lena quickly looked them over. Recognizing the familiar text strings and the approval date at the end, she gasped.

“Oh, I’m sorry!”

These were the approval documents from last month. She had been using them for reference and must have brought the wrong ones by mistake.

Alhendore tapped the desk with the nib of his quill.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry…….”

“I asked what’s going on.”

Of course, he wasn’t asking how she accidentally brought the wrong documents. He was asking about the reason behind her frequent mistakes today, including the broken nib.

Lena clenched her pants and fidgeted.

“Well, there’s been a bit of a situation.”

“What kind of situation?”

“It’s personal.”

Did I really need to explain that I had been dumped by my fiancé? 

Lena avoided his gaze.

Sighing softly, Alhendore leaned back in his chair and tilted his head.

“I gave you a vacation to rest. What did you do to end up like this?”

“Sorry.”

Come to think of it, he was right. In four days, the Monster Subjugation Squad would be dispatched on a long-term mission.

‘Can I do well?’

It had been an unexpected accident, but three years ago, she had caused unintended harm by getting caught by a Wyvern.

She hadn’t made any significant mistakes in the subsequent missions, but that was when she was in a stable state.

With her mind in turmoil over her fiancé, she was making so many mistakes just sitting in the office, writing with a pen. Making a mistake in a life-and-death subjugation battle? It could lead to casualties.

Of course, not making mistakes was the best, but in her current state, it was hard to guarantee.

Worried, Lena drooped.

“……You said traces of monsters were found, right?”

“Yeah.”

Then, it’s not urgent. 

She secretly sighed in relief.

Usually, if ‘traces of an attack’ were found in a village or elsewhere, it would be classified as an emergency dispatch. Emergency dispatch meant opening a gate with the help of the Magic Tower for an expedition.

On the other hand, the discovery of ‘traces of monsters’ meant that their habitation traces were found before they harmed any humans.

In other words, this mission was a non-urgent schedule requiring them to ride to the discovery site and conduct a ‘field investigation.’

Using the Magic Tower would allow them to complete the mission quickly, but the cost burden was high, so it was divided into stages.

‘Thank goodness.’

If they had to use the gate, it would be a chaotic scene with monsters swarming, but a field investigation was a relief.

‘If I’m lucky, we might not have to fight any monsters and just return.’

Nodding her head, Lena asked about the destination.

“Where is it?”

“Adelman.”

“The Adelman Forest… that’s far.”

“Yes, it’s far.”

The capital of the empire was located in the northeast. On the other hand, the Adelman Forest was in the southwest, at the southernmost point.

It would take at least three months just to get to the forest, so it was quite a distance.

There won’t be any monsters encountered on the way, right?

‘Ha, what am I even thinking?’

Wanting to avoid confrontation with monsters as much as possible. 

Instead of such thoughts, shouldn’t I be focusing on pulling myself together quickly?

‘Do I not want to continue being a knight?’

Maybe that’s why I keep having defensive thoughts.

Lena lowered her head heavily.

Watching her silently, Alhendore Lengester took out a pocket watch from his inner pocket.

“It’s almost lunchtime, so go eat. And clear your head while you’re at it.”

“Yes…”

Her dejected back was bothering him, and Alhendore furrowed his brows.

‘What did that bastard do again?’

Galverd Paraton. He had kept him alive simply because he was her fiancé, but if he kept causing trouble like this, it would be a serious problem.

‘How dare he.’

No matter how precious her fiancé was, if he made Lena sad, there was no need to keep him alive.

This time, he needed to find out what had happened. She had been down before, but today felt different somehow.

Alhendore looked at Ronver, who had brought some documents from the family.

“Ronver, you’ll have to handle the Knight Order’s work for a while.”

“What?”

Ronver, who had merely come to run an errand from the mansion at the head’s command, grimaced.

He had sensed something was off with the captain’s mood earlier.

For the past three years, thanks to the new aide, the captain’s fiery temper seemed to have calmed a bit.

But now, the duties of the Knight Order were about to fall back on him again.

Could it be that the new aide was about to leave? 

With a sense of foreboding, Ronver’s face turned pale. 

Of all people, she must not leave.

“Find out what’s going on.”

“Yes! I will definitely find out!”

‘Lena Leshuriel’ was no longer just an ordinary aide to Ronver. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say his life depended on her.

Even the captain, who never asked for background checks, had said, ‘Find out.’ Alhendore’s beast-like intuition indicated something unusual was happening.

‘I hope nothing bad has happened to the aide.’

As soon as Ronver left the Knight Order, he ran around the town with his eyes wide open. Fortunately, the rumors had spread enough that he could gather information easily.

“So Lena broke off her engagement?”

Ronver mumbled, pretending to be exhausted. He seemed eager to convey his efforts in gathering the information.

Alhendore, who had been listening quietly, soon covered his mouth and laughed.

His uncontrollable smile twitched like a madman. Ronver, equally excited, quickly chimed in.

“Yes! Isn’t this wonderful news? I thought the Lengester family would never have a mistress!”

“Be quiet.”

“Oh, come on, Captain. You should seize the opportunity while it’s there. What if she gets engaged to another man?”

Ronver’s dismissive attitude made Alhendore’s expression darken.

“Get out.”

“You should seize the opportunity while you have it. Instead of keeping your distance, hurry up and confess—”

“Shut up, Ronver. Get out. Unless you want to be dragged out of this world.”

“Ah, yes, yes.”

Clicking his tongue in disappointment, Ronver turned and left.

What if the aide ends up marrying another man? How much more would the already eccentric captain’s temper flare up?

Looking back anxiously, he hurriedly closed the door to avoid the flying ink bottle.

Thud-!

A dull sound echoed through the office door. Looking at the closed door with a scowl, Alhendore fiddled with the ring on his finger. The blue gemstone gleamed brilliantly.

‘Lena…’

It seems the waiting time solely for you has finally ended.

His smile was twisted, resembling that of a beast returning from a long period of fasting and punishment. His patience, worn thin by hunger and waiting, had finally snapped.