Chapter 65. An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth

The desert city of Sahar.

A letter that had been long awaited finally arrived.

Mihail, who received it at his hideout in the bustling city, wore a small smile. The paper in his hand was satisfyingly crumpled.

“So, this is the emperor’s response.”

His voice, calm as he spoke, sounded somehow eerie. Andrei, who had brought the letter, shrank his neck like a turtle, looking frightened.

Andrei didn’t know the content of the letter. But he remembered that the envelope, bearing the seal of the Holy Knight Order’s commander, which he had sent to the Imperial Palace for his last errand, had been quite thick. This meant Mihail had written it with considerable excitement.

Judging by the current atmosphere, it seemed he hadn’t received the response he had hoped for in return for his lengthy effort.

“Andrei.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Andrei answered promptly. Hesitating at times like this often led to unpleasant consequences.

“Even without me, the Holy Knight Order will handle the durahan legion well, right?”

“Of course.”

Though he didn’t understand why he was being asked this, especially since he didn’t even go out to the desert, Andrei answered tactfully.

“Then there’s no problem if I leave for a while, right?”

“I-I suppose so.”

He had a bad feeling.

Andrei barely restrained himself from grabbing his master and asking where he was going, keeping his eyes on the situation.

There was nothing to gain from provoking Mihail, who was clearly very upset.

Look at that faint smile.

His turquoise eyes, glinting coldly under the moonlight, felt even more chilling.

To look like an angel yet exude such a demonic aura!

“I need to find the warp mage.”

“Huh!”

Andrei gasped.

This wasn’t good.

Of all times, why was his master, who’s in such a mood, seeking out the warp mage at this particular moment?

Mihail’s expression turned icy.

“Is there a problem?”

“Well, it’s just…”

Despite having been so good at reading the room, Andrei’s voice faltered. He held his breath, looking at Mihail, who exuded a menacing aura, and finally spoke.

“A public notice came from the Imperial Palace.”

“A public notice?”

One of Mihail’s eyebrows rose.

“Miss Ionia ordered the warp mage to come to Elmon…”

“Did that old man comply with the public notice?”

“They promised him a gold-bearing vein.”

“……”

A deep smile spread across Mihail’s lips.

Andrei felt like he was being crushed by the suffocating atmosphere. It was hard to breathe.

“Hahaha.”

A devilish laugh escaped the Holy Knight Commander’s lips.

Slowly sweeping his bangs back, he laughed like a madman for quite a while.

Poor Andrei, who had no chance to retreat, gathered his courage with tears in his eyes. If left unchecked, who knew what trouble might befall Sahar. At the very least, he needed to send his master far away.

“Sh-should I prepare the horses?”

“Hahahaha.”

“So you can depart first thing tomorrow morning…”

“Hahahahaha.”

“……”

But he couldn’t continue speaking.

He wasn’t even sure if his voice was reaching his master, who was laughing like a lunatic. To at least preserve his life, Andrei decided to quietly close his mouth.

And after a while, Mihail, having laughed to his heart’s content, let out a rough voice.

“That bastard Johann. Using money to push things through.”

The smile vanished completely from his lips.

The moonlit face of the Holy Knight Commander shone pale.

Turning his head with a cold expression, Mihail gave an order to Andrei in his usual calm tone.

“We’ll depart at dawn. Please make the preparations.”

* * *

Northern Hilton Territory.

In this land, where the fierce winds of the Grodes Mountains swept down, unfortunately, another presence added to the chill.

Having barely escaped the blizzard to enter the castle, the warmth crackling from the fireplace was completely pushed away as the so-called Guardian of the North made the north even colder.

“…Sick?”

At the chilly voice from Claude’s mouth, Kiel shivered.

He had somewhat anticipated this situation while bringing the letter.

Since Claude often led the knights on subjugation missions, the affairs of Hilton Castle revolved around the butler, Kiel.

This time, too, during the lord of Hilton’s absence, he had sorted through the letters that arrived at the castle and prepared to report to Claude.

And just now, he had handed over a letter from the Imperial Palace to Claude, who had just returned from the subjugation. Rough curses flowed from Claude’s mouth, who hadn’t even taken off his armor.

“What kind of nonsense is this?”

He crumpled the letter, written in the emperor’s own hand.

The paper, bordered with thin gold leaf, contained information that Seraphina had fallen ill as soon as she arrived in Elmon. Therefore, she couldn’t be dispatched because she was sick.

“She might well be.”

Kiel cautiously offered his opinion.

After all, hadn’t she overexerted herself cleansing numerous undead while traveling between the north and east over the past few months? She had even fainted twice in the Grodes Mountains.

But Claude was convinced this was a pretense.

Of course, it could genuinely be that she was sick, as the butler suggested. But his animalistic instincts told him otherwise.

Just as he had schemed to go on a subjugation for a month, Johann was also pulling a shallow trick by mentioning her health.

‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,’ was it?

Being on the receiving end felt disgusting.

“Kiel.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“I’ll make a brief trip to Elmon.”

“But the situation in the Grodes Mountains is…”

Kiel hesitated, trying to dissuade his lord. However, upon seeing Claude’s eyes, which were as red as blood, he involuntarily closed his mouth.

Claude spoke with a fierce expression as if chewing his words.

“The Northern Knight Order won’t collapse just because I’m gone for a few months.”

They were the elite of the elite.

Having gone through harsh times, they had become the best knight order.

In this recent subjugation, by deploying all mages capable of long-range attacks to prepare for the appearance of wyverns, the damage was minimal, unlike the last unexpected incident.

“Tell Austin. All mages will participate in the subjugation for the time being.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

With that answer, Claude turned away.

Kiel bowed his head toward his lord’s broad back as he ascended the central stairs.

Going to Elmon twice in a year…

It was a very unusual occurrence.

But Kiel decided to quietly accept it.

The purifier was such a precious existence.

Surely, that was the case.

<Alright, you petty bastard. I’ll just ask for support for the knight order later.>

Kiel pushed aside the uneasy memory of Claude cursing when Johann unilaterally stationed another purifier in a different region years ago.

“Miss Seraphina isn’t just any purifier.”

Wasn’t she someone with the strongest purification ability in history?

Rationalizing this, Kiel nodded his head.

* * *

What on earth am I doing?

Is this the right thing to do? Won’t there be any repercussions?

I lay on the bed, staring aimlessly at the ceiling of my small house.

In this absurd situation that began with Johann’s second visit, I glanced at Bremen, the emperor’s personal physician, who was sitting next to me.

He seemed to be contemplating what to say, letting out a sigh.

“You’ve overworked yourself. You need medical leave.”

Beside him, Johann crossed his arms and applied subtle pressure.

Bremen, not lacking in awareness, was using all his lifelong medical knowledge to come up with a diagnosis that would grant me medical leave despite my evident good health.

And the perfect diagnosis for an unknown illness was, of course…

“It seems you need rest due to overwork.”

“I see.”

As if it were completely unexpected, Johann muttered in a worried tone.

That, that deceitful bastard.

He should have been an actor, not an emperor.

I was so dumbfounded that I kept letting out incredulous laughs inwardly.

“I’ll submit the diagnosis today.”

Bremen spoke politely to Johann.

This fabricated diagnosis was intended to silence Ionia and Jesuf.

Watching Bremen rise from his seat, I gave an awkward smile out of embarrassment. Half succumbing to the emperor’s power, he became our accomplice, offering me a kind smile before bowing to Johann.

After Bremen left, only Johann and I remained in my small house.

“Is this really paid leave?”

I looked at him skeptically.

Then Johann, who seemed very pleased that the situation was going his way, burst into laughter and replied.

“It’s only a vacation in appearance. In reality, you’re guarding Elmon, so of course, you should be paid.”

“I was honestly surprised to hear that Elmon was also protected by a barrier…”

I muttered quite seriously.

To think that not only Sahar but also the capital was built on top of the undead…

In truth, there were no undead beneath Elmon’s ground, but I would only learn that later.

“Protecting the imperial family is also your duty.”

Johann continued smoothly.

“Since Elmon’s barrier is incomplete, there should be at least one purifier.”

Even though it was quite a reasonable opinion, it was puzzling that all the ministers opposed it, forcing us to go to such lengths, but I agreed with Johann’s intention and decided to participate in this charade.

In other words, I decided to buy time for him to persuade the ministers.

If Elmon falls, the empire falls.

It’s a place that must be protected.

Yes, indeed.

I’m definitely not pretending to be sick just to lie in bed.

Really.