“He’s been someone who never had a single minor illness since childhood.”

“Pardon?”

“Mm, the strawberries look particularly fresh today. Go ahead and try one.”

Mrs. Hudson kept recommending this and that, causing her to overeat from morning.

‘She seemed to keep giving me red fruits…… must be my imagination?’

The path she walked was difficult, but it led to work and a way to settle her full stomach.

When she entered the office, the Commander’s office door had white frost on it.

‘Huh?’

Spica reflexively rubbed her eyes. When she looked again, it was a mistake. Of course it couldn’t be.

But somehow she did feel a chill. From experience, when it was like this, it meant Dame Megrez was being broken inside. Alkaid was someone who never raised his voice no matter what trouble the knight order members caused.

‘It’s probably because of the incident about children disappearing.’

Spica swallowed a sigh and checked the documents that had come up for approval. Somehow the atmosphere in the knight order seemed like it would become precarious for a while.

‘Oh, a request came from the guard unit too, of all times.’

It was a request related to the guard unit budget. Reinforcement of patrol personnel, meaning additional funds were needed.

Though it seemed like a natural request on the surface, they had already increased it to the maximum on this side, so Alkaid probably wouldn’t readily accept it.

Then the Commander’s office door opened and Megrez walked out limply.

“Dame Megrez, are you alright?”

“Ah…… Dame Spica, good morning.”

Megrez smiled weakly with dark circles much deeper than Spica’s.

“Ah really, I almost froze to death. Didn’t he sleep? He’s 100 times more irritable than usual.”

“What happened?”

“You saw the newspaper too, right? The missing case. We were already raising the alert level on our side and investigating the children’s whereabouts undercover, but when they burst out with this kind of article on their own, the Commander got angry.”

It was just as Spica had thought.

She held up the documents and said.

“I have to go in for approval now too. The guard unit budget proposal happens to be included.”

“Hey, you’ll be fine, Spica. Don’t worry and go in quickly.”

“……I’ll be fine?”

Seeing Spica’s expression like she had heard something strange, cold sweat broke out on Megrez’s back.

“Ah. I mean because it’s not something you did wrong! So he won’t refuse to give approval or anything.”

Megrez made excuses earnestly.

Lately, subtle attacks were coming from various places, so when she entered the Commander’s office, she felt like she would suffocate from the killing intent. Still, when Spica was kept by his side, he would soften like melting ice, so she tried to send her in, but she broke out in cold sweat like her impure intentions had been caught.

Spica, who had been looking at her, soon smiled brightly.

“Well, the Commander isn’t someone who would take out his anger on innocent people, right? I’ll go deliver these and come back.”

“Y-yes.”

Did I pass? Megrez wiped her chest.

No matter how much Alkaid was openly showing it to the whole neighborhood, having someone else tell her about it was a completely different matter. But that someone else being herself? Alkaid would obviously rush to carve out her flesh with his own hands.

* * *

“Good morning, Commander.”

Spica greeted him first when she entered the Commander’s office.

Seeing the clear crack that hadn’t been there until yesterday on the spacious desk, it was certain that Alkaid was not in a good mood.

Still, she thought it might get a little better if she greeted him well…… but it seemed impossible to say ‘good’ morning, so it became an ambiguous greeting.

‘L-like this, it won’t be any encouragement at all.’

Spica hurriedly clenched her fist and showed it while adding.

“Commander, cheer up. I know you’re always working hard.”

Oh, that’s right. Eating sweet things makes one feel better, even if briefly.

Spica took out a candy from her pocket and placed it on top of the documents with a tap.

“What is this.”

“Today’s gift!”

“I was asking roughly what approval matters there were.”

“Oh.”

Alkaid watched Spica’s face turn red from her neck up to her forehead. She was probably stamping her feet in her mind.

He liked how she tried to answer her superior’s question somehow even in her flustered state. Any attitude was fine, but what Alkaid liked most was Spica right now.

“I-I organized them by importance. Please process the guard unit budget matter at the top first. The rest are similar to usual matters……”

“I’m joking.”

“……Pardon?”

Alkaid picked up the candy wrapped in yellow paper.

“You said this was today’s gift.”

“Oh, yes. I…… hoped it would cheer you up even a little.”

So that’s why she said to cheer up from the beginning.

Alkaid raised the corners of his mouth slightly. The fact that his mood improved just by Spica showing her face was something that Megrez fellow knew better than she did. So her intention of sending Spica in right after being driven out was transparent.

“It seems very effective.”

Since it actually had an effect, he didn’t feel like saying anything about it.

“How can it be effective when you haven’t even eaten it?”

“……Ah, you prepared something that could be eaten up because you can’t receive private gifts. My accomplice.”

When he rustled off the wrapping paper twisted on both sides, a yellow candy the same color as the wrapping paper was revealed.

Alkaid didn’t like sweet things. However, he put the candy in his mouth without complaint.

While impulsively raising his visor halfway.

“……!”

Spica, who faced Alkaid’s lips without any mental preparation, felt like her heart was tumbling down to the floor with a thud.

‘That imagination’ she had tried so hard to forget all dawn long popped out with a yahoo!

Actually, Alkaid lowered his visor again right after putting the candy in his mouth, but it was enough time for Spica to add realistic details to her imagination.

‘H-his lips looked really moist……’

No, that’s not it. Please disappear, imagination!

Spica shouted in her mind.

‘The person in question is right in front of me. What on earth am I doing……!’

Alkaid sucked on the candy pleasantly while looking at Spica, who had turned even redder than before. Even though he had only revealed the lower part of his face, Spica didn’t run away even after seeing him this close. The sweet and sour taste didn’t feel too bad.

“Thank you. I feel better just like you said.”

“……I’m really glad.”

“I’ll process it right away. Please wait a moment.”

It seemed better to read the guard unit’s nonsense before this candy completely melted away, before Spica in front of his eyes disappeared.

Since the new guard commander came in, the guard unit was rotting away unnoticeably. Unfortunately, the connection that had been planted was from the family side of Dame Sobek, the Royal Guard Commander, so they were watching and gathering evidence for now, but they couldn’t easily hand over free money.

‘There should be reserve funds to use in times like this……’

The request form was riddled with nonsense trying to extract money somehow, just as Alkaid expected.

Alkaid was persistent but impatient in some ways. If this were his territory, he would have immediately skewered the guard commander on a stake and hung him upside down.

But this was the capital, a place where the interests of great families were entangled and no weakness could be shown. Alkaid rolled the candy around in his mouth and suppressed his killing intent.

“This matter is rejected. If they want to apply again, tell them to reinforce the reasons and have the guard commander come in person.”

“I’ll convey that.”

Alkaid, who had processed the remaining documents, handed them to Spica.

Thank you, Spica said while receiving the bundle of documents. But for some reason, Alkaid held on without letting go of the hand holding the files.

“……Commander?”

“This candy, is it something you like, Dame Atrain?”

“Yes. It’s delicious, right? When the candy on the outside completely melts, syrup comes out from inside too.”

Spica smiled proudly with a hmph.

It was certainly a delicious smile.

Alkaid, who had been holding on because he wanted to taste more of it, suddenly stood up abruptly from his seat. He could feel an unwelcome presence from far away.

“Commander?”

Spica hurriedly gathered up the documents she had almost spilled. Alkaid threw open the large window behind his desk and approached her with heavy steps.

Question marks and bad imaginings tangled wildly in her head.

“Th-I, uh……?”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Alkaid simply picked up Spica and tucked her under his arm, then lightly crossed over the window frame.

Spica, who had frozen from shock, came to her senses only after being seated on a low stone. What on earth is this, when she glared at her superior, he closed the window properly to erase traces of escape and sat next to Spica.

Yes, escape.

“What on earth is going on? Why is the Commander……”

Spica chose her words for a moment. But no matter how much she softened it, no suitable word other than ‘hiding’ came to mind.

“We-we’re hiding right now, aren’t we?”

“Yes. His Highness the Crown Prince came.”

“Then we shouldn’t be doing this, we should go out and greet him!”

Spica didn’t ask questions like how he knew when no attendant had announced it. Beast-humans have more sensitive senses than ordinary humans.

Alkaid raised a finger in front of his helmet.

The Crown Prince was also a beast-human. He had recently become an aura user too. He hadn’t entered the office yet, but if they raised their voices, they could easily be caught.