Nevertheless, Allen trembled with shame. To him, ‘being f*cked’ was an extremely vulgar expression.

“I’ve traveled a long way today and would like to rest. Let’s talk about the northern territory and the knight division tomorrow.”

Allen spoke weakly while fixing his disheveled hair. He wanted to go to bed early. He wanted to pretend today never happened and move on to tomorrow.

“Yes, understood. Commander, do you know the location of the mansion?”

“The butler who came with me knows, so don’t worry about it and go do your job.”

“Yes, sir.”

Lea answered energetically, oblivious to his inner turmoil.

* * *

‘The Commander looked really sexy earlier.’

Lea recalled Allen from before. His somewhat wet black hair, languid eyes, and disheveled uniform.

How could someone who went to take a ‘big one’ come back looking so erotic?

‘Perhaps it’s because he’s inherently handsome.’

She nodded to herself, accepting this explanation. Lea was not the type to dwell on thoughts for long anyway.

Lea was appointed as vice commander of the First Knight Division. Before the Empire’s unification, her life had been nearly colorless.

Like all commoners in the northern territory, Lea was born into a poor family, made a name for herself fighting in back alleys, and naturally became a mercenary. Then one day, she caught the eye of a nobleman and became a knight.

Well, she wasn’t sure if that should be considered lucky.

All she did as that family’s knight was clean up the nobleman’s messes or prevent commoners who had been wronged from coming to the mansion to protest.

Lea abandoned thinking during that time. Her body instinctively knew that if she thought about things, she wouldn’t be able to endure.

From then on, she lived with the flow. With her eyes closed and ears shut. Ignoring the whispers from deep within her heart.

Then the war broke out. And the world changed.

Lea looked away from where Allen had departed and gazed up at the sky.

She still hadn’t adapted to this peaceful life. After living in a dog-like place for 22 years, this kind of life felt awkward.

Though the things that once destroyed her morals had disappeared, Lea still chased fantasies rather than reality. She didn’t know when she would escape this world of delusions and face reality.

‘When the time comes, I’ll be fine, right?’

For now, she preferred stimulating fantasies. Thinking that no one would say anything even if she stayed in her own world a little longer, Lea began drawing pictures in her mind once again.

“Welcome.”

The moment he entered the mansion, all the employees bowed to Allen in unison. Allen raised one hand with a tired expression. Somehow, he lacked the strength to even acknowledge their greeting.

He handed his outer garment to the butler and quickly scanned the interior of the mansion.

The clean interior tailored to his taste caught his eye. Walls and pillars painted entirely white without much decoration. The house faced south, so the lighting was good.

But Allen’s brow furrowed.

‘Ha, I’m going to lose my mind.’

He liked everything to be precise. The same went for colors. He preferred either white or black.

But from today, he would probably avoid white.

The sunlight coming through the windows reflected off the walls, scattering white light. Thanks to this, not only the walls but also the thick pillars sparkled brightly, looking exactly like what he had abundantly sprayed in the bathroom.

It was truly uncomfortable to look at. Moreover, the pillars reminded him of his c*ck covered in fluid.

Why did they have to be called pillars of all things.

“Change the wall color.”

“……What?”

The butler following behind him tilted his head in confusion.

“I said change the wall color.”

“What? But when you were in the capital, Grand Duke, you clearly said everything should be white……”

“Are you questioning my orders?”

The butler’s body flinched. Allen rarely showed emotion in front of his employees. Yet now, he was glaring at the butler with fierce eyes.

Setting aside how absurd the sudden change in instructions was, the butler couldn’t hide his bewilderment at this unfamiliar side of his master. It felt like his head might fly off if he provoked him now.

“N-no, not at all. I will give those instructions.”

“Good, have it changed as quickly as possible. And inform them that dinner preparations won’t be necessary tonight. I’ll go upstairs first.”

“Yes, understood.”

Allen turned away from the butler and climbed the stairs to the second floor. He had no appetite. In his current state, anything he ate would surely upset his stomach.

While he moved with heavy steps, he heard the puzzled thoughts of the butler and employees behind him.

「Why is the Grand Duke acting like this?」

「Did something happen outside?」

「He seems like a different person.」

A sigh escaped his lips. Even he thought he had been too sensitive just now, from the employees’ perspective, it must have seemed very strange. Suddenly ordering the wall color changed, not even just the wallpaper. Moreover, given how spacious the mansion was, it would be quite a time-consuming task.

‘This is all because of that woman.’

His teeth ground together. How could she imagine such outrageous things with such a detached face? Was it because his social circle was so narrow that he had never met someone like her? Or was she truly that unusual?

He also wondered why only Lea’s imagination appeared so vivid and clear.

He wondered if she imagined things more vividly than normal people, but more than anything, he questioned how a person could live so lost in delusions.

Anyway, the important thing was that life in the North wouldn’t be easy going forward.

Tomorrow would be a problem too. He needed to gather the knights with the vice commander by his side. He worried about what would happen if that woman had strange fantasies then too.

‘Maybe I should wear loose pants like Tom suggested.’

He thought it might be better to sacrifice fashion than face humiliation in front of many knights. Though he wasn’t sure how large the pants would need to be to hide the silhouette of an er*ect c*ck.

‘Haah.’

It was frustrating. His head ached from having to worry about such things. He had never understood those knights who neglected training and played with fire with one-night stands. Now he felt utterly pathetic for becoming such a person himself.

He even wanted to return to the capital. But going to the North had been his wish. Even though it came as the Emperor’s order, ultimately it was his choice. He who had never retreated from any difficult war couldn’t abandon the North just because of some fantasy.

As soon as Allen entered his room, he irritably threw off his clothes and went into the bathroom.

He thought soaking in cold water might clear his head.

Today of all days, his reflection in the water bothered him. Why was his unnecessarily dangling thing so large? Due to the water’s refraction, it looked even more prominent, which he disliked.

‘If it were just a bit smaller, I wouldn’t have to worry about this.’

He washed his body, toned by various training regimens, while thinking thoughts that would annoy anyone who might hear them.

* * *

“Vice Commander, don’t you feel wronged?”

“About what?”

Lea, who had been imagining the climax of s*xual intercourse, looked annoyed. The knight had killed her mood at a crucial moment. Unaware of this, Sir James kept chattering beside her.

“About the First Division Commander. If he became the Grand Duke of the North, he should just do his job as Grand Duke well. What’s the point of disbanding our well-functioning Northern Knight Division and incorporating it into the First Division?”

“So what?”

Lea picked at her ear. James’s words were indeed not worth listening to. She regretted lending an ear. Of course, she had only literally lent her ear—her mind was already prepared to continue her fantasy.

James pouted at her.

“Ha, Vice Commander. Are you really okay with this? Setting me aside, you’ve practically had your commander position stolen.”

“Is that so.”

“I’ve heard plenty about the First Division Commander’s exceptional skills. But taking the commander position without even competing with you seems unfair to me.”

“Is that so.”

“……Are you actually listening to me?”

“Is that so.”

“Vice Commander!”

At James’s loud voice, Lea covered her ears with an exasperated expression. She thought she had been answering diligently, so she didn’t understand what the problem was.

The knight currently expressing his complaints to her was someone who took great pride in the Northern Knight Division. So he probably disliked being forced into the First Knight Division against his will.

‘But what am I supposed to do about it?’

What difference did it make? Whether commander or vice commander, she didn’t care what position she held as long as she could wield a sword. After thinking longer than usual, Lea slowly nodded.

“Just do what you’re told.”

“You’re really something, Vice Commander.”

James ruffled his hair in frustration and let out a long sigh. His superior had always been like this. With eyes that seemed devoid of any attachment to this world, she always acted like someone from another realm. While others struggled desperately to climb higher, Lea neither seemed particularly satisfied with her current position nor showed any ambition—she’s simply maintaining her place.

James couldn’t understand it. He couldn’t comprehend how the North’s greatest swordswoman could lack ambition.