Edner stepped into the room as soon as the door opened, perhaps fearing it might close again. Allen stood confidently in front of the door as if nothing had happened and spoke first.

“I only called the vice commander because we had urgent matters to discuss.”

“Sure. Urgent bodily conversations, I’m sure.”

Edner patted Allen’s shoulder as if he knew everything without having to see.

“Your skin is glowing.”

「Must have emptied yourself quite thoroughly.」

“……It’s not like that.”

How could the Emperor think such vulgar thoughts… Allen reflexively touched his reddening face, then lowered his hand. For some reason, his skin did feel smoother.

“Now, I need to leave. Would you please step aside?”

“Oh my. The vice commander doesn’t seem able to get up.”

“……”

“She’s clearly hunched over.”

「I wonder who made her like that.」

“……Aren’t you busy?”

Allen moved his body sideways to block Edner’s view of Lea. He remembered the red marks on her neck.

Suspicious of Allen’s behavior, Edner craned his neck and questioned Lea.

“Did the commander not let you go all night?”

“Yes.”

「I’m a knight who follows the Commander’s instructions well.」

Lea answered confidently, giving Allen a look that said ‘I did well, didn’t I?’

Allen turned pale and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had clearly told her to answer ‘yes’ only to his words. It was his fault for trusting her.

“Your Majesty, what she means is that our discussion went on for a very long time……”

“Well, the chef prepared eel dishes since morning. You have a perceptive chef, Grand Duke.”

Edner showed no interest in listening to him. Further conversation would only be disadvantageous. Finally, Allen gave up speaking and turned his back on Edner, gesturing to Lea.

“Vice Commander, let’s go.”

“I told you earlier that my legs have no strength.”

“How scandalous!”

Edner brought his hand to his mouth as if shocked.

“How much did you exhaust her that her legs have no strength!”

“That’s not…!”

Allen tried to deny it but, pricked by his conscience, changed his words.

“It’s because she sat for too long. Knights naturally find it difficult to sit in chairs for extended periods.”

“Drop that ridiculous excuse.”

“……Your Majesty, how long do you plan to stay here? Aren’t you returning to the capital?”

“I’m seeing my brother after so long. Your words make me sad.”

“Her Majesty the Empress, left alone in the capital, must be feeling even sadder.”

Edner clicked his tongue. Allen still mentioned the Empress whenever things became unfavorable for him. The Empress wouldn’t feel lonely without him, but thinking about her made him miss her. Would the Empress miss him as he missed her? He found himself unnecessarily concerned.

「This bastard….」

“……I plan to return this afternoon. Just hurry up and come out.”

「Just you wait. I’m about to become your future self.」

When Edner muttered inwardly, Allen shrugged, certain that would never happen.

Late morning…

Allen carried Lea in his arms down the stairs. The employees’ gazes converged on the two. Though they felt they shouldn’t dare look, curiosity got the better of them.

「Are they both knights? How did they meet?」

「Wow, the Grand Duke is a man after all! He does it when he wants to.」

「Oh my, look at him carrying her. How romantic.」

A blush rose to Allen’s cheeks. Every employee had the same thoughts while glancing at him. His footsteps naturally quickened. Edner couldn’t hold back his laughter watching Allen.

Meanwhile, Lea, who had carried many people but never been carried herself, felt a unique sensation while looking around. It truly was a spacious and clean place. The noble mansion where she had previously stayed was filled with famous paintings on the walls and many luxurious tapestries. They looked nice, but walking through the corridors was very inconvenient. If one accidentally touched them, they would part with their wrists that very day. For servants and maids, including Lea, those items were just as frightening as the nobles themselves.

“You worked in a harsh place.”

“Yes, I did.”

Lea stopped her thoughts before Allen could see more inside her head. She wondered if it was just her imagination that instead of having erotic fantasies, she seemed to have more thoughts in general. Lea made a subtle expression. Anyway, she would be fine as long as scenes from her past didn’t surface. After all, she basically lived without thinking much.

“You should live with some thought.”

“Commander, please stop responding to each of my thoughts.”

Upon safely arriving at the dining room, Allen set Lea down on the floor. Like a child just learning to walk, Lea barely maintained her balance to stand straight and let out an exclamation.

“Oh, I think the strength has returned to my legs.”

“Good.”

There was no need to announce that loudly, but it was fortunate nonetheless.

Lea lightly rotated her waist and repeatedly sat down and stood up to stretch her body.

“Let’s stop that and have our meal.”

“What? Me too?”

Allen nodded and pulled out a chair from the dining table. Lea stood blankly, staring at him. Then Edner sat down first and said with a grinning smile,

“You worked hard, didn’t you.”

「She might become family someday.」

“Your Majesty!”

“What?”

Allen’s face turned as if it might explode.

Lea turned her gaze away from them as they began their meaningless argument and carefully sat in the chair Allen had pulled out. Having seen noble meals many times, she wasn’t particularly surprised by the feast, but she never imagined that she, a commoner, would hold utensils alongside imperial family members. She always stood one step back, guarding the dining area. Some men even offered her their leftovers.

This place felt awkward for Lea.

“I’ll eat separately.”

“The chef prepared this for the vice commander.”

Just then, Allen placed a fork in Lea’s hand. Lea’s eyes turned to Allen.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Can I interpret this in that way?”

“What way? No, don’t explain!”

Allen tried to stop Lea’s words by shifting in his seat, but failed.

“What are you expecting from me?”

“I’m not expecting anything, so stop talking.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t need to eat this eel to have abundant stamina.”

“Pfft.”

Finally, Edner spat out the salad he was about to eat. Allen couldn’t even glare at him—he just gripped the innocent tablecloth while Edner clutched his stomach, chuckling.

“Vice Commander, let’s talk later.”

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Stop talking nonsense and just eat.”

Allen picked up a piece of meat with his fork and held it out to Lea. Lea just stared at it blankly.

Steam rose from the hot eel, emitting a delicious smell. She didn’t think ‘how dare I eat this.’ It just felt unfamiliar. She knew the Empire and the North had different cultures, but she had never heard of commoners being included at the dining table like this. No matter how comfortably Allen treated her, it wasn’t easy to dine in such a magnificent place with the Emperor, unlike their casual meals at the training headquarters.

“I won’t force you if you don’t want to eat, but you are the vice commander.”

“What? What are you suddenly saying?”

“Knights operate by rank according to ability, not background. Isn’t that a fact you know, vice commander? You’re the rank right below me, and I find it quite irritating how you keep thinking ‘commoner, commoner.'”

Allen frowned and put down his fork.

“And what if you’re a commoner? I, the commander, am asking you to eat with me.”

“Come now, let’s stop this and eat. The Grand Duke’s chef is quite skilled.”

Edner spoke in a bright voice and raised his glass as the atmosphere threatened to sour.

Allen clicked his tongue softly. He felt strangely angry. For some reason, he hated seeing Lea hesitate over something so trivial. He hadn’t brought her to the dining room, overcoming his embarrassment, to see her like this. He was already concerned about her difficulty walking because of him. He even felt guilty for committing such an indecent act against Lea. Now she was bringing up stamina and suddenly mentioning class differences. The latter hadn’t been spoken aloud, which made him even more annoyed.

Whether Lea fantasized or not, he still couldn’t understand what was inside her. That was separate from hearing her thoughts.

Lea observed Allen’s expression and soon began using her fork. She couldn’t understand why the commander was upset, but feeling she shouldn’t continue refusing her seat, she awkwardly brought food to her mouth. Allen watched Lea forcing herself to swallow and belatedly regretted his actions. He worried she might have digestive problems. He thought he had spoken too angrily. He could have said it nicely. He had mistakenly mixed in his emotions.

He considered telling her that she could put down her utensils without concern if she felt uncomfortable, but decided against it. Lea’s fork moved faster and faster. It seemed she was enjoying the food now that she was actually eating it.

「Oh, delicious!」

Allen watched Lea savoring the eel intently before turning his gaze away.

Then his eyes met Edner’s. He was looking at Allen with a pleased smile.

「I can clearly see the hard road ahead.」

Allen sincerely thought he wanted to hit the Emperor on the head, regardless of status.