Claude knew it was something the Emperor disliked hearing. Since he had brought it up intentionally to irritate the Marquis, he continued speaking casually with a smiling face.

“Well, we lost anyway, so what else is there to say?”

“Don’t you dare say such things before His Majesty. Do you not know what constitutes imperial defamation?”

“How could there be any objection to this hard-won peace?”

Though Claude maintained formal speech, his words dripped with strange arrogance.

The words ‘mere blue-blooded youngster’ rose to the Marquis’s throat, but he showed a friendly smile as usual.

“Duke. Let’s speak candidly.”

“About what?”

“Does the empire’s humiliation truly not affect you at all?”

“So are you suggesting we start another war after one has just ended, Marquis?”

“Even in my sleep, I find it so infuriating…”

“Can’t we just forget about it?”

Claude mercilessly cut off the Marquis’s words, implying he should stop talking.

The Marquis almost completely lost his composure but barely managed to maintain his expression and asked back.

“What?”

“You’re the strange one, Marquis. You were the one who sent the message to His Majesty to end the war, yet now you speak of starting another… Your change of heart seems quite frivolous.”

It was natural for Claude to be negative about the war.

No one had expected that the nations would unite against them when the young Emperor, trusting only in the empire’s mighty military power, had taken the war lightly.

As a result, an unexpected stalemate continued and the war dragged on day after day. While the capital continued its debauchery, the people at the borders took direct hits from the damage.

Initially, the imperial citizens’ will to fight, forged by loyalty, reached the heavens, but gradually, even among the nobility, complaints emerged questioning the true purpose of this war.

Then, when the balance that had been maintained equally broke, and news came that the eastern coast had fallen to a massive incoming fleet, the Emperor was greatly shocked.

When it became clear that all those enemy soldiers would march straight to the capital, the Emperor, frightened in advance, raised the white flag first and sent a messenger with intentions for peace.

The opposing nations, exhausted from eight years of war, accepted the proposal, pretending to give in.

“That was… just a cessation of hostilities. Don’t you know the eastern front had collapsed? The capital was nearly in danger. I merely offered counsel for the greater good…”

“Did you really think so? There were no other intentions?”

Claude pleasantly observed the Marquis’s face gradually changing color.

A subject who flattered the Emperor and offered unsolicited advice. That was the behavior of a treacherous minister.

“Duke, you have quite a small capacity. Are you afraid of mere war?”

“It’s a hard-won peace. More than half of the dispatched knights and soldiers died.”

Claude continued speaking with a smiling face.

“My, you wouldn’t know since you stayed in the inner castle, Marquis.”

“Our family’s non-participation in the war was all for His Majesty’s safety.”

Claude sneered at the nonsense coming from the head of the martial family known as the ‘House of the Sword.’

The excuse was quite bold coming from someone who had leisurely enjoyed himself within the safety of the castle walls while those who went to war fought with their lives at stake for 8 years.

The Marquis, whose face had turned red and was trembling, delivered what he thought was his winning statement.

“Duke Heinst. You’re hardly in a position to say such things.”

“What do you mean?”

“You won’t deny knowing about what happened that day.”

At those words, Claude’s face, which had maintained its composure throughout, slightly crumpled.

And that was exactly what the Marquis had anticipated. He knew the Duke, who always maintained a stiff attitude with his condescending gaze, would react this way.

“The Battle of Pezantium… this old man truly finds it regrettable.”

“……”

“Common people often call nobles hypocritical, don’t they? I somewhat agree with that assessment. But even so… I would find it difficult to sleep soundly after committing such acts.”

“Stop beating around the bush and get to the point.”

Claude spoke, grinding his teeth and abandoning courtesy.

“It means failing to understand His Majesty’s concerns is also disloyalty. I trust you understand my meaning, and I hope you’ll make proper judgments at the next administrative meeting.”

With those final words, he turned his back while laughing heartily.

The slight smile that had lingered on Claude’s lips completely disappeared as he glared at Marquis Bishrom’s retreating back.

Though he felt like having a cigarette right then, it was already the appointed time.

Claude walked quite a distance further and arrived at the Emperor’s palace. The imperial knight guarding the audience chamber raised his spear with a tense expression upon seeing his face.

“His Majesty is waiting.”

The attendant bowed his head to Claude. Judging by his complexion not being too dark, it seemed there hadn’t been any major incidents today.

At least not yet.

“Duke Heinst enters.”

With a resounding announcement, the heavy doors adorned with golden lions opened with a loud sound.

Then, light from chandeliers more dazzling than the midday sun filled his eyes. And he saw maids cleaning up pieces of broken vases here and there.

It seems small incidents have already occurred.

Correcting his assumption, Claude took steps toward the figure seated on the imperial throne at the end of the black carpet.

The red hair proving his Lezentra imperial bloodline came into view. The Emperor, who had been enjoying the breeze from a large foreign fan with his eyes closed, slowly opened them.

The Emperor, who had been sitting with a pretense of solemnity, brightened upon seeing him, but quickly erased his expression at the sound of throat-clearing nearby.

“Duke. I’ve been waiting.”

“I behold the brilliant sun of Lezentra.”

“Sit down first.”

At the Emperor’s command, an attendant quickly brought a chair, respectfully placed it behind Claude, and disappeared.

Claude’s strong legs crossed as he sat in the chair, his medals glinting in the light coming through the windows.

It was a proud and dignified attitude that would be difficult for an ordinary person to display before the Emperor.

The maids waiting beside the Emperor glanced furtively at the Duke. The sight of the tall, handsome man with his long legs stretched out was enough to captivate anyone’s attention.

Just as Claude was about to speak–

“So, Duke… how is Flora doing?”

The Emperor asked, trying to appear dignified while barely containing his impatience.

At that moment, Claude felt his mood rapidly deteriorating.

The Emperor had begun asking about Flora at some point.

‘Is Flora adapting well at the Duke’s residence?’

He always called her by name, as if they were close. Whenever this happened, Claude felt strange.

Claude had been quite surprised to learn that the origin of Flora’s name, which he had assumed someone else had given her, had come from the Emperor himself.

‘I was the first to call her by that name. Doesn’t it suit her well?’

The Emperor had said this with a wide grin. His face was triumphant, as if he had bestowed some great title.

The Emperor had visited the western front exactly once during the war. It was due to the Senate’s request for him to inspect and boost the soldiers’ morale.

The Emperor had firmly refused, making various excuses, but eventually visited the relatively close western region due to persistent requests.

And there, he saw Flora displaying her prowess as she ran across the plains.

‘Look at that beautiful red flame.’

However impressive the sight from afar had been, the Emperor had exclaimed those words in admiration, and afterward, through many people’s lips, she came to be called by the name Flora.

Perhaps because of this, the Emperor repeatedly emphasized that he was the one who had given her that name.

‘The way that child wields a sword is just like a flower in full bloom. She’ll be quite a useful soldier.’

The weak Emperor had a strong admiration for strong individuals. Given his weak constitution that had been plagued with illness since childhood, not to mention his lack of sword skills, it was quite understandable.

He wanted to keep those with qualities he lacked under his command. For instance, it was the same reasoning behind his attempts to keep both Marquis Sternbrow and himself among all the nobles.

The Sternbrow family, praised as the finest when it came to swordsmanship, and the Heinst family, which had likewise been charged with protecting the empire for generations.

The Emperor’s eyes grew distant, as though he was returning to that time.

“Isn’t she feeling confined in that small mansion? Having roamed freely in those vast forests, she must find it quite stifling.”

Claude’s smiling face slightly faltered at the absurdity of these comments. Hadn’t he sent her to him specifically to separate her from the 12th Division?