Chapter 14

The next day, a letter addressed to [Lady Shaterian] arrived at the Crown Prince’s palace.

The sender’s name was not written.

The maid explained that it had been left in front of the palace gates earlier that morning.

I didn’t realize your smile was so frivolous, Lady Shaterian. If you continue to smile so beautifully, neither those who see your smile nor you yourself will be left unharmed.

As Shaterian read the letter, she recalled the gaze she had felt on her way back to the Crown Prince’s palace the previous day.

‘Could that have been Gusto?’

She was so shocked that she couldn’t say a word.

Seeing her frozen in place, Orgon approached and snatched the letter from her hands.

After reading the letter, Orgon’s face hardened, just like hers.

“Terry, this won’t do. Until Gusto Avidita is caught, you’ll have to stay by my side.”

“You’re not in your office all day… and I can’t just follow you around everywhere.”

“Then how about staying near His Majesty?”

“I don’t like that. Besides, I didn’t tell anyone the full story because I didn’t want to worry them. If I do that, I’ll have to explain everything.”

She had already made up an excuse, saying she was staying at the Crown Prince’s palace because the annex was under renovation.

“Then I’ll assign you a bodyguard.”

“What? A bodyguard inside the imperial palace?”

“Yes. It’s dangerous, so there’s no other choice.”

Having a bodyguard would make her stand out too much.

More than that, she hated the idea of someone constantly staying by her side under the guise of protection—it felt like being watched.

“Absolutely not.”

“Absolutely yes. I’ll handle it, so don’t worry. I’ll make sure it’s someone reliable.”

Orgon spoke firmly, showing no intention of changing his mind, and then walked away.

She didn’t even have time to stop him.

Not long after she arrived at the counseling office, a visitor showed up.

Both Pell and Shaterian exchanged confused glances at the unexpected figure.

It was Eurell Mon Pellinier.

He was the Deputy Commander of the Imperial 2nd Knight Order and the current strongest swordsman in the Kentri Empire, having won first place in the recent swordsmanship tournament.

Of course, Eched hadn’t participated in the tournament, so it was impossible to determine who was truly superior between the two.

“It’s been a while, Lady Shaterian.”

Eurell greeted her with a stoic expression.

Trying to hide her confusion, Shaterian asked, 

“Did you… come here because you need counseling?”

‘Or could this possibly be for a marriage meeting?’

Since the Emperor hadn’t yet been informed about the situation with Gusto, the possibility of a marriage meeting couldn’t be ruled out.

“I’ve been ordered by His Highness the Crown Prince to serve as your bodyguard, Lady Shaterian.”

As she had suspected.

Orgon had assigned the strongest swordsman in the empire as her bodyguard.

Looking at Eurell’s shining blonde hair and his resolute golden eyes, Shaterian was at a loss for words.

Why did it have to be Eurell…?

Eurell was infamous for his inflexibility, meaning there was no way to coax him into giving up his role as her bodyguard.

“Would you like to take a seat?”

Pell, noticing Shaterian’s inability to respond, stepped in and offered to guide Eurell to the sofa.

However, the rigid “Pumpkin King” Eurell shook his head and declined.

“I’ve heard that the opponent is a dark sorcery user. Normally, I would guard from outside the room, but given the circumstances, I’ll stay close to you, Lady Shaterian.”

With that, he walked a couple of steps forward and stood just two paces away from her.

The weight of his presence behind her was overwhelming.

Tap, tap.

Out of habit, Shaterian tapped her desk with the tip of her pen. In the otherwise silent office, the sound echoed.

‘Is this some new assassination method?’

Something like suffocating a person to death with sheer pressure…

The suffocating atmosphere in the counseling office made her entertain such absurd thoughts.

Sigh.

This wouldn’t do.

“Eurell, does the 2nd Knight Order not have any work to do?”

“We have plenty.”

“Then why don’t you quit this bodyguard thing and go focus on your work?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because this is also work.”

“…What an inflexible man.”

Grumbling just loud enough that he wouldn’t hear, she turned her head away.

The more she talked to him, the more frustrated she felt. She would have to confront Orgon about this.

‘But Orgon can be quite stubborn.’

Since he seemed adamant about assigning her a bodyguard, she would at least ask him to assign someone else.

No matter how she looked at it, having someone like Eurell serve as her bodyguard was a waste of manpower.

For now, she continued working through the pile of documents she had to process.

‘If only there were one more person, I could finish this work much faster.’

As that thought crossed her mind, her gaze shifted to Eurell.

A mountain of paperwork and Eurell, who was reputed to be highly efficient at his tasks.

She alternated her gaze between the stack of documents and Eurell, until their eyes met.

This… wasn’t this an unexpected blessing?

A brilliant idea for putting him to work came to her.

“Eurell, as long as you stay close to me, that fulfills your duty as my bodyguard, right?”

“Yes.”

“Pell, bring an extra chair.”

Pell, quick to catch on, immediately got up and brought over a chair.

“Where should I place it?”

“Well, since he has to stay close, anywhere nearby will do.”

As Pell carried the chair over, Shaterian swept the clutter off a desk in the corner. Then, she dragged the desk over and placed it right next to hers. While she was doing that, Pell stacked a pile of documents on the newly cleared desk.

Gesturing grandly, Shaterian beckoned Eurell to the seat.

“Sit here, Eurell. Isn’t it better to work than just stand around?”

‘Stop wasting manpower!’

Shaterian’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the highly capable individual in front of her.

Eurell furrowed his brows slightly.

“Your expression is far too impure.”

Ah, oops.

At Eurell’s comment, she swallowed the saliva that had been about to escape her mouth. She must have unconsciously made a sly expression.

“Ahem. Anyway, help me out with some work. With Eched gone, there’s too much to do, and I’m short on hands.”

“It’s the same for us in the 2nd Knight Order…”

“Do you even hear yourself? Don’t you know external document disclosure is prohibited? If you bring 2nd Knight Order documents to the 1st Knight Order, that’s a violation of imperial law!”

So, are you going to help or not?

They locked eyes in a brief staring contest.

In the end, Eurell let out a sigh, removed the sword strapped to his waist, and sat down.

“Do I just need to check them?”

“Yes, just doing that would be a huge help.”

“Understood.”

Without any further complaints, Eurell began working on the documents. He read through them, marked areas that needed corrections, and sorted them by type.

Shaterian watched him with satisfaction before turning back to her own work.

‘I’ll postpone asking Orgon to assign me a different bodyguard.’

She had acquired a very satisfactory worker.

***

The counseling office, now with one highly capable worker, operated smoothly. With everything progressing so efficiently, time flew by.

Before long, it was time to leave for the day.

“Pell, let’s call it a day.”

“Yes!”

Pell, unusually cheerful, began preparing to leave, and soon they all exited the counseling office.

“Thank you for your help today, Deputy Commander Eurell. Chief, have a good evening.”

“Yeah, you too. Be careful on your way home.”

Since their paths diverged, Pell said his goodbyes in the hallway and left. Shaterian waved to her and then turned toward the Crown Prince’s palace.

The drawback was that her lodging was now farther away, so she had to walk a bit longer.

Eurell followed behind her as she headed toward the Crown Prince’s palace.

“Is escorting me all the way to the Crown Prince’s palace part of your job?”

“Yes.”

Back when they both attended the academy, Eurell had been in the general division like her, but since her attention had been entirely focused on Eched, she hadn’t had much interaction with him.

Her goal had been to graduate as the overall top student, not to excel in swordsmanship classes. Because of this, she hadn’t paid much attention to Eurell, who had ranked second in swordsmanship.

‘I used to think he was just another guy like Eched…’

Eurell seemed stoic at first glance, but he displayed more emotional depth than Eched.

It was almost amusing, as if she were looking at a slightly brighter version of Eched.

Lost in her thoughts, she suddenly stopped walking. It struck her that she had been unconsciously comparing Eurell to Eched.

Perhaps because she had spent so much time entangled with Eched, she instinctively compared everything to him. That was her problem.

‘What if I end up falling for Eched?’

She had to stop such a disaster from happening.

When she resumed walking, Eurell followed her once more.

Diligent and competent, Eurell never neglected his duty to protect her.

***

Before heading to work, Orgon visited her room early in the morning to check on her condition, as was his habit. He watched her closely as she prepared for the day.

Shaterian intentionally avoided starting a conversation, fearing he would only bombard her with worries.

He followed her all the way until she left the Crown Prince’s palace.

“Terry, be careful. Gusto’s whereabouts are still unclear.”

“Eurell is protecting me. I’ll be fine.”

If Shaterian had another flaw, it was her lack of a sense of danger.

Just knowing someone was protecting her made her feel overly complacent.

Eurell was waiting for her in the garden. She greeted him rather warmly.

“Eurell! Did you rest well last night?”

“…Yes.”

Eurell replied reluctantly with a stiff expression. He seemed awkward about her friendly demeanor.

Well, it couldn’t be helped. He was a very valuable resource at the moment.

Hiding her embarrassment, she headed toward the office.

“Pell, did you organize the complaint forms?”

“Yes, here they are.”

“Eurell, what about the list of names to be sent to the HR department?”

“Here it is.”

Whenever she asked, neatly organized documents were handed over.

Shaterian loved efficient people. With everything progressing so smoothly, she couldn’t ask for more.

Humming a tune, she scribbled her final approval signatures on the documents.

By late afternoon, Bruf visited the counseling office once again.

He entered casually but froze upon spotting Eurell.

Clearly, he hadn’t expected Eurell to be there. Looking a bit awkward, he hesitated before stepping fully into the office.

“Good afternoon, Deputy Commander Eurell.”

“It’s been a while.”

Eurell, as always, spoke formally to everyone, regardless of their status.

It was so stiff that even Shaterian found it awkward. Bruf gave her a look, silently asking for an explanation.

“He’s temporarily assigned as my bodyguard since yesterday.”

“Ah, I see…”

Bruf nodded in understanding.

“So, why are you here?”

Checking the clock, she noticed it was almost time to leave.

“Are you here to see Sylphide?”

Bruf didn’t answer but gave an awkward laugh. Perhaps he felt guilty, as he didn’t bother lying.

‘Was Bruf always this transparent?’

Well, it wasn’t a big deal to walk to the Crown Prince’s palace together.

Since she had already finished some of tomorrow’s work in advance, she could afford to leave early. They left the office and walked together.

“Come to think of it, the founding festival is in three days.”

“Already?”

“The main palace is already busy preparing for it.”

“Is that so? I didn’t realize.”

She hadn’t been to the main palace at all lately, so she hadn’t known.

Unlike the main palace, the annex, which only housed offices, had no reason to be busy.

“But why are you two so awkward? You were in the same general division, weren’t you?”

Even though Eurell was naturally quiet, it was odd that the usually sociable Bruf wasn’t striking up a conversation.

Her question only made the atmosphere more awkward, and she regretted asking.

To ease the tension, she joked with Bruf as they walked along the path.

That’s when it happened. Eurell suddenly stopped walking and stepped in front of her.

Before she could ask why, she sensed something strange.

It was damp and eerie, sending a chill down her spine.

Through Eurell’s arm, which was now holding his drawn sword, she saw a figure standing ahead.

“Gusto Avidita.”

The man whose whereabouts had been unclear had revealed himself.