Chapter 20.
I Keep Getting Pulled In!
Despite Leah’s urging for Micloch to finish reading the letter she sent him, Freddy couldn’t bring himself to speak easily.
When an impatient Micloch told Joseph to read it instead, only then did Freddy reluctantly continue reading Leah’s letter.
“The day you departed, it seemed like Millie gave a white scarf to one of the knights. Who could it have been? Actually, it turns out Millie had prepared another scarf. This one was made of blue silk, but she never said who she planned to give it to.”
“Oh no, looks like Millie wasn’t planning to give it only to you, Ralph. You better stay on your toes,” Micloch joked playfully.
But William, Ralph, and even Freddy had hardened expressions.
“What? Why do you all look like that?”
Micloch looked around at the three, confused.
He had been amused by the thought that William, who had been sulking over not receiving Millie’s scarf, might now have a chance.
But something was clearly off. Ralph being upset was understandable—but even William, whom Micloch expected to be pleased, had a grim, stiff expression.
And why did Freddy, who wasn’t involved, look so guilty?
“What’s going on? William, you go first.”
“It doesn’t matter. Even if the Queen’s maid was tossing scarves to every man in the unit, it has nothing to do with me,” William replied with a face that clearly said otherwise.
Ah-ha~ He’s upset because he thinks Millie was trying to flirt with all the men.
At least that mystery was cleared up thanks to William’s transparent answer.
“What about you, Freddy?”
“Well, that’s… um…”
Freddy kept glancing at Ralph, hesitating to speak.
“Out with it. That’s a royal order.”
“Well, it’s just… when our departure was delayed for three hours, I talked to Millie for a long time. About the expedition schedule, when we’d return… all sorts of things…”
“And?”
Micloch still didn’t get the point and urged him on.
“Haa… I should’ve noticed then… I think she wanted to give me the blue scarf but couldn’t muster the courage. So she gave the other one to Ralph, who looks just like me.”
He glanced at Ralph with a deeply apologetic look. Ralph looked dumbfounded, while William’s face looked like it was rotting.
“I don’t understand women… but don’t worry. I’d never let a woman come between me and my only brother. I’ll write Millie a letter and tell her to give up on me!”
Freddy smacked his chest dramatically and nodded with conviction. But somehow, Micloch found the whole thing utterly unconvincing.
“Try writing that stupid letter and see what happens!”
Ralph, who rarely showed emotion, exploded.
“What? So you’re saying you should back off instead?”
“Why would I back off?”
“Then what do you want me to do? Make up your mind.”
The twin knights, the Solon brothers, suddenly started growling at each other. Meanwhile, William, whom Micloch had secretly been rooting for, just watched them coldly without a word.
Micloch sighed. It felt like watching a fight between idiot, idiot, and idiot.
“Enough. Next!”
He stood up and began putting on his jacket, motioning to Freddy to keep reading the rest of Leah’s letter.
Freddy, who had been glaring at Ralph with a flushed face, cleared his throat and continued.
“Do you remember what I told you before? I could live with a man with a bad temper, but not with an ugly one. Mick, you know I fell for your handsome face, right? So make sure you come back just as you left—don’t let that perfect face of yours get even a scratch. Your Leah.”
Three seconds of silence followed the end of the letter.
Then—
“AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
All the knights, including Joseph, screamed, stomped their feet, and scrubbed their arms as if shaking off bugs.
William and Freddy even gagged as if they were going to throw up.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with them. Did lunch not sit well?” Micloch muttered.
Fully dressed now, he snatched the letter from Freddy’s hand and lightly kissed Leah’s signature at the end.
“AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
The entire group fled the tent, heaving deep breaths outside to settle their churning stomachs.
They were all wondering if that man inside, drenched in blood and ruthlessly slaughtering enemies, could really be the same hellish demon they knew.
Moments later, a solemn voice came from inside the tent.
“If you’re done fooling around, fall in!”
This wasn’t the same casual, joking voice from earlier. It was the voice of a king—deep, commanding, dignified.
The knights quickly switched to combat mode and rushed back inside.
Micloch pointed his spear at the map laid out on the ground.
“We were supposed to head south from the west, then sweep eastward to clear the monsters…”
He drew a line from their current location straight to the easternmost edge.
“Change of plans. We’re heading east tonight.”
Understanding instantly, William smiled faintly.
“Hitting them from the east will catch the monsters completely off guard.”
“First long run in a while.”
Even with the sudden change, the knights’ eyes sparkled with anticipation.
“Let’s wipe them out quickly and go home.”
Micloch looked down at the map with a cold gleam in his eyes.
***
“Millie, don’t slack off. You still have 100 swings to go.”
While they were training with wooden swords in the practice yard, Millie was caught trying to sneak off.
“My Queen, I think my arms are about to fall off.”
“No they’re not. Get your sword.”
Millie pouted and retrieved the wooden sword she had tossed aside.
After her master retired two years ago, the Queen had barely been able to train due to the watchful eyes of the Marquess’s household.
She was stiff from the long break and didn’t enjoy training alone, so she decided to teach Millie the basics—to help her build muscle and handle the cold better.
But Millie was far clumsier than expected.
“Millie, why are you holding the sword upside down? Hold the hilt, not the blade.”
“Oh, really…?”
“A wooden sword isn’t a laundry paddle. Your grip is too weak, so use both hands on the hilt—wait! I’ve never seen those gloves before.”
“Huh? Oh, these…”
Millie tried to hide her hands behind her back, embarrassed.
“Hands forward.”
When the Queen wiggled her fingers, Millie reluctantly held her hands out.
They were covered in fine leather gloves with the fingertips cut off.
“Did someone give you those?”
“Um… Sir Ralph sent them. I guess he heard I was training with Your Majesty…”
Millie squirmed as she explained.
“He said the sword might be slippery and thought I should wear these…”
Ralph, huh… The Queen tried to recall what kind of man he was.
A tall, handsome knight with red hair. Unlike his twin Freddy, he was intellectual and cold—but apparently had a kind side too.
“Hm… not blond, no soft honey-colored eyes, doesn’t exactly look gentle… but I guess he’s kind to you, huh?”
The Queen teased, and Millie turned red like a ripe tomato.
“It’s not exactly like that…”
As Millie fidgeted, the Queen suddenly remembered Mick’s letter, brimming with longing and affection for Leah. Near the end, it read:
“Leah, I think Millie has a knack for charming my knights. William, Ralph, Freddy… she’s been driving them mad lately. Please take care of this, or else the famed demon knights of Fritan might become laughingstocks of the world.”
The Queen stifled a laugh. Who would’ve thought the mighty Fritan army’s greatest weakness was her Millie?
She decided to test Millie’s heart a little.
“Be honest. You gave the white scarf to Sir Ralph, right? So he’s your number one?”
“Well, not exactly…”
“Not exactly?”
“When he’s kind to me like that, I do get drawn to him. But then, Sir Freddy is funnier and more talkative, so sometimes I think I get along better with him…”
Oh my! So Millie’s heart was wavering between the twin knights!
“But then again, Sir William lets me ride his Bibi, and he gives me heating stones too… He’s really sweet, you know?”
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“No way! I’m not!”
Millie waved her arms, but the corners of her eyes curved with obvious delight.
Oh my, oh my. Mick was right! Her Millie truly had a talent for charming the Fritan knights.
***
That night, at the imperial Daisy Palace of the Harun Empire, the sound of a woman sobbing echoed.
Hailey Uzcarl—no, now officially Hailey Harun, the twelfth consort of the Emperor—was curled on her bed, crying alone.
“Your Highness, please compose yourself. You may incur His Majesty’s wrath.”
The older maid was anxious that the young new consort might provoke the Emperor, who was known to be moody and cruel.
“Shut up.”
But Hailey, drowning in despair, had no room to consider anyone else’s concerns.
Her face was streaked with tears, a red handprint marked her cheek, her lip was cracked and crusted with dried blood, and her eyes were bruised and swollen.
She threw anything she could grab at the maid in a blind fury.
“Get out! All of you!!”
Once the maids had fled, Hailey’s face twisted with agony. Remembering the nightmare she had just endured, her slender arms began to tremble.
The Emperor had stormed into the bridal chamber like a beast, intent only on satisfying himself. Every time he touched her, it felt like thousands of centipedes were crawling over her skin.
When she instinctively pushed him away, his fist came down hard.
He had stood up, looking down at her coldly.
“Do you know how much I paid for you? And this is how you act? Do you want to go back to your father?”
At that moment, Hailey remembered the Marquis of Uzcarl’s cold gaze. If she returned, her father might beat her to death.
“Your Majesty…”
Trembling, Hailey grabbed the Emperor’s robe. Only then did he smirk and come toward her again.
As she clung to him, she shut her eyes tight.
“The man crushing me is Viscount Wilhelm… the hand groping me is that of Baron Gillette… the lips touching mine belong to Sir Johnson…”
Hailey clung to memories of the men she had once shared passionate nights with to endure this horror.
Lying there with blank eyes staring at the ceiling, she felt as though all her misfortunes stemmed from Leah. The thought was maddening.
Leah… this was supposed to be your place. I’ll take it back—no matter what it takes!!
