IBWMD 87

~Chapter 87~

“Good work, Captain.”

“Yeah.”

Istar, who had just removed his armor, let out a short sigh as he entered the captain’s office.

After the grueling training, he was greeted by the sight of his desk.

Papers piled so high on the desk that the chair behind it was barely visible.

“……”

Istar held back another sigh.

‘It wasn’t this bad before.’

Ever since Elaine Pascal, who caused a huge scandal in the capital a few months ago, left—

The 3rd Knight Division still hadn’t filled the vacant vice-captain position left behind.

Because of that, Istar’s paperwork had doubled.

“Troublesome kid.”

Istar gave a bitter smile.

“I always knew she’d cause a huge mess someday.”

Istar had watched Elaine since she was young.

Ever since he began secretly admiring her older sister… no, her “big sister,” Reyna.

Even during his busy and harsh training, Istar tried his best to attend Marquis Pascal’s social gatherings.

It was all to catch a glimpse of Reyna’s face from afar.

He was a man who would dedicate his life to God as a holy knight, so it was impossible to hope to be by Reyna’s side.

But he still needed some way to soothe his longing heart.

‘You’re here again, huh?’

It was always Elaine, Reyna’s younger brother, who spoke to him back then.

‘Don’t call me “brother,” Elaine. You should call him properly—Sir Istar, the knight cadet.’

‘But that’s way too long.’

‘I don’t mind, Lady Reyna.’

‘Then just call him Sir Istar. It’s shorter.’

Elaine had always been a little offbeat. She even gave Istar chances to talk with Reyna, though she probably didn’t even realize it.

‘She was always sticking her nose in everywhere.’

Whether it was because she was naturally lonely, Elaine easily blended in with others despite her timid and gentle face.

But surprisingly, she never seemed to have anyone she was truly close to.

She’d be laughing with everyone one moment, then suddenly drift away like egg whites separated for meringue.

‘Next, Elaine Pascal. This trainee will be assigned to…’

‘The 3rd Knight Division.’

‘She doesn’t have the best grades. Are you sure, Istar?’

‘Of course.’

Assigning Elaine under him after she entered the holy knights had been inevitable.

He couldn’t say it wasn’t because of Reyna, but either way, he cared about her.

And Elaine turned out not to be an easy subordinate.

Usually quiet, she sometimes pulled completely unpredictable stunts.

And those stunts weren’t always small.

‘Sorry, Captain.’

‘Do you even know how to apologize properly as a vice-captain?’

‘It’s better than not apologizing at all.’

‘Elaine Pascal, you really…’

‘Bear with it. You’re the one who picked me as vice-captain.’

Even when she said things like that, it was hard to truly hate her.

As they spent more time together, Istar eventually stopped seeing Elaine as “Reyna’s little brother.”

Elaine was Elaine.

The only subordinate who always caught his eye, in case she caused trouble again.

Istar cherished her.

Quite a lot. More than he expected.

So when her true gender was revealed—

‘…You were a woman?’

‘Yes. That’s how it is… No, that’s not right. I was always like this.’

Many holy knights were shocked.

Some knights from other divisions even said they felt insulted for being deceived.

But what Istar felt first was…

…a deep sense of loss.

‘Anyway, thank you, Captain.’

‘……’

‘Even when you scolded me and lectured me, I knew you cared about me.’

‘Elaine.’

‘You were a good superior.’

Because Elaine was no longer his vice-captain.

What overwhelmed him wasn’t anger at being deceived, but emptiness.

A subordinate he had grown attached to, whether through frustration or fondness, was suddenly gone.

‘And now you’re going off to marry another man?’

Maybe that’s why he had blurted that strange line back then.

“Is she doing okay?”

Was she causing trouble again somewhere?

If she caused trouble in the Grand Duchy, he couldn’t help her.

‘If she punches the Grand Duke because she doesn’t want to marry him, it’ll be a disaster…’

At the very least, he hoped she wouldn’t cause trouble where he couldn’t protect her.

Istar still hadn’t chosen a new vice-captain.

“……”

The document on top of the pile was a list of recommendations for the vice-captain position.

He brushed his bangs aside and picked up the papers.

‘I can’t put this off forever…’

Rustle.

Just then, something fell from between the papers.

It was a letter, and the sender was from Saint Portou.

“……”

Istar’s eyes immediately locked on it.

Saint Portou… that was where Elaine had gone.

Could it be from her?

‘Did she really cause trouble there?’

It wasn’t like he could help her from the capital.

He quickly tore open the envelope.

But as soon as he read the first line, his brows furrowed slightly.

“……Zeon?”

The name felt strangely familiar.

A moment later, he remembered.

“One of the holy knights who volunteered to be stationed in Saint Portou a few years ago.”

Around the same time he had selected Elaine for the 3rd Division.

He was briefly disappointed, but he read Zeon’s letter carefully.

He also checked if there was any mention of Elaine.

And the contents of the letter… were strange.

“…The holy knights are searching for something related to dragons?”

He didn’t know what the current Pope was up to, but apparently Saint Portou was searching for something connected to dragons.

And the head priest had a suspicious conversation with someone.

A conversation where they mentioned “that person.”

‘If the head priest spoke so politely, it must have been about a high-ranking priest.’

The head priest of a territory held a very high position.

So someone higher than him could only be an archbishop or…

‘Could it even be connected to the Pope?’

The Pope.

Istar knew the man was his biological father, thanks to his late mother.

But he had always considered him less than a stranger and ignored him.

The Pope had never even visited him despite knowing he had become a holy knight.

Knock knock.

“Captain. Are you there?”

“What is it?”

The secretary’s voice came with a polite knock.

He probably came for paperwork matters.

“If it’s about the paperwork, I haven’t finished yet. As for the vice-captain appointment, I’ll answer soon…”

“It’s not about that…”

“Oh. Then is it about the training ground schedule between divisions?”

Istar casually replied as he flipped through his papers.

But the reply from the other side of the closed door was something he did not expect.

“…His Holiness the Pope is requesting your presence, Captain.”

Rustle, rustle.

The hair ornaments in my hair swayed annoyingly in my vision.

I pushed them aside and sighed.

It wasn’t just my hair.

The ornaments were so heavy that the dress itself was starting to feel heavy too.

“Beth, do we really have to go this far?”

“Yes. Absolutely!”

“I think this is a bit too much…”

“The Grand Duke himself is coming! We have to show him how cute you are. Anyone who sees you will be unable to resist confessing their love—”

“You rejected me though.”

“That’s different.”

Beth ignored my comment and clenched her fists.

“We have to show the Grand Duke the perfect Young Lady!”

“……”

Yes. The Grand Duke was coming.

That’s what Jeremy had told me when he called me yesterday.

My memory drifted back to that moment.

“……There’s something you need to hear.”

When I opened the door, Jeremy had just washed his face and was sighing heavily, clearly reluctant.

Then he said,

“His Grace has returned.”

“What? Who?”

“His Grace.”

Wait. The only person Jeremy would call “His Grace” was…

“His Grace? The one I’m thinking of?”

“Yes. Grand Duke Silence…”

“……”

“Your husband, the Grand Duke.”

I hadn’t expected an ambush from my “husband.”