CHAPTER 46………………………………..
If one were truly unlucky, they might be forced into a political marriage for the sake of interests.
It was something I would refuse under any circumstances.
The important thing, anyway, was the fact that the Duchy of Lesean held a high status.
“You’d probably think participating in something like this is unnecessary.”
“Why?”
“Because even if you directly harmed someone, there would be no family to protest.”
Even if they were to wipe out a lower-ranking family, no one would openly oppose them.
“And aren’t they a family that considers not hiding things a virtue?”
“True.”
Recalling the Lesean Duchy’s past, the emperor quickly understood.
Even when a dark magician appeared in their territory, the family hadn’t particularly tried to hide it.
Ironically, this had earned them the trust of the king at the time.
“Also… they’ll be busy internally, so they probably won’t pay much attention to the outside world.”
“Internally?”
“Lady Valeria has manifested as a spirit mage.”
The head of the Lesean Duchy had traditionally been either a mage or a spirit mage.
Among the two, the family had chosen to identify more with being a spirit mage lineage.
This meant that the succession might completely change in the future.
“They must all be busy, then. Anyway, good work, Sir Sieren.”
Only then did the emperor fully return to his usual self.
Looking back, his previous question had seemed like a simple test.
He wanted to confirm whether Irenes knew the Lesean Duchy well enough—not to be deceived by the family in a worst-case scenario.
‘Though that worst-case… is highly unlikely.’
Both Irenes and the emperor knew that very well.
Thus, the previous conversation could be summarized in just five words:
A mischievous joke.
That was truly all there was to it.
“Well then, Sir Sieren, let’s begin the report for real. Have you located the dark magician yet?”
As Irenes struggled to calm her uneasy mind, the emperor asked.
The investigation was ongoing, of course, but no definitive answer had emerged yet.
“I’ll need a little more time.”
“Then you’ll have to go back down?”
“Pardon?”
Irenes blinked at the unexpected question.
She had naturally expected an order to return to the knights and lead the investigation.
That was always the procedure whenever traces of a dark magician were found.
“Even if I ask why…”
“I don’t think they’d be as sloppy as usual.”
That explanation alone was enough to grasp the emperor’s intent.
Once the investigation officially began, word of it would inevitably spread throughout the empire.
In other words, the dark magician would also hear about it.
“It’s better to proceed quietly.”
On the other hand, if Irenes acted alone, the chance of the news leaking would drop dramatically.
“Is there no other way?”
“I’ll go down myself.”
There was no reason to refuse the order.
It was a rational approach, and it also meant staying a bit closer to Laseil…
‘I don’t mix personal feelings with work, I don’t…’
Quickly gathering her composure, Irenes gave a small nod.
Immediately afterward, the emperor gave permission for her to leave.
Yet, there were still matters to handle in the capital.
“Commander!”
She needed to check whether the other knights were doing their work properly.
As soon as she entered the training grounds, familiar voices rang out from all directions.
“You still haven’t confessed?”
“Are you still being misunderstood?”
“Perhaps Sir Jaen has no feelings at all?”
“You’ve been together for months, and there’s been no progress?”
Not all the comments were welcome.
They were the same things she always heard whenever she met Laseil.
“You haven’t held hands yet, right?”
“We’ve held hands…!”
She tried to ignore it, but that was nearly impossible.
Eventually, swayed by the atmosphere, Irenes blurted out without realizing it:
“We held hands?”
“Brushing hands doesn’t count.”
“Even if fingers touched?”
“We really held hands.”
“How did it happen?”
“…I was checking whether it was affected by a ghost or dark magic…”
“Don’t mix personal feelings with work!”
Derisive laughter erupted from all around.
It seemed they were excited because someone finally returned for them to tease.
“Now that you mention it, I heard about that!”
Lusse, the vice-captain of the Royal Knights, asked with a smile.
“You entered the ballroom as partners with Sir Jaen, right?”
“That rumor’s already spread?”
“Commander? Being together in the ballroom doesn’t mean you entered as partners.
Dancing together doesn’t count either.
You officially applied and entered together.”
As if on cue, everyone went silent.
An awkward stillness filled the training grounds.
“Applause!”
A knight, who had been smirking earlier, broke the silence.
“The commander finally made progress!”
“How long will this go on?”
“Come on, applause!”
Irenes sighed deeply.
She often wondered how these people even became royal knights.
Yet, it was equally puzzling how they would follow the commander’s orders well during important situations.
“Is it over now?”
The applause finally ended after a full minute.
Irenes, who had briefly hidden her face, lifted her head and asked:
“Should I let them continue?”
“No, no, that’s enough.”
“So, what exactly is going on with Sir Jaen?”
“…I don’t know.”
Sometimes it felt like they had grown very close.
Other times, it felt like he was a complete stranger.
Because Laseil rarely displayed his emotions, it felt even more so.
‘I can’t exactly force him to talk about it either.’
Sighing again, Irenes finally spoke.
She couldn’t keep being swayed by the atmosphere forever.
“There were traces of dark magic in the territory. We need to go back and check.”
Finally, she could address the matter she originally intended to.
The knights, who had been noisily chattering, suddenly quieted down.
It was Lusse, cautiously breaking the silence with a question.
“So… from the Lesean side, perhaps?”
“Probably not.”
Even though the answer was quick, no one seemed to doubt it.
Regarding dark magic, they fully trusted Irenes’ judgment.
“How long do you plan to be gone?”
“There’s no set time. It will take quite a while.”
Irenes had many duties in the territory.
Of course, one was to track the dark magician.
But managing the overall security of the territory was also part of her responsibilities.
After all, it had suffered from dark magic in the past.
Post-incident management of affected areas was the royal family’s duty.
“So you’ll meet Sir Jaen again!”
The topic Irenes had been avoiding popped up again.
“Take this chance to do well.”
“Do well at what, exactly?”
“By the way, there’s been some alarming rumors lately. Is the curse story true?”
She realized that was why they had dragged the conversation out.
All the knights’ eyes were on Irenes.
“There’s no way to verify…”
The knights were nobles themselves.
They were just not the most influential ones or had been sidelined in succession.
‘Those nobles wouldn’t want to put their children in danger.’
If she hadn’t been the commander, the Duchy of Sieren might also have refused the offer.
It was easy to forget, but anything related to dark magic was extremely dangerous.
‘…That much is clear.’
For some reason, when Laseil was around, everything felt very simple.
“Commander?”
“Oh, I was just thinking. That seems right.”
In any case, the knights of this order had no access to the capital’s social scene.
The only information they received was what Irenes told them.
“Will anything require investigation?”
“For now, it should be fine.”
The emperor seemed to think the dark magician was meddling in the social scene.
So with a light warning, they were trying to provoke the dark magician.
If the dark magician took the bait, Irenes would capture them.
‘Theoretically, it seems simple.’
In reality, it was likely to be far more complicated.
It might end up being longer and more troublesome than expected.
Either way, it was the job of the commander of the royal knights.
Irenes returned to prepare to go back to the territory without complaint.
