Chapter 17
To show proper respect before meeting a royal, Enrico walked ahead of the group toward the approaching carriage.
There were no nobles who could stand ahead of the Lefevre family, so he naturally took the lead.
“Imagine running into someone from Lefevre here… I must be quite lucky.”
“May all the forest’s blessings dwell with the royal family. It’s been a while, Prince Rotis Rajnuk.”
“Greetings, Lord Enrico Lefevre.”
Prince Rotis Rajnuk, the first prince of the Razak royal family and the most likely successor to the throne, was a stunningly handsome man.
His eyes had a sleepy, languid quality to them—as if he belonged more among fairies who served the goddess of dreams and slumber. His golden eyes made one think of eternal twilight.
“It’s very unfortunate that such an incident happened in Nephele, a territory under the royal family’s rule.”
“Well, I suppose.”
Even though the prince was offering an apology on behalf of the royal family, Enrico’s expression remained indifferent.
He wasn’t disrespectful, but neither did he show much courtesy or humility. It was an impressively balanced attitude that was neither rude nor overly polite.
Only Lord Barock, watching from behind, smiled in satisfaction, thinking: He really is growing up to be the next head of Lefevre.
“Since we’ve met like this, how about we come to an agreement and enter the Nephele estate together?”
“There’s not really anything to agree upon between the royal family and Lefevre.”
“No need to sound so sharp. This is a personal letter from His Majesty the King. Won’t you at least hear me out?”
“Fine, let’s hear it.”
“Since the incident happened in Nephele, making the investigation official might cause public unrest. And this involves a direct descendant of Lefevre, after all. His Majesty is very concerned.”
“Are you suggesting we handle this matter unofficially?”
“Quick summary, as expected. Yes, you’re right.”
“Fine by me.”
“You agree just like that?”
“In return, Lefevre will take full authority over the investigation. Please grant us unrestricted access to the Nephele estate.”
“This was supposed to be a cooperative agreement, not a negotiation.”
“If you refuse, I won’t be able to convince my father.”
“The Lord of Lefevre didn’t even come himself.”
“I stopped him from coming.”
“…That’s a bit chilling. You say such scary things so casually.”
“What’s the issue?”
“You’re asking for complete control of the investigation.”
“We’ll share part of the results with the royal family once the investigation is over.”
“How much of it? Can we expect more than half?”
Enrico’s expression said, Over my dead body, and Rotis let out a chuckle.
His smiling eyes gave off a seductive charm, but Enrico showed no reaction whatsoever.
Eventually, Prince Rotis said he would consider the offer and left it at that, and Enrico turned away without hesitation, telling him to take his time.
The prince’s final response came just before Lefevre’s party left the relay post.
“I’ll accept Lefevre’s proposal—on the condition that we receive at least thirty percent of the investigation findings, especially detailed information about those who attempted to kidnap Lady Blandea Lefevre.”
****
“The military will not accept the agreement the two of you made.”
Agnes rejected it without hesitation.
The young commander’s voice hit the air like a heavy weight. Her bloodshot eyes were so red it was almost pitiful.
Anyone could see she hadn’t slept in a long time.
She was clearly surviving on nothing but sheer youth and stamina. It looked like her life energy was being drained just to stay upright. Her wild eyes burned with fatigue and intensity, almost like her spirit had already snapped.
“It seems the royal family and Lefevre have forgotten that Lady Blandea Lefevre is officially under the military’s First Division.”
Enrico’s expression sharpened at those words.
“Are you saying the military is now claiming authority over a Lefevre heir?”
“That’s the Supreme Commander’s stance. Interpret it however you like.”
“What?”
“The military will take over more than half the investigation. A knight personally assigned by the Supreme Commander will lead the inquiry. We’ll cooperate fully with both Lefevre and the royal family, but the military will not be excluded from this matter.”
The prince smiled sweetly, clearly entertained.
“What, is Lady Blandea so beautiful that everyone’s fighting to protect her?”
At that moment, both Agnes and Enrico turned to glare at him coldly.
One pair of eyes looked half-deranged from sleep deprivation, and the other looked ready to throw the prince off a cliff.
“……”
“……”
Faced with such brutally honest expressions, the prince quickly raised both hands in surrender.
“Okay, okay, it was a bad joke. I apologize. But seriously, where is the Supreme Commander?”
Agnes answered stiffly.
“That’s classified military information, Your Highness.”
“…Well, when you say that, I really can’t argue. My bad. I’ll be quiet now.”
Enrico folded his arms and tilted his chin slightly. Earlier, when they had arrived in Nephele, Agnes had told him, “The Supreme Commander is personally protecting Lady Blandea.”
Maybe because of the Oparts, the Supreme Commander had taken a rather favorable stance toward Blandea. It didn’t seem to be out of bad intentions.
And if the Commander really decided to cancel the agreement because of Blandea’s status… that would be a problem. They weren’t here to argue politics.
A little while later, both Enrico and Prince Rotis Rajnuk signed the documents Agnes handed over.
****
“Enri!”
I threw open the door and ran to him. Enrico grinned and picked me up, spinning me in the air.
I was surprised to see how short his hair had gotten. In my memory, Enrico always wore his hair long, down to his shoulder blades, neatly tied in one braid.
Now it was trimmed down to barely a finger’s length.
“Blanna.”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s go home. Quit the army.”
“There you go again. Let me go.”
I kicked off his arms and stood on my own two feet.
“I’m serious. This is way too dangerous. How can a direct Lefevre heir nearly get kidnapped right inside a military base?”
“It wasn’t an actual kidnapping. It was just an attempt—and I was rescued without even leaving my assigned quarters.”
“Lord Barock, why is she talking like this?”
“It’s a tone new recruits in the knights often pick up. She seems to have caught it too.”
Hearing Lord Barock’s calm response, Enrico let out a long sigh.
“What do I even do with you?”
“Nothing. And besides, Enri, I’ve become someone who can’t live without power anymore.”
“Oh, right. I heard from Hector. You love getting salutes in the barracks.”
“Yup.”
“You’re a Lefevre! Even in high society, everyone greets you. You know that.”
“I do. But in society, nobles bow nervously to me, not salute with fear.”
“……”
“It’s fun seeing them scared of me.”
Enrico turned to Lord Barock in shock.
“Lord Barock, did you only train her physically and forget to work on her personality?”
“The young lady’s character is perfectly fine, Lord Enrico.”
“You hear that?”
“The entire Lefevre family spoiled you rotten.”
“Yep. And you were the worst.”
“Yeah, I take full responsibility.”
I laughed. Lord Barock, who had waited patiently while we exchanged greetings, stepped forward.
“Young lady, have you been keeping up with your training?”
“Yes. Oh, but Lord Barock, because I had to conserve energy for a blessing mission, I couldn’t push myself to the point of exhaustion. I had to adjust the training intensity.”
“Had to?”
“It wasn’t my choice. What can I do? I’m a member of the military now.”
“Military?”
Suddenly, Enrico’s eyes sparked like flames. Since his face resembled mine so closely, it weirdly felt like I was the one getting angry.
“You’re only in the military for a year.”
“I know. It’s not like I said I’d stay forever.”
“Hah… Everyone here thinks you’re planning to stay for life.”
“That’s just a misunderstanding. After this year, I’m going back to the estate and retreating into seclusion.”
“…Seclusion? Why are you always so extreme?”
Even as he laughed bitterly, Enrico looked clearly annoyed.
And I had a pretty good idea why.
Just earlier, I saw the exhausted knights who looked like they’d carried Agnes’s dying soul on their backs.
They were the aides of the 8th Commander.
Since their direct superior was working herself to death, they looked like they were dying too—stumbling along like zombies.
