Chapter 04
A clear, thin voice had left a trace deep inside his chest.
It wasn’t beautiful.
If things had ended beautifully, that might have been better.
The poor and insignificant boy from back then growing up into a man worthy of the girl he liked, proposing to her, and her happily accepting—that would’ve been the most beautiful ending Schloitz could imagine.
He slowly opened his mouth.
“Lady Lefevre.”
“Yes, Lord Procyon.”
“I’ve heard there’s a vassal family under Lefevre called Siedo. Is that correct?”
Blandea Lefevre answered smoothly.
“Yes, Lord Procyon. That’s correct.”
Schloitz had no idea her hands were slowly turning cold.
Fortunately for her, he had no plans to ask any further questions.
“No wonder everything was taken from me… even my family gave up on me.”
His expression darkened slightly as he gripped the Oparts in his hand. But that was all.
Then, a small feeling of confusion passed through him.
Blandea Lefevre always seemed slightly intimidated around him. But thanks to her high status, she usually didn’t hesitate to ask back when something puzzled her.
So he expected her to do the same this time.
But she said nothing. She simply lowered her eyes even more politely than usual.
Still, Schloitz didn’t feel curious enough to press further.
He never really had much interest in Blandea Lefevre in the first place.
He nodded toward the documents with his chin.
“Organize the variable reports related to the Oparts.”
“Understood.”
“Give me the blessing.”
With a calm response, Blandea stepped closer to him.
Normally, Schloitz would lean down to match her eye level when receiving a blessing.
But this time, he was sitting in his chair—so there was no need.
Blandea now looked down at him slightly.
She tilted her head gently toward him, and her hands carefully cradled his face.
A kiss landed on his cheek.
It felt like someone had poured warm holy water into his body.
As if someone unseen had reached into him and raised his body temperature.
No—she wasn’t unseen. She was standing right in front of him.
Blandea Lefevre.
The name Blessing of Purification had never seemed so perfect.
****
Schloitz’s daily routine was simple.
Well, my job of assisting him was simple.
I quietly tidied his desk after he left and tapped the tip of the quill.
“I nearly passed out…”
Sure, I was super flustered at first for mistakenly grabbing Schloitz’s hand and wiping off the ink,
but I’d calmed down over time.
It was my first time doing assistant work. Mistakes happen.
Besides, I’m a direct descendant of the Lefevre family, right?
If I had done everything perfectly from the beginning, that would’ve looked suspicious.
I didn’t want to steal Rafael’s job either.
But when Schloitz suddenly brought up the House of Siedo, I froze for a moment.
“I’m scared.”
To be honest, I’d been hoping a little.
Since Schloitz was so busy now, with so much on his plate, maybe…
he’d either forgotten about the Siedo family, or maybe remembered me only vaguely, like a blurry memory.
“Guess that really was just wishful thinking.”
If it had just been a random question, that would’ve been fine. But… probably not.
I decided, like always, not to be too hopeful.
I forced myself to think realistically.
The fact that he had specifically asked me about the Siedo family meant he hadn’t forgotten that moment at all.
He hadn’t even downplayed it in his memory.
Then why hadn’t he gone straight to the Siedo family yet?
Was it just because he was too busy?
If things calm down later… Would he go?
“He probably will.”
I had already prepared for that, just in case.
But I couldn’t stop thinking—there’s no such thing as a perfect secret.
Schloitz, when he was young, had been like a small, sharp-tongued kitten.
But a week ago, when he brutally kicked Marc Hunt’s mouth open…
Even though I knew he was the Supreme Commander, I was genuinely scared.
In the original story, Schloitz rarely showed his temper openly.
By the time the main heroine, Luri, joined the army, Schloitz had already taken full control.
No one dared defy him.
So we never really saw how he handled disobedience.
But now… my throat feels dry.
What would happen if Schloitz found out everything?
If he discovered that I was Enrico Siedo?
“If he ends up turning me into a bloody mess like Marc Hunt…”
…Would he really go that far?
I thought about it seriously.
- Marc Hunt threw the army’s honor in the mud.
- Blandea Lefevre—the one who humiliated young Schloitz, trampled on his pride, and even deceived him. (Let’s not forget: she even lied about her family.)
Yeah. Anyone could tell that number two is far more likely to die.
“This is terrifying.”
The more I thought about it, the more cold sweat ran down my back.
Even though I’m a Lefevre, I doubted that would protect me.
Schloitz never even speaks politely to anyone except the king.
And this generation of Lefevre has someone other than me—Enrico.
So maybe Schloitz would think, “Even if I kill her, it won’t be too hard to cover it up.”
“If I get caught… should I fall to my knees and beg?”
But this is a novel world.
Could I say I had no choice but to do it?
Yeah, like he’d believe that.
Even if he believed it, it wouldn’t help.
I didn’t want to shock Schloitz any further.
A part of me felt a little guilty, too.
My head felt like it was about to boil over. I was getting dizzy.
I wobbled slightly but didn’t dare sit in the Supreme Commander’s chair.
Instead, I half-crawled over to a side chair and sat down.
I took a breath and gulped down the now-cold tea.
I didn’t know when Schloitz would return, so I figured I should at least finish what I was told to do.
I started reviewing and sorting the Oparts that arrived every three days from the mansion.
Sometimes, faulty ones showed up. I could tell if I held them for a while—
bad Oparts had odd patterns in their internal flow.
“None of them are defective today.”
Back during the subjugation, my Oparts had shattered and I coughed up blood…
but at least I now knew just how much internal damage a shattered one caused.
Still—never again. It hurt like hell.
Once I organized all the Oparts paperwork, I looked over the other documents on the desk.
The Queen’s royal invitation caught my eye.
The paper was fancy and sparkling, probably dusted with crushed pearls.
Very pretty, but that was it.
Schloitz didn’t even seem remotely interested in opening it.
Rafael would probably burn it quietly later.
While waiting for Schloitz to return, I saw his damp hair and quickly handed him a dry towel.
That marked the end of my assistant work for the day.
****
After that, I went to catch up on training I’d skipped early this morning, then headed off to dinner.
“Wow, it’s empty.”
The private dining hall—only used by top commanders—was completely deserted except for me.
Second Commander Mark Hunt? Executed.
Third Commander Rafael Clovis? Disciplined.
Fourth Commander Dios Izel? Disciplined as well, for collective responsibility.
Fifth, sixth, and eighth commanders? All purged.
“Rafael really is amazing. Aside from Dios, all of them were Lord Madros’s people. And yet he managed to keep everything running.”
I thought about that while cutting into my pancake.
It was fluffy, filled with cream, and melted instantly in my mouth.
The army meals were top quality—understandable, since most of the Swordbearers were nobles with picky tastes.
But even so, meals were still mass-produced…
“Lately, though, these feel just like the ones at the mansion.”
Who even pipes whipped cream onto pancakes in the shape of roses?
The chocolate dust on top looked like something used to tempt children.
Even the plate was decorated with a few fresh spring flowers from the military base, gently sparkling with dew.
I had never seen such detail and care when eating with Rafael.
So what changed?
I glanced up.
Sure enough, the chefs who had clearly been watching me quickly pretended to look busy.
There were no other commanders around, so I must’ve been their only “celebrity.”
“That’s why they’re putting all this effort into the food.”
Rafael used to eat a ton, and so did the other commanders.
Now I was the only one left eating meals here—and I didn’t even eat that much.
They were probably bored and started decorating the food for fun.
It made me laugh a little.
They went through all this trouble—I should eat a bit more to show appreciation, right?
I finished a bigger meal than usual. By the time I left, the sun had already begun to set.
As I walked slowly through the base, a familiar face appeared.
“Oh? That’s one of the punished ones.”
It was Dios Izel.
He was following two knights, but when he noticed me watching, he turned his head.
His brows furrowed slightly.
He didn’t look at me long—just gave me a glance and turned away.
“Wow. He’s exactly like how the novel described.”
Early on, Dios had treated Enrico like she was invisible—he really disliked her.
Though Enrico acted sweet and kind toward others, she wasn’t truly a gentle person.
Eventually, she got fed up and once even bumped into Dios on purpose.
I vaguely remembered a short scene where Dios growled at her for real.
But looking at Dios now… I couldn’t really imagine that.
He just looked quiet and serious.
Unlike Enrico, I was more mature.
I had no reason to pick a fight with Dios.
So maybe he would just keep ignoring me like I wasn’t there?
As I thought about it…
“…”
Suddenly, Dios turned around again.
Our eyes met.
His eyes widened—just a little.
Then he quickly looked away again.
“…Huh?”
Was I imagining things?
It felt like Dios Izel had just looked… surprised.
