Chapter 58
“Jeon Millard of the Royal Knights greets His Majesty the King.”
King Hayworth looked upon Jeon, who had entered the audience chamber and knelt on one knee, with satisfied eyes.
The king was quite fond of this dependable and exceptionally skilled young knight.
Even though his father was none other than Marquis Millard—a man the king had found distasteful his entire life—he still favored Jeon.
That was largely due to the fact that Jeon and his father were said to be nearly sworn enemies.
The king then glanced to his side, where his daughter, Bridget, stood with a shy expression.
But the real reason for his affection was because his daughter clearly liked Jeon.
She had never spoken up about any suitor before, but when it came time for a political marriage, Bridget finally voiced her heart.
She confessed her feelings for the heir of House Millard.
At first, the king had felt disappointed and angry. But then Bridget clung to him, cooing that she didn’t want to live away from her father and that if she married a man from the kingdom, she could see him every day.
Her words were music to his ears.
Besides, the prospect of her becoming the queen of some insignificant foreign nation couldn’t compare to becoming a grand duchess of the Alkhan Empire.
There really was no need to send Bridget into a political marriage.
“The age gap is a bit of a concern…”
But the king and his current queen, Esther, had a ten-year age difference too. He couldn’t exactly object to that.
Moreover, when he actually started investigating suitable noble sons within Hayworth for his daughter’s marriage, Jeon Millard stood out like a crane among chickens.
There simply wasn’t anyone else of his caliber. It was disappointing from a king’s standpoint, but at least he could be thankful that a talent like Jeon was still unmarried.
Having half decided on Jeon as his future son-in-law, the king raised his hand.
He had deliberately delayed and observed Jeon’s expression, but Jeon rose without a flicker of change on his face.
That loyal, upright attitude pleased the king even more.
Softening his expression, the king spoke.
“You were gone for quite a while on the subjugation campaign. I was starting to worry. I imagine it was difficult, leading the knights for the first time as their commander.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“…Hmm?”
The king had expected some explanation—perhaps a denial, or that Jeon had gone deeper than usual. His unexpected blunt reply made the king’s expression shift.
But Jeon continued, unfazed.
“There were many challenges during the subjugation. It took about twice as long as usual. Moreover, there were numerous casualties, and I judged it meaningless to continue. The details are in the report I’ve prepared.”
He handed the document—written in a frenzy overnight, though he didn’t remember how—over to the attendant.
“A report?”
The king had assumed Jeon came this early in the morning either to explain the delay or to resolve the budget proposal he had previously rejected.
He accepted the document from the attendant, his expression sour.
“There was no need to bring this in person. If you had followed protocol, I would have read it and responded accordingly.”
“I believed Your Majesty needed to see it immediately.”
The king’s brow twitched at Jeon’s resolute tone, even in the face of his disapproval.
“Very well. I’ll review it now.”
Finally, the king took the report and began reading.
Then Jeon, turning his cold gaze to the attendant who had led him, asked the king,
“Your Majesty. I informed the attendant that I came to report on royal knight business. May I ask why Her Highness the princess is present here?”
Bridget, who had been wondering if Jeon even noticed her presence due to his lack of eye contact, flinched.
She froze momentarily, then forced a bright smile.
“I heard during breakfast that you requested an audience with Father. I insisted on tagging along! I hope my presence isn’t unpleasant?”
Her tone assumed he would naturally say no. Jeon almost pointed out that he wasn’t asking her—but chose not to.
Even someone as rigid and inflexible as him was simply too tired.
“If His Majesty permitted it, I have no objections.”
The king, as always, didn’t care whether Bridget interrupted or not. He merely gazed affectionately at his daughter, clad in a blue dress that matched her silver hair.
Every time the king looked at Bridget like that, Jeon couldn’t help but think of someone else, and his head dropped involuntarily.
Then Bridget began to fidget with the deep violet sapphire necklace around her neck.
“Isn’t this necklace beautiful, Sir Jeon? It’s part of the betrothal gift from the Alkhan Empire.”
Jeon’s gaze flicked upward.
Only then did he notice Bridget adorned in lavish jewelry from head to toe—quite unusual for this early in the morning.
She had joined her father for breakfast precisely to thank him for these gifts.
“That necklace… is Princess Anette’s betrothal gift, isn’t it?”
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Bridget thought Jeon’s voice sounded slightly strained.
She stared at his unchanged expression and nodded.
Suppressing a strange discomfort, she added,
“Yes. You heard the news, right? My sister is getting married. To His Highness the Grand Duke of Harzent.”
Outwardly, she wore a sweet smile—like the precious, kind treasure of Hayworth she was known to be.
“I heard the Grand Duke isn’t just a war hero, but also incredibly wealthy—one of the richest men on the continent. I’m glad she’ll live comfortably.”
Truthfully, Bridget only realized how rich the Harzent household was when she saw the jaw-dropping gifts yesterday.
She had felt a twinge of envy.
But then she told herself—what use is wealth if one has to live with a monster?
“Besides, no matter how rich they are, Anette probably won’t get to wear anything like this.”
Bridget firmly believed the Grand Duke would never treat Anette well.
If it had been her instead, things might have been different.
She couldn’t imagine Anette being cherished or respected.
“She’ll be lucky not to be ignored—or worse, abused.”
With that consoling thought, Bridget smiled, this time truly delighted.
She had always wanted to trample over Anette—the proud girl with nothing to show for it.
Hiding her malicious thoughts well, Bridget smiled sweetly at Jeon.
She had never once believed he held any feelings for Anette, but the two had worked closely together as Commander and Vice-Commander.
After all, the first time she noticed Jeon was when he was standing beside Anette.
That association had always grated on her nerves.
That’s why she had repeatedly tried to get him reassigned from the Royal Knights—where lowly commoners and mercenaries were mixed in—to the elite palace guards.
His noble lineage made him far more suited to the latter.
But he had rejected her proposal every time, without a moment’s hesitation.
“He’s probably rebelling against his father again…”
Still, Bridget watched Jeon closely for any sign of emotion and asked,
“You’re happy for her too, right? You’ve worked under her for a long time.”
“…”
Jeon said nothing.
He simply stared back at Bridget with a cold, detached gaze.
As if wondering why she would even ask him that.
Or perhaps, that her question wasn’t even worth answering.
There was no longing, no yearning—nothing but indifference in his eyes.
Bridget smiled, thrilled by the absence of any visible emotion.
She didn’t notice the blue veins bulging from the back of Jeon’s clenched fist.
Meanwhile, King Hayworth had turned away the moment Bridget mentioned Anette.
He despised even hearing Bridget refer to that filthy spawn of a monster as her sister.
But he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud to his sweet daughter.
Unwilling to hear another word about Anette, he opened the report.
As he skimmed Jeon’s writing, the color slowly drained from his face.
Suddenly, he shot to his feet, staggering as if dizzy.
Bridget clutched her chest in alarm, but the king didn’t even glance at her.
His lips trembled.
“Is this report… is it all true?”
“Not a word of it is false.”
“How can that be?! You took twice as long as the last subjugation, yet recovered only 20% of the usual materials? What sort of absurd situation is this?!”
“This isn’t sudden. And the key point of the report is that this level of outcome will continue moving forward.”
Jeon calmly replied, eyes fixed on the king’s crumpled report.
His composed demeanor felt like mockery, further enraging the king.
Then Jeon bowed his head—perhaps because he could no longer face the king’s fury.
“I suspected this from the moment I was appointed commander…”
His expression twisted in pain.
“I thought it best to report with accurate data after seeing it for myself.”
