“She’s talking in circles and bickering!” (Kassar)
“That’s her specialty.” (Rudrick)
“Spreading unnecessary rumors like my shirt… and disturbing the peaceful atmosphere of the Duke’s residence!” (Kassar)
“It’s been a while since this place has been so lively and cheerful.” (Rudrick)
“How delusional of her, to drive an innocent man to his death!” (Kassar)
“Isn’t that you?” (Leona)
“Hey, you…! Will you shut up!” (Kassar)
Leona’s brow creased as she continued to fidget beside him.
He wanted to pound her to a pulp, but he seemed to be holding back in front of Rudrick.
Rudrick looked at Kassar, who was sulking, then raised his hand, pointed one or two fingers, and spoke calmly.
“I don’t know if the mansion’s atmosphere has been disturbed, so I’ll let it slide.”
“What?”
“W-what about her delusions?”
Kassar looked puzzled.
His eyes wandered blankly for a moment, as if he hadn’t expected to be asked that much detail, before he finally blurted out under Rudrick’s scrutinizing gaze.
“Well, it’s…” (Kassar)
“…”
“That nonsense about me approaching her because I like her…” (Kassar)
“Is that ridiculous?”
“What?”
Kassar stared blankly at Rudrick, and then at his master, who was glaring at him with a cold expression on his face.
“I knew something was wrong. I mean, you’ve gone from ignoring her to being overly passionate.”
“What?” (Kassar)
“Yeah. Like, instead of pretending to ignore her, you’d start arguing every time, and then steal her time whenever you could.”
“Wha—?” (Kassar)
“There’s only one answer, isn’t there?”
Kassar’s face grew pale and gaunt as Rudrick rambled and ranted. Only at the last word did he gasp in disbelief.
“It can’t be true! Why in the world would I…!” (Kassar)
“I hear you. Now, why did you really do it?”
“It was love at first sight, they’ve already spread the rumor.”
“Hmph, really? Well, our princess does have a certain charm that attracts people’s attention.”
Kassar almost fainted as he watched the division commanders begin to chatter amongst themselves about nerves and whatnot.
He shuddered, wondering where the button had been pushed, and then he couldn’t help himself and screamed at the top of his lungs.
“She’s not pretty, she’s so ugly!” he screamed.
“They say a strong negative is a positive.”
“Do you want to die?!” (Kassar)
“I always wanted to die. I’m living long enough to do some actual crap.”
“But I’m really curious, if you hate the idea so much, why are you doing it?”
“Because when you love something, you’ll do anything to get attention.”
“No! I did it for you!” (Kassar)
All eyes turned to Kassar at the sudden, unexpected words.
Kassar pursed his lips as he realized that even Rudrick was staring at him with a frown, and then, in a tone of resignation that suggested he was going to tell the truth anyway, he said.
“Your Excellency, I did it for your sake!” (Kassar)
“Well, if it’s for my sake, you’d better keep quiet…”
“What does that mean?”
Kassar replied to Rudrick’s stammering inquiry, “That woman shouldn’t have approached you in the first place, intending to become your wife!”
And the surrounding room froze for an instant. No, more accurately, they were stunned.
Even Rudrick looked at him in astonishment, along with the division commanders, whose mouths were agape as if to ask what the hell he was talking about.
But Kassar, who was as blind as a bull, thought he had hit the nail on the head, and continued confidently.
“I knew from the first moment I saw her, that she had followed you to the North with a sinister intention!” (Kassar)
“…”
“Were there not countless other women who approached your Excellency’s title?” (Kassar)
“No, there was not a single one…”
“…”
“Such an arrogant woman, how can you let her go when it is obvious who she might be to Your Excellency in the future?” (Kassar)
“…”
“I’m afraid I did what I had to do!” (Kassar)
The division commanders were speechless, and even Rudrick closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.
Kassar, however, was unperturbed, his shoulders straight and proud.
Someone muttered quietly to himself, “They say ignorance is bliss…”
“What?” (Kassar)
“The opposite is true, and you don’t even know it…”
“What do you mean?” (Kassar)
“That, and being arrogant. It’s true that the princess loves money.”
Ruth Fedex, the most rational of the Knights, pointed out the facts with a rather pathetic glare.
“She has more money than His Excellency, do you realize that?”
“…” (Kassar)
Unable to find the words to say, Kassar stubbornly pursed his lips and parroted back.
“In any case, I do not acknowledge her as the Madame!” (Kassar)
“No, you do acknowledge her…”
“Never! I will never serve her. Never!” (Kassar)
“…”
At this point, the division commanders could only keep their mouths shut and look to one side, and after a while, a low voice spoke up.
“That’s why you have been interfering.”
“What?” (Kassar)
“Will you continue to interfere?”
“…”
Somehow, the ambiguity of the subject prevented Kassar from answering easily.
Now, Rudrick lowered his gaze for a moment.
After a long moment of thought, he looked back at Kassar and asked in a firm tone.
“Kassar, do you prefer ‘east’ or ‘west’?”
“Yes?” (Kassar)
He said lightly, “Which way you want to go.”
Kassar ended up running out of the room.
For a moment, he doesn’t realize what he’s heard, but then he realizes what Rudrick meant, and his face contorts in horror.
But what could he do?
The man before him was stronger than he was, and he could only endure the fact that his heart for his master had been denied.
Thus, trembling with betrayal, Kassar burst out at Rudrick’s urging for an answer.
His face reddening, he stormed out of the room, uttering a single phrase in an almost tearful tone.
‘I hate you, Your Excellency!’
Bang—!
Leona muttered to herself as the door slammed shut.
‘Have we turned the tables?’
And as the other division commanders stumbled out of the room, one after the other. Finally, peace was restored to his office.
Rudrick sighed heavily, the throbbing headache from earlier finally relieved.
“Ha…”
“You must be tired.”
Rudrick opened his eyes and looked to the side, where Ruth Fedex was gathering papers after a late mission debriefing.
With a small sigh, Rudrick replied, “It’s a crazy day.”
Of course, I knew that my life would be different since I moved up north with Dahlia, but I never imagined that it would be so eventful.
And I was even more exhausted. Whenever something happened that involved Dahlia, I found myself shaking.
This was one of them.
From the moment Kassar met Dahlia, I’d been on edge, afraid he’d do something to her, even believing the rumors that he liked her.
Not that I didn’t still have my doubts, but after hearing his stupid reason, I was drained of energy, let alone anger.
“Still, it doesn’t seem to have made a difference, does it?”
“Different from what?”
“The atmosphere of the ducal residence.”
Rudrick stared at him, puzzled. Now that he thought about it, hadn’t Kassar said the same thing?
— ‘…disturbing the peaceful atmosphere of the Duke’s residence!’
In truth, he had been so focused on Dahlia that he hadn’t paid much attention to his surroundings, but now that he thought about it, it was the same thing.
After all, it was extremely rare for something like this to happen every day.
“When I came back, the air felt different, almost like it had been before, but more relaxed…”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It’s probably too soon to say whether it’s good or bad, but…”
“…”
“But I think it’s better than before.”
And if there was a reason for the change in mood, it was because of her. Ruth smiled faintly, as if thinking along similar lines.
“And the Princess seems to be adjusting better than I thought she would.”
“Well. After all, that bastard’s been throwing himself at her.”
“But she handled it well enough, so I’m not surprised she didn’t seem to mind.”
“What?”
“No, she seemed to enjoy it…”
Ruth was about to say, ‘I heard,’ but couldn’t finish the sentence.
Rudrick, who had been clenching his jaw and gazing away, suddenly turned around. He realized instinctively.
‘I misspoke.’
“Is she happy?”
“What?”
“You mean she seems to like him?”
“Oh, no. I just said she doesn’t hate him…”
“Isn’t that what it is?”
A cold sweat broke out on his forehead at the sight of Rudrick actively probing.
“Well, that’s what I don’t know either… I’ve only just come back and heard the rumors.”
“Yeah, rumors. I didn’t hear it right, tell me.” (Rudrick)
“…”
“What did you hear?” (Rudrick)
A red hazard light went off in Ruth’s head, and the thoughts spun urgently in the otherwise empty mind.
Ruth desperately tried to remember the rumors he’d just heard from Leona and Ethan. Then she stammered, barely able to speak.
“I… I didn’t hear much either, just that Kassar was flirting with the Princess every chance he got, and that it was because he liked her…”
“…”
“And the princess would argue back, and when Kassar got pissed off, she’d get a little…”
“…”
“She gets a bunch of amusement?”
“Again.” (Rudrick)
“What?”
For some reason, Rudrick’s eyes flashed ferociously at him.
“What else does she like?”
Ruth wanted to scream out, ‘Why are you asking me that?’ but he knew that would be a pointless question in this situation, so he swallowed dryly.
He paused for a moment, trying to remember.
“She thought it was cute that she could feign liking it and not…”
“…”
“And again, again… That she admits to liking his chest…”
“…”
“That time she said she wished he could wear his shirt one more time…”
“…”
Ruth broke out in a cold sweat as the silence grew longer and more intense. The thought crossed his mind that he might run out of the room crying like Kassar.
It was Rudrick’s incredulous sneer that finally broke the silence.
“You mean to tell me the shirt was too small and made his chest puff out?” (Rudrick)
“What? Yeah… Well, that’s…”
“Huh, so she likes that, that disgusting, ridiculous look?” (Rudrick)
“…”
“That’s not even funny, what the hell is that…” (Rudrick)
“…”
“…”
Rudrik stared off into space for a moment, and then, as if deciding something, he said through clenched teeth.
“Get it.” (Rudrick)
“What?”
“The shirt.” (Rudrick)
Then, in a shaky tone, he added, “A small one.”
“She’s talking in circles and bickering!” (Kassar)
“That’s her specialty.” (Rudrick)
“Spreading unnecessary rumors like my shirt… and disturbing the peaceful atmosphere of the Duke’s residence!” (Kassar)
“It’s been a while since this place has been so lively and cheerful.” (Rudrick)
“How delusional of her, to drive an innocent man to his death!” (Kassar)
“Isn’t that you?” (Leona)
“Hey, you…! Will you shut up!” (Kassar)
Leona’s brow creased as she continued to fidget beside him.
He wanted to pound her to a pulp, but he seemed to be holding back in front of Rudrick.
Rudrick looked at Kassar, who was sulking, then raised his hand, pointed one or two fingers, and spoke calmly.
“I don’t know if the mansion’s atmosphere has been disturbed, so I’ll let it slide.”
“What?”
“W-what about her delusions?”
Kassar looked puzzled.
His eyes wandered blankly for a moment, as if he hadn’t expected to be asked that much detail, before he finally blurted out under Rudrick’s scrutinizing gaze.
“Well, it’s…” (Kassar)
“…”
“That nonsense about me approaching her because I like her…” (Kassar)
“Is that ridiculous?”
“What?”
Kassar stared blankly at Rudrick, and then at his master, who was glaring at him with a cold expression on his face.
“I knew something was wrong. I mean, you’ve gone from ignoring her to being overly passionate.”
“What?” (Kassar)
“Yeah. Like, instead of pretending to ignore her, you’d start arguing every time, and then steal her time whenever you could.”
“Wha—?” (Kassar)
“There’s only one answer, isn’t there?”
Kassar’s face grew pale and gaunt as Rudrick rambled and ranted. Only at the last word did he gasp in disbelief.
“It can’t be true! Why in the world would I…!” (Kassar)
“I hear you. Now, why did you really do it?”
“It was love at first sight, they’ve already spread the rumor.”
“Hmph, really? Well, our princess does have a certain charm that attracts people’s attention.”
Kassar almost fainted as he watched the division commanders begin to chatter amongst themselves about nerves and whatnot.
He shuddered, wondering where the button had been pushed, and then he couldn’t help himself and screamed at the top of his lungs.
“She’s not pretty, she’s so ugly!” he screamed.
“They say a strong negative is a positive.”
“Do you want to die?!” (Kassar)
“I always wanted to die. I’m living long enough to do some actual crap.”
“But I’m really curious, if you hate the idea so much, why are you doing it?”
“Because when you love something, you’ll do anything to get attention.”
“No! I did it for you!” (Kassar)
All eyes turned to Kassar at the sudden, unexpected words.
Kassar pursed his lips as he realized that even Rudrick was staring at him with a frown, and then, in a tone of resignation that suggested he was going to tell the truth anyway, he said.
“Your Excellency, I did it for your sake!” (Kassar)
“Well, if it’s for my sake, you’d better keep quiet…”
“What does that mean?”
Kassar replied to Rudrick’s stammering inquiry, “That woman shouldn’t have approached you in the first place, intending to become your wife!”
And the surrounding room froze for an instant. No, more accurately, they were stunned.
Even Rudrick looked at him in astonishment, along with the division commanders, whose mouths were agape as if to ask what the hell he was talking about.
But Kassar, who was as blind as a bull, thought he had hit the nail on the head, and continued confidently.
“I knew from the first moment I saw her, that she had followed you to the North with a sinister intention!” (Kassar)
“…”
“Were there not countless other women who approached your Excellency’s title?” (Kassar)
“No, there was not a single one…”
“…”
“Such an arrogant woman, how can you let her go when it is obvious who she might be to Your Excellency in the future?” (Kassar)
“…”
“I’m afraid I did what I had to do!” (Kassar)
The division commanders were speechless, and even Rudrick closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.
Kassar, however, was unperturbed, his shoulders straight and proud.
Someone muttered quietly to himself, “They say ignorance is bliss…”
“What?” (Kassar)
“The opposite is true, and you don’t even know it…”
“What do you mean?” (Kassar)
“That, and being arrogant. It’s true that the princess loves money.”
Ruth Fedex, the most rational of the Knights, pointed out the facts with a rather pathetic glare.
“She has more money than His Excellency, do you realize that?”
“…” (Kassar)
Unable to find the words to say, Kassar stubbornly pursed his lips and parroted back.
“In any case, I do not acknowledge her as the Madame!” (Kassar)
“No, you do acknowledge her…”
“Never! I will never serve her. Never!” (Kassar)
“…”
At this point, the division commanders could only keep their mouths shut and look to one side, and after a while, a low voice spoke up.
“That’s why you have been interfering.”
“What?” (Kassar)
“Will you continue to interfere?”
“…”
Somehow, the ambiguity of the subject prevented Kassar from answering easily.
Now, Rudrick lowered his gaze for a moment.
After a long moment of thought, he looked back at Kassar and asked in a firm tone.
“Kassar, do you prefer ‘east’ or ‘west’?”
“Yes?” (Kassar)
He said lightly, “Which way you want to go.”
Kassar ended up running out of the room.
For a moment, he doesn’t realize what he’s heard, but then he realizes what Rudrick meant, and his face contorts in horror.
But what could he do?
The man before him was stronger than he was, and he could only endure the fact that his heart for his master had been denied.
Thus, trembling with betrayal, Kassar burst out at Rudrick’s urging for an answer.
His face reddening, he stormed out of the room, uttering a single phrase in an almost tearful tone.
‘I hate you, Your Excellency!’
Bang—!
Leona muttered to herself as the door slammed shut.
‘Have we turned the tables?’
And as the other division commanders stumbled out of the room, one after the other. Finally, peace was restored to his office.
Rudrick sighed heavily, the throbbing headache from earlier finally relieved.
“Ha…”
“You must be tired.”
Rudrick opened his eyes and looked to the side, where Ruth Fedex was gathering papers after a late mission debriefing.
With a small sigh, Rudrick replied, “It’s a crazy day.”
Of course, I knew that my life would be different since I moved up north with Dahlia, but I never imagined that it would be so eventful.
And I was even more exhausted. Whenever something happened that involved Dahlia, I found myself shaking.
This was one of them.
From the moment Kassar met Dahlia, I’d been on edge, afraid he’d do something to her, even believing the rumors that he liked her.
Not that I didn’t still have my doubts, but after hearing his stupid reason, I was drained of energy, let alone anger.
“Still, it doesn’t seem to have made a difference, does it?”
“Different from what?”
“The atmosphere of the ducal residence.”
Rudrick stared at him, puzzled. Now that he thought about it, hadn’t Kassar said the same thing?
— ‘…disturbing the peaceful atmosphere of the Duke’s residence!’
In truth, he had been so focused on Dahlia that he hadn’t paid much attention to his surroundings, but now that he thought about it, it was the same thing.
After all, it was extremely rare for something like this to happen every day.
“When I came back, the air felt different, almost like it had been before, but more relaxed…”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It’s probably too soon to say whether it’s good or bad, but…”
“…”
“But I think it’s better than before.”
And if there was a reason for the change in mood, it was because of her. Ruth smiled faintly, as if thinking along similar lines.
“And the Princess seems to be adjusting better than I thought she would.”
“Well. After all, that bastard’s been throwing himself at her.”
“But she handled it well enough, so I’m not surprised she didn’t seem to mind.”
“What?”
“No, she seemed to enjoy it…”
Ruth was about to say, ‘I heard,’ but couldn’t finish the sentence.
Rudrick, who had been clenching his jaw and gazing away, suddenly turned around. He realized instinctively.
‘I misspoke.’
“Is she happy?”
“What?”
“You mean she seems to like him?”
“Oh, no. I just said she doesn’t hate him…”
“Isn’t that what it is?”
A cold sweat broke out on his forehead at the sight of Rudrick actively probing.
“Well, that’s what I don’t know either… I’ve only just come back and heard the rumors.”
“Yeah, rumors. I didn’t hear it right, tell me.” (Rudrick)
“…”
“What did you hear?” (Rudrick)
A red hazard light went off in Ruth’s head, and the thoughts spun urgently in the otherwise empty mind.
Ruth desperately tried to remember the rumors he’d just heard from Leona and Ethan. Then she stammered, barely able to speak.
“I… I didn’t hear much either, just that Kassar was flirting with the Princess every chance he got, and that it was because he liked her…”
“…”
“And the princess would argue back, and when Kassar got pissed off, she’d get a little…”
“…”
“She gets a bunch of amusement?”
“Again.” (Rudrick)
“What?”
For some reason, Rudrick’s eyes flashed ferociously at him.
“What else does she like?”
Ruth wanted to scream out, ‘Why are you asking me that?’ but he knew that would be a pointless question in this situation, so he swallowed dryly.
He paused for a moment, trying to remember.
“She thought it was cute that she could feign liking it and not…”
“…”
“And again, again… That she admits to liking his chest…”
“…”
“That time she said she wished he could wear his shirt one more time…”
“…”
Ruth broke out in a cold sweat as the silence grew longer and more intense. The thought crossed his mind that he might run out of the room crying like Kassar.
It was Rudrick’s incredulous sneer that finally broke the silence.
“You mean to tell me the shirt was too small and made his chest puff out?” (Rudrick)
“What? Yeah… Well, that’s…”
“Huh, so she likes that, that disgusting, ridiculous look?” (Rudrick)
“…”
“That’s not even funny, what the hell is that…” (Rudrick)
“…”
“…”
Rudrik stared off into space for a moment, and then, as if deciding something, he said through clenched teeth.
“Get it.” (Rudrick)
“What?”
“The shirt.” (Rudrick)
Then, in a shaky tone, he added, “A small one.”
