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Although he deeply regretted it, Maxime opened the terrace with his fellow knights. Disobeying the emperor’s orders still resulted in death.
‘At least Ian will kill us with a single blow.’
The terrace where he cried while eating mustard[1]. It’s closer to a public garden than a terrace.
“I don’t see him anywhere.”
One of the knights whispered to the captain of the guard. It was a very small, whispering voice, as if aware of Ian’s presence.
“All right, Captain. Look over there.”
At that time, another knight pointed somewhere.
There was a door on the other side of the terrace.
“…. Is he here?”
The captain of the Guard Knights spoke in a firm voice.
Maxime hoped he wouldn’t say another word, but the captain finally spits out the command.
“Enter.”
The guard knights swiftly lined up and proceeded to rush towards a different door.
The door was opaque, and he couldn’t see through it. The knights surrounding the door looked at each other and exchanged glances for a moment.
The captain of the guard quietly counted the numbers. Three. Two. One.
Bang!
“Surrender!”
Shouting loudly, the captain of the guards kicked in the door first.
In that brief moment, Maxime felt sincere respect for him.
But something was strange.
‘Huh?’
The captain of the guard entered with a palpable fear of death, causing him to freeze in place.
The knights of the royal guard, feeling embarrassed, hesitated behind the knight captain, similar to carriages stuck in a traffic jam.
What. What’s wrong with him?
Maxime looked at the same place as the knight captain, who froze as if he had seen a ghost.
And he also froze.
‘Huh?’
There was indeed a Holy Knight leader inside the door.
The problem was that it was not the Holy Knight leader alone who was inside.
There was someone else sitting on Commander Ian’s lap. To be more specific, a beautiful lady.
She leaned against the back of Ian’s neck, her candy-pink hair flowing freely. What on earth were they doing? Both of their collars were half undone.
Above all, the two were kissing their lips affectionately with their heads overlapping.
‘Oh my.’
Maxime’s gaze remained unwavering, even as he became as rigid as a lightning-struck tree.
Pink lipstick marks were spread like paint on Ian’s skin exposed beyond the collar. The lady’s wet, honey-coloured eyes appeared to be tinged with embarrassment.
Pink hair. Golden eyes. And the sight of her sitting on the Holy Knight Commander’s knees like a chair.
‘Sa-Saintess.’
As soon as he realised this, the Commander of the Holy Knight moved his lips.
“… What are you doing?”
Ian rose to his feet with the deliberate grace of a vexed beast.
First, Ian, who was hiding Irene behind his back, looked around at the knights who had come in one by one.
“I asked what this was.”
The voice was low and creepy, like that of the Grim Reaper.
Even with lipstick marks on his lips, his appearance was so intimidating that it was difficult to breathe. When he got up, Maxime was stunned, as if he were facing a giant, even though the difference in height itself was not that big.
‘What on earth have we done?’
Maxime couldn’t answer Ian’s question. Because he doesn’t even know the answer.
‘We entered the secret passageway of the cathedral, captured the nobles who were playing peacefully, and burst into the private room of the Commander of the Holy Knights to spend a secret time between the saintess and the Commander of the Holy Knights…’
We interrupted them.
He didn’t have much trouble when he organised it. Maxim was puzzled and couldn’t believe what they had done.
“Did you catch him!”
The emperor’s voice was heard behind his back.
With unwavering determination, the Imperial Knights instinctively made way for the emperor as he entered the area.
“Wow.”
The emperor spoke as he walked briskly among the royal knights.
“You have no idea how much I doubted my ears after receiving this report. How could you, someone who shares my blood, make me—”
The emperor’s lips stopped as he spoke up to that point.
It seemed that only then did Ian discover what he was doing.
The Emperor, who was momentarily taken aback, soon managed to speak.
“… Did you plot treason like this to hurt me?”
“Did you say treason?”
Ian closed his collar with such a bite. A smirking voice sank low.
Maxime and the knights looked blankly at Ian, who was slowly buttoning his collar. Having lived in the capital all his life, it was the first time in his life that he had seen Ian so disorganised.
‘Of course he is.’
Maxim screamed inwardly.
‘Because he was spending quality time with his loved one in private!’
Maxime’s cheeks turned bright red as he remembered what Ian and Irene looked like the moment they raided this room. It was the image of a married couple. Full of greed for each other, only two people can be seen in the world.
“If I had really been planning to harm you, would I have looked like this?”
Ian said, wiping the lipstick marks from his lips with the back of his hand.
The emperor, who had been in great spirits just a moment ago, was unable to answer those words. Ian smiled coldly.
“I don’t know where you came from or what you heard.”
“……”
“Hey, I’m disappointed. It’s just a matter of trust based on rumours.”
The emperor’s fingertips twitched at his cold voice.
“I have a solid report.”
“Which report are you referring to?”
Ian said angrily and took off his jacket, hiding it behind Irene, as if covering her. In the meantime, the hand was so gentle and polite that Maxime swallowed his saliva.
“I’m plotting treason in the middle of the cathedral? Do you really believe that report?”
The emperor’s expression hardened at the bitter grin.
“Do you want to say that I was deceived?”
“We were in the midst of a meeting to discuss various interpretations of the Bible.”
Ian said, sounding annoyed.
“My wife’s interest in the Bible has increased significantly these days. We offer the opportunity to engage in discussions on relevant topics with highly knowledgeable individuals.”
“Bible meeting?”
The emperor smiled, appearing relaxed.
However, Maxime, who was standing nearby, noticed that the corners of his mouth appeared rigid.
“Then it’s even weirder. Why were the two of you alone in a place like this, leaving the guests unattended during a Bible meeting? Just the two of you, in a room as secretive as this. You behaved in such a shameless manner.”
The emperor made an exaggerated joke on purpose. It was obvious that his intention was to launch a one-sided attack, as he was unable to come up with any logical counterarguments against Ian’s words.
The situation was incredibly shameful, causing any noble couple who valued culture to bite their lips in dismay. However, Ian confidently answered without any hesitation.
“Aren’t we newlyweds, Your Majesty?”
Ian continued in a calm tone, as if talking about today’s weather.
“I’ve only had it for a short time, but of course, I covet it all the time.”
Irene’s fist came out from behind and hit Ian on the back. If it weren’t for this situation, it was so adorable that he couldn’t help but laugh.
Upon witnessing this, Maxime’s guilt intensified. How much pain must the shy saintess be in right now?
“Ha. Are you saying that’s all you have to say?”
The Emperor responded, but his words lacked logic.
“….Your Majesty.”
A knight guard rushed over and discreetly whispered something into the emperor’s ear.
The story was that the nobles were interrogated for a short period of time, but there was no result.
“…We will have to interrogate them further to find out, but they probably came here without really knowing anything.”
The emperor inevitably gritted his teeth at the knight’s report.
Ian, who had been observing the scene, parted his lips.
“Who is it? The person who occasionally whispered false information to Your Majesty.”
“…….”
“Tell me his name and I’ll go take care of it myself.”
The emperor said nothing for a while.
He couldn’t simply mention that he had partnered with Nine, regardless of how much he wanted to.
‘I was tricked?’
The emperor’s fists quivered with fury.
It was a defeat to believe in their reputation that their skills were certain.
To be precise, the most primary cause was the emperor himself, who was blinded by the idea that he could bring Ian to his knees, but the emperor’s actions ultimately backfired and did not yield the desired outcome.
“There is no evidence of treason.”
Another knight ran and whispered a report to the emperor.
‘…Shit.’
The emperor clenched his teeth tightly.
Even if he was an emperor at the peak of power, he could not bring down a person who was in the position of leader of the Holy Knights without any witnesses or evidence.
The emperor gritted his teeth and made a promise deep in his heart. He will undoubtedly inflict twice the pain upon those responsible for causing this disgrace today.
“Don’t you have something to say to me?”
Ian said, looking down at the emperor.
He found himself in a situation where he had to apologise because he had confronted an ordinary person and accused them of being a traitor before attacking them.
However, Rashid remained silent, his lips tightly sealed.
Ian smiled coldly, as if he knew that would happen.
“If you don’t have one, please leave. My wife was very surprised.”
After saying that, Ian turned around and looked at his wife. He stood tightly covering Irene with his body so that no one could see her.
“… Don’t cry. It’s all right.”
The image of the emperor, who had been pushing him just moments ago, was nowhere to be seen. Ian spoke in a warmly friendly tone.
The knights unconsciously averted their eyes, as they seemed to be the only two left in the world.
‘They are really kind people.’
‘Poor saintess. How embarrassed she must be.’
‘She even cried, gosh.’
The knights shook their heads in spontaneous sympathy. As a gentleman, I fully understand how shy and embarrassed the lady would be when she was caught doing this.
“…Vichen.”
Finally, the emperor spoke. The voice was cracked with anger.
“Vichen!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Baron Vichen, who had a blank face the whole time as if he had been stabbed in the back, then hurriedly rushed forward.
The emperor glared at Edward Vhen as if he were about to change his mind.
“This, what the hell, for some reason, explain.”
Note:
[1] Used when someone is forced to do something he would whether not do, but pretends to enjoy it, anyway.