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“Yes. If we make too much progress in one day, you might feel discouraged.”
Who? Me.
I barely swallowed my words and hurriedly turned my back.
“So that’s it for today. Let’s return quickly. People might come when the sun rises.”
“It’s one o’clock in the morning.”
“Really? It’s already that time.”
I discreetly turned around, muttering gibberish, and slapped my cheek as discreetly as possible.
‘Please come to your senses, Lee Seoyeon.’
I couldn’t display such agitation in front of Ian solely because of the kiss. Yes, solely because of the kiss.
Even though it was the first time my lips met another person’s since I was born.
“Come back quickly.”
The problem was that when I returned, I would have to sleep in the same bed as Ian.
When I remembered that fact, I closed my eyes tightly.
Still, it’s better to be in the bedroom where you can turn off all the lights. With that in mind, I was about to walk quickly.
“Irene.”
A large hand grabbed my shoulder. I froze and stopped in place.
“Did you not like it?”
I widened my eyes upon hearing a voice emanating from behind me.
When there was no answer, Ian asked again.
“I asked you if you hated it enough to run away like this.”
“… It’s not a matter of like or dislike. It’s just practise anyway.”
As I repeated what I said earlier like a parrot, I heard a strange sound from behind me. I can’t tell if it’s a laugh or a sigh.
After a brief pause, Ian spoke.
“It’s just practise anyway. You’re not wrong.”
The voice had turned as cold as ice, a stark contrast from its previous tone.
I wanted to check Ian’s expression, but I couldn’t bring myself to divert my gaze.
There was silence between us as we walked back to the bedroom side by side.
***
Maxime, a member of the Imperial Guard, took great pride in his work.
It was expected or inevitable. The Imperial Guard was in a position to look up to all the knights. The work carried out by the imperial guard knights lived up to their esteemed reputation, as it was truly noble.
However, today’s mission was somewhat different from the usual.
‘Why do we have to do this?’
In the dead of night, as Maxime surreptitiously infiltrated the cathedral, he found himself haunted by an unshakeable question.
He was an esteemed knight of the imperial guard, known for his bravery and honour rather than being associated with espionage or theft. Sneaking into the sacred cathedral felt unsettling as if someone had been stabbed.
‘The Commander of the Guard didn’t even explain why he had to do this.’
What was most disturbing was the presence of a man who was constantly standing next to the commander of the guard.
The person the knight commander called ‘Baron Vichen’ had a condescending attitude throughout, as if he were the knight commander’s superior. Moreover, he had actually been giving orders to the knight commander earlier.
‘Is this the person chosen by His Majesty the Emperor?’
It was full of things he couldn’t understand, but what could he do? If his boss criticises him, he should criticise him. It was even more inevitable if the boss happened to be His Majesty, a distant emperor.
“Enter.”
However, Maxim’s discomfort reached its peak when the Commander of the Guards pointed to a suspicious secret passageway and commanded everyone to investigate it.
“What’s this aisle?”
When the device hanging on the large picture was released, a passage appeared behind it. He didn’t even know where it led.
‘It looks like we came to the cathedral to steal something… I guess I should at least pray to the statue before I go back.’
Maxime, who has been raised in a devout family for generations, was not very happy with this situation.
Reluctantly, Maxim followed the guard before him and proceeded down the aisle.
He climbed the stairs along the passage, and the higher he climbed, the more faint sounds he heard coming from above. It sounded like people laughing.
As they reached the end of the passage, the commander of the guards looked back at the knights.
“Wait here for a moment.”
The commander of the guard whispered quietly. Maxime, unable to shake off his uneasy feeling, gazed intently at the knight commander, trying to read his expression.
At that moment, the knight commander saluted with a crisp gesture.
“You’ve arrived. I’m waiting for your order.”
Nervously, Maxime glanced behind him. The Commander of the Guard had only one person on the continent to salute.
‘Oh, my god. That’s the emperor.’
The emperor, Rashid, was coming up the stairs from down there.
The knights quickly stepped aside, making way for the emperor.
The emperor, who walked between them with an air of arrogance, glared at the end of the passage. Beyond that passageway lies a place where laughter and stories never cease.
“Are they here?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. They are here.”
Baron Vichen pointed to the door.
The passage was filled with a burst of tension. After a few more seconds had passed.
“Go ahead.”
With a soft command from the emperor, the knight commander forcefully kicked open the door to the passage.
The door fell down helplessly with a loud bang.
“W-what is it?”
“Aaaah!”
A scream of confusion emanated from outside the passage.
The knights emerged from the passage in flawless formation. Maxime, who had escaped immediately, was momentarily surprised by the unfolding scene.
‘What?’
Outside the passage was an elegant yet spacious room.
In that room, quite a number of nobles were gathered in groups of twos and threes, drinking wine. From any perspective, it appeared to be a relaxed and enjoyable social occasion.
“W-What about you?”
The nobles, taken aback by the sudden attack, looked confused as they recognised the uniforms of the knights.
“Quickly subdue! Don’t miss a single one.”
“Your Majesty?! What is happening?”
A gag was put in the mouth of one of the nobles who was questioning the emperor. The emperor chuckled as he observed the nobleman, whose mouth had been blocked.
“Not Count Adhemar. I didn’t expect you to be in such a place.”
“What?!”
Count Admar’s eyes widened dramatically as if he were about to leap up and shout. However, his words were muffled by the gag, rendering them inaudible.
The emperor said, looking back at the nobles, who were quickly being subdued by the knights.
“These are familiar faces. No, there is also a Minister of Foreign Affairs. I can’t believe it.”
Are these people all traitors?
Even as he subdued the nobles as ordered, Maxime was inwardly confused.
These nobles were people whom Maxime also knew well. They were influential figures who frequently visited the imperial palace.
‘If this many people are traitors, isn’t our country in big trouble?’
Moreover, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Supreme Court Justice were also present here.
If these people were all traitors, their punishment would be decapitation, which meant that the people who were responsible for the future of the empire would disappear.
However, it was unclear whether the emperor’s thoughts reached that far. His eyes glimmered with a fiery mix of anger and madness, directed at those who had dared to rebel against him.
“Arrest everyone. Every single one of you!”
The emperor, who spoke with a wheeze, glanced around.
“Where is he?”
Who else is he talking about?
Now Maxime was afraid of what the emperor would order this time.
Still, an order is an order. Maxime, in his search for the nobleman he had yet to capture, suddenly caught sight of a beautifully painted mural adorning the ceiling.
‘Huh?’
There were elegant portraits painted on the ceiling. All of those faces were familiar.
After delving into his memories, Maxime quickly recalled that these were the visages of the former leaders of the Holy Knights.
‘… Then, the person drawn last is.’
Maxime shifted his gaze towards the farthest point and swallowed nervously. As expected, Maxime recognised the familiar face that was drawn there. Ian Esteban’s blue eyes, depicted in the painting, gazed down apathetically at the chaotic scene below, creating the illusion of his continued existence.
‘Wait. If portraits of all the past Holy Knight leaders were drawn, this one…’
This is the office of the Holy Knight leader.
As he came to this realisation, a shiver ran down his spine, giving him the sensation of ice being poured over him.
‘Did I just break into the Holy Knight Commander’s office?’
“Find him!”
The emperor shouted again.
It wasn’t difficult to figure out who the person he was looking for might be. It is likely that he is the owner of this room. To put it differently…
‘That’s crazy. Are you saying that the leader of the Holy Knights is a traitor?’
Maxime’s fingertips trembled in shock.
“Your Majesty, I can’t see him in the room.”
“Remove his gag.”
The emperor pointed to Count Admar and said. The count, who was forced to his knees, trembled and looked up at the Emperor.
Looking down at the count, whose gag had been removed, the emperor asked, pretending to be a kind lord.
“Where is my brother?”
“Your Majesty. How on earth is this all happening?”
“Shh. I don’t want to hear the crying of someone who will die soon. Tell me where he is.”
“I-if it’s Sir Ian, hic.”
The count was probably overly surprised and began to hiccup. The count let out a whimper and gestured in a certain direction.
“Ha, you haven’t been coming out of there for a long time.”
The place the count pointed to was a spacious terrace on one side of the office. The terrace beyond, blocked by a thick glass door, seemed very spacious.
“Yes, that’s right.”
The emperor smiled with the expression of a hunter who had cornered his prey.
“Get him.”
The emperor commanded, pointing to the terrace.
The knights of the imperial guard, who were supposed to carry out the emperor’s orders immediately, stood still for a moment as if time had stopped.
There must have been one thought in each of their heads.
‘Get Ian Esteban?!’
No way, you must be joking. Or maybe I’m dreaming.
Maxime looked at the emperor with nervousness. The emperor’s face contorted with anger as he shouted.
“Right now!”
This is his place.
Sensing that his final day was drawing near, Maxime closed his eyes tightly.
Had he known that this would be the day he left this world after attacking the leader of the Holy Knights, he would have come to say hello to his mother warmly this morning.