The Crown Princess's Man (4)

When he left, Saik, who had been waiting outside, came into the study.

“Ha. So you pawn another man’s life like that.”

Kaiston shrugged his shoulders.

“I didn’t force him, mind you.”

“You held his subordinates in Sinal as hostages, though.”

“I have to make use of them, too.”

Saik laughed in disbelief.

“Impressive.”

“As if it’s anything new.”

Saying that, Kaiston looked at Saik, his eyes shining.

“What do you think of him? In a few years he might be as strong as the corps captains.”

“…Isn’t his target the Commander?”

“Hmm… True. I should be on my toes, too. In that spirit, shall we spar once, Saik?”

Saik sighed.

“Why are you dragging me into this for no reason…”

Suddenly Saik stopped speaking, noticing the large splatters of blood on the floor. There had been a metallic smell since he came in, but that amount of bleeding meant a serious wound. Saik’s face hardened as he inspected Kaiston. The black uniform he always wore hid blood well, but Saik managed to spot that the area around his left wrist was soaked.

Saik ground his teeth.

“Take care of your body. Is that bastard worth that much?”

“You have to give a bit for them to keep hope and keep coming at it.”

“Still, come on. Is the Commander’s body the Commander’s to waste?”

His voice came out involuntarily sharp.

“Maybe, maybe not.”

Kaiston ignored him and started rifling through the desk drawer again. Saik, watching him, spoke up.

“Isn’t it on the very top of that bookshelf?”

“Ah, right.”

‘What on earth does he think he’ll do alone like that.’

Saik sighed and watched Kaiston. Kaiston pulled a few candies from a box on the top shelf and looked at Saik.

“Want one?”

“No, thanks.”

“Alright.”

Without asking twice, Kaiston popped the candy into his mouth. When they’d only just met, he used to sneak such things shyly, perhaps embarrassed to seem childish, but now he was brazen enough. Of course he still put on a front in front of the other knights. Still, seeing him with candy in his mouth like that suggested he was worn out, mentally or physically.

“…Wouldn’t it be better to rest a bit?”

“What are you talking about. You have to push when you hit the limit to break through the wall.”

“Ha… honestly. Change your clothes. The blood smell is overpowering.”

“Alright. Meet me at the training ground in twenty minutes.”

Saik shook his head at his Commander, who spoke with shining eyes. Who could stop him, a man mad for martial matters?

On the only terrace of the central building of the fortress, Marquis Kyril, Marian, and Liris were enjoying tea time. Liris had brought pretty potted flowers and placed a stylish table and chairs brought from Korum, giving the place a decent atmosphere. Besides, the training ground was in full view from here, so they could see Kaiston at any time.

As he was sparring with Saik at the moment, Marquis Kyril and Marian also had all their attention fixed on the place.

Saik’s skill, seen for the first time, exceeded expectations. In swordsmanship alone, he matched Kaiston blow for blow, which surprised Liris considerably.

“Wow… Big brother is incredible.”

“Hem hem. Our house has always been a martial family with a tradition no less than Grandis’s, hasn’t it?”

Marquis Kyril seemed quietly proud of such a son and even bragged a little.

“But why are you like that, Father?”

“…I detest sweating.”

“Tch. What’s that about.”

Marian pouted.

“That boy’s mother was also a remarkably skilled knight.”

Marian was startled at the story of Saik’s mother, hearing it for the first time, and looked at him.

“Where is she now? If she was a knight, she’d be of minor nobility. Why wasn’t she taken as your legal wife?”

Marquis Kyril fell silent for a moment at Liris’s question, then sighed softly and spoke.

“It’s almost impossible for a marquis’s house to accept a guard knight as a legal wife. A match for an heir is decided before they’re ten. Whether she targeted me or I targeted her, I don’t know, but not long after giving birth to Saik, she saved me during an ambush and lost her life.”

“Ah…”

Liris felt a pang in her chest. It was obvious how the daughter of a high noble family, married off as planned, would treat Saik: the child of the one woman the husband had loved but could not accept; the eldest illegitimate son of the marquis, who resembled his father and had exceptional talent. Because the marquis had not produced a legitimate son and Saik had earned great merits as a corps commander in the Red Moon, he was eventually accepted formally, but Saik would still be detestable and hateful in the first wife’s eyes.

“I, too, did not care for him all that well. I lived calculatively for the sake of the family and lost many things as a result.”

Marian took Marquis Kyril’s hand as if to comfort him while he smiled wryly. Liris couldn’t add anything and simply looked back at Kaiston and Saik.

Who in the Red Moon here had no story? But those two men’s lives were particularly harsh.

Liris, quietly watching them, turned her gaze to Marquis Kyril.

“Marquis, I… will absolutely defeat Raiden, my cousin.”

At the sudden words of the Crown Princess, the marquis looked at her.

“That man cannot become the Emperor.”

Furrows formed between the marquis’s brows.

“His power… is not to be underestimated, Your Highness.”

“I know. But…”

The Crown Princess continued quietly.

“If Raiden becomes Emperor, he will surely rule this Empire coldly and pitilessly. That’s his nature.”

“……”

“I love my Empire. And I want all the people to be happy.”

“That’s a rather sentimental approach.”

Liris smiled and nodded at the marquis’s words.

“Right. It’s the sort of thing a princess raised delicately in the palace might say. But there’s someone over there making my ideals reality.”

The marquis followed Liris’s gaze. Kaiston Crunel, protector of the Grand Domain Sinal. A man who earned the people’s love and respect; someone a bit reckless and special who puts himself between his men and death.

“But he is the crown prince of a fallen kingdom. For him to become Emperor… it won’t be easy.”

“Yes. That could be so. But may I tell you one certain thing?”

Liris looked the marquis squarely in the eye.

“My father… the Emperor, no matter what happens, will make Duke Crunel and my child the Emperor. His Majesty has long planned a union between the Baras and the Aikadum imperial families.”

The marquis looked at her, surprised.

“…Is that true?”

“Yes. I’m certain.”

Marquis Kyril’s expression fell.

A biological child of the Crown Princess, who wields sacred power, would obviously have supreme legitimacy. The fact that the Emperor, who had till now taken a watchful step back, had fixed his mind on a future heir would cause huge ripples. And if the power of the Grand Domain Sinal that the duke built were absorbed, who would dare oppose them?

“Why are you telling me this information?”

“Why ask such an obvious question?”

The Crown Princess said lightly with a smile, “Shouldn’t a husband’s right-hand never strike at his own house? Your son will never abandon his side.”

When the Crown Princess, who had seemed innocent, revealed a slight inner intent and spoke coldly, Marquis Kyril felt a chill for a moment.

Only then did the marquis realize: the Crown Princess was by no means an easy person. If she were just a cherished greenhouse flower princess, she would never have chosen to disguise herself as a slave and come to the Red Moon in the first place. He also felt fear for the Emperor, who had raised his only precious child that way.

Seeing the Crown Princess’s gaze, which had instantly returned to a lovestruck girl’s, and was watching Kaiston as if she had never said anything chilling, Marquis Kyril let out a bitter laugh.

They were truly an incredible couple, in many ways.

From early evening, the fortress was boisterous. The drinking ban had been lifted for all knights except those unlucky enough to be on duty, so they were making a racket eating and drinking.

Knights who tried to approach to offer a drink to ‘our Crown Princess’ repeatedly retreated a full step back at the Commander’s fearsome glare, so only the area around Kaiston and Liris remained calm and quiet.

“Does the Crown Princess need to promote exchanges with men other than me?”

“Hmm… Leaving aside romantic perspectives, wouldn’t some interaction as human to human be beneficial?”

“It’s pointless. You will leave soon anyway.”

“Yes?”

Kaiston gave a wry smile as he watched the Crown Princess blink in surprise.

“You don’t mean to stay here indefinitely, do you?”

“Th-that… it’s not that, but…”

“Sooner or later His Majesty will summon the Crown Princess and me to the Isles. He’ll need to announce the Crown Princess’s marriage.”

Liris nodded at Kaiston’s words.

“Yes… that seems likely.”

“Staying here will last at most half a year, at least a year, and if that’s so, it won’t be easy for the Crown Princess to return to the Red Moon.”

“Wouldn’t it be the same for you, Duke?”

“I suppose. In any case, until Raiden is dealt with, I’ll be the same.”

Marian, who had been listening to their conversation, suddenly asked.

“What about Brother?”

Saik, silently sipping his drink, looked at his sister.

“Will Brother also come to the Isles with you?”

“Of course. Do you think I’d leave the Commander to go into the tiger’s den alone?”

Kaiston stared blankly at Saik as he said that.

“I never agreed to an escort. But what about the fortress?”

“Astarot returned, didn’t he? He even swore a firm vow, so there’s nothing to worry about for now. And if the Commander doesn’t permit it, I can just quit this corps commander post. Do you think I’m here because I have nowhere else to be?”

“…What an irresponsible corps commander.”

Kaiston clicked his tongue.

“Regrettably, the person I want to protect is none other than the Commander. How could I trust to send a naive, reckless man out to get stabbed by some stray blade?”

“Naive…? Reckless…? Ha. How absurd.”

Saik glared at Kaiston, who let out a hollow laugh.

“You’re drunk, utterly drunk.”

Marian shook her head.

“Y-yeah. When did he drink that much?”