Chapter 5
At those words, Alphius flinched and dropped the pen from his hand.
Clatter—
The pen rolled across the desk as it fell.
“W-What are you talking about? When did I ever do such a thing? Absolutely not.”
“Really? You usually don’t like sweets at all, but whenever the Princess visits, you go to the kitchen early in the morning to check the desserts—”
“When did I ever do that? Stop making things up.”
Alphius frowned and cut him off sharply.
Levin looked at him with a ‘Oh, really?’ expression. Then, as if he suddenly got an idea, he picked up the desserts he had gathered in one corner and held them out.
“Then why don’t you eat them?”
Alphius reacted angrily, jumped up from his desk, and reached for the desserts.
“Give them to me.”
“My goodness. You’re really going to eat them?”
“Yes. Give them here.”
Startled, Levin quickly pulled the desserts back and shook his head.
“Do you remember when you first met the Princess? After the meal, you ate the dessert and complained it was too sweet. You even said you felt like throwing up.”
“……”
“And when we got back, didn’t you end up with an upset stomach?”
On the day Alphius first met the Princess, he ate all the desserts after the meal.
Later, he felt so sick that he told Levin he wanted to throw everything up.
‘Do you know how badly the Princess misunderstood that?’
The Princess overheard it and thought Alphius felt sick because of her.
Despite his strong appearance, Alphius was extremely weak against sweets, desserts, and greasy food.
“You suffered that badly before, and you’re going to eat this again? And this morning, you grabbed a dessert without thinking, felt sick, and skipped breakfast too.”
“That was—”
“I’m the very smart assistant of the Duke, so I remember everything. Let me get rid of this poison-like dessert for you.”
Alphius pressed his lips together, embarrassed. Levin clicked his tongue.
“You must be exhausted on an empty stomach. I’ll prepare lunch at least.”
“Levin, I don’t have time to eat.”
“The Princess Isabel asked me to.”
At that, Alphius’s deeply frowning face turned blank.
“She even scolded me and told me to make sure you eat properly.”
Something like magic happened.
The Alphius who said he had no time to eat suddenly went quiet.
Watching him, Levin thought to himself,
‘I wish the Duke would just be honest.’
The Princess didn’t know this, but on days she visited, Alphius always acted strangely.
He would suddenly wipe the window, claiming there was dust.
He would inspect the kitchen for no reason.
Today was even worse. Alphius, who hated sweets so much that he never touched desserts, personally tasted freshly made desserts in the kitchen. That was why he got sick and skipped his meal.
‘But when the Princess actually arrives, he hides his feelings.’
After doing all that, he always acted indifferent in front of Isabel.
Watching everything from the side, Levin could only feel speechless.
‘Tsk.’
Looking at Alphius buried in documents, Levin clicked his tongue again.
It was obvious that Alphius had feelings for Princess Isabel, but because he was hostile toward the imperial family, he kept denying it.
‘It would be easier if you just admitted it.’
But who was he?
Duke Alphius Pankrachio, a man who despised the imperial family.
Even because of pride alone, he would never admit that Princess Isabel had taken root in his heart.
‘That’s why he acts so contradictory, even confusing himself.’
Levin lowered his head and spoke.
“Then please wait.”
Click.
As soon as Levin left the office, he called out to Judy.
“Judy, prepare a meal for the Duke.”
“In the office?”
“Yes. Make it filling and easy on the stomach.”
“Understood.”
Levin stretched lightly, looking relieved, and remembered Isabel’s words.
— When you bring lunch, don’t say it was my idea.
Levin understood her intention perfectly.
Because Alphius disliked her, if he knew the Princess ordered it, he would refuse.
“She doesn’t know this, but that stubborn Duke only listens to the Princess.”
She was mistaken about one thing.
That cold Duke, who seemed to live only for work, actually listened very well to Princess Isabel.
So the Pankracio household was about to pass another ordinary day, just like always—
If not for the sudden arrival of the Imperial Knights
* * *
“Duke! Duke!”
Levin ran up the stairs in panic toward Alphius’s office.
Behind him followed a large group of Imperial Knights in perfect formation.
“What’s going on?”
“What is all this?”
The maids and servants stopped working, eyes wide open.
“That’s the Imperial Knights!”
“The Imperial Knights?”
It was extremely rare for them to move as a group.
“Why are they here?”
“They’ve never come before.”
“Did something happen?”
“Looks like it.”
Ignoring the murmuring servants, Levin burst open the office door.
“…Levin.”
Alphius, still buried in documents late into the night, glared at Levin coldly.
“What is this rudeness?”
Even if it was Levin, entering without permission displeased him.
But Levin, who would normally apologize, ran forward with a pale face.
“D-Duke!”
Alphius stopped mid-sentence and glanced behind Levin.
Seeing the Imperial Knights filling the room, he fell silent.
Something had clearly gone wrong.
“Th-that is—”
“Speak.”
Levin was too shaken to speak properly.
Then, from behind him, the knight standing at the front stepped forward.
“Greetings, Duke Pankracio. I am Michael of the First Imperial Knight Order.”
“Duke Pankracio.”
“I apologize for visiting without notice. Please forgive our rudeness. This is urgent.”
“What business does the Imperial Palace have with me?”
“It concerns Princess Isabel—”
At that moment, Alphius muttered bitterly,
“Ha. Isabel again?”
Michael blinked, confused.
“Pardon?”
“Did His Majesty order this?”
Alphius assumed the Emperor had heard that Isabel left early.
“If you used the Imperial Knights to threaten me, tell His Majesty it worked. Next time, I’ll make sure the Princess stays longer.”
“Duke.”
“If you have nothing else to say, please leave.”
“Duke Pankracio!”
Alphius pointed at the pitch-dark sky outside. But the knight shook his head.
“There seems to be a misunderstanding.”
Despite Alphius’s cold attitude, Michael spoke again.
“His Majesty did send us. But this is not a personal matter. It is serious.”
“……”
“Princess Isabel has—”
Alphius’s eyes hardened.
Hearing her name again irritated him. And an unknown sense of unease crept in.
‘Why does her name keep coming up?’
He narrowed his eyes unconsciously.
Then—
“She has gone missing.”
“Missing?”
“Yes. The carriage she was riding in has completely disappeared. We are currently searching.”
The entire carriage vanished?
Alphius froze, then quickly questioned him.
“Is there a chance she left by her own will?”
“We thought so at first. However… we believe this incident is related to zombie monsters.”
“Zombie monsters?”
Alphius frowned.
Zombies were monsters that used humans as hosts and multiplied rapidly.
In the past, they had wiped out an entire kingdom.
“Why are zombies involved?”
“While identifying a zombie that attacked the outskirts of town—”
“……”
“We found part of the body of Sir Cedric, the Princess’s personal guard.”
Alphius frowned. Levin’s mouth fell open.
“Was it really Sir Cedric’s hand?”
“Yes. Imperial Knights engrave their name and the royal crest on their wrist.”
If Cedric, who always guarded the Princess, was killed by zombies, then her survival was unlikely.
Levin asked carefully,
“Sir… Cedric is a common name. Could it belong to another knight—”
“His wedding ring was on the ring finger. His wife has confirmed it.”
“……”
“Therefore, the Princess who was with him is presumed—”
Michael lowered his head.
“Either dead… or already turned into a zombie.”
Thud.
The pen slipped from Alphius’s hand.
“The Imperial Palace requests the cooperation of Duke Pankracio, the Princess’s fiancé.”
“……”
“Please help us find Princess Isabel.”
Missing—only in name.
Everyone there knew the truth.
Levin swallowed hard and shut his eyes tightly when he saw Alphius’s face.
“Again.”
Alphius stood there, pale and empty.
“Please… tell me everything again. From the beginning.”
He looked like he might collapse at any moment.
