Chapter: 19
“Huh?”
Not knowing what about Claude Jeanne was supposed to be curious about, Jeanne blinked rapidly and asked.
“His Highness is famous even in the Kingdom of Hisar, you know. The most handsome man on the continent, the legitimate heir of Loren, the child of the goddess…. But Sir Jeanne, you must know more than just those obvious things, right?”
Iris stepped a little closer and whispered as if sharing a secret.
“What kind of person is His Highness?”
“Well…?”
“You said you went to school with His Highness, didn’t you?”
Jeanne pressed her lips together and drew out a long “Hmm.”
Is she here because she’s interested in Claude too?
Even at the officer academy, there had been many young ladies who enrolled with Claude in their sights. From what Jeanne had heard, Claude rarely appeared in high society, and his parents—the former Grand Duke and Grand Duchess—had never tried to force a match on him.
So the anxious noble daughters enrolled in the academy just to at least make an impression on Claude. A few of them had even come to Jeanne with the annoying request that she act as a stepping stone between them and Claude.
They all quit once they realized how brutal the classes were, though.
Because of that, Jeanne had ended up doing group assignments alone more times than she could count. Just thinking about it made her sick.
She couldn’t be sure whether Iris was asking with the same intentions, but since she didn’t know her well, Jeanne didn’t want to talk unnecessarily.
“Well, he’s just… his face is decent, he’s rich, and also—”
“Is that really all you have to say about me?”
A mocking voice came from just behind her head, and Jeanne flinched and spun around.
Claude was standing right behind her, wearing a smiling expression with gently curved eyes. The other new recruits stared at him from a distance with fascinated looks, and Iris saluted him a beat too late.
“W-What? Since when were you there?”
“I was there.”
Claude raised one eyebrow.
“Pretty insolent for a new recruit, aren’t you?”
Realizing her mistake, Jeanne glanced around at the others and cleared her throat.
“What brings you all the way here, Your Highness?”
“Is this somewhere I’m not allowed to be?”
Here we go again. She wanted to say it out loud, but with so many eyes watching, she just laughed it off.
“Of course not. I only thought you would come at the congratulatory banquet, so I was surprised to see you here.”
“Something urgent came up, so I came here to greet you instead. But to think that’s all you have to say about me—I’m a bit disappointed.”
“I only held back because explaining Your Highness in my own words might lead to misunderstandings.”
She answered with exaggerated formality and saluted Claude. Claude gave a small snort of laughter and swept his gaze over the knights clustered together.
“First of all, I sincerely welcome you to Loren. As you already know, we have taken up our swords for generations with the belief that ‘Loren is one.’ You all come from different backgrounds, statuses, and upbringings. But from this moment on, regardless of where you’re from, what you’ve done in the past, or whose son or daughter you are, you are all equally knights of Loren.”
At the words knights of Loren, everyone’s eyes shone with clarity.
“Rejoice in good things as if they were your own, shed tears together in sorrow, and when there is something to rage against, kindle the same fire in your hearts. Carve what I’ve said into your chests.”
The rare seriousness lasted only a moment. Claude then shifted into a crooked stance, as if telling them to relax.
“All right, that’s enough of the stiff greetings. We’ve prepared Boldosan wine in the banquet hall today, so enjoy yourselves to your heart’s content.”
At the mention of Boldosan wine, the knights’ faces brightened. It was only natural—they were being freely offered one of the highest-rated wines on the continent.
Everyone dispersed with excited expressions. As if taking advantage of the commotion, Claude stepped right up to Jeanne. He bent his tall frame and whispered into her ear.
“Don’t drink too much.”
His low, deep voice echoed close by.
“I don’t like other guys seeing you drunk.”
“What are you—”
Before she could even ask, What do you mean by that?, Claude flashed a bright smile and disappeared in an instant.
Rubbing the rim of her ear, which still tickled from his breath, Jeanne thought:
What nonsense.At the hour when birds and flowers alike were asleep, the lights of the Grand Ducal Castle of Loren were still burning.
In the knightly encampment, they were clinking glasses to celebrate a new beginning.
“P-Please, spare me, Your Highness!”
And in the depths beneath the Grand Duke’s castle, a witness—and a criminal—was being interrogated.
Claude looked down at the man tied hand and foot to a chair. The pitch-dark underground prison was lit by only a single torch, but it was more than enough to reveal the man’s swollen face and hands, and his ankles stained a dark red.
Claude let out a shallow sigh. Hearing it, Zero, the head of Ombre, spoke.
“He attempted to escape.”
To catch a fleeing criminal, cutting the tendons was the best option—and they had brought him back alive, just as their master had ordered.
The reason Zero explained himself anyway was because of Claude’s nature.
Like Gaston, Cedric, and Laurent, Zero had watched Claude since he was a child.
The Claude he knew resembled the kind former Grand Duchess—a man who reached out with his hand before drawing his blade.
But now that half a year had passed since he became Grand Duke, he could not remain a merciful young master forever.
His benevolent lord might accuse them of going too far. Even so, for Claude’s sake, this was something he had to show him.
When one must embrace cruelty—and that before a criminal, one must be utterly cold-hearted.
“Well done.”
“…Pardon?”
A dazed voice slipped out.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Zero lowered his head to hide his shock. He had expected a reprimand for going too far, not praise.
Whether Zero was surprised or not, Claude stepped closer to the criminal.
“Y-Your Highness…”
The captured man pleaded in a trembling voice.
“I-I only did what the Count ordered me to do. H-How could I refuse the command of someone so highly placed?”
“The Count scared you, but I didn’t?”
“…!”
“Are you fearless, or is there just nothing in that head of yours?”
Claude slipped a hand into his trouser pocket and began to circle the criminal slowly.
“You had other choices. You could have only pretended to tamper with the carriage. You could have informed the former Grand Duke of the plot and asked for help. And yet, you obeyed the order of a Count with a lower title, which means…”
After completing the circle, Claude stopped in front of the criminal again and slowly bent down to meet his eyes.
“He must have tempted you with promises of a great reward once he became Grand Duke. And you took his hand.”
“…”
“And you still intend to say you had no choice?”
Each lazy step, each word, was as sharp as a blade.
“Your choice killed them. My father. My mother.”
“If I didn’t listen, he said he wouldn’t spare my family…”
“And you think I would spare the family of the man who killed my parents?”
“…!”
Crushed by Claude’s killing intent, the criminal couldn’t even breathe, choking on his own air. Though the two were physically apart, Zero almost felt as if Claude were truly gripping the man’s throat.
“The Count will be brought here soon. When that happens, speak properly. Unless you want to watch your family be slaughtered before your eyes.”
“Y-Yes…”
The criminal nodded frantically, trembling. Claude brushed past Zero and gave a cold order.
“Watch him closely.”
“Yes, sir.”
Zero watched Claude’s back as he left the dungeon.
Claude’s attitude, presence, and pressure during the interrogation were flawless. The former Grand Duke and Duchess would be able to rest in peace.
And yet, the Claude he had just seen felt somehow unfamiliar. Simply saying he had steeled himself and become colder as Grand Duke did not fully explain it. Above all—
[Find this man immediately. If my memory is correct, he’ll be hiding in Hosier Village, north of the Hube Territory.]
How did he obtain information that even the head of the intelligence unit had not known?
Claude was preparing for a hunt.
A hunt for an old, fat raccoon dreaming foolish dreams, unaware that the tiger had merely hidden its claws.
He climbed the steps of the underground prison and opened the tightly shut door. When it opened, a pitch-black night greeted him.
But it was not silent.
Were the stars embedded in the night sky seeming to stir because of the fervor of the knights waiting beyond the walls for his command, or because of tension over unforeseen variables?
“Your Highness.”
As Claude emerged, Cedric approached and whispered in a low voice.
“A report just came in. They’ve joined Sangk and Draize near the Hube Territory. Pascal is still in Hube.”
“Good work.”
“But is it really all right not to station even a single guard at the manor?”
“The manor has to be empty for the night guests to feel comfortable climbing over the walls.”
Claude made a playful gesture with his fingers, mimicking someone scaling a wall. When Cedric’s expression didn’t soften at all, Claude lightly patted his shoulder, telling him not to worry.
Everything was proceeding exactly as Claude had anticipated.
Far from retreating on his own, Pascal had sent messengers to several of his retainers. Judging by the direction they had gone, he was clearly requesting troop support from vassals loyal to him.
“Sir Cedric Berto.”
The playful motion of his fingers vanished without a trace. Claude called Cedric in a solemn voice.
“Go to the Hube Territory immediately, join the advance unit, and capture Pascal alive. I grant you full authority—use your judgment on site.”
