As soon as they arrived at the Grand Duke’s mansion, the knights lined up in a long row as if they had been waiting for them.
Every one of them wore solemn expressions, so serious it looked as though they were heading off to war.
Eren stepped down first, and as he escorted Liselotte, the Commander of the Second Order, Ferento, took one step forward from the formation.
“Your Highness, welcome back!”
Eren merely nodded, as if accustomed to it.
For some reason, Ferento looked tightly disciplined.
Eyes wide open, lips firmly pressed together.
With his sturdy build, he maintained a perfectly upright posture, as if waiting for something.
When Liselotte stepped down from the carriage and set foot on the ground, Ferento responded in a resounding voice.
“The subjugation force has completed all preparations for departure! In anticipation of the negotiations failing, we have already deployed troops centered around the border region!”
‘No wonder they looked so tense. They must have assumed the negotiations would fail. They had already prepared countermeasures in advance.’
Only then did she realize that every knight standing in formation shared the same resolve.
She felt instantly how dangerous the subjugation truly was.
It carried far more weight than when it was only words in a novel.
And she could feel the responsibility borne by those who led the subjugation force.
Even Masid, who had been swaggering before the departure to the East, now stood before the knights with a noticeably serious expression.
Liselotte delivered the good news to them.
“It’s fine. The East accepted the cooperation proposal.”
“What?”
Unable to believe it, Ferento remained stiff with tension, merely blinking his green eyes.
Eren also gave him firm confirmation.
“It is exactly as she said. We are on our way back after concluding the cooperation agreement in the East.”
The longer Eren spoke, the more Ferento’s mouth gradually spread into a smile of dawning joy.
The faint heat rising to both cheeks was visible to the naked eye, matching his red hair.
“How did Your Highness manage to deal with the East, who were shouting for 10,000 gold just a few days ago…!”
At his exclamation, the subjugation members lined up behind him began to stir.
“The East backed down?”
“That’s not like them.”
Since border regions often clashed, there was no way feelings between them were ever completely good.
‘So it really was that serious…’
Considering how brazenly they spouted nonsense and made demands, it felt like something they had done many times before.
At that moment, a harsh voice cut cleanly through the restless air.
“Princess Liselotte went with you, and still?”
Beside Ferento, Masid, who was standing in front of the knights, asked in disbelief.
Because he had been interrupted, Ferento’s eyes glared at him as if they might tear, but Masid’s attention was elsewhere.
“Are you saying House Gloria truly signed an agreement to cooperate with no compensation at all?”
Clack.
The door of the carriage that had arrived a moment later opened, and Ail hurriedly stepped down.
He looked exactly as he had before boarding, holding the cooperation agreement tightly against his chest.
‘Surely he wasn’t holding it like that the entire way…?’
Having apparently heard everything, Ail answered brightly, his smile softer than ever.
“Oh my. It seems Sir Masid doubts His Highness’ word!”
With a movement so elegant it hardly seemed knightly, he smoothly pulled the agreement from his chest and boldly held it right in front of Masid’s face.
“Now then, right here below, you can clearly see His Highness’ signature in very large letters. And beside it.”
Tap, tap.
Pointing to the lower portion of the page with his free hand, Ail continued with a beautiful, easy smile.
“Duke Gloria’s seal is stamped so clearly there is no room for denial. I witnessed the moment the seal was applied with my own eyes.”
“L-let me see that!”
Masid reached out to grab the agreement directly in front of him, but Ail moved a beat faster.
With a sharp swish, he stepped back and smoothly handed the document to Eren instead.
Eren accepted the paper calmly with one hand, then lifted his head and declared firmly.
“The subjugation force assigned to the eastern border will operate along the boundary of northern civilian territory.”
Silence fell as those across the vast Keilos estate listened to his words.
Though his voice was not loud, its low tone cut cleanly through the cold air and rang clearly.
“The East will also dispatch a subjugation force, so even if the difficulty is low, do not let your guard down.”
“By your command!”
The moment he finished speaking, Ferento and Ail bowed properly and responded in loud, unwavering voices.
He had expected it, but Masid simply kept his mouth firmly shut.
Once the conclusion was reached, the knights and subjugation members began moving busily.
Though she could not check the subjugation force in detail, at a glance it seemed they were operating by individual units.
Each unit consisted of one knight holding command authority, several supporting knights behind them, and the rest made up of ordinary subjugation members.
Unlike the other units, which moved smoothly and familiarly, there was one group that wandered conspicuously.
And unlike the other busy knights, one person alone stood as if rooted to the ground, holding his position.
Masid tilted his head crookedly and asked,
“Then with the scale of the subjugation reduced, I can sit this one out, right?”
“What? No, how can the Commander of the First Order skip the subjugation!”
As expected, Ferento rushed over at once and raised his voice.
But Masid merely shrugged and replied brazenly.
“If His Highness goes and we strip away all our forces like this, what do you think the East will think? They will only send an appropriate number on their side as well.”
“Then His Highness should remain at the estate. Why would you stay instead, Sir Masid?”
“Why? His Highness will be leading the expedition, will he not? The former Grand Duke personally commanded every subjugation force as well. Naturally, His Highness will do the same.”
‘Ah, that crosses the line.’
She had planned to leave matters of subjugation to Eren if possible, but this was too much.
Liselotte lightly placed her hand on Eren’s broad back and stepped into the conversation.
“That works out perfectly. I actually had something I wanted to ask His Highness anyway!”
At that moment, the muscles beneath her palm twitched ever so slightly.
She could feel it quite clearly despite the thick fabric.
Startled, Liselotte quickly withdrew her hand.
Had she acted too familiar for no reason?
The clear gaze directed down at the top of her head felt strangely sharp.
Pretending not to notice, Liselotte took a step forward toward Masid and continued in an innocent tone.
“If His Highness departs with the subjugation force, that leaves me alone at the estate, doesn’t it?”
She spoke as if deeply worried, but oblivious as ever, Eren gave an entirely textbook response.
“There will be maids, and guards on watch.”
‘That is not the point right now!’
“The North still isn’t quite familiar to me, and I don’t have a personal escort knight either, so why not have Sir Masid remain here?”
Facing Masid, Liselotte smiled shamelessly and brightly.
Masid flinched, unable to openly scowl, his expression awkward and conflicted.
Having already said as much himself, he could not refute her outright, and the sight was almost amusing.
‘A powerless Imperial Princess might be laughable, but someone eager to show loyalty to the North abandoning the subjugation just to escort that Princess?’
Out of wounded pride alone, he was the sort who would immediately insist on going on the subjugation.
Of course, even if he stayed behind, she would welcome it.
In her previous life, she had handled consultations with a wide range of people from suspects in all kinds of criminal cases to outright fraudsters more times than she could count.
Compared to people like that, Masid was downright cute.
‘While I’m at it, I might as well use him to practice Northern law and nitpick every little thing with the sharp eyes of a hawk.’
Sure enough, Masid let out an awkward smile and asked,
“Ah, no, Princess Liselotte. You’ve never said anything during subjugations until now, so what is this all of a sudden?”
“Because I’m scared!”
“…Pardon?”
Feigning ignorance, Liselotte turned her head toward Eren and summoned every last bit of nonexistent fragility from deep within.
Covering her mouth with one hand, she deliberately lowered her gaze toward the floor at an angle and muttered weakly,
“On the way here, after seeing so much of the North, I got so scared that monsters might cross over that even the tea I was drinking went down the wrong way and got stuck in my throat.”
