“Presenting His Majesty the Emperor!”

At the loud voice, Grooby, who was enjoying the scenery, jolted up.

Dylan, sitting behind him, frowned at the sudden movement.

Grooby awkwardly smiled and apologized.

“It’s the Northern Knights. They are of poor quality, so don’t talk to them unnecessarily.”

“Yes.”

A large man standing in the front stared intently at Dylan as he passed by.

Dylan did not avoid the man’s gaze, whose eyebrows looked like caterpillars.

They stared at each other until their heads turned and they could no longer see each other.

When Wyatt was the chief of the palace guards, Dylan was his deputy.

At that time, they were on great terms, but they were divided after the war.

Wyatt went to the battlefield, while Dylan protected the palace.

After everything ended and Wyatt announced he was going to the North, Dylan explained how stupid that decision was.

Wyatt found the opinion of Dylan, who had not experienced war, contemptible.

That was the last conversation between them.

“His Majesty the Emperor will be escorted.”

As soon as everyone came out of the portal, Wyatt galloped away on his horse.

Following him, the Northern Knights started at the same pace.

One couldn’t help but admire the disciplined sight.

He had seen the palace guards in action at the Imperial Palace, but he had been somewhat disappointed.

He had expected the knights representing the Empire to be incredible, but they were rather lax.

It wasn’t until he came to the North that he understood it was an issue of discipline.

There was no grandeur, but this felt like what knights should be.

Grooby felt strangely fond of the North.

If possible, he wanted to live here.

How happy would it be to live in such a place for the rest of his life?

Especially when he saw the Northern Duke, who was waiting for the Emperor, his heart skipped a beat.

A real man should look like that, he thought.

To be honest, the Emperor was an emperor, but not a man worthy of respect.

There was cunning in his eyes, and at times his laughter was strangely chilling.

Finally, when the Emperor and the Northern Duke stood face to face and conversed, Grooby felt tense and shrugged his shoulders.

“That woman who claims to be Bercheria.”
A coarse manner of speech unbefitting an emperor of the empire.

“Hand him over quickly, this weakened Duke of the North.”

Wrinkles formed on Lakrahan’s forehead.

It was absurd.

Had Gerard, in all his time ruling this vast country, made not even a single step of progress?

Was it merely the incompetence hidden behind the curtain of government affairs?

“Your Majesty the Emperor.”

“Why.”

“On what grounds should I hand over the guest in the North to you?”

“What?”

“Even if you are the emperor, if I hand over my people without any reason, wouldn’t I become an untrustworthy king in the North? Surely, Your Majesty knows this better.”

“What are you saying to me right now!”

Gerard raised his voice, unsure of what to say.

In truth, there was a reason he particularly disliked Lakrahan, more so than other capable knights or kings within the empire.

Either be good at fighting, or be good at thinking.

Unluckily, Lakrahan excelled at both, and had the talent to drive people insane with his insinuating manner of speaking.

He had made a mistake this time as well.

He hadn’t thought much about how to deal with that unlucky Lakrahan while preoccupied with the thought of finally having Bercheria.

Gerard covertly glanced over at Dylan.

It shouldn’t be problematic to leave the next course of action to him since they had discussed this prior to coming here.

‘Annoying.’

This time, anyone could see that Bercheria was here, and she had committed the crime of neglecting the humans, thus Lakrahan had no choice but to hand her over.

‘Sly fox.’

Gerard looked around with a grin.

He discovered the square arranged for the late wedding.

He regretted it.

He had assumed that the wedding surely hadn’t happened yet.

If they had actually gotten married, it would be like a dog chasing a chicken and ending up looking at the roof.

“Lakrahan. What is all this? What were you doing?”

“I was conducting my wedding.”

A twitch appeared under Gerard’s eyes.

Lakrahan glanced at Groobi, who was peeping over with widened eyes, then locked eyes with Gerard once more.

“Actually, it was my wedding with Bercheria.”

A murmur arose among the people of the royal court.

It was already a shock that Bercheria had appeared in the North, but for Lakrahan, who had rejected the emperor’s younger sister, to marry the Goddess of Weather.

Anyone hearing this story for the first time would be dumbfounded.

‘This guy is always so confident.’

Intending to find another fault using the marriage with the goddess as a pretext, Gerard closed his mouth in irritation again.

He would’ve snapped if he saw an opening, but he didn’t know what to say when the person himself was this confident.

“Actually, that makes it even more impossible to hand Bercheria over to Your Majesty. She’s important to me.”

The Emperor’s body tensed up with irritation.

Lakrahan took exactly one step back from such an Emperor.

Talking at length with Emperor Gerard would only be exhausting.

“Your Majesty, you must be tired from your journey. Let’s go inside now.”

Gerard, who was about to speak, suddenly felt his arm being grabbed and stopped speaking.

Leone was beside him.

“Your Majesty, it’s late. Everyone is waiting for you.”