Moreover, recently it had become difficult to even pay the soldiers’ wages. There were simply too many of them.

‘The king is the same. He orders me to prepare for the territory war without even providing the funds!’

Cromwell was furious.

This fellow, that fellow. They all thought his loyalty and labor were free.

Ever since the telegram service was established, it only took two days for a letter to arrive from Rome, but it had already been a month. Mercedes had abandoned him.

‘Damn it, damn it.’

Mercedes had sent luxury goods only twice so far. He considered selling those. If he couldn’t handle this territory war well, the king’s heart would truly leave him.

He had to do something to survive.

“How irritating……”

Count Cromwell became more irritable by the day, and the food served at the dining table grew poorer. His family kept demanding when they could attend social gatherings again, when they could get new clothes and accessories, that they wanted to buy a fine horse for horseback riding as a hobby, and complained about the food and alcohol.

Damn them! They had no idea how much he was struggling.

Count Cromwell nervously bit his nails and read the king’s secret letter once more.

And that’s when it happened.

“My lord! Huff, huff, someone, huff, has come from Rome! They said they came in secret! They showed the knight’s insignia bestowed by the Roman Emperor!”

“What?”

Cromwell jumped to his feet.

About to rush out in just his robe, he hurriedly put on proper outerwear and made himself presentable. The Emperor’s insignia. He couldn’t commit the discourtesy of running out to greet them in just a robe.

‘Mercedes……!’

He didn’t know what happened, but had that girl suddenly come to her senses?

Cromwell ran like a madman. Dashing down to the lobby, he was greeted by……

“Greetings. Count Cromwell. I am the knight Argos, who has come bearing the order given by the Sun of Rome to bring glory to Your Excellency.”

“……You’re a knight?”

Cromwell blankly stared at the knight.

The knight was short in stature and had a face that could never be called handsome. Moreover, his crooked hooked nose gave such an unsavory impression that no matter how one looked at him, he seemed closer to a con artist than a knight.

“This is Lady Mercedes’ secret letter, this is His Majesty the Emperor’s secret letter. And these are gold coins to support the House of Cromwell.”

The knight, calling himself Argos, lightly ignored the reaction as if he was used to it and handed the letters and pouch to the Count.

“Uh? Oh……”

The Count dumbly took them and hurriedly tore them open.

One was a letter from Mercedes, saying ‘It took a long time to persuade His Majesty the Emperor. I apologize.’ The other had unfamiliar handwriting, stating ‘I am moved by my daughter’s sincerity and filial piety, so I am dispatching the knight I cherish most for educational support.’

The Emperor’s seal was missing. So it was understandable to doubt it.

“His Majesty was reluctant to support Shame. It was out of concern for the opposition from the nobles. So he could neither stamp his seal nor make it known externally. He told me to prove this goodwill only with the support funds and my insignia.”

The man with the con artist-like appearance spoke in a very stiff and trustworthy tone, like a knight. He even let the Count touch the knight’s insignia and several medals to examine them.

“This is all the evidence of trust and extent of goodwill I can show you.”

“So…… you’re truly the knight my daughter sent.”

The insignia the Emperor bestowed upon his knight. The Count had only briefly seen it from afar on the shoulders of knights who attended the Emperor’s welcoming banquet held in Shame.

Nevertheless, to the Count, this seemed genuine.

This luxuriousness, the diligent and delicate engraving.

It was undoubtedly the handiwork of a master craftsman under the Emperor. The Count was not foolish enough to be unable to discern such skill.

As if pushing the dazed Count, Argos said with one corner of his mouth raised.

“I fought alongside His Majesty in conquest wars for 2 years, and I am one of his chief staff officers. Actually, I strongly opposed this dispatch.”

He even went on to express displeasure. The Count began to grow anxious at that.

“I have come to secretly carry out the order at the request of my dear lord, but if you refuse, Count, on the mere grounds of lacking the Emperor’s seal, I will return. It was an unwanted business trip anyway.”

The Count was flustered, unsure whether to believe this or what to do.

The more he conversed with the knight who initially seemed like a con artist, the more he appeared to be a tremendous knight. Even his untrustworthy facial features now seemed like the sharp gaze of a knight keenly observing his counterpart.

Cromwell hesitated, then quickly opened the pouch of gold coins. Indeed, there was enough money to feed his fifteen hundred soldiers and pay their wages for three months.

“Th-there’s no reason not to believe it! Butler! Prepare a room for the knight! The best guest room in the east wing!”

“The guest room is unnecessary. Staying in the barracks with the knights will be the shortcut to finishing this job quickly.”

Argos replied irritably.

“But that place is not fit for an esteemed person sent by His Majesty to stay−”

“Do you think I’ve only lived on the battlefield for a mere 2 years? There were many wars in Rome and I’ve fought in them since I was a boy. These hands are proof of my life.”

He confidently held out his hands. Argos’ hands were covered in calluses. Cromwell was now completely won over by his words.

This man was truly a knight trusted by the Emperor.

His incompetent daughter had won the Emperor’s heart!

‘Ha……! Haha! Indeed, my choice was not wrong.’

Had he already forgotten that mere tens of minutes ago, he had been cursing Mercedes? Cromwell’s expression crumbled rapidly and a grin rose on his face.

“Then I will have the barracks accommodations prepared as nicely as possible. Thank you for staying!”

Cromwell now laughed out loud and even offered a handshake.

Argos inwardly sighed, ‘Whew,’ but without changing his expression, he still shook the Count’s hand with an irritated look.

‘It’s settled, young lady.’

Argos, no, Bruno by his real name, recalled the young lady whose eyes had sparkled while persuading him to send him all the way here from a distant land.

* * *

About twenty days before going to Shame.

Bruno tried to stay calm.

What was going on, what kind of situation was this. Was his life in danger or not?

On the street at night, exhausted after finishing a menial job, as always. Three men he couldn’t even sense coming had rushed at him, put a hood over his head, and abducted him in an instant.

The place he arrived at and had the hood removed was a small warehouse.

It was a shabby place where liquor barrels and all kinds of food ingredients were stacked, and only one candle was lit on the table in front of the chair he was seated on.

And across from him sat a woman as pale as if she absorbed all light.

“……You are.”

Bruno was momentarily surprised.

The woman who received the Emperor’s favor. It was Mercedes. Having seen her not long ago, he couldn’t help but remember.

She was wearing a black robe and even in the dark warehouse, her pale skin and honey-colored hair seemed to shine uniquely bright.

“Hello, Bruno. I’m really sorry to have you brought here so roughly.”

She apologized to him in a serious yet innocent tone.

“I wanted to meet in secret. So I had you brought like this. Um. As an apology, I didn’t have you bound…… If you try to run away or harm me, I’ll understand. Since I committed the rudeness first. I’m sorry.”

Although Mercedes said it was all fine, what crazy person in the world could get angry at or argue with the Emperor’s lover?

Bruno inwardly decided the attitude he should take and spoke calmly.

“For what matter did Your Ladyship seek me, a lowly one?”

At that, Mercedes smiled.

“You’re not getting angry or making a scene? You don’t seem to be afraid either.”

“Making a scene will only get me subdued quickly. And there’s nothing to gain from killing a poor, unknown actor, is there?”

“Well. Just, a murder hobby?”

As if testing his courage, Mercedes asked innocently. It was a test using the notoriety she had as a murderer.

But Bruno immediately saw through that test and felt a bit of admiration for her. The fact that she deliberately threw out words that would make people fearful showed she wasn’t as simply innocent as she seemed.

“Then I suppose my luck has run out.”

He gave the answer he could.

He had been an orphan since birth and was poor. From pickpocketing as a child to living as a vagrant doing all sorts of jobs.

After growing quite old, he joined a mercenary group and spent a long time there.

His swordsmanship wasn’t outstanding, so he mainly did miscellaneous tasks and always stayed in the rear. Even in the rear, his comrades died. But Bruno didn’t die.

In Bruno’s opinion, his survival was just luck. Death was something absolutely dictated by luck.

His unhindered courage came from a belief built up over the years. The belief that death was merely a result of the games of fate.

“……Aren’t you afraid of death?”

“How could I not be afraid. But I ask that you kill me in one strike if possible. To keep the pain short.”

Mercedes quietly looked at him like that for a while, then raised her hand and waved it in the air. Then the three skilled men standing in the darkness went out of the warehouse.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to threaten your life. It’s just that His Majesty was worried about me and assigned me guards. Now that it’s just the two of us, can we talk for a bit?”

“……It seems I’ll get to live today.”

Bruno smiled bitterly.

Mercedes smiled back and opened her mouth.

“I want to work together.”

Bruno observed her, who seemed to speak in an innocent tone yet was strangely calm, with a sense of discomfort. Having met many people while wandering for a long time, he felt a strange unease.

“How could a lowly one like me be of any help? There will be other talented people who can fulfill Your Ladyship’s wishes.”

Bruno directly met her eyes and expressed his refusal.

The unease was a problem, and this person’s status and this method of contact were all strange. It would surely be a dangerous job.

“Ah. Other talented people.”

Mercedes, who had been closely observing Bruno, smiled. It was a smile with a strange sense of pressure.

“For example, someone like Antonio?”

She brought up the name of the male actor she had thought was a waste due to his decent looks at the first reading.

And in that instant, Bruno’s eyes wavered.