“Why are you laughing?”

“Just, the current situation….. Of course, it’s absurd, but it seems like the Commander is jealous of himself.”

It was just a blurted-out statement. Partly because Logan Redford’s arrogance, sitting with his legs crossed on the sofa holding a glass of alcohol, was irritating, and partly because his insistence made no sense otherwise.

Naturally, Logan snorted and denied it.

“Who would, against such a mere illusion.”

“Exactly. It’s just a nonsensical dream, no different from delusion.”

Of course, the great Logan Redford wouldn’t do such a thing. Sidney smiled awkwardly and tilted her glass.

She held the drink in her mouth for a moment before swallowing, feeling her body relax from the alcohol.

Sidney put down her glass and rested her arm on the sofa armrest. Then she asked Logan, who was refilling his glass.

“Do you happen to remember a soldier named Tony Biles who was in charge of laundry in our 7th Battalion?”

Logan leaned back on the sofa, holding his filled glass. He furrowed his brow for a moment as if searching his memory, then spoke with a questioning look.

“That’s the recruit you met in your dream.”

Maybe. Is he remembering? Even knowing it would be impossible for Logan to remember every recruit individually, no matter how good his memory was… she continued.

“Yes, the face seems vaguely familiar and the name isn’t unfamiliar either… It’s bothering me a bit.”

She stared at Logan, silently asking him to say more if he knew anything. He thought for a moment with a stern face, then.

“Do you remember when we anticipated the Allied forces’ surprise attack at the Battle of Hillstain?”

“You don’t mean, the one who kept playing the flute until the end even while being chased by the Allied forces’ scouts and died…”

Sidney trailed off as she recalled the memory. She remembered how horrific Tony Biles’ body was when it was discovered belatedly.

Logan sighed with a grim face and said,

“If he had been properly trained, he would have just quietly observed. Anyway, thanks to mistaking his signal for an enemy surprise attack, the 7th Battalion was able to launch a counterattack against the Allied main force.”

Damn it, instead of indoctrinating blind patriotism, they should have properly taught methods for surviving on the battlefield.

If they had at least taught them to hide when spotting the enemy, Tony Biles wouldn’t have acted so recklessly.

Of course, it ended up being a great help in the end. Sidney drank to soothe her conflicted feelings.

“How was it at the main house today?”

“I discussed the guest list for the wedding with Lady Lind.”

“Hmm.”

Logan gestured for her to continue. She summarized her conversation with Lady Lind concisely and calmly.

“I suggested reducing the scale of the wedding to increase the value of the invitations. For example, by inviting people who would cooperate favorably with the new master of the Redford family.”

“My position isn’t so unstable that I need to use the wedding for that.”

Seeing his look that seemed to ask what she was up to, Sidney put down her glass and adjusted her posture. Then she reconfirmed what he had said the night before.

“Logan, you said you’d be my sword, right?”

Logan’s eyes widened, then the corner of his mouth curved up slyly. Like a predator savoring prey that had rolled right into its grasp.

“You’re gathering allies to change the world together.”

“At the same time, to make people focus on Marien’s usefulness rather than her background, I’m thinking of sending invitations as Marien de Redford.”

“That’s right.”

Logan showed an attractive smile and added, ‘Good idea.’ While wondering if this was something to be so pleased about, she felt a strange sense of relief at his reaction.

I must be crazy. Drinking wine until I was drunk, and swept up in the mood, I spent another night with Logan.

Recalling last night made her head throb again.

Sidney glared at the documents while pressing her temples. Logan, sitting next to her, leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“Maybe you should rest…”

Despite having rested quite a bit lately for various reasons. Sidney removed her hand from her forehead and spoke seriously.

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t overdo it.”

“That’s rich coming from you, Commander.”

She glared at him sharply, but the very culprit who had tormented her until dawn just smiled it off slyly.

Stop talking. Sidney pointed to the three documents spread out on the conference table with her pen and spoke.

“Lord Spencer, what’s the connection between the Binosh Count family of the Asnel Empire who reported to the police and the Yoheim Count family of the Anes Kingdom?”

Andy Spencer stood up, holding up the family trees of the Binosh Count family and the Yoheim Count family for all to see.

“As you suggested last time, while checking the families who reported incidents to the police, I discovered that the second daughter of Count Binosh, Lady Elaine, was disinherited 28 years ago. But, as you can see, the same name appears here in the Yoheim Count family tree as well.”

“Just because the names are the same doesn’t mean they’re the same person.”

At Logan’s point, Andy Spencer nodded vigorously and continued.

“I inquired around and found that the late Count Yoheim at that time had married a wife from the Asnel Empire. Of course, we’ll need to confirm with the noble register we’ve requested from the Anes Kingdom, but I believe those two are the same person.”

“If Lord Spencer says so… But did Yoheim Count and Elaine only have one daughter, Deborah Yoheim?”

“Yes. But Deborah Yoheim was sickly from a young age and stayed at a sanatorium… She’s probably not the person Lord Warden is looking for.”

Andy Spencer finished speaking with a regretful look. Sidney, who had been lost in thought looking at the Yoheim family tree, slowly shook her head.

“If Deborah Yoheim wasn’t at the castle, the servants wouldn’t have claimed that the male and female bodies found in the burned room were the Yoheim siblings.”

“Well, let’s say Lady Yoheim was in that castle. But Sidney, as I said before, the well-bred Lady Yoheim wouldn’t have left the castle without guards, especially in a situation where she could be taken hostage by enemies.”

As Walter Asner said, that would be true for any ordinary lady. But the woman Sidney had seen in the square…

“There must have been unavoidable circumstances. The woman I met that day looked very desperate and earnest. Even when I saw her in the square recently, she seemed somehow anxious.”

Even though it was a crowded square, her sudden disappearance was suspicious. Sidney continued, seeking Logan’s permission.

“Commander, the Yoheim Count family of Anes and the Binosh Count family of Asnel… they’re worth coveting for the Anes resistance. Moreover, the woman who escaped from Yoheim Castle was spotted in Marsel, and here we have the Binosh Count family reporting a theft to the police.”

At this point, permission to proceed with the investigation should be given, but Logan just rested his chin on the table, staring straight ahead.

Not at Walter Asner across from him, but just blankly into space.

Just when the long silence seemed to be getting tiresome, Logan casually threw out a question.

“Sidney Warden, can the investigation tracking the Anes resistance be completed within two months?”

“That’s impossible.”

As she looked at him with puzzled eyes, Logan glanced sideways and curled up the corner of his mouth as if mocking.

“This will be your first case as commander. You should decide what to investigate and how.”

I’ve taught you everything, and you’ve grown up… now fly with your own wings, is that it?

It felt like being pushed out of the nest by a mother bird.

Without Logan, could she really handle everything on her own? If she tried, there’s nothing she couldn’t do, but.

Sidney slowly turned her head.

The investigation team she would form with Walter Asner, who was sitting askew and grinning, and Andy Spencer, who was looking at her with a pen in hand… might be quite good.

Having made up her mind, Sidney met Andy Spencer’s eyes and said,

“Lord Spencer, thank you for your hard work investigating. Look into the financial state of the Binosh Count family over the past two years and those close to the Count.”

“Yes.”

“And Walter… find people who remember Elaine, Count Binosh’s daughter. We’ll discuss the details when we have more information.”

She wrapped up the meeting and gestured for Walter and Andy to leave first.

As she was gathering the scattered documents on the table, Logan reached out and tapped her left ring finger. As if asking where the platinum ring was.

Half of Marsel’s 1st District was occupied by the Asnel Imperial Palace, and Wallgarden Avenue stretched from its front all the way to Cloud Square.

Logan Redford kept walking, passing by the Asnel administrative buildings lined up along that street.

He had been in that state ever since saying those words and leaving the conference room.

She didn’t want to disturb him as he walked lost in thought with his mouth tightly shut. But Sidney grabbed Logan’s arm as he was entering the police headquarters main gate and asked,

“Why are we here?”

Logan stopped abruptly and looked down at his grabbed arm. The shadows of passersby moved busily, but only the shadows of the two of them remained still. As if time had stopped only for them.

It happened to be his left hand again. Sidney fumbled with her words as she let go of his sleeve.

“That, I was in a rush this morning… I didn’t lose it or deliberately leave it behind…”

At the sound of cawing, she looked up to see a crow looking down at them from a tree next to the main gate.

With an uneasy feeling, she tried to step back, but Logan caught her wrist. Still frozen in surprise, she heard Logan’s voice, almost like a sigh.

“I know.”

He knows? If he knew that she hadn’t lost or deliberately removed her wedding ring…

Sidney slowly turned her head to look up at Logan and asked,

“…Why were you angry then?”

“To make you pay attention.”

To what? What was she supposed to pay attention to? She didn’t bother asking out loud.

Logan Redford seemed to have no intention of hiding it, as he was staring at her with eyes brimming with possessiveness and obsession.