“Hey.”

“An order is an order, and this is this.”

A rather fierce silent exchange passed between the gazes of Lebel and Gabrielle. If not for being in front of Ilarid, a weapon or two might have popped out.

They had only met once or twice before. And that was for official business. It was understandable to be uncomfortable when an unfamiliar woman suddenly told him to take off his clothes, not even Ilarid herself.

Regardless, Gabrielle maintained a bright smile and pretended not to notice Lebel’s sharp glare.

“This way we can check if the clothes ordered by Her Majesty the Empress fit well. Will you cooperate?”

Gabrielle had long since noticed. Ilarid was like magic that could move Lebel.

Lebel looked at Ilarid with surprised eyes. That night, he had only vaguely heard about ordering clothes, but was it true? Ilarid stood before him with a smile.

“Captain Lebel.”

Anyway, since it was an official gift from the Empress, she decided to use formal speech and honorifics for the first time in a while.

“This is the formal attire for Captain Lebel that I mentioned last time. If you would wear it to enter the ball, I would feel much more at ease.”

Would she just feel at ease? The moment he appears, commotion will arise. Perhaps all eyes at the ball will be focused on Lebel.

‘That would be even better. Cledius will have to introduce Lebel to the nobles gathered at the ballroom and the Pegaean envoys.’

Lindein Rachman. She had only a very brief, formal conversation with him at the banquet.

A sorcerer from the Eastern continent and Pegaea’s new envoy. He would likely be the key to the northern conquest campaign that would unfold someday.

How would he judge Lebel?

Soon, as Lebel took a few steps back to prepare to undress, Lynette briefly raised her hand to stop him.

She glanced at Ilarid and asked Cecilia standing next to her.

“Miss Cecilia, could I ask you to prepare for Her Majesty’s afternoon walk?”

“Understood. I will make preparations immediately.”

Ilarid suddenly came to her senses at the sudden turn of events.

“Wait, Lynette, I do have afternoon walk time, but so suddenly?”

It had been a really long time since she went out in bright clothes. Wouldn’t she get caught up in unnecessary rumors? It was dizzying to think about the gossip that might spread about the Empress’s change of heart or her relationship with Cledius.

“…Your Majesty. Do not worry about the gazes of others.”

Lebel’s calm tone eased Ilarid’s tension.

Ilarid walking in the bright light wearing the gifted clothes. It would be a sight that would naturally draw exclamations.

Lebel was secretly disappointed that he couldn’t immediately see that sight with his own eyes. Instead, he added an honest comment.

“People will probably have trouble looking at you properly, blinded by Your Majesty’s beauty.”

His true feelings, unmixed with even a hint of falsehood, popped out. Amidst everyone’s shock, Ilarid’s face gradually turned bright red.

“Lebel, what are you…”

“It’s the truth.”

Isn’t it obvious? Lebel looked around at the women in the room without a hint of doubt.

Ilarid turned her body, not wanting her reddened face to be seen. It would be even more noticeable in white clothes.

Lebel seemed completely unaware that he had said something extraordinary. Where and how, from whom did he learn to speak in such a way?

At first glance he appeared rough, but the soft words from his mouth made fingers curl involuntarily.

Lynette, Alice, and even Cecilia were on the verge of smacking their foreheads and clicking their tongues.

“Oh my.”

“Wow…”

“…I’m at a loss for words.”

Even Gabrielle, who had met many different people before, had never seen someone express such fervor towards one person.

She chuckled lightly and shrugged her shoulders.

“He’s even more amazing than I thought.”

It was another side of the man who had seemed only taciturn and serious. How many passionate words would he pour out with that righteous face when alone with Her Majesty the Empress?

Ilarid went outside accompanied by Cecilia, covering her cheeks with both hands. The soft sound of her catching her breath brushed right by Lebel. He did not take his eyes off Ilarid until the very last moment she left the room.

“Lady Chamberlain. Did you deliberately send Her Majesty out?”

“Yes.”

A crisp answer came back. Seeing Lebel’s drooping eyes, as if disappointed, Lynette quickly added:

“Think of it like not seeing the bride’s face until the wedding day.”

Ah, so I’m playing the role of the bride. Lebel understood immediately.

To become a surprise gift, not shown in advance but revealed at the ball. The pit of his stomach tingled with excitement.

“Now, we really need to hurry since we’re short on time. You can put on the shirt and pants by yourself, right?”

Gabrielle handed Lebel a neatly folded formal shirt and pants. Then she opened the box and took out the completed formal attire.

“Wow…”

Unrefined exclamations burst from Lynette and Alice’s mouths as they saw the formal attire Lebel would wear.

Alice was reminded of the night sky in the countryside she had visited as a child for her mother’s recuperation. The spectacle of stars shining brighter in the darkness and the brilliant Milky Way that decorated the summer night.

The silver metal decorations and blue embroidery stood out on the formal attire. It seemed a bit too fancy, but it would likely suit Lebel’s plain and straight facial features and body well.

Although he might have been uncomfortable in unfamiliar formal clothes, Lebel began changing into the formal attire Gabrielle handed him without a single complaint.

Finally, when the black ceremonial cloak was added, it was truly a magnificent sight.

Though they had thought him a confirmed handsome man, Lebel dressed properly was beyond just being called handsome. Lynette wanted to highly praise her past self for sending Ilarid out.

How would Ilarid react when she saw Lebel in his formal attire? And the Emperor, what about him?

When he learns that a part of ‘Melpiram’, which he thought had completely disappeared in the past, is walking into the ballroom, what expression will Cledius make?

“I guarantee there will be a commotion from the moment Captain Lebel enters the ballroom.”

Unhindered affirmation flowed from Alice’s mouth as well. At this rate, all the men in the capital would be consumed with jealousy.

“Dressed like this and dancing, all the young ladies of the capital will faint.”

“…Do I have to dance too?”

“Were you not planning to? You should dance at least once with Her Majesty the Empress.”

“I don’t know any social dances.”

Oh no. They had forgotten the most important fact. Someone who had lived his whole life in war and battle would not have learned dances for balls.

Lynette began to rack her brains to solve the greatest challenge of her life, pressing her temples.

Time remaining: about two days. Within this time, she absolutely had to make him master social dance perfectly.

If he were to accidentally step on Ilarid’s foot while dancing… Lynette’s head shook involuntarily.

Armed with an absolute sense of mission, she stood before Lebel.

“How about it? Would you like to take another crash course, like last time?”

“But there’s not enough time. Just attending the ball is already…”

“Since Her Majesty has gifted you these clothes, shouldn’t you dance at least once?”

Lynette and Alice slowly laid the groundwork for Lebel. They didn’t miss the moment Lebel’s eyes sparkled slightly at the words “Her Majesty”.

He could be together with Ilarid in the light. Just this fact made his heart feel tightly squeezed.

Gabrielle, who had been staring at the three of them, also approached Lebel and tossed out one piece of bait.

“I dare say this while Her Majesty is not present, but if the two of you dance together, I think you would look truly wonderful.”

Oh my, what a blabbermouth. Gabrielle quickly finished speaking and raised her hand to cover her mouth.

“…Alright. I leave it in your hands, Lady Chamberlain.”

The faces of the three women brightened at Lebel’s confirmation.

“Now, depending on how Captain Lebel does, this instructor can become an angel or a devil. Do you understand?”

An ominous atmosphere full of determination flowed from behind Lynette’s back.

Lady Chamberlain. If I may be so bold, you already seem like a devil. Lebel tactfully swallowed the words that were about to come up.

Alice, having witnessed Lynette’s fierce appearance, vowed to hide the fact that she herself was not a good dancer until the day she died.

**

“The Empress…?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Upon hearing the servant’s words, Cledius almost dropped the pen he was holding.

He said Ilarid was out for a walk wearing white clothes. An irrepressible sigh escaped between his lips.

It was a sight that had existed only in Cledius’s imagination for a while, unable to capture it with his eyes. His mouth automatically went dry.

“Who is accompanying her?”

“Miss Cecilia Gwynn Icastel, in charge of Her Majesty’s guard, is following behind.”

The Empress walking in the midday light without even her cherished ‘shadow’ in tow.

Cledius placed his pen on the stand. A drop of ink that hadn’t been fully removed fell from the tip of the pen onto the desk with a plop.

‘What kind of clothes?’

Ilarid was not the type to go for a walk in an extravagant ball gown. Then what could it be?

‘Something I don’t know about.’

A new Ilarid that Cledius didn’t know.

It felt suffocating, as if a rubber ball was stuck in the middle of his throat. He loosened his shirt collar. As the hot breath escaped, his troubled breathing became somewhat lighter.

The simple thought of wanting to see Ilarid shining brightly began to dominate Cledius’s mind.

The sound of requesting an audience with the Emperor from outside the door poured cold water on his burning desire.

The secretary who rushed in urgently for a report had to fully bear Cledius’s displeased gaze.

“I’m here to report on the matter you ordered last time.”

“Did you find it?”

“Well…”

As Cledius listened to the secretary’s report, his red eyes gradually hardened. Shadows slowly fell over his face, changing as if soil had been sprinkled on a corpse.

“What do you mean it’s impossible?”

“The whereabouts of most of those who carried out the order are unknown.”

A barely audible groan burst from inside Cledius’s mouth.

He had been holding onto the provocative suggestion that had popped out of her mouth on the day he returned the right of final decision to Ilarid.

‘Please gather the bodies of my mother and brother, which were dismembered and scattered across the Western continent.’

The body of Count Melpiram was relatively intact. Fortunately, a distant relative of the Count had retrieved the body and held a funeral, but the mother and son of Melpiram were exceptions.

No one would have even thought to recover their bodies after the Emperor’s ominous order to dismember the dead once again and discard them.

It was a mistake to have subcontracted the work through multiple layers, intending to make it impossible to find even that much. It was due to Cledius’s arrogance at the time, not even imagining that something like this would happen.

Had he ordered them to be buried, or thrown into the bushes? Cledius had to pray for the safety and intactness of those he had wanted to erase from the world.

Damn it. A blank paper crumpled in his hand. It was the first regret of one who had made the wrong choice.

But even if you unfold regret again, will the engraved fine lines disappear? Even if you iron it, will it return to its original smooth state of mind?

Ilarid, walking out from the crumpled paper, sat on top of Cledius’s memories.

‘It would be impossible, wouldn’t it? Melpiram is a traitor.’

No, Ilarid. I will definitely do it. If you want, I’ll even hold a new funeral for them and erect a tombstone. Tell me everything you need.

Cledius knelt in front of the seated Ilarid and grasped her ankles. However, for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to look up at her.

Reading the Emperor’s unusual mood, the secretary hurriedly continued speaking.

“There is one person who remains in the records. However, the person in question is said to have died of an epidemic long ago.”

“…Oh dear.”

Cledius rubbed his face dryly, trying to hide his dismay.

“Question his descendants and find the burial site without fail, even if you have to interrogate them.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

If there were others searching for Melpiram’s remains, things would get complicated. Those who are not forgotten even in death were a big headache. He would find them without fail, even if he had to mobilize the Emperor’s entire personal guard.

The nobles would strongly object, but he could endure and ignore it as before. Ilarid’s voice, saying she would offer both body and heart if he gathered the bodies, shattered in his memory.

After the secretary withdrew, Cledius leaned back loosely in his chair.

The feeling of his throat being constricted still tormented him. Would this feeling subside even if he undid all the buttons?

He held his wife’s name in his mouth. Ilarid.

No answer came.