There were several epithets that followed Emperor Cledius. Among them, the most famous title was ‘War Maniac’.

One might think, how many insane people would dare call His Imperial Majesty ‘maniac’, but it was a nickname that spread widely beyond the capital to near the borders.

Moreover, Cledius himself seemed to quite like that title. He had a grand dream of annexing and unifying the small countries nearby.

After the peace treaty, as the army decreased, most of the disbanded soldiers became mercenaries.

Usually engaged in farming or other jobs, they would immediately come to the capital to look for work when war broke out.

Contracting those who were already familiar with the imperial army was quite easy, but those who weren’t had to prove their worth solely based on skill.

Rumors of war spread silently. Already, mercenaries wanting contracts had gathered near the capital, loitering around individually or in groups.

“Another war, huh. Lots of mercenary bastards around.”

One of the taverns on the outskirts of the capital where commoners often gathered, ‘Tavern Clover’, was bustling with people.

Here and there, those who looked like mercenaries were wetting their dry throats, while people glanced at them and lowered their voices discreetly.

“Keep quiet. What if we accidentally pick a fight?”

“They’d only hurt themselves if they caused trouble in the capital. If they displease His Imperial Majesty, they might never get a contract in their lives.”

“By the way, taxes will rise again. I bet the high and mighty will slip through again this time?”

“It’s always like this. What’s new… They say they’ll levy additional taxes on nobles too, but as always, they’ll slip through. The rest will be our share.”

“Can’t the parliament do anything?”

“What good does it do to gather our opinions and voice complaints? Can the people we elected as commoner representatives even wield any power? They’re always blocked…”

“If only the Melpiram family were here at times like this…”

The noisy tavern suddenly fell silent. Even though quite some time had passed since an entire noble family was massacred, the power that the name ‘Melpiram’ held was still strong.

A family that opposed the imperial family and was a thorn in their side. An anomaly that tried to stand with commoners despite being nobles. When they were accused of treason, everyone believed in Melpiram’s innocence, but dared not speak of it.

The emperor’s blade was quite fierce, and there was no one in the empire who could stop him.

“Watch your words. What if you get accused of treason for mentioning the Melpiram family?”

“Don’t worry. The imperial family is too noble to come to such a seedy tavern!”

“Who are you calling seedy!”

With the shout from the owner at the counter, roaring laughter erupted, pounding on tables. There was no better side dish than putting down the high and mighty.

The tavern was filled with energy again. In the space filled with noisy sounds, someone was sitting quietly, observing the surroundings. People only gave a momentary glance to the man with his hood pulled down tight, showing little interest.

“Captain. How does it look?”

“…Seems suitable. With diverse customers, rumors would spread quickly too.”

“You’ve finished checking, right? Can we have a drink now?”

“Eddie. We’re still working.”

“Tch.”

The man who was cautioned grumbled, pouting his lips. The man who looked like a mercenary continued to survey the surroundings, staying vigilant.

An unusual aura emanated from the hooded men. It was filled with senses honed from at least several years on the battlefield.

A man quite drunk on alcohol stumbled while passing between tables and ended up bumping into the man. The man who fell on his own staggered, barely maintaining balance through his intoxication.

“Oh, excuse me.”

The staggering man grabbed the hood of the man sitting at the table to barely keep his balance. With that, the man’s hood was thrown back, fully revealing his face.

Some people gasped in surprise at his appearance. There were also those who already knew from rumors.

“…You’ve come from far away.”

A customer who glimpsed the mercenary group’s emblem inside the hood muttered quietly.

He was Lebel, the leader of the Rikas mercenary group. He was more often called by the title ‘Beast of the North’ than by his name.

Those who confirmed that the man was Lebel sent out exclamations along with curious gazes.

Due to the fact that very few people had actually seen him in person despite the abundant rumors, some deliberately changed seats to sit closer, saying they wanted to be near.

His slightly curly black hair stood out along with his grayish-blue eyes. Eyes close to the color of dawn sky that drives away darkness. Such eyes were not very common in the empire, including the capital.

The topic inside the tavern had already changed to rumors about the Rikas mercenary group.

“They say they’ll do anything if you pay them? They can’t be that cruel even on the battlefield. I heard in the last war they skinned people alive.”

“But they say they’re reliable in their work. Even the aftermath is handled perfectly, they say.”

Lebel silently watched those who were whispering. He knew that such guys would never dare to open their mouths if told to badmouth to his face.

Despite his fierce gaze, he had quite a handsome appearance, which caused the tavern to momentarily stir with excitement. His tall stature and build also played a part. Some customers lingered around Lebel, showing interest.

Amidst excited voices saying he was handsome and seemed to have a good body, issues about regions flowed endlessly.

“Is he from the North? Aren’t mercenaries from there notorious?”

“Of course. There must be many barbarians from that side too? He’s surely here for a contract…”

“If they’re going to contract anyway, they’d go with retired soldiers from the South. At least they can communicate well. I heard those from the North immediately pull out weapons if something doesn’t suit them. Such ignorant bastards.”

The whispering slowly colored the tavern. Soon, dozens of eyes in the tavern turned towards the two men.

They had dropped by for preliminary research, but who knew they’d receive this much attention. Lebel readjusted his hood and pulled it down tight. As he was about to signal Eddie beside him to leave this place, someone’s voice boomed loudly.

“Gentlemen over there, your words are a bit harsh.”

The atmosphere changed in an instant. People looked towards where the cheerful voice came from with drunken, hazy eyes.

The person sitting at the table was quite a handsome man. He was a pretty man who might be mistaken for a woman at first glance.

The man’s eyes sparkled with a brilliant light green as he scratched his short brown hair. Though his eyes were gently curved, there was a sense of determination that would not easily bend.

“What era are we living in to be going on about South and North? Is the blood of Southerners red and Northerners blue? Where did you bring such outdated prejudices from to ruin the taste of alcohol?”

“What is this girly bastard blabbering about!”

The atmosphere seemed about to escalate into an argument. Eddie alternately looked at the captain beside him, the pretty man at the other table, and the men who were bristling.

Unlike Eddie who looked uneasy, Lebel rather comfortably observed this commotion. If a disturbance arose, he planned to use that opportunity to secretly slip out of the tavern.

“Everyone, quieeet!”

There was a loud bang of someone hitting the tavern’s counter. Everyone’s dazed eyes turned towards the tavern owner. The owner of Tavern Clover pressed his deeply furrowed brow and turned his gaze towards where the commotion had started.

“You five over there, get out, all of you.”

“Eh, boss. Why me too!”

“Allen! You’re the biggest problem! You troublemaker who only knows how to run your mouth!”

“That’s too harsh. I probably bring in a third of your daily sales. Right?”

The pretty man called Allen asked, as if seeking agreement, turning towards the female customers in the tavern.

Most of them nodded in agreement. In fact, many female customers came just to see Allen’s appearance and try to talk to him.

But what good was that? Because he got angry at improper words and got into arguments every day, a third of the customers had also been lost.

In the end, the five people including the two mercenaries and the man called Allen had to hear the sound of the tavern door closing behind them.

The two drunk men grumbled as they left, and the remaining man awkwardly scratched his head and apologized to the mercenaries.

“Um… I’m sorry. I have a personality that can’t stay quiet when I hear such words. If you don’t mind, let me buy you a drink somewhere else.”

“No, we’re still working so…”

Eddie said that while glancing at the captain’s expression, but seeing Lebel’s stern eyes, it seemed unlikely. He swallowed the faint sigh escaping his lips and extended his hand towards the pretty man.

“If fate allows, we’ll meet again. I’m Eddie. And you?”

“Allen.”

While shaking hands, Eddie habitually examined Allen’s build. He certainly had small hands for a man.

“Well, I have a curfew so I’ll be going now. I’m somewhat of a well-behaved person.”

A well-behaved man with a curfew. Eddie tried to ask something more, but Allen had already turned around and was waving his hand leisurely as he walked away.

Lebel turned his head towards the center of the capital. The imperial palace would probably be there.

He barely managed to control the corner of his heart that was surging up. Hadn’t he been running and waiting only for that place until now?

As if containing someone’s name, his lips naturally moved. The voice scattered in the wind flew towards that place.

Lebel’s heart slowly began to pound. His final destination and the person he missed most were there. Perhaps he could meet them soon.

“Let’s go back now.”

He added briefly and moved his feet. This mission had to succeed no matter what.

Meanwhile, Allen hurried his steps. It seemed time would be quite tight to get home before midnight. As soon as he entered an alley that was a shortcut, Allen put his hand into his hair and pulled it out with a swish.

“Phew, I thought I was going to die from the heat.”

Long brown hair that had been hidden among the short hair fell down. In his hand was a disheveled wig.

Allen, no, Alice, who roughly arranged her tangled and messy hair with her hand, walked vigorously towards the alley with a grin. If she dawdled any longer here, it was obvious she would be caught by her father and receive a scolding.

**

“I hear the festival schedule has been reduced.”

“Is that so?”

“It was originally to be held for 5 days, but they say it’s been shortened to 3 days. I presume it’s due to budget cuts for war preparations, but…”

While listening to Lynette’s words, Ilarid tried to hide her complicated feelings as she checked the newly arrived documents.

Cledius was moving forward relentlessly. Like someone thirsting for blood and territory. If anyone tried to block or stop him in between, he would sweep them away like kicking a pebble on the road.

‘Even Melpiram… disappeared so easily.’

Strength unconsciously entered her hand holding the pen. Ilarid was the empress, but now there was nothing she could do.

Originally, the empress had the special privilege of using three imperial seals. But Cledius took away even that privilege from Ilarid at the same time he purged Melpiram.

Now she could only manage the Empress Palace and the people under it. Usually there would be imperial consorts below that, but Cledius had not installed Selina as an imperial consort.

‘Does it mean he doesn’t want to put her under me?’

Putting her frustrated feelings aside, Ilarid focused on work again.

“If it’s because of the war, we should reduce the Empress Palace budget too.”

“The money going to Selina personally will probably be much more than the Empress Palace budget.”

“There won’t be any problem in living frugally.”

“Still, I cannot allow Your Majesty the Empress to fall behind Selina.”

Ignoring Lynette’s grumbling, Ilarid gathered a few documents and headed directly to the Imperial Palace. It was a modest movement with only Lynette, the head lady-in-waiting, following behind, hardly to be called a procession.

As if ignoring that modest number, a large luggage cart passed by Ilarid’s side. The cart was heading towards the Imperial Palace, making a clamorous noise.

“Could it be tributes for His Majesty the Emperor?”

“…No.”

When Ilarid and Lynette arrived in front of the Imperial Palace, attendants were in the process of unloading luxuriously wrapped gift boxes and several fancy trunks from the luggage cart.

The attendants who encountered the empress hurriedly bowed their heads.

“Your Majesty the Empress.”

“What is all this?”

“His Majesty the Emperor… ordered these for Lady Selina.”

“Open it.”

At Ilarid’s firm words, the attendants only looked at each other. In the end, she stepped forward herself and flung open one of the trunks.

There was another box inside the trunk.

In the velvet case were necklaces, earrings, and other jewelry that at a glance far exceeded the monthly budget of the Empress Palace. The other boxes were also full of luxury goods, custom-made clothes, and shoes.

While the empress was planning to save the budget for war preparations, the emperor was indulging in waste and luxury for the pockets of his favored mistress.

Lynette, who checked the contents beside her, looked at Ilarid’s expression. At this point, she would surely be angry, but how should she stop her…