“Lebel, now….”

“I apologize. I will accept the punishment for my crime.”

“It’s not a crime, but….”

Despite committing quite a serious act, his calmness was perhaps due to his personality. In fact, as a ‘shadow’, it wasn’t that great of a crime.

“Forcibly kissing Her Majesty the Empress and making her drink the medicine despite her hesitation is a great sin.”

As if reading Ilarid’s inner thoughts, Lebel bowed his head and apologized to her. In truth, Ilarid was so surprised that she was far from anxious, and could barely remember what she had been thinking.

Should this even be called a kiss? It’s the first time I’ve taken medicine like this.

The bitter taste of the medicine still lingered on the tip of her lips. No, perhaps his lips always tasted like this.

As this thought crossed her mind, Ilarid’s cheeks flushed red again.

For a kiss, it was quite deep, probably. The sensation of him smoothly filling her mouth was still vivid. Now she couldn’t even remember how she had swallowed the medicine.

The person sitting beside her seemed either unaware of the emotion called embarrassment, or completely dull to such matters, appearing only calm.

“I was worried because you seemed to be avoiding the medicine.”

“It’s not good for the body… Above all, when I take this medicine, I sleep late. Not only does it disrupt the next day’s schedule, but it’s obvious how they will view the Empress.”

She had tried hard not to show even the slightest weakness. Even at the cost of staying up all night, she moved her body as busily as possible and maintained a proper demeanor. Even when her body was tired and her mind exhausted, she kept her guard up and didn’t relax her tension.

“Your Majesty the Empress.”

Now Lebel embraced Ilarid without asking for permission. His gentle, soothing touch was similar to that of an adult trying to put a child to sleep.

“When you’re in pain or uncomfortable, you should take medicine, and when you’re tired, you should rest. When you’re sad, you should cry, and when you’re happy, you should laugh.”

It was natural. Taking a light walk in the sunshine when feeling down, meeting someone and chatting energetically while taking a bite of something sweet.

These were things that might be natural for someone else, but not for Ilarid. Her life was always full of things she had to endure and bear.

“Lebel. Do you know why I’m afraid of falling asleep?”

Was the medicine starting to take effect? Ilarid’s voice and gestures were becoming drowsy.

“I always have bad dreams.”

Cledius trying to kill Lynette and the nanny. The droplets of blood from that day when she barely managed to stop him. Her brother, ruined in a miserable state in the prison tower. Her mother walking to the execution ground.

“Why are there more bad dreams than good ones…”

Riding horses with Limless, running around the mansion with Lynette. The days when she would sneak out despite being scolded by her mother. Such memories were rare. Why do dreams always bring cruel and terrible scenes?

Ilarid clung to Lebel, holding onto her drowsy state. And she murmured towards the dream that was about to come:

“I’m scared. I always have to beg the nightmares. Please, if it’s a dream, show me something different. Before I become exhausted…”

Sleep was now even closer. Lebel embraced Ilarid and lifted her up. Her light body was lifted effortlessly and sank onto the bed. After carefully covering her with the blanket, Lebel asked her one last question.

“Your Majesty the Empress, shall I cut off the source of your nightmares?”

No answer came. Only the sound of regular breathing could be heard from between Ilarid’s lips. He carefully smoothed the silver hair scattered on the pillow.

One of the sources of nightmares. If that were cut off, could she be even a little more at ease?

“Sweet dreams.”

May peace and tranquility reach you. Lebel lightly kissed Ilarid’s forehead. He couldn’t delay any longer. There was something he had to do before the night ended.

Lebel deliberately went out into the corridor. On the other side, Lynette and another maid were visible. When Lynette saw Lebel, she approached with a face full of worry.

“Captain Lebel. Is Her Majesty the Empress unable to sleep?”

“No. She just fell asleep.”

Relief washed over the maids’ faces. Lebel carefully informed them that Ilarid had taken the medicine.

“Actually, Her Majesty took the medicine from the green bottle. She will probably sleep late tomorrow.”

Usually she wouldn’t take it no matter how much we urged her, has there been a change in her mood? Lynette studied Lebel’s face. Perhaps he had persuaded her to take it. Lebel was fulfilling his role as a ‘shadow’ quite well. It was admirable.

“I understand. We’ll adjust tomorrow morning’s schedule. Are you leaving now?”

“I have training, so I plan to leave in the morning.”

“Then tonight…”

“I will stay by Her Majesty the Empress’s side.”

Lebel bowed briefly before turning his back. As she watched his back heading towards the Empress’s bedroom, Lynette called out to him once more.

“Are there any other precautions?”

“Um, Captain Lebel. Her Majesty the Empress is not in very good health.”

It was obvious just by looking. It was worrying whether she was even eating meals properly. Her pale face was by no means a good sign.

There was no warmth to be found in her bloodless, pale cheeks, and her shoulders and arms were so thin that bones could be felt before flesh.

“I know.”

“So at night… please be as careful as possible. I beg you.”

Ah, precautions about that. A faint sigh escaped involuntarily. It was something he hadn’t dared to even think about yet. Lebel nodded briefly.

“I will be mindful not to cause any concern.”

He was a man who seemed reliable but sometimes too dangerous. Lynette sent a worried glance at Lebel’s retreating back.

‘I hope nothing happens.’

No matter how rational and polite he might be, he was still a man in the bed. And he was a man Ilarid had saved in the past. The fleeting pained look in Lebel’s eyes was an emotion sent to a benefactor or more than that.

Emotions, when suppressed and endured, are bound to explode like a volcano someday. What about Lebel, I wonder.

Just now, Lebel had lied with the lips that had touched the Empress.

Saying “I will stay by Her Majesty the Empress’s side tonight” in front of the maids was a kind of alibi.

Ilarid would be asleep until late morning. And Lebel would return to the Empress’s palace before then. Everything had to end by dawn. A secret task to be carried out when the entire palace was quiet, at a time when no one would see him.

Lebel checked once more on Ilarid’s sleeping form. She hadn’t moved at all while sleeping, as the blanket was exactly as he had left it when he went out.

“…I’ll be back.”

His footsteps towards the balcony were perfectly quiet. Closing the window and jumping down was all done like the wind.

The suppressed presence continued to the mercenary camp. A guard member was seen checking the camp’s movements nearby, but it was easy to move without being caught in his eye.

“…Captain.”

Luth, who was waiting nearby, rose. It was a signal that preparations were complete.

There was no better companion for the task of silently eliminating someone while suppressing one’s presence. Whenever there was a job to track someone’s movements and follow them secretly, Luth worked with Lebel.

“Let’s go, Luth.”

There will be no failure. Especially not in a revenge filled with grudges.

Lebel and Luth hid themselves in the continuing darkness. The faint movements in the darkness soon disappeared and became invisible.

**

Thinking back on it again, it was the first kiss.

At that time, he only thought about calming Ilarid’s anxiety. He wanted her to fall asleep without trembling. He wondered if taking the medicine would bring her some stability.

The act of feeding the medicine from mouth to mouth and pushing it down her throat. The sensation of her lips, clear until the moment of separation.

Lebel gently placed his fingers on his lips. Rather than the word ‘kiss’, it was a bit deeper, with tongues intertwining and reaching inside…

“…Captain.”

“…What.”

“…Just now, a presence.”

Luth’s brief warning that he sensed a presence and to concentrate was heard. Lebel felt self-loathing for having such imagination.

He was planning to kneel and beg for forgiveness as soon as Ilarid woke up when he returned to the Empress’s palace, saying it was a mistake. Should he plead for mercy, saying he did it out of concern? A smirk escaped.

“…Focus.”

“Understood.”

They waited for their target, hiding their bodies in the darkness.

Tamyl, the torture technician of the imperial family, was on his way home today, completely drunk as usual. He kept grumbling with staggering steps.

“My fate… No work, and time just flowing by idly…”

His job, that is, was to eliminate those who could be a threat to the imperial family. He had to extract confessions by any means of torture.

The contents of the confessions from the traitors were terrifying and enormous, such as trying to eliminate Cledius, or trying to plant a bomb in the imperial palace.

It didn’t matter whether those confessions were true or not. Once they spilled it out, that was enough. Then, by implicating a few people here and there, it became one incident. A gathering of treacherous rebels trying to assassinate the emperor was created by Tamyl’s hands.

But recently, he couldn’t even do such work. It was because of the emperor’s orders. Leaving those who dared to point swords at His Majesty the Emperor just sitting in prison, it was a waste of taxes and squandering of the national treasury.

Unable to contain his anger, he wondered who had orchestrated such a thing, and it turned out to be the Icastel ducal family, one of the great powers in the imperial court.

Because it was a power too big even for Tamyl to handle, he could only spend his time drinking while grumbling.

People on the street avoided Tamyl, lest they bump into his staggering steps.

They weren’t avoiding him because he was dirty, but because they were afraid. Even in his drunken state, Tamyl was arrogant with such certainty. Do you know who I am? I’m Tamyl, the torture technician trusted by His Majesty the Emperor!

Of course, he didn’t need to shout that out loud, as everyone in the world probably already knew his face.

Behind Tamyl was a nobleman, and he had the direct protection of the emperor. After all, Tamyl was the most powerful fear supporting Cledius’s imperial authority.

Meanwhile, afraid of assassination, Tamyl had personal bodyguards to protect him. It was due to the pitiful fear of desperately clinging to his own life while treating others’ lives like pieces of paper.

Two bodyguards walked behind the drunken Tamyl as he walked. They watched the surroundings, keeping an eye on any suspicious people approaching Tamyl, but no one came near him.

Today again, there were no dangerous movements attaching to Tamyl. The bodyguards perfectly fulfilled their duty of escorting Tamyl into the mansion.

He didn’t let his guard down even until the moment the door closed. Thick curtains hung on every window inside the mansion where Tamyl resided, completely concealing his internal movements.

Even after reaching the bedroom on the second floor, Tamyl couldn’t shake off the strange uneasiness that came over him.

‘This is all because of those traitors from Rosen. Those bastards are sleeping comfortably stretching their legs in prison.’

Just thinking about it made his expression distort. Tamyl thought so and entered the bathroom attached to the bedroom. He was thinking of taking a hot bath.

In the middle of washing, Tamyl heard a strange noise mixed with the sound of water. A creaking sound of friction on the floor. An ominous sound that seemed to be mixed with someone’s footsteps.

“Who’s there!”

He hurriedly put on his clothes and flung the door open, but the bedroom was quiet as usual. Only the unfinished running water sound was noisy.

However, once started, the ominous thought brought other anxieties. Tamyl hurriedly wiped off the water, barely finishing washing, and left the bathroom.

Tamyl’s gaze, slowly scanning the room, fixed on the space under the bed.

Why, of all places, did the bed catch his eye? The bed sheet, hanging long down to the floor, was meticulously covering the unsightly space under the bed.

No way. Tamyl approached it while shuddering.

And after swallowing hard, he quickly lifted up the bed sheet that reached the floor.