He, or she, was wearing a frock coat of deep red with white embroidery. They looked noble, but as far as Roxiana knew, there was no young noble with such a face in Celshire City.

“I heard my subordinate was rude to the lady.”

He, or she, said in a husky voice, removing white gloves and reaching across the table as if to offer a handshake.

“I’ve come to apologize, my lady. I am Aiwis Brede, captain of the Catus Holy Knight Order.”

Roxiana stared at Aiwis with wide eyes.

She had heard that the captain of the Catus Holy Knight Order was a woman. She had even thought it remarkable that a woman had become the captain of the Catus Holy Knight Order, considered the best among the holy knight orders.

She had expected to meet Aiwis someday, having captured Valde Erton, the vice-captain of the Catus Holy Knight Order, but she didn’t expect it to be this soon. And without any preparation.

Even though Roxiana didn’t accept the handshake, Aiwis withdrew her hand without any sign of embarrassment and said,

“Please call me Ais, my lady.”

“……”

“There’s no need to be afraid. I haven’t come to kidnap you. I’m simply here to apologize for my subordinate’s rudeness.”

“I’ll accept your apology after I hear why your subordinate tried to kidnap me.”

As Roxiana spoke coldly, Aiwis looked at her curiously and opened her mouth. Or rather, tried to open her mouth.

A cool dagger touched Aiwis’s neck. Roxiana looked up in surprise at Kirshan, who had approached Aiwis’s side silently. Even Roxiana, who was facing Aiwis, hadn’t noticed his approach.

“Oh my.”

Despite the blade at her neck, Aiwis didn’t panic. She narrowed her eyes and said,

“I have no intention of causing a disturbance in the shop, Lord Lepe.”

“Neither do I. My lord is coming, so please stand up quietly. Unless you want to see this shop go up in flames.”

“The Grand Duke is personally coming to meet me. It seems the rumors about his fondness for this lady are true.”

The blade pressed deeper into her neck. A long cut appeared on her white nape. Roxiana was shocked by the wound on the Holy Knight Captain’s neck, but neither Aiwis nor Kirshan seemed perturbed.

“Refrain from unnecessary comments, Lady Brede.”

“Yes, I’ll stand up. I’m terrified.”

As Aiwis stood up, Kirshan put his dagger away. In the crowded shop, no one had noticed this small commotion.

Kirshan kept his eyes on Aiwis. She calmly picked up her gloves, put them back on, winked briefly at Roxiana, and left the shop with Kirshan.

Only after the two had disappeared did Roxiana come to her senses and follow them out. Aiwis was in a carriage parked in front of the shop. Roxiana tried to get in too, but Kirshan stopped her.

“I’m sorry, Princess. My lord ordered to only take Lady Brede.”

Through the swaying carriage curtains, Roxiana caught a glimpse of Floyd’s profile. He didn’t even glance in her direction.

Roxiana stepped back without protest. Kirshan bowed apologetically and followed the departing carriage. Roxiana considered following them but decided against it and spoke to her spirits.

‘Everyone. Please find out what those two are talking about. And if the Grand Duke tries to kill Lady Brede, stop him.’

+++

The carriage traveled for a while, but Floyd sat with his arms crossed, saying nothing. In the suffocating silence, Aiwis looked out the window and said,

“We’re heading to a more deserted area. Are you planning to kill me, Grand Duke?”

“If necessary.”

The brief answer was sincere. Aiwis knew this man was capable of it, and her mouth went dry, but she didn’t show it.

Eventually, the carriage stopped at a narrow, deserted beach. The ground was covered with pebbles, surrounded by cliffs, with large, dangerous-looking rocks at the base of the cliffs.

It seemed like a place where no one would notice if a person disappeared.

As she got out of the carriage, Aiwis checked her sword, ready to deflect Floyd’s blade at any moment, but soon remembered the vast difference between them and clicked her tongue.

‘If his flames spread, I’d be burned to death without a chance. At least there’s seawater to jump into if needed.’

She had planned to quickly apologize to Roxiana, persuade her well, and return with Valde, but she hadn’t expected Floyd to catch on so quickly.

‘They say the Grand Duke has eyes and ears on the ground and in the sky in Torkan… It’s true, it seems.’

Aiwis swallowed a sigh and stared at the man standing before her with his arms crossed.

Aiwis was over 180cm tall and rarely found someone taller than her, but Floyd seemed a head taller. He probably wasn’t actually that much taller, but his broad shoulders and solid physique created an overwhelming presence that made him seem so.

Floyd didn’t seem inclined to speak first.

“I had no intention of harming Lady Franche, Grand Duke.”

“For someone with no such intentions, you certainly managed a brazen kidnapping in broad daylight. Even leaving wounds on the princess’s wrists with rough ropes.”

Valde had used high-quality ropes to ensure Roxiana wouldn’t be hurt, but Floyd had clearly noticed the tiny abrasions on her wrists, so slight that even Roxiana herself hadn’t noticed.

“Isn’t that reason enough for Valde Erton and his subordinate knights to die?”

“Please refrain from such frightening talk, Grand Duke. If all those fellows die, we’ll have no knights left in Catus.”

“That’s your problem.”

The wind blowing in was cold, but the aura emanating from Floyd was hot. Having fought on the same battlefield as Floyd, Aiwis knew all too well how intense his flames could be.

Aiwis stepped back slightly and said,

“I admit Valde did something crazy. Ah, that hot-headed fool messed up.”

Floyd coldly watched as Aiwis ran her hand through her hair.

“I just wanted to meet Lady Franche in person and talk…”

“You have no reason to meet the princess directly.”

“I do. I didn’t want to say this, but you should be grateful to me, Grand Duke.”

Seeing the wrinkles form on Floyd’s nose bridge, Aiwis quickly said,

“I’ve blocked most of the news coming from Torkan.”

Seeing that Floyd’s wrinkles didn’t deepen further, Aiwis hastily added,

“The miracle of the forest. The vast and rapid purification. The strange drink that restores stamina. The unusually fast progress of road construction. And the fresh fish that the Caran merchant group started exporting around the same time.”

The miracles Roxiana had performed flowed one by one from Aiwis’s lips. Aiwis raised her palms upward.

“No matter how loyal the people of Torkan are, they can’t block all of this, Grand Duke. Trying to obscure the truth with false rumors was a very clever method, but the High Priest is much more meticulous and persistent than you think. Even if it were just rumors, he would have brought someone to verify. If I hadn’t blocked all those reports in between.”

“……”

“Your power could be explained away as some kind of strange magic. The temple would find it convenient to have you around, given how difficult it is to manage the numerous rifts in the south. But Grand Duke, when Lady Franche’s power is added to yours, it’s no longer just magic.”

Aiwis leaned forward slightly.

“It’s spirits.”

Floyd frowned. He wondered how this woman could have connected all those stories to spirits.

“The High Temple and the Empire have implemented policies to make people forget about spirits, but priests and holy knights learn about spirits first. Do you know why?”

“So they can quickly deal with anyone who uses the power of spirits, I suppose.”

“Correct. The policy to eradicate spirit users is still in effect. Spirits created rifts, and monsters are another form of spirits. Therefore, spirit users who collude with wicked spirits and use their power must be killed on sight.”

Floyd didn’t even twitch an eyebrow at Aiwis’s ominous words. Aiwis was uneasy, unable to read what Floyd was thinking.

“We receive education bordering on brainwashing. To holy knights, spirit users become beings deserving death. No matter what they do, what power they possess, we neither see nor hear. If we learn they’re using wicked powers, we simply kill them.”

“……”

“Do you remember the rift that appeared in the Etivan Mountain Gorge of the Netevelma Kingdom seven years ago?”

Floyd nodded slightly.

“The Empire’s emperor didn’t move until Netevelma showed sufficient sincerity, and the rift showed unstable movement before spewing out multiple monsters simultaneously. When we were finally dispatched there after negotiations were successful, there were many casualties, but the extent of damage was less than we had imagined.”

“There was a spirit user.”

“Yes. That spirit user could manipulate water freely. The water masses created by the spirit user had completely different effects from those created by mages. Monsters hit by the spirit user’s water screamed terribly, their skin melted, and they could be killed more easily.”

Aiwis frowned, recalling that time.

“The spirit user saved countless people but died by our hands. Simply for using the power of wicked spirits. And Grand Duke, I became curious.”

Aiwis met Floyd’s eyes.

“Which side is truly wicked?”