Even while exchanging conversation with Eriu and Saib, Skaha occasionally glanced at the Duke. The fact that Nemed kept coming up in conversation was burdensome.

Anyway, he must be thinking of Nemed as her husband.

Sneaking a glance, luckily he seemed to be having a serious conversation with the Emperor.

“Eriu, let’s talk about my brother later. Let’s talk later.”

“Okay. Anyway, your brother is mine. If you introduce him to another nurse first, you’re dead.”

At Eriu’s cute threat, Skaha finally burst into laughter. While Saib momentarily left his seat to converse with Castlin, Skaha whispered softly into her friend’s ear.

“My brother got married…”

“Ahh! What! Never mind. Got excited for nothing. You should’ve told me earlier!”

Eriu playfully tapped her shoulder, and it was a rare moment when Skaha laughed brightly.

During a few meaningless jokes, Eriu tried to poke Skaha’s waist, but the unstable folding chair tilted on the uneven floor.

“Ah…?!”

Startled by Skaha’s wobbling, Eriu reached out, and

Saib, who was conversing not far away with Castlin, rushed over in shock, and

Lugard, who had been stealing glances at Skaha’s smiling face, sprang up.

But it was Cassard de Blahnath, the Commander of the Parsad Empire’s army, who caught Skaha’s waist before she fell to the floor.

When had he approached? He was the first to respond.

“Let go, please!”

Rather than thanking him, Skaha yelled to let go first. The Duke tilted his head slightly and wore a slightly mischievous expression.

“Really?”

Ah. If he lets go in this state, she’ll definitely fall to the floor. Skaha shook her head back and forth and covered her face with the hand that dared not grab him.

The Duke quickly hid the faint smile that had barely shown and effortlessly lifted Skaha’s waist. Simultaneously, the unattended folding chair fell over with a thud.

Castlin, rather than Skaha, seemed aware of the surrounding stares.

‘Really, she manages to disgrace the nurses all by herself!’

Castlin decided to divert everyone’s attention by striding forward and showing off a selfsacrificing attitude. She didn’t care if Skaha was actually having an affair with the Admiral.

All she disliked was the attention focusing on that blushing wench.

“Your Excellency the Admiral, I have prepared the list of military nurses; please check it.”

Even though there was no need for the Admiral to check the list of military nurses.

“It’s not happening.”

The man saying he would follow her to the medical warehouse in the middle of the night meant not to follow her to the battlefield as a military nurse.

The seed of trouble had been Castlin showing him the list of military nurses at dinner earlier.

The man who had sucked his lips and made a frustrated sound pressed his forehead against Skaha’s narrowed eyes. His smile at her wet lips was enchanting.

“Where are you going to follow, fearlessly?”

There was no process of recruiting military nurses. Skaha was just included in the list that Castlin had prepared.

But she thought it was rather a good thing. Military nurses are wellpaid, so she wouldn’t have to stay in Eben Baher any longer.

“You can’t go.”

“I don’t want to… Eriu is coming along, and furthermore…”
The duke smirked and, with a firm grip on her slender waist, he held her even tighter in his arms.

“Again?”

“……He said he’ll triple the pay……”

“You’re still greedy for a reward, even after receiving the Blahnath family’s promissory note.”

A faint smile appeared on Scáthach’s lips.

Not just in the empire, but across the continent, the Blahnath family’s promissory note was truly remarkable, especially those notes that had no specific amount written on them.

It was the very promissory note that he had refused to accept as payment. The note that had been received along with the formal compensation document for losing her job at Lindcom, a trivial excuse she had used.

To Scáthach, that money was as good as nonexistent since she planned to fold it neatly and return it to the duke when she left, along with any lingering attachment.

“Yes, I’m greedy. Because it’s money that I’ll earn fairly……”

“So, are you saying that the promissory note I gave you is not fair?”

“Uh…… Losing my job was not something to be proud of.”

The woman, who was perched on his thigh and snuggling up to him, responded in a sweet, drawnout voice, a fact that, in itself, was satisfying to Cassard.

Even though the content of what she was saying was not exactly favorable to him.

Yet, he was still pleased to be somehow involved in the woman’s life, although he knew well that such feelings were not normal.

“Is that so?”

Pressing his lips tightly against her visibly pale wrist, she felt a thrilling sensation and turned her head away, unable to look at him.

His eyes, looking at her, were quite gentle. It felt strangely uncomfortable.

“I have to go now.”

Although he failed to persuade her not to come to the operation area, he was not particularly upset.