After hearing the report that all the monsters had been depleted, Ernant frowned.

Death row inmates were easy to obtain, and even if there weren’t any, they could just be created, but it wasn’t the case with monsters.

To procure monsters, the help of knights was needed.

The help of the Silver Knights who could capture monsters more easily than anyone else as they were attacking rifts on the front lines.

“……”

He remained silent for a moment, thinking of Yulia.

In the early days of research, he had expected that Yulia’s help wouldn’t be necessary, but the situation had changed.

Unlike before, Martin was now targeting Ernant’s things.

That’s why he rushed the research even more, and as a result, the experimental monsters were quickly depleted.

To the point where a few monsters caught by the knights he was dealing with were not enough.

So he had to try to contact Yulia again somehow and persuade her.

Judging that there was no other way, Ernant called the aide standing outside the laboratory and ordered:

“Send a letter to the Silver Knights. Tell them I’ll be visiting soon.”

With the lizard that the Captain and I caught together, we were able to eat our fill and sleep well yesterday.

After sleeping soundly like that, our group woke up early in the morning and immediately found and destroyed the magic stone.

With that, another rift was safely closed.

“Let’s hurry back.”

At the Captain’s words, we all responded energetically, “Yes!”

For a rift of this scale, it would take about 2 weeks to close.

We had to escape through the rift during that time, so we had to move quickly as he said.

Fortunately, since we were retracing a path we had taken before, the journey wasn’t difficult, and we were able to arrive at the Silver Knights’ camp in no time.

After that, what did we do? We rested.

Rested and rested some more.

It was because of the Captain’s instructions to rest well since we had worked hard on this attack.

After resting like that for about three days, the Captain called me to his tent.

With a very pleased expression.

However, the words that actually came out of his mouth were not at all pleasing to me.

“Carolin’s crime has been clearly revealed. As you said, he was secretly distributing monster remains collected from rifts on the market. Several large merchant groups were involved. But it’s all resolved now, so there’s no need to worry.”

The Captain was smiling, but I couldn’t smile along with him.

Unfortunately, the news he shared was not at all what I had hoped for.

I asked the Captain with my last hope:

“Excuse me, but… is that all?”

“Hm?”

“You said large merchant groups were involved? Were they the only ones behind Carolin?”

“Yes. The merchant group leaders requested Carolin to supply them with monster fluids or remains, and Carolin was lining his own pockets with that. That’s all, but?”

The word ‘Imperial family’ never came out of the Captain’s mouth.

I held my head without even thinking of composing my expression.

What could it be?

The ones who commissioned Carolin were not Ernant but others?

Was Carolin not related to Ernant at all?

Then who is delivering monsters to Ernant?

“Sigh……”

I brushed back my disheveled hair, letting out a long sigh.

I was happy thinking I had finally found the culprit who supplied monsters to Ernant.

But if Carolin wasn’t that culprit, there must be another real culprit.

I had to find that person.

Starting from scratch again.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you glad the case is resolved?”

At the Captain’s question, I shook my head, trying to act as if nothing was wrong.

“No, it’s not that. I’m glad.”

“Is that so? That’s good. Now I have to give you some bad news.”

“Bad news……”

I’ve already heard bad news, and now I have to hear more.

My head was throbbing, but I tried hard to gather my thoughts so as not to collapse.

However, unfortunately, the bad news that the Captain shared was not something I could handle just by trying to pull myself together.

“Ernant sent a letter saying he would visit here. To see you.”

“……”

“For that reason, I thought about sending you on an attack for a while… but it seems Ernant anticipated that part too. It was emphasized several times in the letter. That he wouldn’t return to the palace until he saw you.”

That meant that even if I tried to hide somewhere for a while, Ernant would keep waiting for me.

At this point, it was impossible to avoid it.

The best thing to do would be to deal with him appropriately and send him back.

By the way, what business does he have to meet me?

Asking that question in my mind, I quietly furrowed my brow.

I had a rough idea of what Ernant wanted to talk about.

He would probably ask me to supply monsters.

It seems that’s why he quietly showed me his laboratory before.

The only worry was this: I didn’t think he would just simply ‘ask’.

Maybe he would find my weakness, grasp it, and threaten me.

“Should I be there with you?”

While I was lost in thought, the Captain suddenly said that.

Unable to understand what he meant, I stared at him blankly, and he added:

“We can’t block the Emperor’s visit without a good reason. Since he declared he wouldn’t return until he met you, you’ll have to show your face at least for a moment. But I can somehow prevent the uncomfortable situation of you two being left alone.”

“Really?”

“Yes, originally, for Emperor Ernant to have a meeting with you, the Vice-Captain, he should have gone through me, the Captain. Until now, I’ve let you meet freely, but if I want to interfere, I can use my authority to do so.”

After hearing that much of his words, I fell into thought for a moment before answering.

“But won’t that cause trouble for you, Captain? His Majesty won’t just let it go, will he? I’m worried you might get into trouble because of me……”

“It’s not just for your sake.”

The Captain suddenly got up from his chair and approached me.

He came over and sat lightly on the edge of the desk, facing me.

“I don’t like it either. You meeting Ernant alone.”

The moment I heard those words he casually threw out, a corner of my heart pleasantly tingled again.

As if he had seen right through my state, he soon showed a playful smile.

“Even if you say it’s no big deal for you to meet Ernant alone, now I don’t like it.”

“……”

“There’s no way I could be indifferent about a woman I’m interested in talking alone with such a lewd guy.”

A woman he’s interested in.

A woman he’s interested in.

A woman he’s interested in.

I repeated the words he uttered dozens of times in my head.

Although we had already kissed in the cave, hearing him express his feelings so openly made me feel dizzy.

“So, shall I be there with you?”

As he asked again, I couldn’t respond for a while and only cooled my heated cheeks by fanning them with my hand.

When I calmed down a bit, I was finally able to answer.

“I’m very grateful for your consideration, but I’ll meet His Majesty alone. It’s something I have to handle.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’ll face it without avoiding. And I’ll say it clearly.”

I spoke firmly with the most resolute face I could muster.

“That from now on, I will be loyal as a knight of the Empire, but I will not harbor any other feelings towards him. I will clearly state my intentions like that.”

Yes, I was planning to clearly state my feelings when I was alone with Ernant.

That I am no longer your puppet.

So I have no intention of participating in the terrible things you’re doing in the underground of the Imperial Palace.

If the Captain was with me, it would certainly be more comfortable, but then I wouldn’t be able to talk about the chimera.

So I had to talk to Ernant alone.

The Captain nodded quietly after hearing my words.

“You’re brave indeed. Yes, I’m sure you can stand up to Ernant well even without my protection.”

I nodded to show that he could trust me.

And the very next day, the Imperial carriage carrying Ernant arrived at the camp.

Ernant had frequently visited the Silver Knights before.

Each time, the ostensible purpose of the visit was always the same.

To encourage the knights as the Emperor.

But this time, the purpose of the visit was a little different.

“I’ve prepared a small token of gratitude for Yulia, who was my partner at the founding day celebration.”

Ernant, who had come to the Captain’s tent and said so, glanced at me standing behind the Captain.

As I avoided his gaze while standing upright like a statue, Ernant soon looked back at the Captain.

“The problem is that it’s something a bit difficult to bring here… I mean, she needs to see it in person. For that reason, can I borrow Yulia for a moment, Duke?”