If the captain was someone who did not forgive traitors, he would have severely punished Karl as soon as he learned of his involvement in my kidnapping.

I didn’t want Karl to suffer such a fate.

Even though he betrayed me, he was still my old friend.

So I only said this:

– Be cautious of Reymont.

– If you are still with Reymont now, you must distance yourself from him immediately.

– I witnessed him seemingly reporting something to His Majesty the Emperor via messenger bird several times.

I could have written that Reymont kidnapped me, but that was also a bit risky.

If the captain found out that Ernant kidnapped me through Reymont, he would not tolerate it either.

He would surely confront Ernant about this incident, and in that case, a storm of blood might sweep through the empire.

So I decided to hide everything for now.

– Anyway, please don’t worry too much. I will return soon. I plan to come back as soon as my body recovers.

Even after writing that much, there was still blank space left on the letter.

Having developed the habit of reporting to the captain as concisely as possible, I couldn’t think of any flowery words to add.

So I racked my brains until I was sick of it, and was barely able to come up with one sentence.

– I reminisce over and over about the moments we shared together. So that those precious memories don’t wear away with the passage of time.

After writing that last sentence, I carefully placed the letter in an envelope.

Then, hoping the captain would welcome this letter, I sealed it preciously.

Of course, I needed Frith’s help to send the letter.

Coincidentally, we had arranged to have tea time together, and I was able to naturally open my mouth while drinking tea with him.

“Um, may I ask you for a favor?”

Frith, who had been smiling as if something good had happened, opened his eyes wide in slight surprise the moment he heard my words.

Perhaps he was surprised that I, who wasn’t doing any work and was just clinging to the Grand Temple, was shamelessly making another request?

…My worry turned out to be unfounded as he soon showed a bright smile.

“Finally, an opportunity has come to me.”

“An opportunity?”

“An opportunity to properly help you, my lord.”

Fortunately, it seemed he wasn’t surprised by my shamelessness.

Far from considering me shameless, he seemed to think I was being too cautious.

“I was worried because you must surely need help, but you didn’t ask first. Will you finally give me a chance to help you, my lord?”

“You don’t have to be so polite…”

“So, what kind of help do you need?”

At his question, I immediately pulled out the letter I had kept in my bosom.

Then, handing it to Frith, I said:

“I need to inform Duke Martin von Habicht… that is, the captain of the Silver Knights, of my survival. He must think I’ve suddenly gone missing.”

“Ah. Duke Habicht…”

Suddenly, Frith’s eyes turned cold.

It was such a fierce gaze and expression that I wondered if he had ever shown such a cold expression before.

I was a bit surprised to see someone who had been smiling until just now suddenly freeze his face.

“Your Holiness? If I’ve made too unreasonable a request, please tell me frankly.”

“No, it’s not an unreasonable request at all. It’s just delivering a letter.”

Seeing him smile again as if nothing had happened, I was finally relieved.

I relaxed and took a sip of the fragrant tea placed in front of me.

As I was savoring the soft floral scent filling my mouth, Frith abruptly brought up the captain’s name.

“From what I saw before, Duke Habicht seemed to care for you quite a lot.”

“Before…?”

“I’m referring to the time of the Founding Day parade. At that time, when you and I were in conversation, Duke Habicht’s gaze towards me was, how should I put it…”

Frith paused for a moment as if trying to recall the memory.

Then, as if he had belatedly thought of an appropriate expression, he continued:

“It was fierce. Should I say it was like the look of seeing a ruffian trying to carelessly handle his possession?”

“Haha, surely not.”

“It’s true. That’s how I could tell. That you were receiving the duke’s favor.”

At the time of the parade, my relationship with the captain was not that deep.

It was even before we kissed.

I even wavered under Ernant’s influence at times, so would the captain really have cared for and favored me?

It seemed Frith had misinterpreted the captain’s gaze, but I decided not to point it out.

So I thought the conversation about the captain would end here.

However.

“How do you view him?”

“Pardon?”

I asked in bewilderment, and he looked at me with a gaze full of amusement.

Thinking it was a look difficult to read, I answered for now:

“As a knight, I sincerely respect him. I’m working hard, hoping that I too will become that strong someday.”

“No, that’s not what I’m asking.”

“Then…”

“I mean, how do you view him as a man?”

I almost dropped the teacup I was holding.

I never expected such a direct question.

Thanks to that, my mind was instantly thrown into chaos.

“Um… that is… hmm…”

What on earth should I answer?

Should I flatly deny seeing him as a man?

But that would be a lie.

I clearly saw him as a man.

My face wasn’t thick enough to tell such a lie after even kissing him.

Then should I honestly say that I see him as a man?

That was even more troublesome.

If I said that I, the vice-captain of the honorable Silver Knights who protect the empire, see my superior as a man, I would literally be seen as ridiculous.

I absolutely couldn’t give an answer that would make the knightly order look ridiculous.

Truth and lie.

After considering which of the two to choose, I finally chose to lie for the honor of the knightly order.

“I swear I have never once looked at Captain Martin in that way. I have always only respected him as a knight.”

“Oh?”

“If I, who should help lead the knightly order alongside him, were to harbor personal feelings for him, wouldn’t discipline become lax? The Silver Knights are the empire’s one and only guardian group against monsters. Romance within such a knightly order is out of the question.”

I seemed to have rambled on too much, flustered by the fear that our relationship might be discovered.

Frith watched me with a strange gaze as I continued that long speech.

Should I say it was like the look of a cat playing with a mouse?

As he stared at me with his lips slightly curled up, he suddenly opened his mouth again.

“Then may I ask one more thing?”

“Yes, of course.”

“You said that romance is not possible within the Silver Knights for the sake of discipline, right? Then… do you have any thoughts of finding a partner outside the knightly order?”

Once again, I almost dropped my teacup.

It was entirely thanks to my strong willpower that I didn’t drop the teacup.

Why does he keep choosing only questions that are difficult to answer?

Feeling a little resentful towards Frith, I chose an appropriate answer.

“It would be difficult for me to find my partner even outside the knightly order.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I still have things I must do, things only I can do.”

Frith nodded his head lightly.

“You mean closing the rifts, I suppose.”

“Yes, that’s one of the things I must do. I have to close the rifts. If I, one of the few high-level awakened in the empire, don’t risk my life to close the rifts, the empire will face a crisis. So I can’t find a romantic partner outside the knightly order either.”

With a slightly bitter smile, I continued:

“Who would want to date a woman whose life could be lost at any moment?”

Unless it was someone like Captain Martin who is also a knight like me, I thought it would be difficult to find my match among ordinary people.

To ordinary people, my job was too dangerous.

When I depart on an expedition beyond the rift, my lover would be left alone at home, anxiously waiting for me.

Wouldn’t that be an unfair thing to do to my partner?

“If I were to find a partner, I’d like to meet another ‘knight’. Since we’re both risking our lives fighting, I wouldn’t particularly feel sorry, you know?”

“…”

“Ah, of course, even if I want a knight, I will absolutely not look for a partner within the Silver Knights. Haha. As I said earlier, it’s because discipline would become lax. I’ve never had the slightest thought of looking for a partner within the Silver Knights.”

Once again, I felt like I was rambling unnecessarily, thinking I had to hide my relationship with the captain.

I hope Frith hasn’t noticed…

Fortunately, he seemed lost in thought with a blank expression.

After being deeply immersed in thought with that blank face for a while, he suddenly spoke:

“So you specifically want a knight because… you’re risking your life fighting? Because you might die in battle.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then, if you retire after closing all the rifts, would it not matter if your partner isn’t necessarily a knight at that point?”

Translation complete. 100% of original text translated.