“Young Lady Alicia, hello. I’m surprised. You came suddenly.”

“I came just in case. It’s always difficult to set up appointments.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been very busy with the aftermath. Oh, and thank you for your cooperation. It was very helpful during the field investigation. Thank you.”

“That’s all I could do. I’m glad it was helpful.”

Noah smiled with relief, as Alicia’s attitude towards him seemed more favorable than last time.

“So, what brings you here today?”

“You said before that you sensed magic from me? That I was being protected. I came because of that.”

“Ah.”

Noah looked at the back of Alicia’s hand with a hesitant expression.

In fact, Noah was curious too.

Moreover, the pattern he had briefly seen at that time bothered him even more.

His curiosity as a divine artist urged him on, but at the same time, his experience as a divine artist seemed to warn him that he shouldn’t know, so Noah hesitated for a moment.

But it was also awkward to refuse when she had come all the way here to ask in person.

After hesitating for a moment, Noah opened his mouth.

“Then shall we take a look for a moment?”

“Please do.”

“Place your hand here. With the back of your hand facing up.”

Alicia nodded and extended her hand to Noah.

“I’m just checking, so there’s no need to be nervous.”

“Alright.”

Noah concentrated his magic on the back of Alicia’s hand.

“?”

For a very brief moment, a black pattern appeared and then disappeared.

Alicia, who couldn’t see the back of her hand because it was covered by Noah’s hand, waited for him to speak, noticing his serious expression.

“It’s beyond my ability right now.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll report to the High Divine Artist when he comes later.”

“Is it serious?”

“Huh? No, it’s not.”

Noah smiled as if trying to reassure Alicia.

“I told you before that you were being protected, right? It’s stronger than I thought. So it’s not bad. Rather, it’s good.”

“I see.”

The power protecting Alicia was magic, not divine arts, as he had felt before.

Moreover, it was so powerful that breaking through the protective magic to check the pattern was beyond Noah’s current magical power.

Noah tried to hide his serious expression and smiled brightly.

‘I thought it wouldn’t be ordinary, but what on earth is this woman?’

[This is the timeline separator]

“Hello.”

“Oh, come in.”

The High Divine Officer greeted Eric warmly.

“Well, let’s see.”

The High Divine Officer examined Eric and then smiled.

“You can rest easy now. You’re fine. You don’t need to come for treatment anymore.”

“Thank you. You’ve gone through a lot of trouble because of me.”

“What trouble? That’s just my duty. Is Alicia alright?”

“Ah, yes.”

Eric was puzzled by the High Divine Officer’s familiar use of Alicia’s name, but he just nodded and answered.

“So when are you planning to get married?”

“Pardon?”

“I should officiate your wedding, after all. You see, my schedule is extremely tight, so we need to set a date in advance.”

“I, I appreciate your words, but we haven’t even had an engagement ceremony yet, so we haven’t discussed that far.”

Eric tried to decline, seeming embarrassed, but the High Divine Officer ignored him and got up from his seat, bringing a notebook from his desk.

“Let’s see~.”

The High Divine Officer flipped through the notebook quickly and then smiled.

“The earliest date from now is next autumn.”

“What? That’s more than a year away?”

“Oh, come on−. Look here. Do you think I’m some neighborhood grandpa with nothing to do?”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“I understand you’re in a hurry, but there are procedures to follow. Anyway, think about next autumn for now.”

“······Yes.”

Eric answered reluctantly.

He thought it unnecessary for the High Divine Officer to officiate the wedding of a collateral royal family member, not even a direct imperial family member, but he couldn’t say such things in front of the High Divine Officer who was excitedly setting the date.

“Oh, by the way. Is the Earl of Lancaster not back yet?”

“No. I’ve only heard that he’ll be back soon.”

“Is that so? Hmm. Where on earth is he wandering around?”

The High Divine Officer stroked his long beard, looking somewhat displeased.

“Do you know him well?”

“I do. Actually, I have some connection with the previous Earl of Lancaster.”

“Ah, I see.”

The previous Earl of Lancaster must have been a remarkable person indeed.

The High Divine Officer knew him well, and he was also close to the previous Emperor.

However, the current Earl of Lancaster, who had thrown away all those connections and was wandering outside, was certainly not an ordinary person either.

“Anyway, I’m saying this because our connection has deepened through this incident and I’ve taken a liking to you, Earl Russell.”

“Yes.”

“I hope you won’t be too hurt by the Earl of Lancaster.”

“Pardon?”

Eric was puzzled by the High Divine Officer’s sudden concern.

The High Divine Officer seemed to notice and smiled comfortingly.

“That fellow is a complete daughter-doting parent. Because Alicia was born with a weak body and there was a big accident in between, he goes crazy over his daughter.”

“I see.”

“From the moment you said you were engaged to Alicia, you’ve already lost more than half of his favor, so don’t expect too much.”

Eric smiled awkwardly at the High Divine Officer’s words.

“That fellow can’t be too harsh because he’s done some things himself.”

“?”

“No parent can win against their child. And that fellow knows it well too.”

The High Divine Officer chuckled at Eric’s expression of not understanding.

He was delighted at the thought of seeing that annoying fellow jumping up and down soon.

“Well, if things get tough, I’ll stand up for you, so don’t worry too much.”

Eric gave a reluctant thank you to the High Divine Officer, who was blurting out things without explaining the context, with a puzzled expression.

[This is the timeline separator]

Just before returning to the knights’ order after ending his sick leave, Eric was summoned by the Emperor.

“I am here to see His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Welcome, Earl Russell.”

‘Prince William isn’t here?’

Usually, William always attended matters related to the knights’ order.

With a puzzled face, Eric sat down in the seat offered by the Emperor.

“How is your health?”

“There’s no problem at all for my return to duty.”

“That’s good. I couldn’t delay it any longer.”

“Do you have an urgent command?”

“Yes. It’s been delayed for nearly a month because of your injury.”

“Ah. I’m sorry.”

“No, no. It’s not entirely unrelated. We’ve sort of started in a way.”

“?”

Seeing Eric’s puzzled expression, the Emperor spoke seriously.

“I need you to take charge of the Zero Knights Order for a while.”

“······Pardon?”

Eric was surprised by the unexpected words.

As if he had expected this, the Emperor smiled.

“Ah, of course, it’s as acting commander. Until the original commander returns.”

“Has something happened to the original commander?”

“He was attacked by a magician before. He’s recovering, but the progress is slow. He’s not in a condition to return yet.”

“Ah.”

“So I was looking for a deputy, and you were recommended.”

“Me?”

As Eric looked at him questioningly, the Emperor slightly lifted up an old investigation report about Eric.

“They did their research quite thoroughly. To the extent that I can’t think of a more suitable candidate than you.”

A background check? And I didn’t even notice it.

As Eric closed his mouth with a hardened face, the Emperor spoke as if to soothe him.

“The matters of the Zero Knights Order are so confidential that it was unavoidable, so don’t be upset.”

“······Yes.”

When Eric reluctantly answered, the Emperor smiled.

“You probably already know some of them, so it shouldn’t be difficult to adapt.”

“Yes. I’ll make sure there’s no disruption to the work of the Second Knights Order as well.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll talk to Lord Edinburgh about it too. Right now, moving the Zero Knights Order is the priority.”

“I understand.”

“Eric.”

When the Emperor called Eric by name, it was when he was adding his personal opinion.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Originally, the Zero Knights Order was created as an intelligence organization, and all its operations were kept confidential because we didn’t want to alert the imperial citizens about our concerns regarding magicians.”

“Yes.”

“But now magical beasts are appearing openly, and there’s a possibility that magicians will too, so it might be unreasonable to keep it confidential any longer.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s why I’m entrusting this to you. I want to hear the opinion of a third party who has directly experienced it about the future direction of the Zero Knights Order. So you should act as usual and give your opinion without holding back. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

“You must not tell William about this either.”

“Pardon? I thought the knights’ order was originally under the jurisdiction of the Prince as well.”

“The Zero Knights Order is directly under the Emperor. Even if he were the Crown Prince, it would be overstepping his authority to be involved at this point.”

“······I understand.”

“Well then, you may go now. You’ll be contacted by them soon.”

“Yes.”

“Ah, and one more thing.”

“?”

“The Zero Knights Order has full authority delegated to its commander.”

The Emperor smiled.

“That means all decisions are at your discretion, even the content of the reports you submit to me.”

“!”

“Well then, I’m counting on you. The next time we officially meet will be, let’s see, at the grand banquet? Let’s meet then.”

The Emperor smiled and stood up from his seat first.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Welcome, Eric.”

“Where’s Mother?”

“Upstairs. The doctor is here now too.”

“Is she not well?”

“It’s like a regular check-up she’s been having since the accident 10 years ago. There’s a doctor who sees her every time.”

“Ah.”

For the first time since fully recovering, Eric visited the Lancaster Count’s residence.

The Countess had been continuously unwell and couldn’t visit Eric in person during his illness, but she had sent foods good for his health and medicines, so Eric made time to express his gratitude for these.

When they turned into the corridor after going up to the second floor, Eric and Alicia encountered the doctor who was coming out after finishing the examination.

“Doctor, are you leaving now?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. Alicia. I was just about to leave.”

The doctor with a long white beard glanced at Eric and then answered Alicia.

“Don’t worry too much. It hasn’t gotten any worse.”

“Is that so? I was worried because she’s been lacking energy lately, but that’s a relief.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

As the doctor glanced at Eric again, Eric was about to open his mouth, unable to hold back.

“Oh my, so this is Alicia’s fiancé I’ve only heard about.”

“······Pardon?”

Eric asked back in bewilderment towards the doctor who quickly made a fuss.

“He’s handsome and looks dependable. Seems like he can keep secrets too.”

“······.”

“I heard you’re the knights’ commander? If it’s a knight’s virtue, it’s that indeed. Being tight-lipped. Maintaining confidentiality.”

The doctor’s rambling was bewildering, but Eric kept his mouth shut for now.

“I’ll see you out, Doctor.”

“No, Alicia. You should go to your mother quickly.”

“But−.”

“It’s alright. If you really must see someone off, well. Let’s ask this dependable young man here who seems good at keeping secrets.”

“What?”

As Alicia looked at the doctor suspiciously, who was acting strangely today, Eric, standing next to her, grinned.

“Sure. I’ll do it. You go to Mother first.”

“That’s right, that’s right. Go on now.”

Looking at the two of them alternately with a suspicious expression, Alicia reluctantly moved her steps.

Then the doctor quickly pulled Eric down to the first floor and looked around to see if anyone was there.