His gaze touched her shivering shoulders.

“Is the bath water not ready yet?”

“It just got ready. Please warm up your body first, Your Majesty.”

The chamberlain carefully approached and advised.

“Then, I shall bathe first.”

Charlotte had already turned so pale that she looked devoid of blood.

The chamberlain pressed her wet hair with a towel.

Charlotte, now dressed in white sleepwear, rested her back against the chair and nodded off.

Laying down the towel, the chamberlain picked up a comb and brushed her hair.

Even though the woman reflected in the mirror looked pale, she still looked dignified.

The neckline was thin, and even without a common necklace, it still had weight.

The chamberlain sneakily glanced at the mirror while continuing to comb.

“Did she fall asleep?”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I will lay her down, you can leave.”

The chamberlain placed the comb down.

“I will step out then.”

Benjamin inserted his arm around Charlotte’s waist and lifted her up.

The weight of a sleeping person usually increases, yet the empress, lacking even that weight, only gave rise to suspicion.

‘She has lost more weight since before she left.’

He had been with her all through her bath. He knew well how thin and delicate her body was.

Her wet body was warmed by hot water, and after her bath, Charlotte nodded off.

‘…Is it just my imagination? She’s become sleepier as we enter the active phase.’

Benjamin gently laid Charlotte on the bed. The bedsheet sagged down, and Charlotte, turned on her side, buried her cheek in the blanket.

As he put the pillow behind her neck, a shallow sigh escaped.

“I didn’t do anything.”

Just, I was there beside her.

All Benjamin did was watch over her.

That was his role.

‘Her neck is thin too.’

Benjamin wrapped his arms around Charlotte’s shoulders and curled up. As he smelled the fragrance wrapped around her nape, he gently touched her crimson hair.

“I have a meeting with the Intelligence Agency. Sleep first.”

Benjamin pressed his lips against the cheek of Charlotte, buried in the blanket.

Exiting the bedroom, servants followed him. The chamberlain brought his outer clothing.

He neatly fastened his cufflinks.

“All the intelligence officers have arrived in the office.”

Benjamin proceeded in that direction. Roskella joined him on the way.

The office was stacked full of documents. A long table extended in the meeting room, and multiple intelligence officers were seated.

“Has the examination of the monster’s corpse finished?”

“It just finished. A monster core is in place. With a diameter of 1 cm, even considering it’s the beginning of the active phase, the progress is fast.”

A monster corpse placed in the storage box had a black hue. Meaning it was corroded by poison.

“Do you remember the ancient pact?”

“…Are you talking about the pact that drove away dark magic and monsters?”

“That’s a treaty and a prohibition. The executors of the pact bound each other’s souls as proof. Living beings stay above ground, dead beings stay below. Neither shall interfere with each other, neither shall mix with each other.”

The executor of the ancient pact designated this land as inviolable territory, and laid down a prohibition preventing them from stepping on this land.
Demons were drawn to dark energy, and the dark magic had its origin. When the dark magic was banished from this land, the demons were also driven underground, and since then, the balance had been maintained. But lately, they crawl on the surface.

“Someone is ignoring the ancient covenant.”

“……”

“And tries to bring them to the surface.”

It was strictly prohibited by the ancient covenant.

So familiar that everyone had forgotten it,

It was a role that had become blurred because its presence was taken for granted.

“Dispatch the Imperial Knights Division 3 to the boundary area 1 of Poputa. Have the intelligence officer of the punitive squad also observe and report the situation in the Poputa area.”

After everyone left, Benjamin remained alone in his office.

The ink from the documents had smeared on his wrist. He rolled up his shirt, squinting his eyes, and soon after, the office door opened. Roskella knocked on the door frame with the back of her hand to make her presence known.

“The humidity is quite high today.”

“……It certainly rained all day.”

“It’s always like this at the beginning of the active period, isn’t it? It’s rare for the weather to be good. It’s fortunate that the roads are not frozen.”

The office sank damply because of the rain.

Roskella took a handkerchief out of her jacket.

“Wipe the ink first. It won’t come off if you wipe it late.”

Benjamin wiped the ink with a handkerchief and swept back his short hair.

“Even if your mind is complicated, you should not show it outwardly.”

Roskella closed the office door and organized the documents.

“Are you worried?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The punitive mission.”

“Why do you ask when you said to hide one’s complicated feelings?”

“I’m just asking as a confidant.”

“The punitive mission is a familiar task; there’s nothing to worry about.”

“A small variable has been mixed in, hasn’t it?”

“If it’s small and trivial, as you say, then nothing will change.”

It was a familiar task for the punitive squad to be dispatched and perform the mission at the beginning of the active period.

Roskella hesitated.

“You’ve left me speechless.”

Benjamin fiddled with his wrist in a leisurely manner.

His eyes sank low.

His arm had ineradicable scars and calluses from constant fighting.

In contrast, Charlotte was different.

“I see hesitation.”

“Is that so?”

“Someone who always looked ahead is frequently looking back now.”

“Maybe it’s because of the people left behind.”

The hesitant ankles grew heavier, and he looked back at his footsteps.

“Your expression suggests you’ve missed something.”

“Perhaps that’s the right expression.”

“Whatever you’ve missed can be retraced.”

Roskella stepped closer and asked.

“……Is the Empress in danger?”

“Most likely.”

“Is it because of the grave?”

“The place where those close to death stood. She should not have stepped there; it wasn’t her realm to reach either.”

Yet Benjamin couldn’t shake off this feeling.

“It feels like she’s standing close to death.”