“I escaped safely.”

“Fortunately.”

Without even turning his head, Calix continued to write the letter. There was no need to write extensively since only the key points needed to be clear.

The hand that had been writing without hesitation came to a halt at the last moment.

Suddenly, a face came to mind.

“…As expected, things haven’t changed this time either.”

Veins bulged on Calix’s back of the hand.

As the ink, hanging at the tip of the pen, dropped, an unpleasant blot appeared next to the gracefully written words.

In the end, Calix stood up without putting the period.

“Don’t move already. The poison hasn’t completely neutralized yet.”

“Step aside.”

“Not allowed.”

“Do you want to die?”

“Whether I die by the commander’s hand or by Jodi’s, it doesn’t matter. If I’m going to die anyway, I’d rather be a loyal subject fighting against the injustice.”

Jokingly saying that, Pavel blocked Calix’s way a little more.

“Then, I’ll die.”

“That’s what Jodi said. A venom among venomous.”

“I won’t die so easily.”

“Of course, you won’t. Where do you find an ordinary person in our commander? Frankly, isn’t the fact that the commander has survived so far amazing?”

Calix had many enemies.

During the day, immigrants from the frontier rushed to kill him, and at night, forces guarding the rapidly rebuilding Pyern hid in the darkness. For him, every moment was a struggle for survival.

“But even that amazing commander is ultimately a person.”

“……. ”

“If the commander had no resistance to the poison, it would have been instant death. And the commander has resistance to the poison, but it’s not completely unaffected, right?”

What Pavel described as malicious was not just because it was venomous. The poison infused into Calix was concocted to bring tremendous pain until it took away his life.

“Jodi mentioned it. We would have all been deceived if he hadn’t. He said that poisons that are better off dying than living are all mixed in.”

“The commander needs to rest now. That’s the right thing to do.”

Erasing the hint of a smile unexpectedly, Pavel firmly lowered his voice. The offer to lay down his life was sincere.

“You still haven’t corrected your old habits. I’m sure I said that for superiors, absolute obedience is expected.”

“I don’t want the commander to be in danger.”

“……. ”

“This kind of talk is embarrassing, and I don’t want to do it among rough guys, but I’m speaking sincerely, thinking of the commander… huh?”

Pavel, about to express doubt, hurriedly lowered his hand. It was more of a reflex than a conscious movement. However, Calix was much faster than Pavel, who moved according to instinct.

Pavel blinked as he looked at Calix.
Somehow, the sword clenched in the commander’s hand felt very familiar. However, in contrast, the waist felt suddenly lighter.

The sword was taken away.

Pavel’s face turned pale belatedly as he realized this fact.

Clang, the cold blade of the unsheathed sword hit the ground lifelessly.

“If you were going to stand in front of me, you should have blocked this much.”

“Commander.”

“Stop with the commander nonsense.”

“……. ”

“If you’re not going to obey orders, there’s no reason for you to be under me.”

Calix casually brushed past Pavel.

Pavel almost ran, urging his steps to block Calix’s way.

“…I’m worried.”

“If you’re going to die, you should have died sooner.”

“Commander, please.”

Although he looked at him earnestly, he already knew the answer. Those eyes were not eyes that would listen to words, no, it didn’t make sense to expect him to listen from the beginning.

The superior who always made rational judgments in any crisis was as irrational as anyone could be on one issue.

It was obvious. This time, too, it would be that issue.

Whenever that woman was involved, Calix always had such eyes.

Once again, Calix passed by Pavel.

This time, Pavel could only watch his back without stopping Calix.

“…Why on earth are you doing this?”

“……. ”

“That brat too, and now[ellipsis].”

“Because he’s going to die.”

With that, Calix moved forward without looking back.

So, it was impossible to know what expression he had.

It just made me think. Although it was a moment, the voice, murmuring with an indifferent tone, sounded heavy like soaked cotton.

Is this all I can get here?

I put the documents I was looking at back in place.

Using Baker’s absence as an excuse, I took a seat in his office, but the harvest was not significant. Originally, it was rare for Baker to bring external affairs to the mansion.

However, it was not a complete harvest.

Baker’s absence was a good opportunity for the missing prince. If there was any different movement from the prince’s side, I could have caught a tail.

Of course, it might be just a part.

To release the stiff muscles, I slowly leaned my head back. My neck was sore from sitting in the same position for a long time, just looking at the documents.

But the break time is not long.

There was someone standing next to me, making a difficult expression.