It seemed that the full onset of summer was beginning, as the heat of the sun was rather intense.

The garden of the Iorenti royal castle was filled with imperial soldiers, who were busy with the construction of the aqueduct.

The warm sunlight seemed to peel off the wanderer’s clothes.

Unable to endure the heat of the construction site, the soldiers hastily removed their tops.

Their muscles, honed through training, were completely exposed under the sun.

As the palace maids passing by let out small shrieks, the sound of the soldiers’ digging became even more vigorous.

Collin, who had been blankly staring at this spectacle, blurted out roughly.

“I can’t live like this.”

“If you are having a hard time, please go inside and rest. I will handle the direction of the aqueduct construction.”

“That’s not it. The aqueduct construction is no big deal. Just think of it as part of the training.”

Even just 10 years ago, mercenaries made up most of the Shuttlerites Empire.

However, with the strong will of the incumbent emperor, the military system was reformed and the standing army was significantly increased.

This meant a significant increase in career soldiers who were always prepared to fight for the empire.

For these career soldiers, strict military regulations and intense training were daily routines.

Compared to the usual training, the construction of the aqueduct was a light warmup.

Rather, it was a more pleasant situation because it exempted them from highintensity training.

But……

“Why are you angry?”

Collin glanced at the commander who was standing in the center and supervising.

Dyke also followed Collin’s gaze to look at the commander.

“Why is he behaving like that?”

Even under the scorching sun, the place where the commander stood was filled with a chilling aura.

“You have to be able to breathe to live.”

As Collin and Dyke were observing Aaron’s expression, they immediately turned their heads as if they had seen a messenger of death.

“What’s the problem? You met the princess you wanted so much.”

“And you’ve got a marriage promise too.”

“So why is he so stern?”

Collin had been following Aaron since he was the successor to the Duke.

Having spent a long time together, he could generally guess the situation just by looking at the expression.

Right now, the commanderinchief seemed calm on the outside, but it was a very dangerous situation.

There was not a trace of the playful smile he usually wore like a mask.

If touched incorrectly, there was a chance they might have to bury their bones here.

Collin could feel it well enough.

“Is it because of what happened last night?”

Collin grimaced as he recalled the servant caught in the secret passage of the castle last night.

Dyke watched Collin pondering for a moment, then hesitantly opened his mouth.

“In fact, for the past few days, he has not been able to see anyone but the princess’s hand.”

At Dyke’s words, Collin’s mouth fell open in shock.

“Why? He was visiting her every day.”

“The queen keeps her by her side and won’t let her go.”

“Just ignore it and drag her here like last time.”

At Collin’s complaint, Dyke was startled and took a step back.

Dyke looked at him with wide eyes as if he had seen a lunatic.

His gaze towards his superior was quite disrespectful.

“It’s impossible.”

“Why? After all, she’s the princess of a defeated nation.”

“Do you think the princess with her temperament will just sit still? She will immediately say, ‘You die, I die’.”

“It sounds good to be the princess right now. Even if you drag her to the empire right now, there’s nothing she can say.”

“It’s absolutely impossible. I still feel dizzy when I think about the fuss when she was captured as a prisoner and tried to bring her to the empire.”

Dyke rubbed his palm as if it were still hurting.

She was a princess who would rather fight and die honorably than be taken to the empire.

There was no way such a princess would quietly be dragged to Bolmoro.

“And don’t you know. She even took poison because of that.”

Thanks to Dyke, Collin already knew about the riot caused by the princess eating poison.

He had almost died in the battle caused by that.

And also how the commander, drenched in madness, made both allies and enemies tremble in fear.

The memory of the past brought up by Dyke dyed Collin in fear like black ink spreading in water.

Collin wanted to live long.

“So what about tying up the queen?”

Dyke shook his head, reminding his superior of his foolishness.

“The person the princess respects the most is her parents.”

“That won’t work. We must never touch her carelessly.”

“Yes. It’s absolutely impossible. It will cause big trouble.”

Even while the two were whispering, Aaron was still throwing and catching the sharp blade in the air with a poker face.

It was a wellsharpened sharp knife.

Even a slight brush could cause a finger to fly off.

Aaron’s sword handling was flawless, without a single mistake.

At the moment the commander’s mood was precarious.