―Taylor Lorenson is not Reina Astarin’s lover.

What on earth is going on here?

Whenever Kay paused while writing the report, he let out a troubled sigh and rubbed his face, which was turning into a bewildered expression.

He was so taken aback that he almost blurted out a question.

Not lovers, they say.

Not lovers?

Before interviewing Reina Astarin.

That is, before beginning her interrogation.

Arthur shared key information with Kay for interviewing her.

Since it was for recruitment, he focused mainly on information that could be her weaknesses or potential sore spots.

The possibility that she’s struggling with financial difficulties.

The possibility that she has health issues.

And things about Taylor Lorenson, the son of her attending physician.

Unlike other issues which he touched on briefly,

Arthur left unusually many words about Taylor Lorenson.

Taylor Lorenson.

Her true love,

It seems Dr. Alvin Lorenson knows about it and doesn’t oppose his son’s relationship.

‘Reina’ said she wants to meet him first before deciding,

The Marchioness has also permitted their relationship as lovers,

And, returning to him is probably Reina’s ultimate goal.

So keep in mind not to show any signs of opposing her contact with him during the interview.

We will respect her choice,

And tell her that she can meet Taylor unconditionally.

Leave open the possibility that we will accommodate anything related to him as much as possible if she wishes.

Since she’s a timid and cautious person,

Pay close attention to her intentions

And respect her will…

“……”

The moment he heard those words, Kay recalled the affection and trust ‘Reina’ had shown towards Arthur so far and realized one unexpected fact.

His Excellency hasn’t slept with that woman since returning.

So that’s why she showed such reliance on His Excellency who didn’t touch her and kept his distance…

And His Excellency.

“……”

But they say it’s not true?

Forget fiancé, they’re not even lovers?

Where on earth did this error come from?

His Excellency has never been wrong about such information before.

Kay, like Tristan, vaguely knew about some kind of extrasensory perception that Arthur possessed.

Having spent five intense years together on life-threatening battlefields, Arthur’s closest knights naturally had come to guess the range and limitations of that ability.

Though he couldn’t hear all sounds in all spaces, he seemed able to hear sounds in spaces inaudible to ordinary people when he wanted.

He even appeared to be able to sense the shape or movement of objects hidden from view, and even things like temperature.

Seeing that he only shared it with Crown Prince Kyle, it must be an imperial secret, so no one asked about it.

So when Arthur sometimes had information that other knights couldn’t know,

Arthur’s closest knights were accustomed to accepting it without doubt based on experience.

It must be information obtained through his ability.

Though they didn’t know exactly what it was, Arthur had his own sure means, and could directly ‘hear’ it.

They simply believed what Arthur mentioned without questioning the source or method of obtaining the information.

That was their principle.

“……”

But the information was wrong.

The information that Taylor Lorenson is Reina Astarin’s true love is an error.

There’s no possibility of it being a lie.

That woman can’t lie.

Kay clenched his fist and pressed it against his furrowed brow.

…What’s going on?

Arthur thought they were at least engaged if not lovers.

That’s why he was keeping his distance and not sleeping with her.

“……”

He had to share this with Arthur.

But is it really okay to do so?

What happens after that?

“…She said she didn’t want to meet any man other than me, but she’s talking just fine.”

“Just. A gift.”

The image of him smiling as he casually tied a lace handkerchief for her.

And Arthur’s expressionless face as he unconsciously followed ‘Reina Astarin’ flashed through his mind one after another.

It was obvious that he cared about her.

But Kay felt that Arthur was thinking of somehow sending her away safely, and was making plans for that.

He thought it was admirable self-control.

So he thought there was no need to worry.

But what if Arthur had misunderstood that Reina Astarin had another lover and was maintaining distance from her because of that?

Kay pressed his cooling forehead.

What on earth…

Should I do?

Isn’t this a bomb in my hands?

When this came up during the interview with her

I thought Arthur must have been listening to the entire content of her interview.

That’s why I had an ‘oops’ moment.

I thought Arthur would have found out everything the moment those words came out of her mouth.

But when I came out, I found that Arthur had left the mansion.

He didn’t hear ‘Reina’ say that Taylor wasn’t her lover.

If only Arthur had heard it all irreversibly, I wouldn’t feel like I’m ruining things with my own hands like this.

As if giving one last chance, this troubling key has been placed in my hands.

Kay looked down at the last part of the report he had completed with complicated eyes.

【 ― Taylor Lorenson is not Reina Astarin’s lover. 】
【 ― The reason Reina Astarin wanted to meet him and decide was because he was someone related to her family’s well-being. 】

“……”

What if this report I wrote and delivered with my own hands results in completely tangling up Arthur and that woman’s lives?

But there’s no way I can not deliver it either.

Kay rubbed his face dry.

Arthur was his superior, and he was a knight who followed orders.

It’s not common.

For the Commander-in-Chief and the highest-ranking knights to be dispatched when a disabled veteran attempts suicide.

However, Dylan Osborn was a nobleman, and until the middle of the war, he was a high-ranking officer in the Julius conscription army,

And before he withdrew from the front lines due to torture trauma, he was a proud knight whose achievements were recognized by all.

He threw himself into numerous bloody battles and was respected by the soldiers as a reliable superior to rely on.

All the knights on the front lines knew this.

Even after he fell behind, they all respected him because they knew he had endured brutal torture to protect the army and his comrades.

However, knowing that the proud knight who couldn’t return to the front lines had received a great mental shock, his story was known only for a very short time and then quietly buried under a gag order.

Nevertheless, his name remained in everyone’s hearts as a wound, a responsibility, and a sense of guilt for what they couldn’t protect.

And the knights never forgot that there was always Dylan Osborn’s share in their victories.

So it was not at all strange that the Commander-in-Chief and his aides rushed to Dylan Osborn’s mansion at the news of him.

“What’s his condition?”

The lower-ranking knight who had barely kept up with the Commander-in-Chief and his closest knights, who had ridden at an overwhelming speed, answered while panting.

“Fortunately, his life is, not in danger, I hear. Huff, by the time we, arrive, huff, he might be able to, talk, but I can’t, be sure.”

Upon arriving at the mansion, they had to wait for a while before being guided to the reception room.

However, despite their hasty arrival, the knights had to wait for quite a long time without seeing Dylan.

Instead of guiding them to Dylan, the owner of the mansion made them wait quietly in the reception room.

Dylan’s house was a high-class mansion in the inner city that showed signs of being a noble’s house.

It seemed to be a noble family of knights who valued appearances.

The taste of the head of the household, proud of being a knight, was evident in the plate armor and weapons, and animal taxidermy decorating various parts of the mansion, not excessively.

If Arthur hadn’t been there, they probably would have been turned away at the door long ago.

At first, the maid tried to refuse their visit saying ‘he’s not here’, but when she realized that Commander-in-Chief Arthur was the visitor, she became very flustered and said she would bring the master, guiding them to the reception room.

It seemed they had reluctantly let them in, unable to turn away the Commander-in-Chief who had come to visit a disabled veteran at the door.

But they didn’t seem to have any intention of showing Dylan.

Just how bad was his condition?

Everyone tried not to show it, but the atmosphere was growing heavy.

More than the Osborn family’s response, they were worried about Dylan’s condition.

After waiting patiently for a long time, Lucan finally spat out.

“Is Dylan trying to die at home after holding out all this time?”

Tristan stopped his vulgar mouth.

“Enough, Lucan.”

What do you mean stop as soon as we start?

Humanly speaking, I’ve been patient enough.

Lucan, seeming to have difficulty controlling his rising anger, blurted out.

“Who’s the thoughtful bastard who managed to let a cripple who can’t even move his legs eat poison?”

“Me.”

As the door to the reception room opened, a middle-aged gentleman leaning on a cane entered.

Despite his leg trouble, he walked with controlled steps that didn’t waver.

The gentleman who approached them, tapping the floor a few times with his formally held cane, stopped in front of them.

“……”

After a moment of silence, the gentleman extended his hand to Arthur.

“I’m Brandon Osborn. Dylan Osborn’s father. I served in the Orphel Knights Order nineteen years ago.”

Arthur calmly stood up and grasped his hand.

“Sir Brandon Osborn. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Arthur Julius.”

Brandon Osborn shook the grasped hand briefly.

“I apologize for keeping you waiting, Commander-in-Chief Arthur. I’ve heard much about your dignity and achievements.”

“They are achievements shared with your son.”

Arthur spoke calmly, but Brandon Osborn’s face hardened.

“My son has shown disgraceful behavior.”

Lucan cut in with a cold voice.

“We haven’t seen him yet.”

The implication was, how dare you try to settle things without even showing us Dylan.

“Lucan.”

Tristan quietly restrained him.

At the called name, Brandon Osborn narrowed his eyes and looked at Lucan.

“…So you’re Sir Lucan. I heard Dylan was indebted to you several times. That you stopped his fits multiple times. Thank you. He caused you trouble.”

Fortunately, Sir Brandon Osborn seemed to overlook the rudeness of Lucan, a commoner knight.

But Lucan looked at Sir Brandon Osborn askance with his hands thrust into his pockets.

“Yes. So now I’d like to see your son instead of his father.”

“Go back.”

What?

A cold air settled in the Osborn family’s reception room.

“I would show you if I could, but my son hasn’t woken up, so you won’t be able to see him.”

Lucan lowered his voice warningly and growled coldly.

“What rudeness is this? The person before you is Sir Arthur, the supreme commander of the imperial army.”

But without backing down an inch, Brandon Osborn looked at Arthur and cut in.

“I ask for your understanding. Sir Arthur.”

Dylan Osborn tried desperately to return to the battlefield after being rescued, but in the end, he couldn’t walk again, nor could he overcome his extremely sensitive anxiety.

Dylan Osborn failed to overcome his torture trauma and dropped out of the front lines.

His family sent endless support and encouraged his return, but in the end, he couldn’t return to the last front line.

And his father, unable to understand his son who couldn’t walk even though his legs weren’t cut off, was treating him as a coward and feeling ashamed.

And Lucan, who had rescued him from there, and all the other knights knew.

It was an unfair assessment.

Dylan Osborn’s active period was during the first three years of the war, which were the most painful for them.

After that, Arthur and the knights began to achieve numerous brilliant merits, but…

Dylan’s name, who had devoted himself to the fierce losing battles, didn’t rise among those glorious names of ‘Arthur’s knights’.

People only remembered the victors.

“I’ll stay behind.”

“I’m a nobleman, so I’ll be fine. It’ll work out somehow.”

“But you can’t.”

“Go!”

“Go and tell Sir Arthur!”

The lower-ranking knight who had guided Arthur but couldn’t enter the reception room clenched his teeth and swallowed his tears.