“Your Majesty the Empress, have you awakened?”

As I opened my eyes, Sharon’s voice was heard.

“How long have I slept? It feels like a lot of time has passed.”

I felt like I had woken up much later than usual.

“You haven’t slept for that long, Your Majesty.”

As I came to my senses and raised my body, I remembered that this was the main palace bedroom.

“His Majesty?”

“His Majesty went to the training grounds before the sun even rose.”

“The training grounds?”

“Yes, and he is scheduled to attend the morning breakfast meeting directly from there.”

To visit the training grounds from early morning after spending a passionate night.

He must really have energy to spare.

“He’s truly remarkable.”

I said as I got up from the bed with Sharon’s support.

My whole body ached as if I had caught a cold.

Although my body was sore as if I had engaged in an exhilarating duel with a master swordsman the day before, I felt satisfied.

“Sharon, where exactly are the training grounds?”

“They are between the main palace and the empress’s palace. They’re a bit closer to the empress’s palace in terms of distance.”

“Is that so?”

As the topic of the training grounds came up, muscles I hadn’t used since arriving in the Raphion Empire seemed to twitch despite feeling sore.

“By the way… when would the training grounds be empty?”

“I’ve heard there are specific times when the training grounds can be used. I believe even knights aren’t allowed entry from early evening to early morning.”

“Why is that?”

“I’m not sure of the details, but there’s a separate training facility near the drawbridge in the knights’ building that’s available 24 hours. So perhaps they’ve set times for the training grounds within the imperial palace?”

“Ah, so there are two training grounds…”

My heart started to flutter at the thought that the training grounds near the empress’s palace would be empty from early evening until morning.

If there were set entry times, it meant no one would be there during those hours.

I wanted to stretch my body at the training grounds when no one was around sometime soon.

But why did he specifically go to the training grounds in the morning?

Rinel put down his sword only after being drenched in sweat.

His longtime friend and Sword Master, Makrom, also lowered his sword.

Makrom was also exhausted from facing the emperor who had requested a duel from early morning.

Until a few years ago, Makrom had led the First Knight Order directly under the Emperor of the Raphion Empire.

Three years ago, when Rinel was ambushed by a magician from the Southern Continent in the Death Valley, the habitat of wyverns, he stood by his side.

At that time, Rinel was frozen all over, trapped in the curse barrier of a magician who controlled wyverns.

If Makrom hadn’t broken that barrier, Rinel might have been cursed to be trapped in ice just like his young sibling.

He dramatically saved Emperor Rinel, but in exchange, he lost his eyesight.

When the curse aimed at Emperor Rinel was only half successful, the magician from the Southern Continent turned his anger towards Makrom.

The magician reflected the light of mana emitting from Makrom’s sword right back at him, embedding it into the brave man’s two eyes.

As the mana was so powerful, Makrom’s vision turned to darkness in an instant.

After that incident, Makrom stepped down from his position as the captain of the emperor’s direct knight order.

However, even though he had lost his sight, he was still so skilled that there was hardly anyone in the Raphion Empire who could match his swordsmanship except for Emperor Rinel.

Therefore, Rinel wished for him to continue in his position as the captain of the emperor’s direct First Knight Order, but Makrom flatly refused.

This is a continent where wars are frequent.

In such a country, Makrom believed that the First Knight Order captain, who should protect the emperor from the very front like armor, should not have even the slightest flaw.

There should never be a situation where the emperor is put in danger because of him.

Thus, Makrom gave up his position of protecting the emperor from the front, and decided to swear loyalty from behind as an honorary captain of the imperial court.

Since then, he has still been the emperor’s one and only dueling partner.

He usually focused on training juniors in the training grounds within the imperial palace, which only highly skilled knights could access.

But,

“Your Majesty, is something the matter?”

The emperor, who had rarely visited the training grounds after the royal marriage, came to the training grounds from early morning today for some reason.

“You’re putting a lot more strength into your sword today.”

“It’s because I have excess energy that I couldn’t use when I needed to.”

Rinel replied, pushing back his sweat-soaked hair.

“What kind of energy did you have that you’re so desperately trying to expend here?”

“There is a place where the more energy I use, the more passionate it becomes.”

“Could you be… referring to Her Majesty the Empress?”

“What’s this, have you developed mind-reading skills after losing your sight?”

“So I’m right? Her Majesty the Empress seems to be a special person.”

To awaken such instincts in Your Majesty who had no interest in women before, she must truly be special.

Makrom smiled while thinking about what he really wanted to say.

“You speak as if you’ve seen it? Makrom, has your eyesight perhaps recovered?”

“It’s just a feeling. And if my eyesight had recovered, our duel would have ended long ago.”

“Huh? Such arrogance. You don’t even realize I’ve been going easy on you.”

Rinel snorted as he untied the blindfold he had worn before the duel.

“Your Majesty, you should speak honestly. It’s not that you’re going easy, but that we’re being fair, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“I know. You were blindfolded.”

Makrom said, tapping his fingers near his eyes.

“Are you sure your eyesight hasn’t really returned? How do you know everything?”

He said, waving his hand in front of Makrom’s eyes.

“Three!”

“Huh? You even got this right?”

Rinel looked at Makrom with admiring eyes as he stopped waving three fingers in front of him.

The focus in Makrom’s eyes, who had lost his sight, was still clear.

“Isn’t it because you’re such a perceptive Sword Master?”

“That damn magician… instead of making you lose your sight, he should have sealed that mouth of yours.”

“Haha, I suppose the magician was too preoccupied after I threw his severed arm down the canyon. Of course, it was Your Majesty who swung the sword at that bastard’s arm.”

“I should have just killed him on the spot.”

“If we had, we would never have been able to lift our curse.”

“Anyway, that magician bastard has been missing for years now, whether he sank into the ground or soared into the sky.”

“If he’s not dead, he’s bound to show up someday. The time for the wyverns to fly back to the Death Valley is approaching, isn’t it?”

“Hmm, that’s right. This peace is slowly coming to an end too.”

As their heavy conversation briefly continued, Rinel, who had sweated profusely, was experiencing a rapid drop in body temperature.

Stian, the head servant who had been waiting on the side, quickly handed over the clothes he was holding so that Rinel could change out of his wet clothes.

While he was changing, Makrom sat on a wooden chair, deep in thought, and then cautiously opened his mouth.

“Your Majesty, is there perhaps a new Sword Master who has entered the imperial palace?”

“How could there be a Sword Master you don’t know about? Why do you ask?”

“Lately, I sometimes feel a strong energy coming from somewhere in the palace, so I was wondering.”

“Since when have you been feeling this energy?”

Rinel asked as he pulled up a wooden chair and sat in front of Makrom.

Judging from Makrom’s serious expression, it didn’t seem like he was talking nonsense.

“Well… since the day Your Majesty held the royal wedding?”

“What?”

“Could there be someone exceptionally skilled in swordsmanship among the people from the Kingdom of Shattonil who came with Her Majesty the Empress?”

“Could it be Grand Duke Martins?” Rinel muttered quietly.

“Or… could Her Majesty the Empress be a remarkable swordsperson?”

Captain Makrom laughed as if he thought he had made a ridiculous suggestion even as he said it.

“Your sense of energy detection seems to have really deteriorated after losing your sight.”

Although her hands can be quite spicy when she swings them while sleep-talking, how could you say such a thing about my delicate wife?

“…You’re saying all sorts of things about our sunflower.”

As he burst into mocking laughter, Makrom also laughed along, scratching his head.

“Prince Tessler said to give this to the Empress?”

Grand Duke Martins asked, examining the small jewel box he had received from Sir Rolf.

“Yes, Grand Duke. Sir Ken personally handed it over.”

The jewel box was directly received by Sir Rolf this morning from Sir Ken, Prince Tessler’s personal guard knight, at a midpoint between the Kingdom of Shattonil and the Raphion Empire.

“Since it’s a jewel box, I suppose it’s a gift of jewels?”

“Is that really so?”

His thoughts were different.

There was no way Prince Tessler would suddenly send a jewel box to the Empress without any reason.

“Did Prince Tessler not say anything else?”

“He did. The prince said that Her Majesty the Empress would understand the meaning of the gift once she opens the box.”

The Grand Duke’s eyes narrowed upon hearing Sir Rolf’s words.

“And he also said that he hopes they will maintain their boundaries from now on.”

“Prince Tessler said that, did he…?”

Unable to contain his curiosity, Grand Duke Martins opened the jewel box.

A cold chill and misty vapor spread into the air.

The jewel box was made of thermal magic stone.

It was a magic stone used when there was a need to preserve the contents for a long time without spoiling.

“It’s a box with thermal functions. What on earth could be inside that…”

“Oh, it really is?”

Sir Rolf went to the Grand Duke’s side and peeked into the jewel box.

At first, the misty chill made it difficult to see what was inside.

But after a few seconds, as the smoke gradually dissipated, the true nature of Prince Tessler’s gift began to reveal itself.

“Gasp, good heavens…!”

Sir Rolf, who had been staring into the jewel box, frowned and stepped back.

“Wh-whose is this?!”

“Well, as Prince Tessler said, the Empress would recognize immediately whose this is. Damn it, ugh…”

Grand Duke Martins, who was usually weak-stomached, quickly closed the lid of the jewel box as he spoke.

“Grand Duke, are you really going to give this to Her Majesty the Empress?”

“I don’t want to show it to her either, but she needs to know as she might be in danger.”

Grand Duke Martins judged that the Empress should also be aware of Prince Tessler’s warning.

He placed the jewel box on the table and said, shaking his hands with a disgusted expression.

“And it’s a gift that Prince Tessler sent for the Empress.”

Sir Rolf frowned at Grand Duke Martins’ expression of calling what was in the jewel box a gift.

“Grand Duke, do you also not know… whose this is?”

Sir Rolf asked, looking closely at his master’s face.

“I don’t know whose it is, but I know who did it.”

“Hmm, why would Prince Tessler go this far?”

Sir Rolf asked, nodding and glancing at the jewel box.

“It’s a warning.”

“A warning? But in our reports, there was nothing that Her Majesty the Empress had done to deserve a warning.”

“That’s exactly it.”

“What do you mean?”

“It seems that we’re not the only ones in this imperial court watching the Empress.”

“Pardon? Are you saying… that the prince has planted someone else here to watch Her Majesty the Empress besides us?”

“It seems so. Considering that the prince knows about things that I haven’t reported.”

“Could there really be a spy?”

“If not, Prince Tessler wouldn’t have sent such a warning.”

‘I hope we maintain our boundaries from now on.’

Grand Duke Martins muttered, recalling the words Prince Tessler had asked to convey to Empress Zelda.

“Who could it be? Prince Tessler’s faithful dog that even I don’t know about…”

Right here, inside the Raphion Imperial Palace.