After returning home in four days, Christine and Adel finally had dinner together and enjoyed some tea.

“You’ve been avoiding me since you came back after a long time. Are you angry by any chance?”

“Huh?”

Adel was surprised and looked at Christine.

“You haven’t been looking at my face since earlier.”

Adel nonchalantly put down the almost cooled tea cup and replied.

“Sorry. I was lost in thought.”

“What thought?”

“Stone Oswald.”

Christine’s brow furrowed.

“So, you’ve been thinking about another guy while being with me?”
“Come to think of it, that guy was the one who actually made me suspect the nobles who killed my mother. But if your speculation is correct, the real culprit who killed my mother is Stone. I didn’t even realize that….”

Adel bit her lips, feeling frustrated for not having doubted him until now.

“Don’t blame yourself, Adel. We can catch him now.”

She muttered something after thinking for a moment.

“Then did he carry the Silver Wolf around and commit the crimes?”

“Pfft!”

Kristine sprayed out the tea she was drinking.

“Are you okay?”

“Cough, cough! Suddenly heard a joke.”

Quickly wiping her mouth with a handkerchief, he corrected Adel’s thoughts.

“Adel, isn’t the Silver Wolf a being that someone can carry around or tame?”

Why?

Adel looked at him with an innocent face, asking why.

“Just a thought that it might be like that.”

“Is that so….”

“Of course, it should be like that. It’s a creature different from ordinary wolves.”

“Then, is Stone and the Silver Wolf working together?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then, is Stone the Silver Wolf? No, that doesn’t make sense.”

Kristine looked uneasy.

Adel murmured again with a contemplative face.

“Then, if Stone is the culprit, who killed the former emperor? He should have been in Orbis at that time.”

Kristine’s expression hardened.

After hesitating for a moment, Adel spoke in a lowered voice.

“Actually, Empress Isabelle wants to join forces with you.”

“What?”

“She said she would think about it, and I agree.”

“Adel!”

“If Stone becomes a peer, what will happen? For example, even if you reveal that all these crimes are Stone’s doing, will he be punished? Even though it was revealed that he killed his father, it eventually concluded as a heart attack.”

At Adel’s words, Kristine also wore a thoughtful expression.

So, Adel brought up a more cautious topic.

“Even if you were involved in the former emperor’s case, Empress Isabelle said she wouldn’t inquire about the crime. She also promised to give autonomy to your territory.”

Thud!

Kristine put down her teacup so that it made a sound.

“You’ve been doing quite dangerous things all this time.”

“No, I’m going to start doing dangerous things from now on. Since the emperor and Stone have joined hands, we need to make allies on your side too.”

Kristine sighed.

“Adel, don’t worry about anything. I can handle my own affairs.”

Adel snapped.

“You said you would protect me! But am I not allowed to do anything for you? Should I just quietly bake pies and wait in the bedroom?”

“I’m saying this because I’m worried.”

“But I can take care of my own body. I’m not so foolish that I can’t even assess the situation. So, should I spend a few years learning swordsmanship just to protect myself?”

Adel was somewhat disgruntled. Her mentor seemed to think of swordsmanship as an art.

“Well, it’s quite chaotic times.”

“So, learning it would take a few years to protect your own body, right?”

Adel was also dissatisfied. Her mentor seemed to think of swordsmanship as an art.
“Then, how about teaching me some practical finishing moves?”

With those words, Adel approached with twinkling eyes.

“Yeah, Chris, you can teach me.”

After a few prods from Adel, Kristine surrendered, nodding as if she had lost.

“Dress in something sturdy and meet me in the garden.”

“Yes, Viscountess!”

Adel quickly rose from her seat.

If Stone was the culprit behind all these horrific incidents, she had no idea how heavy her heart was, considering the possibility of Kristine being involved in these events.

But now, she felt strangely relieved.

And if Stone was the culprit, she would definitely kill him with her own hands!

“Where’s the sword?”

Adel, who came outside, looked around.

Thinking that she would be taught swordsmanship, she put on boots, tied her hair, and came out. However, her hands were empty.

Instead, her sleek horse stood beside her.

“Get on. We have a place to go.”

Kristine jumped onto the horse as if waiting for Adel and extended her hand.

“At this hour?”

It was already dark outside.

With Adel in front, he left Marble Palace.

As they entered a sparsely populated village away from the bustling city, the surroundings became pitch dark with no lights.

Although Adel couldn’t see anything due to the dim moonlight, he ran without slowing down as if the darkness was clearly visible.

And he stopped the horse in front of a huge mansion surrounded by high walls.

Creak!

As if waiting, the large iron gate opened.

Adel, who entered with Kristine, was surprised.

In front of the extensive mansion garden, about a hundred men were training with spears and swords.

Flags with white wolves drawn on them fluttered at the entrance and windows. It was the flag of the White Ghost Knights, a unit under Viscount Vaise.

What seemed to be an ordinary mansion was actually the training ground for the White Ghost Knights.

“Welcome, Commander!”

“Hello, Commander!”

The knights in training greeted him happily, pretending to know him. Then, they all stared at Adel as if they had seen through her, who came on horseback with Kristine.

“Could this be the rumored one…?”

A man with a large build and disheveled golden beard asked, staring at Adel openly.

Kristine introduced him.

“Yeah, she’s my fiancée. Say hello, Adel. Commander Jennifer of the W.G 1st Division.”

W.G was an abbreviation for the White Ghost Knights.

Pfft!

The moment they saw him, Adel burst into laughter unknowingly.

“Sorry, it’s such a beautiful name….”

Adel apologized quickly as she realized her laughter.

Jennifer responded with a narrowed eye.

“I understand. Your name, Adel, is genuinely beautiful, just like mine.”

“Thank you.”

“And if it feels strange to call me Jennifer, call me ‘Blond Jenny.’ Everyone calls me that here.”

“Pfft!”

Once again, Adel burst into laughter.
Kristine had an expression that didn’t like the overly affectionate atmosphere between the two from their first meeting.

“I told you to avoid fawning over names.”

Leaning toward Adel, Jennifer whispered.

“By the way, the Commander is known as ‘Silver-haired Kristine.’ It’s like we were destined to be together. Shall we call it the W.G’s pair of horses?”

“Shut up, Jennifer.”

“Oh, our Kristine is too sensitive.”

Eventually, when Kristine drew her rapier and raised it, Jennifer quickly became solemn and serious.

“But what about the item?”

“It turned out very well. Would you like to see it?”