Telma’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“It’s not difficult, but are you telling me to watch over them even outside the imperial palace?”

“It would be good if you could. Is there a way?”

After pondering for a moment, he slowly nodded his head.

“There is a suitable fellow.”

“It has to be someone trustworthy. Someone who, if their identity is revealed, would either die on the spot or have the guts to kill Atelgadis.”

“Your Highness, do you not remember? I’m talking about that fellow named Ash Kirgel. The one whose life you saved during the Lamel battle.”

Erdene’s eyes narrowed slightly as she tried to recall. Ash Kirgel… A face flickered in and out of her mind.

“You mean that rough-looking fellow? The one with the scar next to his right ear?”

Telma grinned as if to say that’s exactly right.

“Yes, that fellow is currently staying at my house. After you left for Betor, he was just drinking himself into a stupor, so I thought I’d lose a useful fellow at this rate and took him in.”

“You just took him in? You should have soaked him in a liquor barrel for three days and nights so he wouldn’t even think of drinking again, tsk… What can he do with that state of mind.”

“Don’t worry. I soaked him for about a day, if not three. If it’s a task ordered by Your Highness, he will stake his life on it no matter what. Fortunately, the fellow has no official position, so there’s no way he’ll catch Atelgadis’s eye.”

As she couldn’t thoroughly know and control the situation in the empire, Erdene had to expend a lot of patience in suppressing her greed and impatience.

This was not a war where she could directly take up her sword and lead the charge.

With her eyes and ears covered and her commanding horn shattered to pieces, she could only trust in the loyalty and intelligence of the horse she rode and advance step by step.

She had to move slowly and cautiously so as not to miss a single gust of wind or the sound of a needle dropping.

‘It’s not suitable for my temperament, but there’s no choice now.’

Having made her decision, Erdene spoke.

“That’s the best selection we can hope for at the moment. Prepare as soon as you return. Make sure there are no setbacks.”

“Understood. But…”

“Enough, no questions for now. It’s not good for this conversation to drag on here. Everything you, Merton, and Aiman need to know is in the letter. Don’t forget, Telma. After crossing the empire’s border and arriving at the capital, for now, only you three should share the contents of that letter. If necessary, give Ash Kirgel a brief account of what happened, but don’t let him know too much detail.”

“I understand well.”

Telma, who readily answered, suddenly let out a helpless sigh.

“Actually, the same goes for me, but Ash Kirgel and… many of the other military officers who fought alongside Your Highness want to come here.”

Erdene raised an eyebrow and stared intently at Telma.

It was an expression that was hard to understand what she had just heard.

Telma continued.

“Of course, we are all prepared to love and loyally serve the empire, our Hirschsten, with our lives. However… Your Highness, that’s why there are many who have turned away from the empire. We all expected to end our lives in the middle of the battlefield as military officers, but nothing is more ridiculous than our current situation. We either fall to the lowly position of just patrolling, or have to watch our comrades-in-arms who crossed the line between life and death together cravenly and despicably grovel to lick Atelgadis’s heels.”

The faint sound of teeth grinding could be heard. Telma’s face, which was always lively to the point of being flighty, was now pale and stiff.

Those who had only seen him being scolded by Erdene for being flippant would certainly not recognize Telma now.

Sighing with distress, Erdene patted Telma’s shoulder as if to comfort him.

“I understand. But it can’t be done now. Someday… there will come a time when I need you all. For whatever reason, for whatever task. Wait until then. If a dispute arises between the empire and Betor now, it will be difficult not only for you but for me as well.”

Telma stared at Erdene, who kept his eyes on him.

That gaze was a mixture of loyal agreement and inevitable disappointment in himself.

Erdene continued.

“If you turn away, pledging loyalty to me, Erdene Baatar, and not to Hirschsten, the empire will have no choice but to treat you as traitors. If you cross Betor’s border, Tenek will use that as an excuse to pressure this place. What if a war breaks out? You saw earlier and know the skill level of the soldiers here.”

“But Your Highness.”

“Quietly listen. If Tenek demands that I hand you over, I will have no choice but to do so. But Telma, don’t forget. I will never leave my subordinates in humiliation. Even if I have to wade into the mud, I won’t abandon my men and flee alone to save myself. That’s not my way.”

A very faint wetness seemed to appear in Telma’s eyes and then quickly disappeared. He rubbed his reddened nose tip and gave an awkward fake cough.

“Your Highness, really. What idiot wouldn’t know that? At least, there were none in my unit.”

“Tenek will definitely try to wage war against the mainland. Accurately figuring out the timing and preparing for it is my role, so forget about it.”

“If you miss it…”

The corner of Erdene’s mouth slanted upward.

Telma had seen that expression many times. It was an expression that would briefly appear on the battlefield, usually when victory was certain.

“I won’t miss it. Do you think I’ll just stand by and watch as you follow the orders of a weakling like Tenek and head towards your deaths? If the empire declares war on the mainland, Tenek will put you, whom he drove out, at the vanguard. Then who do you think will be at the vanguard here?”

There was no need to ask, nor answer.

Looking at Erdene, who didn’t take her eyes off him, Telma felt a chill for a moment.

“It’s better to just surrender than to face off against Your Highness.”

Erdene kicked Telma’s ankle hard.

“Ack! Ow! What if you really kick me! Ahhh, my ankle is broken!”

“I kicked you with dress shoes, not combat boots, so stop exaggerating. The commander of the empire’s 1st Knight Order is talking about surrender? This damn loose tongue of yours.”

Rubbing his ankle with an exaggerated pained expression, Telma grumbled.

“Is it only me? Even if you bring thousands, the moment Your Highness draws your sword, they’ll just prostrate themselves. Honestly, I don’t say this, but when I see Your Highness on the battlefield…”

“When you see me, what?”

After rolling his eyes for a moment, Telma grinned sheepishly.

“…I can’t take my eyes off you. You’re so majestic and cool…”

Retribution was swift. Telma, who got his other ankle kicked, groaned and whined.

Erdene made a motion as if grabbing his head, like dealing with a pathetic younger brother.

Erdene was about to tell Telma to tail Atelgadis, Queen Loelica’s father, and also keep a close eye on the pregnant Loelica while he was at it, but decided against it.

He would find out anyway when he read the letter… What mattered was whether or not the three of them could persuade Loelica.

‘Merton will probably step up for that. Among the three, only Merton has the brains for it.’

Having finished her brief calculations and thoughts, Erdene tapped her forehead with her fist and said,

“I’m leaving now. Come see me before you return.”

“Understood.”

Erdene turned around. But before she could take a few steps, Telma hurriedly followed her and spoke.

“Your Highness, I always live for you. Whether you become the queen of Betor or the king of Vinotin, you will forever be the princess and commander I serve.”

Erdene, who had been watching him intently, finally smiled.

It was a smile that rarely appeared in front of others, a smile that came unknowingly when she was truly happy.

As was customary in the empire, Erdene opened her arms and embraced Telma’s shoulders. And she patted his back once as if to encourage him.

“Yes, I know well.”

“Your Highness, please take care of yourself. I worry about you day and night.”

“You take care too. Don’t go breaking something again while being flippant. Understood?”

Erdene, who waved her hand with her back turned, slowly walked away.

Telma couldn’t take his eyes off her receding figure, and only after Erdene completely disappeared from view did he suddenly raise his head.

The shadow flickering by the window quickly disappeared to avoid his gaze.

The other party must have had quite good instincts to avoid Telma’s gaze if they were careless.

After a while, Telma, who took his eyes away, tilted his head and grinned.

“You looked quite naive, but I guess not.”

The moment Erdene strongly embraced Telma with both arms, Arkan was so dumbfounded that he almost flung the window open.

“Your Majesty, why are you doing this?”

Upon hearing Platt’s voice behind him, he came to his senses.

Seeing Arkan’s face that had suddenly turned pale, Platt sensed that something unusual had happened.

However, before he could approach the window, Arkan’s arm blocked the way.

“Your Majesty.”

“It’s nothing, don’t make a fuss. I was startled because it seemed like some shadow quickly passed by the window, but it was just a bird.”

“A shadow? I didn’t see anything, though…”

“It’s because I’m getting presbyopia.”

Platt, who was abruptly diagnosed with presbyopia, opened his lips with a dumbfounded expression.

Arkan waved his hand at him as if annoyed.

“You go ahead.”

“What about you, Your Majesty?”

“I’m curious what kind of bird it was, so I’m going to watch and see if it comes back.”