Chapter 1018

"...You don’t feel disappointed?"

Yuder knew this question was unnecessary. But still, he couldn't help asking.

Because the face of the man listening to his story looked far too happy.

He had looked so delighted just hearing about it—how much more so would he have enjoyed it if he had been there? While the relaxed mood shared among the members might have been different had their commander been present, if Kishiar had joined, there would’ve been a different kind of joy too.

And the man who surely understood all of that...

"No. Not disappointed at all."

...answered with the brightest smile he’d ever shown.

"To be honest, sometimes there's more meaning in hearing about something than experiencing it yourself. This is one of those times."

"......"

"Because I wasn’t there, I can only see the event through your eyes. That’s exactly what I wanted. So I’m perfectly satisfied right now."

If he had been there himself, he would’ve had to see, hear, and judge everything with his own eyes. The feeling he had now could never have existed then. After saying that, Kishiar leaned back like a man completely content and exhaled slowly.

Yuder stared at him, dazed with thought.

‘So... he wanted to experience the night solely through my eyes and judgment, not his own?’

Logically, he understood. Back when Kishiar was Commander of the Cavalry, if he couldn’t personally attend an incident, he would send subordinates to investigate. And he would rarely send just one person—because everyone perceives events differently. Even if people witnessed the same thing in the same ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) place, each told a slightly different story. So sometimes, he’d choose someone whose perspective he trusted to reflect the outlook he needed.

This time, it seemed Kishiar simply wanted to borrow Yuder’s eyes and ears to learn about the night.

But to use such a method not for formal work but for something so casual and personal—and to say it so openly—Yuder had never seen anyone do that before.

It was absurd... and yet, that was exactly what made it feel so much like Kishiar la Orr.

One thing was certain: after hearing that, Yuder no longer felt even a hint of regret over having spent the night with his comrades without Kishiar.

Because now he knew that Kishiar would remember this night based solely on what Yuder saw and heard.

It was a strange but deeply satisfying feeling.

"Looks like you understood what I meant."

Kishiar whispered with a smile.

"...It’s a bit ridiculous, but yes. I understand your point."

"Did you know? Every time you call me 'you,' I get this electric jolt—because it reminds me that the person in front of me has lived far longer than I have."

Kishiar leaned his head lightly on Yuder’s shoulder, laughing softly.

"You only use that word when you’ve decided to drop the formality—when you find something I said ridiculous, like now."

...Was that so? Yuder hadn’t consciously chosen that pronoun, but maybe it was true.

"Honestly, sometimes I want to come up with even more ridiculous lines just to hear you call me that again."

"I’d prefer if you didn’t. I’ll be arrested for disrespecting royalty."

"And who could dare arrest the hero of the West and South over something so petty?"

Kishiar replied playfully.

"No one—not even someone who holds the Sea-Cleaving Divine Sword Orr, who commands the hero in the palm of his hand—can be called ‘petty.’ Not by anyone."

No one could belittle Kishiar in front of Yuder.

Because it would be an insult to the very existence of Yuder Aile, who followed him.

Even Kishiar himself wasn’t allowed to say such things.

Yuder looked him in the eye and spoke.

"This time, when we return to the capital, things will be different from the West. Those who looked down on the Duke of Pelleta and refused to recognize him—they won’t be able to do that anymore. I’m going back to see that with my own eyes."

"......"

"Commander. ...No. You, show them all what you’ve accomplished. Show them in front of everyone."

It wasn’t so much a subordinate speaking—it sounded more like an order from someone who had returned from the past.

Kishiar la Orr slowly took in those words with his crimson eyes, then closed and opened them again, nodding with a steady smile to give the response Yuder had hoped for.

"Alright. I promise. You’ll see exactly what you came to see."

In his eyes, there was no trace of that old, uncertain wall he once had toward himself—none of that hesitation that always tugged at the reins when making a decision.

Yuder smiled in satisfaction, lips curving upward. He basked quietly in Kishiar’s warmth, then happened to glance at a paper sitting on the table beside the mana stone fireplace.

‘Now that I think about it... what’s that?’

"By the way, that paper you were looking at before I came back—what is it? I thought all the work had been packed up."

"Oh, that?"

Kishiar cast a glance at the paper on the table.

"It’s not work. It’s a letter. A dispatch came from the capital."

Yuder’s gaze immediately sharpened.

"A dispatch? From where—?"

"The Solar Palace. There was an assassination attempt."

The casual tone of his answer was so calm that for a moment, Yuder almost wondered if Kishiar had meant something else by "Solar Palace."

"Forgive me, but are you saying there was an assassination attempt on His Majesty the Emperor?"

"Yes."

"And yet you seem so unconcerned..."

"Well, as you might expect, that report only came after everything had already happened."

A faint, cold smile played on Kishiar’s face.

"This afternoon, while the Emperor and Empress were on their way to a meeting, someone attempted to assassinate them—but they didn’t so much as touch a single hair on either of them. That was all."

A relief. Only then did the sharp edge in Yuder’s eyes subside.

"That’s good to hear. Do we know how the attempt was carried out? Who stopped it?"

"Right as they entered the meeting room, an assassin disguised as an official tried to approach under the guise of delivering a report and launched a stealth attack. The person who subdued him was none other than Debran Hartude—who had, ‘coincidentally,’ been temporarily disguised among the Emperor’s guards."

"......"

"And it seems His Majesty knew exactly how it would happen from the start. So in truth, it wasn’t so much ‘not prevented’ as it was ‘allowed to happen.’ You understand, right? If you know exactly when and where an attack is coming..."

"—Then instead of stopping it right away, it’s better to let it proceed until the end, so you can counterattack. It gives you the upper hand."

"Exactly. Like the Rose Thorn tactic. So beautiful and tempting that enemies lower their guard—only to be stabbed the moment they reach for it."

Yuder’s mind drifted to a strategy from a long-ago military tactics game.

‘That tactic is best used when your enemy seriously underestimates your strength. Which means...’

"The one who ordered the assassination... must’ve been Duke Diarca."

"Correct."

Kishiar nodded and kissed Yuder on the forehead. As Yuder rubbed the ticklish sensation with his fingertips, Kishiar whispered with a blooming smile,

"He must be panicking right now, realizing things didn’t go his way. I’m looking forward to going back."

***

"...It failed? And even the cover-up failed?"

The end of Duke Diarca’s cigarette holder trembled. The servants around him instinctively held their breath, recognizing that this reaction meant he was completely dumbfounded. The mercenary prostrated on the floor was no different.

"How could that possibly happen? I thought, at the very least, they were capable of triggering the self-destruct if they failed?"

"I’m terribly sorry, Your Grace. The plan was indeed to ensure an immediate detonation in case of failure, but... we’re not sure yet where the error occurred."

"......"

"It appears the attacker is currently imprisoned... we’re searching for a way to handle the situation..."

Duke Diarca looked down coldly at those who feared him too much to even meet his eyes. In that icy, inhuman stillness, he slowly brought the cigarette holder back to his lips and sank into thought.

"......"

How did this happen?

This was something he had never expected.