“Ruite, is that a new necklace?”
Ciel, who was organizing documents alongside him in the research department’s library, asked curiously.
A simple, elegant necklace hung around Ruite’s neck.
Since Ruite rarely wore accessories other than his wedding ring, it was bound to catch anyone’s eye.
“Ah, it was a gift,” Ruite replied, scratching his head.
Noticing his shy demeanor, Ciel nodded knowingly.
It was obvious who the sender was; she felt a bit bad for prying so thoughtlessly.
As the two continued their work, the door swung open.
“Oh? There you are.”
It was none other than Varen. He had apparently come to pick up some papers from Ciel and strolled over to the two of them.
“Organizing documents? The research department always looks so exhausting. Let me help.”
“Oh? What’s gotten into the Knight Commander? I thought you hated tedious work,” Ciel teased.
“Ruite, what kind of image do you have of me? Seriously, you two are like a married couple—every time you see me, you team up to pick on me.”
Varen looked to Ciel for support, but she only gave him a firm, bright smile.
“That’s because you’re always being mischievous.”
While Varen grumbled about his fellow peer not taking his side, he spotted the necklace on Ruite’s neck.
Forgetting his previous complaint, he smirked and nodded.
“Aha, so that’s why Chester has been singing about a ‘gift’ lately?”
“Pardon?”
“No, really. The great Knight Commander Chester was going around asking the other knights what would make a good gift for a special occasion.”
Ruite’s hand instinctively went to the necklace.
Chester had mentioned he’d put a lot of thought into it, but Ruite never imagined he had gone as far as polling the other knights.
Knowing Chester’s personality, Ruite understood how much courage that must have taken—Chester wasn’t exactly the type to have warm, chatty relationships with everyone.
“Ruite, do you know the latest rumor circulating among the combat division?”
“What is it?” Ruite asked.
He felt a sense of dread, but his curiosity won out.
“When Chester is leading training or a monster subjugation, he can get pretty scary if the knights’ movements aren’t up to par. He’s actually quite terrifying when he’s angry.”
“Chester is… scary?”
Ruite tried to picture a terrifying, angry Chester, but the image wouldn’t form in his mind.
“Ruite, you might not know this, but Chester is quite famous for his intimidation factor,” Ciel added.
Come to think of it, Ruite had once overheard some combat knights saying that training days led by Commander Chester left them feeling completely drained.
“And?” Ruite looked back at Varen.
“So, a new saying was born: ‘If you’re about to be struck by Chester’s thunderous scolding, put Ruite in front of you.'”
“……”
“I’m serious! There are guys who genuinely look for you the moment they think they’re in trouble with him.”
“Wh-why would they do that…?”
“Why? Because every time Chester sees you, he turns into a puppy following its master.”
There were countless witnesses who had seen him sternly reprimanding his subordinates, only for his expression to instantly melt into a completely different person the moment Ruite walked by.
Thus, the joke among the knights began.
“Chester tried to hide it at first, but after the wedding, it seems he’s lost all will to keep it a secret.”
Ruite bit his lip, his face flushing with embarrassment at the thought that such rumors were spreading.
“Oh, look, Ruite’s face is turning red!”
Varen chuckled at Ruite’s burning cheeks.
Just as Ruite was about to give him a resentful glare, Ciel lightly tapped the back of Varen’s head.
“Varen, I’ve told you many times not to pick on our researcher.”
“Commander Ciel, I think you should hit him once more,” Ruite muttered.
“Shall I?” Ciel raised her fist.
“So the research department is ganging up on me? Fine, I’ll bring Chester here!”
“And who do you think Chester will side with once he gets here?”
“Ah.”
Varen’s face dropped as he realized the futility of his threat.
As he groaned about being a lonely soul, Ciel and Ruite burst into laughter together.
In the midst of this warm atmosphere, the door opened again.
“Ah, Ruite. Here you are.”
“Vice-Commander.”
Following Varen, it was Vilter who entered.
After a playful jab at the three of them for chatting instead of working, he called Ruite aside.
“Is something the matter?”
“Actually, a directive has been issued for you.”
Vilter placed a hand on Ruite’s shoulder.
Ruite tilted his head in confusion.
“A dispatch mission?”
Chester’s voice, filled with disbelief, echoed through the mansion’s dining room.
“Yes.”
The piece of lettuce Ruite was about to eat fell back onto his plate.
Chester froze with his fork suspended in mid-air, staring at Ruite with a hardened expression.
“What do you mean, suddenly? Why would you go on a dispatch mission?”
“There’s been some trouble in the territory managed by the Northern Branch lately.”
Recently, five Grade-1 monsters had appeared simultaneously in the north.
Higher-grade monsters are rare; compared to Grades 3-5, Grades 1 and 2 are seen very infrequently.
The fact that five appeared at once was unprecedented.
The Northern Branch had decided to launch a massive investigation to see if it was a natural occurrence or if someone had intervened, similar to the previous incident involving artificial monster evolution.
“It seems some of the core research members were badly injured during the subjugation. They’re not in critical condition, but they can’t return to work immediately, so the North requested support from headquarters.”
“And Vice-Commander Vilter chose you?”
Ruite nodded as he chewed a piece of steak.
Unlike Chester, whose face was growing darker by the second, Ruite relayed the news calmly.
“It’s not dangerous. They just want me to help with the research on the Grade-1 monster carcasses.”
Moreover, Ruite had heard that no further anomalies had occurred since the initial appearance.
Vilter had assured him his role was strictly research-based assistance.
“Haaa…”
After hearing the full explanation, Chester let out a heavy sigh.
Even if it wasn’t “dangerous,” he couldn’t help but worry.
A dispatch mission wouldn’t be a one-day affair, and the North wasn’t exactly right next door.
“W-wait. How long will you be gone?”
“Hmm, maybe a week?”
Clatter.
The sound of silverware hitting the plate rang out.
Chester had dropped his utensils.
As he sat there with a deep scowl, Ruite took the opportunity to steal a piece of meat from Chester’s plate that he seemed to have given up on.
“A week…?”
“Yeah.”
“That means… I won’t be able to see you for a whole week…”
Ruite suddenly choked on his food and started coughing.
A servant standing nearby quickly handed him a glass of water.
Ruite drank it down hurriedly.
‘He’s been acting like his soul left his body since I started explaining… so that was the problem?’
“It’s a week, Chester. Not seventy days.”
“I know. Which means you and I have to be apart for a full week.”
Ruite nodded.
To look at Chester, one would think he’d just received the most tragic news in the world.
He was rubbing his face in distress.
It wasn’t like Ruite was moving his workplace permanently or leaving for years.
“No.”
After a few minutes of silent brooding, that was all Chester said.
“Listen… you can’t just say ‘no.’ It’s an order from above.”
“There are other people in the research department. I’ll speak to Vice-Commander Vilter tomorrow.”
“Don’t you think he chose me because he felt I was the right person for the job?”
Chester likely knew that as well.
“Is being apart for a week really that big of a deal?”
“Yes! Think about it. When was the longest we were ever apart?”
“When was it…?”
“It was that six-month period after graduation when I joined the knights and was adjusting. I didn’t see you at all back then.”
Ruite nodded, remembering.
Back then, he was still worried about how to handle the original story’s breakup when Chester suddenly appeared after half a year talking about a marriage proposal.
“Since then, we’ve never been apart for a long time.”
“That’s true.”
“And now, a week? Sigh… plus, Colin will be there, too.”
Ruite began to feel a bit shy.
Sure enough, the servants waiting nearby all had very complicated expressions on their faces.
“It’s a week at most, and if things go well, I might even come back early. It’s for work, so there’s no helping it.”
Ruite reached out and patted the back of Chester’s hand.
Chester eventually gave a reluctant nod, but his face was still full of worry.
Just imagining a week without Ruite was enough to drain all the energy from his body.
