* * *
Having concluded their business, Helena did not waste a single moment and immediately walked out, disappearing through the door.
Dantaron, thoroughly cowed, belatedly bowed his head to see the Empress off.
Zavad let out a long sigh, then straightened his bent knee and rose from his spot.
After soothing the flustered Dantaron, who was at a loss for what to do, with a perfunctory manner, he left the imperial palace.
‘She’s fiendishly perceptive when it comes to anything that might pose a risk to her.’
For the Empress to personally lead a military intervention in the Sanctuary was an act that could incite massive backlash and severely shake her position.
He wasn’t unaware of that when he came here.
But shouldn’t that woman also be willing to take a risk at least once?
Did she plan to forever just move safe pieces on the board, dawdling and wasting time?
Meanwhile, his servant would remain in continuous danger.
With every step he took, his fury mounted.
If only the Crown Prince were the one in charge, it would have been easy to persuade him.
There would have been no need for lengthy explanations.
He would have just said something like, ‘Sir Zavad’s judgment must be right,’ and sent the troops without a doubt.
However, it was undeniably true that had it not been for that Empress, he himself would not have survived until now.
He was well aware that the only reason a bastard child of the Emperor was still alive was because the Empress had taken his side.
‘Though it’s all for her own purposes, I’m sure.’
He had previously wondered why she bestowed her protection and offered her help all this time, but after meeting Dantaron in person at the academy, he understood the reason.
He did not take after his mother.
He was a subpar heir, completely different in both personality and ability.
The Empress, a former Saint, had likely foreseen her son’s fate even before the Saintly power waned as it has now.
She was a Saint renowned far and wide for her exceptional power of prophecy.
Therefore, she needed a sturdy pillar to reliably support her sickly and weak son, and she wanted a sword to fight in his stead.
And she had specifically wanted to attach a knight ‘who would not be of help in strategy.’
Zavad, grasping the Empress’s intention, produced the result she desired.
He deliberately lowered his academic performance and transferred from the undergraduate program to become a knight trainee.
This was so that later, whenever Dantaron, upon ascending the throne, deployed his lacking political skills, Zavad could inconspicuously assist him.
‘It would have been easier to understand if she had just told me to become a nursemaid.’
Dantarion is not stupid.
However, he is very timid, indecisive, and easily swayed.
He was not the right person for politics.
For such a man to rule as the powerful figure of a great empire, he needs someone to guide him to the right path and support him whenever he is shaken by wicked schemes.
The Empress gave that role to Zavad.
If she was going to dump such a heavy burden on him, shouldn’t he at least take the risk of facing the Temple?
Zavad was so angry he couldn’t stand it.
His steps heading toward the Vershel mansion were filled with that anger.
He roughly threw open the closed door.
“No, Young Master. You should knock when entering someone else’s room.”
And as those gentle green eyes looked at him and spouted nonsense, all his anger vanished as if it were a lie.
Zavad looked at Ranshel as if he was entranced.
Ranshel flinched slightly and lowered his gaze.
It was hard to look straight at Zavad because his heart was pounding like a drum.
In his lowered vision, he saw shoes walking toward him.
For some reason, his body kept going stiff with tension.
He just wanted to bury himself under the blanket and hide.
Zavad walked right up to the side of the bed where Ranshel was sitting.
Only then did he stop and speak as if he was dumbfounded.
“Since when did this become your room?”
“It’s not the Young Master’s room either.”
“……It is my room.”
Daniel cut in lightly as he poured tea into a cup.
Ranshel quickly grabbed the cup he offered.
While Ranshel drank the warm tea, Daniel placed a plate of blueberry cake topped with plenty of cream on the small table set up on the bed.
Zavad, watching this scene, finally looked around.
He looked at the tray piled with empty plates.
Ranshel had been enjoying a dessert party right up until he arrived.
Zavad was speechless for a moment.
His lips moved silently.
Then, he ignored Ranshel, who was smiling brightly and picking up a fork, and turned to Daniel.
He muttered annoyedly.
“What are you doing, feeding this to a patient who just woke up?”
“I don’t hurt at all.”
Ranshel protested while shoveling cake into his mouth with the fork.
It was true that he wasn’t in pain.
Thanks to receiving Frey’s skills multiple times—something others couldn’t get even if they paid money—he was in such good condition that he felt like he could stay up for days.
Furthermore, this mansion kept giving him delicious food whenever he came here.
Ranshel was drunk on this environment where he just sat on the blanket and ate the desserts Daniel offered.
He was enjoying a trial version of a noble’s life.
“You aren’t in pain?”
“No. All the wounds are healed too….”
Ranshel’s words cut off abruptly.
It was because Zavad grabbed his chin and pulled him closer.
Ranshel froze stiffly.
He ended up facing that handsome face examining him closely from a very short distance.
He had been calming his mind and body by eating sweets, but it became useless in an instant.
Ranshel pressed his upper and lower lips together tightly.
He clamped his mouth shut.
He felt that if he opened his mouth even a little, his pounding heart might jump out.
However, Zavad carefully examined Ranshel’s eyelids, the bridge of his nose, and both cheeks.
Then, he tapped Ranshel’s lips with the thumb of the hand holding his chin.
“Open your mouth.”
“……?”
“Your face was so swollen. There is no way the inside of your mouth is fine.”
“……!”
Ranshel kept his mouth shut tight and shook his head in resistance.
He had just been stuffing himself with sweet food.
How could he show the inside of his mouth?
He didn’t want to do that to a man who hated sweet smells.
“What is wrong with you? Why are you resisting? Open your mouth, quickly.”
“……!”
Ranshel hurriedly rolled his eyes and sent a distress signal to Daniel.
Daniel could not ignore that desperate look and quietly intervened.
“I apologize, but could you please not treat the patient so roughly?”
“…A master is doing what he wants with his servant. What does it matter to you?”
Zavad frowned and dropped the hand that was holding Ranshel’s chin.
Then he stared at Daniel with cold eyes.
“In the first place, why is Ranshel sleeping in your room? I recall asking for a spare room.”
“I told him to do it.”
Frey, who had entered the room at some point, answered instead.
“This is the room I used to use, so there are many items useful for a patient. I used that bed table often on days when it was hard to get out of bed.”
“Did you give the room the Saintess used to a servant?”
“Yes, that’s right. Because I wanted Daniel to use a good room.”
Frey spoke with a beaming smile.
“So I gave this room to Ranshel. I thought the Young Master would want that.”
“…….”
“I thought the Young Master would hope for us to give Ranshel a good room.”
“…….”
“I thought the Young Master would hope for Ranshel to use a good room….”
“I understand. I get it. Please stop.”
Zavad sighed.
* * *
