9.

The Black Wolf Order arrived at the manor just as Leo returned to his quarters.

“Commander!”

The knights practically burst in, and upon seeing their commander healthy and unharmed, they collectively sighed in relief.

Though Jinpetsu had brusquely assured them of the commander’s safety, he had then bolted at full speed the moment they left the camp, filling every knight who struggled to keep pace with a gnawing worry—had something serious really happened to the commander?

Leo Fric looked over his men, a faint smile flickering across his face before he quickly wiped it away.

He had just confirmed their safety as well. Though Nepi’s response had already reassured him that things were alright on their end.

“Are you unharmed, sir?”

Jinpetsu’s eyes roamed over him, scrutinizing. Leo merely shrugged, though his attire was slightly disheveled. His tunic was open enough to reveal a fine silver chain with a crimson pendant beneath. Other than the wound on his left hand, he bore no new injuries.

“As you can see.”

“Good. We’ve got an issue on our side. Nepi is missing.”

“Oh, I called for him. Had something urgent to send.”

Leo replied with a subtle hint of regret. He could understand the confusion—it must have been frustrating to be sent to retrieve Nepi only to find he’d already been summoned.

“There, see? I told you all Nepi had probably been called by the commander himself, but no, they wouldn’t stop fussing and telling me to hurry, as if I could possibly misplace Nepi. Do you know how loud they were? My ears nearly fell off, or I thought I might fall off my horse instead!”

A man in a robe entered, chattering away. Without hesitation, he blew the dust off his glasses right into Fovenn’s face, causing him to cough in surprise.

Jinpetsu’s gaze sharpened, realizing he’d been like this the entire journey. Leo could imagine the unfortunate knights caught between the two had quite a time.

Not that it fazed the knights, who were accustomed to the antics and stood around like patient, indifferent bears.

“Can’t you see the commander standing right there?”

“I need my glasses for that. Glasses come first,” Edgick replied nonchalantly, now taking his time to polish his lenses before finally glancing at Leo. He was a strange mix of youth and aged cunning, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Oh dear, are you injured?”

Edgick stepped closer, inspecting the wound with fascination. Jinpetsu, meanwhile, barely managed to restrain himself from smacking the overseer.

“Why not treat it right away?”

“Hold on. Unlike the rest of you, it’s a rare privilege to examine the commander’s wounds. This one… it’s a bit much for a regular blade. Was it an assassin?”

Though it was an astute guess, neither Leo nor Jinpetsu answered. Edgick seemed to find their silence amusing.

“Hmm. Well, doesn’t seem like there’s any poison. Let’s see…”

Leo nodded, thinking that if there had been poison, it would’ve been a serious issue by now.

Satisfied with his inspection, Edgick summoned a gentle white light in his hands. Despite his usual snarky manner, the magic was soothing and warm.

He held the light over the wound, but after a few minutes, he let out a loud sigh, visibly irritated.

“Ah, Commander’s wounds always take so much energy to heal. If it were the vice-commander, it’d be healed in the time it takes me to gather my magic. Why didn’t you get this treated sooner—”

“Edgick!”

Jinpetsu cut in sharply, and Edgick flinched, realizing his slip-up.

“Ah, well, our commander has… such a unique healing ability, after all.”

“Fovenn.”

Jinpetsu, clearly done with Edgick’s antics, turned to Fovenn instead.

“Patrol hasn’t been done yet. Fifteen minutes. Scout the area and report back.”

“Yes, sir.”

Fovenn, understanding the hint, led a group of knights out to conduct a perimeter sweep. Once they were gone, Jinpetsu’s gaze hardened as he looked at Edgick.

“Edgick Otwell, do you not understand the concept of confidentiality?”

“Oh, I do. But is it really a secret? Surely Fovenn already knows the commander has this… unique trait?”

“Knowing subtly and confirming it are different matters.”

“Well, that’s where our opinions differ, isn’t it?”

“That’s enough, Edgick.”

Leo, suppressing a smile, finally intervened. The only mage among the knights and the vice-commander were notorious for their conflicting personalities.

“For now, let’s just maintain the pretense that only the three of us know about my unique constitution.”

“As you wish.”

“Anything unusual on the way here?”

“Unusual… Oh.”

Edgick, unusually hesitant, glanced at Jinpetsu, who nodded.

“Yes. Two of them appeared.”

Leo Fric let out a small sigh. This was precisely the sort of issue that had been on his mind since he’d been injured.

Two monsters had appeared.

“How dangerous?”

“Not very. They were small. Fortunately, it seems there aren’t too many monsters in this area.”

*Yet.*

“Did you handle them?”

“Thoroughly.”

“Good.”

“Still, the fact they’re here means there’s a chance more will gather. It would be wise to stay cautious.”

Edgick enlarged the light cluster in his hands as he spoke.

“True.”

Leo rubbed his forehead, his silver hair brushing against the back of his hand in a tickling cascade.

By the time the scouts who had hurriedly gone out to patrol returned, Edgick had completed the treatment. Leo’s wound had shrunk by half, already scabbing over, and no longer looked like the fresh puncture wound it had been earlier.

Once everyone had gathered, Leo gave a brief rundown of the day’s events: the strange absence of the king from their meeting, the decree, the title, the land, and the bride.

And that this bride was almost certainly Princess Ateira of the fallen Ledetian Empire—the very princess who had inflicted his injury.

The loyal knights were momentarily struck speechless, unsure of what shocked them more.

“So… are you really going to get married…?” asked a young knight, clearly full of vigor.

Leo, feeling a twinge in his head, rubbed his temples and replied.

“I’ll do my best to avoid it.”

“Why?”

Another bold young knight chimed in.

“Hey, would you want to spend the rest of your life with a foreign princess who tried to kill you the moment you met?”

“Isn’t she pretty?”

“…You madman.”

The knight’s flippant reasoning that beauty could justify a marriage with an enemy earned him a smack on the back of his head.

“Anyway, this decree from His Majesty Wintran is rather strange,” Leo remarked, drawing the knights’ attention back to the issue.

The knights fell silent. They were well aware that, on the battlefield, Leo Fric had always been the one closest to King Wintran. In other words, as Black Wolves, they had personally witnessed the bond between Leo and the king.

“To be honest, I thought the commander would end up marrying Princess Freya.”

Another young knight muttered, only to be smacked on the back of his head again.

“Could we focus a little less on marriage, please?”

“Setting the marriage aside, the title and territory… It’s unusual for His Majesty to make such a decision,” another knight added.

“Exactly. I’d like to see him myself and hear his reasons, but that seems difficult.”

A wry smile appeared on Leo Fric’s face.

“But first, I’ll have to deal with this ridiculous marriage proposal. Leaving now would mean defying the king’s orders. I need to find a way to stop the wedding from being finalized without committing outright insubordination.”

“A refined and noble solution, indeed.”

Jinpetsu nodded, deep in thought.

“Exactly. I’ll try to use the need for identity confirmation as a delay, but I’ll need to find a way to annul the engagement within that time.”

“Tight deadline, strict conditions. Not going to be easy, is it?” Edgick, listening in, commented nonchalantly, as if it were someone else’s problem. Leo Fric, however, agreed.

“That’s why I’m counting on you to figure it out, Edgick.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Out of everyone here, who else has any clue how nobles handle situations like this?”

“What?”

“Edgick Otwell of House Otwell. No one else but you.”

“Wait, wait! I left that life behind ages ago! And, technically, weren’t you yourself the son of a duke?”

“I lost my title when I was young.”

Leo replied casually.

I’m a commoner. Same here. If we’re being technical, I’m from a peasant family, but let’s call it mercenary background for dignity’s sake. I’m from a baron’s house.

With Leo taking the lead, each knight proudly stated their modest origins, leaving Edgick tugging at his hair in frustration.

For the first time, he cursed his noble birth.