.jpeg)
Go to the Capital
"The First Order of Knights stationed in Ervin are to return to the capital and protect the Imperial Palace."
"……!"
Everyone gathered in front of the castle was shocked by the Imperial decree delivered by the messenger.
'This is absurd. Taking troops from a place in the middle of a war to protect the Imperial Palace…….'
Iana couldn't understand it at all.
Holding out in the northern region was the only way to prevent the monsters from pushing down to the capital.
Although the spread of monsters in Ervin had been contained, they had to prepare for the possibility of monsters pouring in from other northern regions where the war was still raging.
Nevertheless, the reason why the Imperial family was forcibly withdrawing troops was clear.
'The Emperor has abandoned Ervin.'
Her gaze went straight to Charles.
Eyes as still as the calm before a storm.
It was the look he had when he was at his angriest.
Charles was the lord of Ervin, but as the commander of the First Order of Knights, he too had to go to the capital if the First Order of Knights moved.
He opened his mouth in a heavy, subdued voice.
"Go back and tell His Majesty the Emperor that I cannot obey that order."
"……!"
Everyone stared at Charles in surprise.
The royal guard messenger spoke firmly with a look of arrogance.
"Your Highness, disobeying the Imperial decree is treason."
Disobeying the Imperial decree was a serious crime punishable by immediate execution.
"Even so, we cannot move the First Order of Knights now that we are in the middle of a war."
Charles did not back down.
"Then I have no choice but to proceed according to the Imperial decree."
The messenger drew his sword from its scabbard.
'Could it be…….'
Iana looked at Charles with a surprised expression.
He was watching the messenger's movements with an indifferent face.
A touch-and-go situation.
A tense atmosphere flowed at the entrance of the castle.
The moment the messenger tried to swing his sword at Charles.
Charles quickly snatched the sword of a knight next to him.
Clang-.
Charles's sword collided violently with the messenger's sword.
"Your Highness, this is blatant treason!"
The messenger shouted loudly.
But Charles, heedless, swung his sword menacingly at the messenger.
Whoosh-.
The messenger narrowly avoided the sword, but it was clear at a glance that he was being pushed back by Charles.
The two men's swords clashed violently several times.
Clang-.
Charles swung his sword hard, and the messenger's sword clattered to the ground.
He immediately held his sword close to the messenger's neck.
"Go to His Majesty the Emperor and tell him to give me an alternative to protect Ervin without the First Order of Knights."
"……."
The messenger could not respond to Charles's fierce words.
Charles shouted to Carrion and the Imperial Army, who were watching the scene with tense faces on one side.
"Count Dietrian and the Imperial Army are to return with the messenger as well."
After Charles finished speaking, he went straight into the castle.
After him, senior knights and some knights of the First Order of Knights followed.
Iana looked at Charles's retreating figure with worried eyes and thought.
'What will happen to Your Highness and Ervin in the future?'
✦ ✦ ✦
About an hour later, Mule, who had gone to remove the Arika Vine near the outer castle, heard about what had happened at the Ducal Palace and rushed back.
Knock knock.
Iana knocked on the door of Mule's laboratory.
"Archmage, Your Highness is asking you to attend the meeting."
Then the laboratory door opened, and Mule spoke with a heavy face.
"Iana, let's talk for a moment before we see Your Highness."
"Yes, Archmage."
When she entered the room, Mule took out a bottle of liquor hidden behind the bookshelf and drank it straight from the bottle.
Iana knew how Mule felt, so she didn't stop him and quietly sat on the sofa.
Thud-.
Mule put the bottle on the table and said as if he had made up his mind.
"Iana, go to the capital with Your Highness."
"Yes?"
"Of course, Your Highness will resist going. But if the commander of the First Order of Knights disobeys the Emperor's order, Your Highness's life cannot be guaranteed."
"What about Ervin then?"
Iana was worried about Ervin even as she thought she had to protect Charles.
"I'm here, and we have magic arrows, so we'll be able to hold out somehow. Rather, Your Highness is in more danger than Ervin right now."
"……!"
"It seems the Emperor has gone all the way."
Fear was in Mule's eyes as he finished speaking.
Tyranny at its peak.
Iana knew what those words meant.
It meant that from now on, the Emperor could not only check Charles but also attack him.
She answered with a sharp glint in her eyes.
"I will protect Your Highness. As you command, Archmage."
✦ ✦ ✦
Around that time, the knights gathered in Charles's office were all venting their anger at the Emperor's order.
Charles, ignoring the knights' noisy voices, stood in front of the window and watched the Imperial Army and messengers preparing to leave.
Flutter-.
The flag with the Imperial crest fluttered on the horse that the royal guard messenger had ridden.
Charles watched the scene and thought.
'Brother, how could you have deteriorated to this extent?'
An Emperor who was a tyrant, caring only about his own safety while neglecting the Imperial citizens in the midst of war.
Then Iana's words flashed through Charles's mind.
"Your Highness's sincerity will not reach His Majesty the Emperor until the very end."
'If my sincerity doesn't reach my brother in the end, what should I do?'
Bang!
Then a grim-looking knight, unable to contain his anger, slammed his fist on the table.
"Damn it, I'm telling you again, I'm not going no matter what!"
"Taking the First Order of Knights means the Imperial family is abandoning Ervin. How can we leave?"
The atmosphere in the office became somber at the young knight's words.
Charles turned around and looked at each of the knights' faces.
'If I don't obey the Imperial decree, it won't end with just me.'
Given the Emperor's violent nature, it was clear that he would harm the First Order of Knights if they did not obey the Imperial decree.
He couldn't leave Ervin behind, nor could he have the innocent First Order of Knights punished for insubordination.
Just as Charles was agonizing over what to do.
Knock knock.
There was a knock on the office door.
"Come in."
At his words, the door opened and Iana entered.
"We'll leave you to your meeting with the Archmages."
As the knights got up and went outside, Charles approached the sofa and sat down.
"Has Archmage Mule not arrived yet?"
"He has arrived, but I came to see you first because I had something to say."
Iana answered as she sat on the sofa opposite him.
"Speak."
"First of all, now that the Imperial decree has been issued, how about going to the capital? For the safety of Your Highness and the knights."
She said earnestly. At the sight, Charles revealed his honest feelings.
"I'm already worried about it. It doesn't seem like the punishment for insubordination will end with just me."
"If Your Highness goes to the capital……."
Iana hesitated for a moment before speaking as if she had made up her mind.
"Please allow me to go with you."
"That won't do. If you, the Archmage, are not here in a situation where I and the First Order of Knights are not here, it will cause a big problem for Ervin's strength."
Charles was firm.
"What about Your Highness then?"
"Me?"
He asked back, not knowing what she meant.
"The First Order of Knights is a central army belonging to the Imperial family. Even if something happens to Your Highness, they won't be able to move."
It seemed that Iana had also read the changed atmosphere of the Imperial family.
Her words were correct.
Even if Charles was summoned to the capital and attacked, the First Order of Knights, as the central army, would not be able to escort him.
Charles soothed Iana in a much gentler voice.
"I know what you're worried about. Even if something like that happens, I won't just stand by and watch."
"Still, there should be at least one person to escort Your Highness."
"Iana."
"I hope that one person can be me."
Iana's eyes were earnest and desperate.
As if she knew his future with precognitive magic.
It was at that moment that Charles was lost in thought.
Crash!
The sound of glass shattering came from beyond the window.
"……!"
Charles and Iana got up at the same time and headed for the window.
Bang! Bang!
Carrion was swinging his sword wildly at the carriage as if venting his anger over something.
The royal guard messengers were around him, but they didn't stop him.
"Why is Count Dietrian so angry?"
Iana asked, but Charles couldn't figure out what was going on either.
Charles was about to go out to find out what was going on when he heard footsteps outside the door, along with the urgent voice of a senior knight.
"Your Highness, may I come in for a moment?"
As the senior knight came inside, Charles asked.
"What's going on outside?"
The senior knight glanced at Iana for a moment before speaking with a troubled face.
"Count Dietrian's mistress……."
"Why, Riel?"
Iana's face hardened as if she had sensed something.
"Lady Riel has become His Majesty the Emperor's mistress."
.jpeg)