“Captain. Are you here?”
Morona, the Commander of the Royal Guards, opened the door to Issac Mezerine’s study and entered.
The Viscount, who was about to tear open the mail from an unknown sender, paused for a moment and looked at Morona.
“You said you were going to catch birds or something?”
“Well, since Huain went along, Count Mirhi will handle it himself.”
“I didn’t go, though?”
“……”
Huain, with a piece of bread in his mouth, walked out from inside the study.
“By the way, Captain, I’m not sure if it’s your passion for learning or something, but there are a ton of military books here. There’s even a first edition of Ayrishi.”
Issac gave a subtle smile.
“Says a guy who has nothing to do with books.”
Huain said, mumbling through the bread in his mouth.
“Even if you don’t read the books, you can still tell if it’s a good one. Over the past ten years, I’ve developed quite an eye for it.”
“How hilarious.”
While Huain and Morona were growling at each other, Issac reached for the letter on the desk again.
“Shut up. By the way, when did this arrive? …Is it a letter from Klisha?”
“Eh? You got a letter?”
Issac held up the envelope that was intricately sealed, but had no pattern or seal.
“There’s no sender, but it made its way to my desk….”
“Huh? Let’s take a look together, Captain.”
A moment later.
Crunch—
A small crack appeared on Issac’s desk.
A faint red aura appeared behind Issac Mezerine’s back.
“What does this mean… kidnapping?”
And then,
“Pfft.”
“Hahaha. Hahaha.”
“Puhahaha.”
The three former members of the Red Lion Brigade in Issac Mezerine’s study, no, the current war heroes, the Commander of the Royal Guards, and the Chief Captain of the Royal Knights, burst into laughter at the same time.
“Are you saying Klisha has been kidnapped, or that she did the kidnapping?”
Mirhi decided to step out into the courtyard to get some fresh air.
Although he concurrently held the position of External Cooperation Officer for His Majesty the Emperor, Mirhi, by nature, was a civil servant.
Among the seven civil servants, he was the one who was the most sociable and quick-witted, and was in charge of coordinating with other departments. However, for some reason, he felt uncomfortable around the blunt and straightforward military officers.
‘People, sometimes. Sometimes you can tell a little white lie depending on the situation. You need to read between the lines a bit, and understand the meaning. But they just… they always have to….’
It was somehow difficult to become close with the military officers, who were former war heroes, and did not know the meaning of ‘moderate’ or ‘courtesy’ in human relationships. For example….
His Majesty the Emperor, Viscount Mezerine, Lord Huain, Lord Morona….
Come to think of it, Lord Lian did not participate in the war, but at his core, he was essentially a military officer….
Recalling the faces of his colleagues, it seemed like he had chosen the wrong job.
The young man with unusually white and delicate skin, who was walking around the backyard while grumbling to himself, decided to take a short break after discovering a large sequoia tree.
As the cool breeze of late summer cooled the sweat on his forehead, his mind also felt much more at ease.
That… until he encountered the red beast with mysterious golden eyes.
“……”
“Kkiiiiek.”
‘…What kind of bird. So big?’
The red beast in front of him, no, the red bird, was perched on a tree branch not very high up. Its large size, which was half the size of the delicate young man, and its massive wings that looked as though they could cover its entire body, were spread out to display its grandeur. That majesty… that charisma…
“Uh… Um…”
“Kkiiieeeeeek.”
“Mom… what do I do now….”
Mirhi felt his neck stiffening all the way up to the back of his head.
‘Why does the Viscount raise such a beast, or rather a bird of prey, into his garden so openly?’
As expected, the military officers have strange tastes. If you’re going to let it roam, at least put up a ‘WARNING’ or ‘DANGER’ sign!
‘Beware of the bird! Our bird bites, or something like that!’
Mirhi muttered in a faint voice, trying to hold onto his fading sense of awareness.
“Master Bird. I’ll be going now…”
The massive red-feathered eagle watched Mirhi with a sharp, fierce gaze.
“Kkererere.”
It even made strange sounds. Is that what they call the vocalizations of birds?
Surely, it was not a Karkas. Karkas is a small, precious, beautiful blue bird.
Mirhi, who was cautiously and politely backing away, suddenly had a scene flash through his mind.
That day. In the 9th Conference Room of the Second Palace.
The words Lord Lian had spoken as he stretched.
“At first, I was hesitant because of the ‘red feathers’. But judging by the shape of the beak and the white polka dots around the eyes, it is definitely a Karkas. Above all, it was so ‘bold’ that it ‘stared’ at me without flinching even when the Lady was screaming at the top of her lungs.”
… Damn it. Why did he leave out the fact that it was this big….
Anyway, that guy was always like this. He only delivers the most important and crucial information, leaving everything else blank… It’s also a skill.
Mirhi steeled his resolve.
‘Even though I’m scared, I’m a vassal of His Majesty the Emperor and a special envoy. I can’t just back down after coming here on the Emperor’s orders. Eyes…. let’s look at the eyes. As long as there aren’t any white polka dots….’
“Kkeeeek kaggaggakk!”
A strange sound echoed as the bird flapped its wings, and next to its sharp eye was a distinct… white polka dots.
‘Ahh…. Damn it. Why now of all time! Where did Lord Huain and Lord Morona go?!’
The Viscount’s backyard was filled with Mirhi’s silent screams.
* * *
“Haha. It’s been a while since I laughed this hard.”
“Haha. This is ridiculous. Who dares to….”
“Exactly. It’s absurd.”
The trio, who had been laughing heartily while flapping the ‘kidnapping’ letter in the Viscount’s study, regained their composure and began analyzing the situation.
“Well, if it’s just some fools after money, then it’s actually a relief. My child may not be the brightest, but she’s kind-hearted and upright, so it looks like she just followed those strange people when they asked.”
Issac Mezerine’s eyes sank coldly.
“I’ve taught her enough tricks to escape on her own, so she should be back soon… but the timing is a bit ambiguous. I heard the divorce hasn’t even been settled yet.”
Morona, who had been lost in thought for a moment, spoke up.
“Shasha’s status is still that of the Empress.”
Huain held the letter and envelope up to the light for a moment before carefully tucking them into his chest.
“Captain, can I take this? We have analysts in the Royal Knights, so I’ll have them take a look at it for now.”
Tap. Tap.
Issac’s fingers tapped on the desk lightly.
“I don’t know who they are, but if they approached me because of Shasha’s current status, I can’t just let it slide. It looks like I’ll have to visit the capital for the first time in a while.”
Ten years after the war.
Despite his numerous achievements and brilliant reputation.
The Red Lion of Schmarin, who disbanded the ‘Red Lion Brigade’ and handed it over to the Emperor, retreating to the provinces solely to devote himself to raising his child, had not once set foot in the central political scene since then.
He raised his body that had been crouching for a long time.
* * *
At that moment.
Klisha, who had been ‘kidnapped’ by the leader of the enemy country, stood before the powerful figure with an almost naked upper body, wearing a huge yellow flower the size of a pumpkin in her hair.
“I am Klisha Mezerine of Schmarin, Your Highness the Grand Duke. It is an honor to meet the Golden Eagle of Miami.”
Klisha, who had entered the Duke’s room, greeted the Duke according to the etiquette of the Duchy of Miami, as Eugene’s old butler had instructed.
At first, it was a little awkward to follow along. But it seemed to have gone pretty well.
“Oh. Sis. I’m the one who’s honored. You can just call me Andy.”
“Oh my. In that case, Your Highness, no, Andy, you can just call me Shasha.”
“……”
She showed up dressed up with all sorts of flowers and acting so unlike herself without any restraint! Acting all polite, pretending to be shy without any restraint! And then, on top of that, asking to be called by her nickname without any restraint. Eugene’s mood became even more unpleasant as he watched Klisha.
Rather than continue seeing that sight, thoughts of either kicking out Klisha, or kicking out Andrew, or even just going back crossed his mind.
But since it was for the greater good, he decided to endure it for a bit…
“Andy. Excuse me, but can I touch your biceps? You have the most amazing muscles I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“Oh?”
Andrew’s emerald eyes sparkled and a bright smile appeared on his lips.
“Shasha. You’re amazing. You can recognize good muscles that other ladies can’t. My answer is always Yes, My Dear!”
[T/N: This ‘Yes, My Dear’ was said in literal English.]
“Really? Andy… Then, what about the pectoralis major…?”
“Of course. If you want, I can let you touch it all night long.”
Eugene quickly grabbed Klisha’s wrist as she smiled brightly at the response from the Grand Duke and reached out.
“Your Highness the Grand Duke. Your. Majesty. The. Empress. You should also exercise self-restraint.”
“I’m the former Empress… and divorced…”
Eugene’s red eyes, which were staring at Klisha, seemed to darken dangerously, so Klisha slowly withdrew her hand. It was definitely… not because she was scared.
Why has he been acting like that since earlier?
“Clap.”
Grand Duke Andrew clapped his hands to draw their attention.
“Shall we head to dinner for now? I specially laid out a spread of meat dishes for our Shasha.”
“Oh my!”
Klisha really liked His Highness the Grand Duke of Miami.
Though she didn’t understand why he was showing off his abs at his own house instead of on a beach.
Still, he looked so great that it was worth walking around without a shirt. In fact, she was just thankful to be able to admire such a sight.
When Andrew reached out his hand again to escort her, this time Klisha quickly reached out and pressed her body against him before Eugene could stop her.
‘As expected, what a great body. Hehe.’
Eugene withdrew his hand away with a bewildered expression, and His Highness the Grand Duke of Miami, who seemed unable to hold back his laughter, linked arms with Klisha and headed toward the dining room.
“Hey, bro. Follow us with your luggage.”
“……”
Sparks flew from Eugene’s eyes.
