ICM Chapter 31

Despite dozens of knights gathered in the training ground, the place was silent. None of the knights standing in formation dared to raise their heads.

Drushia quietly looked down at the sword extended to him. The rough, coarse hands holding out the sword. Even though he was kneeling with his head bowed, the tall knight’s presence remained undiminished.

“What am I supposed to do with that sword?”

“If you deem me unworthy, I will return it.”

The sword Aegonite offered was the one that the former Duke, Neoren, had personally bestowed upon him during his knighthood ceremony.

“I suppose your grandfather would be disappointed. The knight who used to hold back his temper even against impudent children has done something terrible.”

Drushia stood with his arms crossed as he reprimanded his knight.

Aegonite had lost his parents and his elder brother, who was the family heir, in that accident.

Would it have been better if no one had been found? A few weeks later, among the three missing people, only his brother’s body was recovered, but it had decomposed beyond recognition. Aegonite, who was seventeen at the time, was shocked after personally identifying the remains.

If only they had found him a little sooner, could they have recovered an intact body? Could they have remembered their loved one’s face somewhat properly during the funeral? Instead of this horrific nightmare.

Thinking that his parents’ remains must have rotted to bones somewhere at the bottom of the river where no one could find them, the boy refused food and wailed. It was Neoren who pulled him back from that state.

That’s why Drushia had overlooked the incident at the Security Force headquarters. He understood that when Aegonite had just arrived in the capital and encountered Igraine right before his eyes, he couldn’t contain his long-harbored anger. Given his fiery temperament and the depth of his accumulated resentment, he understood.

However, there was a line that shouldn’t be crossed, even with someone as detestable as Igraine.

“Why should I take the sword my grandfather gave you? Put it away.”

Drushia bluntly announced to the lined-up knights.

“Everyone will train in heavy plate armor for one week.”

The knights’ mouths fell open in shock. Though they couldn’t vocalize their dismay, a scream erupted from an unexpected source.

“Gasp, Your Grace! Heavy plate armor? Even on battlefields nowadays, such armor isn’t worn.”

It was Mihail, the aide who had been standing beside Drushia all along.

Heavy plate armor was so burdensome that wearing it was akin to carrying another person. With advances in metal refining technology, it had become a relic of the past that nobody used anymore.

As Drushia looked ready to retort, Mihail quickly added:

“Besides, heavy plate armor isn’t even on the knights’ equipment list.”

The knights’ gazes turned toward the brave aide.

‘Well done, Lord Orka. Just a bit more!’

‘Lord Orka is gutsy. He must not have been beaten before.’

‘His Grace doesn’t hit his aides. Instead, he’ll find other ways to crush him.’

Drushia sneered at the silently stirring atmosphere.

“What do you mean it’s not there? Search the oldest antique storage. And there are some displayed throughout the mansion. Gather them all and make them wear them.”

Realizing Drushia was serious, the knights’ faces turned pale.

“From now on, if any of you get heated over nothing and pick fights, I’ll add heavy equipment on top of the plate armor. Also, Mihail.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“We need to go to the Grand Duke’s territory.”

“What? But I just got back not long ago.”

“Are you saying you can’t go because of that?”

Mihail’s face fell. For several months now, he had been traveling between the capital, the Grand Duke’s territory, and the Talion estate, looking exhausted.

But Drushia showed no mercy.

‘Look at that, look at that.’

‘His lack of tact is causing him physical suffering.’

The knights clicked their tongues at the tactless aide. Seeing this, the corner of Drushia’s mouth curled up slightly.

“Dorian, get the storage key from the butler and bring out the equipment.”

“Yes, understood!”

Dorian, the youngest knight in the mansion, answered energetically while glancing at the other knights.

‘Oh no, he’s serious!’

The knights quickly forgot their sympathy for the tactless aide as they contemplated their own fate of having to wear antiques.

After stirring up the training ground, Drushia, who had been in a low mood for days, turned to leave.

‘Whether this one or that one, they all vex me inside and out.’

He included himself among those who vexed him. Drushia stroked his heating neck, thinking of what had happened just days ago.

Let’s say what happened at the Imperial Palace was due to Ashika losing her mind. He thought the woman might be crazy, but in the end, he couldn’t push her away, and at some point, he found himself passionately exploring the woman’s lips.

‘I wasn’t myself then either.’

Since becoming engaged to Shafri, Drushia had stayed away from women. Even though it was a nominal engagement, he remained faithful to his friend and fiancée.

He excused himself, thinking it must be because he had abstained from women for too long, that he had thought himself above such desires but turned out to be a man who easily succumbed to a woman’s seduction.

But this time, he had made the first move.

‘What possessed me to do such a thing?’

Because he felt sorry for the woman who was pale and lost somewhere in memories of the past. Yet those pale lips were too tempting, and he unwittingly wanted to claim them.

The woman who bore the name Igraine. The woman who had lodged deep in his heart with an emotion he couldn’t identify as hatred or resentment.

Drushia exhaled deeply and turned to Kalf, who had been following.

“Send a letter to the Grand Duke’s territory in advance. Say I’ll be coming soon.”

“Will you be going personally?”

“The rumors about the Grand Duke’s territory are concerning. It could have passed quietly, but it’s growing too big.”

“Um, Your Grace.”

Drushia raised an eyebrow as Kalf, who usually spoke without hesitation, seemed to be wavering.

“The rumor hasn’t spread widely yet, but…”

“What is it?”

“It seems stories about the late Emperor are surfacing.”

Drushia’s expression hardened immediately.

“That story?”

“Yes. The late Emperor secluded himself for a while before he passed away. The rumor that it was due to the curse of the Grand Duke’s territory is resurfacing.”

Such rumors had circulated before. It was because the late Emperor, who had proudly conquered the Grand Duke’s territory, didn’t appear in public, citing injuries as an excuse. Later, when he returned to state affairs looking healthy, the rumors seemed to fade.

But everyone knew that from then on, the late Emperor suffered from chronic illness. The Emperor, who had originally been in good health, struggled with illness for nearly ten years before passing away at a young age.

“If that rumor spreads again, the Imperial Family won’t stay quiet.”

After the late Emperor’s death, the Imperial Family had not paid much attention to the Grand Duke’s territory issues. They had neither lifted nor strengthened sanctions, maintaining the status quo. Now, this would be like stirring a sleeping hornet’s nest.

“How did things escalate to this point? If the Imperial Family gets involved with the Grand Duke’s territory… Ah.”

A single fire incident in the commoners’ district had now entangled two pillars of the Empire with the Imperial Family in a battle of nerves.

“With the current atmosphere, it’s only a matter of time before those rumors spread.”

If that happens, the entire Empire’s attention would be focused on the Grand Duke’s territory.

“What about the arsonist?”

“We haven’t found any leads. The Security Force seems to have given up already.”

“Hah.”

He had deployed his family’s knights from the beginning because he had a bad feeling. But with no results, the situation was growing increasingly complex.

“This couldn’t have been an accident.”

Suspicion had now become certainty.

“Investigate how people were called to the clinic from the beginning. Also, find out who approached them and through what channels. Make sure to determine which family the healer belonged to.”

“Yes, Your Grace. And also.”

“What else?”

Drushia’s voice naturally sharpened due to the mounting problems.

“Baroness Hennessy’s funeral is this afternoon. We need to prepare now to arrive on time.”

“Ah, the funeral.”

Even with a nominal engagement, basic courtesies had to be observed. However, it wasn’t a visit he was particularly eager to make. Drushia reluctantly nodded.

****

The funeral was held at the cemetery under a light drizzle. If she had been a vassal belonging to the estate, she would have been sent there for the funeral, but this didn’t apply to Baroness Hennessy.

I heard that the Maiheller family had taken in the widowed Baroness after she lost her husband. Since then, she had been handling minor affairs for the Marquis’s family, standing in for the frail Marchioness.

Watching the coffin descend into the ground, Shafri sobbed. Seeing her struggling while being supported by a maid, Drushia wore a peculiar expression.

‘Didn’t she dislike her?’

Still, they had spent over a decade together, so the shock must be considerable.

The funeral was attended only by Erwin, the eldest son and young Marquis of the Maiheller family, Shafri, the second daughter, and a few household servants.

After the funeral, as Drushia was about to leave, Shafri approached her.

“Dru.”

Her trembling white hand grasped his arm. Seeing her pale face that looked like she might collapse at any moment, Drushia nodded.

“I’ll escort you to the mansion.”

As the two headed toward the carriage, a piercing gaze followed them. Drushia instinctively looked back and met Erwin’s eyes. With his deep blonde hair and blue-green eyes resembling Shafri’s. However, his other eye was golden.

The odd eyes of green and gold that were born only in the Maiheller family. There were rumors that it was evidence of mixed blood with the Imperial Family long ago, but nothing had been confirmed. The lineage of golden eyes had long been extinct in the Imperial Family, yet strangely, the Maiheller family still occasionally produced odd eyes with golden ones.

Eyes that should have been beautiful felt oddly unpleasant. Erwin gave Drushia a slight nod before leaving.

Upon arriving at the Marquis Maiheller’s residence, Shafri once again stopped Drushia as he was about to leave immediately.

“Dru, couldn’t you stay a little longer today?”

“If you need an escort to your bedroom, call a maid.”

Though not particularly known for avoiding women, Drushia never entered Shafri’s bedroom. Only a few times in the distant past when they were children. Since becoming adults, he strictly maintained boundaries.

Shafri’s lips tightened at that cold distance.

‘Yet people think we’re close.’

Until now, Shafri had left Drushia alone. He wasn’t the type to look at other women while having a fiancée, so she thought he would eventually see her given time.

But Drushia was consistent, both before and after the engagement. He firmly believed and upheld the notion that theirs was a formal engagement and the pretense that they were merely friends.

Never did she imagine Igraine would come between them.

‘Of all people, that woman!’

Shafri could see it. Whenever he had the chance, Drushia’s heated gaze followed Ashika. Clearly, Drushia was wavering. If left like this, even their superficial relationship might end.

Shafri sighed and took a step back.

“Then just to the reception room. I think a cup of tea would be nice.”