“Hmph, treating such a generous person like you that way, she truly has an unlikable personality.”
“Haha, Senior is flattering me by referring to me as a generous person. Captain Clara just needs to mend her ways.”
“Nevertheless, wouldn’t that attitude of hers remove her from her position? All she can do is chase Heilbronner’s butt. I can’t help but wonder how the higher-ups look favourably on the knights who keep making such foolish mistakes and wasting the budget like that.”
“Yes, you’re right.”
Gustav received Krosner’s words, which was nothing more than spewing out all sorts of complaints, with a graceful smile.
After chatting with him for a while, Krosner seemed satisfied for being able to let off some of the grievances and got up from his seat.
“Let me treat you to a meal when we meet next time.”
“I shall gladly accept. Please remember to stay low for a while.”
“Right…. Tsk, even the gods of Heaven are throwing me into this kind of ordeal. How cruel. Then I’ll be going.”
“Please be careful on your way back.”
As soon as Krosner left the office, Gustav, who had a gentlemanly smile plastered on his face all the while Krosner was present, wiped away the smile. Closing the door to his office, he sat down in front of the desk roughly.
Then he took out a document, skimmed through the contents as if checking something, before turning his head away with a frown.
Krosner’s position could not be restored. He was decided to be demoted to the Security Forces within this month.
For someone who always held his head high as one of the squad leaders of the Diamond Knights, the elites of the elites, it could be said quite the harsh punishment. It was doubtful whether he could endure the humiliation of being demoted to the Security Forces.
“You piece of trash, how dare you talk nonsense about Clara….”
Gustav muttered with a dark expression as he threw the document down.
The time has almost arrived.
The time when Ruby Knights would be disbanded due to repeated mistakes. And Clara Weyburn, the Captain of the Ruby Knights, would be transferred to the Sapphire Knights, the only place that would accept her outstanding talent.
And into the clutches of the devil, perfectly.
“This time, you will have no choice but to submit to me, Clara.”
A smile bloomed on his face, not the pretended smile he wore in front of other people but a genuine happy smile. He grinned with glee at the thought of the future where he would mercilessly trample her beneath his feet.
***
At the news of the arrival of an esteemed guest, I hurried down to the restaurant on the first floor.
The headquarters, or rather the shabby office of Ruby Knights’ was literally just a tiny office with the desks crowded together. There was no space like a VIP room or reception room where we could receive guests.
Even if I had a separate office as the Captain, I could have invited them there. However, although I was the Captain and the highest authority of our knight order, I was treated no different from the other members.
The fact that the number of members has decreased from 7 to 4, so there should be 3 empty spaces remains, but….
The sight of us talking while the subordinates working right next to us would be a strange sight to behold. This wasn’t like the stand-up meetings in Korea in my previous life.
‘We are also the members of the Knights Templar!’
Swallowing the curse words that were about to leave my mouth, I quickly reserved a seat in the restaurant on the first floor. Fortunately, it was the off-peak time, not the peak meal hours, so there didn’t seem to be any other customers around.
I thanked the landlady, who had immediately reserved a seat for me wholeheartedly before hastily running to Ludger waiting in the carriage on the ground floor.
However, when I arrived, I could only see the empty carriage and the servants waiting there but not the owner.
“Wh, where is the Duke of Kassen?”
“His Highness went up first because he didn’t want to bother Sir.”
“@#$#$^@&!”
I screamed in an alien language in panic and hurriedly climbed up the stairs in one breath.
“Oh, there is Captain.”
As soon as I opened the door to the office, Billy waved at me brightly. Ludger, who was standing in front of him, gently turned his head and looked in my direction.
‘He looks unnecessarily handsome again today….’
Even Lionel, who used to boast of his appearance in our knighthood, seemed to have faded in front of Ludger’s handsomeness and become a background behind.
For a moment, I mistook the shabby room where I arrived as the hall of a grand ballroom at the appearance of Ludger in a dark-colored suit with a few crimson color accessories. The combination of both the colors suited him so well, enhancing his beauty.
“Greetings, Captain Clara. We’ve met again.”
“Yes…Yes…Yes….”
I had no right to criticize Billy’s foolish attitude. For today, the most foolish award goes to Clara Weyburn.
Barely managing to gather my composure, I opened my mouth with the help of my self-esteem as a low-ranking civil servant.
“But, but. Your Highness could have just called me. Young Duke didn’t have to come all the way to this shabby office by yourself….”
“I’m well aware that the subordinates of Sir I have been very busy lately. It would have been rude of me to bother you at times like this.”
‘If you know we’re busy, why come at all?’
Do the higher-ups really not know that just their mere presence increases the workload of their subordinates?
While internally cursing, I asked in a lowly voice, maintaining my commoner-like manner.
“Um… but why did Your Highness come to our lowly knights in person…?”
“Ah. I suppose you sent a letter of cooperation regarding the Heilbronner case?”
“That’s right…I did, so…?”
“I thought it would be insensitive of me to just send the letter of cooperation to a cooperative organization that is working hard for our government for which they may suffer damage later. That’s why , I came to personally deliver the official document to congratulate you on your hard work.”
‘Hey, this is exactly why you should just send your subordinates! How can the person in-charge himself come directly!’
The words which I couldn’t express echoed in my head.
Without knowing whether he knew my inner turmoil or not, Ludger continued speaking calmly.
“I have brought this small gift on my behalf, so please accept it.”
“Wow! This is the logo of the cake shop where you have to wait in line for hours to buy just one piece! I only heard about it through rumors!”
Billy jumped up and down as he received the package that Ludger offered.
Meanwhile, Sir Sein, who was standing behind him, had a pale face as if he would faint at any moment, and Lionel had an expression of emancipation. My face was probably somewhere in between those two.
I also wanted to faint, however, as the leader in charge of the knights, I had a duty to tackle everything that came our way. Therefore, I forced myself to gather my wits before opening my mouth.
“Um…As Your Highness has witnessed, the environment of our knights’ quarters is very poor… It’s difficult to accommodate Your Highness, as our esteemed guest in the messy room… I deeply apologize for troubling Your Highness, but would you mind going down to the restaurant…?”
“Well, if it’s more convenient for you, Sir, then I don’t mind.”
“Thank you for your understanding… Then this way….”
While I was staggering to guide Ludger, an insensitive voice rang out from behind.
“Captain! Captain, do you want to eat the cake? Should I save some?”
“Eahn as mun as yu wan (eat as much as you want)….”
I’ll remember for sure to kick this asshole once I get back.
***
“I… I went out to greet Your Highness so I apologize for my late greeting. We sincerely thank Your Highness for taking the time to arrive here and for your consideration.”
Although I didn’t really appreciate his sudden arrival, my civil servant mannerism automatically blurted out a greeting like a taught parrot.
“That’s all right. Hmm… I actually didn’t intend to arrive here all of a sudden, I guess I was being inconsiderate.”
It seemed he never guessed that the situation of our knights would be so poor that we don’t even have a private room to receive guests. Yes… I myself am surprised by the fact….
“Your Highness is absolutely correct. I apologize once again for our lack of hospitality. From now on, I’ll visit Young Duke in person, so please feel free to call me anytime.”
“Hmm…”
Ludger had his mouth closed as he stared at me with a calculating gaze, as if he was judging something. Then, he smiled faintly as he said.
“I believe Sir Clara doesn’t need to be so polite with me. We’ll be seeing each other often in the future because of our work cooperation.”
“Then, shall I correct myself…?”
As I blinked in uncertainty and answered as if asking him, Ludger burst into laughter. What, what? I don’t think I said anything particularly funny?
“Well, you shall. I believe that would be comfortable for you. Then I’ll state my business quickly.”
Surprisingly, Ludger seemed to understand the reason for my flustered attitude before. His mannerism was better than those superiors who try to force their workload on their subordinates.
Afterwards, formal discussions were held between us regarding cooperation with the ministry of Imperial Relics and Treasure Management.
When the conversation was roughly concluded, Ludger suddenly changed the subject.
“I heard you missed the opportunity to capture Heilbronner the other day. Is that correct?”
I suppressed the urge to cough.
‘So this was his true goal….’
There was no reason for Ludger to come here in person with his precious body. However, he still showed up suddenly, which must be related to inquiring about Heilbronner.
“I’m ashamed… I think it would be a bit misleading to say that.”
“According to the article published on the newsletter, it says that Sir has encountered Heilbronner in person? Most people haven’t even seen Heilbronner’s shadow until now.”
“However, the article doubted the truth of that statement.”
When I actually submitted the report, my superiors asked me again if my claim that I had encountered Heilbronner was true. I replied sincerely that it was, but they seemed to be half-believing it. Needless to say, the newspaper article could make a person into being the world’s biggest liar.
Certainly, no one knew the truth of the report more clearly than the person concerned, Heilbronner.
And the person concerned, who was seated opposite me, made a thoughtful expression before lifting the corners of his mouth playfully.
The mere act was so captivating that it instantly drew attention, making people feel as if time had stopped.
Perhaps because of the way he presented himself, but his lime green eyes seemed to flash with a strange light.
“Was it a lie?”
“No, I swear it’s true.”
“Yes. I believe that’s true.”
“….”
I let out a wry smile at his unconditional trust in me.
‘Yes, if you don’t believe it, who will?’
As I was thinking that with bleary eyes, he opened his mouth once again.
“Thanks to the quick action of Sir, we were able to save a precious life.”
“….”
The way he stated that sounded like he wasn’t the one who was present as Heilbronner during that incident.
“I… just protected the target Heilbronner had designated. I didn’t play any special role.”
“Well. Heilbronner might have tried to take the boy away with evil intentions. Wasn’t it because of Sir that he gave up on his plan and escaped?”
“….”
“After all, according to Captain’s reasoning, Heilbronner is a ‘hobbyist’.”
He was quite the bully.
