As soon as he heard Gustav’s remarks, Geloic’s brow furrowed slightly.
The short remark revealed that Gustav looked down on the Ruby Knights.
Geloic slowly opened his mouth.
“However, despite their lack of manpower, the Ruby Knights have handled things well so far. Moreover, although it wasn’t widely publicized, it was precisely Captain Clara Weyburn who resolved the recent Orthros incident.”
“Yes, that’s true. I’m not questioning Captain Weyburn’s personal abilities either.”
Gustav gently narrowed his eyes and smiled. To those who didn’t know him well, it would have seemed like a warm smile, but through his slightly slitted eyes, a snake-like gleam flickered.
“What I’m questioning is whether the Ruby Knights stand a chance of surviving as an order.”
“.…!”
“How about disbanding the Ruby Knights and assigning each member to the right positions? For example…”
He trailed off, adding in a gentle voice.
“Our Sapphire Knights will gladly welcome Captain Clara as a member, and is also willing take on the responsibility of handling the Heilbronner duties.”
* * *
In any case, the ominous feeling was correct.
If things had proceeded as they normally would, I should have received some directive by now, or at the very least, some updates on the matter.
However, there was no further contact from city hall, even as dinnertime approached.
Just to be sure, we contacted the city hall in between, but all they said was that they would relay the message tomorrow, and for now, we should just wait quietly.
‘What’s really going on.…?’
It was one of the most disruptive matters involving the Thief Heilbronner. Naturally, it was normal for those of us in charge of the Heilbronner to be told what to do and how to handle it.
However, it felt as though we were being deliberately excluded. It was impossible not to feel anxious.
“Since you’ve finished your work for the day, go ahead and leave.”
“…Is that okay? The Lunar New Year is right around the corner, and it’s Saturday, after all.”
“We can’t defy the command from above to stand by. But that doesn’t mean we’ll be staying up all night. Since things might change tomorrow, just get a good rest for now.”
“Understood…”
After all my subordinates left for the day, I let out a soft sigh.
There was nothing we could do unless the city hall, which oversees the Lunar New Year, cooperated. We had to wait for the contact from them tomorrow.
‘Now… I guess it’s time to meet Ludger.’
The emotions I had been forcefully suppressing in order to focus on work came rushing back.
What was Ludger Kassen’s real intention in sending that warning letter?
He had assured me it was necessary, that it wouldn’t bring harm. But people lie. And he was not an ordinary person but the villain.
A whirlpool of conflicting thoughts swirled in my mind. I wanted to believe him, but my doubts gnawed at me.
The truth was, I was scared. Because I wanted to trust Ludger so badly. Despite his arrogance, I couldn’t help but notice the kindness and warmth that often peeked through.
If, like Gustav, I found that everything I believed about him was an illusion, and that he had been deceiving me all along…. it would truly be heartbreaking.
But the world wouldn’t end, even if that were true.
I had faced despair more times than I could count since childhood. And yet, I always survived. That was life.
I slapped both of my cheeks hard, as if to calm the confusion within me.
‘Alright. Let’s fight until the very end.’
Looking at the clock, it was almost time for the carriage from Duke Kassen’s household to arrive.
I steeled myself and got to my feet.
* * *
I had assumed I’d be taken to the Duke’s residence, but the carriage unexpectedly stopped at a small restaurant in the outskirts of the city.
From the looks of it, it seemed like the entire restaurant had been rented out.
Following the butler’s guidance, I entered the restaurant, and spotted Ludger sitting at a terrace table.
His calm face, gazing out at the night garden beyond the window, could have been a painting on its own.
But right now, I couldn’t admire his beauty with a calm heart.
As the distance between us shortened, Ludger seemed to have sensed my presence, snapping out of his reverie to turn and meet my gaze.
“It’s nice to see you again, Sir Clara.”
“It’s a pleasure, Your Highness.”
“Hmm. Have you eaten?”
“I have, but I’m not very hungry right now. We can get started.”
“No matter the situation, it’s impolite to invite a guest and then skip the meal.”
“Well, the truth is… I’m not really in the mood for eating.”
“……”
Ludger’s expression tightened, just slightly.
“Sit down, at least.”
“Yes.”
I complied, sitting across from him and looking at him.
“First…. I’ve seen the warning letter.”
“…..”
“It’s certainly a major issue.”
“….Yeah.”
“Do you have a reason for it?”
I didn’t beat around the bush.
“As you probably already know, the city hall has classified this warning letter as an act of terrorism. Because of that, they are on high alert.”
“……”
“There must be a reason for it… It’s too big of a deal to simply be ignored.”
The truth was, I wanted to ask it outright. Do you know that the Silver Magnolia Branch is a sacred object that suppresses dark magic? Is that why you’re trying to destroy it?
If that’s the case… then why try to destroy the artifact instead of stealing it?
But I couldn’t bring myself to say those words.
I couldn’t explain how I knew about black magic. Nor could I mention words the world being a novel, which were absurd.
“If that were truly your intention, you could have told you from the beginning.”
“From the beginning…?”
“I asked before. Whether there’s a reason for committing a crime, even when stealing something of no value, unless it involves something greater.”
“Ultimately, it’s something necessary for the Empire… I said it at that time.”
“…… Something necessary for the Empire?”
“Yes.”
“But…”
“You don’t believe that, do you?”
Ludger’s sharp eyes bore into mine, almost as if he could read my thoughts. I swallowes nervously.
“I know. I understand what you’re thinking.”
“……”
“That’s why we are hiding the truth and keeping each other under careful watch.”
In his face, I saw something I hadn’t expected.
It was loneliness.
“I suppose you can’t trust someone like me. I think it’s inevitable.”
“Could you explain in more detail?”
“I’ve already said it. Just as you think I’m suspicious… I also consider you a potential threat, Captain.”
“…..”
“I want to believe it’s not true, but it’s still scary. I’m afraid that through you, information might leak somewhere and mess everything up.”
He chuckled bitterly, with a hollow sound.
“To begin with, just saying something like this is truly foolish.”
“……”
“Here I am, doubting you, yet I still expect you to trust me. It’s selfish and ridiculous, isn’t it?”
Ludger’s and my experiences weren’t exactly the same.
But I could understand what kind of emotions he was feeling.
“Young Duke.”
“…Hm?”
“I had similar thoughts. In fact, if you, Young Duke, turned out to be the ultimate villain… deceiving me and doing bad things, what would I do?”
“……”
“But on the other hand… I couldn’t deny that I also wanted to trust you, Young Duke.”
Ludger slowly met my gaze. As I looked into his light green eyes, I spoke clearly.
“Then, should we just… accept that we both have feelings of doubt?”
“Accept…?”
“Yes. In the past… I believed that when forming a relationship with someone, you had to trust them unconditionally. Even if they don’t speak, even if you don’t know their feelings exactly, simply trusting them is the only proof of affection.”
“……”
“But now… I think it’s natural to have feelings of doubt, because I want to trust you, too.”
Even if it means doubting diligently and only being able to trust after thorough verification, wouldn’t it still be disrespectful to the other person?
After hearing Ludger’s words, I was finally able to think that way.
Because I understood his feelings of doubt, not fully trusting my words when I said I was hiding his identity as the Thief Heilbronner, I didn’t feel it was rude at all.
“You mentioned before, Young Duke, that it seemed like we had become close.”
“……”
“I still find you suspicious, Young Duke… but my thoughts about us becoming close haven’t changed.”
Ludger stared at me for a long while before letting out a slight smile.
On his face, instead of the earlier intense loneliness, there was a soft warmth and kindness.
“You really are… a strange person, Captain.”
“In conclusion, I’ll keep doubting you earnestly, so it’s fine if you continue to watch and doubt me as well.”
“That’s strange. If anything, I’d rather you just cut ties completely, but I’ve never seen someone say it like that.”
“If it turns out that you, Young Duke, are truly someone untrustworthy, then I’ll walk away.”
“……Yeah.”
Ludger nodded, his expression finally relaxing.
“When I can fully trust you someday… I’ll tell you everything then.”
“Yes.”
As we talked, my mind cleared up as well.
I could acknowledge both my desire to trust Ludger and, at the same time, my need to remain cautious, to doubt, and to prevent the worst-case scenario.
“In that case…. Young Duke, I would appreciate it if you could be honest with me.”
“…About what?”
“The warning letter this time…. is it possible that this wasn’t sent by the real Heilbronner, but by an imposter?”
