In the meantime, Evry had consistently held Sig back whenever he attempted to involve himself in Lockhart’s affairs.
To be straightforward, since Sig had no valid grounds to interfere in matters unrelated to Lockhart, Evry had prevented him from meddling.
However, this time was different. Despite Evr’s usual silence, he gladly accepted his directive, which clearly revealed Sig’s determination to actively engage in Lockart’s affairs.
Just an hour ago, Evry had been seething with anger, frantically searching for the absent Sig amidst their busy schedules. Yet, with a single word from Britia, who emerged from the forest alongside Sig, his fury dissipated.
‘When we go to Altheim, please take care of me.’
Go to Altheim? Did she really say that? Did I hear correctly?
Observing Sig, who appeared while warmly embracing her, Evry realized that this was indeed the truth.
She had made the decision to accompany Sig as his wife to Altheim.
Evry was overwhelmed with emotions as he witnessed the culmination of his dedicated efforts.
He had cautioned the knights to exercise caution in their actions and to avoid getting into fights, regardless of who initiated them. There was always the risk that a conflict could escalate and jeopardize the bond between the two of them.
Hence, venturing outside and indulging in alcohol was strictly forbidden. Given that consuming alcohol would invariably result in ten fights for every ten arguments.
Although there had been initial resistance, ultimately, they were individuals who followed orders, quietly adhering to the rules. However, matters became more challenging following the duel between Sig and Marcus.
The Robley knights initiated conflicts, accusing Turas of meddling in affairs unrelated to him and tarnishing Robleys reputation.
The duel’s widely-known outcome rendered them objects of ridicule, further fueling their resentment.
While it seemed unjust and maddening from their perspective, they were powerless to change the situation.
Lockhart, being a noble from the south, couldn’t simply disregard Robleys influence. However, Sig’s interference had put them in a difficult position, as Lockhart pushed them aside.
Engaging in a full-blown confrontation with Robley and Turas would only make matters worse, so they had to avoid any potential conflicts that could ignite Lockhart’s anger.
But Robley shamelessly noticed their attempts to avoid a fight and became even more arrogant. Despite that, they managed to endure and restrain themselves, obediently following the order to avoid major conflicts.
Unfortunately, Evry had to impose restrictions on everyone’s outings.
What other choice did they have? If they went out, Robley would deliberately provoke them, and soon their side would reach the limit of their patience, unable to avoid a fight.
‘Why did we come all the way to the capital for?’
‘We can’t even have a drink or go out. Are we supposed to just sit around in this dull place?’
As a result, they had to endure listening to all the complaints.
‘If it was going to be like this, it would have been better if the deputy chief had come.’
When those words were spoken, Evry couldn’t contain his anger and snapped immediately.
‘If sitting around idly is so difficult, then even if I don’t like it, I have to make you stay quiet.’
He felt remorseful for confining them to the sickbeds. Thankfully, they were inherently good people, so it worked out fine once he distributed a bottle of precious liquor to each of them.
However, this situation of forcibly suppressing their frustrations couldn’t last much longer. Evry could confidently claim that he was the one eagerly awaiting Sig’s proposal.
Why was Turas interfering in fights that had nothing to do with him? And why was Sig involving himself in Lockhart’s affairs without any valid reason?
Now, the situation had changed. For the sake of the person who would soon become his wife, Sig considered any reason sufficient to sweep away everything, whether it was Robley, Huate, or anyone else.
That was what Evry hoped for, and he believed his steadfast comrades felt the same. As expected, when Sig conveyed his order, their faces turned pale.
“His Majesty will arrive, and we have one hour left until the hunt begins. We must hurry.”
Evry announced that there was only one hour left until the Emperor arrived and the hunt began, urging everyone to hurry. In response, the knights, dressed in black armor, quickly scattered into the forest.
While the unofficial hunt of Robley unfolded in the forest, Crave widened his eyes and fixed his gaze on Britia.
“Tiya, what are you doing? You haven’t even been married yet!”
He attempted to speak sternly.
“That’s how it goes. According to the law, you need permission from both families and a proper wedding ceremony.”
However, he couldn’t contain his laughter, causing his voice to tremble.
“You dare to act so confidently without even seeking permission, let alone having a wedding ceremony…!”
“Crave Lockhart.”
In a low voice that called out to him, Crave couldn’t continue speaking and stood there with his mouth open.
“Do you have something to say to me?”
Believing that his anger had subsided, he had let his guard down, but it seemed that it hadn’t subsided at all. Crave broke into a cold sweat.
“Brother, apologize to Sister quickly.”
Leon said, glancing at Britia.
“Leoni Lockhart, you’re no different. Don’t pretend otherwise.”
However, shortly after, when Britia spoke firmly, Leon also fell silent and broke into a cold sweat.
“Both of you ignored my words and lied.”
In the silence, Leon and Crave exchanged glances. Then, without any prompting, they simultaneously spoke up.
“Brother ignored!”
“Leon lied!”
Their voices overlapped as they both burst out at the same time.
Britia maintained a quiet and solemn silence. Then, Leon hesitated and approached her, wrapping her sister in a tight embrace with one arm.
Due to his injuries, Crave couldn’t join them and instead reached out his hand towards Britia’s lap.
“I felt the need to talk to you, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot. So today, as a last resort, I decided to have a conversation with Huate and share my thoughts with you.”
“And what happens after everything is settled?”
“I was afraid that if I spoke to you, you would handle it in the worst possible way, based on my own imagination.”
Britia’s brows furrowed as she heard about the worst possible way.
“Do you genuinely believe I would consider marrying Count Huate?”
“Yeah, that’s right. You have Sig, who loves you deeply, and for a moment, I had such a strange thought…”
Crave, who was about to crack a joke, hesitated upon seeing Britia’s stern expression.
“I wasn’t trying to ignore you, really. I never entertained such thoughts. I should handle it calmly.”
Crave confessed with a somber tone.
“I was scared, so I couldn’t find the words. If I kept it to myself, you know I would suffer alone. Initially, I didn’t plan to tell anyone. But then, my wife overheard me mumbling in my sleep with a nightmare this morning.”
“I ended up crying and barely managed to confide in Huate.”
Leon interjected, confirming the truth of the situation.
“Crave, I’m warning you. If you stay silent and continue to endure alone next time, I will truly get angry and hit you.”
Britia warned a completely defeated-looking Crave.
“I… I’m sorry…”
Leon, who had tightly embraced hid sister, lifted his head and glanced at Britia. Noticing the gaze, Britia wore a stern expression.
“It’s even worse that you tried to deceive me with lies.”
“Well, it’s because of love,” Leon tried to explain, but it didn’t resonate with Britia.
“That despicable man keeps pursuing you… It was awful just to hear those words from you.”
Leon’s face twisted as he recalled Count Huate’s face. Even now, he remained an utterly unpleasant man.
“So you’re saying that you suddenly lied about wanting to marry me? Did you actually expect me to believe that?”
“Well…”
Leon hesitated, avoiding Britia’s gaze.
“You said he was terrible, right? So what about me? Did you hear that Count Huarte demanded to exchange the adorable youngest sibling?”
“Well, it was a terrible mistake. But can’t you forgive me for a momentary slip-up involving the adorable youngest? Come on, I’m cute, you know.”
Britia playfully pinched Leon’s back as he tried to brush it off.
“Oh, come on!”
“Oh, come on?”
“Ah, no, I was wrong. I’m sorry for lying. I just panicked and blurted it out without thinking.”
Leon took hold of Britia’s hand, which was pinching his back, and gently lowered it. Then he leaned against her.
“Why don’t you tell me next time not to do it again?”
“…”
“I’m truly reflecting on it. Don’t think that I’ll be fooled by strange lies. No, I won’t tell such weird lies again. So please forgive me, okay?”
Britia glared at the pouting Leon and let out a short sigh.
“I’ll let it slide this time, Leon Lockhart.”
“Then quickly say that you love me.”
Leon’s shameless demand caught Britia off guard.
“Ah, quickly. Quickly. You love me, right?”
“Ugh, you’re so noisy.”
“Then say you love meeee.”
Eventually, Britia gave in to her younger sibling’s whining.
“Fine. I love you. Happy now?”
“Then even if you’re not Lockhart anymore, you’ll still love me, right?”
“What are you talking about?”
Britia chuckled, wearing an amused expression.
“Even if I get married, I’ll still be Lockhart, but if sis get married, you won’t be Lockhart anymore, right?”
Britia felt a moment of unease as she realized that Leon was worrying about something she hadn’t even considered.
“But you’ll still love me, right? Promise me.”
“Of course. I’ll love you forever.”
Britia fought back her tears and gently stroked Leon’s back.
“In that case, let’s delay getting married for as long as possible. Not right away. Understand?”
“…”
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“Leon, that… that might be a bit difficult.”
Leon widened his eyes and asked why it was difficult, leaving Britia hesitating.
“So you were proposed to? No wonder the atmosphere felt that way.”
Crave, who had been observing them, spoke up.
“Is that true?”
Britia turned her face away from Leon, shocked.
“Then we won’t be the Lockhart siblings anymore!”
Leon took a deep breath and shouted. Britia hugged him tightly, trying to comfort him.
“Just because I’m getting married doesn’t mean I won’t be your sister anymore.”
“But it will be different! And if you go to the North, so far away…”
“If you don’t want to be far apart, you can come with me.”
When Crave didn’t take her side, Leon clenched his fist in betrayal.
“Do you approve of it, brother?”
“Yeah. By the way, Tia, if you go to the North, I’ll join you and go with my wife. Take care of me.”
Crave confidently revealed his plan.
“If Sig asks me to work, I’ll do it. I wish to engage in conversation with the bored Duchess Turas.”
“Don’t call her the Duchess Turas!”
Leon yelled in frustration. He gritted his teeth, groaned, and collapsed onto Britia’s lap. Then he lightly hit her leg with his fist, although it didn’t hurt because he didn’t put much strength into it.
“You can’t just drive away a crazy person like me unless you defeat me first!”
Leon was on the verge of falling apart, not only because he couldn’t win the fight but also because his sister was being taken away.
“If he becomes your husband, he’ll eventually become your family, so accept it gracefully. You resisted and ended up accepting Hailey too.”
“Shut up, Philip!”
Leon angrily struck Philip, who was instigating, with his left fist. He was the only person she could genuinely hit in this situation.
