“This incident… is probably the responsibility of our 4th Knight Order.”
“…….”
“…….”
At the sudden bombshell statement, the surroundings fell silent as if cold water had been poured over them.
Among them, only Sir Gerard remained calm.
“To be more precise.”
Sir Gerard’s gaze turned toward the commander of the 4th Knight Order.
“It was our commander who orchestrated this, and the knights under his command merely followed suit.”
“What?!”
The knights of the Azure Dawn widened their eyes in shock.
“What on earth are you saying, Deputy Commander?!”
The knights of the 4th Order glared at Sir Gerard and raised their voices.
As for their commander—
“What nonsense is that man spouting now?!”
On the surface, he feigned outrage, but inside, his heart sank.
Regardless of his reaction, Sir Gerard continued speaking in his usual calm and composed manner.
“And so, albeit belatedly, I intend to set things right.”
“…….”
“…….”
Dozens of eyes fixed on Sir Gerard.
He met their gazes with an unwavering expression.
In truth, the emotions reflected in the eyes of the 4th Order’s knights were nothing new to him.
Hostility, hatred, irritation, anger.
On the other hand, the emotions in the eyes of the Azure Dawn knights were somewhat unfamiliar.
A hint of hope, anticipation, and—
…gratitude for the one who mustered the courage to reveal the truth.
“…….”
Sir Gerard found himself feeling somewhat strange.
How long had it been since he had last received such looks?
Finally, his eyes met Cassia’s.
She instantly flashed a bright, knowing smile.
‘Say everything you want to say.’
As if encouraging him.
Strength naturally welled up in Sir Gerard’s voice at that gaze.
“At the very least, it is true that our commander was aware that the demonic beasts might escape.”
“Sir Gerard, do you realize what nonsense you’re spewing?!”
A scream-like shout rang out.
Regardless of the furious outburst from the 4th Order’s commander, Sir Gerard remained composed.
“And he attempted to cover it up.”
Then, he subtly shifted his gaze to one knight in particular.
“Isn’t that right, Sir Montero?”
“…….”
The knight named by Sir Gerard froze in place, eyes wide in shock.
‘No way.’
Just earlier, when Sir Montero had secretly received the order from the 4th Order’s commander to replace the barrier stone—
Sir Gerard had stepped in, offering to handle the task himself.
At the time, he simply thought it was fortunate to have gotten away with a troublesome matter without much effort…
‘So, you knew everything… and did it on purpose?!’
A calm explanation followed.
“Our knight commander instructed Sir Montero to replace the barrier stone, but I volunteered to handle the task instead. However…”
The knights held their breath, focusing intently on Sir Gerard’s words.
“Unfortunately, at that very moment, the demonic beasts escaped, and my unit and I were too preoccupied dealing with them. Yet, despite all that, our barrier stone remains perfectly intact…”
Sir Gerard cast a brief glance at the transparent, glowing barrier stone.
“This is just my speculation, but I believe our knight commander took advantage of the chaos to replace it with an intact barrier stone in advance. And…”
After clearing his throat, Sir Gerard concluded his statement.
“The contaminated barrier stone must have been placed in the barracks of the Azure Dawn Knights.”
“……”
“……”
The silence was so intense that one could hear a pin drop.
And then—
“So, those bastards…”
At Sir Gerard’s words, the expressions of the Azure Dawn Knights darkened instantly.
“They tried to pin their mistake on us?”
Sir Rodrigo scowled, setting off an outcry.
“Wow, and after all that pompous attitude toward us?”
“Do those bastards have no pride as knights?”
“If they had even a shred of shame, they wouldn’t have done this!”
The Azure Dawn Knights raised their voices in collective outrage.
On the other hand, the Fourth Knight Order found it difficult to believe Sir Gerard’s claim.
“T-That’s a lie!”
“Deputy Commander, what in the world is this?!”
“How could you slander your fellow knights?!”
Deputy Commander.
Hearing that title addressed to him, a hollow smile formed on Sir Gerard’s lips.
They had always disregarded him, treating him as an outcast.
But now that they were at a disadvantage, they suddenly acknowledged his title?
“I simply followed my conscience as a knight.”
Sir Gerard composed himself and declared firmly.
But the Fourth Knight Order’s commander refused to back down so easily.
“T-This is nothing but slander!”
Pointing an accusing finger at Sir Gerard, he raised his voice.
“There is no proof aside from this man’s testimony!”
At that moment—
“Oh, but actually…”
A clear, confident voice interrupted the dispute between the two knights.
It was Cassia.
She looked between the two men, then smiled leisurely.
“There is evidence.”
What?!
The Fourth Knight Order’s commander looked as though he might faint from shock.
‘That’s impossible!’
At the same time, Cassia’s smile deepened—full of confidence.
“The evidence is right there.”
With an exaggerated gesture, Cassia pointed in a certain direction.
Her outstretched index finger landed on…
“The barrier stone?”
One of the Fourth Knight Order’s knights murmured skeptically.
It made sense—they had no reason to expect this.
Cassia had pointed at their own barrier stone.
Even in the darkness, the barrier stone gleamed brightly and transparently.
“How is that supposed to be evidence?”
“I don’t know… but…”
The knights murmured among themselves.
At the same time, Cassia turned toward Giscard.
“Commander.”
“What is it, Astrid, Administrative Officer?”
With a sly tone, Cassia made a request to Giscard.
“Could you infuse some aura into that barrier stone?”
The knights looked puzzled.
“Aura? Into the barrier stone? Why?”
“What difference would that make?”
But Giscard reacted differently.
As if realizing something, his blue eyes gleamed with intrigue.
“…Alright.”
Nodding, Giscard strode confidently toward the barrier stone.
Pulling the barrier stone from the sealing portal, he infused it with aura.
The transparent barrier stone was soon filled with a deep blue aura.
And along with it, letters appeared…
[A. D. K]
The initials of the Azure Dawn Knights.
The three glowing blue letters shimmered in the darkness.
“What the hell is that…?”
“Isn’t that… our knight order’s initials?”
Murmurs spread among the two knight orders.
At the same time, Cassia spoke in a detached tone.
“Well then, Fourth Knight Order?”
At her call, the members of the Fourth Knight Order stiffened involuntarily.
Cassia, unimpressed, continued speaking.
“I am well aware of how lazily you’ve been handling your patrol duties. And when problems arose because of that negligence, you conveniently dumped the cleanup onto us.”
“T-That’s not—!”
One of the Fourth Knight Order members tried to protest.
But Cassia merely shrugged and pressed on.
“I’ve heard that monsters have already escaped from weakened seals twice. And both times, it was our knight order that dealt with the aftermath.”
“……”
“……”
The Fourth Knight Order members flinched, unable to respond.
Cassia leisurely carried on, addressing their silence.
“Given the situation, I couldn’t help but think things through carefully.”
Her crimson eyes, devoid of warmth, swept over the ashen faces of the Fourth Knight Order members one by one.
“If my knights no longer wish to bear the burden of your failures…”
Trailing off, Cassia smiled.
It was a smile as cold as ice.
“…what should be done?”
Meanwhile, her words stirred something in the Azure Dawn Knights.
My knights.
That phrase dug deep into their hearts.
“That’s why we engraved our mark onto the barrier stones assigned to our knight order. When infused with aura, our initials would appear.”
Concluding her statement, Cassia turned to the Fourth Knight Order’s commander.
His face was deathly pale, drained of all color.
Cassia stared straight into his shaken eyes and firmly delivered the final blow.
“And this batch of barrier stones was issued for the first time only recently.”
No way!
The Fourth Knight Order’s commander widened his eyes.
His pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck his soul.
“In other words,”
Cassia, observing his reaction, declared resolutely,
“The very fact that this barrier stone is here is proof that someone swapped it.”
“……”
The commander felt the strength drain from his body.
Cassia’s smile deepened slightly.
But her gaze was sharper than ever.
“Because at the time the original barrier stones were meant to be replaced, the ones bearing our mark had not even been distributed yet.”
TL/N: THAT’S MY GIRL.
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Ahhh!! Sir Gerard I love you!!
Thank you so so much for the update 💕 I’ve really been enjoying the story and eagerly waiting for updates