Chapter 165

“One of them must be my brother. He also has the blood of our uncle, so he doesn’t have to swear by it.”

In all cases, Rashid made no exceptions, regardless of what happened to his biological brother. Older brother! Tenon and Peyton looked at each other in astonishment as if they couldn’t believe what they just heard but Rashid was relaxed the whole time. Perhaps, the anguish he felt yesterday was so strong that everything else seemed so insignificant as if they were made of dust.

“Search the border more thoroughly. If one is bringing children, there will be restrictions.”

“…”

However, he didn’t forget that even such a younger brother couldn’t have run away alone without Haniel. This was the only reason that Rashid believed that it could also be Haniel’s work.

“The banquet will begin soon, and the hunting festival is not far off. The entire northern region will be noisy, so make sure there is no other movement in the gap.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will carry out Your Majesty’s command with the oath I made to the Magic Tower and my loyalty to the Rohan Empire.”

“Are you that confident?”

“…”

“How can I trust your skills?”

When Rashid, who was leaning over as if teasing him, clasped his hands, the furious young wizard felt insulted. Of course, he couldn’t show off in front of the emperor, but he couldn’t suppress the itch in his way.

“Drop anyone, please. I’ll try anything except black magic to harm others. Maybe, we can change the color of the Winter Palace or get rid of this wall. I can even fill the cup Your Majesty is holding————”

“What are you going to do?” He released his hand. Rashid took the bottle of brandy and showed it to him.  He was a person who didn’t fit in with the concept of not only sleeping but also needing something.

“Well, then. It would be nice if you can guess something correctly.”

“What do you mean, Your Majesty?”

The wizard’s gaze followed Rashid’s nonchalant nod and carefully looked toward the balcony as well. His red robes and flowing blonde hair, along with the brandy, swayed dizzyingly.

“What color will be the shoes of the first woman who would be appearing at the lake today?”

“Is that true? Is this really about who loses to whom?” Laughter erupted in the study of Duke Evendell’s residence. Lania’s face would turn red every time she asked her the same question over and over again. Standing next to the pale Ronin, her peachy cheeks looked even brighter.

“Are you sure they’re talking about the princess in the royal palace?”

“Didn’t we hear it together?”

Of course, she heard it but it was sparsely mixed with screams. Ronin laughed bitterly, wiping the blood from her mouth. It had been a long time since she felt so happy to see high and mighty Lania, who didn’t show her emotion, react like this.

“What else do I say? Yes. It can’t be that His Majesty is coming to promote something with it, right?”

“You seem quite happy.”

“Yes. Why didn’t I think of that? There’s no other woman like her who’s easy and good at making excuses. I’m the one who knows it the best——” She would normally open her fan to cover her laughter, but this time she was so excited that she forgot about that too.

“That’s why His Majesty seemed to have stayed here under the pretext of her, and gone out to find the precious princess. What should I do?”

“Do you have anything in mind?”

“Me? If there was, I would have offered it to you way earlier.”

At one point, she turned slowly with a look of regret. Her steps toward the mirror became graceful.

“If so, how pleased His Majesty would have been. Well, it’s not too late now.”

“Are you going to find her yourself?”

“I can’t openly say that I’m going to do it in secret, but I just can’t let it go, can I? However, it is also difficult if words leak out after I inform the knights about it .”

“I can’t curse anyone anymore in a reckless manner. It wasn’t a big fuss in the past because I didn’t have any family members to find all the things I’m holding in the lake since I’d killed them after all but I’ll be in trouble if I touch other things for no reason and go out to find them.”

“If so, who would dare have anything to do with you, princess?”

“That’s right. Who would dare me?”

Standing in front of her mirror, Princess Lania lazily inspected the jewelry adorning her hair with satisfaction as she planned her next steps.

“Anyway, His Majesty seemed to have kept that woman by her side for the same reason as I, but she didn’t even know she was being used. She misunderstood his intentions so she’s running around alone.”

“After being alone for a long time, wouldn’t it be that she’s just missing someone’s affection?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. It’s enough to dare to have feelings for such a noble person.”

With a clink, she roughly pulled out a jewel adorning her silver hair. Ronin, who was watching her from the back with a strange look, smiled and approached.

“Still, you won’t be able to go and warn them yourself.”

“I suppose so. If I do, I will tell His Majesty as it is. Is that all a woman with no other back belly has to do?”

“Then what are you going to do if he can’t find her himself or scold the Duchess?”

“Of course, I should let His Majesty speak directly to me.”

“… … .”