CH 38

Now that she thought about it, it seemed that they had been eating together quite often. Carus was good at eating any kind of food without being picky, but he was so fast that he would always finish his meal first, and stare at Yulia.

It was the same this time as well. Yulia, who was sitting across from him and continuing her meal in silence, raised her eyes at the harsh gaze she felt on her face.

Carus was looking at her.

His eyes were fixed on this side, but his mind seemed to be in a different place. His mind wandered so deeply that Carus didn't even realize that Yulia was glancing at him.

"Sir Carus."

Perhaps he had something to say to her, Yulia thought. She decided to casually ask news of Babaslov.

"Where is Babaslov? I don't see him here."

She could have started talking about a topic that Carus didn't like. In fact, Yulia was good at using that conversation technique when she had to break her opponent's composure. However, she didn't want to be so mean to a man who gets mad because she takes her life lightly.

Carus, who had escaped from his thoughts, replied bluntly.

"In the process of capturing the Commander of the Southern Fleet, the flagship was partially damaged. I need a good technician to fix it, so he is currently looking for someone at the port."

"There are many skilled technicians at the old pier east of Ortega. Retired technicians sometimes go on trips over the sea to repair pirates' boats, and if you use them wisely, you might even obtain useful information."

"I was wondering why pirate ships were so sturdy, is it because the warship engineers were the ones to take care of it?"

"There are many people on the coast of Ortega who do not distinguish between pirates and the Imperial Army."

Carus, a citizen of the Baikan Empire, could have felt upset hearing this. It meant that Ortega's headstrong artisans regarded the imperial army as outlaws or robbers no different from pirates.

However, Carus wasn't angry. As a knight loyal to the Emperor of Baikan, he took the lead in numerous wars of conquest, and he had seen the people of the defeated country more closely than anyone else.

"Yulia."

"Yes."

"As I said before, I will repay the debt I owe you. By taking care of all the hyenas targeting you."

She wondered what he was so deep in thought about earlier, but he was still thinking about the hyenas. After finishing the meal late, Yulia said to him.

"Sir Carus, you don't have any debt that you need to repay me for. Rather, since you have helped me with this and that all this time, it's me who has a debt towards you."

"What about the hyenas?"

"You might not believe me, but I can handle it myself."

"It seems that you are aware that I can't trust you on that."

Carus smiled as he rebuked her. Yulia quickly brought up another story before he could say anything more.

"I was going to sleep early today because I was tired, but I must have eaten too much. I wonder if the inn has tea that would help with digestion."

When Yulia openly changed her words again, Carus gave a stunned 'ha' before chasing her out with a hand gesture.

*****

"I think it's a messenger."

Maxwell pointed to the window with his eyes. A black bird wrapped by the pale moonlight was sitting on the window sill, staring at Carus.

"Is it His Majesty's bird?", Carus murmured.

As if understanding his words, the bird moved gracefully. It shook its slender neck once and then raised his beak, signaling to come here quickly. When Carus, recognizing the bird's gesture, approached it, it flew up and landed on his shoulder.

It was a bigger bird than expected. Something between a hawk and an eagle. However, its appearance was unusual which made it difficult to identify the species. It had black feathers, a dark blue beak, and yellow eyes.

"What is written on it?", Maxwell asked frantically, unable to contain his curiosity.

Carus took out a letter from the small tube tied to the bird's ankle, and read it.

It contained a very brief order.

The expression slowly disappeared from Carus' face after reading it. He was usually expressionless, but this time he was so calm as if he wasn't breathing at all.

The bird perched on his shoulder made a sound. Then, after confirming that he had read the order, it took flight again.

Carus opened his mouth after confirming that the bird had flown out the window and disappeared.

"Maxwell."

It was a voice that seemed to burrow into the depths of the earth. Goosebumps ran down Maxwell's forearms.

"Why, why are you calling me like that?"

"His Majesty has appointed me as the new admiral of the Southern Fleet."

"What? The Southern Fleet? Crazy... Ah, my apologies."

Maxwell slapped his mouth with the palm of his hand. Then he jumped out of his seat, and exclaimed louder.

"Crazy, crazy! Oh my! No, but, what do you mean? The admiral of the Southern Fleet? His Majesty must have gone mad... I apologize."

This kind of matter shouldn't be dealt with by making a fuss. Maxwell gently pressed his pounding chest, and looked at Carus out of the corner of his eye. The one who should be enraged like a madman now is Carus, not him.

But Carus wasn't angry. He was deeply lost in thought with a face that didn't reveal his feelings.

"Hey, are you okay?", Maxwell asked cautiously.

It would have been nice if Babaslov had been with them at a time like this. If it was him, he would have been able to humor Carus.

Carus was still speechless. It was a face that seemed angry and not angry at the same time.

Maxwell recalled what a terrifying man his superior was when he stood still like a suffocating beast.

So, he decided to say anything for now.

"I don’t know if I should say this... but, isn't His Majesty going overboard? Considering the military feats that you have accomplished so far, he shouldn't act like this. By the way, the Southern Fleet... It's just... a place of exile."

Maxwell wasn't wrong. The naval fleet stationed in the waters of Ortega was no different from a place of exile in the eyes of the Baikan Empire, and the position of Southern Admiral was only a grand title.

In fact, the Leviathan Fleet commanded by Carus Lankea in the Baikan Empire was more than three times larger than the Southern Fleet.

So, telling him to be acting as the new admiral here was like telling him not to step into the center for a while.

"Protest against this decision. A guy like me won't be able to figure out His Majesty's will, but I don't think this is right. If this is what we receive for the loyalty we have given until now..."

If Maxwell, who had been working as an intelligence officer in Ortega for a long time, felt this way, what would happen if his subordinates, like Babaslov and the Leviathan Knights, who were proud to be Carus' closest aides, found out?

"We are loyal to Carus, not to the Baikan Empire or His Majesty the Emperor. You already know that, right?"

Their loyalty will take a hit. Carus' feelings are important, but the honor of his subordinates is also important. Maxwell was worried that they might become hostile to the Emperor.

"Sir Carus."

"Maxwell, tell me what you have found out about Yulia Arte so far."

"Pardon? Why are talking about Yulia Arte all of a sudden?", Maxwell asked.

However, Carus urged him to tell him about Yulia.

"I told you to investigate. Have you forgotten?"

"I, I get it. I will tell you! So... according to the information I have gathered so far, Lady Yulia is known to have come from an orphanage located on the eastern wharf on the outskirts of Ortega. However, she was already around nine years old when she was entrusted to that orphanage for the first time."

"Nobody knows where she lived, and what she did before that?"

"Yes, it's unknown. It was difficult to confirm what became of the other children from the orphanage because the director sold them all to ships. The two people I managed to find out about were also confirmed to be dead."

"Keep going."

"From a young age, she has been strangely smart, so she earned pocket money by herself. It was to the extent that the director sent her out on purpose to earn money. Then, she was caught by the police a few times before catching the eyes of the nobles, and she ended up studying."

"The police?"

"I heard she had committed theft, but there was no record of what was stolen. There were no victims either."

"Aren't there any people she was close to at Brewe Academy? Like a teacher who particularly influenced her?"

"I heard that she was friends with Kristin Marjoram until they entered the Academy. Also, Vasily Marjoram often took her downtown, and bought her clothes among other things. At the Academy, she was called a 'parasite commoner' by the other students because of that."

"What?"

"It seems that she was ostracized, but since they were only interested in studying, they didn't have much interest in bullying her. So, they just called her a parasite, and ignored her."

What an absurd story. No matter how immature you are, how can someone express their inferiority like that? Listening to this somehow gave him heartburn. However, that wasn't what Carus was curious about.

"Has she ever visited the Baikan Empire?"

"Uh? No. I bet she has never left Ortega before."

"There might have been a person from Baikan that she was close to, or maybe she worked with powerful people while she was sponsored by the Marquis of Marjoram."

"None of that. Well... it's true that the Marquis may have ordered her to do this and that, but there's no way he would have entrusted really important information to a commoner orphan."

"Then, how does this woman know so much about me?"

Carus said as he threw the Emperor's order in his hand onto the desk. It was something he did out of frustration, but Maxwell, who was startled, stroked in chest in surprise.

"What's with you? The one at fault is His Majesty the Emperor, so why are you taking it out on the innocent Yulia?"

"Yulia knew that His Majesty would give me this order."

"Uh? What does that mean?"

"That's why she said those things. She doesn't need evidence. We'll find out when the time comes."

"No... it's not possible. It's not like she is some kind of prophet."

"It bothers me."

Carus swept up his hair with one hand. His black hair, which had grown to cover half of his face, slipped through his fingers and flowed down.

'Should I kill her?', bloodthirst lingered in his cold, hardened eyes for a fleeting moment.

Carus didn't like uncertainty. He didn't like things that were uncertain and dangerous even more.

Yulia was an uncertain and dangerous woman. Had she not saved their lives, he would have already ordered to have her killed or captured.

"Maxwell."

"Yes."

"Do more research. If you can, dig up her childhood."

"I will try. Don't expect too much though. It was a long time ago, and not much is known about her because she came from an orphanage."

Carus rolled up his sleeves up to his elbows in frustration, and asked Maxwell.

"Where is Yulia’s room?"