episode_0059

As Christie leaves her office, two soldiers wearing helmets decorated with golden feathers are waiting for her.

Among the soldiers from the East, they must have been members of the Imperial Guard, who were extremely loyal and had ideologies that suited the commander’s taste. They were covered by helmets so that their expressions were unreadable, and they unfolded a sack before Christie’s eyes.

“… … … ?”

What the heck, Christie raised her eyebrows, staring through the T-shaped slit in his helmet.

“Please put your belongings in. This includes metal accessories.”

The soldier said. Christie glanced at the soldier, then nodded slowly and began to rummage through her uniform pockets.

“This measure applies to all personnel. Please cooperate. ”

Another soldier nearby added:

“… We’re cooperating right now. What’s been going on lately, Commander?”

“I didn’t really complain,” Christie said, undoing her belt and rolling it up into a bag.

“We only follow the instructions given.”

The soldier answered dryly.

“You don’t want to talk? Or did you also get instructions to keep your mouth shut?”

Christie didn’t like their arrogant attitude. She now threw up her hands as if there was nothing left.

“Excuse me.”

This time they clearly ignored the words of their superiors. The soldier holding the sack took a step back, and another soldier began to grope Christie’s body here and there.

If there had been some kind of assassination attempt while she was imprisoned, the prince or Chloe would have told her. Although Uriel was originally a suspicious person by nature, she had also been calm about death, so the fact that she had begun to take such paranoid measures suggested that something had changed in her psychology.

‘I’ve become more and more attached to life. I’ve come to know the sweet taste of power.’

“Ugh… … !”

The soldier who had been walking down her legs and groping her ankles got up from his seat and suddenly put his hand deep inside Christie’s pants.

“… You need to cut your fingernails. Are you really not going to tell me what happened? ”

At this point, Christie became genuinely curious. Had there ever been a case where someone was caught trying to sneak something into a ‘place like that’?

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

The soldier pulled his hand away, took a handkerchief from his waistband, and wiped his third and fourth fingers.

Christie walked and walked down the long palace hallway until she reached the commander’s office. Before knocking on the door, she glanced back at the guardsmen who had been following her.

“I’ll be waiting. Your belongings will be returned to you once your business is over.”

In response to the soldier’s words, Christie turned her head without saying anything and knocked softly on the door of the office.

“Come in.”

Christie carefully opened the door at the sound of a voice coming from beyond and took a big step into the office.

“Christie Juarron, greetings.”

“Enough with the pretense. Let’s get straight to the point.”

Uriel’s characteristically husky voice echoed throughout the office. Behind the commander, who was sitting cross-legged on an ornate chair, a woman with light brown hair interspersed with blonde stood with an ominous smile in her eyes.

“… Yes, okay.”

Christie looked at her face with a suspicious look, which she was seeing for the first time, and then quickly turned her gaze back to Uriel.

“I see you’ve been researching various materials lately.”

“… … … !”

Christie’s eyes shook slightly at the words that Uriel blurted out while holding her chin.

“… You’ve been away for quite some time. Isn’t it a bit overwhelming to get back to work?”

The mouth is smiling, but the commander’s eyes are sharp as if they are piercing into Christie’s soul. Christie lifts her heels once in a relaxed posture and clears her throat before answering.

“Hmm, hmm. The mission given to me is to help you, Commander, with my humble talents. I was checking the stability of the military organization and investigating any potential threats within the organization.”

“Marianne, give it back to me.”

After hearing Christie’s answer, Uriel nodded once and then gave instructions to the woman standing behind her.

“Yes, Commander.”

The woman named Marian picked up some papers from the desk and handed them to the commander.

“… Okay. What do you think of the research? I’d like to hear a brief summary report. ”

Uriel, who was reading the documents with his eyes, looked at Christie and said.

Perhaps that document was a record of a request to view internal documents. Christie could guess it without difficulty. That would be the case, since she was the one who proposed the reform of the military’s internal document management system. Now Uriel knew exactly what Christie had been looking at for the past few days.

But this was also within the scope of her assumptions, and the task of finding an accomplice to bring down Uriel and discovering a potential threat within the organization were, if you look closely, in the same context.

“Good. The military is currently more tightly knit than ever thanks to the strict personnel selection process. There are subtle tensions between the soldiers from the former Eastern Garrison and the soldiers from other regions who have newly joined the organization, but the conflict is not severe enough to be called a faction yet.”

“I think that can’t be helped. From my perspective, it’s only natural that those who have been together on the same battlefield for a long time feel more comfortable and trustworthy.”

Uriel said, tapping the armrest with his fingers.

“Yes, so far it still seems like a positive competition.”

It was bad news for her personally, though.

“The next threat to expect would be those plotting rebellion outside the capital, such as former Chamberlain Ferrel Dice, who kidnapped the Crown Prince and whose whereabouts are still unknown.”

Christie said.

“After killing and killing so many people, do you think there are still people like that left?”

This time, Uriel asks questions without taking her eyes off the documents.

“If even a small spark remains, there is a possibility that it could spread into a large fire.”

There had to be a glimmer of hope somewhere, Christie thought.

“And also, the internal conflict of the Arshul family surrounding the succession to the throne is also noteworthy. Their perception of our military, which suddenly turned the royal family’s mood around… … ”

Since she probably knew what she was investigating anyway, Christie decided to boldly reveal the new information she had found out without hiding anything. But then, Uriel smiled faintly and lifted the hand that was resting her chin on as if to say that was enough.

“… … .”

Christie stops explaining the commander’s actions and stands upright.

“What do you think? Is it just as I said?”

Uriel turned and asked the woman named Marian.

“Honestly, I’m surprised. You have good subordinates.”

Marian answered with a bright smile, then raised her head, took a step forward, and held out her hand to Christie.

“Sorry for the late introduction. My name is Marian Duzan.”

“As I mentioned earlier, my name is Christie Juaron.”

Christie concluded that this person was also a member of the SS, judging by the golden plume on her uniform and the surname Dujan. Christie gently took Marian’s hand.

“Today is my first time in the capital, as I’ve been dealing with various matters left in the eastern region while the Commander stabilized the capital. I look forward to the days we’ll be together in the future.”

It seemed understandable why her name had sounded unfamiliar. She was a woman who gave off an inexplicable sense of unease, but Christie kept her expression indifferent so that such feelings would not show on her face.

“The reason I wanted to see you in person today is not only because I wanted to introduce you to Marian, but also because I have some other instructions to give you. Since it is in line with the work you have been working on, I expect you to handle it smoothly.”

As Uriel said that, he picked up the teacup and drank the cold tea in one gulp.

“Just give me the order. I will follow your orders.”

***

As Christie returns to her study and opens the door, the prince jumps up from his seat and greets her with a big smile.

“Juaron! I’m glad you’re safe!”

Christie frowned and pushed him away as politely as she could with her hand as he rushed to hug her. Then, she felt a sharp gaze glaring at her from somewhere in the office, and when she turned around, she saw Owen, the prince’s aide, with a fierce expression on his face.

“What was your business? You didn’t mean to arouse suspicion or anything, did you?”

Chloe couldn’t hold back her curiosity and asked. Christie strode over to her chair, sat down, and crossed her long, slender legs.

“That’s right.”

The prince and Chloe’s eyes widen at Christie’s words.

“What? What should I do!”

“That, is that true?”

“The commander is suspicious of everything right now. It’s not just me, but I think he’s watching every move of almost all of his subordinates. But you should know that I’m not stupid enough to let this plan be discovered.”

Chloe let out a sigh of relief when she realized there was no need to worry about her neck being cut off any time soon.

“I’m so glad… . I was worried that something might go wrong before we could even get married.”

The prince said, holding Christie’s hand tightly.

“Prince! Food? You shouldn’t say such things lightly!”

Owen shouted. It was in the language of a neighboring country, but Christie had no trouble understanding what he meant.

“Why? I can’t even choose my own spouse, right?”

The prince glared at Owen and shouted, his native accent sounding a bit harsher than when he spoke the language of the country.

“As a prince of a country, you must properly understand the authority that comes with your status. And I have the responsibility to guide the prince to marry the right woman… .”

“Ah, okay. Okay! Owen! Shh, that’s it! Sorry, Juaron. Owen nags a little too much sometimes… .”

The prince said with an apologetic expression. Christie nodded with a faint smile, then quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, Chloe. You said you were from the Eastern Garrison?”

“Yeah? That’s how it used to be. That’s where my hometown was. And then I ended up working in the capital. That was before my brother married Uriel.”

Chloe, who had a bewildered expression as a foreign language she couldn’t understand flashed before her eyes, scratched her head and said.

“Then…. Do you know about someone named Marian?”

“Marian? Marian… … . Well. Hey, wait. Marian?!”

Chloe leaned over to the papers on the table as if something had occurred to her.

“I saw it on the Arshul royal family tree! Look at this. Here! ”