episode_0171

It wasn’t until dinner time that the palace meeting, which was chaotic in itself, came to an end.

Originally, there would have been a sumptuous and exhausting banquet hosted by the royal family, but since the emperor and the 4th prince died at the same time, no banquet was held.

Thanks to this, I was able to return to the 1st Prince’s palace and enjoy a leisurely dinner without having to worry about others.

—-

Should we really call them royal family? The dinner served at the palace was nothing compared to the academy’s diet.

In addition to the tart topped with bacon, an imperial salad with pheasant meat, ham, and eggs.

The duck meat stir-fried with mushrooms and spices gave off an appetizing aroma, and the golden-brown lamb ribs were clean and free of any odor.

Even the cake and candied fruit that came out for dessert were all delicious.

Persval was also busy eating lamb ribs with a smile on his face.

I think it’s my first time seeing that guy smile. Do you like lamb?

There was a glass full of wine sitting next to him, but he didn’t even touch the drink, as if he had at least some sense.

Although I often looked at the wine glass with wistful eyes.

I’m glad. I was going to say something when a guy called an escort driver forgot his duties and tried to drink.

All of Prince Leopold’s official duties have been completed, but that only applies to him and does not mean that we can be released as well.

… I can’t drink it, but he’s the only one who can, so I’m not trying to criticize him. never.

‘Never serve alcohol to Princess Aishangior.’

It was Leopold’s strict command.

The servants in the emperor’s palace followed his words faithfully.

Thankfully, instead of a wine glass, there was only a water glass next to me.

No, I didn’t intend to drink it in the first place, but it’s not very pleasant to be treated so blatantly as alcohol poisoning.

What should I do? Since I’ve had a major accident, I can’t say anything about it.

“Is it delicious?”

“Yes? yes! Delicious. Thank you, Lord Median!”

Persval hastily swallowed the meat and saluted and shouted.

Did I hold the military discipline too tightly? ?

“What kind of gratitude is gratitude? It’s not even the food I give you. If I want to thank him, I should say it to His Majesty the Prince… . Anyway, I thought a knight worthy of becoming a member of the Royal Guard would eat this much often. It’s surprising.”

Aren’t people who become members of the imperial guard or royal guard usually guaranteed a certain level of status and skills?

Even so, there is a gap that cannot be compared to me.

I thought you’ve tried plenty of high-end food.

“That… Senior people are like that, but newbies like me are a bit different.”

Persval’s complexion darkened a little.

He put down the rib meat he was happily eating, drank a whole glass of water instead of alcohol, and let out a deep sigh.

“What is it? Why don’t you stop talking?”

“Phew… sorry. When I thought about it, I felt a little… . Once I joined the Royal Guard, the only food I could eat was half-dried rye bread.”

Rye bread?

Are you giving me that tasteless, dry bread? To the Empire’s elite knights?

“No, not even low-level soldiers, but the Royal Guard? Even on the battlefield, they wouldn’t eat like that.”

“Royal Guard’s… It’s a tradition. The seniors said it was to teach new knights order, discipline, and self-denial.”

… I’ve heard that a lot somewhere.

Persval was disgusted and broke into a cold sweat.

“Rye bread… ! The day I joined, I had to eat 40 pieces of that damn rye bread… . From then on, only rye bread was served for each meal. It’s been two months since I’ve tasted real meat like this… !”

“Uh… Is that so… ? Yes, eat a lot… .”

He even gently pushed me my share of meat.

The sight of him crying while looking at the meat is so pitiful.

… He ate like he was a glutton, and he always ate that kind of stuff. Poor thing.

Persval’s eyes were filled with emotion.

“Thank you! Lord Median!”

“Okay. what is it… I was sorry for denting the armor. It would take a while to fix that again.”

Since the armor is made of black iron, it will not return to its original state even if ordinary blacksmiths or servants beat it.

To repair it, you would have to leave it to craftsmen who know how to use black iron… .

Those talented people usually have a lot of work to do, so I don’t know if they’ll be willing to listen to a request to fix a slight dent in their armor.

“That’s okay! I have one more spare pair, so you can wear that. This damage is also a trace left by Lord Median himself, so it is something that other knights will envy!”

“Um… If that’s you, then there’s nothing more to say. okay. I’ll go see His Highness first, so you can eat your fill and rest for a while. You will have to guard His Majesty’s sleeping quarters, so you should get some rest beforehand.”

“Okay!”

I left Persval’s salute behind and left the restaurant.

—-

“The Royal Guard had such a tradition?”

“I guess you didn’t know?”

Leopold rested his chin and shook his head.

The Royal Guard’s knightly black bread must have been a shocking culture to him as well, as his pupils were trembling a little.

“If I had known sooner, I would have corrected it somehow. This is not a good thing for the morale of the new knights and in terms of maintaining their stamina.”

“It is a miracle that no disaster has occurred so far.”

Everyone is very patient.

If it were me, I would have done something a long time ago.

Either engage in a duel or sneak attack while the senior is wandering around alone.

Or you could secretly stab him in the back during battle.

“So, what about Sir Persval?”

“He seemed to feel a little better, and seeing as he even told me about his unit’s situation… , It didn’t seem like he had a deep personality.

In some ways, it was nothing more than a shame on his unit, but it wasn’t a complaint worth sharing with me, who was like an outsider and only worked with me.

The expression on his eyes that sparkled when he saw the meat was like that, and he was a very transparent guy, both outside and inside, and even to his brain.

He didn’t seem like the type of person who would be good at spying.

I don’t know if he has acting genius enough to fool even me… .

That’s right, I’m bothered by the fact that he openly started an argument without notice in the morning.

If his deceptively innocent-looking personality had been an act to lessen my guard, I would have behaved obediently in the morning in the first place.

“At least tonight, if it doesn’t cause any trouble… You can half believe it.”

“The other half is still suspicious?”

It sounds obvious.

“When he is released freely, we have not yet confirmed who he will come into contact with and what he will do. To find out, His Highness should give him some free time, rather than guarding him all day like today.”

Leopold nodded.

“I see… . In that case, Sir Persval will be in charge of the twelve hours from evening to morning, and the princess will be in charge of the remaining twelve hours. The princess and I will always stay here after dinner, so if anything happens, the princess can come to help right away.”

“That would be fine. As long as the room I will be staying in is not too far from His Majesty’s bedroom, there will be no problem.”

“But is it okay? For the princess, it’s not enough to work as a guard all day long, and it doesn’t mean she can’t sleep comfortably at night until she’s sure that Sir Persval is safe.”

If it were an ordinary person, it would be like that.

It’s a 24-hour shift, not a double shift, so no matter how physically strong someone is, would they be able to survive for three days?

It was natural for Leopold to be worried like that.

But actually, it wasn’t that difficult for me.

Not just not sleeping for three days, but preparing for an attack in the middle of the night.

“It’s not that difficult. Even if you are in a deep sleep, you can sense it right away.”

Even in the early days when I had not yet properly adapted to this body, that much was possible.

Because I woke up when I sensed the murderous actions of my subordinates who had come to ambush me.

Even though it was clear that they hid their lives as much as possible from others.

His body was that sensitive to murderous intent.

“Hmm. Hearing that, I feel like I’ve found a truly trustworthy escort. I feel relieved.”

Leopold smiled happily, as if he was relieved.

When did you say you would rather trust Isabella?

—-

The bedroom Leopold gave me was right next to his bedroom.

They say it was originally the room his younger sister, Eleonora, used.

They said that since I had left for Panam due to an arranged marriage, it was practically an empty room now, so I could stay there with peace of mind.

As it was the princess’s room, the interior was quite luxurious.

“Is it really okay to stay in this room?”

“There is no need to feel so burdened. I only left it there for old memories, and Eleonora never returned to this room.”

“Hmm… Well, if that’s the case, I’ll be grateful. It’s right next door, so it’ll be easy to deal with if something happens.”

I nodded my head moderately.

Even if something happens later, it’s not my responsibility.

If Eleonora were to come back, she might be angry at me for using my room as I wanted… Even if she gets angry, she will take it out on her brother.

After Leopold left, I spent the night leisurely enjoying the royal bedroom.

Both the bathroom and the bed were of the highest quality, so it was extremely comfortable.

After lying down on the bed for a while and enjoying the soft cushion… I ended up falling asleep.

That night, I didn’t wake up until the next morning, as if there were no uninvited visitors.