Chapter – 59
The man who suddenly appeared was none other than Avian.
Judging by the look of disbelief on his face, he’d clearly heard my last remark.
In an instant, he rode up to us, stopped his horse, and jumped down.
“…My Lady.”
Looking slightly confused, he glanced back and forth between me and Cesare.
“Captain?”
I looked at him nervously.
“What brings you to the Prelai estate?”
I hadn’t done anything wrong, but somehow it was impossible not to feel intimidated when unexpectedly facing the captain of the guard.
The Imperial Palace was in complete chaos right now, and the First Captain of the Guard was in terrible condition.
The other captains should have been busy handling the aftermath and investigating what had happened.
The fact that Avian had rushed all the way to the Prelai estate bothered me.
Surely House Prelai hasn’t somehow been framed for something…
As I blinked anxiously, Avian relaxed his expression and said,
“Oh, it’s nothing serious. Earlier, in Tulip Hall, didn’t we agree to share a dance?”
“We did.”
“Well, circumstances made it impossible for me to keep that promise, so I came personally to apologize.”
“…What?”
Did I hear that correctly?
An unexpected disaster happened and he couldn’t dance with me… so he rode all the way here just to apologize?
There was only one person that reminded me of.
“I’m sorry, Kiana! I’m sorry! You think Pip-Pip might belong to you, right? I’m sorry… It’s all my fault!”
This is totally Melissa.
Just looking at him suddenly irritated me.
My eyes narrowed automatically.
At that moment, Cesare subtly stepped in front of me, blocking my view of Avian.
“I see, Captain.”
Cesare smiled politely.
“You must be very busy, so perhaps you should be on your way.”
“…However…”
Avian simply moved a few steps to the side and deliberately re-entered my line of sight.
“Pardon me, but I couldn’t help overhearing something you said just now.”
“Hm?”
“The part about being fake lovers.”
At those words, Cesare’s expression visibly stiffened.
Good grief.
So he really had heard.
Apparently my voice had been much louder than I’d thought.
Loud enough to reach Avian’s ears while he was still on horseback.
“So the two of you… aren’t actually dating…?”
“Please keep it secret.”
Putting on an embarrassed expression, I pleaded pitifully.
“Unless you want to become the kind of trash who hands over the benefactor that helped you get revenge as a marriage candidate for that bastard Rodrigo.”
“…”
It seemed Avian understood the entire situation immediately.
After looking between me and Cesare, he smiled slightly.
“So that’s what was going on. I finally understand the situation.”
Then he nodded.
“Of course I’ll keep your secret.”
Cesare stared at him before speaking with obvious displeasure.
“You seem strangely happy about this, Captain. It’s irritating.”
“Ah…”
Avian scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“I’m not a captain anymore.”
For a moment, both Cesare and I simply stared at him.
Then Avian casually dropped another bombshell.
“I just submitted my resignation.”
Ah.
That made sense.
He’d already captured the criminal he’d been pursuing.
Joshua had predicted this possibility before.
Once Avian achieved his goal, there would be little reason for him to remain with the Guard.
As I nodded, Avian added gloomily,
“The Club House incident. Allford Harbor. Everything else…”
His face darkened.
“I’ve started to feel that the Guard is no longer doing its job properly.”
“What?”
“And Allyn Caelriff’s case as well…”
Biting his lower lip slightly, he continued,
“After I arrested him, Captain Nix immediately took custody of him.”
His voice lowered.
“And less than two hours later, Allyn Caelriff supposedly committed suicide.”
Ah.
So it had happened after all.
I’d specifically told Avian to bring him directly to the ducal estate for interrogation because I was afraid of exactly this outcome.
They called it suicide, but it was obvious.
Nix had likely killed him on Hiten’s orders to permanently silence him.
As I clicked my tongue in frustration, Avian continued bitterly.
“The truth is… I already knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That the Guard had stopped being devoted to its duties.”
His expression became complicated.
“That under the First Captain’s approval, everyone was gradually becoming complacent.”
He sighed.
“I’ve heard it wasn’t always like this.”
At those words, Cesare’s expression darkened dramatically.
He looked at Avian and asked quietly,
“Isn’t the Guard supposed to organize itself according to ability above all else?”
His voice became colder.
“If the First Captain approved of this behavior, why did the others simply obey?”
“Well… there were various political reasons.”
“The Guard is the only organization that abolished social barriers and allowed people to serve according to their abilities.”
For a moment, Cesare looked like a completely different person.
The man who usually seemed relaxed and playful now radiated cold anger.
It almost felt like an interrogation.
He spoke sharply.
“Then what exactly does it mean for the Guard to cite political reasons?”
“That’s…”
Avian faltered.
Like a child being scolded, he lowered his head.
“…Yes. It was wrong.”
Frustration filled his face.
“Regardless, I couldn’t remain in that organization any longer.”
His expression hardened.
“I no longer want to bow my head to an incompetent superior like Nix while pretending I can preserve the ideals the Guard has already abandoned.”
“…Ideals?”
“Yes.”
Avian smiled faintly.
“It’s true I joined the Guard because of my family’s circumstances.”
“But it’s also true that I admired the Guard since I was a child.”
I looked at him quietly.
Avian really was a far better person than either Joshua or me.
He hadn’t resigned simply because there was no reason to stay.
He’d left because of his principles.
This man genuinely cared about the Guard far more than I’d realized.
“Anyway, I’m glad to see you’re safe, My Lady.”
Avian smiled warmly at me.
“Then I wish you a good evening.”
He paused before mounting his horse.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
A mischievous smile appeared.
“Since I’m no longer a captain, feel free to use me for fake-boyfriend duties whenever you need.”
Then he politely bowed and rode off into the alleyway.
I shrugged and turned toward Cesare.
He looked distinctly unhappy.
After considering everything that had happened, I summarized the situation in a single sentence.
“The Empire really is a complete mess.”
“…”
“It even drives genuinely talented people out of the Guard and back home.”
Cesare said nothing.
But his face looked darker than ever.
Meanwhile, at the Imperial Palace
“Your Majesty.”
A visitor entered the Emperor’s sickroom.
It was Duke Scari of House Prelai.
As though the chaos at the banquet meant nothing, he’d just finished thoroughly crushing Duke Pervs before coming here.
The Emperor had urgently requested his presence.
“…Duke.”
The Emperor looked genuinely pleased to see him, though he lacked the strength to sit up.
Scari sat beside the bed and let out a deep sigh at the sight.
“I heard… Edgar appeared again.”
The Emperor spent most of his days drifting between agony and unconsciousness.
However, once rumors spread through the palace that the Crown Prince had appeared, he had briefly regained consciousness after receiving stimulants.
In fact, he’d previously instructed the royal physician to wake him immediately if anything similar happened.
“There is no proof, Your Majesty.”
Scari spoke objectively.
“No one saw the Crown Prince’s face, and the First Captain of the Guard was heavily intoxicated.”
“But…”
The Emperor’s voice trembled.
“The First Captain… was Edgar’s personal knight.”
“…”
“He was one of the members… of that picnic.”
“…”
Scari remained silent.
Looking at him with distant eyes, the Emperor murmured,
“It pains me greatly… that my son has reached a point where he cannot simply return openly.”
“…”
Scari silently agreed.
