Chapter 028: The Sage, the Sword Master, and the Empress (2)
As soon as the middle-aged man made his declaration, Ness was the first to spring forward, dropping to one knee before the woman.
“I greet Lady Adeline Conwell—!”
I hadn’t realized the guy was this agile.
Following his lead, every Kingdom native in the room knelt on one knee and echoed in unison.
“I greet Lady Adeline Conwell.”
Would Roxley have known?
That his hideout, reeking so blatantly of villainy, would one day resound with such solemn reverence.
“Rise.”
The middle-aged man handled everything from start to finish.
Looking again, the woman was slowly approaching me.
“L-Lady Adeline, what brings you here unannounced…”
Ness couldn’t finish his sentence.
The woman called Adeline ignored him and passed right by.
It was so awkward I felt my face flush with secondhand embarrassment.
But then…
Step, step.
‘Uh…?’
This woman was heading straight for me.
‘…What’s this?’
No matter how recklessly I’d acted in this Kingdom, disregarding rank and status, I always picked my targets carefully.
I wasn’t some reckless fool.
‘Adeline Conwell.’
I repeated her name to myself.
In the Empire, the surnames of powerful families matched the names of the territories they governed—a symbol of the Empire’s long history.
I’d learned in my past life that the Kingdom was similar.
In other words, the woman approaching me was likely the heiress of the Conwell family, rulers of the vast Conwell domain…
“…”
I straightened my stance, uncrossing my arms and clasping my hands behind my waist. I relaxed my glare as much as possible. I knew my manners.
As expected, Adeline Conwell stopped in front of me…
Rustle.
She removed her veil, revealing her bare face.
‘…’
For a fleeting moment, Hermann came to mind.
It was absurd and pathetic that I’d think of that guy, but as a man who’d burned his life for a woman, I couldn’t help it.
Let me stress, it was a very brief moment.
…Her beauty was enough to make his ideals understandable.
“Remarkable.”
Adeline Conwell’s first words.
I was just as surprised…
“Up close… you’re far younger than I expected.”
I couldn’t make heads or tails of what she was saying.
To collect my thoughts, I glanced around.
The first person I saw was Jewel, standing nearby, followed by Ness.
Both wore dumbfounded expressions, staring at me.
My own face probably wasn’t much different.
Finally, my gaze landed on the middle-aged man I assumed was a master, which snapped me back to attention.
“…What are you talking about out of the blue?”
“Oh, my apologies. I am Adeline Conwell, daughter of the Lord of Conwell.”
The way she condensed her lofty status into a single sentence was almost intimidating.
So I deliberately squared my shoulders.
“Bihen Benkou of the Empire. Eldest son of the Benkou family.”
“Bihen Benkou. I’ll remember that.”
What, an honor? I nearly raised my arm to scratch the back of my head.
Now that I looked…
Her face was so pale it redefined the color white.
It made her full, red lips stand out starkly.
‘Long eyelashes, slightly moist eyes, sharp inner corners, and drooping outer corners.’
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—Got it, Bihen? Women with these features are dangerous. Especially for you.
—Why especially me?
—When a woman like that approaches a fool like you, she’s definitely got an agenda.
Hard to give examples. Just memorize it.
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I shook my head to banish Hermann’s face.
Meanwhile, Adeline passed by me, heading toward the seat Ness had occupied.
A sweet scent brushed my nose.
“Sit.”
Adeline took the head sofa and addressed everyone.
By now, that seat was starting to feel symbolic to me.
The night belonged to Roxley, the dawn to Ness, and now, as morning approached, Adeline had claimed the throne.
“…”
Adeline silently surveyed the ‘vassals’ on either side.
Beyond her appearance, there was a certain dignity—grace, perhaps.
The middle-aged master standing behind her amplified her authority.
“…Canchester’s Roxley was one of the targets for punishment.”
Since I stood directly facing Adeline, I could see the Zephyros members lined up on either side.
Ness’s face, which moments ago had been fearless and arrogant, now seemed to say, ‘What’s this all of a sudden?’ It was a pity I couldn’t see Jewel’s expression, as she sat right in front of me.
“‘Kept under close watch’ would be more accurate. There were too many complications for me to intervene directly.”
I didn’t understand complex politics.
Still, I grasped that she’d been aware of the situation but couldn’t act freely due to circumstances.
‘…Ah.’
A memory flashed through my mind—words Janson had said back in Easton before coming here.
Don’t be silly. The Duke of Conwell probably doesn’t even know we exist.
I heard the daughter handles all the real work.
I heard it in passing.
There’s even a rumor she’ll inherit over the legitimate sons.
She’s not just brilliant—she’s supposedly a stunning beauty…
…I lowered my head, quietly covering my gaping mouth with my hand.
“I’ve shown an embarrassing side to an Imperial and I owe you a great debt, so I’ve noted your name today and intend to repay it in time.”
“No need to mention it.”
I answered, but my mind was in turmoil.
She spoke as if she’d been watching from the start, not just hearing rumors.
Creak.
At that moment, the door opened again.
“Oh no, my stomach’s acting up again… Man, this is bad, really bad. Ugh, getting old makes it hard to control.”
Muttering to himself, a pleasant-looking middle-aged man entered.
Aside from his neatly parted, shoulder-length hair swaying, he was an unremarkable, affable fellow.
“Whoops, sorry, sorry~ Let me through.”
Smiling warmly, he weaved through the standing crowd and reached Adeline’s side.
Now, with Adeline at the center, the masterly middle-aged man on her right and the short-haired man on her left formed a rather peculiar trio.
‘Hm.’
Taking advantage of the bustle caused by the short-haired man’s arrival, I quickly asked Jewel.
“Who are they, left and right?”
“Left is Sage Roland, right is Sword Master Eugene.”
…As expected. No wonder I’d felt uncharacteristically tense.
‘A Sword Master…’
In my past life, I’d searched in vain for a Sword Master, and now one stood before me.
Rather than awe, I felt a strange sense of deflation.
‘Would I have met one if I’d pushed further east back then?’
As I mulled it over, Eugene lowered his head, avoiding eye contact, and muttered softly.
“…No shame? People get more refined with age. Tsk.”
Clearly aimed at Roland.
Roland, who’d been all smiles, glared at Eugene with bloodshot eyes, even pointing over Adeline’s head.
“Hey, hey, hey… With all these people here, you have to talk like that…”
The three of them were single-handedly stirring, flipping, and dominating the room’s atmosphere.
Was this a common occurrence? Even so, Zephyros’s members all looked visibly tense.
Ness, in particular, seemed to be sweating nervously, glancing at Roland beside him.
“Both of you, enough.”
The Empress who’d quelled the rebellion in an instant took a breath and spoke again.
A heavy silence seemed to press down on time itself.
“Clear the room.”
Her stern voice gently wrapped around my ears.
Her gaze, directed at me, was the same.
“Everyone except Bihen Benkou.”
* * *
“Damn it…!”
As soon as Ness was ousted by Adeline’s order, he spat a curse.
Of course, he kept it low to avoid being overheard.
“What’s the Bride of the Rose doing here all of a sudden, damn it?”
“There was no report of the Lady visiting Canchester, Captain.”
“…You brainless idiots!”
Ness kicked his subordinate’s shin.
Ignoring the limping man, he glared at the door.
“Sir Ness? How should we interpret this situation?”
Jewel, arms crossed, tilted her head.
With things as they were, the sharp tension between them moments ago had vanished like a lie.
“…It’s like being struck by lightning on the road. The pie we’d baked is about to be snatched whole.”
He likened Canchester’s profits to a pie, speaking without restraint.
Even revealing his true colors so blatantly, no one looked at him strangely.
Jewel was different. Her lips briefly curled into a weary smile.
‘Adeline Conwell isn’t Zephyros’s leader?’
Jewelina had heard the rumors: with the aging, senile lord incapacitated, his daughter managed the domain’s affairs.
She was renowned for her wisdom and skill.
‘But a tragic lady, outranked by her half-brothers.’
It was her birth’s limitation.
No matter her talent, noble inheritance in the Empire or Kingdom prioritized the eldest son.
‘Unable to secure an official public role, she manipulates a secret organization from the shadows…’
The circumstances weren’t just plausible.
Jewelina Gunbel herself, who’d dug so thoroughly, hadn’t found a shred of evidence.
That the meticulously strategic heiress of the duke house, rumored to be a mastermind, was the veiled leader of Zephyros was practically confirmed by the lack of proof.
‘Hah.’
A subtle irritation surged.
Was it realizing she’d been barking up the wrong tree, or a sudden sense of defeat to the lady?
Her cold gaze snapped to Ness.
“She singled him out. Like her target was Young Master Bihen from the start.”
“Anyone could see that.”
“What’s her angle?”
“…I’m very curious myself, Miss Jewelina.”
His tone carried defiance, like someone plotting insubordination.
“Was the Gunbel Trading Company secretly in league with the Lady without my knowledge?”
Even after declaring a break, he still thought Bihen and Jewelina were in cahoots.
This moment revealed both Ness Servai’s stupidity and the true nature of Zephyros’s ties to Adeline Conwell.
“Would’ve been nice if that were true.”
Jewelina let out a scoff.