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Two weeks ago, at the rear camp of the front line.

“Wh-what did you just say?”

Eulken, who had received orders from Duke Vert, momentarily doubted his ears.

“I said to prepare for war against the Demon Realm.”

It was closer to a one-sided notification than an order.

“May I ask what reason you have for issuing such an order?”

“……”

Despite Eulken’s question, the Duke remained silent.

Is it that he doesn’t want to explain? Or is there no need to explain?

Knights who have lived on the battlefield for decades tend to trust and rely more on their comrades and superiors with whom they’ve shed blood, rather than their own families or children.

For Eulken, Duke Vert was exactly that.

Even if he had to abandon his family, he had always followed and respected every decision and order from the Duke, willing to lay down his life for him.

But not this time.

A war against the Demon Realm?

This was definitely not an idea that would come from the mind of a lord he would follow to the death.

“Did Young Master Aschel suggest this?”

Not wanting to dwell on it, Eulken immediately pointed out the suspect.

“……”

“I don’t know what kind of conversation you had with the young master, but this is not right, my lord! War against the Demon Realm? This is an unforgivable act! Do you truly intend to turn this continent into a world of chaos?”

This was the first time.

Since being appointed as a knight at the front line, it was the first time Eulken opposed the Duke’s order.

Even if the Duke came up with some sort of explanation, he wouldn’t back down.

Eulken resolved this within himself.

“This is the first time. The first time you’ve opposed my order…”

The Duke looked at Eulken with a curious expression.

“Do you think other knights feel the same way?”

“With all due respect, I am certain they do.”

Eulken clenched his fists and expressed his conviction.

“Let me ask you one thing, Eulken.”

The Duke suddenly posed a question.

“Are you a knight who follows me?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Then, would you follow me even if I did something wrong?”

Eulken could not immediately answer that question.

“Can my previously expressed intentions serve as my answer?”

“So, you mean you won’t follow me.”

Eulken did not deny it.

“Then go and deliver this message.”

“Pardon?”

“Leave here and tell everyone that I am wrong.”

Eulken was momentarily stunned, unable to comprehend the words.

“If you truly cannot follow a misguided me, then you have no reason to stay here. So leave and immediately tell everyone that I am wrong.”

“To whom should I say this?”

The Duke paused for a moment.

“To the person you believe is right…”

* * *

“Is that the last order you received from your father?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Then why didn’t you leave right away and ended up getting caught?”

“I wanted to observe the situation a bit longer. Even without me, there are many knights who would oppose the Duke’s order. So I stayed to see how the person who made this absurd suggestion would sway the hearts of our knights.”

“So, did you see how their minds were changed?”

Eulken couldn’t immediately respond and bit his lip.

“Bewitchment…”

The mention of bewitchment made me naturally furrow my brows.

“I can only say that they were simply bewitched. Young Master Aschel, who appeared with the Duke, met with us one by one and looked into our eyes. That was the end of it. After that, the hearts of the knights changed as if by magic. Thus, preparations for the war against the Demon Realm continued.”

Their thoughts changed just by looking into his eyes?

It was the same as what happened to the knights who were manipulated by that woman, Haniel.

“The Lemea Gorge you know, Young Master Cyan, is not the same now. Through development and reclamation work, all the monsters living in the gorge were driven beyond it.”

They managed to drive all the monsters out of the gorge in such a short time?

They really go all out.

“Fearing something truly disastrous might happen if this continued, I finally decided to leave Velias. So I left the front line and headed for the city gate, but…”

“You got caught on the way?”

Eulken nodded.

“But now that I hear it, something seems strange. Didn’t you also look into his eyes? How come you’re completely fine?”

“That I don’t know either. Although I occasionally felt a pain like my head was splitting, my belief that the war against the Demon Realm was wrong did not change.”

Could it be that even the mysterious power of this bewitchment could not break the knight’s firm conviction?

Indeed, that might be why he was locked alone in a solitary cell, so he couldn’t influence others.

For now, it seemed reasonable to see it that way.

“I believe the Duke himself fell victim to Young Master Aschel’s mysterious power.”

“Why do you think so?”

“You know it yourself, don’t you? The Duke is not someone who would ever consider something like a conquest or war.”

I neither agreed nor disagreed with Eulken’s statement.

“Young Master Cyan, will you stop the Duke or rather, Young Master Aschel?”

Instead of answering, I simply nodded.

“In that case, please tell me what I should do.”

Eulken knelt on one knee and showed his knight’s vow to me.

“Didn’t you receive orders from my father?”

“Yes, but…”

“Then you should follow my father’s orders, not mine. Why are you asking me what to do?”

Speechless, Eulken’s mouth hung open.

“You are not my knight. You are clearly my father’s knight. I do not have the authority to give you orders.”

After a moment of hesitation, Eulken stood up again and bowed to me.

“Thank you for returning, Young Master.”

I felt a strange feeling for a moment.

Was it because he was the first person to welcome me upon my return here?

It didn’t feel entirely bad.

I left Eulken’s treatment to the other knights and attendants who arrived shortly after and then left the room.

Having roughly settled everything, it was time to head to my original destination.

My next steps led me to the highest floor of the mansion.

To my father’s study.

Father rarely entered this room, maybe less than five times a year.

Naturally so, since he spent most of his time on the front lines.

Thus, this room, like mine, was a space untouched by human hands.

That’s why I came here.

-Click

As I turned the dusty doorknob and entered, an air of emptiness greeted me.

The interior wasn’t much different from any other noble patriarch’s room.

A desk for work, bookshelves filled to the brim behind it, various weapons, and armor decorations.

Come to think of it, it was exactly ten years ago.

After a duel with Cranz, my father called me to this room where I made the bold statement that I wanted to go to the front lines.

My view of my father hasn’t changed much since then.

A stubborn man.

A man who bore the duty of protection, which no one forced upon him, and wished his children would fulfill that duty too.

Yet a man without the slightest desire for power.

A man who only desired peace for the continent.

That was my father, Willius Vert.

-Swipe

I ran my hand across my father’s desk as if flowing like water.

It wasn’t dusty.

Unlike my room, it meant this place was cleaned periodically.

My body naturally moved from the desk to the chair and then pulled it out.

Then, very naturally,

“……”

I sat in my father’s seat.

I didn’t particularly intend to do this, but the moment I stepped into this room, my body moved on its own.

How does it feel?

Heavy.

I felt as if something invisible was pressing down on me from above as I sat in the chair.

It felt like the weight of the responsibility to protect something.

A fate borne by someone who had to protect not just a few, but the entire country, the entire continent.

It felt like I was only now feeling the weight of the duty that my father had borne, who wanted to protect the continent.

To think that such a steadfast man with such strong convictions could be swayed by some mysterious power into being unable to make sound judgments.

As his son, I was at a loss on how to judge this.

[It suits you quite well.]

Kaeram, who wouldn’t just watch quietly, reappeared in a solid form.

She perched on the desk, crossing her legs seductively, looking as if she belonged there.

[Why? Do you now have a desire to sit in that seat?]

“Not a chance.”

A burden like this seat is something I absolutely reject.

“Time to talk.”

[About what?]

“What is a witch?”

Kaeram smiled as if she had been waiting for that question.

[You waited until now to ask?]

“I knew you’d draw it out, so there was no need to ask earlier.”

[Oh my? Have you become an expert in understanding a woman’s mind?]

She patted my head, as if genuinely proud of me.

Unintentionally, my face twisted in reaction.

[In truth, they are not much different from you. They have the same body structure, the same lifespan, and the same emotions. They are the same humans, except for one thing…]

I held my breath, waiting for her words.

[The ability to enchant people, perhaps?]

“Are you talking about the power of bewitchment?”

[Well, I don’t call it by such a clinging name, but it’s something similar. They were quite notorious even in the era I existed.]

I had a feeling it wasn’t for good reasons.

[Though it’s odd for me to say this, if the wielder of the Holy Sword is really of her bloodline, as that woman said, you’re in for a rough time, master.]

“Are you saying what I’ve been through so far hasn’t been rough?”

[It could be much worse. Most men enchanted by her end up…]

“End up?”

[Creating havoc somewhere!]

-BOOM-

As Kaeram was speaking, a loud thunderous sound suddenly came from outside.

I stopped listening and hurried to the window.

Dark clouds had suddenly spread across the previously clear sky, and lightning was striking the ground.

It wasn’t a natural phenomenon.

That lightning was clearly created by magic.

Judging the direction, it had to be…

“The Boundary Gate?”

It was the only route into the front line region and where the princess’s delegation was currently stationed.

I didn’t know exactly what had happened, but my mind was already giving me clear orders on what I needed to do.

Run there immediately.

———