Sigrid

“You don’t look fine at all. Come to think of it, you were like this before when you met His Majesty too.”

His eyes fixed intently on her. It was as if Sigrid’s aura was telling him something. Unable to meet Beramund’s gaze, she stared at the table as Mary brought in the tea.

Though Mary noticed the strange atmosphere, she didn’t show it. After setting out the tea service, she bowed politely and withdrew. Sigrid just stared at her teacup. Seeing her like this, Beramund reached for the teapot and filled Sigrid’s cup.

“Ah, I’ll—”

As she looked up in surprise and reached out her hand, Beramund stopped her and filled his own cup, saying:

“It’s fine. I’m not such a bad person that I’d press you when you have that kind of expression. Though I do want to ask, honestly. Personally, I mean. It irritates me. The fact that I did something to make you make that face.”

Beramund set down the teapot and said:

“Drink.”

“Ah, yes, yes.”

Sigrid picked up her cup. As she sipped the warm tea, her tension eased. Inhaling the fragrant aroma deeply, Sigrid let out a long sigh.

“Can I ask you something else?”

“What is it?”

“Are you afraid of His Majesty?”

At those words, Sigrid stared blankly at Beramund. There was no trace of a smile on his face, and it didn’t seem like he was joking. She thought to herself.

Am I afraid of His Majesty?

She repeated it in her mind several times. Am I afraid of His Majesty? Is there a reason to be afraid?

While Sigrid remained silent, Beramund patiently waited for an answer.

After a long while, Sigrid finally gave her response.

“No.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

As she answered, she smiled.

There was no reason to be afraid of Emperor Yuri, of His Majesty.

He can no longer betray her now.

That torture, that false accusation, that utter neglect, her own screams, the cold underground prison, the red-hot branding iron, the flesh-tearing whip—

None of it will happen again.

Sigrid now saw clearly why she didn’t want to meet His Majesty. The only person from the past, from before she returned, who had been closest to her. The only person who knew her well. No, the person she thought knew her well but didn’t really know her at all.

She was afraid of meeting that person. It felt like facing the past made real.

That was it.

She had been afraid.

But as soon as she realized that “fear” was her emotion, she also remembered the reasons why she no longer needed to fear him.

“Thank you.”

At her words, Beramund asked, “For what?” Sigrid smiled, showing her neat teeth.

“Just for everything.”

“If you’re grateful, go on a date with me sometime.”

“If you’d like.”

Sigrid’s casual response caught Beramund off guard.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Beramund’s face changed suspiciously.

“Do you know what a date is?”

“Isn’t it when a man and woman eat bread together, drink tea, and talk and such?”

“…Well, that’s part of it, but…”

While that’s true, just defining it as that seems a bit lacking. But Beramund wasn’t one to let this opportunity slip by. He quickly seized the chance.

“Alright, then one date. Is that a promise?”

“Yes.”

Sigrid nodded. Beramund felt pleased yet somehow unsatisfied. He looked at Sigrid with a strange expression.

Just a moment ago, her face had been deathly pale—

‘I was really surprised.’

It was the same when she met His Majesty before. Sigrid suddenly vomited, which really startled him. How to put it? It felt like he had seen the other person’s weakness, their secret, head-on without wanting to.

He didn’t dislike it.

But at the same time, he was worried. What had that bastard emperor done to this woman? What had he done to this knight who seemed like she would never yield to anything?

Just thinking about it made his blood boil.

He liked seeing her walk with her head held high. Just watching her stride through the crowd majestically like a lion made him smile.

He liked how she strived to challenge him, and even how she occasionally bested him.

At this point, even Sigrid’s stubbornness seemed cute to him.

“Shall we go together?”

“Pardon?”

“To His Majesty, I mean. As your superior.”

Adding that last part, Sigrid considered for a moment before shaking her head.

“No, it’s alright.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m fine now.”

Sigrid said firmly. Beramund thought for a moment before nodding. In truth, he wanted to ask, ‘Are you going to side with His Majesty?’ But he knew well enough not to go that far. Beramund slowly rose from his seat.

“Well then, since we’re done talking, I suppose I’ll be going.”

“Beramund.”

“Yes?”

“So you really came because you were worried?”

“I told you, didn’t I?”

“I thought you were joking…”

Beramund chuckled, lightly rubbing the back of his neck as he said:

“It feels like a joke to me too.”

That puzzled expression on her face was cute as always. Beramund gazed intently into her large crimson eyes and said:

“Well, I’m off.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Don’t forget about our date.”

“Yes, please let me know the date and time you prefer.”

“Alright, when it gets a bit warmer.”

“Understood.”

Waving to Sigrid, who was seeing him off with proper etiquette, Beramund left her house.

‘Come to think of it, that gardener fellow isn’t around.’

While it was a relief not to see the guy who had been bothering him, he was also curious about what had happened.

‘Don’t worry about it.’

‘No, should I be worried?’ With these thoughts, Beramund took a deep breath. The cold air felt like it was freezing his lungs.

‘As if I don’t have enough to worry about…’

He could feel that things had changed after successfully resolving the western issue. Although the atmosphere was one of “let’s wait and see for now,” if the west cooperated with the Crown Prince, the nobles couldn’t just sit idle either.

Bringing in the west wasn’t entirely good. It could cause talk among the conservative nobles. But if they could skillfully portray the “troublesome” west as being cooperative, it might gain support.

‘In other words, I don’t have to worry about when His Majesty will have my head anymore.’

Conversely, the Emperor’s checks against the Crown Prince were intensifying. Thinking of the paranoid, irritable, yet capable Emperor made his heart heavy.

He also remembered the young boy who used to tremble in fear, wondering when his father would kill him. When Beramund first met Serios, relations between House Lunatil and the Imperial Family weren’t good.

It was practically the same as entrusting the prince to House Lunatil as a hostage.

Plus, there was a new Empress.

Serios’s stepmother, the Empress, had a son.

‘Though he’s a scoundrel.’

He was just under half Serios’s age, so he wasn’t a threat to the Crown Prince. Still, since the Empress was his mother, he couldn’t be ignored. Moreover, he had the Emperor’s favor.

‘But Erial is pregnant.’

If Erial gives birth to a son, the atmosphere would change.

‘Maybe I should have just asked after all. No, it’s fine. Beramund, you can’t force Siri’s actions.’

Exhaling a white breath, Beramund kicked his horse’s flank to increase speed.

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

Sigrid stood ramrod straight.

Once again, she looked down at her attire. Her navy blue uniform coat was neatly pressed, showing no trace of mud. The gold buttons shone brightly, and her boots were polished enough to see her reflection.

While she wasn’t scared anymore, it would be a lie to say she wasn’t nervous. The audience chamber was a very familiar place. She had always stood there, by His Majesty’s side.

But not anymore.

“Lady Ankertna, please enter.”

The attendant spoke quietly as he opened the door. Sigrid carefully stepped onto the red carpet inside.

“Ah, Lady Ankertna. Do come in.”

“I have come before Your Imperial Majesty.”

As Sigrid knelt and greeted him, the Emperor approached and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Rise. I can’t have a master kneeling like this.”

“I am humbled.”

Sigrid carefully stood up. The audience chamber she was in wasn’t the one with the throne, but a more intimate space with a salon-like atmosphere.

Standing up, Sigrid finally raised her head and looked at His Majesty’s face.

The face she saw clearly with unwavering eyes was exactly as she remembered. No, he might look a bit younger. Could there have been so much change in just five years?

The Emperor, in his mid-fifties, had graying hair and pale gray eyes. His sharp gaze was definitely similar to Serios’s. His thin face bore expression lines from frequent frowning. Though thin, his magnificent imperial robes ensured he never appeared frail.

“Is my face that interesting?”

At Emperor Yuri’s question, Sigrid hurriedly bowed her head.

“I beg your pardon, Your Majesty. Please forgive me.”

“No, it’s fine. I won’t say anything just because you looked at my face. It’s better than collapsing like last time.”

“I am sorry…”

“Don’t be.”

The Emperor let out a hearty laugh as he reassured her.

In the past, she might have thought, ‘As expected, our Emperor is a great man.’ But hearing it now, it sounded artificial. Stopping his laughter, the Emperor looked at the bowing female knight.

A commoner with such ability.

“I hear you achieved remarkable feats in the west.”

“It was all thanks to everyone’s help.”

“No, I’ve heard what you did. To think such a capable person has been hidden until now. You are a divine gift to our Bahanat Empire.”

“I am honored.”

Sigrid bowed her head even deeper.

She was surprised at herself. In the past, hearing such words would have brought tears to her eyes. She would have trembled with joy, tears flowing at the fact that His Majesty recognized her—

‘I feel nothing.’

It was strange no matter how she thought about it. As if her feelings for His Majesty had vanished in an instant. Until recently, her heart would have pounded just thinking about him, and she didn’t want to meet him.

Now she felt nothing.

The Emperor patted her shoulder.

“So, I have a favor to ask of Sigrid. May I call you that?”

“Of course.”

“Lately, I’ve been thinking about the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Knights. I can’t understand how we’ve been wasting talents like yours all this time. Moreover, alarmingly—”

The Emperor’s voice lowered.

“There are rumors that some factions are not showing full loyalty to the Imperial Family. Surprisingly so.”

“Are there such disloyal factions?”

Her voice hardened involuntarily. The Emperor nodded deeply once.

“That’s why I’m planning to revive the Achtschwietz. As my personal guard, with the purpose of suppressing these disloyal elements.”

Sigrid was shocked. She raised her head without thinking, and the Emperor smiled.

“I want to call you as its first member. Will you be my sword?”

Sigrid was thrown into confusion.

Achtschwietz? There was no such organization before. There was no personal guard. Why had things changed like this?

She knew the future was changing, but it seemed like a real upheaval was happening.

“Your Majesty.”

Sigrid knelt down. Her heart was racing madly. Licking her parched lips, she spoke:

“Such a duty is far too heavy for me. Please withdraw your order.”

“Whether it’s heavy or not is for me to decide.”

“My background would only bring shame to Your Majesty.”

“I will grant you a title. No, even without that, as long as I’m here, as long as you’re part of the Achtschwietz, no one would dare say such things.”

“I… I cannot shoulder such a great responsibility.”

As she spoke again in a strong tone, silence fell over the audience chamber. Sigrid struggled not to pant.

What if His Majesty throws me in the underground prison?

Sigrid clenched her fists. Such a thing won’t happen. It won’t. She repeated this to herself several times. The silence continued, feeling oppressively heavy.

Sigrid thought her own breathing sounded grating. After a long time, the Emperor spoke.

“Is that so…”

“I am sorry.”

“Then I shall give you a different task.”

“I await your command.”

“For the time being, take charge of guarding the Third Prince. You can do that much, can’t you? You are in the Imperial Guard after all.”

“I shall obey your command.”

“Good, you may go.”

“Long live Your Majesty.”

Leaving these words, Sigrid left the audience chamber. Her heart was still pounding.

‘Somehow, I think I managed to get through that well.’

She thought this as she let out a long sigh.

‘Guarding the Third Prince…’

Sigrid had heard plenty about the Third Prince’s notoriety through the Imperial Guard members. So this was likely a sort of punitive assignment.

She didn’t want to think of it that way, but it was. She didn’t know whether to be happy or sad to see the person she had served in the past, the one she had thrown everything away to serve, from such a detached perspective now.

After standing in the waiting room for a while, she left, and many people waiting for an audience turned their attention to her. Seeing her Imperial Guard uniform and silver hair, people quickly recognized who she was.

“Isn’t that Lady Ankertna?”

“Oh, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Sigrid cut off the greetings of people approaching to introduce themselves, almost to the point of rudeness, and quickly left the second waiting room. She could hear people saying “How arrogant” behind her, but she didn’t pay much attention.

As she was walking quickly through the corridor, someone suddenly popped out from around a corner.

“Hello.”

Seeing Beramund’s grinning face, Sigrid was truly surprised.