Chapter 25: CH 24

“I think we’ve reached a conclusion, so let’s end the hearing.”

At Cedric’s words, everyone turned towards the exit of the auditorium.

Except for Ciel who couldn’t come to her senses for about 3 seconds.

“Wait! please wait a moment! Your Majesty!”

But Cedric walked up to the throne again without looking back, and I stood in front of the stairs below the podium and shouted.

“Your Majesty, wait a minute, I’m telling you…”

Only then did he look back. He was smiling softly.

“I won’t take any objections.”

“Your Majesty!”

But even after screaming, Cedric didn’t seem to want to listen to me.

Smiling at me while looking down from the podium, he turned around and disappeared through the door behind.

Soon, I was the only one left in the auditorium room, staring blankly at the door.

✤

“I’ve been teaching you sincerely for eight years, but how could you repay your teacher’s kindness in this way?”

Huffing and muttering toward the tightly closed red door.

After Cedric disappeared behind the podium, I immediately went to his office to file an appeal and suggestion regarding this unfair treatment.

However, the office, where I used to normally enter without much difficulty, was firmly locked.

I called out to him several times and asked to let me in, but Cedric refused to answer.

Usually, when I come, he leaves the door wide open as if begging me to come in.

“Argh, really!!”

Ciel groaned and sat down in front of the office.

If it won’t open right now, she could just wait until it opens.

‘Day and night, I would wait until the end.’

The office doesn’t have a door connected to another place anyway.

If I wait here, the door would surely open by the end of the day, and when I see Cedric’s face, I would suggest 37 reasons why this contract felt unfair.

‘I shouldn’t have been deceived into saying you were cute back then…’

I believed Cedric when he said that the act of kissing the ring meant a promise.

I thought that this world had a slightly different custom from my previous life, and I foolishly thought that it was the same thing as hanging a pinkie.

Later, when I found out that the little finger was also used to make a promise here, I thought it was a custom of the imperial family to kiss the ring to keep the promise.

‘Whether it was an oath or something strange, really…’

Ciel frowned as she looked at her face reflected in the armor.

Now I won’t be able to retire because of this, and how could I enjoy my extra life?

‘What should I do?’

There seems to be no sign of war yet, but no one knows when it will happen.

I tried to connect Cedric with Persephine, but he never listened to me.

My plan to prevent the war by Persephine to Cedric failed, all because of Cedric who ignores me every time I talk about her, he didn’t even listen to me.

If Cedric turns his attention to Persephine at some point, it would be the same as the original bad ending.

‘If the contract is really extended in that situation…’

Ciel sighed out of frustration thinking of the original ending.

She already had the best candidate to hand over the knight’s commander position and made preparations for retirement, but she never imagined that she would get caught in this way.

I scratched my cheek in anger, but the cheek with the pattern turned red, and the pattern showed no signs of being erased.

Eventually I gave up and squatted, staring blankly at the ceiling.

‘Was this how Hwang Hui felt when King Sejong captured him?’

At this rate, whether we lose the war or die, I’d be separated from the Imperial Palace for the rest of my life.

King Sejong, when I saw the 10,000 won bill, I thought you were amazing, but I don’t think this was right.

Just as I was taking a deep breath while contemplating all sorts of random thoughts, I heard someone running in a hurry from the end of the hallway.

‘What?’

The moment I turned my head, a huge, unknown creature attacked me.

At that moment when I was unconscious from the tremendous shock I had collided with, I heard an urgent cry filled with tears.

“Commander, commander!”

“Commander, make up your mind!”

Only then did I see two young knights holding my arm one by one with tearful eyes as the focus of my eyes returned.

“Mika! Sera! I told you not to run in the hallway!”

Then James and Hillac came running, breathing heavily.

Instead of listening to James and Hillac scolding, however, Mika clung more to my arms and began to cry.

“Oh, Commander, are you really retiring? I’m barely used to this place, how could you leave already?”

I’m just getting used to this place, how can you leave already?”

Mika, who turned 14 years old this year, cried and clung as if the world had fallen.

“Wait, how did you know that?”

It has yet to be announced to other members of the Knights except for Lord Turka, whom I was forced to inform of my retirement due to the takeover issue.

I didn’t expect that the knights would cry and make a fuss about my retirement, but I was worried that there might be people who would be shaken by my retirement, so I decided to hide it until the very end.

“Everybody in the palace knows that you’re about to retire! Comm, you’re so mean. How could you not say a word to us?”

Sera said, with her eyes about to overflow with tears.

Then in the end, she couldn’t hold back her tears, so she hugged my arm and wept.

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“You’re a liar! You said you’d keep an eye on me until I became the Commander of the Knights!”

“That’s right! You told me you’d watch me until I could use the dragon winged blade!”

Eventually, the 14- and 17-year-olds on both sides of my arms started weeping, tears and snot dripping down on my armor.

Although they look small and young on the outside, these children are the ones who broke through the walls of the Imperial Knights at the age of ten.

Their strength was no joke, and their stamina was not ordinary.

‘They are really loud…!’

And apart from that, maybe because their voices were so loud, when they started to cry at the same time, both my ears hurt.

Soon, people began to search for the source of the wailing sound and began to gather in the hallway.

“Oh, wasn’t that the Commander of the Minerva?”

“Yes, that’s right. Why are you sitting in front of His Majesty’s office?”

“They’re crying in her arms, aren’t they a member of the Imperial Knights?”

“Oh, my. She must be here to make suggestions.”

Embarrassed as more and more crowds rushed in along with the noise of people talking, I hurriedly patted Sera and Mika on the back.

“Hey guys, wait a minute, just calm down and be quiet-”

However, the teenage knights who cried as if the world had already collapsed seemed unable to hear me.

“Commander, don’t go… who-… You’re the only one who could roll us properly!”

“That’s right, who else would whip us… huh!”

People began to shout at the highly misleading remarks.

Mika and Sera probably said that about the basic training I gave for the new knights.

“No, what the hell are you guys talking about in front of people!”

Ciel hurriedly covered Mika’s mouth and said, but couldn’t cover Shera’s mouth because Mika was clinging to her arm.

“But the commander was strong, you said we need to be beaten with a lot of rolled logs and whips!” (Sera)

“That’s a metaphor!”

“Stop! The Imperial Knights don’t cry outside. You should cry when you get home.” Ciel said while pounding on chest seeing the two young knights sniffling.

“But, commander… Ugh-”

It seemed almost impossible to appease Mika and Sera, who burst into tears again as if the faucet had broken.

She sighed and raised her head to ask James and Hillac, who were looking down and watching the scene.

“Are you here to stop me from retiring too?”

“No.”

When Hillac gave an immediate answer, James also nodded and added.

“We’re here to stand guard, Commander.”

“What? Stand guard?”

“Yes. To serve as a guard in His Majesty’s office.”

“…Don’t tell me that’s because of me?”

“You’re probably right, His Majesty said he was nervous that a beautiful silver-haired woman in armor would be knocking on the door of his office threateningly.” James answered in a nonchalant voice.

Cedric Deamant, you bastard.

‘When did I ever slap you threateningly…!’

At that moment, while Ciel grinded her teeth inevitably, Hillac carefully spoke.

“But, Commander. Of course, I’m sorry to hear that, but wouldn’t it be better to just let it go and renew the contract?”

“What?”

“No, I’m telling you because I’m really worried, so please don’t stare at me like you’re going to kill you…” Hillac said as he waved his hands and took a step back.

“I feel the same way as Hillac. If you signed the oath, there would be no way to avoid renewing your contract.”

James crossed his arms and put his finger to his chin and spoke.

“No, what the hell was an oath? Do you know how to remove this pattern?”

“Oh, I don’t know that either. I just heard that there’s no way to break an oath…”

When James scratched his head awkwardly, Hillac raised his hand and spoke.

“Maybe that’s it. The pattern was red right now. If you don’t keep your promise, the pattern turns black.”

“What happens then?”

“Once it turns black, the pattern won’t be erased. And people would think that the commander was a person who broke an important promise with the imperial family.”

Listening to Hillac’s story, I felt chills in the back of my neck for a moment.

The idea that it was a pattern that would never be erased rang deeply in my mind.

‘Wasn’t this crazy bastard faking it? fooling around thinking that he could leave his mark forever?’

It’s been almost a decade since I remembered the original, and I couldn’t remember how Cedric became obsessed with Persephine.

Still, I only remember that most of the obsessive male protagonists I saw in novels in my previous life liked to leave traces of their own on the other person, and that the more the traces lasted, the crazier they became.

“Commander, I’m telling you the truth, but if your having a hard time because of work, we’ll split it up, so just give up and-”

Just then, the door to the office opened wide with a squeaking sound.

With the familiar sound of footsteps walking out from the door, a handsome black-haired man appeared.

“Hey, sorry for the funny conversation.” Cedric said with twinkling red eyes.

“Commander Minerva, I’d like you to come inside so we could talk.”

“Your Majesty.”

Ciel jumped up from her seat and looked at his firm red eyes and answered.

Then she smiled and said in a gentle, meaningful tone.

“I have something to say about the new contract.”

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