Chapter 60
60. Not Lovers?2022.03.27.
—Taylor Lorenson is not Reina Astalin’s lover. What the hell was going on? Kay paused his pen midway through writing the report, letting out troubled sighs now and then as he rubbed his bewildered face. He had nearly blurted out questions in his confusion. Not lovers? Not lovers? Before interviewing Reina Astalin. In other words, before beginning the questioning. Arthur had shared the key information with Kay for the meeting. Since it was for the purpose of recruitment, he had focused on her weaknesses or potential sore spots, hitting only the essentials. The possibility that she was struggling with financial difficulties. The possibility that she had health problems. And matters concerning Taylor Lorenson, son of the family physician Doctor Lorenson. Unlike the other issues, which he had glossed over briefly, Arthur had dwelt at unusual length on Taylor Lorenson. Taylor Lorenson. Her lover, and even the family physician Alvin Lorenson knew about it and seemed not to oppose his son’s relationship with her. ‘Reina’ had said she wanted to meet him first before making her decision, and the Marchioness had permitted their relationship as lovers, and returning to him was probably Reina’s ultimate goal. So, during the interview, keep in mind not to show any hint of opposing her contact with him. They would respect her choice and promise to let her meet Taylor unconditionally. If she wished, they would leave open the possibility of accommodating anything related to him to the maximum extent. Since she was a timid and cautious person, they needed to carefully gauge her intentions and respect her will……
“…….”
The moment Kay heard those words, he reflected on the fondness and trust ‘Reina’ had shown toward Arthur all this time and realized one unexpected fact. His Excellency hadn’t shared a bed with that woman since returning. That was why she had leaned so heavily on His Excellency, who kept his distance without touching her……
And His Excellency had…
“…….”
But it wasn’t true? Not even lovers, let alone fiancés? Where the hell had this error come from? His Excellency had never gotten information wrong before. Like Tristan, Kay had a vague sense of some supernatural ability Arthur possessed. Having spent five grueling years together on the life-or-death battlefield, Arthur’s closest aides had naturally come to surmise the scope and limitations of that ability. He didn’t hear every sound in every space, but when he willed it, he could hear sounds in spaces beyond what ordinary people could perceive. He seemed able to sense the shapes or movements of hidden objects in unseen places, even things like temperature. Seeing that he shared it only with Crown Prince Kyle, no one pried, assuming it was an imperial secret. Thus, whenever Arthur had information the other knights couldn’t know, his closest knights had grown accustomed, through experience, to accepting it without question. It had to be from that ability of his. They didn’t know exactly what it was, but Arthur had his own reliable means and could ‘hear’ it directly. They never questioned the source or path of the information Arthur mentioned; they simply believed it. That was their principle.
“…….”
But the information was wrong. The intel that Taylor Lorenson was Reina Astalin’s lover was an error. There was no possibility it was a lie. That woman couldn’t lie. Kay clenched his fist and pressed it to his furrowed brow. …What was going on? Sir Arthur had at least thought she had a fiancé or lover. That was why he hadn’t slept with her and had kept his distance.
“…….”
He had to share it with Arthur. But was that really okay? What would happen after that?
「…She said she didn’t even want to meet any man but me, and yet she chats so easily with him.」
「Just… a gift.」
The sight of him smiling as he casually tied the lace handkerchief for her. And Arthur’s expressionless face, inadvertently pursuing ‘Reina Astalin,’ flashed through his mind one after another.
It was obvious he cared about her. But Kay sensed that Arthur intended to send her off safely somehow and was making plans for that purpose. He thought it was admirable self-restraint. So he figured there was no need to worry. But if Sir Arthur was keeping his distance from Reina Astalin because he mistakenly believed she had another lover? Kay pressed a hand to his cooling forehead.
What the hell…
was he supposed to do?
Isn’t this bomb in my hands? During the interview with her, when this came up, he had thought Sir Arthur was naturally listening to the entire conversation. That was why he had caught himself in that moment. He figured the instant those words left her mouth, Sir Arthur would know everything. But when he came out, Sir Arthur had already left the mansion. He hadn’t heard ‘Reina’s’ words that Taylor wasn’t her lover. If Sir Arthur had overheard everything and it became irreversible, he wouldn’t feel like he was ruining things with his own hands like this. It was as if a troublesome key had been thrust into his hand, like one last chance. Kay looked down at the final part of the report he had completed, his eyes complicated. 【 —Taylor Lorenson is not Reina Astalin’s lover. 】 【 —Reina Astalin wanted to meet him and decide because he was someone connected to her family’s well-being. 】
“…….”
What if this report, written and delivered by his own hand, ended up twisting Sir Arthur’s and that woman’s lives in the worst possible way? But he couldn’t not deliver it. Kay ran a dry hand over his face. Arthur was his superior, and he was a knight who followed orders.
* * * It wasn’t common. For the Supreme Commander down to the highest-ranking knights to mobilize because a disabled soldier had attempted suicide. But Dillon Osborn was a noble, a high-ranking officer in the Julius conscript army through the early and middle stages of the war, and a proud knight whose accomplishments everyone acknowledged until he withdrew from the front lines due to torture trauma. He had thrown himself into countless bloody battles, earning the respect of his soldiers as a superior they could rely on. All the frontline knights knew that. Even after he fell behind, they knew he had endured brutal torture to protect the army and his comrades, so all the knights respected him. But they also knew the mental shock was immense for a proud knight who could never return to the front lines, so his story spread only for a very brief time before being hushed under a gag order. Even so, his name lingered in everyone’s hearts as a wound, a responsibility, and guilt over something they couldn’t protect. And the knights never forgot that Dillon Osborn’s share was always part of their victory. Thus, it was in no way strange that the Supreme Commander and his aides rushed to his mansion upon hearing the news.
“How is he?”
The low-ranking knight who had barely kept up with the Supreme Commander and his closest knights, who had ridden at overwhelming speed, gasped out his answer.
“Fortunately, his life isn’t in danger, they say. Pant, by the time we, pant, arrive, he might, pant, be able to talk, but I can’t say for sure.”
Upon arriving at the mansion, they were escorted to the drawing room after a short wait. But their swift ride was in vain, as the knights had to wait quite a while without seeing Dillon. Instead of guiding them to him, the master of the house made them sit idly in the drawing room. Dillon’s home was a luxurious mansion in the inner quarters, exuding the air of a noble residence. It seemed like a knightly family and noble house that valued appearances. Plate armor, weapons, and taxidermied animals were tastefully displayed throughout without excess, revealing the proud taste of the master as a knight. They probably would have been turned away at the door if Arthur hadn’t been there. The maid had first tried to refuse them, saying he wasn’t present, but upon learning the Supreme Commander Arthur was the visitor, she panicked and said she would fetch the master, escorting them to the drawing room. It seemed they had reluctantly let in the Supreme Commander visiting a disabled soldier but had no intention of showing them Dillon. Just how bad was his condition? No one showed it outwardly, but the mood grew heavy. They were more concerned about Dillon’s state than the Osborn family’s reception. After waiting patiently for a long time, Lukan finally spat it out.
“Is that bastard Dillon trying to die at home after holding out this long?”
Tristan stopped his foul mouth.
“Enough, Lukan.”
What do you mean enough right at the start? He had endured as much as any man could humanly take. Lukan spat out the rising anger he could barely contain.
“Who the hell is the thoughtful bastard who let a cripple who can’t even move his legs get his hands on poison?”
“Me.”
The drawing room door opened, and an elderly middle-aged gentleman entered, leaning on a cane. A restrained gait that didn’t waver despite his leg’s discomfort. The gentleman approached, formally tapping the floor a few times with his cane, and stopped before them.
“…….”
After a moment of silence, the gentleman extended his hand to Arthur.
“I am Brandon Osborn. Dillon Osborn’s father. I served in the Orfel Knights nineteen years ago.”
Arthur stood calmly and clasped his hand.
“Sir Brandon Osborn. A pleasure to meet you. I am Arthur Julius.”
Brandon Osborn shook the clasped hand briefly.
“I apologize for making you wait so long, Supreme Commander Sir Arthur. I have long heard of your prowess and achievements.”
“Achievements shared with your son.”
Arthur spoke calmly, but Brandon Osborn’s face hardened.
“My son has disgraced himself.”
Lukan cut in with a cold voice.
“You haven’t shown him to us yet.”
Meaning, don’t try to wrap things up without even letting us see Dillon.
“Lukan.”
Tristan quietly restrained him. At the called name, Brandon Osborn narrowed his eyes and looked at Lukan.
“……You must be Sir Lukan. I’ve heard Dillon was in your debt many times. That you stopped that fool’s episodes multiple times. Thank you. You’ve been a bother.”
Fortunately, Sir Brandon Osborn seemed willing to overlook the rudeness from commoner knight Lukan. But Lukan stared at Sir Brandon Osborn with his hands shoved defiantly in his pockets.
“Yes. So now, rather than the father, I’d like to see the son.”
“Leave.”
What? A chill settled over the Osborn drawing room.
“I would show him if possible, but since my son hasn’t woken, you’ll have to go without seeing him.”
Lukan growled coldly, lowering his voice in warning.
“What insolence is this? The man before you is Sir Arthur, commander of the imperial army.”
But Sir Brandon Osborn met his gaze without yielding an inch and said curtly to Arthur.
“My apologies, Sir Arthur.”
Dillon Osborn had worked tirelessly to return to the battlefield after his rescue but ultimately couldn’t walk again and failed to overcome his severely heightened anxiety. Dillon Osborn had fallen behind the front lines without conquering his torture trauma. His family had endlessly supported and urged his return, but in the end, he never made it back to the final front. And his father couldn’t understand how his son, whose legs weren’t even severed, couldn’t walk, dismissing him as a coward and feeling shame. But Lukan, who had saved him there, and all the other knights knew. It was an unfair judgment. Dillon Osborn’s feats had been in the brutal early three years of the war, when it had been most agonizing for them. After that, Arthur and the knights began racking up one dazzling achievement after another… But Dillon, who had devoted his body to those fierce defeats, never rose among the glorious names of the ‘Knights of Arthur’ that shone so brightly. People only remembered the victors.
「I’ll stay behind.」
「I’m a noble, so it’ll be fine. Somehow it’ll work out.」
「But you can’t.」
「Go!」
「Go tell Sir Arthur!」
The low-ranking knight who had guided Arthur stayed outside the drawing room door, unable to enter with him, grinding his teeth and swallowing tears.
