Click, click. Click, click.

The repetitive and rhythmic sound of the gun’s safety being moved filled the commander’s office. The eerie feeling of the person artificially moving it seeped through the small noise. The sound of metal hitting metal repeatedly was irritating and unsettling, but Shane couldn’t bring himself to tell his superior to please put down that damn gun.

“…So. Is that all?”

Reynard, who had been anxiously fiddling with the gun as soon as the report ended, asked with raised eyes and a crooked tone.

“Yes. That’s what I’ve heard.”

Shane was on his way back from hearing the specific story from his mother to report to his superior. She was the person who had been with Valentin when he collapsed and knew the situation accurately at the time. She was also the possessor of a noble character who would convey only the facts accurately. She probably didn’t add any personal opinions.

“I heard that during the previous tea party, there was an incident where Marchioness Cunningham and her faction subtly tried to trip up His Highness the Grand Duke Consort.”

“Hmm.”

The Cunningham ducal family. Birds of a feather flock together, as they say. The husband is also one who, despite being a vassal, particularly bristles at Reynard.

The old tales of treading on iron islands and offering bloody oaths to one’s lord were all just a facade in these modern times. Of course, they might still verbally proclaim such traditions and honor outwardly. They might still outwardly distinguish themselves by proclaiming the blood of Dales. But the reality was different now.

It had been quite some time since they moved away from blind loyalty as time passed.

The feudal lord era had passed, and society had developed. It was perhaps an inevitable change that came with accumulating wealth through advanced maritime trade and possessing vast riches. The accumulation of wealth on an exceptional scale not only raised the noses of those who possessed it but also swelled their livers.

“I can’t be certain that those ladies’ words directly influenced His Highness’s collapse, but that’s what I’ve heard.”

As Reynard listened to Shane’s report, he gently fingered a few live rounds on the massive, wide desk. The brass-clad bullets gleamed as they flickered between his fingers.

“Traits, lineage, subtle mockery about quick pregnancy…. Did I hear that right?”

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

Shane’s dry throat swallowed as he reported the unpleasant words those women had used to sneer at and belittle Valentin. That sound of tension might have been audible to his superior.

“There was something Valentin desperately asked of me before the marriage…”

“…What was that?”

Although he wasn’t curious at all, he couldn’t help but ask in this icy atmosphere… The violent killing intent emanating from his superior, as if he might load the bullets and fire the gun at them at any moment… Shane’s knees were about to give out. Although he was a beta and couldn’t sense pheromones, it was obvious that anger pheromones were mixed into the heavy atmosphere currently filling this commander’s office.

“That correcting people’s gazes and prejudices was his job. If I were to interfere or put pressure on other high nobility, social circles, or the press because of Valentin’s issues, he wouldn’t let it slide.”

“Ah…”

“Isn’t it cute? Clenching his fists and threatening me. I wanted to bite him right there and then.”

“Ah?”

“Always glaring at me with those eyes and wagging his finger while warning me. You should have seen it. No, on second thought, no. I can’t show such a cute sight to anyone else.”

“Ah, yes…”

I had no desire to see it, but… No, now I’m too scared to even look if it were presented before me. If I dared to see that sight, I might end up buried in some mountain. Or have my eyes gouged out.

“He always gives such cute threats and warnings. How could I not listen to them?”

“……”

“I really want to sweep everything away as I please, but how can I not listen when my husband begs so earnestly?”

Isn’t that a declaration rather than a request…? Considering Valentin’s usual personality, it was confusing whether it was really an “earnest” request based on what I just heard, but Shane could only try his best to humor his superior, who already seemed a bit unhinged. Yes… That’s right. It must have been an earnest request… Everything you say is correct, sir.

“…Is that so.”

“That’s why I’ve been quiet until now.”

It was an excessively chilling voice, suddenly changed from the sweet tone he had been using while admiring his husband’s cuteness.

Reynard straightened his body, which had been sitting loosely. Shane’s throat swallowed again at the pressure. The top alpha male naturally suppressed and dominated the beta male without even trying.

“I wanted to grant that pitiful and pathetic request.”

One might wonder what exactly was pitiful, pathetic, and cute about those words coming from that mouth, but Shane didn’t dare to contradict as usual. His superior’s atmosphere was unusually murderous.

Now Reynard held the gun in his left hand and the bullets in his right. Cold sweat trickled down Shane’s back.

“But why has it come to this? Since when could the likes of the Cunningham ducal family dare to be so disrespectful to my mate? Has the name of Dennox fallen to the ground?”

He even invoked the name of the noble family that had never once touched the ground.

Even though society had changed, a lord was still a lord, and a vassal was still a vassal. If it hadn’t happened among the ladies, it could have been charged as blasphemy.

“…That’s not it. Um… I suppose there’s also a perception that the social circles of wives and consorts are somewhat separate from status… their own different society…”

“They’ll probably come to regret that insignificant perception properly.”

“……”

“How dare they wag their filthy tongues so impudently before the Grand Duke Consort.”

Bang!

The bullet finally pierced an innocent wall.

“Marquis Cunningham will probably regret having such an unruly wife who doesn’t know her place for the rest of his life.”

Shane’s eyes were fixed on the hole in the wall and the smoke coming from it. Could that wall that suddenly became Reynard’s shooting target… Could that be the future of Marquis Cunningham…?

The ducal family was not only doing well in the social circles of that duchess but was also a family that had been particularly successful in business lately. Marquis Cunningham, who was monopolizing the naval munitions business and raking in gold coins through steam ship technology and trade, was rumored to be walking around with his chin held high these days. Does that person really have a brain…? It would be normal to try to get on the good side of the Grand Duke’s family, who was both a business partner and a superior. Just looking at the circumstances, one could tell how swollen his liver had become these days.

Moreover, unlike other nobles of Dales, even their family members were not serving in the navy. Could it be because they haven’t directly experienced what kind of person Reynard is? Thinking about it that way, it was understandable how he could act so impudently. Ignorance breeds courage.

‘This is going to be a real mess, isn’t it?’

Shane swallowed a sigh as he withdrew from his superior’s office.

* * *

The West Preston harbor, where numerous ships come and go every day. At one of the docks in the orderly naval port located to the north.

A brown ship, belching smoke from its funnel, was finally moving swiftly towards the sea. It was the first test run of a steamship using a screw propeller.

“It’s certainly faster compared to before.”

One of the three-star generals said, watching the ship cutting across the sea. Behind him, those involved in warship development and officers hoping for the navy’s advancement were all watching the successful test voyage with expectant faces.

It was an occasion to showcase after several successful test runs, gathering numerous field grade officers and above.

Paddle steamers, commonly used as small merchant or trading vessels, were not suitable for combat. They were not only inept at attacking but also extremely vulnerable to defense, which is why old-fashioned sailing ships still dominated warships.

However, it was impossible to simply abandon the developing technology. Reynard, along with officers from various logistics schools, engineers, and fleet officers, was working hard to develop warships using steam engines, apart from the operational fleet he commanded. Although still just a colonel, it was a special organization for the future of the navy, with an eye on the position of naval admiral several decades later.

The faces of the officers watching the smoke-puffing warship were filled with joy.

The steamship, which was supposed to go a certain distance and then return, finally started to appear as small as a fingernail. The speed was definitely faster compared to existing warships.

Especially Marquis Cunningham, who had been continuously collaborating with the navy on the steam engine industry, had a strange expression on his face, mixed with expectation and tension. The excitement of a person on the verge of success and reward was evident.

Everyone’s expressions brightened even more as it reached the turning point flag. Then…

Boom!

With a sound of something exploding from the steamship, thick gray smoke began to burst out, to an extent that anyone could see something had gone terribly wrong. As if the funnel couldn’t handle all that smoke and was helplessly spewing it out.

“No…!”

Everyone’s faces were painted with shock.

“This can’t be…”

“Isn’t that completely ruined now?”

Watching the shocked faces of the high-ranking officers, Shane whispered quietly into Reynard’s ear.

“At this rate, it seems like either the steam engine or the propeller inside has properly malfunctioned, doesn’t it?”

“It’s terrible.”

Reynard retorted to that whisper with an expressionless face, not even looking at his aide.

It was a development that had involved a lot of investment. The result was disappointing enough to make the money and time invested seem wasted. Their eyes naturally turned to Marquis Cunningham, who had been in charge of the steam engine technology collaboration.

“No need to lift a finger, he’s digging his own grave.”

“When you see things like this, it really does seem like evildoers somehow pay for their sins…”

Shane muttered quietly, as if he knew what his superior was thinking.

The mustaches of the elderly officers, who had high expectations for the warship that first introduced the new technology of the screw propeller, twitched. They were on the verge of cursing harshly at the failure. The military was neither a charitable organization nor a mere research institute. As much as investment had been made, accurate results had to come out so that it could definitely be introduced into actual combat.

“What on earth is this!”

“Didn’t they say the initial test runs were successful!”

“Acting so confident! It could have been a disaster if the Admiral had been here.”

“Who on earth is responsible for this?”