The Raven Knights' headquarters fell into silence after work hours. Teodora bit her lip as she continued to read the document on her desk.

"The Raven Knights are hereby dispatched as the Third Royal Guard.

The Raven Knights will perform escort duties while following direct orders from the royal family to handle both minor and major royal affairs.

Additionally, Teodora Bening is appointed as the temporary Deputy Commander of the Third Royal Guard."

Crack.

The pen in Teodora's hand snapped under the pressure.

Count Bening's intentions were painfully clear. No matter what you do, you will never escape my control. In the end, you belong to the family, tethered to its fate.

“This is the worst.”

The broken pen fragments scattered across the desk.

The path that lay before her was one filled with thorns. Not only did she have to walk it, but the entire Raven Knights, her comrades, would be forced down the same road.

“There’s no way I’ll go quietly.”

Teodora’s eyes blazed with determination, the cold fury within her growing sharper.

 

"What kind of person is the Second Prince?"

After the royal personnel officer had left, Rione and Paola quickly exited the commander’s office, sensing the sharp change in Teodora’s mood. Normally, they would have tried to speak with her, but at that moment, Teodora was radiating an undeniable and dangerous aura.

"The Second Prince?"

Paola stroked her chin thoughtfully at Rione’s question.

"I don’t know much, but from what I’ve heard, he has a commanding presence and is quite handsome. They say he’s rather intelligent, but who knows…"

Rione knew well enough that "commanding" was often just a more polite way to say "arrogant." She was starting to realize that this mission was not going to be easy.

"What else have you heard?"

"Rumors, mostly. I don't have any concrete information."

Rione tilted her head, prompting Paola to think back on distant memories.

"...Do you know about the First Prince?"

Rione’s brows furrowed, surprised by the sudden change of subject. Paola studied her expression, then shrugged.

"The First Prince is rumored to have been born to a concubine, not the queen."

Rione's eyes widened in surprise as she took in this new information.

"That… I had no idea."

"Of course, you wouldn’t have heard it. You weren’t even born when the First Prince came into the world."

"I was always told he was the son of the late queen."

Paola shook her head.

"Those with sharp ears would have known the story. Two children were born to the royal family that day—a prince and a princess."

One was born to the queen, the other to a concubine.

Tragically, the concubine died not long after giving birth, and the kingdom announced the birth of an heir. However, as the prince grew older, his appearance began to resemble his late mother rather than the queen.

And so, the royal family kept delaying the ceremony to declare the crown prince.

"Did such rumors really spread?"

"Anyone spreading them clearly didn’t value their lives. The smart ones knew to stay quiet."

Paola spoke with an air of dark humor about the fate of those who had been careless with their words.

"The royal family managed to prevent the rumors from spreading beyond the capital, but they couldn’t completely stamp them out within the palace."

"And how did you come across this information?"

Rione asked incredulously.

"I used to serve as a soldier in the royal palace. A lot of people were silenced to keep things under wraps. I was lucky to avoid that fate."

Paola chuckled softly, but her expression remained serious.

"So, what does that have to do with the Second Prince?"

"Well, the Second Prince is without question the son of the queen."

From there, it was obvious where this conversation was going. Power struggles, rivalries, rumors, and dirty gossip. Rione made a face of distaste.

"Now I really don’t want to go to the royal palace."

"You didn’t mind going there before. What’s changed?"

The fact that the Bening family was openly backing the Second Prince was well known among those connected to the royal court.

"I’m a battle mage, not a pawn in a slimy political game."

"You’re naive if you think you can avoid it. Ever since you joined the reorganized Raven Knights, we’ve all been dragged into the political game."

Paola spoke casually, as if this was an undeniable reality.

"Do you think war is coming?"

Rione’s voice trembled with anxiety.

The atmosphere in the royal palace was like a powder keg, ready to explode. Rione had hoped Paola would dismiss the idea, but her reply was cold and matter-of-fact.

"There’s nothing more foolish than shedding blood in a civil war. With external enemies at our gates, we should be united, not tearing ourselves apart."

But then,

Paola clicked her tongue.

"...The kingdom’s greatest external enemy has already been defeated."

Behemoth was dead. The monsters of the wilderness had been driven back, and for the time being, they wouldn’t dare encroach on human lands again. Paola’s words confirmed this grim reality.

"With the greatest threat gone, there’s no longer a unifying cause to prevent war."

Rione couldn't find a way to argue. Even a child could see that chaos was looming on the horizon.

"...I wonder what the king will do."

Rione muttered to herself.

"His Majesty will be cautious. A succession battle disguised as a rebellion is still treason."

Paola said the word "treason" so casually that Rione couldn’t help but glance around in alarm, her face paling.

"What if someone hears you, Deputy Commander?"

"Relax, no one's listening. I hate living in fear of others."

Despite Rione’s warning, Paola just chuckled. Rione rubbed her aching temples, deciding to change the subject.

"By the way, didn’t Teodora seem a bit off today?"

Rione thought back to their commander, who had been sitting silently in the office, barely able to contain her frustration—though "frustration" didn’t quite capture the lethal aura she had been giving off.

"Well, Commander Teodora always has a bit of a temper, doesn’t she?"

Paola joked, but Rione frowned. Paola seemed to realize this wasn’t the time for humor and changed her tone.

"You’re right, she did seem strange. Since the Behemoth battle, she hasn’t shown much emotional volatility, but today…"

"Do you think she’s upset about getting pulled into politics?"

Rione asked, concern evident in her voice.

"Maybe. Her mood today reminded me of how she used to be, back when she first became commander."

Rione nodded in agreement.

"...But she’s even more intense now."

"Compared to today, her temper back then was nothing—just a little edge. Now she’s much sharper."

Teodora's hostility seemed to be directed primarily at the senior members of the Raven Knights.

"Most of that was focused on Maxim."

Maxim Apart.

Hearing the name of the former deputy commander after so long, Rione remembered a question she had long forgotten.

"Now that I think about it, what did Maxim do to make the commander hate him so much?"

"Hate? Did it really look like hate to you?"

Paola's cryptic words made Rione pause.

"Didn’t you pay attention?"

"Pay attention to what? You were the one close to Maxim, not me."

Rione said, a bit defensively.

"You didn’t need to be close to them to see it. Tell me, have you ever been in love?"

Paola’s sudden and blunt question caused Rione to flush red.

"Why would you assume I haven’t?"

"I was the only one who seemed to notice what was going on between them."

"Notice what? How do you know it wasn’t just your imagination?"

Rione’s face was still flushed as she grumbled.

"Teodora and Maxim were more than just friends. They were classmates at the Knights Academy."

"That doesn’t mean anything… Just because they went to school together doesn’t mean they got along."

"Do you really think Teodora would act that way just because of some schoolyard grudge?"

Rione immediately shook her head.

"Of course not, but then what was it?"

"They were more than just friends, I think—"

"Stop. That’s enough."

Rione cut her off with a disbelieving laugh, but Paola just crossed her arms and chuckled, as if enjoying herself. Rione, feeling uncomfortable, subtly put some distance between them.

"Oh, don’t be so quick to dismiss it! I’m sure former Deputy Commander Christine is tied up in all of this too…"

"This isn’t funny…"

Rione tried to protest but sighed in resignation.

"Besides, we don’t even know where Maxim is. What’s the point of talking about him now?"

"That’s exactly why we can talk about him now—he’s not here."

Rione’s face clouded over. The topic of their missing comrades was still a heavy burden on her heart.

Paola sighed softly. If Rione had chosen the life of a scholar in the Mage Tower instead of becoming a knight, perhaps she wouldn’t have to face such harsh realities.

"Do you think Maxim and Christine are okay?"

After the Behemoth battle, the Raven Knights had requested help from the Marquis of Aegon and other noble houses to search for the missing members.

A month later, the search was called off.

In that time, the only things the search teams had found were a destroyed medical wagon, traces of a fight in the mud, and a bloated corpse washed up along the riverbank—later identified as Roberto Miller.

"When I think about it…"

"Rione."

Paola cut off Rione’s spiraling thoughts. Dwelling on the missing comrades wouldn’t help her or the Raven Knights.

"...Sorry."

Paola offered a small, confident reassurance.

"They’ll be fine."

And then, to lighten the mood, she added:

"Who knows? Maybe the two of them eloped."

"Deputy Commander, you always think of things like that."

Rione forced a small smile, recognizing that Paola had deliberately brought up the lighthearted possibility to cheer her up.

"Hey, I’m half serious. Maxim always denied it, but there was definitely something going on between them."

Paola’s genuine enjoyment of the topic was obvious, but Rione decided to play along, just this once.

"Maxim was a lucky man, wasn’t he?"

"Indeed. I even asked former Deputy Commander Christine about it, and she blushed so much that her face turned bright red."

Paola laughed softly at the memory. Dwelling on the past was enough for now. There were more pressing matters to worry about.

Paola and Rione left the Raven Knights’ headquarters, each lost in their own thoughts, wondering if Maxim was faring well wherever he was.