The warmth in Iris's voice startled the knights even further.
“Th-Then… how did you… how could you read us so precisely despite never crossing blades with us before?!”
The knight who had asked stammered in disbelief, his voice laced with confusion. Iris scratched her cheek awkwardly, unsure how to reveal a secret she'd never spoken aloud before. A faint blush colored her face as she replied.
“I’ve watched the knights of House Valentine for a long time. It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but I’ve always admired them.”
After all, she was always the first to arrive at the training grounds, and the last to leave. Whether it was during friendly sparring matches among comrades or during official tournaments hosted by Valentine, Iris never got to participate. No one ever wished to clash swords with her. And so, all she could do was observe.
“I used to imagine it in my head… How I would react if I fought alongside them. How I would counter if I were attacked like that.”
The moment she said it, she was overwhelmed with embarrassment. She couldn’t bring herself to meet their eyes, turning her gaze aside in shame. Surely, they would think she was strange.
They did think so—just not in the way she feared.
‘Wait… isn’t that… genius-level?’
They looked at her in awe, not pity. At the same time, a quiet sorrow stirred in them. What kind of life had she led, to speak such words with that lonely look in her eyes?
It felt like she was someone who’d never once known warmth her entire life.
Just as a few knights began stepping toward Iris, hoping to offer her some kind of comfort—
“Lord Cedric.”
Iris, who had been gazing off into the distance, turned toward the voice with a smile.
Cedric, who’d been brooding earlier as he watched the knights, instantly melted into a warm expression the moment Iris approached.
“You seem to be in high spirits,” he remarked.
“Yes,” Iris replied brightly. “It was truly enjoyable.”
Then, almost as if reciting a verse, she murmured softly:
“Thank you… for watching over me earlier. I think I only managed to win because you were there.”
Cedric blinked. A slight squint settled over his eyes as he answered evenly:
“I just arrived, my lady.”
“…Pardon?”
“Did you… perhaps think you won the match because I was watching you?”
No way—could it have been a complete misunderstanding?
‘Oh heavens.’
Flustered, Iris dropped her head, unable to look at him. She could only stammer, “I-I…”
Cedric chuckled aloud, the sound escaping before he could help it.
At the unexpected laugh, Iris shot her head up.
‘D-did he just laugh?!’
Cedric quickly covered his mouth with his hand to suppress the laughter.
‘Ah… I teased her too much.’
“But then,” he continued, lips curved in amusement, “that wasn’t my doing—it was your own strength.”
His eyes softened as he added, “I knew you could do it. I never doubted it.”
That voice, that smile—it made the embarrassment from just moments ago vanish like mist. The world seemed to shine a little brighter for Iris.
‘Truly…’
I love you so much.
“Are you cold?” Cedric asked, offering his right arm with casual familiarity.
Just as Iris reached to take it, she glanced back.
The knights were saluting Cedric with solemn faces.
Now that she thought about it, Cedric once told her that the knights didn’t look favorably upon him.
‘That wasn’t true at all.’
Gregor, Liu, and every single knight in the Order looked upon Cedric with deep respect.
There was clearly a misunderstanding. And if that was the case…
“Cedric,” she said softly, “they were wonderful knights—just as you said they would be.”
The knights who had been waiting behind them stiffened at her words.
‘Did she just say we were good knights?’
‘And that Lord Cedric said that?’
From there, nothing made sense anymore. Why was the lady suddenly talking about them?
They peeked up, their eyes flickering between the two.
Normally, they would immediately avert their gaze when Cedric’s cold eyes met theirs, but this time… they couldn’t look away.
There was something they longed to hear.
“…Is that so?” Cedric murmured slowly.
His voice came as if from a long distance, calm and low. The knights, interpreting his tone as indifferent, lowered their heads once more.
But Gregor couldn’t take his eyes off him.
‘He’s… smiling.’
That faint smile on their lord’s face—it was unlike anything Gregor had ever seen.
‘No way…’
Had they been wrong this whole time?
Had it all… been just one big misunderstanding?
As Iris took Cedric’s arm and turned to leave, she glanced back at Gregor.
“He said it was a relief.”
Her lips mouthed the words with a gentle smile, and she gave a small wave.
At that moment, Gregor and the other knights felt something stir in their chests.
It was ridiculous, but somehow, they were sincerely glad that Iris had come to House Leontheim—that she was now their lady as well.
Because she… was someone who could change Leontheim.
Meanwhile, Count Kaidrich Valentine was far from at ease.
Naturally—because his beloved youngest daughter, Liliana, was still imprisoned.
‘That poor child… still locked up for a mistake so minor…’
Liliana, who was always tender-hearted, had already fallen into deep self-blame.
“Sister Iris said it was her fault too, and that she’d take care of it all…”
Tears welled up in Liliana’s large, sorrowful eyes, falling like pearls.
“Sister must not want to help me anymore. But I still love her.”
Kaidrich’s anger, naturally, turned toward Iris.
‘How can Iris call herself a sister and still let such a kind, innocent child suffer like this?’
Liliana was a poor girl who had grown up never knowing the warmth of a mother’s arms.
And yet Iris had abandoned her—without a word, without looking back—leaving the capital entirely.
He couldn’t drag her back by force either. That would be improper even for him.
‘She’s always been like this.’
There were times Iris would walk past Liliana without even greeting her, as if she didn’t see her.
And now, to leave like this, without caring for her younger sister at all? Unforgivable.
Both Kaidrich and his wife Orchid still had no idea how to secure Liliana’s release.
Worse, their chief steward and head maid had only recently been replaced and were lacking in experience.
‘If only Steward Brown were still here…’
Brown had served the household since before Kaidrich ascended to the head of the clan.
“Master, please don’t forget Lady Iris. She is your daughter, too.”
But Brown had been dismissed for overstepping his place—interfering with the patriarch’s discipline and daring to question his authority.
‘Now there’s no one who can even handle such a minor issue?’
Ever since Iris left, the entire staff had been in disarray.
‘What kind of management did she even run? How did she keep them under control?’
But Kaidrich never concerned himself with such domestic matters. After all, he was the Commander of the First Imperial Guard—
A title he took great pride in.
And yet, by the time he decided to act, the situation had already spiraled too far out of control.
“You cannot do that.”
Carlyle, Commander of the Second Imperial Guard, shook his head firmly.
“At this point, the fate of Lady Liliana Valentine is for His Majesty to decide. Even you, Commander, have no authority to intervene.”
“You mean to tell me His Majesty himself gave the order to keep my Liliana imprisoned?!”
Kaidrich’s face turned crimson as he roared.
“He did.”
“Under my authority as Commander—what?!”
“It was the Emperor’s direct command.”
Carlyle’s voice was cold and resolute.
“If anyone dares release Liliana Valentine without imperial permission, they are to be charged with defying the Emperor’s will.”
“Th-That can’t be…”
Kaidrich’s once-commanding voice wavered.
“His Majesty must be misunderstanding something—”
“If so, then I suggest you explain it to him yourself. I merely follow His Majesty’s orders.”
Carlyle’s chill tone sent Kaidrich’s fury boiling.
‘How dare this Second Commander speak to me like this!’
While the Second Guard was indeed vital in maintaining the capital’s peace, they were still a far cry from the First Guard—
The unit sworn to protect the Imperial Palace and the Emperor himself.
Even so, Kaidrich couldn’t ignore Carlyle’s invocation of the Emperor’s name.
‘How dare he invoke His Majesty’s will like a weapon…’
The Valentine clan was one of the Empire’s oldest and most loyal noble lineages—
A proud family of holy knights.
Surely, His Majesty would see reason and side with him.
“Your Majesty, about my daughter—”
But then—
“Count Valentine!”
Emperor Ludwig hurled a thick stack of papers at Kaidrich’s face.
“Do you know what these are?”
Struck without warning, Kaidrich stumbled and slowly picked up the papers scattered at his feet.
“This is…”
“Yes. Petitions. Formal complaints about what your daughter Liliana has done.”
Ludwig stood slowly from his throne, glaring at Kaidrich with frost in his gaze.
“Tell me, how did you raise your daughter that things have come to this?”
“There were… circumstances—”
“Must I care about your circumstances?”
Kaidrich bowed his head low.
Ludwig clicked his tongue in disappointment at the man’s pitiful appearance.
“As of now, all the rewards bestowed upon you following the royal engagement are revoked.”
“Y-Your Majesty…”
Kaidrich’s vision darkened.
He had already gifted some of those rewards to loyal knights and noble allies.
“And of course, Liliana Valentine’s punishment remains unchanged.”
Kaidrich shut his eyes tight and bowed deeper. Though outwardly submissive, he was fuming inside.
If only Iris had done her duty properly,
I wouldn’t be enduring this humiliation.
No matter how I try to see her favorably, there’s not a shred of worth in her.
Without his guidance, she wouldn’t even have been acknowledged as a noble.
Seated on his throne, chin resting on his hand, Emperor Ludwig spoke again—
“…How is that young lady doing, by the way?”
“The young lady…?”
“Yes, the one who married Cedric.”
As soon as Iris was mentioned, Kaidrich’s expression hardened.
‘Why would His Majesty bring up that lacking child, Iris?’
“That girl is lacking in many ways,” he said flatly.
“Is that so?”
Ludwig smirked, the corner of his lips curling slightly. The golden hair glimmering beneath the radiant light only made his smile seem all the more striking.
“Personally, I find her far more intriguing than Lady Liliana.”
Kaidrich’s brow twitched, displeasure written all over his face.
Ludwig, enjoying the sight of Kaidrich squirming, smiled faintly. That was his only intent—to watch Kaidrich flustered.
Unaware of Ludwig’s amusement, Kaidrich quickly tried to redirect the emperor’s interest, his voice laced with urgency.
“Your Majesty, Iris is not someone worthy of Your Majesty’s attention. She’s far too lacking.”
“That only piques my interest further.”
Of course, his attempt failed.
“I’m curious whether she’s just as much a fool as Liliana Valentine, the one who ended up imprisoned for tax evasion.”
Ludwig crossed one leg over the other, looking down on the stiff-faced Count Valentine with an air of arrogance.
‘You were so eager to push your youngest daughter into the Empress’s seat not long ago.’
Of course, Liliana was now engaged to the Duke of Davilar. But the fact that Kaidrich had once promoted her as suitable for the imperial consort made the situation all the more laughable.
“Count Valentine.”
The emperor’s crimson eyes glinted like a predator just before striking its prey.
“Remember—there are many who could fill the position of Knight Commander besides you.”
Kaidrich, suddenly drenched in cold sweat, quickly shouted:
“My daughter, Iris, will bring back word from Leonheim!”
“…Hmph.”
At that, Ludwig let out a slow breath.
Even now, the thought of Cedric irritated him.
It still vexed him that the Baron Hansen he’d sent north had failed in his mission.
‘Though she’s untested and unreliable…’
Still, the more pawns he could move on the board, the better.
That was part of the reason he’d agreed to a political marriage involving a Valentine daughter.
“I must admit, as family, I do have some concerns about Cedric.”
“Iris may be lacking in ability, but she is still my daughter, whom I have raised with utmost care. If Your Majesty so commands, she will obey gladly, treating it as the greatest honor.”
Noticing Ludwig’s growing interest, Kaidrich pressed the advantage quickly.
“I’ll make contact at once and have her serve Your Majesty as your loyal shadow.”
The Iris he knew had always craved his recognition.
Though they weren’t in communication now, he was confident she would come running the moment she received a letter from him.
“I swear there will be no room for disappointment.”
Ludwig silently observed Kaidrich’s beaming face.
‘What a devil of a man…’
For the patriarch of the noble Valentine family, he looked pitifully vulgar.
But that, too, was entertaining.
Watching proud lords grovel and twist under imperial power was a delight Ludwig never tired of.
“Then, I shall await good news.”
That was no different from saying he would turn a blind eye to Liliana’s crimes.
Kaidrich immediately left to visit his beloved Liliana.
Coincidentally, his heir, Orchid, had also come to the visitation hall—likely to check on his poor younger sister.
“Father! You’re back!”
Despite being locked in a cell and filled with complaints just moments ago, Liliana’s face lit up with joy as she threw herself into her father’s arms.
“Did His Majesty pardon me?”
“Yes. It’s been resolved.”
Her father nodded, and a pure, cheerful smile bloomed on Liliana’s face.
“I knew it! You’re the best, Father!”
“By the way… you’re both still in contact with Iris, yes?”
At that, Orchid’s expression slightly darkened.
They had yet to receive any reply from her.