SLDS 27

Overnight, the Knight Order was turned completely upside down.

Knight Commander Claude investigated the matter thoroughly and ferreted out all the men who had been tormenting Loco.

Those who had directly harmed Loco Maxwell included a total of nine squires and three active members of the Imperial Knight Order. There were more people involved than expected.

“Therefore, all related parties will be reprimanded.”

“Expel them all. No exceptions.”

Alexis commanded sharply. Claude, who was standing before him with his hands behind his back, bit his lip as if in a difficult position.

“Wouldn’t expulsion be too excessive?”

“So you’re suggesting we let them off?”

Alexis, leaning against the window, lifted his head. The gaze he directed down at Claude, who was objecting to his words, was incredibly sharp. Enduring the stare boring into his face, Claude spoke with difficulty.

“I don’t wish to say this either, but they were all men who showed great skill. If we expel all of them, it will cause a major setback to the plans Your Highness has for the future. Furthermore, even the victim himself does not wish for their expulsion.”

“……”

“As Your Highness is aware, sodomy is a common occurrence within the Knight Order. Even when we were in the Black Forest, similar incidents often occurred, did they not?”

Claude mentioned the past.

The knights, who had been buried in the Black Forest for five years, had no way to relieve their long-suppressed sexual desires and would often get entangled with their comrades. For the sake of the knights’ morale, Alexis and Claude had pretended not to know and tacitly approved.

Alexis, with his arms crossed tightly, looked down at his most trusted subordinate. A sharp point followed.

“Was it coercive back then, too?”

“…No, it was not.”

“Is this the Black Forest?”

Claude was at a loss for words. He clenched his jaw and bowed his head.

“There is a time to tolerate a problem and a time not to. How can you command a Knight Order when you cannot distinguish something as simple as that? I am deeply concerned for the security of the empire.”

“…I apologize. I misspoke.”

Claude bowed his head deeply. Looking down at the top of the head that was plunged downwards, Alexis sighed inwardly. He was not unaware of Claude’s concern about the loss of the Knight Order’s military strength.

However, before being the Commander-in-Chief of the Knight Order, he was the Crown Prince of the empire. He could not lose his sense of fairness for personal ambition.

“The will of a mere squire is not important. I will expel all those involved. Even if it causes a setback to the plan, that is a problem for me to bear. I do not wish to speak of this further, so the Knight Commander will follow my orders.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“You may leave.”

Claude bowed and exited the office. Since the chief aide and the chamberlains had all been dismissed, the office, now with only Alexis left, fell abruptly silent.

Alexis turned his body and cast his gaze out the window. His cold, blue eyes watched the knights training in the grounds. A darkness settled over his face at the difficult, tangled situation.

Cecil only showed his face at the training grounds the next day. He had no intention of training; he was there only to meet the Knight Commander.

He cornered the busy Claude and questioned him in detail about how the incident was being resolved.

At first, he was dumbfounded by the fact that over a dozen people were involved, but the news that they would all receive severe punishment was, at least, to his liking.

With a much lighter heart, Cecil went to see Loco. After all, the person going through the most difficult time would be him, so he wanted to offer at least a little comfort.

“Why did you do it!”

But what Cecil faced was Loco’s cry.

“Why did you tell them! Just why!”

Loco screamed and cried until his throat was raw. The sorrow and pain were so desperate that the whites of his eyes had turned red with burst capillaries.

“You should have just pretended not to know! You usually don’t care about others, do you!”

“……”

“You ruined everything, Mr. Cecil!”

Cecil received the full force of the pouring resentment. He couldn’t understand. What on earth had he ruined?

“What are you talking about right now…”

Overcome with emotion, Loco swallowed a violent sob. He couldn’t even breathe properly, panting for air before spitting out a voice full of malice.

“Knight Commander Claude now knows all of my shame. He found out that I was passed around by the knights and spread my legs like a prostitute! Is that all? Now I’ve become like a ghost in the Knight Order. No one talks to me, they treat me like I don’t exist! This isn’t what I wanted. I really… I really didn’t want this!”

Loco’s mind had completely collapsed.

As if screaming vitriol at Cecil like a madman wasn’t enough, he stomped his feet hard on the ground and wailed. He had lost his reason due to excessive anxiety.

Cecil hesitated before grabbing Loco’s arm. The first thing to do was to calm him down.

“…I didn’t know. But this was unavoidable—”

“I don’t need any of it! Give it back! This was my everything, and you ruined it all!!”

The agitated Loco shook off his arm. Unable to withstand the strong force, Cecil was pushed back.

“Ugh!”

He collided with a haphazardly stacked crate, creating a loud noise. The palm of the hand he had used to break his fall throbbed, and his elbow was scraped raw, oozing blood. His pristine white clothes began to stain red.

“Gasp!”

Only then did Loco realize what he had done and come to his senses. As soon as he saw Cecil groaning on the ground, he prostrated himself.

“Gasp! I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I have committed a mortal sin! Mr. Cecil, I, sniff, I was out of my mind. I have committed a mortal sin!”

Unable to stop crying, Loco slammed his head on the ground. He had dared to speak rudely to and lay a hand on a member of the imperial family. Consumed by fear and self-loathing, he begged for forgiveness again and again.

“…Haa, it’s fine. I’m okay, so don’t worry about…”

“What is going on!”

As people gathered, drawn by the loud commotion, Cecil looked around with chagrined eyes.

The knights had already grasped the situation and were in the process of restraining Loco, while a few others approached Cecil and helped his slumped body up.

“You crazy bastard! You really have lost your mind!”

“I’m sorry, sob, ugh, sorry, I’ve committed a mortal sin, ugh, sob.”

They dragged Loco away. His sorrowful cries did not cease. Still in shock, Cecil could only stare at Loco’s retreating back.

“Are you hurt, sir?”

Claude approached and examined Cecil. His slightly dazed face was pale and bloodless, and his well-tailored clothes were soiled with dirt and dust. Then, seeing the bloodstain on his sleeve, he frowned.

“Loco Maxwell will receive a just punishment. I will handle things here, so please go and get treated at once.”

“It was nothing. There’s no need to punish him.”

“He inflicted injury upon a member of the imperial family.”

“I just fell. We’ll say that’s what happened.”

Cecil brushed off his dirtied pants and palms. Seeing Loco’s unstable state had made his own heart feel heavy, as if a stone was weighing on his chest.

Cecil chewed on his lower lip before speaking.

“Do you also think I did something unnecessary?”

“……”

“Should I have pretended not to see anything back then?”

At the somewhat listless question, Claude also let out a long sigh.

“It is an undeniable fact that the knights did wrong. Someone had to stop it. It was my mistake for not managing them properly, and it is a matter the Knight Order must step up and take responsibility for. There is no reason for Mr. Cecil to feel guilty.”

“But that guy seemed to resent me terribly.”

Cecil ruffled his hair as if trying to sort out his complicated thoughts. Even to his eyes, the atmosphere in the Knight Order seemed to have been shattered.

“He told me to put things back.”

“That’s impossible, isn’t it.”

“It must mean that his current life is so painful that he would wish for the knights’ reinstatement, even after what they did.”

Cecil let out a hollow laugh in disbelief. A dry smile clung to his face as he slowly wiped it with his palm.

“Sir Vandel, does His Highness also know about this?”

“He was the one who ordered the disposition.”

“Right, of course he was.”

Afterward, Cecil let out a breath, hoo, as if releasing the pent-up anger inside him.

“I hope that you, at least, will take good care of Loco.”

Leaving those final words, he departed the training grounds that had turned into a scene of chaos. Cecil’s face, as he headed straight for the Saint Palace, even looked quite resolute.

No matter how he thought about it, the only person who could solve this situation was Alexis.