It’s strange to see a man kneeling before Caitel from under the platform. I should be glad that I had guessed correctly, but there’s this odd sensation within me for some reason. Oh, my.

  “It’s fine.”


  A dry voice rang in the royal audience hall. It differed greatly from the voice I heard earlier, so I turned my head to him. Caitel somehow had a strange facial expression. It’s kind of like his face had melted a little more than usual. What’s this? Did I see it wrong? I rubbed my eyes and looked at him again, but Caitel was the same.

  What was that? I didn’t think it’s the same Caitel I knew.

  “How are you feeling?”


  “I am doing well and much better now. Thanks for your concern.”


  The mood in this hall was heavy.

  A dry and cold atmosphere. There was an atmosphere that one could not easily intervene. I was holding my breath, and now I feel like I was about to choke from this cold tension. I could tell that these two had a master and servant dynamic, but I felt like they were not just any ordinary lord and knight. Caitel was acting differently from when he’s with me. His behavior was far different from when he was with Ferdel or Dranste.

  Who was he? What was going on between the two of them?

  I rolled my eyes; it was so difficult to tell.

  “What about the task I sent you to do?”


  It’s not the same Caitel when he was with me. This facade of his differed from the one he showed Ferdel too.

  Somehow I remembered the first day I met Caitel. That day he grabbed my neck, he had the same expression. He was so dry, and cold.

  “I have beheaded all of them and sent the remains to the king of Langres.”


  What was with this heavy silence? I’ was only watching them, yet I felt like I would suffocate.

  “Is that so? Good.”


  It was so quiet, almost felt that their conversation could hinder my breath. I thought my soft breaths could reach their ears due to the stillness of the surroundings. A deep silence subsided again. A deep and heavy atmosphere resembling that of the abyss.

  It was Caitel who broke the silence. The Emperor opened his mouth.

  “What? Do you have something more to say?”


  Now that the report was over, Caitel seemed to be wondering why his knight was still kneeling on his position without a word. No, it seemed like he was rushing him to finish his report more than questioning him. At Caitel’s voice, the kneeling knight rose from his seat.

  At that moment, I had my second opportunity of gazing at his eyes.