Meanwhile, back in the room, everything was silent.

Alchester was familiar with this sort of situation and the accompanying silence.

Alchester had been the knight in charge of escorting the Emperor when the latter was still just the Crown Prince, and from there, they had grown out of the master-servant relationship into regarding each other as friends. So Alchester was well acquainted with this room and could understand why the Emperor had summoned Eugene Lionheart here.

However, that didn’t mean he could just accept it. Just because the Emperor was his friend and the lord he had sworn to serve didn’t mean Alchester could accept his decisions unconditionally.

Alchester knew the purpose of this room. It was here that generation after generation of Kiehl’s Emperors had been able to separate their friends from their foes, gain a complete understanding of their allies, and deliver a unilateral judgment onto their enemies.

“I really don’t like this,” Alchester muttered to himself in a low voice.

This wasn’t something that a royal knight, who was meant to be absolutely loyal to the Emperor, should say, but Alchester just couldn’t feel comfortable with this situation.

“What exactly about this is causing you such a disturbance?” one of the De’Arc brothers asked, neither having put away their swords.

Their swords, which they had drawn together in unison, were crossed over each other and had stopped just short of slicing Alchester’s throat.

Their sharp blades touched his bare skin, but Alchester didn’t pay their swords any attention. He was still glaring down at the hand he had placed on the Emperor’s shoulder.

“Please withdraw your hand, Lord Alchester,” Karian requested.

“No matter how close you may be to His Majesty, your current behavior is extremely disrespectful to your liege,” Derry scolded.

Biting down hard on his lips, Alchester withdrew his hand. Once he had done so, the De’Arc brothers also placed their swords into their sheaths. While still remaining wary of Alchester, the two...