The Return of the Real Rohas
“I report my return.”
The real Everett Rohas—the actual knight who had just come back from Bellot—saluted with crisp precision.
The extended mission had lasted over a month and clearly taken a toll on his stamina; he looked a little thinner. Yet his face glowed with unmistakable joy.
He seemed genuinely delighted to be back in the empire.
The complete opposite of Edwin.
Edwin was already in the middle of a thorough scolding from Kylus after the Blue Hawks discovered his relationship with Lina. The return of the real Everett Rohas only made his expression grow more troubled.
Still, none of this was Everett’s fault.
I should have sent him as a goodwill envoy to the southern continent instead of Bellot.
It was Edwin’s own mistake for failing to come up with a longer assignment.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Edwin hid his complicated feelings and offered praise. However, that didn’t mean he intended to allow two Everett Rohases to exist beneath the same sky—even if one was the fake and the other the genuine article.
“Rest until I summon you again.”
Since he had no plans to call for him until the situation with Lina was resolved, this amounted to an extremely long paid vacation. Edwin added, as though the thought had only just occurred to him, “And try not to wander around outside.”
In truth, he would have preferred the man never left the house at all, but that seemed too harsh, so he stopped short. It should be fine for him to walk around the grounds at dawn, while Lina is still asleep.
Fortunately, Everett understood Edwin’s intentions perfectly.
“Is the matter you mentioned before still unresolved?”
“It is.”
Edwin answered without hesitation.
“Understood. I will stay indoors as much as possible.”
Everett lacked any particular talents, but he was the diligent sort. Even with the qualifier “as much as possible,” he would faithfully remain confined to the house as ordered.
Edwin gave a satisfied nod.
The main reason Kylus had recommended the former serf Everett as one of the Bellot crown princess’s potential consorts was precisely this trait—his sincere effort to carry out any task to the best of his ability.
Come to think of it, Everett Rohas was one of the candidates to become the Bellot crown princess’s husband.
Even after yielding to his daughter’s persuasion, the current king of Bellot still occasionally revealed his lingering resentment toward the empire. Edwin intended to replace him with the pro-empire crown princess within the next year or two.
If Everett married her, he would soon become the queen’s consort. A former serf elevated to grand duke.
If things go well, it would be a good outcome for Everett Rohas as well.
To give the crown princess a proper choice, Edwin had arranged for her to meet all five candidates several times. The meetings had been utterly dry and formal. From the reports, none of them had particularly caught her interest.
Who knows? She might actually like Everett.
If both parties were willing, Edwin was prepared to throw his full support behind making the real Everett Rohas Bellot’s royal consort. It wasn’t solely to keep the man permanently out of Lina’s sight, of course. Edwin was not the kind of master who treated a subordinate who had suffered under him for so long with cruelty.
“Ah, still… I suppose I’ll need to step out once to meet the Bellot crown princess.”
“Her Highness?”
“She’s meeting every candidate. You’re the only one left, Rohas.”
“I’m merely a token candidate to round out the numbers. It should be fine to skip me.”
Everett smiled awkwardly, his kind face showing clear resignation. Bellot placed far greater importance on bloodlines than the empire did, so he had never held any real expectations.
Edwin encouraged the man who was already preparing to give up.
“If you wish it, I’ll stand behind you. At least meet her once.”
The other four candidates were second sons of count houses or lower, or collateral branches of high nobility. Everett’s background was not inferior to theirs. Sometimes a different kind of connection proved more valuable than blood. And his appearance was more than presentable.
Edwin had long since accepted the fact that he and Everett bore a striking resemblance. As a result, his assessment of Everett’s looks was slightly more generous than reality warranted.
“Uh… I’ll do my best.”
Everett still looked slightly dazed, but true to his earnest nature, he seemed ready to carry out the order properly.
Edwin nodded in satisfaction.
“Good. I’ll arrange the meeting with the crown princess myself.”
He planned to reserve an entire elegant restaurant in a quiet spot near the capital, somewhere far removed from Lina’s usual routes.
I should mention it to Kylus when he arrives.
Kylus had grown noticeably busier since Edwin’s return and had yet to schedule even his eleventh date. He would undoubtedly hate the extra work, but Edwin was the emperor.
“You may go now.”
With the main discussion concluded, Edwin dismissed him. Lina’s quitting time was approaching.
“Yes, I shall take my leave.”
Everett, who had apparently given up on following the rapidly shifting topics, answered obediently with a tired expression. At the word of dismissal his face brightened, and he offered a crisp salute.
“A carriage has been prepared outside. Be sure to take it.”
“How could I possibly dare…”
Only members of the imperial family or those granted special permission by the emperor were allowed to ride carriages within the inner palace. Everett tried to decline, saying it was unthinkable, but Edwin did not withdraw the order.
Lina’s quitting time was fast approaching. The Inspectorate building and the imperial palace were extremely close to each other. After listening to Kylus’s ear-splitting lecture, Edwin’s sense of caution had risen dramatically.
“Take the carriage.”
When he repeated the command with emphasis, Everett answered with clear reluctance, voice dragging. He trudged off toward the waiting carriage.
Edwin waited until he confirmed Everett had entered the carriage with all its window covers drawn before picking up a hooded robe.
On days when Edwin escorted Lina home, the two always met at a secluded garden on the city outskirts where few people passed by.
“Ed, you’re here?”
Lina, who had arrived first, turned and smiled at him.
“Yeah.”
Edwin walked over and immediately took her hand.
Following Kylus’s advice that he should either meet her in complete secret or not at all if he didn’t want to be discovered, Edwin had begun wearing a hood whenever he came out.
On the first day he appeared with the hood, Lina naturally asked why. A hood in the middle of summer was bound to look strange, after all. When Edwin couldn’t give a proper answer, she simply assumed there must be a reason and let the matter drop. His identity as a member of the secret intelligence unit proved surprisingly useful in moments like these.
But the kind-hearted Lina always worried about him. Today, too, she glanced back and forth between their joined hands and his attire before asking with concern, “It must be hot.”
With her free hand, she gently fanned the air.
“I don’t really feel the heat.”
Edwin spoke quickly, afraid she might let go of his hand.
“Last time the weather was milder, yet you complained about the heat then.”
Lina smiled and gave him a playful sidelong glance. Even so, she didn’t release his hand.
He had said something like that by the lakeside. Rowing used every muscle in the body evenly and made for excellent exercise; Edwin hadn’t wanted to miss the chance. Therefore, between what he’d said at the lake and what he’d just said, the latter was closer to the truth. Edwin genuinely didn’t suffer much from either heat or cold.
Still, unable to admit that outright, he feigned nonchalance.
“Let’s just say I got hot from the exercise that time.”
Lina generously offered him an excuse.
“I suppose that was it.”
Edwin agreed immediately. At his prompt response, Lina burst into bright laughter.
It sounds like the tinkling of water droplets.
Edwin watched her laugh, completely enchanted. Lately his sensibility had grown remarkably soft after devouring entire volumes of poetry in search of the perfect verse to send Lina.
After laughing to her heart’s content, Lina suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace. Then she looked up at him and whispered, “How much longer do you have to wear this?”
Worried he might be overheating, she released him almost as soon as the words left her mouth. Edwin hovered his hands in the air near her waist but didn’t pull her back in. He didn’t want her to feel hot.
“Probably the week after next?”
The perception-disturbing magic tool he had commissioned from the Magic Tower was scheduled to arrive around then.
“They say next week is going to be brutally hot.”
Lina’s brows drooped with worry for him. At this rate she might tell him not to bother escorting her until the week after next.
“Um, it might even be ready next week.”
Edwin hastily corrected himself. Of course, that delivery date had not been agreed upon with the Magic Tower, but he was the emperor.