Looking for a Husband to Confine Me - Chapter 47.1
Chapter 47.1
Late at night, a weary group trudged along the road. Dressed in the uniforms of the Knights, exhaustion was etched onto their faces. The three or four knights were so tired that they walked in silence.
“Haa… it’s been ages since I’ve been home,” one finally mumbled, breaking the silence. His words seemed to open a floodgate.
“My children will have forgotten my face,” another sighed.
“I have to be back on duty in less than half a day,” the youngest knight complained.
“Why didn’t you just stay at the barracks then?” someone asked.
Going home only to sleep briefly before returning to duty seemed pointless. Staying at the knights’ quarters would have been far more practical, yet the young knight insisted on going home.
As the others clicked their tongues at his apparent foolishness, another knight spoke up in his defense. “Did you forget? This guy just got married. He wants to see his wife.”
Gilbert Auid, the young knight, blushed. Despite the darkness, the moonlight illuminated his face. The other knights grinned, teasing him.
“Ah, that’s right. Trouble started right after his wedding.”
“Hopefully, he won’t be served divorce papers as soon as he gets home.”
“Don’t say such ominous things,” Gilbert grumbled in response to their teasing.
Trouble had indeed begun at his post right after his wedding. A foreign prince’s attendant had attempted to poison the prince. Consequently, the knights had been burdened with endless overtime and night shifts. Like Gilbert, the others hadn’t been home properly for over a month.
They were all members of the Crown Knights, the Crown Prince’s personal guard. Recently, the capture of the prince’s would-be assassin had only intensified their workload. While apprehending the culprit brought some relief, their priorities had simply shifted; they were no less busy.
Previously focused on guarding the Kishan princes, they were now occupied with securing Pazl’s confession, searching for a possible accomplice within the Knights, and catching up on backlogged work.
“Do you really think there’s an accomplice among us?” Gilbert, the youngest of the group, asked cautiously. The others fell silent, their faces hardening.
They were the Crown Prince’s personal knights. Becoming a knight of the royal family was difficult, but becoming one of the Crown Prince’s personal guard was even more challenging. Their pride was immense. The idea of an accomplice within their ranks, aiding Pazl, was almost unthinkable. Gilbert shook his head in disbelief.
“We don’t want to believe it either…”
“But that attendant, Cain, was helping Pazl. There might be someone among us too.”
“It’ll all come out in the investigation. His Highness won’t let this go.”
Cain, the attendant, had assisted Pazl at the recent banquet. His task had been to remove a bottle of untainted wine from the cellar, but he had been found unconscious. With Pazl’s poisoning attempt foiled and the missing wine discovered, Cain couldn’t deny his involvement. He claimed ignorance of Pazl’s intent to kill Prince Bashar, but he would face severe punishment nonetheless.
The suspected accomplice within the Knights was not only in league with Pazl but had also shared the mansion’s secret passages, facilitating his infiltration. Given that Pazl had even summoned a monstrous creature, the knight’s crime would be far greater than Cain’s.
“I still can’t believe there’s a traitor among us. How could anyone betray His Highness as a Crown Knight?” Gilbert’s voice trembled. Many young knights admired the Crown Knights, so his reaction was understandable.
The other knights smiled faintly at his earnestness.
“People are just… people. It can’t be helped,” one said.
“None of us are completely pure, regardless of the circumstances,” added another.
“We’ve even had a knight target His Highness before,” a third reminded them, a bitter edge to his voice.
“Seniors…” Gilbert murmured, and silence fell again. They slowed their pace as they reached a fork in the road.
“Gilbert, you go left, right?”
“Yes.”
“Get some rest. And when you get home, apologize profusely to your wife, no matter what.”
“We should get some extra leave once this is all over.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Yes, seniors.”
Gilbert Auid was the only one heading in a different direction, so they parted ways at the crossroads. He paused, watching his colleagues disappear down the road before slowly turning and walking away.
“Haa…” A deep sigh escaped his lips. He roughly undid the top button of his uniform.
“A traitor among the seniors…” he muttered, recalling the faces of the knights who had just been comforting him. In truth, he had received separate instructions from the Knight Commander, Ray Kewind, to observe those very knights.
Pazl’s accomplice within the Crown Knights. The Crown Prince had initiated a secret investigation to uncover the traitor and had narrowed down the suspects. Gilbert had been assigned to monitor a select group.
