Weeping Men: The Innocent Princess's Secret Delight - Chapter 1.11
He sensed it. He immediately put on his outer garment and strapped on his sword.
‘Do anything. Except sitting still at the desk. …And except going to the Princess’s palace.’
Kaizen, having made up his mind, headed straight for the training grounds. There was nothing better than moving the body to erase unnecessary thoughts.
While he was in the midst of swinging his sword, someone came looking for him. Judging by the weight and speed of their footsteps on the ground, the visitors were knights.
‘They’ll avoid me on their own.’
Kaizen continued his training without bothering to stop.
But they kept approaching without stopping. At this rate, it would be dangerous as they would enter the path of his sword. Kaizen stopped his training and looked at those who had approached.
“Commander.”
It was Philian, Teritos, and Kitchel. The subordinate knights who had shown undisguised lustful desires towards Her Highness.
Even without consciously adjusting his attitude, cold words naturally sprang out.
“You lack basic etiquette. Were you taught that it’s acceptable for subordinates to interrupt their superior’s training at will?”
“We were never instructed to show respect to a superior who stole a woman we were making progress with. I doubt even our mentor has experienced such a situation.”
It seemed the other side was equally displeased with him. They sneered with all their might, filled with anger. Kaizen’s voice also lowered a notch.
“Are you referring to Her Highness the Princess?”
“From the beginning, we were the only ones Her Highness had designated! She knew our names even before we introduced ourselves, and she willingly showed us her intimate places. It was you, Commander, who interfered with Her Highness’s clear signs of favor!”
Their delusion had already reached a level that couldn’t be corrected in any way.
‘To think such men are imperial knights, far from protecting, they’re on the verge of causing harm.’
It was at a time when Kaizen was considering whether to investigate and find grounds for dismissal.
“Did you think it was a good opportunity when Her Highness showed interest in the knighthood?”
“…”
Meanwhile, their mockery was filled with malice.
“Weren’t you the son cast out by the Duke’s family, exiled to that cold northern region? Even though you returned as a war hero, you still can’t compete with the young duke, so are you aiming for the position of royal consort?”
In an instant, Kaizen’s eyes darkened. His hand gripped the sword hilt tightly.
Now, he was weighing the pros and cons of cutting them down to discipline the knighthood and the punishment for striking imperial knights.
“How dare you address the Commander like that!”
The one who broke the tense atmosphere was Kaizen’s adjutant. The adjutant who had rushed over spewed anger towards the subordinates.
“Your discipline is truly fantastic. Huh? Don’t you know that a division that doesn’t trust its leader is the first to crumble in war?”
The subordinates merely found his intrusion unpleasant. However, Kaizen read the intention behind his gesture.
The adjutant had positioned himself between Kaizen and them. Ready to block the sword if it were to be swung.
‘…What was I thinking about?’
Thanks to this, he came to his senses. Kaizen released his grip on the sword hilt and ordered his adjutant.
“Marty.”
“Yes!”
“Handle this at your level.”
“Understood! I’ll make these bastards be reborn anew. Gather everyone from your superiors down to my subordinates!”
The adjutant was Kaizen’s only loyal subordinate who was devoted solely to him, not to the imperial family or the duke. He had even followed him to the north.
Just a few days ago, having witnessed the Duke’s family’s unchanged attitude towards Kaizen, his anger was even more intense. The adjutant dragged away the subordinates while vehemently expressing his rage.
Even as they were being dragged away, the subordinates wore expressions that seemed unable to comprehend the situation.
In those faces, Kaizen sensed a kind of danger. He had experienced several times in the north how subordinates with such expressions often messed things up.
‘I’ll have to do something about this.’
They were beings that reminded him of that precious one. He couldn’t tolerate even the slightest harm coming to her.
Kaizen steeled his resolve.
At the same time, Judith was idly muttering while looking down at the training grounds from a nearby palace.
“I wonder if it’s ripe enough now?”
The time for harvest was approaching. The name of the sweet fruit is, of course, Kaizen Pentmian.
***
“Um… Is Viscount Pentmian here?”
While Kaizen was attending a meeting to negotiate reparations with the delegation from the Northern Tribal Alliance, Judith came to the training grounds.
Seeing the Princess after so long, Philian and his group rushed to greet her.
In their haste, they didn’t even suspect why the Princess, who could simply summon Kaizen if she had business with him, had come in person.
“What brings you here, Your Highness!”
“Viscount Philian. And it’s been a while, Viscount Teritos and Baron Kitchel. …But, are you injured?”
“Ah!”
The Princess, who had been smiling and greeting them, suddenly showed a worried expression. They clumsily tried to cover their wounds with the back of their hands.
In their rush to come out, they hadn’t managed to hide the traces of having spent the entire previous night in the training grounds. As they touched the bruises that were still swollen and hot, they soon became angry.
‘How dare they lay hands on a noble’s face!’
‘After rotting in the north, he’s as vulgar as ever!’
Being embarrassed in front of the Princess intensified their resentment towards Kaizen even more. They raised their voices.
“It’s nothing! Please don’t worry and tell us what’s on your mind, Your Highness!”
“Since the Commander is absent, you can tell us anything in his stead!”
Receiving such an enthusiastic welcome, the Princess seemed rather troubled and just fidgeted with her hands.
“…Well… if it’s not Viscount Pentmian, it’s a bit…”
At those words, Philian and his group boiled with anger.
‘That despicable commander has already manipulated the Princess to rely only on him!’
Wasn’t the Princess’s attention originally meant to be entirely theirs?
They began to try to redirect the Princess’s attention back to its original direction.
“Anything the Commander can do, we can do as well. There are three of us here to help you!”
“You don’t need to hide anything from us. Aren’t we the ones who spent time together at the pond?”
At the last remark, Judith’s jade-colored eyes sparkled.
“…Is it really alright?”
“Of course!”
“Then…”
The three focused intently as if drawn into the Princess’s mumbling lips.
“I’d like you to go somewhere with me.”
As soon as Kaizen returned from the meeting, he received an urgent report from his adjutant.
“Her Highness the Princess’s whereabouts are unknown!”
“…What?”
“She was last seen leaving with three of our knights, and then disappeared.”
“Which three?”
“The ones who had issues with you earlier, Commander!”
Damn it. Kaizen bit his lip and fastened his sword to his waist.
“The 4th Division will also participate fully in the search.”
“What? But we’re in charge of communications! Sufficient personnel have already been deployed for the search, and our three knights are likely with Her Highness, so it’s not an urgent situation…”
“No.”
He roughly cut off his adjutant’s words.
“That’s why it’s more dangerous.”
