As Jessie quickly changed the subject, Ail let out a small sigh, leaning heavily on the armrest of the plush chair as if he couldn’t hold himself upright any longer. Watching him, Jessie grabbed a blanket draped over the chair and covered Ail with it before taking a seat across from him.

Once again, Jessie found himself marveling at Ail’s extraordinary resilience. Any normal person in his condition wouldn’t even be able to move. Yet here Ail was, having stormed out earlier, furiously demanding Ruth’s presence. By morning, the man who had barely been able to open his eyes was already regaining his energy. It was hard not to respect whatever force—whether sheer willpower or physical stamina—kept him going. But even Ail seemed to be reaching his limits now.

After taking a moment to steady himself, Ail returned to his usual composed demeanor and looked at Jessie. “What is it?”

“These are correspondences between those who collaborated with Lyman Kaizel and a list of his financial backers,” Jessie said.

Ail’s eyes lit up with a spark of interest. As expected, nothing invigorated him more than advantageous information. “Why would Leysha send that?”

“She was enraged when she learned Lyman Kaizel tried to kill Ruth. Leysha and Leia have already arrived in Vera. I’ve stationed private soldiers to watch over them,” Jessie explained.

Hearing this, Ail chuckled. “That woman never ceases to amaze.”

“She’s just a mother fiercely protective of her son,” Jessie replied.

Ail didn’t fully understand such sentiments, but if Jessie said so, he was willing to accept it. Extending a hand, he gestured for Jessie to hand over the documents. Jessie gave a sly smile.

“In exchange for handing these over, how about we let the map incident slide?” Jessie proposed.

“It’s already mine,” Ail said coldly.

“Technically, it’s still in my possession,” Jessie countered.

Amused by Jessie’s audacious negotiation, Ail smirked bitterly. He had never truly intended to punish Jessie for the map theft. Instead, he planned to appoint him as his secretary and torment him for life. Deciding to play along, he relented. “Fine.”

Jessie smiled triumphantly, walked to the door, and retrieved a package from what appeared to be a courier. Returning almost gleefully, he placed a box on a small table in front of Ail. Watching him, Ail muttered under his breath, What a simpleton. Clever and quick-witted as Jessie was, he still hadn’t fully grasped how dangerous Ail could be.

Once Jessie set the box on the table, he added, “Also, the largest bridge over the Norman River has been destroyed.”

“I heard. After the knights crossed it, right?” Ail replied dismissively.

“Yes.”

“…I see.”

Without much interest, Ail began sifting through the letters and documents in the box. Watching this indifferent response, Jessie couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you curious who blew it up?”

Ail replied flatly, “Not really.”

“The bridge exploded in Rengetti, where Your Highness is staying. And right after the knights crossed it. Doesn’t that make you wonder who’s behind it?”

“It’s not my country. It’s not a bridge used by my people. Whether it blew up, vanished, or collapsed, it doesn’t matter to me. As long as the knights crossed safely, that’s all that matters.”

“It might have been Lyman Kaizel targeting the knight Order.”

“If that were the case, it would’ve exploded before they crossed,” Ail said nonchalantly.

Ail gave a simple answer and continued methodically sorting through the letters. One by one, he read them carefully, categorizing them into piles on the table. While Jessie remained curious about the bridge explosion, Ail had no interest in something as trivial as a foreign country’s bridge. If someone had targeted the enemy knights, they would have destroyed the bridge before they crossed. No one competent enough to plan such an attack would wait until the knights had safely crossed before detonating it.

Ail took his time, reading each letter thoroughly. Once they were organized, he moved on to the thick documents, about four volumes in total. Watching Ail skim through them, Jessie reached for one of the letters, only for Ail to speak sharply.

“Don’t touch.”

“I need to know what’s in them too,” Jessie argued.

“You don’t need to know.”

“I risked my life for Your Highness.”

“Are you looking for praise for doing what’s expected of you?” Ail’s cold reply made Jessie click his tongue. He had thought Ail was starting to seem more human, but apparently, that was just a fleeting illusion.

“Call Kamiel. And inform Ruth to travel directly to Karileum through the mountains, not via Vera,” Ail instructed.

Jessie raised a brow in protest. “It’ll take significantly longer if they avoid Vera.”

Bypassing the Norman River bridge wasn’t necessary—traveling a little north through the mountains and circling back southward via Vera would get them to Karileum quickly. Skipping Vera and going through the mountains would add at least a week to the journey. Puzzled by Ail’s insistence on taking the longer route, Jessie stared at him, waiting for an explanation.

“It doesn’t matter. Just call Kamiel,” Ail said bluntly.

Jessie gave him a suspicious look, sensing some ulterior motive. Ail snapped, “Stop staring.”

Jessie muttered to himself as he stood up, “He’s almost starting to act human.”

The fact that Ail even reacted to Jessie’s gaze—where previously he would have ignored it—made Jessie think, sarcastically, that Ail was showing progress. “I’ll call Kamiel.”

The rain had stopped, but the air remained damp. As night fell, a fire crackled in the fireplace. Inside the warm room, Ail was listening to Kamiel and Jessie recount details of events he hadn’t yet fully understood. After hearing everything, Ail leaned back in his chair and began to think.

“Lyman Kaizel…” he murmured the name under his breath, contemplating how to resolve the situation. He had acted impulsively when he ran out of the imperial palace, without considering the aftermath. Normally, he would have come up with an excuse or a plan, but at the time, he had only one thought: find Ruth. Now that he had achieved that goal, he faced a series of problems stemming from his actions. By leaving the palace without authorization, he had given his enemies the perfect excuse to act against him. Although he had gained some leverage against them, the current situation was far from favorable.

The only silver lining was that Ruth had managed to delay Lyman Kaizel by luring him to Clozium. According to Kamiel, Ruth had hired the Red Scorpions to drive Lyman toward southern Clozium, buying Ail some time. Even someone like Lyman Kaizel couldn’t accomplish much in foreign territory without support.

During this fleeting opportunity, Ail needed to turn the situation to his advantage. The issues piling up were no small matter, but if he addressed them one by one, he could find a path forward: his unauthorized departure from the palace, Lyman Kaizel, assassination attempts, and the troublesome marriage issue. Of all these, the marriage problem was the most vexing. While the other matters could be resolved with the evidence Leysha had sent, the marriage was a different story. Ruth hadn’t outright refused, but it was clear he disliked the idea of Ail marrying. Losing the Astro family was a shame, but it wasn’t worth deepening the rift between him and Ruth.

“I hate taking the long way around… but…” Ail muttered.

“What was that?” Jessie asked.

At Ail’s sudden remark, both Jessie and Kamiel turned to look at him. Ail opened his eyes and glanced back and forth between the two.

“Eilen’s wife was Salina’s older sister, wasn’t she?”

“Yes,” Kamiel replied.

“As I thought… I’ll handle them all at once.”

“Pardon?”

Ail’s cryptic words left Jessie and Kamiel bewildered, their confused expressions clearly displeasing him. Waving his hand dismissively, Ail said, “Enough. Leave me. I need some rest.”

Though curious about his intentions, the two complied, mindful of Ail’s injuries. Kamiel and Jessie stood up without protest. With the mountain route being a long journey, they would have plenty of time to think and discuss along the way.

“…Understood. Please rest well,” Jessie said, bowing slightly before moving toward the door. As he reached it, Ail called Kamiel back.

“Bring Ruth.”

“That’s not possible,” Kamiel responded firmly, without hesitation.

Ail frowned, displeased by the flat refusal. “I have something to discuss with him. Bring him here.”

“It’s not possible. Speak with him tomorrow morning.”

“I’m an adult now. I don’t need you acting as my guardian. Bring him here.”

“It’s not possible.”

Kamiel’s parrot-like repetition began to genuinely anger Ail. Though it was unclear when Kamiel had become so intent on playing the role of protector, Ail was finding it increasingly intolerable.

“That’s an order. Bring him.”

“Think about your condition. If you collapse again, you won’t even make it out of Clozium.”

“This is my body. I’m not so weak as to need your nagging, and I’m in a state where I can make sound judgments about myself. I won’t tolerate further interference.”

Ail’s gaze turned icy. Though physically and emotionally exhausted, his commanding presence remained intact. Kamiel sighed in reluctant acknowledgment. He knew Ail was right; despite his depleted energy, Ail was perfectly capable of assessing and managing his condition. Ail’s self-discipline was second to none, and under normal circumstances, no one would dare offer him unsolicited advice.

But Ail wasn’t his usual self. Kamiel couldn’t pinpoint it, but something about him had changed. While his demeanor toward most people remained the same, his attitude and gaze when dealing with Ruth felt noticeably different. More strikingly, the typically cold and calculating Ail seemed to regress into an impulsive teenager whenever Ruth was involved. Kamiel found himself more shaken by what he had witnessed between Ail and Ruth earlier that day than by news of the Norman River bridge explosion.

Interrupting the growing tension between Ail and Kamiel, Jessie stepped in. “His Highness says he’s fine. Don’t fuss so much. I’ll fetch Ruth.”

With that, Jessie mumbled, “Let’s go,” and grabbed Kamiel’s arm to drag him toward the door. Just then, there was a knock.

“Who is it?” Ail asked flatly, his irritation evident.

“It’s Ruth,” came a soft, calm voice from the other side.

Ail’s expression softened immediately, the change so visible it startled Jessie, who let out a low whistle. Ail quickly hardened his face again and shot Jessie a glare before responding. “Come in.”

The door opened, and Ruth stepped inside. Spotting Jessie and Kamiel standing near the entrance, he gave them a slight nod. When Jessie got his first proper look at Ruth’s face, his eyes widened.

“What happened to your face? Did His Highness hit you in anger?”

Kamiel jabbed Jessie hard in the ribs, cutting him off. “There was… a minor issue outside.”

Kamiel’s clipped response made it clear Jessie shouldn’t press further. Picking up on the hint, Jessie nodded. “Ah, I see. You should be more careful. So, is the Knights’ issue all sorted now?”

“Yes. I was actually about to see both of you. I heard we won’t be passing through Vera, so I found an alternative route. It’s not as fast as going through Vera, but I wanted to make sure it’s acceptable.”

Ruth held up a map he had brought. Seeing an opportunity, Kamiel spoke quickly. “Let’s discuss it then…”