The healer who had guided Lydon was a pitiful sight to behold, his short, gaunt face filled with tears of relief as he found Cadel.

Cadel patted Lydon who clung to him, asking the healer how he was doing, only releasing him when he was told Lydon had made a full recovery. Cadel could still see the healer’s back as he fled. Even a roe deer could not have been faster.

And now. Lydon, who hadn’t been deterred by Van’s various insults and hadn’t been able to pull away from Cadel, stood side by side with Van to take measurements.

“Lydon, stay quiet, and Van, stop fighting. You’re making it hard for the tailor.”

“Yes, Commander. But before I do that, let me just rip this damn fairy’s snout off a little bit.”

“Are you trying to put your hand on my lips, Van? Unscrupulous!”

Am I raising my subordinates or raising my brothers? Cadel shook his head, his brow furrowed, and suddenly opened his mouth out of curiosity.

“Mr. Philip, in terms of Lydon’s clothes, because he’s a fairy, sometimes he’s humanoid like he is now, and sometimes he’s really small, so do we need to measure both types?”

“Oh no, it’s fine. All I have to do is measure the maximum size. I’m going to equip a magic tool…… Like the clothes Mr. Lydon is wearing right now.”

The tailor inadvertently tried to touch Lydon’s arm, but upon meeting his beautifully curved red eyes, he withdrew his hand.

“A magic tool……?”

Was there something like that on Lydon’s clothes? As Cadel approached with a puzzled expression, Lydon made a sullen expression and grumbled.

“You didn’t know until now? Mine isn’t like a magic tool, it’s an artifact.”

“I had no idea. Where is it?”

“The silver button on my wrist here. We have the freedom to shape-shift, so this one is essential if we don’t want to suddenly find ourselves naked. Our clothes shrink and grow with our bodies.”

It was true. Among the buttons on Lydon’s white shirt sleeve, Cadel noticed a silver button with a different pattern and color.

‘I didn’t even realize it until now.’

At least once, Cadel had thought it was strange that Lydon was wearing decent clothes no matter what he looked like. Most of the time when Lydon changed his appearance, it was because of urgent situations, so Cadel thought he just had overlooked it.

Cadel said, lightly touching the button of Lydon, who whined that Cadel wasn’t interested in him.

“Stop whining for no reason. I’m very interested in you.”

Several times a day, Cadel wondered how to handle this bratty prince. What he liked, what Cadel could bait him with, what he would listen to. As for interest, it was overflowing.

Lydon grinned broadly and extended his arm to Cadel.

“Me too, darling.”

His attempt to scoop Cadel into his arms was stopped by Van, who shoved him in the face, but that didn’t stop Lydon from smiling.

The only ones who didn’t laugh were Philip the tailor and the servants, who eyed the three men, trying to figure out the connection between the ‘mad fairy’, the ‘foul-mouthed swordsman’, and the ‘only sane mercenary commander’. Even a cursory glance suggested that they were not normal.

‘Are they dating?’

‘Three of them?’

‘Are you crazy? If the three of them go out, either that fairy or the swordsman will die.’

‘What are you saying, guys? In the first place, they were a mercenary corps. Comrades in arms, comrades.’

‘Do you call your comrade in arms darling?’

‘I guess the titles that fairies use are a bit different!’

The servants whispered among themselves, murmuring low and imagining things. It was a tale that would have turned Cadel’s stomach in horror if he had heard it, but fortunately, he assumed they were complaining about an ‘uncooperative band of mercenaries’. Cadel hastened to mediate their quarrel to save face.

“You guys, don’t say a word from now until Mr. Philip’s work is finished. Don’t even move. Just stand there thinking you are dolls.”

“How about turning Lydon into a doll-like corpse, Commander?”

“Am I a cotton doll or a wooden doll, Cadel? If it’s a cotton doll, it’s hard to stand. Can I lie down?”

“Go ahead and ramble on.”

Cadel glared at Van and Lydon with a feral expression on his face. It wasn’t exactly a scary look, but the two men chose to keep their mouths shut to spare Cadel’s feelings.

“Th, then I’ll measure again.”

Philip swallowed dryly at the restored peace and pulled out the tape measure.

* * *

Cadel was able to enjoy intensive care from healers, plenty of food, and ample rest in a comfortable environment.

The occasional meeting with the Emperor to discuss important matters, or being criticized by Dreyfe whom he ran into, didn’t cause much harm.

After such a long time of normal daily life. It was the day of the appointment ceremony.

“You look great, Mr. Cadel! As expected, you look great in white.”

“Thank you.”

Cadel studied his reflection in the mirror, looking at the short uniform of the soon-to-be-formally-appointed Scarlet Scales Knight Order.

The almost-pure white uniform was neatly intertwined with buttons made of pure silver and knots of bright silver thread, giving it a neat and clean look. The overall pale color could have easily been considered bland, but the red cloak draped over his back added a pop of color that drew the eye to him.

Cadel fiddled with the cloak wrapped around his shoulders and opened his mouth.

“The members’ uniform was not a cape but rather looked like a cloth draped over one shoulder. Are there any other reasons?”

“I’m trying to make a distinction because you are the commander, and they have got very full faces and broad shoulders, so I thought it would be too intimidating if they wore capes like Mr. Cadel……. Ah, and by no means is this to say that Mr. Cadel doesn’t have a good appearance.”

“No one ever said that.”

Was it to inflate the body so as not to be buried among those pole-like people? Philip hurriedly handed over a small earring in front of Cadel with a bitter smile. It was a black earring and unadorned with any jewelry.

“This is a magic tool given by His Majesty. When you wear it, your hair and eye color will change. For my personal taste, the current look goes well with the uniform. Is there any reason to change it…….”

“Didn’t His Majesty tell you not to ask too many questions?”

“Ah, that, that’s right, forget about my question.”

Cadel gave Philip a small smile as he watched, and then slipped the earring into his right earlobe. He’d never worn earrings before, and his ear was smooth without a single scratch. After a moment’s hesitation, Cadel pushed the pin of the earring into his raw flesh without hesitation.

With a bloody sound, it pierced his ear cleanly. Cadel wiped the tingling from his ear and stared into the mirror.

The Emperor had ordered Cadel to keep his identity a secret until he proved his ‘loyalty’, the first condition being that he kept his first name but not his last.

Next was the appearance. Cadel’s handsome appearance was easy to attract attention wherever he went, and his hair and eye colors were particularly similar to Jenga Lytos, making anyone who knew him think of Jenga at least once.

So, the common opinion of Cadel and the Emperor was that if the colors of those two parts were changed, no one would be certain even if they had doubts.

Moreover, if he completely changed his appearance, it would complicate things later when Cadel had to reveal his identity. For now, it would be better to trick people like this.

Cadel’s hair slowly turned black as the magic in the earring activated. As the blackness spread from the tips of his hair to the roots, his eyes were next. As Cadel watched his transformation, he became disconcerted to find that his dark, bronze-colored eyes had become cloudy and misty.

“……Are you sure this is the magic tool given to you by His Majesty the Emperor? Are you sure the color is not mistaken…….”

“No, that’s for sure. Because I overheard him picking the colors on his own.”

Cadel’s eyes, which had been glassy, soon turned a bright gray. Black hair, gray eyes. Though he had chosen colors that were as far removed from those of Lytos as possible, he wondered if it was necessary to be so colorless.

He paled in comparison to his subordinates, and his dark complexion diminished his presence.

‘It’s like living as if I don’t exist. How can he kill all of my characteristics down to my roots and turn them into absolutely nothing like this?’

The soft and gentle impression gave off a calm and sharp feeling even though only the hair and eye color had changed. Cadel himself thought it was like a shadow, but Philip thought it was an atmosphere that perfectly fit the image of a genius magician. Of course, the original look suited the uniform better.

“You should be good to go.”

He didn’t like the change in appearance, but what could he do? Cadel sighed inwardly and opened the door to the guest room to head to the banquet hall.

And beyond that, Van and Lydon stood, ready to go.

_________

T/N: Hi guys, it’s Eliza! Do you guys remember the promise that Cadel made to meet with Garuel after the ceremony? Here are some super *juicy* snippets from that meeting ^^ I sneakily translated THAT chapter at work and I had to try so, so hard not to utter a sound LOL. Anyway, let’s enjoy ^^

. . .

“I got a nice room.”

“A room……?”

“The price I want is one night with you, my dear Sir. And I plan to get it there.”

. . .

“I’m upset that my innocent courtship is being labeled as a joke, and I’m about to list the details of where and how you’re pretty.”

. . .

Cadel had an ominous premonition that something unimaginable was about to happen to him, and Garuel was consumed with the desire to make Cadel’s premonition a reality.

. . .

Cadel had no idea how fervently he was fueling one man’s sadism. He shouldn’t have known. Because if he did, Garuel would never be able to defeat him.

. . .

Then he slipped his arms around his waist and under his knees, lifting Cadel up in one swift motion. Cadel realized that he had been placed on the bed in the blink of an eye.

. . .

Desire. It was a reflection of the thirst he was feeling. It was hard for Cadel to accept, his impure desires, and the fact that the object of those desires was him and no one else.