* * *

“You look tired, Knight Commander.”

Garuel said, perching lightly on the end of the desk. His gaze gently swept over the papers that filled the desk and Cadel, whose head was buried in the center of them. Slowly, Cadel looked up, his eyes clouded with the fatigue of the day.

“I’d rather deal with demons…….”

“Oh, you must be really tired.”

Cadel made a pained sound and rubbed his face with his hands. He wasn’t being sarcastic when he said he’d rather fight demons. Since returning to the Empire, he’d been busy organizing his reports, and after the banquet, he’d literally had no time to breathe.

Between predicting the location of the great magic circle fragments based on Kunra’s information, meeting with the Knight Order commanders to deal with the demons, and analyzing the magic circles he was allowed to participate in as a magician, the amount of work was unimaginable.

If the Scarlet Scales Knight Order were to be involved in the search for the great magic circle, Cadel feared he might die of overwork rather than war.

“I can see why the Guardian Knight Order’s commander is always willing to go out on his own. How is it that there is more work to be done than when he’s not out there? Is this the way all commanders live?”

“Hmm, I don’t know about regular commanders, but the commander of a Knight Order directly under the country does, and this is a bad time.”

Cadel’s brow furrowed in frustration, and Garuel shifted to stand behind him, gently rubbing his rock-hard shoulders as if to massage them.

“I could help you organize your report. Do you want me to do it for you?”

“……Really?”

“I’ve been a commander for years, and I have a form for every report.”

“Then do it. Please. I’m begging you.”

“With your bare mouth?”

“What do you want? I’ve got plenty of money. How about the Emperor’s wine? I use dark mana. I can go down to the cellar and steal it for you.”

Garuel chuckled at the nonsense, wondering if Cadel knew what he was talking about. Garuel rubbed his arm over Cadel’s restless shoulder, leaned down, and kissed Cadel briefly on the lobe of his ear.

“When did I want something like that from you, Knight Commander? I’m a person who likes your body better than alcohol.”

Cadel turned his head to look at Garuel, who stepped in front of him. Cadel blinked as if to clear his mind, and then his brow slowly narrowed.

“……You sound like a pervert.”

“I thought you said you’d call me the Pervert Mask one day.”

“So what do you want? Kiss? Can I kiss you?”

“Kiss…… I’m not confident that it’ll end with just that?”

Garuel smirked smugly, and Cadel’s face quickly stiffened as he caught the devious glint in Garuel’s eyes. It was as if the rationality of defending the final Maginot Line and the survival instinct of not dying in the line of duty were in violent conflict.

Garuel watched the change in Cadel’s expression with amusement, then stroked his dark hair affectionately and said.

“If you don’t want to, I’ll leave, I’ve got my hands full.”

“……I’ll hear your conditions first.”

Turning to Cadel, his eyes gleaming with the seriousness of closing an important deal, Garuel told him what he wanted Cadel to do while he wrote the report for him. Cadel’s face crumpled oddly when he heard Garuel’s conditions.

“Are you sure that’s all you need?”

“I’m sure.”

“Well, it’s easier than I thought…….”

“It seems like just the right amount of dark desire to get even with our Knight Commander.”

Cadel, who looked Garuel over as if he were looking at an incomprehensible being, rose from his seat with a sigh. Garuel plopped down in the empty chair instead, then patted his thigh as he looked at Cadel, whose expression was grim.

“Sit down, Knight Commander. Get some sleep..”

Sleep in his arms until he’s done writing his report, a simple condition, but all the more perverted for its simplicity.

* * *

Rustle. Rustle.

In the silence of the office. Garuel’s neat handwriting filled the blank page. His serious expression, straight posture, and uninterrupted writing made him look as steadfast as if he were still the commander of a Knight Order.

It certainly would have seemed that way, were it not for the presence of a man asleep in his arms, oblivious to the world.

‘I thought he’d leave at the first sign of discomfort, but he sleeps better than I expected. He must have been really tired.’

Garuel flipped to the next page of the report that took up the entire page, Cadel’s small head rested on his shoulder. First Cadel had been complaining about how stiff Garuel’s body was, how he felt like he was lying on a stone, how his heart was pounding, and all sorts of other complaints, but now he was snuggled up to his waist and drifting off into a comfortable slumber.

The weight in his arms was cute. The weight was cute, but it was also serious. The ragged breathing, the warm body temperature, the sweet smell that he couldn’t tell if it was body odor or bath scent. It was so adorable that he wanted to eat it all.

Garuel couldn’t help it. Cadel’s sweetness, his ability as a commander, his charisma, and everything else aside, he was his preference from the start. Every move he made, every expression he wore, was so frighteningly fascinating that Garuel seriously wondered if he was the devil putting him to the test.

‘I’ve been through too much to believe he’s a devil, but I’ve long since stopped doubting that.’

Putting down his pen, Garuel gently ruffled Cadel’s hair as Cadel rested his cheek on his shoulder. He wanted Cadel to drop everything and relax, at least in front of him. They had agreed that they would have no secrets, and even though it seemed Cadel already had one, Garuel still wanted him to find rest in his arms.

‘……Not until Sir Van’s situation is resolved.’

Cadel and Lumen had told him that Van had already left, but Garuel suspected that the ties between the Knight Order and Van had not yet been severed. Perhaps he could only think this because he did not know the full story.

Whatever it was, he needed Van to make Cadel feel at ease. Garuel swallowed a shallow sigh and picked up his pen once more. And at that moment.

“……What are you two doing?”

The door burst open, revealing a stern-faced Lumen, who glanced back and forth between Cadel, who was completely slumped over, and Garuel, who was hugging him.

Lumen’s eyes quickly turned cold at the sight of such an unspeakable scene. Garuel opened his mouth to excuse himself, but then realized that it had been his own dark desire that had initiated the posture, and smiled wryly.

“I’m just putting Knight Commander to sleep because he’s tired.”

“Isn’t it common sense to put someone to bed when they’re tired?”

“I don’t have a lot of common sense in this field. And you know that, Sir Lumen.”

There was a hearty laugh, but Lumen’s expression remained grim. He remembered his horrible first encounter with Garuel.

“You surely don’t consider a one-night stand and Leader an equal.”

“Of course not, and I’m saddened that you would think of me in such a condescending manner.”

“Good thing. If you did, I would have tested whether twelve chops could revive you.”

“……So brutal.”

Normally, he would have teased Lumen a bit more for being so openly jealous, but right now, the atmosphere in the Knight Order was uncharacteristically tense with Van’s departure. He didn’t want to stir up trouble. Garuel gently shook Cadel, who was still sound asleep.

“Wake up, Knight Commander. Your father has come to see you.”

“……Whose father are you talking about?”

“Oh, did I say that? Sir Lumen’s conservative meddling has gotten the better of me…….”

Lumen was about to say something to Garuel, who was smirking, when Cadel opened his eyes.

“What the……. Did you finish the report already……?”

“No, I still have a little bit left.”

“Then why are you waking me?”

“Sir Lumen came to see you.”

His voice was tinged with irritation and drowsiness. Lumen, the real reason for waking the sleepy man, stepped forward to Cadel’s side, feeling faintly guilty. Reaching out, he helped Cadel to his feet, supporting his staggering body.

“His Majesty wants to see you, Leader. He wants you to come to his office.”

“Why would he want me to come to his office when this is also an office? And does it hurt if he comes to find me? I’m not in a hurry, he’s in a hurry.”

Cadel was clearly half asleep. Lumen took Cadel’s side and soothed him, watching for signs of disturbance.

“We can’t help it, it’s the Emperor.”

“When are they going to abolish the caste system here? I’m so sick of it.”

“……It was a bold idea, but please only talk about it in front of me.”

Cadel, who had been grumbling in a daze for a while, slipped out of Lumen’s grasp with a loud yawn.

“Well, I can’t ask the old Emperor to come and see me. Garuel, can you finish the report by the time I get back?”

“Of course.”

“Lumen, you find Lydon and Yozen and bring them here. I think I know what the Emperor needs to discuss, and I’ll tell you guys when I get back.”

The Emperor pulled him aside to tell him something. It was obviously a decision about whether or not to include the Scarlet Scales Knight Order in the search for the Demon Realm’s great magic circle.

Cadel traveled to the Emperor’s office, not looking forward to what he would find.

Upon meeting him, the Emperor skipped the unnecessary preamble and gave Cadel what he wanted.

“Your Knight Order will not be included in this search for the great magic circle of the Demon Realm.””

“Keub……!”

Cadel slapped his thigh, instinctively holding back the glee that threatened to leap out. If the Emperor had sent them on the search, the maddened illegitimate son of Lytos might have made a second attempt to assassinate the imperial family.

Whether he knew Cadel’s feelings or not, Derek spoke calmly.

“Don’t take it personally. The Scarlet Scales Knight Order will be dispatched to the area of greatest need after the search is complete.”

“I understand.”

“We’re expecting the search to last at least a year, but if it goes beyond that, your Knight Order may become involved.”

A year. During that time, no matter what the outcome of the search, the Demon War will happen. Cadel’s task remained the same. As he listened to Derek’s instructions, Cadel cautiously spoke up.

“During that one-year search, Your Majesty, we, the Knight Order, would like to wait elsewhere.”

“Elsewhere……?”

“We need to train for the Demon War, but as you know, we have a black magician, an assassin, and a fairy in our Knight Order. We can’t train in public.”

“That’s true. So, do you have a place in mind?”

It was a plan he’d had in mind the entire time before the search mission was finalized. A place to train his subordinates to peak their stats before the Demon War.

“I’d like to go to the Mountains of Silence.”

There was no more suitable place.