She was probably overthinking it.

However, Rishe probably couldn’t consider all the possibilities she could think of to be at par with Arnold’s thoughts. In any case, they must be vigilant.

“Your Highness Theodore, how’s the search for Teacher going…”

“Excuse me, Lord Theodore.”

A knight appeared at the end of the corridor and called with familiarity. The tall knight must be a member of Theodore’s knight guards.

“All right. Come on, sister-in-law, this way!”

“Have you already located Teacher?!”

“Whose brother do you think I am? Besides, that man has returned to a place where he can be most easily monitored!”

She chased after Theodore, who ran off as soon as they left the main castle, plucking at the hem of her dress and running through the outer garden.

There was no need to confirm where the best place for easy surveillance was.

“Huh…”

Her breath hitched as they continued running. Even though she had been training as a knight cadet, there was no way she could gain physical strength in just ten days.

When Rishe arrived panting at the location, the man was sitting leisurely.

“–Hi, Rishe.”

Michel smiled lazily in the flower-filled garden.

Behind him were a total of four knights. Their uniforms were slightly different in design from Arnold’s knight guards.

Michel was sitting in a white chaise lounge in the garden, surrounded by the knights and smoking a scented cigarette.

“You’re an excellent student, but you need guidance on how to handle laboratory animals. Sometimes, when cornered, animals behave in unexpected ways, you know?”

“…Teacher.”

“You can’t block all the exits. A cat with no more trees to shelter in would scratch a dog that’s chasing it, you know? Meow! And more.”

Michel raised his right hand in a flutter and imitated a cat brandishing its claws.

“But, even though you’re tailing me, it really doesn’t have any significant effect on my behavior.”

When he nodded his head, his shoulder-length golden hair flowed smoothly according to gravity.

Theodore who was out of breath still tried to step forward casually, as if to shield Rishe.

“What’s with this guy? Why are you acting close to my brother’s fiancee…”

The knights guarding Rishe also caught up with him, but Rishe deterred them with a glance.

After that, she glanced at the knights surrounding Michel.

“Your Highness, the knights guarding Teacher…”

“I get it. You guys, don’t you know what I meant by following that man? Get out of here.”

The knights bowed awkwardly upon receiving Theodore’s command.

“Our apologies, Your Highness, the Second Prince. We can’t obey your command at our discretion.”

“…What did you say?”

Theodore raised his eyebrows in displeasure. The knights got frightened, but they didn’t seem to have any intention of quitting this place.

Michel blinked at their exchange.

“Hey Rishe, why do you want to get rid of the knights? Maybe they care for me. You’re very kind, thank you. But…”

Michel chuckled.

“–There’s no need for that.”

This presence…

The sound of stomping on the lawn made Rishe turn around swiftly.

She didn’t need to look to see who was approaching her. This was a presence that she had learned just recently from observing the person enough to avoid having to face him.

Count Rovine!

“…Lucius Alcott…”

The eyes of the tall warrior who stood in front of Rishe widened for a moment.

Rovine quickly regained his composure, removed his gaze from Rishe and first greeted Theodore.

“…Your Highness Theodore. Have the knights done something rude?”

“I ordered them to stay back, but they said that they couldn’t obey me. Rovine, would you like to explain this to me?”

“I beg your pardon. But they can’t obey your orders out of loyalty, even if they come from Your Highness.”

“So I’m asking you why?”

“…”

The air that Rovine was exuding at the moment was that of a knight standing on the battlefield.

It was a far cry from the caring leader that Rishe has dealt with in the past.

“It’s an order from His Majesty, the Emperor.”

“!!!”

The word “Emperor” made Theodore wince a bit.

“Michel Evan has given notice that he’d cause a major incident 15 minutes from now.”

“Teacher Michel…”

“He’s right, you know. I found the right knight in the castle and declared, ‘I am responsible for the violence that will occur at eighteen o’clock, so catch me when that happens.’”

She wondered what Michel was talking about.

She was confused for a moment, but then she remembered her purpose.

“So that His Highness Arnold will hear about the gunpowder?”

“In the name of interrogation, I’ll have to tell him everything. Considering what’s about to happen, I’m sure the Crown Prince and Emperor of Garkhain will pay attention to what I have to say, right?”

Michel smiled softly and said without a hint of guilt.

“With the magnitude of what’s to come, it’s impossible for it to go unheard of by the royal family.”

“… !!”