It wasn’t where anyone could see it, but a quick reach under the covers and there it was again, the dagger. Tamon was his boss, but he was a crazy kid.?


    ?


    ‘How can you hide several knives in a place where you are sleeping?’?


    ?


    “…… that’s why I told you not to go in there…”?


    ?


    The chamberlain sighed and held out a plain white handkerchief that had been ironed.?


    ?


    “What is it for?”?


    ?


    “There’s blood. Lord Ronasso.”?


    ?


    The chamberlain tapped his cheek lightly.?


    ?


    Ronasso finally noticed a small scratch on his cheek. It was the first threat, a trace that grazed past his face.?


    ?


    “I’m going to pry. It’s not like my abilities are rusty…”?


    ?


    Both heartbroken and happy, Ronasso smiled, but he felt that despite being the First Knight Commander of Barnes, he was still far from keeping up with Tamon.?


    ?


    Ronasso looked even a little frustrated, but on the other hand, he was proud that Tamon’s skills remained the same.?


    ?


    If it wasn’t for the blood disease or something, he would still be a grudge on the battlefield, and would only make his enemies tremble in fear.?


    ?


    ‘Pull it together! I can’t be told I’m worse than a sick man!’?


    ?


    It wasn’t enough that he had almost died from the dagger, the chamberlain shook his head all the while at the sight of Ronasso laughing despite the blood.?


    ?


    He had watched them for a long time, and the friendship between the two was truly strange.?


    ?


    In the past, the Bashel family had a significant presence, so Ronasso belonged to a higher class than Tamon.?


    ?


    The Krasis family had been frontier count families for generations, and the area they were entrusted with was rugged and not rich.?


    ?


    Tamon was born, and the previous Count Krasis decided to send him to the Royal School. Because he judged that Tamon’s outstanding talent could not be wasted.?


    ?


    It was at that time that Tamon met Ronasso Bashel and Prince Theo Lantifu.?


    ?


    Ronasso was quite arrogant at the time and tormented Tamon who came from far away.?


    ?


    Tamon ignored Ronasso until the academy was over.?


    ?


    During that first battle,Tamon and Ronasso had an accident where they fell together into a dark cliff… When Ronasso saw Tamon, he was helpless. (*Ronasso saw something about Tamon)?


    ?


    Only the people involved knew what had happened. They wouldn’t tell…?


    ?


    But something bigger happened after that. By some kind of trickery, the Bashel were driven into rebellion.?


    ?


    The Bashel were caught in the middle of a power struggle, and the head (leader) was slain to prevent the downfall of the family.?


    ?


    However, this led to the fall of Ronasso’s sister, who died shortly thereafter.?


    ?


    With the exception of distant relatives, only Ronasso remained in the direct line of descent.?


    ?


    However, it was Tamon Krasis who relieved the Bashel family’s injustice.?


    ?


    They also clear the stigma of being a traitorous family.?


    ?


    Anyway, since then, the two had a master-servant relationship, but they were rivals, friends and a strange relationship with one sided respect.?


    ?


    ***?


    ?


    “I can’t help it. Just tell him quietly that I’ll be waiting for him.”?


    ?


    Ronasso patted his cheek and headed for the parlor.?


    ?


    Seeing Ronasso’s back as he walked swaggeringly, the chamberlain quietly swallowed the words, “I can’t go in there either.”?


    ?


    “What the hell? What’s the matter?”?


    ?


    Tamon came out into the parlor a few moments later, not properly dressed.?


    ?


    Ronasso looked at him strangely as Tamon yawned briefly in the dangling gown as if he was tired.?


    ?


    Tamon was always the one who went to bed the latest and woke up the first in the academy.?


    ?


    From the time he studied at the Royal School until he joined the battle, his pattern was never once broken.?


    ?


    Tired? That word wasn’t in Tamon Krasis’s vocabulary.?


    ?


    Sleep deprivation? What a total crush that monster was, and he was a man who could stay up all night for three days and still bare his teeth.?


    ?


    For the first time in his life, Ronasso saw Tamon yawning, it was like an illusion.?


    ?


    “Why do you think that? I came to see if the Tamon Krasis I know is okay.”?


    ?


    “Nonsense, tell me what’s going on. I’m busy.”?


    ?


    Tamon leaned back on the large, soft velvet couch, rubbing his stiff shoulders.?


    ?


    He was dressed in a loosely tied gown, and as he leaned back against the couch, his solid thighs were fully visible through the gap in his opened gown.?


    ?


    Along the hardened muscles, the roughly split thighs looked as hard and smooth as a sculpted statue.?


    ?


    ‘I have thighs too…’?


    ?


    Ronasso, who looked at Tamon’s thighs as thick as logs, sat cross-legged. He told himself that it wasn’t an act of trying to erase his comparative mind.?


    ?


    “Ahem. It’s time for you to have a little more open dialogue with me, don’t you think? Tamon brought you ‘the woman’, didn’t you?”?


    ?


    “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”?


    ?


    Tamon took a cigarette from under the table with an expressionless face.?


    ?


    Inhaling the smoke deeply until his head was foggy, he let out a big breath. The unique white smoke scattered like fog.?


    ?


    “The woman from before!”?


    ?


    Tamon, who’d been staring at Ronasso, lowered his head and asked.?


    ?


    “Did you see her?”?


    ?


    “Yes, of course! I saw her!’?


    ?


    ‘Few strands of hair…’?


    ?


    Ronasso thought to himself.?


    ?


    “Hmmm.”?


    ?


    Tamon took another deep gulp of his cigarette.?


    ?


    He inhaled so hard that his cheeks scrunched up, then exhaled the smoke like a sigh and asked again.?


    ?


    “How much?”?


    ?


    Ronasso, who couldn’t say a few strands of hair, answered boldly.?


    ?


    “All!”?


    ?


    Tamon said with a chuckle.?


    ?


    “Then I’ll have to pull out your eyes.”?


    ?


    “I didn’t see……!”?


    ?


    Ronasso hastily stepped back and raised his hand.?


    ?


    “Well, I only saw a few strands of hair! But it was uncommon hair.”?


    ?


    “It’s silver hair. Come out and say it.”?


    ?


    “So you rescued a silver-haired woman while the delegation was all rushing and held her for twenty days?”?


    ?


    “That’s right.”?


    ?


    “Ha! Now it makes sense. That’s why His Majesty asked about it. It doesn’t matter, but it’s a message!”?


    ?


    “Why the sudden mention of His Majesty?”?


    ?


    It was then that Ronasso brought up the main topic.?


    ?


    “One knight said that His Majesty had summoned him and asked him what it was that Tamon had come back with.”?


    ?


    He also remembered to tell us that there was a king’s care within the mission.?


    ?


    “I don’t care. What a big deal…”?


    ?


    Tamon rubbed his cigarette into a thick glass ashtray and distinguished it, then stood up from his seat and stretched for a long time.?


    ?


    After a few painful movements of his body, he heard the sound of crunching and tearing muscles.?


    ?


    “Perhaps the one who delivered the words to His Majesty is Axion. A few years ago, when he was a member of the emperor’s infantry corps, he was beaten a lot. I guess he didn’t want to get beaten anymore.”?


    ?


    “Axion…… You traitor!?


    ?


    “Let it go. Don’t we belong to the emperor anyway?”?


    ?


    “Even if Axion is……. What are you going to do about it?”?


    ?


    “What am I going to do?”?


    ?


    At Tamon’s blunt words, Ronasso tapped his chest.?


    ?


    “Her! Are you going to tell me?”?


    ?


    Tamon stared at Ronasso.?


    ?


    He tapped the table ponderously for a moment, then chuckled and said,?


    ?


    “No.”?


    ?


    Ronasso looked at Tamon as if he didn’t know what to make of him. Tamon stretched out and basked in the sunshine that poured in through the window.?


    ?


    The exhaustion on his face seemed to fade away.?


    ?


    After looking at Tamon for a while, as if he had made up his mind, Ronasso spoke.?


    ?


    “Okay. If you’re right, I’ll do my best to match your opinion, but I think it would be easier for you if we just agreed on something. If His Highness finds out, he’ll certainly try to take her away.”?


    ?


    At Ronasso’s words, Tamon turned around and looked at him.?


    ?


    Ronasso bit his lip, trembling. Probably from the nervousness that he had to deceive the king.?


    ?


    In front of Tamon, Ronasso showed all kinds of emotions, but when it came time to be in front of others, he was a pretty imposing Knight Commander.?


    ?


    They had been best friends for a long time, and after the accidental sharing of life and death with him, Ronasso has shown him his true feelings.?


    ?


    However, not all of them were reasonable enough for him to dare to lie to the king.?


    ?


    At least that was Tamon’s point of view.?


    ?


    To deceive the king.?


    ?


    It was not easy to deceive Theo Lantifu, a sharp blade, and he didn’t know what would happen if he got caught later.?


    ?


    And yet, that friend offered to lie for him so easily and willingly.?


    ?


    “Ronasso.”?


    ?


    “Yes.”?


    ?


    Sighing, Ronasso lifted a glass of water from the table to soothe his burning senses.?


    ?


    He took a gulp, thinking that the water would soothe him a little, even if it wasn’t cold.?


    ?


    “Are you in love with me?”?


    ?


    “Ack! Ack!”?


    ?


    The water that Ronasso had gulped down spurted straight out.