Chapter 197
If that were to happen, they might very well succeed in rebelling during a period when the nation’s strength was weakened. Calix, who had been quietly listening, slowly lifted one corner of his mouth and muttered,
“It’s not an impossible scenario.”
It was even more plausible when he thought about Bianca, who was doing everything she could to remove him from the position of Crown Prince, and the surprising number of people who didn’t even regard the Imperial Family as royalty.
“Before we proceed, investigate the second prince as well.”
“Yes, Commander-in-Chief.”
“Ah, Your Highness. There’s something else I’d like to report.”
“What is it?”
Lea thought that this was the perfect opportunity to send back the Guides whose attitudes were ambiguous.
“It’s good that the number of Guides has increased, but I don’t think we can just focus on quantity. Especially in cases where people have switched sides and defected to us. So, I’d like to use this chance to select only those who genuinely wish to become citizens of the Cantabria Empire.”
“Are the Guides causing problems?”
“It’s only natural that there’s a lot of unrest. From their perspective, they have every reason to feel anxious.”
“Hm, well, you can handle that,” Calix said to Derek.
Derek placed his hand over his heart and replied respectfully,
“I will obey Lady Lea’s and the Commander-in-Chief’s orders.”
At his reply, one of Calix’s eyebrows quirked up. Seeing him make no effort to hide his ulterior motives reminded Calix of something Derek had said before, making his insides churn.
Calix then subtly moved his hand so that Lea could see it.
“Ah!”
At the renewed scent of blood, Lea immediately grabbed Calix’s palm.
“Call the medic.”
“It’s not serious enough to call the medic, so it’s fine.”
“But…”
“I think I’ll be fine if you just blow on it for me.”
With an implicit look, Calix made a show of capturing Lea’s attention, right in front of Zion, Derek, and Ilion, who were all watching. Lea hesitated briefly, then supported his large hand with both of hers and pursed her lips into a round shape.
Fuu, fuuu—
The air that brushed his torn skin somehow felt hot, and he couldn’t take his eyes off Lea as she did exactly what he’d asked.
He’d known all along that she would do it. It was a bad feeling, but he constantly wanted confirmation of her loyalty. So she would never betray him.
If anyone were to betray him, and it was Lea, he would kill her and then follow her in death.
So she always had to look only at him, and he would never take his eyes off her.
As Lea blew several times over his palm, she lifted her gaze. Crimson eyes met hers immediately. With a satisfied smile, he whispered languidly,
“I really think it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
But those sharp eyes lingered on the wound in his palm, as if searching for something even she didn’t know about.
* * *
The next day, Calix examined the wound on his palm in detail. It had healed quite well, though there were still traces. For an Esper, this was a plausible rate of recovery.
“Hm, did I imagine it?”
He thought back to how his side wound had vanished in just one day. Even for an Esper, that wound should have taken at least a week to heal, considering its size and depth.
For such a wound to heal in one day, hm. He’d be strange not to have doubts. Now that he thought about it, there had been times when he’d felt drained from lack of guiding, but he had almost never been injured.
After a moment’s thought, he decided to try again. This time, he used a dagger to cut his palm, making it about as deep as the wound on his side had been. He watched as red blood welled up, then waited for Lea in his tent.
The wound didn’t seem to be very deep, because even though he did nothing, the bleeding soon stopped on its own.
“Pardon me, Commander-in-Chief.”
While waiting for Lea, Calix greeted Zion, who came in with an impassive face.
“A letter has arrived from the palace…”
As Zion pulled out the letter, he suddenly caught the scent of blood and snapped his gaze upward. Spotting the traces of blood on the floor at Calix’s feet, he asked in a much lower voice,
“Was it an attack by one of the Empress’s spies?”
Recalling Bianca’s underlings hiding among the soldiers, Zion asked, even though he knew none of them would be skilled enough to challenge Calix.
Calix let out a short laugh at Zion’s question and replied,
“I wouldn’t lose to people like that.”
“Of course, I never thought you would. Then, why are you injured? Ah, perhaps…”
Zion, thinking of another possibility, continued with a suddenly cold expression.
“You didn’t get in trouble for doing something disrespectful to Lady Lea, did you?”
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