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.