Chapter 113

Siena’s sudden appearance.

Everyone in the captain’s audience chamber tensed up.

‘Something’s off, honestly.’

Siena lacked any significant combat ability.

Victoria was skilled in swordsmanship, horsemanship, and marksmanship. Anais, despite currently sewing lace, had grown into an excellent mage in the original story, fighting alongside Leon against demon worshippers. In comparison, Siena was insignificant.

But to me, Siena seemed stronger than the two imperial princesses. The Captain of the Princess Guard seemed to share the same sentiment.

“Your Highness, my dullness has hindered proper courtesy.”

“Just sit down.”

An unusually considerate gesture from Siena.

However, the captain of the guard watched Siena nervously, her face tense.

Not out of small-mindedness, surely.

The Royal Guard, though attached to the imperial family, had extensive combat experience. Capable knights were not idle but sent to the front lines to earn merit, as a well-minded royal would recognize their potential.

Even the captain found Siena daunting. I knew it was not merely due to her status.

Intelligence. Political acumen.

And an endless sadism where she evaluated everyone she met.

Siena was the type who could smile and stab you in the back right after. To everyday people, she was just a nasty villainess, but the elite understood her true nature.

The captain must know.

How terrifying Siena could be, and how dire the situation would become if this conversation went awry.

“Alan, respond.”

“…”

“I thought I caught a whiff of the word ‘retirement.’ Surely my ears deceived me. You wouldn’t voluntarily disregard the guard’s protocols and leave without permission, right?”

“Your Highness.”

“If you truly wanted to leave, you would have sought my consent first. You’d know better than to deceive me.”

“Of course.”

“Knowing this, did you do it anyway?”

Siena’s voice dropped.

She then paused, staring at her feet for a moment.

Soon, she made small wobbling steps with her right and left foot, as if unsure which to place first.

At first glance, it was an adorable yet clumsy act.

But no one dared to laugh. Neither the captain, nor I, nor the knights and maids accompanying Siena did so. Everyone could tell that Siena had reached her limit.

At this point, I slowly rose from my seat and approached Siena, making sure to act pitiful.

Of course, Siena wasn’t one to fall for such a straightforward act. She was probably questioning it now. Is he being serious? Is this some ploy like the others? I shouldn’t trust him.

Still, even so, a sliver of hope must have risen within her.

Just this once, he might be sincere.

People, after all, tend to believe what they want to believe.

“Alan.”

Upon closer inspection, I noticed one of Siena’s fingers was wrapped with a band-aid. This injury didn’t seem unrelated to me. Perhaps she had fidgeted after learning of my meeting with Victoria, creating a cut.

A woman so infatuated with me that she drew blood. I briefly gazed at the flustered Siena with a sympathetic look before speaking.

“Your Highness, please inform the captain that I seek retirement. With a single word from your highness, I can leave the princess guard.”

“Stop.”

Siena’s hand began trembling, but I ignored it.

“There’s no need for a formal retirement ceremony. How many knights would genuinely sorrow over my resignation?”

“Please, just stop here. If you keep this up, I’ll…”

I placed a hand on her rounded shoulder. If I left her unchecked, she might unleash an irreversible threat right before the captain—like ordering the execution of everyone she found irritating.

I restrained her and positioned her in front of the captain.

“Your Highness, I have a proposal. If you wish to maintain any connection with me, please accede to my retirement. I have no intention of leaving this office while still being a royal knight. Please grant my request.”

“…”

“Please.”

“Alan.”

Siena’s voice was starting to falter. Her fidgeting hands had calmed and rested at her sides.

It didn’t seem like she had detached herself from the treacherous knight so easily. If it were a matter so simple to resolve, I wouldn’t have schemed as much as I did.

Siena was already contemplating her next move, judging that stopping my departure was impossible. That’s more like her.

“…Alright. I consent.”

“Thank you.”

The retirement permission was finally granted.

Now that Siena’s approval was given, I was no longer a knight. Though the sword wasn’t returned—it already had been, and it still hung in Siena’s office. I had no intention of reclaiming it.

“Captain, I have received the sovereign’s permission.”

The captain, who had observed the standoff between me and Siena, already looked like a ghost.

His face conveyed the question: Why are you subjecting me to such cruel tasks? Why involve me in this chaos?

One could argue the knight captain was too sensitive, but I understood his feelings.

Regardless, I pulled the insignia from my uniform and offered it to him.

Of course, this was another theatrical gesture for Siena’s benefit.

“I resign.”

With a face on the verge of tears, the captain slowly accepted the insignia.

Of course, this wasn’t the end.

The moment I stepped out of the captain’s office,

“Alan, we have much to discuss privately.”

Siena commanded this while nodding at the bodyguards. The former colleagues, now under Siena’s employ, quickly flanked me on both sides.

“Come on.”

The senior knights watched with tense expressions as I was forcibly taken away.

*

The place Siena confined me in was a splendid Bromham carriage.

Disciplining commenced the moment we boarded.

“Alan, are you planning to visit Sister Victoria?”

“Siena.”

“I won’t press you for your reasons. You likely had a plan for leaving, didn’t you? If I gave you a chance to explain, you’d start talking me out of it. That’s always been your way, hasn’t it? But, Alan… not this time.”

“Let me explain.”

“No, listen to me.”

“…”

At this point, she should have flashed a wry smile. Instead, Siena winked with one eye and began revealing what was to come for the empire.

Something dreadfully unfortunate.

“If you dare go through with it, you know what happens next, don’t you? I’ll begin by killing Anais. I’ll mix heroin into the morphine powder taken by Empress Lianhua. Sure, Bono, who controls the heroin, obeys you, but there’s bound to be a way around that, right?”

“That’s correct. The company operates out of your palace.”

“That’s right, Alan. Everything you have is originally mine. Your supplies, the facilities, even the soldiers guarding the warehouse’s gates were my men. You must have thought it was all yours, but that’s a mistaken assumption.”

“…”

“I could take it all from you now. After all, Alan, you’re no longer my knight, are you?”

This was a threat.

If I left her domain, she’d seize everything I had.

It was true; if Siena were determined, she could pull it off. I could manufacture narcotics elsewhere, but it would be more difficult without her partnership. Starting from scratch would demand more effort.

Still, I wasn’t afraid.

The assassination of my half-sibling, heroin for the empress, confiscation of the facilities—considering the pressures she’s under, this was relatively moderate. The empire would likely descend into chaos, but it’s better than being consumed by civil war. Moreover, she didn’t seem ready to act yet.

‘She’s hoping I intervene.’

Siena stared at me anxiously.

Begging me with her eyes to calm her frustration, solve her sadistic urges in a non-violent way, and most of all, confirm that I won’t leave her.

But I couldn’t meet her expectations.

“Siena, I’ll teach you the method for producing morphine as soon as we arrive at the palace.”

“What?”

“The morphine production method. I’ll teach you today so that the business can continue after I leave. Of course, a bright sovereign like yourself would figure it out eventually without me, but learning from me should be advantageous.”

“Leave? What did you just say…!”

Siena lunged forward.

I gently grabbed and lowered her hand, intentionally prolonging the moment to show it was painful for me too.

“Siena, if you wish, I can transfer all my shares to you. After all, this business couldn’t have started without you. If someone else must manage the narcotics business, you’re the best person for it.”

“Alan, wait.”

Siena now clung to my clothes.

Cold sweat beaded her pale forehead, and her hands trembled visibly. Though I offered to transfer the drug production method and my shares, none of it seemed to matter to her.

It was probably because none of that held value without me.

I informed her,

“I’d rather not leave if possible, but this decision is the safest route. If I can offer Your Highness any consolation, whether it’s the shares or the production method, I’ll willingly hand them over. Thus…”

Siena didn’t let me finish.

Instead, a sweet fragrance and gentle warmth enveloped me.

“Don’t go.”

“Just don’t go, please.”

Siena clung desperately, weakly pleading. Having exhausted her strategies, all she had left was to beg. If this didn’t work, she’d likely unleash her aggression, something I planned to prevent.

“Siena.”

Upon calling her name, her amethyst eyes darted up with desperation.

The time to break her and truly tame her had arrived.

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