Right after the joint training.

It seemed like the heat from the Second Public Affairs Officer was boiling over due to Johan’s overwhelming victory, but it was quickly subdued.

There was no benefit in gossiping about today’s events.

In any case, Kasys Lenokhnen was a battle sage who shattered the southern barbarian front, and the heir to the House of Lenokhnen.

I had to be careful not to be noticed for the sake of later.

“Johan, you were really incredible!”

However, this was meaningless for the parties involved, as these two had no need to care about the House of Lenokhnen.

“Is that so?”

“Yes! I always wanted to give that man a taste of his own medicine, and it felt so refreshing!”

Fransia seemed genuinely happy that Johan had won, her face glowing with a bright smile.

“Well, it’s only because the Archduke of Lenokhnen held back. That’s the only reason I was able to win.”

But Johan didn’t get cocky. He knew that if Kasys had gone all out, he wouldn’t have stood a chance.

“How humble of you.”

“I must always remain humble.”

“Hehe, I like that side of you.”

Just then, as Fransia and Johan exchanged smiles and locked eyes—

“Harsen Archmage?”

Merdin called out to him.

“The Commander has summoned the Harsen Archmage. I’m not sure why, as he didn’t explain it.”

Johan tilted his head.

“It’s hard to guess why the Commander is calling for me.”

“Haha, but there’s no need to worry. I suspect it’s for a special mission.”

“A special mission… you say?”

“Yes. A special mission comes in for skilled public affairs officers. The Commander reviews and passes it on.”

Surprisingly, there was a system in the public affairs that allowed missions to be assigned like those in adventurer guilds.

‘This is no ordinary business.’

It was the Imperial asymmetric force knight order. For them to assign a public affairs officer for a mission, it must involve something significant.

“Understood. I will go see the Commander right away.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

After a simple salute to Merdin, Johan turned to Fransia.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Hmmm.”

Fransia looked around quickly, confirming no one was nearby before whispering to Johan.

“You never know what kind of trick they might have up their sleeve.”

“I know.”

“Be careful, okay?”

“Of course.”

After a brief exchange, they nodded at each other.

“I’m off.”

“Okay. I have things to do too, see you later.”

So Johan parted ways with Fransia and headed toward Crown Prince Fedelian. It was located deep within the building in the office.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

After three knocks, he opened the door and walked in, finding Crown Prince Fedelian Rojino with his hands behind his back, gazing out the window.

“You’ve arrived.”

Fedelian turned with an indifferent expression and met Johan’s gaze.

“I heard you called for me.”

“Yes, I have a task for you.”

Fedelian picked up a piece of paper and walked to the central sofa of the office.

“Please, take a seat.”

Johan sat across from him.

Fedelian leaned forward, pushing the document onto the table as he continued speaking.

“A special mission has come in for you. Take a look.”

Johan scanned the papers with a doubtful expression.

“The mission is to accompany the Imperial envoy heading to the capital of Sanburgh, which borders the east. Since it’s an unfriendly nation, the escort must be robust.”

It was written like this on the document.

Destination: Sanburgh. A small nation to the east of the Empire.

An envoy was being sent for an agreement between the two nations, and they chose Johan Harsen as the escort.

The task was simply to accompany the envoy until they returned from Sanburgh.

The start date for the mission was the very next day.

“Please take care of this. I can trust you with my fiancée.”

Upon hearing that, Johan’s eyes widened slightly.

“Fiancée, you say…?”

“Indeed.”

Fedelian replied with a smile.

“The Imperial envoy is Lady Rudella Bismarck of the Bismarck Marquis House.”

Rudella Bismarck.

The Crown Prince’s fiancée, set to become the future Empress.

And she was a priority target to watch alongside the two men who had been scheming thus far.

Spending days with someone of that caliber wasn’t a good thing for Johan either.

“It will only be a week for the mission. It isn’t too dangerous. Although it’s an unfriendly nation, who would dare threaten the Rojino Empire? Hahaha. Don’t worry too much.”

Seeing Johan’s expression harden, Fedelian responded with a friendly smile. However, his eyes shone sharp.

“What happens if I refuse?”

“I’m sorry, but there’s no option to refuse a special mission.”

“I see. Understood.”

It was clear that there was no room to negotiate. With no other choice, Johan nodded and tucked the document into his pocket.

“Then I’ll rely on you, to take care of my fiancée.”

“…Yes.”

With a polite bow, Johan exited the Crown Prince’s office.

‘A mission to escort Rudella Bismarck.’

A big incident was unlikely to occur. The political elements surrounding the engagement between Fedelian and Rudella Bismarck were significant.

No matter how indifferent Fedelian was toward Rudella, he wouldn’t want to scheme against someone who could benefit his standing.

If he was conspiring again, he would truly be a fool.

‘Let’s end this with minimal trouble.’

*

In the office after Johan left.

Fedelian unknowingly wore a sardonic smile.

“Haha. Rudella, I never thought you would help me like this.”

Crossing the border of the Empire, it would be possible to quietly eliminate Johan Harsen, the nuisance.

Furthermore, it would also be possible to remove Rudella Bismarck, the headache arising from his engagement to Fransia.

After the fact? Of course, he had thought about it. Evidence manipulation could be facilitated through shadows.

He could just claim that Sanburgh, the unfriendly nation, was the one orchestrating it all.

‘Though it might cause a war, it can be dealt with by sending the First Public Affairs Officer to the battlefield.’

Sanburgh, which borders the Empire, wasn’t a particularly influential or powerful nation.

Even if the Empire conducted a loose war, they could conquer it in a week.

Still, the Empire didn’t occupy Sanburgh because there was no need for it.

The losses would outweigh the gains in such an endeavor.

‘Thanks to you, Rudella Bismarck, I shall offer my gratitude.’

As a result, a war could break out with many casualties, but that wasn’t Fedelian’s concern.

His own objectives mattered much more to him.

“Hahaha.”

Fedelian’s sardonic smile deepened.

*

Fransia was searching around the public affairs for a certain woman.

‘Where has that woman gone again?’

The woman she was looking for was Violet Ratalen. She was here to repay a debt from the past.

‘She was definitely here just a moment ago.’

Where could she be hiding? It was as if she vanished into thin air.

Fransia increased her pace, wanting to vent the bubbling anger inside her.

Just then.

‘Finally found you. Over there.’

Fransia spotted Violet Ratalen joking with a fellow wizard behind the public affairs building.

With an icy expression, she marched over and stood in front of Violet. Her face was cold as ice.

“Ratalen, the First Ranked Wizard.”

“Oh my, it’s the Ferbache Archmage, isn’t it?”

The moment Violet recognized Fransia, her expression transformed instantly into a cold one.

“Second Ranked Sorceress Sershi? Let’s talk later. I have something important to discuss.”

“Oh, right….”

Realizing something wasn’t quite right, Second Ranked Sorceress Sershi hurriedly vacated the scene.

“Ratalen, the First Ranked Wizard.”

“Yes?”

“Why are you responding with a ‘yes’ like that?”

“Hmm, what do you want me to say?”

Violet’s tone dripped with sarcasm. It was a blatant provocation. Fransia’s brows furrowed dangerously.

“I know exactly what you’ve done.”

“What did I do?”

“You’ve interfered with my man, haven’t you?”

“Hmmm. Seems you’ve heard.”

Violet tilted her head, grinning as if it was no big deal.

“Isn’t it a problem to monopolize such an attractive man all on your own?”

“Is that how you’re going to play it?”

“Why can’t I? Hehe. I haven’t done anything really wrong.”

As Fransia’s anger surged, her ruby-like eyes gleamed coldly.

“Ratalen, the First Ranked Wizard. If you apologize now and promise to never touch Johan again, I’ll let this go.”

“I don’t want to. I want Johan for myself. I don’t like the idea of you monopolizing him.”

“…….”

Violet wore a sly smile. Her red hair danced in the wind. It seemed she had no intention of backing down, even before Fransia, who was in a relationship with Johan.

“Ugh.”

Fransia let out a deep sigh. She didn’t want to act forcefully by nature, but it seemed I had no choice.

“Hey, you crazy girl.”

“…?”

Did she just hear that wrong? Violet blinked in utter shock. What did the Ferbache Princess just say?

“How can you be so brazen after messing with someone else’s man? I knew you were crazier than I expected.”

In an instant, Fransia tightly grabbed Violet’s chin. Violet, bewildered, could only blink in confusion.

“Do you think you’re unaware of all the crimes your House has committed?”

With a fierce gaze, she continued.

“Tax evasion, leaking state secrets to hostile nations, illegal slave trading to foreign countries. And this is just the surface. If any of these got linked to the royal family, your lineage would collapse.”

Violet’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“H-how do you know….”

“There are ways to know everything.”

Fransia locked eyes with Violet, her stare fierce.

“I could annihilate your family, the Ratalen House, right now. But I won’t, simply because you’re not involved with me yet.”

A chilling aura washed over her. It was so intense that Violet felt a shiver run down her spine.

“But if you come at me like this, I’ll have no choice. You’ll pay dearly for interfering with the Ferbache Princess’s man.”

The Ratalen House was known for their enormous crimes committed in the shadows.

On top of tax evasion, they leaked state secrets and dealt in illegal slavery.

All of these were crimes severe enough to lead to their destruction.

Violet, stunned, rushed to collect herself and retorted.

“Do you have proof? Proof that the Ratalen House did that?”

“Evidence is plenty. Did you think the Ferbache Duke House would be so easily trifled with?”

“…….”

“Just the fact that I know the details indicates I have evidence.”

“Then….”

Violet was at a loss for words, her lips flapping.

Fransia continued speaking in a low, steady voice.

“I could have sent you and your family to ruin from the start. But I didn’t. Why do you think that is?”

“W-well….”

“Because you haven’t harmed me yet. I deemed it a waste of time to annihilate your family.”

“…….”

“And the Ratalen House is powerful within the Empire, handling a considerable amount of public affairs, so I didn’t act hastily.”

Fransia flicked Violet’s cheek aside, tossing her aside like a rag doll.

Having lost all strength, Violet couldn’t muster any resistance as she slumped down.

“If you lay a finger on Johan again, if I hear of it just once more, I won’t let it pass. Prepare for your whole house to meet its end.”

Fransia’s ruby-like eyes bore down on the fallen Violet. This warning seemed sufficient now.

“I trust you understood.”

Feeling relieved, Fransia turned and exhaled deeply.

‘From now on, I have to be serious.’

Two men, the Crown Prince and the heir of the House of Lenokhnen, wield great authority and will require much effort to sever ties with.

However, with someone like Violet Ratalen, she had to be ruthless. That was the only way she could focus on getting rid of the two men.

‘I don’t enjoy being forceful, but there’s no other choice.’

Acting out of character was exhausting.

Of course, there were mixed feelings involved.

‘With the odd fox dealt with, I should get going.’

Fransia quickened her pace.

She wanted to see Johan soon.