Chapter 71

Briefly, Ikshid was stunned to see the Duke getting overwhelmed. He even glanced at Tashian who shouted at Sir Ouns as if he had heard that one of his relatives had died.

"Wait, ball! Why are you so mad? Calm down this instant. Ouns, explain the situation. Where is Lady Wellwood?"

Gerald lowered his head and opened his mouth as if he had no regard for those two.

"Forgive me. I have no words to say about my incompetence. Surely you commanded me to take Lady Wellwood and Lady Miller safely to the duke's residence… But in the middle, I had to stop briefly in the synagogue so that we could listen to the announcement of the nomination for Flora as Lady Wellwood participated."

Hearing this, the crown prince saw the duke's eyes burning and he quickly blocked Ouns's front.

"I'm sure…!"

"Yes. I know. Obviously, you told me to take Lady Miller back to the duke's house first and heal her wounds."

Gerald responded without raising his shy head.

"However, there were only a few minutes left until the announcement, and Lady Muller strongly insisted on watching Miss Wellwood nomination announcement. So, the wagon was parked in the central synagogue for a while. And not long after, Lady Wellwood was nominated…"

But before Gerald could finish speaking, the duke grabbed his neck again.

"Stop this useless explanation! That's why I am asking where they are right now…!"

(TN: How would you then understand why Sir Ouns asked for an audience with you and the Crown prince? Geez.)

Ikshid panicked again and moved the duke's hand away from Lord Ouns.

"Tashian, what are you doing?! Don't do that and put your hand away!"

Tashian, who was holding Gerald by the collar, stopped.

But of course, Ikshid didn't stop there and roughly shoved his way between Sir Ouns and the Duke. With his dignified and demanding voice, he rebuked the Duke's behavior.

"Are you joking with me, Duke? Your lieutenant is explaining the situation in front of you?! No matter how worried you are to them, what is he going to do when you're being like a mad dog?!"

Perhaps it was the Crown Prince's shouting that made Tashian come to his senses a little, and the duke straightened his body upright as if he had loosened his tensed muscles. But he was still glaring at Ouns to death, while still breathing harshly.

Ikshid could not look away from the duke as he was suspicious of what he would do. The duke, who had been cold but rational in every situation, suddenly ran wild as if he was a dog fighting a platoon.

He looked at the duke in disbelief.

Gerald also looked up at him, wriggling his gray eyes, as if he couldn't adapt to the appearance of his master, which was completely different from his usual appearance.

Facing the two of them, Tashian ruffled his hair roughly as if trying to keep his composure. But rather than controlling his anger, it seemed that he was trying to get rid of his anxiety.

"… Explain it now. So, what happened?"

He urged Gerald again in a barely calmed voice. But his lieutenant could notice that his voice was trembling slightly, unusually, with agitation.

He also frowned, but he opened his mouth, focusing his gaze on the crown prince's face, which was calmer than his superior. A cold sweat dripped down his forehead as he spoke.

"… Lady Miller was also nominated for Flora."

As soon as Gerald uttered those words, he saw the duke, who had been roaming around like a homeless wild beast, froze in one place.

Tashian did not hold Sir Ouns's collar as he did earlier but lifted his head and opened his eyes to his lieutenant as if he couldn't believe his words.

"… What?"

He looked as if he had never expected his answer.

Gerald saw the embarrassment on Tashian's face but it was only for a short while. And though it vanished in an instant, Gerald was slightly relieved and raised his hand to wipe the formed sweat on his face.

He answered silently, hiding his emotions.

"It's literally true. Not long after Miss Wellwood was nominated, Lady Miller's dress, which was the same color as the others, shone white as well. As far as I know, Miss Miller was a little embarrassed because she didn't sign up for Flora, but I thought she was a lone candidate at a time when he was away from the crowd, and I wanted to take them to the White Cathedral where the candidates are going to stay."

At Sir Ouns's explanation, Ikshid responded with a skeptical voice.

"But didn't she… she went crazy not to be a candidate?"

Ouns's face darkened as if in trouble again, and answered hesitantly.

"Yes, I know. As if Miss didn't expect it, she looked surprised. So, I tried to confirm Lady Miller's intentions once again, but…"

He continued with a deep wrinkle between his forehead.

"… Suddenly, the paladins of the White Cathedral, who were gathering at the back of the synagogue, appeared and dragged the candidates under the pretext of escorting them."

"What!"

Ikshid shouted as if he couldn't believe his words.

After Flora's announcement in the central synagogue, it has been a long-standing custom for the candidates to share a moment of joy with their family and friends and then enter the dormitory of the White Cathedral to prepare themselves for the competition. There was no precedent in which the paladin of the cathedral would appear and take them into White Cathedral as if kidnapping them.

Ikshid shouted like it was nonsense.

"No, that doesn't make sense…! This is a clear violation of the rules of the festival! What the hell were the synagogue leaders and the people who were setting the Festival doing while it was happening?!"

"I… I know it's not normal, so I tried to stop them from getting into the carriage like they were being dragged away, but…."

Gerald's face flushed as if he had no face to show anymore.

"Because some members of the elders were together and leading the paladins, I couldn't even move my body recklessly in front of the decree bearing the seal of the successor."

He bent his knees in front of Ikshid and knelt his body.

"Forgive me for being there but unable to do anything, Your Highness."

Gerald frowned in humiliation and shame, revealing that he had no choice.

Ikshid was able to fully understand his role as a knight, so he could not rebuke him severely and sighed.

If a person who was officially appointed as a knight harmed the paladin who was subordinated to the cathedral, the knight's seal could be blown away if he made a mistake.

Also, if there were a group of elders who boasted of great power, it would not be too much to say. If Gerald indeed recklessly blocked their movements, let alone with a low title, there was nothing to say even if his neck was blown off the spot. What's more, if it was Sir Ouns, who was in the position of a vice-chief of great responsibility for his actions, it was almost impossible to ignore the causality.

"… No matter how much I thought about it, it was not something that should be overlooked, so I made a commotion to inform the Crown Prince and the Duke of this fact as soon as possible. I'll gladly receive the punishment I deserve."

Ikshid let out a deep sigh and helped him stand up, who had knelt down to the floor, ready to die.

"I have no intention of holding you accountable."

The crown prince's golden eyes, holding Sir Ouns's shoulder, widened like a hawk's pupil and stared piercingly somewhere.

"No one else should know what happened here."

It was directed to the room where the group of elders, who had been arguing with them before over the case of the Duke participating in the Knights Competition, were staying.

Ikshid grated his teeth and rolled the tendon up in his two fists.

"What the hell is going on…! The chief appeared to be trying to bait a knight's contest, so he was sticking his tongue out in defense, and this time the Flora Festival is the problem all along?! We're going to take the two Young Ladies out of the festival candidates right now! There's no change! There's a limit point of looking down on people…"

No matter how the Flora Festival and the duty of conducting the Knights Battle was held in the Black Cathedral, changing the old tradition without consulting the Imperial Palace literally meant a challenge.

Moreover, as the successor did not hide his hostility toward the duke, it was obvious that he was trying to trap two young ladies who were close to the duke.

He swung his clenched fist in the air and strode towards the tightly closed door.

"This rotten bastard dares to touch my woman…!"

(TN: But this… Aaackk—My heart!)

But there was a voice that stopped the unstoppable momentum of the crown prince whose eyes were terrifyingly staring ahead.

"Your Highness! Please stop!"

"What!!"

The duke strode across the door with his long legs. Ikshid scolded him in a voice so mad that his golden eyes could be seen with blood.

"Get out of here now!!"

"Your Highness, please calm down."

Ikshid suppressed the voice from saying, 'Who is telling whom to calm down?'.

He glared at the duke's rigid throat and tension causing the muscles of his neck and jaw joints to shake, which clenched his molars.

It was obvious to anyone who could see him suppressing his anger, but the voice of the duke who opened his mouth was as calm as a well-refined bowl of water.

He put a threat to the crown prince.

"What are you going to do with that room? Are you going to threaten them by grabbing those bastards by the collar and excluding the young ladies from the nominations?"

Ikhid shouted at him, rolling his eyes in anger.

"If it's necessary, I shall do it! And you were the first to violate the inviolability of the sacred tradition…!"

"Your Highness, please cool your head. Going out like this will only cause quarrels and will not solve the situation!"

Lord Ouns pressed his temple and supported the Crown Prince, who was grunting from headache and anger.

"There must be some way. They won't hurt the two young ladies, so let's just watch the progress..."

Then, Tashian strode towards the door with an impetuous force, causing dust on the carpet. Ikshid, who was covering his head and holding it, watched the Duke's behavior with a frown. Sir Ouns also gave a questionable look at the sudden action of the Duke.

The duke stepped forward like a triumphal Duke, headed for the door, and swung open the tightly closed door.

Ikshid frowned at the duke's broad shoulders, frowned at the barely visible door.

There, the members of the senate were frozen, unable to hide their shock expressions.

"Du… Duke Verk!"

Ikshid saw the expression on the Senators' faces turn dark with embarrassment and humiliation. Their hands, which could not close the door before the duke, were still up in the air.