Chapter 344: Worries
"The New Year is almost here… but staying in my room all the time isn’t helping anything."
"Then you should go out for a walk."
"What about the knight order?"
"I’ll handle the knights. You always come and go whenever you like and never care if I get a day off. Why are you suddenly worried now?"
"Well… sigh..."
It was like they had “switched places.” While Rachel went to the Carle family estate to visit Salana, Carle came to Armand’s estate. First, he needed Armand to sign some important papers, and second, he wanted to check on Armand’s health.
Although Carle didn’t have time to visit during the worst phase of Armand’s illness, Armand looked a bit better now. Still, compared to the Armand Carle remembered, he was far too pale.
"I know you’re worried about the knight order," Carle said seriously, "but you’re not in any shape to be seen in public yet."
“……”
Carle’s tone was serious, but Armand understood.
The fight between the Crown Prince and the Second Prince was getting more intense, everyone was just waiting for the right moment. It was no secret that Armand, as the commander of the Royal Knights, supported the Crown Prince. That made it dangerous for him to let anyone see his current weak state. Carle was probably worried about this too, which is why he said what he did.
"—I understand, of course, but…"
Armand stopped himself mid-sentence.
Now that his condition had improved a bit and he could think more clearly, he realized something, this wasn’t just some random illness, this was an attempted murder.
And the scariest part? He had a body that was naturally immune to poison, yet he was still poisoned. That meant whoever did it had planned everything extremely well.
He was worried that this kind of well-planned attack might happen again, maybe even to someone else. Maybe the enemy’s hand was already reaching into the knight order itself...
He was also very worried about Evelia.
Originally, Evelia’s mission had been to kill him. But now someone else had tried to poison him. Could this mean that Evelia had already been abandoned? That they wanted to get rid of Armand using other methods, and then get rid of Evelia for betraying them?
Or maybe both he and Evelia were supposed to die together…
Either way, Evelia wasn’t safe anymore. No matter if it was the Crown Prince’s side or the Second Prince’s side. They could both be threats to her.
He had to protect her.
She must not wander around freely, she could run into assassins from the Second Prince. She also shouldn’t be seen too much in public, what if someone from the Crown Prince’s camp started investigating and uncovered her true identity?
From the outside, it looked like Evelia had betrayed the Second Prince and joined the Crown Prince’s faction by staying with Armand. But in truth, Evelia didn’t join the Crown Prince’s side, she only chose to follow Armand himself.
And the moment Armand accepted Evelia, who had once been his enemy, he too had already betrayed the Crown Prince’s faction.
So now… besides herself, the only person Evelia could count on was Armand.
"Carle, you know… because you have a family, I never wanted to trouble you too much. But now, in this situation… I think you should consider resigning."
"Oh?" Carle looked up while flipping through some documents, glancing at Armand. "You’re firing me just because I won’t let you go back to work?"
"—No, of course not. That’s not what I meant. It’s just... things are getting really tense right now."
"It’s tense every year. Even when you’re not around, it’s the same."
“…Sorry. In the past, I often failed to manage the Knights properly because I was too busy with other things.”
As he listened to Carle’s words, Armand felt a bit guilty inside.
He knew very well that Carle was someone who valued family, and he also knew how important Carle’s family was to him.
Because of that, Armand truly wanted to be more considerate of Carle’s feelings, give him enough time to be at home and let his daughter enjoy a complete, happy childhood.
But Armand was a very busy man. The Crown Prince didn’t just assign him tasks as the head of the Royal Knights. He often sent him out to do shady “clean-up jobs” that couldn’t be made public. As a result, the Knights' day-to-day matters had to be left to Carle.
Although Carle joked that he was just the deputy commander, a paper pusher, in reality he was still a soldier who had to train troops. Armand could’ve assigned someone else as secretary general to take some of the burden off Carle, but because of his past experiences, he didn’t like dealing with too many unfamiliar people. So over time, Carle ended up becoming the one who handled all the paperwork.
In a way, it was Armand’s own lack of responsibility that “trapped” Carle in the Knights’ office.
“That’s not a big deal,” Carle said, not seeming to mind at all. He just shook his head. “I’ve already adjusted my schedule. Even if I can’t leave the office, I can bring my wife and daughter to the Knights’ headquarters. Given their personalities, they actually fit in pretty well here. So you don’t need to stress over stuff like that. If we don’t mind, then you shouldn’t worry too much.”
Carle’s tone was calm and even, as always, so Armand couldn’t tell whether he was just stating facts or trying to comfort him.
Having someone as understanding as Carle as a subordinate was a stroke of luck. But from Armand’s current perspective, Carle wasn’t just a subordinate. He was his best friend. So...
“What I mean is… the Knights are too dangerous right now.”
…he had no choice but to warn him.
One of the reasons he wanted to return to the Knights was to take Carle’s place.
Because he knew that since he had already been poisoned, it meant the Second Prince’s faction had probably started infiltrating the Knights.
He had lost a friend once before. Even though they had reconnected since then, that old fear still lingered. He didn’t want to lose another close friend because of his own mistake.
“……”
Carle fell silent. He tapped his teacup thoughtfully with his finger.
“…Sigh.”
Then, he let out a long sigh.
“Armand, you know what? Right now, you sound just like a worrying old mother.”
“…Huh?”
Hearing those words from Carle actually surprised Armand a bit.
The last time Carle used that kind of expression to describe someone must’ve been years ago, back when his sharp tongue could say just about anything.
“There’s really nothing to worry about at the Knights right now. If there’s anything big happening, it’s probably the upcoming New Year celebration. What? Don’t tell me you want to attend the party too.”
“—Ah.”
The moment he heard the word “party,” Armand’s expression clearly became less firm.
“I hate those.”
Even though the last ballroom had created some interesting memories with Evelia, Armand still hated them, especially the feeling of being surrounded by people.
Carle noticed the change in Armand’s expression and gave a very faint chuckle, then added.
“But I heard that this time, His Majesty the King will be coming back to host the party himself. Looks like… his health has gotten better?”