Chapter 141 – Return

“I’m late.”

The first words that spilled from Aurora, who was staring at me with a subtle gaze.

I was no longer in the uniform I wore to meet the Empress, but in the familiar new city Miromic I had thrown on while wandering around the mansion, and the dress was white.

Of course, I wasn’t wearing any underwear. Because of that, it felt like a faint pink protrusion was visible over the softly rising hills.

Not far away, Iris, Erica, and Claudia exchanged complicated glances with Lize, who waved her hand nonchalantly as if she didn’t care at all.

In the Silver Dawn Knights, it seemed that rumors about our relationship had spread, as there were content smiles on the faces of the knights. They looked at me not like a commander, but more like a father looking at his daughter.

I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of behavior Lize had been engaging in to deserve such treatment.

Even the 55 members who now had to be called part of the Dark Night Order appeared to have noticed my relationship with Lize, their expressions bemused. I forcefully ignored their gazes and replied.

“I apologize for being late, my Lord. There was a situation.”

“Of course there was; the important thing is how many times it happened, right?”

I thought for a moment about what Aurora had just said before quickly realizing its meaning, making a dumbfounded expression.

Seeing my shocked face, Aurora chuckled.

“It’s a joke. I was just saying I’m not mad about your lateness, so relax your expression.”

“If that’s the case, you could’ve just said it nicely.”

“If I just say it’s okay, it’s not fun. You’ve got to get your money’s worth for having so many people standing here. Right?”

“…Did you wait that long?”

I thought I had arrived a bit early for the appointment. Should I have rushed a little more?

“No. I’ve only been here for five minutes. I arrived around the time they did. And since there are still about 30 minutes left until the appointment time, it’s the early bird’s responsibility, right?”

Aurora pointed at the Silver Dawn Knights and the Dark Night Order. I wondered why they were already waiting outside if there were still 30 minutes left until our appointment.

As if reading my thoughts, Aurora added.

“I thought you would come early, Delta. So, I came out even earlier.”

She predicted that.

“Well, let’s stop the chit-chat for now. Have you said your goodbyes to the commanders? If you have anything to say, you can still say it. We have plenty of time.”

“I finished everything yesterday, so there’s not much—”

“There is something.”

As a chilling, yet commanding voice echoed, every face in the room stiffened.

Aurora, of course, as well as the captains and members of the Silver Dawn Knights, the vice-captains and members of the Dark Night Order, and even I; we were all tense.

It was only natural.

“And that is why I have personally come here.”

The voice belonged to Kaiquilia.

Kaiquilia approached us dressed in her usual uniform. Just her presence made the surroundings feel like they were freezing.

The first to recover from the shock was Aurora, who hurriedly kneeled, not caring at all that her dress was getting soiled with dirt and grass.

Seeing her action brought us back to our senses, and we hastily followed suit, kneeling and bowing our heads.

‘Why is Kaiquilia here?’

My thoughts were complicated. Did the Empress really have a reason to come all the way here? Just yesterday, she had said we could return to our domain?

“Aurora.”

“Yes. Please speak, Your Majesty.”

“Call me aunt. I am here not as Libanus, but as Kaiquilia.”

“…Understood, aunt. What is the matter?”

Kaiquilia walked closer to Aurora, her boots with high heels trampling on the garden grass without a care.

Seeing the two of them together, I realized anew how much Aurora and Kaiquilia resembled each other. It was likely because the model was reused when creating the mod.

Aside from the slight feeling of immaturity in Aurora, their faces were almost identical, and their body shapes were similar as well. There wasn’t a single aspect that didn’t match.

“Goodbye.”

“Understood.”

Once that brief conversation ended, Kaiquilia turned her back to Aurora as if she had nothing more to say.

‘Is that it?’

She came all this way just to say goodbye?

As I was internally bewildered, Kaiquilia turned to me with her characteristic arrogant and haughty smile and began walking slowly in my direction.

Of course, it couldn’t be just for that. It seemed that I was the real target for her visit. Saying goodbye to Aurora was likely just a casual action she took since she was here.

Kaiquilia stopped just in front of me.

“Look at you.”

I slowly lifted my head.

The angle revealed the black lingerie underwear, barely bigger than a palm, that I had seen during our first meeting. Kaiquilia was that close to me.

With a look that seemed to carry a bit of excitement, Kaiquilia slowly opened her mouth.

“I have heard the news. The commander of the ‘Dark Night Order.’”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

“You named the order, yet why did you not report directly to your Empress and sent someone else instead?”

“……”

I thought of avoiding any direct encounters with Kaiquilia, but I couldn’t muster a response in a sane manner. I remained silent.

As I tried to avoid her gaze, I naturally found my eyes drawn between my legs. Due to the very thin material, the outline beneath was clearly visible, and the black lingerie was gradually soaking with moisture.

In proportion to that, the chilling smile and flush on Kaiquilia’s cheeks intensified. Her expression seemed to contain a hint of delight.

As time passed, and I felt a faint peach scent waft through the air, Kaiquilia took a step back. Her thighs were slightly trembling.

“If you’re not going to answer, fine. This time, I will be merciful.”

For some reason, the atmosphere seemed to say she was willing to let it go.

“So, you must never disappoint me. Understand?”

“I will keep that in mind, Your Majesty.”

“Good. Keep that loyalty within you until the day your life ends.”

Just as it seemed that the conversation would end there, Kaiquilia bent slightly and grabbed my chin, pulling me upwards. I straightened my upper body awkwardly to look at her.

Kaiquilia brought her face closer to mine, matching eye levels and bending slightly to bring her lips to my ear. Minerva was on my left, and Kaiquilia was on my right.

“I liked that name. You have a good eye.”

This time, it seemed to be the last. Releasing her grip, Kaiquilia wore her typical arrogant grin and turned, leaving behind a faint scent of peach.

Finally, it was the real end. Given that the name had been personally given by the Empress in the game, it must have resonated with her as well. I was relieved I could manage to get through that somehow.

As her uniform-clad back disappeared beyond the main gate of the palace, we cautiously rose to our feet. The warm atmosphere that had been felt just before the Empress’s visit had suddenly disappeared.

In the end, we stumbled through our final goodbyes and gathered to use the teleportation scroll as Iris led the commanders and members awkwardly to see us off.

I held the teleportation scroll in my hand, charged my mana, created a circle enveloping Aurora and the knights, and then ripped the scroll. A blue pillar of light shot up into the sky. I was enveloped by a feeling of weightlessness.

Now, it was truly time to be apart from the four for a while. I never imagined such a day would come.

As always, the feeling of weightlessness soon subsided. I opened my eyes. We had somehow returned to the garden of the Lord’s Mansion. Aurora, stretching as she looked around, exclaimed.

“Welcome back, Aurora.”

Perhaps seeing the blue pillar of light, the mansion door burst open, and all the maids, including Lana, flooded out. The maids stood orderly in front of Aurora and bowed deeply.

“Any unusual occurrences?”

“No… Oh, wait, there was one.”

“Really? Tell me.”

“A woman with half purple and half green hair came to look for you, my Lord.”

That hair color was unfamiliar.

Since my appearance had completely changed, even if I saw her hair, it wouldn’t help me guess who she was from the original game.

“Half purple and half green hair, huh? I’ve never heard of that before.”

It seemed Aurora didn’t know the identity of that woman either.

“Did she say who she was?”

“No.”

“What did you respond?”

“I told her you were absent. After hearing that, she mumbled whether you still hadn’t returned, and then left while talking to someone. However, I couldn’t confirm who she was talking to.”

“Hmm… Since we don’t know her identity, that was probably the best response. Good job, Lana.”

“It was only my duty.”

Ending our brief conversation, Aurora gave us the order to return to the castle. She instructed that after tidying up the castle, I should come to the mansion alone, even if it were late at night.

I led my knights and headed toward the castle, which no longer belonged to the Silver Dawn Knights. It felt really strange to be in a leading position.

As I entered the castle, now just a regular building having lost its magic, the knights were slightly surprised at the grandeur of the castle, and then shocked once more at the realization that only five people had used this enormous space.

After briefly explaining the facilities like the stables, training ground, and underground dining hall, I let them choose their rooms one by one, then moved my room to the top floor of the castle. Originally, it was the floor where other commanders resided.

They probably wouldn’t be comfortable sharing the same floor as me, a knight commander.

Finally, I cleared the cold meat soup and bread that had been left to cool in the underground dining hall, scribbling a supply list to request from Aurora while gathering all the vice-captains.

“Laksia, this is my first command as the knight commander.”

“Yes. Please speak.”

“How do you want to conquer?”

And thus, my first command as the knight commander was to choose a conquest.

Not what I would wear, but what they would wear.

The vice-captains initially seemed indifferent, saying anything would do, but when pushed a little, they left to consult with the members.

I honestly wanted to choose something myself. Because who knows what kind of bizarrely scandalous rags they’ll bring back as a conquest.

But considering past cases, the clothes I picked might turn out to be uncomfortable for those knights. My sense and that of the people in this world are completely different.

Nothing restricts actions like uncomfortable clothes and shoes, especially for knighthood, where you have to wear armor over your outfit and wield weapons.

All I could do was silently pray they would choose normal clothes.

But despite my prayers being in vain.

“……”

The outfits the vice-captains brought back as ‘conquests’ were quite a sight to behold.