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Cesare’s question was quite different from the day the mansion collapsed. If he was close to trying to scare Catherine away at the time, now he was asking her with pure intentions. Does she really think she can live with those things?
“Imperial knights can kill people. If you create a good reason and attach it, everyone will nod their head and move on.”
“Are you saying they’re going to kill me?”
“Well, if I had to say. Very well.”
His eyes did not contain a single lie, but it sounded like a lie to Catherine.
Imperial Knights. There were so few opportunities in her life to see such great men as imperial Knights. It’s only a couple of times in society.
But of all times today, in the threat of killing her.
‘What should I do?’
Cesare will have a way to drive them out. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible to be so relaxed. But even when he died, his mouth did not fall. This was her own ego problem.
Cesare’s blue eyes were waiting for Catherine’s answer. Catherine turned around and hurried down the stairs.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to pack up and run away in this weather, Miss Phanya.”
“This is my house. Where am I running from my house?”
Since Cesare’s legs are originally long, Catherine follows him with one step as he runs two steps. Catherine said nervously, opening the door to the first floor room that had been turned into a warehouse.
“But why do you guys keep going after my house?”
“You guys?”
Cesare leaned against the open door with his arms crossed, while Catherine entered the small warehouse and relied solely on her senses to find things.
“It’s not all that different between those people and you. They go around disturbing people who are living in peace.”
“Well, that’s a bit upsetting. Did you forget about the lunch I made for you?”
He leaned carefully against the wall and made fun of his hands. Fortunately, she found what she was looking for immediately. It’s a little too thick for one hand to handle, and it’s a little too heavy.
The thing that would help Catherine was none other than a large shovel. She passed Cesare and left the warehouse, carefully moving her belongings.
Because her vision depended on the light of a distant lamp placed somewhere in the hall, the contrast on his face was darker than the light.
“Cesare, you know what? Every time I ask you why you’re here, you keep saying weird things.”
Cesare raised the corners of his mouth slightly and laughed.
“There are things in the world that you don’t have to know.”
“—Okay, so why were you standing there in the rain yesterday?”
“Will you be angry if I say something else this time?”
Catherine, who narrowed her eyes slightly, turned her back on him. There’s so much to hide in the messy subject matter. He didn’t want to say it, but she didn’t mean to force it. She just felt a little uneasy.
So Catherine stood at the door of the mansion.
Whoosh!
There was a sound of rain and wind driving over the door. Catherine concentrated all her attention on hearing, with her shovel strongly held in her hands.
“Wait, Miss Phanya. Don’t tell me what you’re trying to do—”
They broke into the owner’s house without permission.
‘So this is self-defense.’
Squeak.
The door opened and a strong rainstorm hit the room. The heavy sound of military boots rang under the ground.
When the black raincoat walked into the room, it looked as if it had been buried in the darkness. Catherine swung her arms at the hood, which hung two cheeks above her head. She tried to scare them, to be exact.
“—Huh?”
If only Cesare hadn’t caught her arm.
Catherine, who was blinking blankly, slowly raised her head. A cold face stood at the edge and looked down at her. He murmured, holding Catherine’s wrists tightly in one hand.
“You’re a woman with no front and back.”
The sound of the military boots, which had been carefully moving, came to a halt at the same time. Catherine’s eyes, which had returned hurriedly, met with the intruder who was following her.
“Who are you!”
He had a rough, low voice, like scratching the sand. The men in raincoats quickly showed signs of surprise. It only takes a few moments to take a step back and prepare for battle.
Soon, with a clunking sound, one of the intruders banged their head against the door and collapsed.
“If you’ve got your mind right.”
Before Catherine could figure out what was going on, the man behind her was also hit by Cesare and fell to the side.
“Before you visit.”
“Ugh—”
How should she accept this difficult situation? Catherine slowly laid down the shovel that had lost its usefulness.
They were the knights of the imperial family. They have a physique enough to make your shoulders shudder just by looking at them. But what if they fell from Cesare’s punches and kicks?
“I think you have to ring the bell and get the owner’s permission.”
Bang. Closing the door harshly, Cesare beckoned to Catherine. It was clear what it meant to step back, so she graciously did so.
‘Fist like a gangster with that beautiful face—’
Cesare’s mood seemed quite low. As a rebuttal to him, nervousness was prevalent in the expression, action, and gaze that he immediately saw.
“What do you think, knights?”
It was a voice that felt unfamiliar because the coldness was dripping. At that one word, the men stood up in fright. They quickly took off their hoods and stood at attention in front of the door.
They all had smooth faces, just like an imperial knight, but a look of fear caught her eye more than a handsome face.
“I—”
“You’re brazen, Sir.”
When Cesare opened his mouth, the man who was beaten closed his lips tightly in the middle of talking. He looked very disciplined.
‘Discipline? Cesare?’
Ah, is it because it’s in front of the Archduke?
“Hiding like a rat in a mansion with its owner. How far does the honor of the Imperial Knights fall?”
With that rambling remark, there was a long silence in the hall.
‘You’ve come in here without permission.’
Even Catherine, however, could not spit out the cold water in a strange silence. That’s why Cesare is doing it for himself.
‘—For me? We’re not in that kind of relationship.’
If not, it is right to stay still at times like this. Catherine, who crept her heels, hid behind Cesare’s back.
Imperial Knights. The highest honor and decoration given upon a young nobleman. Only the sons of a respectable family with unique talents, as well as beautiful looks, character, and dignity, can be chosen for the imperial family.
Only 33 aristocratic young men chosen by the Emperor can become Knights of the Imperial Family. This indicated that it was a proven elite course with a high chance of success.
Catherine felt like he was about to do her job and her eyes were darkened.
‘But I don’t think you need to worry about it based on the responses of the Knights.’
Catherine looked closely at the faces of the knights. They’re clearly afraid of Cesare.
In this darkness, they recognized Cesare with only one voice. The knights standing in front of Cesare seemed to find it difficult to breathe. While he stood silently with his arms crossed, the knights did not blink a single eye.
How many seconds have passed? The brown-haired knight opened his mouth for the first time in a cold sweat.
“I, I—”
“Cesare.”
If they don’t call it Cesare, it’s a voice that will make him want to punch again. The brown-haired knight kept calm and gulped down his dry mouth. The shaking of Adam’s apple was also visible to Catherine, who stood far away.
“I’m sorry, don’t tell me this is—”
The man who was still speaking slowly looked into Cesare’s eyes.
“I didn’t know that Your Highness Cesare would be here.”
“Your Highness Cesare?”
Perhaps he thought he had responded well in his own way. Cesare’s expression, which had been softened by his replies, now hardened again.
It felt like the knight’s voice could be heard clearly without saying anything. ‘What the hell are you saying?’ Could it be interpreted as such?
“Say it again. What did you call me? Cesare, what? Your Highness?”
The relationship between Cesare and the knights seemed to be very clear, as was the status of the Archduke. The knight was already tired of rolling his head to please Cesare.
“No, I didn’t expect Cesare— to be here.”
That sounds a little weird. Isn’t it more honorific than necessary to just call it by its name?
“What’s your name, Sir?”
“It’s Damian Rhodria.”
“It’s Cassine Chloe.”
They were aristocratic names that fit perfectly with their appearance.
“Yeah— Sir Damian and Sir Cassine.”
Cesare spoke in a flat voice, rolling the names of the knights on his tongue.
“You don’t want to be charged with trespassing, do you? I’m sure you do.”
He carried on the warning Catherine had given at the first meeting. She wondered if he was being sarcastic, so she looked at the back of the head involuntarily.
“We, the Emperor—”
“That person.”
The brown-haired knight, Damian, swallowed once more.
“We were looking around at his orders.”
“A mansion where a Lady lives alone.”
The knight’s eyes turned to Catherine for the first time since the silence broke. They glanced at her face, wondering if she was still there. It was more of an enemy-like look than a favor, so she felt a subtle discomfort.
Fortunately, Cesare moved a little and soon blocked their view. Thanks to this, Catherine was far away and had to look only at Cesare’s broad back.
“Look, Sir Damian. Are you going to make an excuse that you didn’t know?”
“Because I was carrying out confidential duty, I had no choice but to—”
The knight could not fully continue his words, and an unknown silence wrapped around the hall. There was no way to know what kind of light was coming and going because he was only looking at his back from behind Cesare.
Not long after, Cesare moved slowly from Catherine’s sight. As soon as her eyes met, the two knights bowed their backs to Catherine.
“— We’re sorry for being rude, Lady. Please forgive me.”
“Please forgive us, Lady.”
Whatever silent conversation took place, the responses of the knights were surprisingly mild, unlike before.
“—Well, it’s fine.”
What the hell did Cesare do?
“Well, can I dare ask you one thing?”
He has been bowing his head gently beside a brown-haired knight.
“Your H— No, Why are you here, Cesare?”
Cesare’s answer was without hesitation.
“Do you need a reason to visit your lover’s house?”
The knights opened their mouths wide.
They turned their heads towards her without even thinking about closing their open mouths. If it wasn’t an illusion, they were looking at the great divine beasts that appear only in legends. Of course, Catherine was no different.
“But, an uninvited guest came and ruined all my excitement with my lover. Even at this late hour— How are you going to make up for it?”
The Knights’ faces were still dumbfounded.
Catherine thought, ‘It’s not you, it should be the expression I’ll make.’