As people started to gather, a loud noise came from below.
When Deatrice descended the stairs, the knights from when she had visited the Knights Templar were currently occupying the guest room and the lobby. Apparently they hadn’t eaten before they came, which was why they were sitting together in a cramped space with soup in one hand and bread on the other.
The moment they saw her, they stood up to greet her. But Deatrice just told to sit back down and enjoy the meal and it was then she noticed the man she was looking for was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is Lucius?” She asked a passing servant.
“The master had gone up to his room.”
“His room? All by himself?”
“Yes, madam.”
Deatrice mused for a short second, and then sent the servant away. “Alright, you may go.”
Lucius’ room was on the second floor, right next to his office. Deatrice left the lobby and went there, expecting to receive an explanation about what happened.
She stood in front of the door, knocked, and waited. It didn’t take long for an answer to come.
“Come in.”
It was uttered in a low and cursory tone, as if he thought she was probably just a servant who came to bring his meal.
As Deatrice opened the door and entered, Lucius, who was just about to take off his coat, drew his gaze towards her figure and was startled.
“Deatrice?”
Deatrice took a closer look at his skin that was exposed at the hem of his lifted robe. She only looked away after she had confirmed that there was no bleeding from wounds on his body.
Lucius looked at her with his eyes frowned slightly, his face wondering why she was looking at him that way, but she nonetheless remained unfazed by his questioning gaze.
He continued glancing at her as he turned around and removed his jacket, wiping off dried blood from his hands with a damp cloth. The sound of cloth rustling was particularly loud in the silent room.
He spoke.
“Why are you here?”
Deatrice looked at the door for a moment, then faced him again. But when her line of sight was received by him, she felt as if her words had disappeared inside her throat.
A little speechless, what she said afterwards came out awkwardly. “I thought you’d be returning immediately after meeting with Count Miller, but you’re late… Did something happen?”
“Fought some monsters, per the emperor decrees.”
“He told you to help Miller?'she frowned. The emperor was usually one who was perpetually displeased with the aristocracy. Why would he bother with a conservative aristocrat he didn’t like? Especially one that acted against his favored knight, Lucius.
No…
The real question was, why was he so amenable to the idea of using Lucius when had imperial knights at his beck and call?
When she thought about it that far, Deatrice thought again that perhaps he was just the kind of talented knight whom the emperor chose.
“Yes.” Lucius nodded his head and threw the wet cloth into a basin. “He seemed to know that the monsters would start to appear early on. Preparing counter strategies wouldn’t simply take a day or two, so I guess that’s why he sent me here so I would just deal with it when it comes.”
When he said those last words, Deatrice noticed he sounded kind of annoyed and impatient.
“Then the thing with the land…” her voice trailed away.
“I suppose he’s going to use it as a reward for this work.”
Looking tired, Lucius lowered his head and glanced at her.
When she noticed how his pretty eyes appeared so weary, Deatrice thought she should move away, but she wasn’t able to do so.
The emperor used Lucius as much as he could in all kinds of battlefields. She clearly remembered Lucius being summoned into the capital city where the emperor said he would give him a break this time. But now, it appears he wasn’t exactly being truthful because Lucius has to deal with monsters again so soon.
Even Deatrice, who isn’t completely aware of the situation, was able to foresee that her husband would become a monster hunter. If another monster popped out somewhere again, he’d just send Lucius to do the work.
Deatrice stood, engulfed in an unpleasant feeling for some reason, and raised her head.
He was just sitting there, unmoving. She chose to ask about what was happening. “Is the situation very bad?”
“You can say so. But I don’t feel like it’s that hard yet. After all, only a day has passed.” He stretched his upper body and buried himself on the sofa. “Did you feel uncomfortable? “
He suddenly asked in a friendly voice.
“Huh?”
She didn’t know he would ask about her feelings, so she was taken aback.
He shook his head.
“I mean today. I heard you were locked up in the room all day. Originally, I didn’t intend to do that, but things were happening too fast and I didn’t know what else would take place. It’s not like I could force people to leave so abruptly.”
Of course, an exception was when there was truly an invasion in their territory.
“Was it uncomfortable for you?” he asked again.