"Hmm… This seems like a good sword. May I take a closer look?"
"Go ahead."
Decker carefully grasped the hilt of the sword and swung it a few times in the air.
"It's light and sturdy, and… the grip feels good too. It must be a pretty expensive sword, right?"
"Well, it's not just any sword you can find anywhere."
"If you say so, Your Highness, then it must be a very valuable sword."
Decker quickly returned the sword to its original position. But still, this sword didn't suit Carlyle.
"Are you going to give it to someone? It's too light and small for Your Highness or a swordsman like me."
"That's right. I just picked it out randomly…"
Carlyle lightly stroked the blade with his fingertips and muttered.
"Do you think Countess Pervaz will like it?"
"…Pardon?"
Decker genuinely thought he had misheard.
"Per, no, I think I misheard. Who did you say?"
"Countess Pervaz, I mean… I'm talking about Asha."
"Asha? Asha Pervaz?"
"Why do you keep asking? Is there another Countess Pervaz?"
Carlyle felt a little embarrassed and snapped at Decker for no reason.
Then he asked again, looking straight at him.
"You know Countess Pervaz better than anyone, so you should know. Is this to her taste or not?"
"Ah, th, that…"
"You don't even know that?"
"No, I do! Asha will probably like it. The sword she has is quite worn-out now."
"That's what I thought. I even gave her money to buy new weapons, so why doesn't she buy her own sword?"
Carlyle shook his head.
In fact, he did know the reason.
'She must have thought that she should only buy weapons for the Pervaz army with that money.'
She was so honest that it seemed almost foolish.
"A sword is the only tool that will keep a warrior alive. But what is she doing carrying around such an old sword? Does she want to die?"
"That sword is a gift from Sir Amir."
"Ah, so that's it. Even so, it's irresponsible of her as the leader of the Pervaz. Memories don't strengthen a sword."
The sword had several nicks and scratches on its blade. It looked like the blade could break if it hit an axe or a mace.
I was worried about that the whole time she was fighting the Igrams.
That's why I bought this sword. Asha is my most important ally right now, so she can't die easily.
"For the swordsmanship and martial arts that Countess Pervaz uses, I think a lighter sword would be better."
"Then Asha will definitely fly around even more. She's already very agile."
"And this is made of a special kind of steel. The blade won't be damaged in any ordinary duel."
"That's amazing."
"I also paid a little attention to the design."
Decker only then turned his gaze to the parts of the sword other than the blade.
The hilt of the sword was wrapped in herringbone leather, and the pommel (the bottom of the sword hilt) was carved with the crest of Aguiles.
The scabbard was also quite beautiful, and most notably, there was a jewel embedded in the locket (the part of the scabbard that the blade goes into).
'He said he bought it randomly… but he put a lot of thought into it?'
He was even talking about the parts that he had put thought into. It didn't seem like he was doing it consciously though.
'Could it be… because of what I said that time…?'
Decker didn't think that Carlyle had any feelings for Asha and was giving her a gift because of that.
He thought it was more likely because he had asked him before, 'Are you going to kill Asha to get rid of any future troubles?'
'He must have been stung by that.'
Whatever the truth was, Decker thought that the fact that Carlyle was giving Asha a sword as a gift was a pretty good picture.
Carlyle and Asha are a knight and a warrior before they are a husband and wife, and for the emperor-to-be to bestow a sword is a very meaningful gift.
"Did you discuss this with Sir Raphelt as well?"
"What…?"
"You are giving this sword to Asha."
"I don't need Sir Raphelt's permission to give a personal gift."
Decker could easily picture Giles's face of astonishment when Carlyle gave Asha the sword.
"Asha will really like this sword."
"Do you think so?"
"Yes. Because it's the first time she'll have her own sword."
Since the practice sword she received as a child, Asha had never received a sword made just for her.
Pervaz didn't have the time for that, and Asha fought well with whatever she had.
As a result, the swords she carried were either leftovers or hand-me-downs.
***
Evening of the day Carlyle left the capital, Beatrice, unable to hold back her churning stomach, eventually went to find Gabriel again.
"That evil one! How dare he, a mere mortal, meddle in the affairs of God!"
Beatrice downed the cider in front of her in one go and spoke as if vomiting her anger.
Because Carlyle had been talking about the collusion between her and the temple here and there, she had not been able to meet Gabriel properly while watching the eyes of the nobles.
However, Carlyle was leaving the capital tomorrow, and Beatrice felt like she was going to explode, so she could not help but come to Gabriel.
"What happened to what we talked about before?"
"Are you talking about the annulment of the marriage? That plan has been out of the question for a long time."
Beatrice gritted her teeth.
"What the hell is wrong with that bastard? He suddenly started living like a married couple with Countess Pervaz."
"Living like a married couple means...?"
"They slept together. They say they've been close since then. Anyway, he's light as a feather when it comes to playing with the lower body."
Beatrice took out a few letters from the spy that she had brought to show Gabriel anyway.
…Cecilia Dupret and Dorothea Raphelt are arranged on the 2nd floor, and Countess Pervaz is staying on the 1st floor....
The content of the letters that came in the beginning was good. There was no way to see them as a married couple.
However, something suddenly changed.
…Using the same bedroom on the night of the Harvest Festival. Since then, they have been seen to be much closer... Even during the war, they kissed without being conscious of other people's eyes....
It was completely unexpected.
Carlyle was just a little slow, but he seemed to be developing a close relationship with Asha Pervaz.
"There were guests visiting from Zyro at the time of the Pervaz's Harvest Festival. It seems that the rumor has also spread quietly in the social world."
If this was also due to the blessing of Aguiles, Beatrice felt like her faith in Aguiles would completely disappear.
She thought about it again and became angry, and swallowed another cold cider.
'I see that the Empress is deeply hurt.'
After reading all the letters that Beatrice had taken out, Gabriel looked down at her, who was throwing away her dignity as an empress and drinking cider one after another.
'There's no doubt that the information was leaked from somewhere.'
Gabriel thought it was unnatural that Carlyle had advanced his relationship with Asha. It was just after the plan to annul the marriage came out.
'Tell me a good way. If it's information that leaks like this.'
Gabriel sighed and said.
"We will have to weed out the people around Her Majesty the Empress and His Highness Matthias once again."
"Do you mean that this is not a coincidence, but that information leaked from our side, High Priest?"
"Of course."
Beatrice was momentarily offended by Gabriel's attitude, who nodded without even pretending to think.
"That can't be."
"I don't think Your Majesty was careless."
"Then...Did Matti do it?"
"Are you giving His Highness a drug?"
Beatrice flinched.
"How... do you know that?"
"Why? Are you trying to keep it a secret from me?"
Gabriel, who was smiling brightly, was as beautiful as ever, but Beatrice began to find that smile a little scary.
"God has given me strength to match the greatness of my mission. So... I would like Your Majesty to let me know in advance before you use your power."
A golden halo flashed and disappeared behind Gabriel's head.
Beatrice's eyes widened as she witnessed it.
"H, halo...!"
"Shh. Let's keep this a secret between us. If it gets out, the Order will take me away from Your Majesty."