Don't Come to Wendy's Flower House

“Come on in, Sir Schroder. In fact, I would like to discuss with you about the problem of the 15-day stay period of the bill at the political meeting. I think 15 days is too long. Isn’t it an overly long time to take it as a minimum safeguard to ensure prudence in handling the bill?”

With a straight face, the emperor was fidgeting with the cuffs of his sleeves with a sigh when he noticed Lard’s unusual expression.

“… I have something to report to you,” said Lard.

“What is going on? …I’m sure I won’t be surprised even if they have plotted treason again. So, don’t hesitate to tell me anything. ”

Despite his cynical attitude, Lard opened the map seriously. When the knight who accompanied him put down a document next to him and left the room, Lard pointed to the map.

“Look here.”

“… Isn’t that the number of the soldiers of the Setorang family?”

“That’s right. And this is the number of soldiers stationed in the estates owned by the Setorang family, which had been reported during the Boltane investigation.”

He handed over the pages of the document and gave it to the emperor.

“This one is … ”

“As you know, all the knights and soldiers assigned to each family are now managed by the knights dispatched by the Imperial Knights.”

Just in case of contingencies, the knights and soldiers of each family were managed very strictly by the Imperial Knights HQ. Their management became more thorough after the explosion of the crown prince’s palace.

“The soldiers dispatched for the defense of the capital and those guarding the nobles’ mansions in the capital are thoroughly managed, but one thing was overlooked.”

“…You mean the soldiers assigned to the nobles’ estates?”

“That’s right.”

“But you need the neighboring nobles’ permission to move the private soldiers out of their own estates, right? Even if they take side with Duke Engre, not all of them support him, I think,” said the emperor seriously.

It was necessary to obtain permission from the surrounding lords for any lord to move his soldiers out of his estate. Local lords could maintain the organization of their soldiers in such a check-and-balance manner because the expansion or movement of their soldiers posed a threat to rival lords. Besides, the central government was maintaining the Boltane system under which the imperial knights and officials were sent four times a year to oversee their organization. If there was any movement of the soldiers and the expansion of the knights, they were supposed to immediately report to the imperial authority.

“You’re right. But nobody will bother if the residents, not the soldiers, move out of their estates.”

“…Do you think Duke Engre has moved the private soldiers in the local estates?”

“Yes, I can’t rule out the possibility.”

When Lard said that, the emperor, turning over a few more documents in his hand, was lost in thought. He seemed aloof, but in fact he was deeply agonized over how to tackle the crisis more than anyone else.

“Tell me what you want to do.”

“We need to send a messenger to the lords under the influence of Duke Engre and ask for their check against him… If something has already happened, you have to order them to dispatch their soldiers.”

“Is there any guarantee that they are not the duke’s supporters?”

“… There are still a number of lords who have not given up their loyalty to you, Your Majesty. Do not lose your trust in them.”

Emperor Isaac stared at his face intently and opened his closed lips. As if to try to ease his anxiety, he swept down his pale chocolate hair.

It was not easy for him to maintain trust in the lords amid the rising insurgencies everywhere.

However, it was the emperor’s virtue to hold on to trust in his loyal subjects in any situation. Above all, he trusted the knight in front of him.

“Just go ahead as you wish.”

“Everything will work out well according to your wishes.”

Lard bowed to him and stood up. When he was about to turn, the emperor said as if something came to his mind.

“Is Miss Wendy here? If she has arrived, I would like to meet her. ”

Lard looked at the emperor without replying. When the emperor mentioned her name again, Lard felt so frustrated, but he didn’t have the nerve to tell the emperor what had happened to her.

Meanwhile, Wendy and her party were driving through the wooded spruce trees in the Rainy Forest. Riding on a horse past the sharp branches of trees was almost like a suicide, but they couldn’t slow down because the enemy was gradually narrowing the distance between them. In the end, something bad happened.

The horse Pascal was riding on neighed loudly and fell down. Pascal was also thrown off the horse roughly because the saddle was not properly attached to the horse as he got on it hastily.

“Sir Pascal!” Wendy hurriedly pulled the reins, stopped the horse, got off the horse and ran to him. “Are you okay?”

“Ugh… I’m alright.”

As if one of his arms were broken, he curled up with a frown. Bishop, who came up close, looked at his wounds for a moment and lifted him body. The clatter of the horses’ hooves was gradually coming closer.

“We have no time to delay.”

The fallen horse exhaled a painful runny nose and could not stand again. The blood continued to leak out of the horse’s thighs, as it was torn apart by the tree. Bishop supported Pascal and put him on her horse. To speed up, he had to ride on her horse, who was lighter than Bishop.

“Giddy-up!”

Again, they began to drive at full gallop. Wendy ran dangerously through the spruce trees, keeping an eye on his condition, barely holding onto her waist with one arm. It was a good thing that she was familiar with the trails in the woods because she had been running simulations to test the strength of her fingers in the Rainy Forest for a long time. However, her riding did not last long.

“Sir Bishop!”

She called his name while slowing down because Pascal’s upper body was shaking feebly.

It seemed that he was going to fall down if she kept running like this.

“Let me ride your horse!”

Bishop, who knew that she alone could not bear his weight, said, as if he wanted to support Pascal. As there was no other choice, the two changed the horses quickly. However, the horse carrying the two men did not gallop as fast as before.

She felt that they would be soon caught by the enemies chasing them ferociously.

She heard dogs barking at a distance. They were hunting dogs chasing their scent.

Hesitating to speed up several times, she glanced at the precarious two knights who were lagging behind. She had to come up with any means to protect them.

‘Can I use my finger’s power?’

She thought about it first, but she was not sure if she had enough time to do it. She also couldn’t figure out which plants to grow and escape this crisis by using her finger.

“Whoa, whoa!”

At that moment, Sir Bishop stopped the horse urgently. When he did that, she also hurriedly pulled the reins.

“Sir, what’s the matter?”

“… Keep driving through the forest! Let me deal with the chasing enemies,” he said decisively and pulled out the sword on his waist.

Pascal, who was seated in front of Bishop on the horse, was already lying to the side, as if he had lost his mind.

“What the heck are you talking about!” Wendy said angrily, and turned the horse’s head and approached him.

“If you would not go with me, I will not go without you!”

She pulled out the birch stick she had put in the saddle canister. It would not be helpful in this dangerous situation, but she showed her willingness to fight even with the club.

In the worst case, she couldn’t run away alone even if she showed her miraculous capabilities in front of the enemies.

“I don’t have time to argue with you!” Bishop said, anxiously looking back.