It wasn’t where anyone could see it, but a quick reach under the covers and there it was again, the dagger. Tamon was his boss, but he was a crazy kid.?

?

‘How can you hide several knives in a place where you are sleeping?’?

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“…… that’s why I told you not to go in there…”?

?

The chamberlain sighed and held out a plain white handkerchief that had been ironed.?

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“What is it for?”?

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“There’s blood. Lord Ronasso.”?

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The chamberlain tapped his cheek lightly.?

?

Ronasso finally noticed a small scratch on his cheek. It was the first threat, a trace that grazed past his face.?

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“I’m going to pry. It’s not like my abilities are rusty…”?

?

Both heartbroken and happy, Ronasso smiled, but he felt that despite being the First Knight Commander of Barnes, he was still far from keeping up with Tamon.?

?

Ronasso looked even a little frustrated, but on the other hand, he was proud that Tamon’s skills remained the same.?

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If it wasn’t for the blood disease or something, he would still be a grudge on the battlefield, and would only make his enemies tremble in fear.?

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‘Pull it together! I can’t be told I’m worse than a sick man!’?

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It wasn’t enough that he had almost died from the dagger, the chamberlain shook his head all the while at the sight of Ronasso laughing despite the blood.?

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He had watched them for a long time, and the friendship between the two was truly strange.?

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In the past, the Bashel family had a significant presence, so Ronasso belonged to a higher class than Tamon.?

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The Krasis family had been frontier count families for generations, and the area they were entrusted with was rugged and not rich.?

?

Tamon was born, and the previous Count Krasis decided to send him to the Royal School. Because he judged that Tamon’s outstanding talent could not be wasted.?

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It was at that time that Tamon met Ronasso Bashel and Prince Theo Lantifu.?

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Ronasso was quite arrogant at the time and tormented Tamon who came from far away.?

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Tamon ignored Ronasso until the academy was over.?

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During that first battle,Tamon and Ronasso had an accident where they fell together into a dark cliff… When Ronasso saw Tamon, he was helpless. (*Ronasso saw something about Tamon)?

?

Only the people involved knew what had happened. They wouldn’t tell…?

?

But something bigger happened after that. By some kind of trickery, the Bashel were driven into rebellion.?

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The Bashel were caught in the middle of a power struggle, and the head (leader) was slain to prevent the downfall of the family.?

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However, this led to the fall of Ronasso’s sister, who died shortly thereafter.?

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With the exception of distant relatives, only Ronasso remained in the direct line of descent.?

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However, it was Tamon Krasis who relieved the Bashel family’s injustice.?

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They also clear the stigma of being a traitorous family.?

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Anyway, since then, the two had a master-servant relationship, but they were rivals, friends and a strange relationship with one sided respect.?

?

***?

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“I can’t help it. Just tell him quietly that I’ll be waiting for him.”?

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Ronasso patted his cheek and headed for the parlor.?

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Seeing Ronasso’s back as he walked swaggeringly, the chamberlain quietly swallowed the words, “I can’t go in there either.”?

?

“What the hell? What’s the matter?”?

?

Tamon came out into the parlor a few moments later, not properly dressed.?

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Ronasso looked at him strangely as Tamon yawned briefly in the dangling gown as if he was tired.?

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Tamon was always the one who went to bed the latest and woke up the first in the academy.?

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From the time he studied at the Royal School until he joined the battle, his pattern was never once broken.?

?

Tired? That word wasn’t in Tamon Krasis’s vocabulary.?

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Sleep deprivation? What a total crush that monster was, and he was a man who could stay up all night for three days and still bare his teeth.?

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For the first time in his life, Ronasso saw Tamon yawning, it was like an illusion.?

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“Why do you think that? I came to see if the Tamon Krasis I know is okay.”?

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“Nonsense, tell me what’s going on. I’m busy.”?

?

Tamon leaned back on the large, soft velvet couch, rubbing his stiff shoulders.?

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He was dressed in a loosely tied gown, and as he leaned back against the couch, his solid thighs were fully visible through the gap in his opened gown.?

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Along the hardened muscles, the roughly split thighs looked as hard and smooth as a sculpted statue.?

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‘I have thighs too…’?

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Ronasso, who looked at Tamon’s thighs as thick as logs, sat cross-legged. He told himself that it wasn’t an act of trying to erase his comparative mind.?

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“Ahem. It’s time for you to have a little more open dialogue with me, don’t you think? Tamon brought you ‘the woman’, didn’t you?”?

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“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”?

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Tamon took a cigarette from under the table with an expressionless face.?

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Inhaling the smoke deeply until his head was foggy, he let out a big breath. The unique white smoke scattered like fog.?

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“The woman from before!”?

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Tamon, who’d been staring at Ronasso, lowered his head and asked.?

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“Did you see her?”?

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“Yes, of course! I saw her!’?

?

‘Few strands of hair…’?

?

Ronasso thought to himself.?

?

“Hmmm.”?

?

Tamon took another deep gulp of his cigarette.?

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He inhaled so hard that his cheeks scrunched up, then exhaled the smoke like a sigh and asked again.?

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“How much?”?

?

Ronasso, who couldn’t say a few strands of hair, answered boldly.?

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“All!”?

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Tamon said with a chuckle.?

?

“Then I’ll have to pull out your eyes.”?

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“I didn’t see……!”?

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Ronasso hastily stepped back and raised his hand.?

?

“Well, I only saw a few strands of hair! But it was uncommon hair.”?

?

“It’s silver hair. Come out and say it.”?

?

“So you rescued a silver-haired woman while the delegation was all rushing and held her for twenty days?”?

?

“That’s right.”?

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“Ha! Now it makes sense. That’s why His Majesty asked about it. It doesn’t matter, but it’s a message!”?

?

“Why the sudden mention of His Majesty?”?

?

It was then that Ronasso brought up the main topic.?

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“One knight said that His Majesty had summoned him and asked him what it was that Tamon had come back with.”?

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He also remembered to tell us that there was a king’s care within the mission.?

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“I don’t care. What a big deal…”?

?

Tamon rubbed his cigarette into a thick glass ashtray and distinguished it, then stood up from his seat and stretched for a long time.?

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After a few painful movements of his body, he heard the sound of crunching and tearing muscles.?

?

“Perhaps the one who delivered the words to His Majesty is Axion. A few years ago, when he was a member of the emperor’s infantry corps, he was beaten a lot. I guess he didn’t want to get beaten anymore.”?

?

“Axion…… You traitor!?

?

“Let it go. Don’t we belong to the emperor anyway?”?

?

“Even if Axion is……. What are you going to do about it?”?

?

“What am I going to do?”?

?

At Tamon’s blunt words, Ronasso tapped his chest.?

?

“Her! Are you going to tell me?”?

?

Tamon stared at Ronasso.?

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He tapped the table ponderously for a moment, then chuckled and said,?

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“No.”?

?

Ronasso looked at Tamon as if he didn’t know what to make of him. Tamon stretched out and basked in the sunshine that poured in through the window.?

?

The exhaustion on his face seemed to fade away.?

?

After looking at Tamon for a while, as if he had made up his mind, Ronasso spoke.?

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“Okay. If you’re right, I’ll do my best to match your opinion, but I think it would be easier for you if we just agreed on something. If His Highness finds out, he’ll certainly try to take her away.”?

?

At Ronasso’s words, Tamon turned around and looked at him.?

?

Ronasso bit his lip, trembling. Probably from the nervousness that he had to deceive the king.?

?

In front of Tamon, Ronasso showed all kinds of emotions, but when it came time to be in front of others, he was a pretty imposing Knight Commander.?

?

They had been best friends for a long time, and after the accidental sharing of life and death with him, Ronasso has shown him his true feelings.?

?

However, not all of them were reasonable enough for him to dare to lie to the king.?

?

At least that was Tamon’s point of view.?

?

To deceive the king.?

?

It was not easy to deceive Theo Lantifu, a sharp blade, and he didn’t know what would happen if he got caught later.?

?

And yet, that friend offered to lie for him so easily and willingly.?

?

“Ronasso.”?

?

“Yes.”?

?

Sighing, Ronasso lifted a glass of water from the table to soothe his burning senses.?

?

He took a gulp, thinking that the water would soothe him a little, even if it wasn’t cold.?

?

“Are you in love with me?”?

?

“Ack! Ack!”?

?

The water that Ronasso had gulped down spurted straight out.