“Commander of the 3rd Imperial Army Corps, Roman von Byrne is here to see His Majesty the Emperor—”
*”Bam!”*
“I know everything, so stop blabbering and come here.”
“*….*”
Roman, who was kneeling and bowing, couldn’t hide his bewildered expression and straightened up.
The new Emperor, Aria von Freya, was beckoning him over with an annoyed look, resting her chin on her hand.
In the previous emperor’s reign, it would have been unthinkable to cut off someone in the midst of showing respect to royalty.
While the previous emperor was alive, the Crown Prince, without a doubt, valued decorum and discipline, but as soon as the late emperor died, everything changed.
“Do you know why you were called?”
“Yes. Your Majesty, I’ve come at your call to confer my promotion to General.”
“Good to know you came prepared.”
Just as Schlus had predicted.
Roman’s friend, Schlus, was appointed to the royal court, and his influence must have played a part in Roman’s promotion.
Now Roman was somewhat liberated from the terrible factional struggles.
He was becoming one of only five generals in the Imperial Army.
Now there was no one left who could suppress him through power.
“As of this moment, I am relieving you of your duties as the commander of the 3rd Corps.”
“Yes.”
“And I appoint you as the Commander of the Imperial Army.”
“*…?!*”
In that moment, Roman made the mistake of looking directly into the Emperor’s eyes, surprised.
He quickly lowered his head, feeling his mind getting chaotic.
Not only had he become a general, but now he was being called the Commander?
Was there really such a radical promotion?
“Your term is one month. After completing that month, you will be promoted to Marshal and appointed as the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army.”
“*…!*”
Roman was so bewildered that he forgot to respond.
He thought the rank of Marshal was completely gone after the retirement of his Excellency Sergey von Freust.
It seemed the Supreme Command Position would forever be held by the Emperor.
For that position to be opened and for Roman, still just in his thirties, to take on such a role?
It was a groundbreaking event, a situation never seen in history.
“I initially planned to promote you to Marshal all at once, but there was so much backlash that I had no choice but to separate the terms by a month. My apologies.”
“No, Your Majesty, I’m just honored.”
Roman’s hand trembled slightly.
He was on the verge of capturing a position he had never even dreamed of.
Could the Emperor truly want to place him in the Marshal’s position just because of Schlus’s recommendation?
‘That can’t be.’
Schlus Hainkel’s recommendation could only have gotten him as far as becoming a general.
The Supreme Command Position was strictly the Emperor Aria’s decision.
The Emperor then got off the throne and picked up a magnificent sword that shimmered silver.
Approaching the kneeling Roman, the Emperor lightly tapped his shoulders with the blade.
“*Ugh… so heavy. This concludes your promotion ceremony.*”
“It’s an honor, Your Majesty.”
“Don’t let my expectations down. I have high hopes for you.”
“I will definitely live up to Your Majesty’s expectations.”
Even as he replied, Roman didn’t quite understand what the Emperor meant by ‘expectations.’
He could only vaguely infer that she wanted reforms in the Imperial Army…
Looking into the eyes of the inscrutable Emperor, he bowed and exited.
‘Is she hoping to change the army in her own way?’
If there were no clear instructions, could he proceed with his own ideas?
But with the turmoil inside the Empire from the asylum situation and the external instability with the Trud Kingdom, was it really wise to attempt large-scale reform in the army?
While lost in thought, Roman decided—
‘If it becomes excessive, I’m sure there will be separate orders.’
He resolved to proceed with reforms as he originally planned.
In the coming month, a massive overhaul would take place, resulting in dozens of general heads rolling.
*
Was this really okay?
The saintess had to keep her chastity for life, but that wasn’t my concern.
Those were the rules of this world, and I had no intention of adhering to every single one of them.
What truly held me back was something else.
What if I got too attached?
I had promised to marry Emilia, but I hadn’t yet shared a bed with her.
I could explain it away by saying it was because she was a minor, but that wasn’t the whole story.
But if I were to get attached to Iris during a kiss, that would be a real problem.
I’d be unable to let go of this world.
That thought terrified me.
“Are you scared? Because of touching a saintess?”
“No. Not at all.”
I resolutely strengthened my resolve.
No matter what happened, I was not going to give my heart to her.
I might indulge in physical pleasures, but I would not give my heart.
These were like children born from my writings.
They were characters I would part with once I reached the ending.
“Close your eyes. Now give me your lips.”
“*Ah…*”
I grabbed Iris by the nape of her neck.
Startled, Iris tried to lean back, but my hand drew her face closer instead.
Eventually, Iris gave up resisting and gently closed her eyes.
The way she tightly pursed her lips was quite cute.
I thought maybe I could kiss her lightly to ease her tension when—
*”Thud!”*
“Back from the asylum—”
*”Bang!”*
The door burst open, and at the same time, Iris shot up.
In an instant, she pushed against my chest and attempted to get up, but instead, she fell backward and bumped her head against the table.
“Mr. Hainkel! What is going on…?”
“*Grrr… ugh. Ow.*”
“*…*”
Emilia hurried in, eyes wide in surprise.
Saintess Iris was rolling on the floor, holding her head.
Emilia’s gaze towards me was utterly incredulous.
*
“Ow ow ow…”
“It’s not a big injury. It’ll swell a little, but if you leave it alone, it’ll settle down in three days.”
“Looks like the noble saintess has a bump on her head.”
“*…*”
Iris shot a fierce glare at me while showing the back of her head to Emilia.
I had no idea why she was glaring at me when she had fallen down on her own.
“But how did you hit your head… Could it be, Mr. Hainkel!”
“Schlus had nothing to do with this. It was my mistake…”
“Oh. If the saintess says so.”
Saying that, Emilia still maintained a suspicious glare.
She seemed to think I might have caused some sort of trouble.
Not entirely wrong, but…
*Grrr. This is driving me crazy.*
Anyway, the atmosphere had completely shattered.
Our “one-day married couple experience” should probably be put on hold now.
“Ugh, we’ve wasted way too much time. Let’s move on.”
“What do you mean…?”
“What do you mean, what? Obviously, something a couple would do.”
Iris looked at me like I was the one being unreasonable as she stepped closer.
Then she stretched her arms out, trying to hug me again.
Instead of embracing her, I took her hands and gently pushed her away.
“I think you might be misunderstanding what being a couple means.”
“A couple is supposed to stick together on holidays and share warmth, isn’t it?”
“That’s somewhat true, but… it can’t always be like that.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Let’s do something more enjoyable today. Emilia, we’re going out. Come with us—”
“I don’t want to.”
“*…*”
I couldn’t hide my shock.
I never expected to be flatly rejected.
I thought Emilia would want to tag along, worried that Iris and I would be up to no good.
She seemed to be confident we wouldn’t do anything wrong.
But judging by her strangely sharp tone, it didn’t seem like it was the case either.
“I have laundry piled up. I need to take care of that. If you two are going out, just the two of you can go.”
“Ugh…”
“Please be careful not to tarnish the saintess’s honor.”
“*…*”
With that, Emilia shot her parting words and walked away.
She appeared calm, but it was clear she was angry.
Her blatant irritation must have startled even Iris.
“Hoho. Now it’s just the two of us? You said we’re going out. Where do you plan to go?”
No. That was my miscalculation.
Iris was whispering with an excited tone, her hand intertwined with mine.
“You mentioned indulging today. If we’re going to do it, we should do it right.”
“*…?”*
The normally pure and principled Iris had made a decision to indulge for just one day.
Considering her personality, a day like today would likely never come again.
In that case, I needed to make sure she enjoyed it fully, without regrets.
I took hold of the bewildered Iris’s hand and led her along.
*
“Mmm…”
Late at night.
Back at the mansion, Iris sat shyly on the bed, exhausted from the day.
Every part of her body ached.
Rubbing her sore thighs from the muscle cramps, Iris recalled the day’s events slowly.
Schlus had initially led them to a clothing store.
He had secretly slipped some money to the employees, asking them to keep quiet about everything that happened there.
Wondering what was going on, the staff quickly took her inside to measure her size.
They told her to pick her desired fabric and style, and before she knew it, they had quickly made her a dress.
It was a sweet, blue dress that gave off an innocent vibe.
Schlus said that instead of her nun’s outfit, she ought to wear this to go out.
At that statement, she immediately felt a sense of rejection, but soon found herself persuaded.
Since she was already breaking the rules and indulging, wearing something like this would help avoid regrets later…
That logic hit home for her.
“What if I bump into some clergy?”
“That won’t happen, so don’t worry. Moreover, even if you do, they won’t think it’s you. Who would expect the noble saintess Iris, always wrapped in a nun’s outfit, to be wandering the city in such commoner clothes?”
Persuaded and persuaded again by Schlus, her attitude shifted as the outfit changed.
With a new mindset came a change in behavior.
Initially walking primly in the airy clothes, she gradually found herself hugging Schlus and walking closely together like lovers.
‘It was a bit awkward in crowded places…’
As they went to the market, she chuckled at the memory.
Fortunately, no one recognized Saint Iris.
Even if someone did recognize her, they probably mistook her for someone else.
But the issue was Schlus.
Wherever he went, he drew attention, making it necessary to put up a barrier just to steer people away.
Having not been out in public for a while, he hadn’t expected it to turn out this way.
He seemed to deliberately flaunt his popularity, which was somewhat annoying.
Additionally, there were so many women following him around…
That was slightly irritating too.
After that, they stuck to places without crowds.
She had been to the New Town many times, but wandering around the Old Town like this was a first.
Every new sight—the nameless park, the nameless plaza, the nameless castle—looked beautiful with Schlus by her side.
But unfortunately, the day was too short, and they couldn’t see everything.
Though it felt like they hadn’t walked very far, her body ached as if she’d cared for patients all day.
It was a strange experience.
Time seemed to fly when she was with Schlus.
“Did I drag you around too much? Are your legs sore?”
Just then, Schlus appeared, drying his hair with a towel.
Seeing his face made her smile involuntarily.
It had been exhausting, but it was worth it.
She had never gone out just for fun throughout her life…
Crossing stone bridges with Schlus was delightful, tasting street food together was delightful, and watching a small performance was delightful.
“I don’t feel sore at all.”
“You’re lying. Then who did I carry when you suddenly collapsed earlier?”
“I-it was just a cramp! I could still go out and enjoy the night right now…”
“Forget it. You’ve overdone it today, so just rest.”
“*…*”
“Hm?”
Just as Schlus was about to leave, Iris impulsively grabbed his hand.
She was taken aback by her own unconscious action.
But she wouldn’t let go.
Pretending it was on purpose, she deliberately pulled him closer.
With a creak…
Schlus was naturally led to push Iris onto the bed.
As he leaned over her, his breath became ragged.
Iris contemplated as she caressed his cheek.
She had already experienced enough thrilling and delightful moments today.
She would likely remember and cherish them for decades to come.
But if she took just one more step…
Would she regret it later?
Or would she regret not having the courage to move forward?
It was uncertain.
The past was so different from now when she thought merely following the Pope’s orders and adhering to the law would bring happiness.
Now, she wanted to pursue the joys of a normal girl, desires rising within her.
“Schlus… You said to indulge fully.”
“I did say that.”
“Then let’s… cross the line entirely.”
*Swoosh.*
Iris wrapped her hands around Schlus’s neck, intertwining her fingers.
Pulling him slowly, Schlus initially tried to resist, but soon he began to yield.
‘I will not regret this.’
I had already made my decision.
If I was going to feel guilty and tortured about it, I wouldn’t have started this in the first place.
I wouldn’t have even considered taking this man away from Emilia.
Iris closed her eyes and cast a barrier around the room.
A powerful barrier that no sound or vibration could escape.
