After capturing the commander of the Imperial Guard and the other intruders and throwing them into the dungeon, Melza and I took the portal back to Sailbridge and set out for the army’s main camp.
“Hugo, my boy!”
“Hugo!”
“Master Hugo!”
The archduke, Professor Monica, and Sir Portland rushed over to greet me the moment they saw us.
They must have been worried about me after I rushed out of the bandit’s encampment so suddenly.
“You up and fled the battlefield,” said the archduke. “You gave us all quite the scare.”
“I’m so sorry… The truth is…”
I wasted no time explaining what had happened back at the mansion.
“…Hmm. So that blighted greenhorn tried to make a move on Mel, did he?” The archduke looked like an angry beast ready to pounce.
If Marquis Grenville were here now, the archduke would have strangled him with his bare hands.
“…I wouldn’t have thought Count MacLagan the type to set out on a suicide mission,” Sir Portland noted.
“Mmm.” Professor Monica hummed in agreement.
Truth be told, I felt the same way.
“So now that we’ve defeated the bandits, what’s next?” I asked.
The archduke hummed in thought. “Naturally, we’ll apprehend Viscount Sennett, given that he was clearly in league with the rogues, and march him back to the capital. It’s a complicated affair, so his interrogation may take some time.”
“Right…”
It would probably take a while to unravel why Viscount Sennett had decided to throw his lot in with a bunch of bandits and how deeply the commander of the Imperial Guard was involved. Something told me this wouldn’t be the end of the matter.
Most importantly, why had the Bard Mercenary Company turned to banditry? Then, of course, there was Grenville’s impromptu visit to Sailbridge and his immediate return to the capital… Though I suspected I already knew the answer to that one.
“Hugh…”
Glancing up, I saw Melza watching me with a worried look.
“Ah-ha-ha, everything’s fine… Anyway, we’re done with the bandits, so let’s go home!”
“Yes, let’s!”
“Ha-ha! That’s the spirit, my boy!”
“Mmm!”
“Indeed.”
The five of us savored our victory and shared a boisterous bout of laughter.
A month after we defeated the bandits, Viscount Sennett, Dominique Bard, and the former commander of the Imperial Guard, Count Gilbert MacLagan, were still being interrogated.
At the same time, Marquis Grenville’s puzzling actions were beginning to make sense. In particular, his conversation with MacLagan at the Imperial Academy’s entrance ceremony, his dinner with Viscount Sennett at Sailbridge, and the appearance of Bard, one of his main associates during my first and sixth lives. It seemed his coup d’état, planned for three years down the line, was already in the works.
In fact, it was quite fortunate that we’d been able to annihilate the Bard Mercenary Company masquerading as bandits and capture Dominique Bard. At the very least, we had been able to thwart one of his schemes.
Such were the thoughts swirling through my head, when Melza spoke up.
“…Hugh? What’s the matter?”
“Huh…? Oh. Ah-ha-ha. Sorry,” I said with a wry grin. “I was just lost in thought. That’s all.”
“Oh-ho. Don’t get too caught up in the details, okay?” Melza said with a slight chuckle.
No doubt she had seen right through me and sensed that I was preoccupied with Grenville and his three co-conspirators.
“…I wish I could spend my time thinking only about you, Melza…”
“Me too…”
Gently, she placed a pale hand atop one of my own on the table.
Knock-knock.
“Master Hugo, Lady Meltreza,” Ellen called out as she opened the door and strode into the room. “His Grace wants to see you in his office.”
If the archduke was calling for us, it could only mean there had been progress in the interrogations.
“Understood,” I said. “We’ll be right there. Melza?”
“Yes.”
I took her hand and led her out of the room and down the corridor toward the archduke’s study.
“You wanted to see us, Your Grace?” I said when we reached the door.
“Mmm. Sorry to trouble you, my boy. You were right about Dominique Bard—those bandits did belong to his mercenary company.”
“I thought so,” I said with a nod.
“Not only that, his company took a contract from the Kingdom of Orléans during the most recent hostilities. In short, we’ve concluded that this current ruckus was orchestrated in collusion with Viscount Sennett, still loyal to the Kingdom of Orléans, to stir up chaos within the empire.”
“I see… But why was Count MacLagan working with them? What was his objective?”
“There is one element connecting them all…”
“…What?! You don’t mean—”
“Indeed, I do. Just as you feared, my boy—it’s Grenville. As for MacLagan’s motives…”
It seemed that Grenville and MacLagan were old acquaintances, and their friendship dated back to their time at the Imperial Academy. That relationship, however, had supposedly ended when MacLagan was named commander of the Imperial Guard. In all likelihood, they had maintained ties behind the scenes, advancing their plot in secret.
On top of that, it seemed MacLagan had voiced a particular complaint to several of his associates—that because of Archduke Woodstock, he was unable to stake claim to the title of strongest man in the empire.
“…Perhaps that scoundrel Grenville used the man’s pride to manipulate him. He must have thought taking Mel hostage and using her to kill me would make him the toughest man in the realm.”
“…That’s why?! What a profoundly stupid reason!” I growled, gritting my teeth in anger.
“The business with Sennett and Bard was probably intended to separate me from Mel… And that seems to be their sole motive.”
“I see…”
It was all connected.
This did, however, confirm one thing—that Grenville’s coup d’état was being orchestrated in collusion with the Kingdom of Orléans. The matter with the bandits had been their attempt to eliminate the archduke—the greatest obstacle in their path.
Just thinking about all the ways that man had manipulated me and used me as a pawn in his stupid schemes filled me with indescribable frustration, rage, and bitterness. But just then—
“Hugh!”
“Ah…”
—the woman I loved more than anyone else caught me in a tight embrace, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“I’m here for you! Grandfather is here for you! We love you, Hugh! We won’t let him use you! So please…don’t be sad anymore… You don’t need to suffer…!”
Melza… I’m so blessed to have you. Your presence is always so warm and comforting…
“Yes… You’re right,” I said. “I have you, and His Grace, too. You both mean the world to me. I’m not the same man I was back then.”
That’s right. I’ve finally found it, and I’ll never let it go.
Here in my seventh life, I had discovered true happiness.
And so—
“Melza?”
“Yes…”
“I know I’ve made a vow to you as your fiancé, but I want to make another one as a knight… Would you grant me this wish…?”
“Oh…” She caught her breath.
Yes… I want to swear to her that I will protect her always, that her happiness will be everlasting…
“Your Grace… Would you be our witness?”
“Mmm. Very well. I, Cyril of Woodstock, will watch over your pledge.” The archduke gave us both a firm nod.
“Melza…,” I said.
“Yes…”
I knelt before her and hung my head as I presented her with the saber the archduke had given me.
“Hugo Grenville,” she said, addressing me formally.
“Yes.”
“Do you swear to be Meltreza of Woodstock’s sword and shield, and to protect me from all dangers…?”
Her stern voice, so different from her usual mellow tones, sent a tremble coursing through my heart and soul.
“Even if the whole world should turn its back on you, I, Hugo Grenville, will fight for you and protect you.”
“Do you hereby take the oath of knighthood to become my knight?”
“Yes… Even if it costs me my life, I vow with all my heart and soul to serve you and you alone.”
“Very well… Then I grant you a position befitting your honor and valor.”
I knelt as she pulled my saber from its scabbard and pressed the edge of the blade softly against my back.
“I, Meltreza of Woodstock, name you, Hugo Grenville, as my personal knight.”
The moment her words reached me, I was filled with elation beyond compare.
Now, I was her sole knight, sworn to protect her.
“Hugh… Hugh…!”
No sooner had she sheathed the saber and handed it back to me than she crouched down and wrapped her arms around me, her tears still flowing.
Oh, Melza…my one true love.
No matter what Grenville and his associates were plotting in the future, no matter who or what stood in our way…I, her knight, would protect her no matter what.
My precious, irreplaceable Melza.