That day, Duke Roktis entered the imperial capital like a triumphant general.

In the unstable times when the succession struggle for the throne and foreign invasions loomed, the Keilid family, who had successfully brokered peace with the North and overturned all expectations, once again seemed to prove their towering status.

"Are you at peace today, shining star of the Keilid family?"

"I shall report to Her Highness the Princess."

"I will escort you."

Duke Roktis, following the knight's guidance to the palace, briefly stopped and turned to look behind him.

"......"

He felt as though someone was watching him.

The wind blowing from afar caused the duke to lose focus for a moment.

"Your Excellency?"

"......Let’s go in."

Duke Roktis smiled bitterly and gathered his thoughts.

‘He couldn’t possibly be here.’

It was like a midsummer night’s dream.

There were many odd and absurd moments, but all of them would remain as meaningful memories in the duke's heart, to be remembered forever.

And...

‘Majokisa Karon.’

I will surely make him a citizen of the Empire.

The elderly man, looking towards his sixtieth year, could once again embrace a dream. A youthful dream, one he wanted to achieve with all his might, even at the cost of everything he had.

"Did you enjoy your long journey?"

"Your Highness the Princess."

The mysterious woman, who had prepared a seat upon hearing the news, poured tea.

Her fiery red eyes seemed to ripple like flames.

Her sharp features were like those of a tyrant, yet her graceful posture was languidly calm.

...Ilenesia von Ausreze Failroad.

"Indeed, the view of the night sky from Arendel is something I would have admired as well, Your Highness."

While the princess smiled, the duke sipped his warm tea to refresh his throat.

The elderly man, pondering which words to begin with, sighed deeply.

"Perhaps, Your Highness, you cannot even imagine what I’ve been through..."

"......?"

Seeing the duke speak shyly with a flushed face, Princess Ilenesia blinked her eyes in silence.

"So, I ended up having a drink with Majokisa..."

"......"

As the day waned, Duke Roktis' rambling seemed to show no sign of stopping.

Pingbalgei, Leonard Kalts.

He had plunged into intense training from the early morning, gripped by a fierce ambition after a series of events.

‘I will surpass you no matter what.’

A commoner knight who had been awarded a peace medal from the Winterwolf leader and recognized for his efforts in thwarting the Eastern Kingdom’s schemes, advancing to the rank of colonel.

Just a few years ago, he had been a mere soldier commanding a small squad.

Riding on the status of a noble's second son, Pingbalgei began his military career as a commissioned officer and had risen quickly. Now, he felt a sense of inferiority to Karon, who had already surpassed him.

"......Why does he keep calling me Pingbalgei?"

This was something he couldn’t forgive.

No matter how senior, how dare a commoner call a noble by such a casual name?

"I’m not a f*cking gay!!"

I like women! I like women!

Pingbalgei shouted in anger as he sprinted up the back mountain.

Then, suddenly...

"......?"

It was still before dawn.

Pingbalgei squinted his eyes in disbelief as he saw something swaying in the dark.

‘Shaking rock...?’

For some reason, the rock that should have been at the top of the mountain was climbing the walking path.

"What, what is this?"

The rock, which seemed to be stumbling like it had legs, caused Pingbalgei to rub his eyes in disbelief.

"Did I see that wrong...?"

In the brief moment he looked away, the shaking rock had completely vanished.

Pingbalgei quickly ran to the top of the mountain, but the rock was still standing in its usual place, unmoving.

"Tch, am I losing it?"

After all, living among monsters that aren’t even human, it was no surprise he might see things.

Clearing his startled heart, Pingbalgei, as usual, pushed the rock and muttered in a grumble.

...Shaking rock my ass.

...It doesn’t even budge, not even a little.

"Watch closely. I, Pingbalgei, no, Leonard Kalts, will one day bring you down."

After finishing his cardio workout early in the morning, Pingbalgei took a quick bath and secretly entered the knight commander’s office. The smell of the unlit office felt strangely comforting.

"The spirit of a soldier comes from discipline."

Chuckling to himself, he cleaned the dust in the commander's office and tidied the floor.

With the day starting in such a fulfilling way, Pingbalgei felt a strange sense of satisfaction, but then his attention was drawn to a display case in the corner of the room.

"Truly, it’s an impressive weapon."

He placed both hands on the display case, staring at the gleaming halberd in the showcase as if he were mesmerized.

The legendary weapon, awarded by the late Duke German to a brave Winterwolf knight, was of immense historical value, even recorded in military treatises.

"......It seems there’s some dust here too."

Pingbalgei, who couldn’t tolerate even a speck of dust on a perfect masterpiece, checked to see if anyone was around and then slyly opened the display case.

"Ah, beautiful..."

With wide-open eyes, the halberd's blade sparkled as its deadly gleam rushed toward him.

The star-metal forged from the fragment of a comet, originating from a demonic beast, was now something Pingbalgei could see in the flesh.

‘M-my hand...’

His hand moved without his consent as he reached out, captivated by it.

Someday, he too wanted to wield such a weapon, to be a knight of such grandeur...

Pingbalgei tried to calm his excitement, gripping the pole tightly and lifting the halberd with all his might.

"......?"

But for some reason, it felt light.

A sense of unease and something wrong crept up on him.

"Ah, no..."

In the end, Pingbalgei found the damaged marks on the shaft, where the blade had separated, and his body trembled.

In the shock that made his head spin, he staggered back and dropped the pole helplessly.

"Why... is this?"

"......"

"No, I didn’t break it!"

"No. You did."

"......!!"

As soon as he met the eyes of the man watching him, Pingbalgei froze.

"Crime scene detected."

It was Karon. From the slight gap in the door, he was grinning with a look of a snitch.

"No, no! It was already broken!"

"You did it."

"Please believe me! I didn’t do it!"

"You did it."

Hearing those words over and over, Pingbalgei’s mind started to spin.

"Yeah, yeah, I did it..."

He grabbed his head, shivering. Karon placed his hand on his shoulder and smiled. Pingbalgei, now feeling like a criminal, waited for Karon’s judgment.

"Don’t worry too much. You definitely broke it, but it’s the senior’s responsibility to carry the junior’s mistakes."

"Karon, you little..."

"You’re the one who’s using informal speech."

In that moment, their friendship began to bloom.

"......What are you two doing in my room?"

Just then, Horace opened the door and entered the office.

As Pingbalgei took a deep breath, Horace, who seemed to have been hiking, wiped the sweat off his face, and then froze at the sight of the display case wide open.

"You damn thieves! How dare you lay hands on my precious collection!"

With a furious step, he approached and closed the display case. Then, looking down at a stick that had been stepped on by his boot, Horace’s eyes widened.

"Ah, this..."

"This...! Kyaaaah──!!"

"Commander, I’ll explain everything."

Finally realizing that his precious collection had been damaged, Horace clutched his hair and screamed. Pingbalgei hid behind Karon, trembling with fear.

"What did you do to my collection!!!"

Horace, holding the broken pole like a child holding their deceased parent, wept loudly. Suddenly, a murderous aura emanated from him.

"Confess. Who dared to do this?"

"......I did."

At that moment, Pingbalgei’s eyes widened.

Why did Karon, who was standing next to Horace, suddenly feel so much bigger than usual?

"Karon. I’m really disappointed in you."

"......"

"......Fine. Since you’ve confessed, I won’t press further. I’ll deduct the repair cost from your salary."

"......!!"

"Three years’ salary reduction should cover the cost."

Pingbalgei squeezed his eyes shut in guilt.

‘I’m sorry, I messed up for your sake...’

He was already a failure as a soldier. He had trained madly to surpass Karon, but once again, he had to rely on him for help.

‘Karon... I won’t forget this even when I die.’

Pingbalgei swore that he would repay this debt in a big way.

Just then...

"He did it."

Pingbalgei opened his eyes and looked at Karon.

His finger was pointing straight at him from right next to Horace.

"He did it."

"......"

Horace’s fiery gaze pierced him.

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