By Zephyria 
A month had passed since the subjugation force departed.
Initially, they received daily reports on the front lines via sorcery, but no matter how powerful the magic, the distance meant the intervals gradually grew longer. And so, it was a certain day in February when that interval stretched to three days.
Drip.
Simon quietly refilled the teacup. He wasn’t filling it for himself; it was purely an action for those he served.
If anyone were to ask how he dared to order around an Imperial Marquis, one who could be called the Emperor’s right-hand man, he could answer with certainty.
Only the Emperor and his brother, of course.
“So, Brother, please don’t worry about it.”
At first, the man had been burdened by the fact that Marquis Rivalt himself was serving tea, but after spending about a month in the Imperial Palace, he had gradually come to treat Simon as if he were invisible.
With his wavy silver hair covering his face and his mystically glowing purple eyes, the man was a handsome beauty whose appearance would make anyone stop and admire if they happened to pass by. However, he was currently frowning deeply, as if displeased with something.
“How can I not worry? You said you’d be staying there from now on!”
The man who was now snapping in anger was the young Emperor, whom Simon had served for a long time and intended to continue serving. The brothers, who rarely resembled each other, were glaring at each other in a rare argument.
The issue was none other than the matter concerning the residence of Prince Pakirius.
“Anyway, the inn can’t open until Ket returns, and after that, there’s no need for guards at the mansion! Gerold is there, Ebon is there, and most importantly, Ket is by my side! Why all the fuss about needing more guards!”
“Have you forgotten what happened to you when everyone was at the mansion?”
Ugh, Pakirius frowned as if he had no retort, but he quickly pushed back without conceding.
“There was a reason for that back then!”
“Ah~ lettuce?”
“It’s cabbage! No, more importantly, there was another reason you don’t know, and I couldn’t help it!”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
“Are you going to keep doing this? The story is going in circles!”
‘Hmm…….’
Simon briefly considered intervening to mediate, worried the tea would get cold, but being a smart person, he didn’t make such a mistake and quietly stepped back to observe the brothers’ fight.
The reason the two brothers were fighting was simple.
The Emperor wanted to station guards for Prince Pakirius at the new inn being built, while Prince Pakirius was horrified and dismissed it as nonsense.
To Simon, the outcome of this fight seemed obvious. After all, the Emperor had never once managed to win against his younger brother.
However, it was clear that the Emperor, who wouldn’t easily yield to any noble, was quite willing to lose to his younger brother, so Simon wasn’t too worried.
And as he expected, the brothers’ quarrel soon reached a swift conclusion. It was decided that guards would not be stationed at Prince Pakirius’s request.
Of course, Simon inwardly supported Prince Pakirius, as he believed the Prince was right, both publicly and privately, so he added no further words.
The Emperor seemed anxious to compensate Prince Pakirius for having to live in the shadows, unseen, for so many years, but in Simon’s view, those compensations were not what the Prince would want.
“Even without guards, people will already be looking askance at the Prince’s inn, so guards would be too much.”
Prince Pakirius, annoyed, belatedly gulped down the now cold tea.
“Thank you for the tea, Simon.”
“It is nothing.”
The cold tea was something the Emperor would naturally detest, but the exceptionally easygoing Prince Pakirius rarely asked for something to be remade or acted haughtily, saying things like, “Do you know who I am?”
Despite being the second most powerful person after the Emperor.
One might say it was unavoidable, having grown up as a hidden royal, but even though he lived in the shadows, he had not had an impoverished childhood.
On the contrary, the previous Emperor had raised his second son, who resembled him exactly, with great care. He simply did not reveal his existence to the world.
Moreover, the Emperor also loved and cherished his younger brother, so despite having every reason to grow into a power-hungry personality, Prince Pakirius had a gentle and thoughtful disposition.
“No, what if you named it the Prince’s Inn and promoted it widely?”
…Except for the occasional tendency for his thoughts to stray into rather strange territory.
After that, the two discussed the exterior appearance of the inn they were building.
Prince Pakirius had designed the entire exterior. He had come up with a surprisingly plausible building, making one wonder when he had studied such things. Simon helped realize it through blueprints, but the result looked like it would be quite beautiful.
It was expected to be the most beautiful inn in the world if the building turned out as lovely as the blueprints.
However, after passionately discussing the inn, Prince Pakirius gradually became less talkative, as if his energy was draining from his body. Once his teacup was empty, he fell silent and simply gazed out the window.
The sight of the handsome man, as if drawn, gazing at the winter garden with a somber expression was quite beautiful, but the Emperor and Simon, who had some idea of what he was thinking, merely exchanged glances.
He was thinking of the Hero again.
A month had already passed since the subjugation force departed.
For some, it might have been ‘already a month,’ but the news that came in was so grim, and the future of humanity was practically decided by the outcome of this subjugation force, that the atmosphere was quite ominous.
The Demon King was openly awaiting the subjugation force. As if he were confident of victory.
People, when meeting in groups of two or more, would bring up the subjugation force.
Of course, this was irrelevant to the brothers of the Imperial family. Both of them, for different reasons, tried not to bring up topics related to the subjugation force.
“Paki.”
The Emperor called his brother’s name, wanting to say something, but the gaze that returned was not very friendly.
Seeing Prince Pakirius with a rare, cold expression, Simon swallowed hard. He discreetly nudged the Emperor’s back. Don’t.
The Emperor, who quickly understood the signal, sighed. It seemed best not to bring it up at all.
“Stay for dinner.”
The Emperor eventually changed the subject. Only then did Prince Pakirius’s expression soften slightly.
“That kimchi stew you told me about, it suited my taste better than I expected.”
“You always liked that, Brother.”
“Me? That was the first time I’d ever eaten it just now?”
Simon naturally followed the two brothers. When did I become such a dispensable presence? Simon, who squinted with a sense of existential crisis, following an expression learned from Prince Pakirius, soon composed himself.
With his younger brother away for a great undertaking, it was his duty to guard the side of the person he was meant to serve.
Until his brother returned.
Eddie’s room was likely the most magically secured place in this vast Imperial Palace.
The Emperor and Marquis Rivalt had invested in its security with almost obsessive dedication. Thanks to this, Eddie could be alone in this space without any worries.
With Gerold away, the role of guarding Eddie had temporarily fallen to Marquis Rivalt, but naturally, as the Emperor’s right-hand man, he was as busy as the Emperor himself. Eddie was not so inconsiderate as to bother him with his fingertip.
As a result, Eddie had barely stepped outside the Imperial Palace since Ketron’s departure, apart from brief strolls within its grounds.
Both those who watched over his safety with fierce intensity and he himself didn’t feel much inclination to go out.
Ketron, Gerold, Ebon… all the people he knew were fighting with their lives on the line, and he felt dissatisfied with himself, hiding in the safest place under impenetrable security, holding his breath.
What can you do? Your status is extraordinary, and you have no abilities.
While he showed enthusiasm to the Emperor about preparing to open the new inn, in truth, it was partly an excuse to forget the current situation.
Eddie thought of Ketron every day.
He earnestly wished for Ketron’s safe return, and for all his people to return safely.
Time, which he desperately wished for, flowed by relentlessly.
Even after the two months, which he had considered the minimum, had long passed, only intermittent news of a prolonged stalemate was heard; there was no word of a full-scale clash.
The winter, which was drying the blood of those who waited, passed in an instant. Eddie spent each day relieved whenever he heard that a full-scale war had not yet begun. Even though he knew the battle was unavoidable.
And finally, a cruel spring arrived.