Chapter 14

“Tsk. Everyone is exaggerating over one misunderstanding.”

Leon clicked his tongue as if he couldn’t be bothered.

Incensed, the other man retorted.

“There was an internal whistleblower’s testimony.”

“Who?”

“One of the princess’s maids. A girl named Camilla. She testified that her mistress intended to run from the very beginning.”

Leon, who had been drinking his whiskey with an indifferent hand, had a distinct shift in his expression for the first time.

“It seems the misunderstanding is deeper than I thought. I merely enjoyed a nighttime stroll with the lady.”

“With hunting dogs released, no less?”

He lightly tapped his ear as the man sputtered at him, an idle gesture, as if brushing away the barking of some filthy mutt. The other man’s face flushed scarlet, his jaw clenched so hard it creaked.

“You had already received notice that the princess’s marriage to you might be reconsidered. What reason could you possibly have for fleeing in such haste?”

“Who knows. Does there need to be a reason?”

His sly, evasive tone was no different from before; he still looked down on people. Being forced to endure his arrogance as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces was one thing; being dismissed outright as if one were beneath notice was far more infuriating.

Ansel, already red-faced, finally snapped.

“Are you harboring ulterior motives, Sir? Don’t tell me that being appointed to govern Velasque has given you delusions of becoming a king yourself—”

“Commander Ansel.”

A low voice sliced cleanly through the man’s nonsense rambling.

Leon took a slow sip of his drink, wetting his lips. Any trace of expression had vanished from his face, wiped clean, cold, the same face he wore only when cutting down an enemy.

Recognizing it, a ripple of tension tightened Ansel’s features.

“This country has always been known for its abundance of beautiful women.”

Ansel blinked, unsure why such a remark had surfaced so abruptly. Leon, ever obliging in the most cutting way, clarified for him.

“I heard you took more than ten women with you when you returned home.”

Leon’s narrowed gaze dipped, unabashedly sweeping over Ansel’s groin before his brow creased in cool disdain.

“There’s nothing uglier than a soldier running wild, mad for women.”

“Wh-what nonsense? How could I, as a noble, commit such cruel, vulgar acts against the people of a defeated nation?”

Startled, Ansel stammered out his denial, yet the fluster in his voice only made it sound like an admission.

“Times have changed. The spoils of war may be divided, but harming powerless civilians is forbidden. And it seems the man who broke that rule is standing right in front of me.”

Gasp.

Ansel flinched, swallowing hard as he met those sharply tempered eyes.

“I-I only wanted to give them a better life…”

“You put real effort into that bullshit. Even going so far as to take women who already had husbands?”

If he had thought Leon was merely probing him before, the color draining from Ansel’s face now made it clear that he understood the danger he was in. How the young commander, who had only just arrived, had uncovered something he’d conducted in secret, he couldn’t fathom.

But if word of it spread, he himself would be dragged before a military tribunal.

“If this comes to light, it won’t only be your honor that suffers. I wonder what your marchioness back home would think of it.”

“C-Commander!”

Ansel looked as though another word might make him keel over. Leon, watching that pallid face, tipped back his glass and emptied it in one smooth motion.

“I’ll overlook this incident on my end. But you’ll leave the women behind.”

“Supreme Commander, are you threatening me?”

“You seem to have forgotten. The war is over. That means the ship you and I were on has already come to a stop, and now each of us must choose where we disembark.”

“…W-What is that supposed to mean?”

Leon refilled his empty glass with whiskey. A faint amusement flickered across his face, only to vanish just as quickly.

“By tonight, you will have your entire battalion withdrawn. As you know, from this hour on, this territory falls under my command.”

“But that’s… There’s my reputation to consider. And my homeland won’t sit quietly.”

Ansel groaned as if such a thing were impossible, but Leon gave him no room for mercy.

“That’s not my concern. When you return, you’ll need to carefully explain things to the troublesome Neidel and the other nations. Do that, and the enraged marchioness won’t need to board a fast ship at dawn.”

Ansel’s expression curdled.

“Neidel will not turn a blind eye to this.”

“They will, if Commander Ansel testifies that nothing happened.”

Leon paused in the leisurely turn of his glass and lifted his wrist slightly, checking his watch. The handsome curve of his smile deepened.

“Do that, and I’ll make sure the marchioness has no reason to grow suspicious of you.”

Trapped with no way out, the man finally reluctantly nodded in agreement.

“Why… are you going to such lengths? What exactly are you plotting?”

“A pleasure that’s never once come within reach has finally landed in my hands, that’s all.”

Leon offered his proposal, skillfully disguised as a threat, with a handsome smile perfectly suited to his striking features. It was a smile charming enough to enchant, yet for some reason, it carried a faintly chilling air.