Chapter 4

***

“I believe I told you yesterday it wasn’t possible.”

The Commander stared at Lino as if he were an absolute lunatic. From his perspective, anyone who barged in twice to reject a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity they’d practically won the lottery to get certainly looked like a madman.

“I have unavoidable circumstances,” Lino pleaded, contorting his face into a far graver expression than the day before to emphasize that he had a deeply compelling, unmentionable secret. However, the Commander’s expression was significantly grimmer.

“If you had unavoidable circumstances, you should have requested to be omitted before I submitted the roster. Didn’t I tell you yesterday? The esteemed guest personally reviewed the files and handpicked you. What happens to our order’s reputation if we back out now? Don’t even think about dragging our nonexistent reputation further into the gutter. Just go pack your bags.”

Swatting his hand dismissively to silence any further nonsense, the Commander refocused his attention on drafting the next month’s training schedule. It was blatantly obvious the “unmentionable circumstances” excuse was a total bust. So, Lino deployed his second strategy.

“There is an abundance of senior knights whose skills far exceed mine. You know exactly what my skill level is.”

However, this too failed to penetrate the Commander’s stubbornness. He tapped his finger aggressively against his own cheek.

“You brat, did you already forget what I told you yesterday? They picked you based on this. Because of this! The distinguished guest liked your face, which means we cannot substitute you with another knight.”

Tch. Lino let out a small, sharp click of his tongue. The tiny sound of his tongue hitting the roof of his mouth was loaded with pure dissatisfaction.

“If you despise the idea that much, go find a doppelgänger.”

“Even someone who looks vaguely similar…”

“If we had another bastard in our order with a face dipped in honey like yours, they probably would have drafted both of you.”

“It’s not like escorts fight with their faces…” Lino grumbled, the complaint slipping out like a quiet mutter. It seemed he was completely backed into a corner; he had no choice but to go. If I have to go, I should at least extract some information, he decided.

“Commander.”

“What now? Just give up and go pack your bags.”

“Is the distinguished guest a woman?”

“Hmm…”

When asked about the distinguished guest’s gender, the Commander let out a low, hesitant hum instead of answering. It wasn’t that he didn’t know; he was clearly debating whether it was safe to disclose. Tapping his fingertips rhythmically against his desk, he shifted his eyes sideways to glance at Lino.

“If I tell you, will you go obediently?”

“If I say no, will you take my name off the list?”

“Of course not. I keep telling you, you’ve been chosen by the distinguished guest.”

Chosen… chosen, he says. It’s not like they’re looking for a spouse. Lino repeatedly mumbled the word, which felt incredibly awkward on his tongue since he rarely used it.

But if he knows their gender, wouldn’t he know who the distinguished guest actually is? The sudden thought made Lino stare intently at the Commander, who was still agonizing over whether to reveal the gender.

“You know who the distinguished guest is, don’t you, Commander? Just who is it that there isn’t a single tabloid rumor circulating?”

“Ah, I can’t tell you that much. But well… I suppose I can tell you the gender.”

Shaking his head at Lino’s probing question, the Commander leaned back into his chair, seemingly taking a step back. “It’s a man.”

“A man?”

Not a woman? I assumed it was a woman since she personally picked a pretty face, but it’s a man?

Envisioning a noblewoman from a nation far more powerful than Zetina parading pretty knights around like decorative accessories, Lino’s brow furrowed deeply. However, his expression quickly smoothed out. What does gender matter anyway? They’re already permanently cemented as a disgusting creep the moment they demanded a pretty-faced knight.

“That is all the information I can give you. So hurry up and go pack. You leave in two days.”

“Can’t you really cancel—”

“Well, if you really despise the idea that much, dying is always an option.”

“……”

The Commander’s face, tilted to the side, was heavily laced with annoyance and absolute exhaustion. It was a silent threat: I’m already busy enough, so stop spouting bullshit and get the hell out.

“In the first place, you are in no position to refuse. How dare a commoner reject the selection of an esteemed distinguished guest?”

Hearing the word selection pop up again, Lino bit down hard on the inside of his cheek. It dragged up a childhood memory of sitting innocently in the orphanage, dressed in his most decent clothes, quietly waiting to receive an esteemed guest.

Much time had passed, but it was a memory he could never erase.

They picked me based on my face, huh.

Should I just run away?

Lino stared blankly at the distant mountains visible through the window behind the Commander. To reach the capital from here, he would have to walk a significant distance on foot, catch a bus, and then take a train. Trekking across the mountain to reach the bus stop seemed like a viable plan. Hmm… where was the nearest town again? Would taking a bus be better than crossing the mountain? Or maybe I should just go straight to the train station and head for the border? But the nearest border is the Hestin Kingdom. Walking there on foot is just too…

“Ahem, the roster has already been submitted to the royal family, so if you’re plotting to bolt, you’d best scrap that idea immediately.”

“……”

Simply by tracking Lino’s gaze out the window, the Commander instantly deduced exactly what he was plotting.

“Haha, bolting? What do you mean?”

“Do you honestly think you’re the first person like you I’ve seen while running this place?”

“A person… like me?”

Lino trailed off, his heart giving a guilty jolt under the Commander’s piercing stare.

“Bastards who have things to hide, who need to stay hidden, and who spend all their time plotting how to run away the second things go south. Lino, aren’t you one of those bastards?”

“Ah, well… no, that’s not…”

“Bullshit it’s not. The answer is written all over you.”

Though he flinched internally at the Commander’s terrifyingly accurate deduction, Lino clenched his jaw to keep his face perfectly blank. The Commander usually acted like a spineless jellyfish who simply went with the flow, but occasionally, he saw right through people like this. Perhaps the jellyfish persona was entirely an act designed to lower people’s guards.

“Well, it’s incredibly common for a knight to run away from an order stuck deep in these mountains, and frankly, I wouldn’t even bother chasing them. But your situation is entirely different.”

Lino didn’t need to ask what was different.

“You’d best abandon the naive delusion that simply escaping the Zetina Kingdom will be enough. The distinguished guest who personally selected you is a bea—ahem, a person who will hunt you down whether you hide at the edge of the Terne Continent or in the dead center of the boundless ocean.”

“No, that’s…”

What kind of absolute lunatic does that? Lino swallowed the words that threatened to spill from his lips. Just how obscenely wealthy are they to hunt someone down to the edge of the continent or the middle of the ocean? It’s not like I’m the world’s most precious treasure. He was nothing but an apprentice knight who hadn’t even earned a basic certificate, rotting away in an insignificant order located in a pathetic, weak nation, possessing less presence than a single grain of sand.

“Anyway! Since you’ve been chosen, you will quietly stick to the distinguished guest’s side and perform your escort duties until they return to their home country. Who knows? Maybe they’ll take a liking to you and bestow a massive reward upon their departure?”

“Haha…”

The more I hear, the more I desperately want to run away. Lino swallowed this thought as well, offering a vague, evasive laugh instead. Judging by the extreme level of secrecy surrounding this visit, the distinguished guest was undoubtedly a high-ranking noble from one of the two Empires. No, perhaps not just a noble, but a member of the imperial family. The Crown Prince, perhaps?

Still, they wouldn’t be able to chase me to the absolute edge of the continent…

The true edge of the continent was Isberg. Honestly, if he hid in Isberg, who could possibly find him? An Emperor? Even if the Emperor’s grandfather resurrected, they couldn’t breach Isberg. Of course… as a fugitive, Lino wouldn’t be able to enter either.

He thought of Isberg, the place he had desperately wanted to visit since childhood. If he could find a way in, he would do absolutely anything to go. But he refused to enter as a pathetic fugitive.

Sigh—

Ultimately releasing a heavy breath, Lino nodded. There’s no other way. I have to do this. He would go, guard the distinguished guest as quietly as a dead mouse, and return. The moment he received his lower-class knight certificate, he would abandon the Zetina Kingdom forever.

“Good choice. Now get out.”

Confirming Lino’s resignation, the Commander swatted his hand dismissively, urging him to go pack.

“…Yes, sir.”

Stepping out of the Commander’s office, Lino aggressively ruffled his hair. His mind, which had previously been consumed by chaotic escape plans, was now entirely fixated on figuring out how to exist with absolutely zero presence.

Should I dye my hair a dull, muddy color? Or maybe get thick-rimmed glasses to cover half my face?

As he walked down the corridor, agonizing over how to erase his existence, the sharp sound of a door throwing open echoed behind him.

“Hey, Lino!”

It was the Commander. When Lino turned to ask what was wrong, the Commander tapped his finger against his own cheek, issuing a stern warning.

“Don’t touch your face; go exactly as you are. Same with the hair. Don’t even think about wearing glasses. No dyeing allowed either.”

Is… is he a ghost? A psychic? How the hell did he know exactly what I was thinking? Startled, Lino momentarily doubted the Commander’s humanity.

“Why… must I do that?”

Forcing his racing heart to calm down, Lino asked the question. The Commander replied with an expression that clearly stated he was sick of this.

“It’s an absolute order to arrive looking exactly like the photograph attached to your file. So go exactly as you look right now. Understood?”

“…Yes, sir.”

Hearing Lino’s utterly defeated reply, the Commander vanished back into his office. Lino had considered wearing a wig, figuring dyeing would be too much of a hassle to maintain, but now, wigs and dye were both strictly forbidden. He felt completely trapped inside a suffocatingly tiny box with all sides sealed shut.

I let my guard down entirely because the last few years were too peaceful.

Sucking in a deep, suffocating breath, Lino clenched his fist and ruthlessly punched himself in the side of the head. Thwack— The heavy impact echoed through the quiet corridor. Thanks to the brutal hit, which left his knuckles stinging and his head ringing, his chaotic thoughts settled slightly.

There’s no point worrying this much already. They said the criteria was a pretty face, so there will undoubtedly be dozens of knights who look infinitely better than me. Someone of my caliber won’t even catch their eye.

Forcing himself to adopt this delusionally optimistic perspective quickly calmed his churning stomach. He violently banished the thought that he had been careless and complacent, mentally punishing himself with another imaginary blow to the head.

Resigned to his fate, Lino returned to his room to pack, only to freeze when he saw a suitcase splayed open on his bed. What? Did I take that out before I went to see the Commander? He immediately shook his head. He had absolutely no memory of doing so. He had left the room clinging to the fragile, thread-like hope that his draft might still be canceled.

Then who the hell…

“Oh? You’re back?”

Just then, Rodic emerged from the bathroom and greeted him cheerfully. Clutched in his hand were Lino’s toothbrush and toothpaste. To Lino’s horror, Rodic casually tossed them into the open suitcase on the bed.

“What exactly are you doing…?”

“Huh? What does it look like? I’m helping you pack. You leave in two days, right? You’ll be staying in the capital for a long time, so you need to be thoroughly prepared, don’t you?”

Without a shred of hesitation, Rodic began rolling up clothes he had ruthlessly pillaged from Lino’s closet and aggressively stuffing them into the suitcase.

“Why the hell are you helping me with that?”

“Haha, well, to help you enjoy a spectacular, dazzling life in the capital, your generous Hyung is providing—huh? Hey, hey?!”

At the mention of a “spectacular life in the capital,” Lino lunged toward the bed, shoving Rodic aside to inspect the suitcase. Inside lay a few of Lino’s standard shirts and trousers, along with the recently deposited toothbrush and toothpaste. At first glance, nothing appeared suspicious.

However, without a moment’s hesitation, Lino aggressively dumped the entire contents of the suitcase onto the bed.

“Ack! What are you doing?! I went out of my way to help you!”

Ignoring Rodic’s wounded screeching, Lino meticulously picked through the chaotic pile of his own clothes. The first thing he grabbed was a white shirt; he plunged his hand straight into the breast pocket.

With a soft rustle, his fingers brushed against thin plastic.

I fucking knew it.

He pulled out a condom. It wasn’t just the breast pocket; from the front pockets to the back pockets of his trousers, every single crevice was stuffed with small, square plastic packets.

“…Hyung, am I going to the capital to have sex?”

“A-Ahem…! Well, while you’re escorting the distinguished guest, if you spend passionate nights with the beautiful flowers of the capital in your spare time, you’ll have absolutely zero regrets about your time there, right?” Rodic muttered, reciting his own pathetic fantasies while cautiously gauging Lino’s reaction.

“‘Zero regrets,’ huh… I think if I report your unauthorized excursion to the Commander before I leave, I’ll be able to head to the capital with absolutely zero regrets.”

“Hey! Are you seriously going back on your word as a man?! You said you’d pretend you didn’t know!”

“I guess I’m not a man, then.”

Lino mercilessly flipped his socks inside out, extracting more condoms and tossing them onto the floor. He had barely searched half the pile, yet he already had a fistful. If this guy fell into a river, only his dick would float. Gathering the confiscated contraband, Lino dumped them straight into the trash can.

“Ack! If you aren’t going to use them, give them back! Some of those were incredibly expensive!” Rodic shrieked, desperately hugging the trash can to his chest like a precious child. “I even included the latest, trendiest lube for you specifically…”

“Lube? They all look like condoms to me.”

Noticing Lino’s sudden curiosity, Rodic’s face lit up. Finally, you’re showing interest in this stuff! Rummaging through the trash, he triumphantly pulled out a distinct packet.

“Allow me to explain—this is the ultimate secret weapon for the hottest trend: a smooth, harmonious sex life between men! With this baby, even the tightest hole instantly melts into a soft, slippery—”

“……”

Hearing the phrase “love between men,” Lino violently shook his head. He had assumed Rodic was just insane for women, but apparently, men were fair game too. While homosexuality was considered a grave sin in the ancient past, it was now widely accepted as simply another ordinary form of love. Of course, that didn’t mean society welcomed it with open, celebrating arms. Despite massive scientific advancements, the realm of pregnancy remained exclusively limited to women.

But setting the condoms aside… why the hell did he pack lube?

Squinting suspiciously, Lino shifted his gaze between Rodic and the anal lube clutched triumphantly in his hand. It wasn’t a look of desire; it was a look overflowing with intense suspicion.

“Ahem, hem. You could call it… your Hyung’s profound wish for you to experience a diverse range of things once you reach the capital…?”

“Get rid of it immediately before I throw you down a very deep well.”

“Haha, haha…”

At Lino’s terrifyingly cold threat, Rodic laughed awkwardly and quickly kicked the trash can securely under his own bed. Watching the pathetic display, Lino genuinely concluded that going to the capital might actually be the better option. At least in the capital, he wouldn’t have to witness this idiot’s disgusting antics.