“Alois, follow with me. All the others, dismissed!”

Training was concluded with the voice of the Platoon Leader.

He was already dead tired but his superior was calling for him. Moreover, he doesn’t know the reason at all.

Alois, who had been working as a soldier in the royal palace for still a short time, didn’t have any idea.

His friends and his seniors told him ‘Good luck!’ and ‘We’ll collect your bones!’ and said these words while patting him on his shoulder. Even those who aren’t particularly close with him gave him eyes full of sympathy, which made him think that they may be good guys after all.

They aren’t as cold-hearted as he thought.

The Platoon Leader left the training grounds and entered the royal palace, but they pa.s.sed the room which Alois thought he would be taken to.

Where could they be going…?

He cannot yet understand the structure of some parts of the interior of the royal palace, but this place should be where the rooms of distinguished persons are.

While he thought of this, the Platoon Leader stopped in front of a big door.

“Please pardon my intrusion. I have brought Alois.”

When Platoon Leader called out, a voice from the room was heard, and the permission to enter was given.

Alois, who can’t comprehend what was happening, noticed that a hand was placed in his shoulder and saw that the owner of the hand was the Platoon Chief.

Those eyes…

The Platoon Leader whom he thought was going to enter the room with him, lip-syncs “do your best” and leaves with extremely quick steps.

He thought while watching the figure of that back which was becoming smaller.

Aren’t those eyes similar to the eyes of a friend just a little while ago!?

Having been deserted by the Platoon Leader, Alois kept standing in front of door in a daze. Finally, he came to his senses.

He knocked once again and set foot inside the room.

“P-p… please pardon my intrusion!”

Alois immediately lowered his head deeply. Before his eyes, what appeared was the dirtied carpet, and he suddenly saw his lifetime’s worth of salary fly away at that.

This… this might be bad.

He thought that it was the room of a high-ranking aristocrat. He saw his legs trembling in nervousness and willed them to stop… he silently prayed they stop.

It was just his imagination. Surely, the person in the room isn’t fond of his carpet! Get a grip, Alois!

“Raise your head.”

He timidly raised his head in accordance to the voice.

Before his eyes, there was a gentleman with deep blue hair.

… He was done for.

He never met him personally, but he immediately knew. This hair color, age and features. There was no mistake that this was First Prince Ricardo.

In his heart, he uttered farewell to his family.

Father, I’m sorry. Mother, Elder Sister… the guts you drilled into me, there’s no question you’re the ones who made me a soldier. Thanks to you, my lifespan seems to be ending earlier than planned. I resent you. I’ll become a ghost and haunt you no matter what.

“Are you Alois?”

The voice heard was not from Ricardo-sama. Alois turned his head slowly with a *gigigi* similar to a broken machine and confirmed the owner of the voice.

… really, it’s no-good.

It was Four Colored Houses’ Fernando-sama. He’s the genuine thing.

To be brought in front of such people with very high standing, he was extremely confused.

“A special mission will be given to you. You are to guard a carriage. It’s travelling incognito, so you must absolutely not tell anyone. It will take one month. Tell the other Imperial Guards that you will be visiting home. An authorization has been given, so you don’t need to worry. Moreover, you will be the coachman in-between the journey. Do you understand?”

As he heard the words of Fernando-sama, Alois understood that he won’t be immediately killed for the time being.

“Another person will stand guard, but you will know who it is on the day of departure, because the person was entrusted to him. Don’t speak of this even to your superior, understood?”

Fernando’s intimidating air and Ricardo’s seemingly gentle smile made Alois tremble violently in terror.

“I understand!! I’ll absolutely… take this to my graveyard!”

That’s why, please release me immediately…!!

“I’m glad you understand. Departure will be in one week at four o’clock in the morning. Your dismissed.”

“P… please… please excuse me!”

After lowering his head deeply at a speed that made one worry that it might stick into the floor, Alois headed towards the corridor.

The two people left were just Ricardo and Fernando.

“Why did he cry…?”

“Could he be scared of Fer?”

“I’m normal, normal!”

“At least, it’s not my fault.”

The both of them became worried if the soldier was going to be alright.

Because there were only one person qualified, it would be a problem if that person is troubled.

“But that guy recommended him, that’s why…”

“That fellow is Fer’s cousin isn’t he? On the contrary, I may be worried.”

“There’s no need for that. But… As expected… It isn’t alright at all.”

“What you’re saying is a contradiction. Still, he’ll be together with Matt that’s why he’ll be alright, I think. Moreover… the objective is… they’re travelling a wasteland.”

“That’s right.”

As of right now, the soldier who was running in the hallway while crying, that is Alois.

Even if this guy is like this, it doesn’t particularly mean he has no ability at all.

Rather, his greatest aspiration, it is a road that has great obstacles. One should exert himself to gain a position inside the Knight Order, pledging allegiance directly under the Royal Family, that’s why he is surely skilled.

Writing, ‘It is to be away as much as possible from my scary mother and elder sister’ in the reason why he wanted to be in the Knight Order, the top management of the military found it amusing and decided to approve his admission—.