He then looked down at Rovine, who was kneeling at his feet.

“Instead of Koyor’s military support, we will borrow their academic knowledge. For starters, I’m going to lend my knight guards here to Koyor. And the fire sparks that just erupted in the sky will prove that the Koyol Kingdom has technology that is unknown to our country.”

Arnold’s voice was calm, but with a definite air of authority.

“Do you understand? We are about to enter into a new alliance, so you are not to interfere with it with such scandals.”

“But Your Highness, Arnold…”

“I’m not in the mood to listen. Withdraw this instant.”

His blue eyes blurred with a clear warning.

“If you make any more noise, my father may hear about it.”

!

Arnold’s remark startled Rishe inwardly.

But she didn’t let it show on her face.

After a momentary silence, Rovine remained in his kneeling position and bowed deeply to Kyle.

“Your Highness, Prince Kyle, I apologize for my reprehensible discourtesy. It was all my fault for acting imprudently. If you will forgive me, I would be willing to devote my head to Your Highness.”

“Nonsense. Please raise your head, Count Rovine. It seems that Michel’s words and actions caused a misunderstanding. I’m very sorry for the great deal of inconvenience.”

Kyle replied sincerely.

She didn’t think Kyle himself heard the report that was delivered to Arnold. As usual, he supposed that Michel carried out an ill-placed research and caused a commotion.

“Before we cause any further embarrassment, we’ll withdraw from this place. Your Highnesses Kyle, Your Highness Arnold, I beg your pardon once more.”

After another bow, Rovine quietly stood up and looked at Rishe.

He gave her the same polite bow. Rishe plucked at the hem of her dress and bowed her head. Then, Theodore approached her gently.

“Sister-in-law. It looks like we’ve got this situation under control, so I’m going to slip out for a bit and check out the city.”Theodore left the garden before Rishe could thank him. She couldn’t thank him enough, but she’d have to return the favor with something proper at a later date.

Many knight guards also resigned at Arnold’s command.

All who were left were Rishe, ARnold, Kyle, and Michel.

“Now then, Michel…”

Kyle cleared his throat and began scolding Michel, who was older than him, like a child.

“…What the hell were you doing?! I was very surprised when I saw the flower fire sparks scattered in the sky. Is that your new invention?!”

“Kyle …”

It was a nostalgic sight for Rishe. If there was one thing that was unusual, it was the way Michel dropped his lashes and expressed his regret.

“I’m glad you’re helping us with the alliance, but can you tell me about it in advance? That way, I can present the results of your studies to Garkhain in a less inconvenient way.”

“No, Kyle. I really should use my life to atone for this…”

“Teacher Michel!”

“!”

When Rishe called out his name, Michel looked exasperated.

But confessing everything under the circumstances wasn’t a good idea.

Once Kyle heard the truth, he would have to answer to Garkhain as the prince of Koyor.

“Be quiet for now and let Prince Kyle vent his anger.”

“…”

When she smiled, Michel lowered his head deeper, looking at a loss.

But eventually, he spoke up.

I’m sorry, Kyle. I’m sorry, Rishe.”

“…Michel?”“I won’t do it again. I now understand for sure that my theory was a big mistake.”

Michel then clutched the hem of his lab coat tightly.

“…I promise, it won’t happen again.”

His words sounded sincere and innocent, akin to a child trying his best to utter an oath.

Kyle swallowed in surprise, but on the other hand, Rishe was relieved. She looked up at Arnold again and met his blue eyes.

“Let me tell you, I’m not warming up to you.”

Arnold said with a somewhat chilly gaze.

“If the knight’s report is true, then it’s obvious that Michel Evan was planning to do something nefarious. However, if we treat him as a criminal publicly, Father Emperor will hear about it. In order to avoid that, I used the measures you had in place.”

“…Yes, thank you very much.”

Arnold also seemed to be aware that the fireworks were Rishe’s work.

The report that he received from the knight must have been fragmentary.

And yet, the “event to show off Koyol’s technology” that Arnold told Rovine about was the very persuasion that Rishe was trying to use on Arnold.

Besides, from the start, as long as she could get through this, the rest was going to be a straightforward confession.

“I was going to tell Your Highness Arnold all about what Teacher Michel tried to do later.”

Even though it was an attempt, it would have been a mortal crime if it succeeded. Although we concealed it, we couldn’t completely exonerate him.

“I’ll leave it to Your Highness to decide what to do.”

“Oh, how laudable.”

Arnold grinned with a wicked look.

“You were trying to keep this man away from me and even got Theodore involved.”

He noticed!!!