After the troublemaking guards finally left, Albert turned to Seira and approached her. "You're okay right?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for helping. But they destroyed the merchandise of the merchants here because," Seira said seeing their pain.
"I know, but I can't do anything about it. And maybe if the crown prince calls me in the future, I'll say this shouldn't have been done," Albert replied.
After things calmed down, Seira finished her shopping and returned to the mansion with Albert. On the way, they talked again about this matter especially Albert who said about how Seira was brave to fight the guards.
"I admit that your courage is extraordinary. But you also have to pay attention to the consequences of what you do to the people around you as well," he said.
"I know that, it's just that they wouldn't have stopped doing it even if I hadn't said anything. In fact, it will only make things worse because they think everyone will bow to their words," Seira replied.
Albert agreed with that. But there was really nothing they could do either if they didn't stop this from the root, which was the crown prince.
"Someone should make the crown prince realize that his order is very detrimental to others. Especially to small merchants like them," the red-haired woman said as she looked up at the sky.
She felt that what the crown prince had decided to do was really bringing misery to the people.
"It's hard to believe that he will inherit the Empire one day. Do you think you will let that happen?" she asked.
Albert was silent for a moment when he heard Seira's words. Of course he did not want to let that happen because there was no way a man like Darco would be allowed to lead such a large Empire.
Commanding the guards alone, he had already made some merchants miserable. Especially if he had to hold the entire kingdom in the Empire.
That made Albert sigh heavily, and he was sure Harvey would not be happy when he heard it either. Because he, Harvey and Leonard had never felt happy with Darco.
Especially their first impression where Darco looked very arrogant and it made Harvey really upset. Although Harvey doesn't show it directly, Albert and Leonard know what their leader is like.
"No matter how much we try to resist, there is nothing we can do. The only descendant of the Emperor is the crown prince Darco and no one else can take his place," Albert replied.
This made Seira realize that the Emperor did not have an Empress and Darco was the son of a Royal Concubine. A concubine position that usually replaced the Empress, if the Empress could not give birth to a baby boy to become the Emperor's successor.
"You're right, there's nothing we can do. But I still want to say thank you for saving the others when those guards started making a bigger fuss," Seira said.
"There's no need to thank me, after all I only did what I felt I could help."
Seira shook her head, however, and she smiled at him. "What you did was very helpful. I was amazed by how you used your sword against them. You single-handedly fighting 6 men with that big sword is a very great thing," she praised.
Somehow Albert's heart instantly beat faster than usual. When he saw the smile on her face and also how she praised him.
He froze in place as he stared at her. From inside the mansion, Leonard watched his friend from the window along with Harvey.
"Looks like the two of them just went home together like that," Leonard said as he watched them from where he was standing.
Albert had been on a mission to follow Seira from behind and find out what she might be hiding. But instead, she and Albert went home together as if nothing had happened.
When Albert finally re-entered the mansion, he went to Harvey's study.
"Weren't you supposed to follow Seira secretly? But why did you and she go home chatting together?"
Albert immediately turned to Leonard when the man threw that question at him. Albert then explained that something happened at the market that prevented him from continuing his mission to secretly follow Seira.
"Something happened? What is it?"
The man explained what had happened at the market and Harvey's face looked very unhappy when he heard it.
The question that arose in Harvey's head was the same as what Seira had said earlier. How could someone like Darco become a leader someday?
"I know it's not my place to defend them and I know I shouldn't interfere in this matter. But I can't let those people destroy what the merchants have," Albert gave his report.
"What you did was not a mistake," Harvey replied. "If the crown prince summons you for this, I'll go with you and we'll meet him together."
Leonard nodded in agreement, he also wanted to go with them. He felt that what the guards had done was completely out of line.
Harvey stood up from his chair and looked out the window. He really couldn't understand what he had heard from Albert earlier.
He knew that this was none of his business as the main knight of the empire. However, he and his two members had sworn to follow what Crown Prince Darco wanted.
Serving the members of the kingdom with all their body and soul. Didn't that mean, all this meant was serving someone who was not fit to be a leader someday? Or a ruthless leader even to his own people.
'What will happen later? Who should I kneel down to? Someone like him?' he thought at the time.
Leonard and Albert could only watch their leader from behind. They were sure Harvey was currently thinking about something and he didn't want to be disturbed about it.
At the same time, Seira stood at the door of the man's study while listening to their previous conversation. Her head was bowed, remembering what the guards had done to the people in the market.
Her heart was stirring, wanting to end all these bad things but she knew she still had to wait for that. There were still many things she had to do before she would finally change everything.
"I have to be patient, I can't just move and it would be a huge risk to destroy what I've been trying to build for so long," she muttered.
She had never wanted this before, but after seeing what was happening around her, Seira felt that she had to take over what should have been hers a long time ago.
"Now I understand what you mean, Maria. I finally understand the reason for my return now."