There was no one there who did not recognize the handsome knight who had suddenly appeared.

The same was true for the Marquis.

There was only one person in the palace with such pure white silver hair.

Arendt von Eckhart.

The most controversial knight that has been the subject of much gossip recently.

Arendt walked briskly towards the two people. The people’s bewildered stares followed him.

Arendt first blurted out to the attendant.

“Since you ran away so quickly, then you should also look ahead carefully. Who is going to catch you and eat you?”

“Huh? Oh, I’m sorry…”

Arendt looked away from the servant and back at the Marquis.

Marquis Grieg also couldn’t properly grasp the situation and just blinked blankly.

After a while, the Marquis, who had come to his senses, growled fiercely.

“…Who is it? It’s the Arendt von Eckhart I’ve only heard of. You’re still shamelessly walking around the Imperial Palace. How thick-skinned.”

“I guess that’s the case.”

“…”

The Marquis was momentarily speechless. Those watching also had their mouths drop open.

Arendt faced him shamelessly.

“What do you think? What are your thoughts on this thick-skinned face? Aren’t I more handsome than you expected?”

A silence, as if cold water had been poured over everyone, filled the corridors of the palace.

Is he crazy…? A look of blatant bewilderment crossed the Marquis’ face.

The Marquis was already in a very bad mood.

He had to stay up all night preparing the materials requested by the Crown Prince himself, and his business-related agenda was in danger of being scrapped due to opposition.

In the midst of all this, the documents he had been working on all night were ruined because of one idiot servant, and then, the person known as the worst in the palace got involved.

“…Wow, this is incredible.”

Marquis Grieg burst into laughter.

It was a reaction that was clearly intended to provoke the young apprentice knight in front of him, but Arendt simply looked at him with an expressionless expression that showed no emotion at all.

“This isn’t a situation where you should interfere. It seems like you don’t know when to interfere and when not to?”

“If I had figured that out, I wouldn’t have become a celebrity. That servant wouldn’t have run away in panic after seeing my face and bumped into the Marquis.”

Arendt shrugged.

He had a young face that seemed to be in his early twenties, a cool expression, and even leisurely gestured. He looked like the epitome of arrogance.

The Marquis Grieg was genuinely shocked. Then, it turned into outright anger.

A fire appeared in his angry eyes.

Now, the servant who spilled the tea was out of his sights.

“Do you know who I am?”

“I don’t know. Should I know?”

Arendt took in all the attention focused on him and leisurely placed his hands in his pockets.

“I don’t know how great a person you are that you can order the chamberlain to come and go, and occupy the middle of the hallway without anyone reprimanding you, Marquis Grieg?”

If he just raised his voice slightly and curled his lips, it would be perfect.

It was the perfect expression that scratched people’s hearts.

The Marquis’ face, which had been blankly staring, turned bright red again.

“You talk too much when you’ve come back from the dead. If it weren’t for the mercy of His Majesty the Emperor, you would have been beheaded on the execution grounds!”

Some people held their breath at those words. They thought Arendt would be very angry, but Arendt just twitched his mouth as if he was wondering where the dog was barking.

“Unfortunately, my neck is still intact. You can at least make a formal complaint to the people who sentenced me. It is because of me that you were subjected to such humiliation because they did not pass the death sentence.”

“What…?”

“There must be many people who will go to see you right away. Or I can accompany you personally. They might have really made a mistake.”

Has anyone ever spoken like this about him?

Everyone who heard it was astonished.

“Of course, if I had died right then and there as the Marquis had wished, the East Safe would have been reduced to ashes, but isn’t there some of the Marquis’s wealth there?”

Arendt’s words did not end there.

“Oh, and as a bonus, please don’t forget to say that you were going to give the servant who messed up important documents a beating, but you couldn’t bring yourself to raise your hand in front of that arrogant apprentice knight who was swearing at you, so you needed the apprentice knight to say it on your behalf.”

Arendt, who had been speaking up to that point, glanced at the Marquis’ fist, which had been quietly lowered. The Marquis’ face turned bright red when he realized what Arendt meant.

His clenched fist began to tremble.

“Are you done talking now?”

“Oh, you’re going to hit me? That’s not bad either. I almost misunderstood that the Marquis only swings his fists at cowardly, weak servants.”

A chill was felt in the air.

Arendt looked straight at the Marquis with the corners of his mouth twisted, and the Marquis’ face, unable to control his anger, turned red and then pale several times.

The attendant who had been hiding behind Arendt was now on the verge of bursting into tears.

Onlookers held their breath and watched the situation unfold.

There was a brief silence, and after a while, the Marquis slowly sighed. Having regained some composure, he opened his mouth again.

“…It seems you’ve become very arrogant just because His Highness the Crown Prince has given you some recognition. There’s a reason why Count Eckhart kicked you out.”

“I was kicked out? I didn’t know that.”

Arendt crossed his arms and pretended to open his eyes wide.

Marquis Grieg snapped fiercely.

“You are saying the obvious. When you were imprisoned, did you receive any help or defense from your family? I was curious why he didn’t show any impatience even though his son was about to be executed, but now I understand his true intentions. With this kind of personality, the Count’s family cannot help but be unhappy.”

That’s what it was. This was another new fact.

Arendt blinked.

‘I thought he was just a well-bred guy.’

It was something he hadn’t paid much attention to until now, but it suddenly occurred to him that maybe he didn’t have a good relationship with his father.

‘Well, I guess I can tell since I haven’t even seen the tip of his nose yet.’

Now, there was no need to execute him as a traitor, and the family was not in a situation to be held accountable for it, but Arendt had not yet even seen this family.

When Arendt did not answer, the Marquis Grieg thought he had seized the opportunity and smiled faintly.

“You barely managed to escape with your life, but you show no sign of remorse. What would the Count think if he saw that? And you are also disgracing Sir Laius, who actively defended you!”

“Hmm…”

Arendt’s expression became strange.

It seemed that the Marquis was mistaken about something.

Just as Arendt was about to open his lips to make that point, a gentle voice came between them.

“Sir Laius would not have scolded Sir Arendt in this situation.”

Arendt paused, having had the line he was about to utter, robbed.

“Of course, Sir Arendt’s manner of speaking is somewhat problematic, but Marquis, you have also gone too far. At first glance, it seems like you have mentioned a personal matter that may be considered sensitive. Isn’t this immature behavior? I think it will also damage your dignity.”

A soft voice continued.

The Marquis opened his mouth a few times and then groaned.

The man, who had instantly relieved the tense atmosphere with just a few words, naturally reached out and took the documents the attendant was holding.

“Well, it’s wet, but the writing isn’t so bad that it’s illegible. I think it’ll be fine once I copy it down. Marquis, this was supposed to be a document for His Highness the Crown Prince, right? I’ll deliver it for you.”

He quickly glanced over the documents and smiled again.

The Marquis nodded with a sheepish expression.

“…I understand. I’ll let it go this time, but next time I won’t stay still, sir.”

The afterword was directed at Arendt.

Arendt shrugged.

“Excuse me.”

“…”

The Marquis seemed to get angry again at the extremely bland response. However, perhaps because he thought that arguing further was pointless, he quickly turned around and hurriedly left the place.

“Oh, he seems very angry. I should bring him a gift later.”

The man turned to Arendt, who was standing there blankly, and smiled a friendly smile.

Only then was Arendt able to examine his face closely.

“Nice to meet you, Lord Arendt von Eckhart. My name is Jereon Britten. You may call me Jen. I am honored to be serving His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

He must have been in his mid-30s… his brown hair, which gave off a calm impression, was neatly tied, and his green eyes, set within gentle gazes, held a quiet smile.

‘Aide Jen.’

Arendt could remember the name.

In the novel, he was only mentioned by name occasionally, and was not a person with much presence. His role was to run errands for Cantares or handle light tasks on his behalf.

Jereon looked at the attendant who was still standing there blankly.

“When moving things, be sure to look ahead carefully. Those who work in the palace cannot help but be sensitive. Try to avoid making mistakes as much as possible.”

“Yes… I’m really sorry.”

The attendant, who answered with a look of relief, looked around for a moment, then raised his head and looked at Arendt.

When Arendt noticed his gaze and glanced at him, the attendant finally found the courage to stammer and open his mouth.

“Thank you for your protection, Lord Arendt. You had to listen to such harsh words because of me…”

“I didn’t protect you, and if you had heard, you would have known that it was the Marquis who suffered. He didn’t even get his principal back.”

Arendt waved his hand.

Still, a small but bright smile appeared on the attendant’s face.

“Thank you.”

“I’m going to go now. I have to clean up what I spilled. I’ll tell the attendant not to scold you too much, so don’t worry. Don’t make the same mistake next time.”

“Yes, sir!”

After that, the servant bowed several times, picked up the broken plates and teacups, and quickly left the place.

Jereon, who had been watching him with warm eyes until he moved away, looked at Arendt again.

“It is indeed… just as His Highness said.”

“Just as he said?”

“His Highness the Crown Prince told me to go and check because there was a lot of noise on one side of the palace. He said that he was sure Lord Arendt would be there and told me to bring you to him right away.”

That was to say, the Crown Prince sent Jereon because he was sure that Arendt would be involved in the untimely commotion.

Arendt scratched his chin, feeling a little embarrassed.

Jereon smiled broadly.

“Let’s go together. I will guide you.”

Arendt nodded, unable to find anything else to say.