Chapter 162: Quintus’s Support
Dominic gave a small laugh.
"That’s true. Even if there’s no spare room in the barracks, there’s a rest chamber next to my office."
Still being carried in Dominic’s arms, Shiao Yi wrapped his hands around the man’s back and hugged him tightly.
In the cold night air, Dominic’s body warmth spread gently into him.
Dominic’s right hand pressed against Shiao Yi’s back, pulling him even closer to his chest.
Was Dominic worried that he might lose this warmth?
In the past, perhaps Shiao Yi would have stepped back for Dominic’s sake.
But now he understood.
Dominic could never be happy without him.
Shiao Yi had felt it deep down, to the very bottom of his soul.
That was why Shiao Yi made up his mind.
No matter what happened, he would never let go of Dominic.
He decided firmly that they would always be together, for as long as life carried them.
The next day, Shiao Yi and Dominic were summoned to Lord Quintus’s office.
Once they arrived, the lord dismissed everyone else from the room, leaving only the three of them.
"Because of my sister’s reckless actions, you both have been troubled. I sincerely apologize."
Quintus bowed his head from his chair without warning, and Shiao Yi was stunned.
Quintus was the supreme commander who oversaw both the army and the knight order, the highest authority in the military.
Alongside the Chancellor, he was one of the king’s greatest pillars of power—second only to the king himself.
Because of his friendly nature and hands-on attitude, it was easy to forget how high his position truly was. But in truth, someone like Shiao Yi had no right to even speak freely to such a man.
Having been raised in his previous world under a strict, vertical power structure, Shiao Yi could do nothing but freeze in place.
Wasn’t he rather bold in his dealings with Jircniv before?
That was different.
Jircniv was outside of the system Shiao Yi belonged to.
But here, with Dominic and himself directly under this authority, the hierarchy was impossible to ignore.
Even though he had resisted and fought against authority before, he realized now that he still couldn’t shake off its influence.
The chains of a managed society ran deeper than he had thought.
"Henrietta seems to take pleasure in defying me. She has been that way since childhood. Always choosing the opposite of what I say, always interfering with what I do. If I say right, she chooses left. If I make a decision, she argues against it. And then she delights in seeing me troubled."
Quintus let out a deep sigh.
Even though he was a dignified general full of authority, seeing him troubled by his own sister made him seem almost pitiful.
"She must have caught wind somewhere that Gabrant and I do not get along. On top of that, since my niece Camilla has long held feelings for Dominic, the moment Henrietta learned that Gabrant was searching for a match, she jumped at the chance. Of course, it was all to spite me."
The way he lowered his head and held it in his hands hardly looked like the image of one of the kingdom’s most powerful leaders.
"Camilla is my dear niece. I want to see her happy. But that will never happen, will it?"
Quintus turned his eyes toward Dominic, asking for confirmation.
Dominic answered with a firm nod, as if it were only natural.
Seeing that, Quintus let out another long sigh.
"No matter how much I try to persuade them, neither Henrietta nor Camilla will listen to me. Henrietta especially—she might even try to use force to push things through. This is troublesome."
The look in Dominic’s eyes grew quietly sharper.
Seeing it, Quintus turned a little pale.
"A-anyway, let me make one thing clear. I have no intention of dismissing or abandoning you two. If it comes to it, I will even use my authority to protect you within the army. I will give you all the support I can. So please, don’t act rashly. You two are indispensable to the Kingdom of Rosaria. Even Vundo agrees with me on this. If he ever heard that I allowed you to leave this country, he would probably kill me himself."
It was clear that Quintus valued them as capable assets. But that was fine. Quintus, as supreme commander, was honest and sincere. It felt better to hear things stated so plainly.
Now that they had confirmed the will of the highest authority, Shiao Yi and Dominic only needed to return to their usual duties as before.
...
The building of the Knight Order was built as if it extended outward from the western wing of the royal castle.
The raining grounds and stables lay surrounded between the knights’ facilities and the military barracks standing further to the west.
Beyond those, separated by a corridor, stretched the wide open drill fields.
The military facilities of Rosaria were well-developed.
If one went down the gentle slope, the path led straight to Lake Rosalith and the entire perimeter was guarded by the First Division of the Knight Order.
Many times they had been ordered to run around the lake during training.
Even full-grown men of the order would grimace at the thought, but it was excellent endurance training.
When Dominic entered the building assigned to the Second Division, one of the guards at the entrance informed him that a visitor was waiting.
He climbed up to the office on the second floor, and the moment he stepped inside, he froze in surprise.
Waiting on the long couch were the butler Jude and Lambard.
Although Dominic had stormed out violently just the day before, both men rose to their feet and greeted him with warm smiling faces.
"We have been waiting for you," Jude said.
As Dominic stepped closer, Jude gave a signal to Lambard.
Lambard lifted two large cloth bags that had been sitting beside the chair and placed them on top of the office desk.
They seemed heavy, and when they landed, there was a metallic clatter.