“So that’s how it is! I know how to express my love now, Your Highness! Thank you so much for your guidance!”
Inside the room, Thomas knelt on one knee, looking at Anke with eyes full of admiration.
“Yes, yes, you are a natural! Go! Become the Kingdom’s first master of 2D Art! Depict your beloved with your brush!”
In his excitement, Anke subconsciously stepped on a chair and pointed at Thomas.
“Imperial Guard Knight Thomas! I swear to carry out Your Highness’s orders with my life!”
Thomas stood up immediately. Standing straight, he pulled his right fist back and pressed it against his chest over his heart, swearing his oath to Anke.
Under the magnificent five-colored stained glass window, the knight solemnly swore to his monarch to fulfill his orders with his life.
What a holy and solemn scene!
‘If only it weren’t for those deviant, demonic words,’ Vera sighed in her heart by the door.
However, Kano, who had been escorted here to receive Anke’s judgment, felt as if he were about to faint. Having heard so many things he shouldn’t have, could he still survive?
knock knock
Vera knocked on the door, drawing Anke’s attention.
“V — Vera? When did you get here?”
Anke’s head turned stiffly toward the door.
“Just now,” Vera replied succinctly.
“How… how much did you hear?”
“From the part where the breasts should be drawn very large…”
Vera lacked the human sense of shame and spoke directly.
“Enough, enough! I get it, I get it!”
Like a young noble caught rewarding himself by a maid, Anke’s face turned red instantly. He quickly signaled Vera to stop.
“Ahem, it’s a bit hot in this room. Thomas, you may leave first. Remember the drawing techniques I mentioned.”
Anke took his foot off the chair and patted the dirty cushion. He sat down and coughed twice to ease his embarrassment before letting Thomas leave.
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Thomas withdrew with a satisfied look.
“Vera, you can give me the new journal. Hmm? Who is this servant?”
Anke finally noticed that Vera had brought a male servant with her.
“The thief you pardoned from the gallows,” Vera reminded him.
“Oh! I remember now! Your name is Kano, right? Are your injuries better? How is your stay in the castle? How is the food?”
Anke remembered this commoner, Kano, whom he had pardoned.
“It… it is all very good. Lady Martha treats me no differently than the other servants.”
Kano was very surprised but answered Anke’s questions truthfully.
“That’s good. By the way, Vera, why did you bring him here? And why does he look so scared?”
Anke received a satisfactory answer and then questioned Vera.
“You had better confess yourself. You know the consequences of hiding facts that are disloyal to His Highness.”
Vera’s tone carried a great deal of hostility.
“No, what on earth did you do?”
Anke’s gaze moved back and forth between Vera and Kano.
“I am very sorry, Lord. I lied to you. I am actually literate. Please don’t kill me. I was afraid of being suspected of having ulterior motives, so I hid it. But I never intended to harm you, Lord.”
Kano knelt on the floor, praying that the merciful Anke would forgive him once more.
“Oh, so you’re just literate. I thought you… Wait, what did you say? You are literate!”
Anke suddenly stood up from his chair.
‘His Highness had such a big reaction. As expected, he was also startled by this hidden danger,’ Vera thought silently.
“Y — Yes.”
Kano was startled by Anke’s sudden movement.
“How many words do you know? Forget it, just read this to me. I’ll see what your level is.”
Anke pressed further. After thinking for a moment, he picked up a journal Vera had brought, walked over to Kano, and handed it to him.
“Yes, Lord.”
Kano took the journal and began to read the contents aloud. At first, his speech was very hesitant and stuttering due to fear.
“Don’t be afraid. Stand up. Go ahead and read boldly.”
Anke encouraged Kano.
Having received Anke’s encouragement, Kano began to focus on reading the journal.
“One night, a certain former Lord went alone to the dungeon to persuade two Barbarian female prisoners to surrender, but he was bitten on the ** by the prisoners…”
“Alright, you can stop there. I know your level now.”
Anke stopped Kano in extreme embarrassment. He snatched the journal back before questioning him again.
“It seems you have received a good education; you are definitely not a commoner. Why did you end up in the slums?”
“To answer the Lord, I was once the eldest son of a wealthy merchant family. But because my father’s business failed and went bankrupt, I was hunted by the debt collectors of the Wheel People. I was forced to hide in the slums, and then I met you, Lord. Lord, I swear everything I said is the truth.”
While Kano explained his background, Vera observed all his subtle physical behaviors to judge the truth of his words.
“Your Highness, I can confirm he is telling the truth. But even so, he is a dangerous hidden threat. After all, he is not a retainer you can trust.”
After Kano explained his origin, Vera reported and suggested this to Anke.
“Don’t worry, Vera. I have my own plans.”
Anke rubbed his hands together, looking at Kano as if he were a rare treasure.
“Are you willing to become my man?”
Anke extended an olive branch to Kano.
“L — Lord! Do… do you want me to… serve you? I… I…”
Kano’s whole body trembled, and he spoke incoherently.
Vera’s pupils momentarily constricted into vertical slits before returning to normal.
This conversation was quite shocking.
However, among nobles, same-sex relations seemed quite common.
‘Is Anke gay too? But why did he blush at me? Could it be that my mimicry isn’t feminine enough?’ Vera adjusted her posture to better fit her current female identity.
“Don’t misunderstand! I’m not gay! I want you to become my retainer! I want your abilities, not your body!”
Anke was startled by Kano’s words and quickly added an explanation.
“In short, from now on, you are the Library Administrator. Your monthly salary will be 2 Gold Markors. You will be responsible for browsing and organizing all the previous Lords’ journals. I will give you a list of items later. As long as you find any items mentioned on the list or anything similar, report them to me immediately. I will reward or promote you based on your discoveries. If your performance is exceptionally outstanding during your work, I might even consider giving you a formal official position.”
“So that’s how it is. Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!”
“Actually, you can change your form of address now.”
“Yes, thank you for the reminder, Your Highness!”
“I’ll write an appointment letter for you. Once you sign it, take it to Mustafa to make a record, and then you can start working.”
Anke walked back to the desk, wrote a simple appointment letter, and then had Kano sign it.
Kano held the quill and fluently wrote his name — Kano Caniers. His handwriting was even better than Anke’s.
Once Kano left with the appointment letter, Vera finally voiced the confusion in her heart to Anke.
“Your Highness, why did you appoint him as the Library Administrator? Appointing a stranger like this is far too reckless. You even promised him a formal official position? Even among the Imperial Guard Knights, those like Jack and Thomas are literate, yet they haven’t received such preferential treatment. Their maximum monthly salary is only 1 Gold Markor.”
Vera did not understand what Anke’s purpose was.
“Because Kano isn’t just literate; he has received a systematic education. In the entire Border City, the only people who have received a systematic education and can fluently read historical documents and write correct reports, besides Kano, are you, me, and Mustafa.”
“Education? Don’t Jack and the others have it?”
“Jack and the others’ literacy is only enough to write their own names and spell a dozen or so common words. They might not even be able to recognize everything on a single notice. If they could read those books as fluently as Kano, I could give them the same treatment.”
“I understand. You believe Kano has value worth utilizing, which is why you gave him such high treatment. Vera was being presumptuous. I apologize, Your Highness.”
“No need to apologize, Vera. You weren’t wrong; one shouldn’t trust strangers easily. But in the current situation, Border City is too short-handed. Even if it’s a rat’s claw, as long as it’s useful, I have to use it. But don’t worry, Vera, I still have the most basic level of caution. I will specifically send someone to monitor Kano’s every move 24 hours a day.”
“As expected of Your Highness! You have thought of everything!”
‘Her concern was indeed unnecessary. Anke looked unreliable, but in reality, he was more prepared than anyone,’ Vera thought.
……
“Hello, Administrator Kano. I am the Imperial Guard Knight His Highness sent to protect you. My name is Thomas.”
Thomas introduced himself to Kano with a very bright smile.
“H — Hello, Knight Thomas.”
Kano was somewhat flattered to be protected by an Imperial Guard Knight.
“Go on with your business. I’ll just be over here. Don’t mind me.”
After Thomas finished speaking, he pulled over a chair and sat down.
Then, he took out a piece of linen and used a charcoal pen to sketch his Juliet.
Kano glanced at Thomas and continued to bury his head in the piles of Lord’s Journals, focusing his attention on the text.
However, the scratching sound of Knight Thomas’s charcoal pen across the linen served as a constant reminder to Kano that the Lord’s mercy and preferential treatment might not be so simple.