Cara reached Minsoo with a worried expression on his young face. "Sir Glennhort! Are you all right? Is it true that you hurt your arm? If the duke told the truth, then you shouldn’t strain yourself!"

Minsoo blinked. "What?"

"Your arm," the knight repeated, pointing at him. "His Grace said that you hurt it when you fell, is it true?"

"Oh! Yeah, of course!" Minsoo let out a nervous laugh. "It still hurts me a lot, but I thought I could manage to hold a sword."

Cara’s face lit up. "Ah, I see!"

Minsoo brushed a lock of hair behind his ear and glanced at the other knights. He had expected them to look at him in awe, just like Cara, but instead they were giving him a derisory gaze. They were pitying him, thinking he was a weak man, and it was all the duke’s fault.

Minsoo clenched his jaw and averted his gaze, but one of them called him.

"You must have hit your head pretty hard, when you fell from your horse." A man of Archievald’s age stepped forward and crossed his arms. "I heard that you lost your memory, and even your behavior changed a lot. Are you sure you’re fine, Captain Glennhort?"

Minsoo glared at him. Even an idiot would understand what he was trying to do, but belittling him was of no use. Unfortunately, he was used to being treated like trash, and after years of verbal abuse from his older brothers, nothing would hurt him.

"I’m fine, thank you. I hit my head pretty hard, but I assure you that I didn’t lose all of my memories. For example, I still remember the names of those I considered important, such as the duke or Cara." He grinned. "On the other hand, I really can’t recall who you are."

"What?" The knight clenched his fists. "Do you remember that useless idiot of Cara and not me, your vice-captain?"

Minsoo glanced at the poor young man, whose face was red with embarrassment and shame, then turned again to the vice-captain. "If Cara were that useless, I would never entrust him with an important mission."

"What mission?"

"As if I could tell you." Minsoo grinned and wrapped his arms around Cara’s shoulders. "This young man did an important task for me, so I would never call him ‘useless’. You, on the other hand, are trying to cause a scene among His Grace’s army. Should I consider you a traitor?"

"Of course not! I’m loyal to the North!"

"Then shut your mouth." Minsoo glared at him. "I don’t want to hear your annoying voice." Then, as if nothing had just happened, he pushed Cara toward the palace. "Let’s go to eat! I’m quite hungry, you know? Ah, now that I think about it, I need to ask you something important."

Once they were too far to be heard, Minsoo let go of Cara.

"I’m sorry. I fear I dragged you into a mess."

The young knight blushed and bowed his head. "You have no reason to apologize. I’m your humble servant, sir. And then… I didn’t know that you had so much trust in me."

"Trust?"

Cara grabbed his hands and stepped closer, his eyes teary and his face red. "I know I’m too clumsy and dumb to be a good knight, but thank you for trusting me. And for remembering my name. I won’t disappoint you."

Minsoo parted his lips, but nothing came to his mind. A warm sensation filled his chest, a fleeting emotion that he had never felt before. No one had ever said such things to him before; not his family, not his classmates or the few friends he had when he was a student.

Is this gratitude? Or is it just pride for being able to cheer him up? Never mind; for now, I just let myself be lulled by this new feeling.

"I’m sure of it, Cara."

The young knight let go of his hands. "What is it that you wanted to tell me?"

Minsoo resumed walking, heading to his own chambers. "What do you know about Lady Loder?"

Cara tapped his lips, lost in thought. "I didn’t hear much, but I know that she is quite popular in the capital and in the southern regions. Commoners say that she is the reincarnation of the Sun Goddess Alaira, and that she’s capable of communicating with the deity."

"And is it true?"

"It seems so. The Church put her through a test in order to find out the truth, but she passed it thanks to a miracle. But I don’t know the details."

"And how is she perceived here in the North?"

"Before she accused His Grace of being a ruthless killer, people didn’t have an opinion. They didn’t care if she was truly a reincarnation of a chosen one, or if she was just a charlatan. But after that… incident, people started to hate her for what she did."

"So they’re loyal to His Grace."

"The North will always be loyal to the duke." Cara pressed a hand over his chest. "Because it’s the duke’s family that has protected us from the monsters for all these centuries."

Minsoo averted his gaze; for some reason, hearing how loyal Cara was made him feel uneasy. Maybe they wouldn’t be so loyal, if they knew what the future awaited them.

But still, it seems the duke has a good reputation among his own people.

"Cara, have you ever seen Lady Loder in person?"

"No, sir."

"And what do you think about her accusations?" Minsoo stopped in the middle of the corridor and looked at Cara in the eye. "Do you think that they might be true? That His Grace might have killed Lady Loder’s parents and set her palace on fire?"

"I don’t, sir."

A straightforward answer. He didn’t even think about it.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because it’s what you said the day you fell from your horse. If Sir Glennhort trusts His Grace, then I’ll trust him as well. Because Sir Glennhort couldn’t possibly be wrong."

Minsoo rolled his eyes. Are you an idiot or what? Your beloved Sir Glennhort is a psycho freak who loves to torture young women; how could you trust someone like him?

"Moreover," Cara kept on, "I’m sure that it’s just a scheme from the Emperor to frame us northerners."

You’re dumb, aren’t you? How could you think that the villain is the Emperor, when your superior threatened people in the middle of the night?

"Sir Glennhort? Are you fine?"

"I’m fine." Minsoo sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Let’s drop this conversation and let’s go to eat."

"Uhm, sir?"

"What?"

Cara lowered his gaze, his cheeks red, and squirmed like a shy schoolgirl in one of those shonen romance anime. "May I… eat with you?"

"Ah, yeah, of course."

It was clear that the young man was infatuated with his captain, and Minsoo could take advantage of him. Flirting with him could give him important information about the situation, and maybe even a satisfying and pleasant night.

Since he was stuck in that visual novel, why not try to enjoy himself?