Chapter 107

"Why do you look like that?"

"Because I'm glad."

I was still absorbing the answer when Friedrich smiled, soft and slow, and continued:

"That you're worried about my life."

"Of course I am. How could I not be?"

His smile deepened at that—though I was too caught up in what I was saying to fully notice.

"Of course you made this decision carefully."

But he might not yet fully grasp the weight of the oath he's taking. Then I have to make him understand. Even if I have to frighten him into it.

This is not something to decide on the heat of the moment. There is still time to take it back.

"The Red Sword Knights swear their oaths to the imperial family—not to the Emperor himself—and there's a reason for that. Not a single person judges them for it, or fails to understand. And yet you—swearing an oath…