When Major Loren woke the next morning in his comfortable bed, he sat up with a yawn, feeling relaxed and completely refreshed, his exhaustion gone.
Rubbing his eyes as he prepared to wash up, he put on his coat and walked out of the bedroom—then nearly jumped out of his skin.
"How did you end up like this?!"
The major stared in shock at Colonel Fraser, who was sitting in a chair in the living room.
The man was tipsy, with a half-empty bottle of liquor beside him. His once-impeccable coat lay on the floor, his expensive shoes were scattered in opposite directions, and his costly shirt was covered in alcohol stains.
It was appalling behavior, absolutely unbecoming of an heir to the Capet family. And yet there he was.
"Hey! Did I miss some kind of spectacular drama last night?"
Loren hurried over to check on him, only to find that Fraser wasn't actually drunk—or rather, he hadn't drunk much. The bottle was still more than half full, so at most the man had had a few glasses.
The fact that a little alcohol had left him in such a state made it clear that drink wasn't the real reason he was so dejected.
Faced with Loren's question, Fraser remained silent.
The major was at a loss, but their meeting with Governor Murphy was still two hours away. So Major Loren hurriedly contacted the only person he could reach in Scarlet Keep who might be able to help.
A little over ten minutes later, to the sound of a warhorse neighing, Miss Bixie—the energetic "honorary vanguard officer of the Torrent Knights," a proud blonde knight—came storming over to help her timid fiancé, who had run into trouble.
When she kicked the door open, Major Loren—who had already helped Fraser