***
***
Victor was busier than yesterday. He left Amarion with Carlz and mingled with the guests. He said he was mainly talking to high-ranking aristocrats that frequented the Imperial Palace to announce that they were leaving for their estate.
After greeting some of the ladies, she grabbed some light refreshments and snuck a glance at Victor.
‘How is he so beautiful?’
No matter how many men she saw, none compared to Victor.
‘Besides, isn’t he incredibly strong?’
Her longing was overlaid with a soft, warm affection.
“You look like a girl in love, Madame.”
She looked at Carlz in surprise.
“No! I just think he is cool…”
Stupid excuses flowed out of her mouth as she tried to hide her embarrassment.
“Right. I also think he’s pretty cool when he’s not holding a sword.”
She became suspicious.
Wasn’t he cooler because his swordsmanship was great?
But Sir Carlz quickly lost interest and shoved a bunch of sweets into his mouth.
He randomly gave her advice while wiping crumbs off his shirt.
“Please be careful when you say things like, ‘I don’t like that’, ‘It’s annoying.’”
“Why?”
“His highness is desperate to make it up to you right now. If Madame asked, he would even cut off the Emperor’s head.”
She didn’t understand.
‘What points did Victor lose? Was it because of me?’
She hid the atrocious rumors from him, and in return she was told that it was okay to be by his side. If anything, she owed him.
Carlz, noticing her puzzled expression, explained further.
“You have a job, but you are also suffering every night because of his illness. He brought in madame, a knight, without proper explanation. I am sorry for all that you have had to go through.”
She frowned.
“Why? What’s so difficult about it…?”
“Of course, I was surprised at first… but it’s not uncommon for sick people to be selfish. Besides, it’s not that hard to put Victor to sleep. I wondered if I could have received a large dowry for just that kind of work.”
“What Victor did was too much. He is really weak at night… Have you ever faced him at night, Sir Carlz?”
“I have.”
Carlz replied sullenly. He sighed like an old man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“You wouldn’t understand, Madame…”
“What? why?”
“No. I’ll go get some drinks. It’s hard to be stuck with you two sober.”
He complained incomprehensibly and left.
She blinked in amazement and leaned against the table.
She was alone, but she wasn’t as scared as she was before.
She had Victor and Carlz by her side, and no one dared to insult her as blatantly as before.
And strangely, Nanael’s friends seemed to avoid her.
Every time their eyes met, they fearfully glanced at Victor.
She had doubts, but she was more concerned about other people.
A significant number of knights and young ladies were spying on her.
She realized that they were similar to the gazes of children spying on her while she practiced swordsmanship in Amari.
‘Why are they looking at me like that?’
She pondered, and soon, someone approached her through the noisy crowd.
She recognized him at once.
“Sir Jeffrey?”
A knight with short brown hair knelt down before her, and bowed his head.
He kissed the back of her hand,
“The Grand Duchess of Morte, I greet you. I am Jeffrey of Sutherland.”
He stood up, and she looked at him in amazement.
‘Is he here for revenge?’
However, Jeffrey didn’t even have a sword, and he was dressed in plainclothes.
Moreover, his expression was soft and kind.
“I looked forward to seeing you again.”
Now she was really confused.
‘Why did you want to see me again if you didn’t want revenge? Do the men of the Empire form crushes on the women who beat them up?’
He straightened his posture.
“I wanted to apologize. Even though you claimed to be a knight, it was rude to ask madame to bring another knight.”
‘Ah…’
She remembered what he had said during their duel.
Didn’t he say he didn’t want to hurt a Lady?
She relaxed and smiled.
“You did what you were supposed to do as a knight. We each fought for ourselves and for our master’s honor. You have nothing to apologize for.”
“I’m glad you said that.”
Jeffrey smiled softly.
He hesitated for a moment before he spoke.
“It’s a shame, but that was the first time I’ve lost a fight that wasn’t against 3 men. It was like I was fighting with the Grand Duke.”
‘How many people did you fight?!’
She swallowed her words and examined him. He didn’t look weak, but she knew otherwise from experience.
‘If the Welch Knights are weak, they shouldn’t say such things.’
Sir Jeffrey asked in a slightly tense tone.
“I heard rumors that the knights of Amari were strong, but I didn’t expect them to be this strong. Could you possibly teach our knights swordsmanship? If you are uncomfortable, we will visit the Morte training ground.”
“Ah, I…”
“Many of my knights are curious about her highness’ swordsmanship. As the next commander of the Welch Knights-”
He stopped mid-sentence, focused on something behind her. At the same time, a familiar musky smell enveloped her from behind.
“I think that would be difficult.”
A deep voice answered for her.
Victor walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
“It’s shocking to see you here. I heard you closed Welch’s doors.”
Carlz, who had just returned, added quietly.
“Your Majesty, Sir Jeffrey is a member of the Welch Knights, not a vassal. He is also the son of the Baron of Sutherland, so his visit has nothing to do with Welch’s closure.”
“Really?”
Victor’s gaze slowly scrutinized Jeffrey.
“I misunderstood because you don’t have the name of a successor. I’m sorry.”
“Oh no, Grand Duke.”
Oddly enough, almost all of the color had left Sir Jeffrey’s face.
She looked at him, puzzled.
She couldn’t understand why a commander-to-be would suddenly tremble like a child who had just seen a monster.
‘Could it be that Victor did something bad to him? He couldn’t have.’
Victor transitioned their conversation to another topic smoothly.
“Unfortunately, my wife and I have to leave for our estate soon. You understand that the war was long and we were away for a long time, right?”
“Of course, your highness.”
“We must have been on the same battlefield when the Empire conquered the Eastern Kingdom.”
Jeffrey’s complexion was now sickly. It seemed that his pride was the only thing preventing him from running away.
Victor laughed softly.
“So it’ll be difficult for the Grand Duchess to teach you swordsmanship. She has a busy schedule.”
“All right. I apologize for making an unreasonable request. Then, I will see you later, Grand Duke, Grand Duchess.”
Sir Jeffrey bowed his trembling head and stepped away.
She looked back at Victor, not understanding their exchange.
The reason for him rejecting the knight’s enthusiasm for learning, and the reason for the knight trembling like a child.
Victor’s sickly sweet voice interrupted her thoughts.
“I’m sorry, Marion. We have a tight schedule.”
“But it wouldn’t take too long.”
“He belongs to Welch, right? I am afraid he will harm you.”
She narrowed her eyes.
‘Are you serious?’
“He didn’t look like that kind of person. Besides, you can’t say things like that about someone who is weak.”
If Sir Jeffrey was the next commander of the Welch Knights, they were less dangerous than a pack of wolves.
If they harmed her, how much could they do to her?
So, just like she taught the people of her hometown, she wanted to help them practice.
Victor’s eyes lit up.
It was an expression that seemed to indicate agreement, but she found that it had a completely different meaning: that he did not like something very much.
Victor pulled her closer to him and whispered.
“You decided to stay by my side. It’s because I don’t want to show you to others. Yes?”
It was the sweet, soft voice that always defeated her.
She couldn’t help but blush and nod her head.
She didn’t know if it was Victor’s kindness or her soft heart, but she always had a hard time rejecting anything Victor said.
A satisfied smile graced his lips.
“As I said before, if you want to train, go to our training ground. If you train there, I will be at peace.”
Even though she couldn’t get rid of her discomfort, she nodded again.
Victor bent over and lightly kissed her forehead.
***
On her way back to the mansion, she rode with Carltz, because Victor had to stop by the Imperial Palace for a moment.
As she sat face to face with Carlz, she remembered the times she went to banquets with him.
Back then, Carlz had tried very hard to improve her mood. Even though it was only last week, it felt like a long time ago.
Maybe she could put his mind at ease this time.
When she looked at Carlz with a smile, he flinched and trembled.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s just, I like you.”
Carltz became contemplative. He hurriedly looked out the window.
“Madame, you are not allowed to say that either. ‘I like you’. ‘You don’t bother me’. ‘You’re good’. None of them. Unless you want to see my head roll.”
***