Chapter 29
Carlyx cut Daisy off abruptly. His voice was both cold and menacing.
Daisy flinched, but she didn’t back down. Even if he pushed her against the wall with his dark energy, she didn’t avoid his gaze.
“I’m not saying your training method is wrong.”
For a few days, she had observed Carlyx training the knights from afar. He was sturdy and charismatic enough to command them. He was good at giving them direction.
‘But that’s not the problem.’
Carlyx treated everyone equally.
Even if they just train and go home, even if they didn’t care about improving their personal skills, or even if they spoke ill of him in his absence.
That was the problem.
If they behaved poorly, he had to know how to hold them responsible for their actions and make an example out of them. He also had to know how to recognize the efforts of the knights who climbed their way to the top.
“I know you treat the knights equally. But are you really doing that for the knights’ sake?”
“It’s human duty to treat others equally. I respect them.”
Respect. That’s right.
It was his unyielding way to deal with things.
“There are certain situations where your method would be useful. But it certainly doesn’t apply to the Knightly Order. Have you ever thought that your method may be restraining them, or even worse, ruining them?”
Daisy deliberately chose a strong word.
It was an exaggeration to say that Carlyx might ruin them. But he would never listen unless she provoked him like this.
“You’re crossing the line. Is this why you’re here? Why did you want to learn swordsmanship?”
The conversation escalated rapidly, as if it was kindling caught by a lit match. The tension increased each time she spoke.
Daisy was barely able to resist his dark energy.
“Just as I have tried to understand you, I want you to understand what I’m saying now.”
Carlyx gave a bitter laugh and scowled at Daisy coldly. The expression on his face slowly crumbled away.
As if signaling that he had reached his limit.
Daisy unconsciously stepped back in response to his vehement reaction.
It was a dead end.
The grunts from his suppressed anger rang eerily as if the very sound could eat her alive.
“I treat all of them equally! Whatever they are, I treat them equally so that they don’t compare themselves to each other!”
The memory of living in an abusive family and constant comparisons to his brother passed through his mind.
My brother isn’t here, forget about it.
Carlyx clenched his fists, causing the veins in his hands to protrude, and eventually, he turned away.
Daisy quickly blocked Carlyx as he was about to leave.
“Carlyx! You!”
A murderous aura swept over her. The raging air brushing past her skin curdled her blood.
Now, she, too, was at her limit.
Her hands trembled. She tried to moisten her lip, but the words wouldn’t come out immediately.
“I…I…”
At that moment, she instinctively closed her eyes to Carlyx’s dreadful face.
As she stumbled and struggled for balance, the peril surrounding her gradually subsided.
‘Just now..it’s a murderous look.’
Daisy exhaled and forced her eyes open. She put her trembling hand on her chest and said.
“…I-I have nothing to gain from saying this. And arguing with you will only break the peace that I’m trying so hard to maintain. I wouldn’t bring this up without a solid reason.”
The strained atmosphere gradually dissipated.
Emotions that had burst into fragments gradually regained their original equanimity. The heat in the air gradually subsided.
“My goal as a madam is to change the Marquisate Jean. The goal you have as the commander of Zistanter Knights is to end the war without anyone dying.”
Having regained his composure, Carlyx’s eyes now showed his familiar detachment.
Daisy patted him gently on the chest.
“And my final goal is that you don’t die until I divorce you.”
“Why? You have nothing to lose anyway!”
“Of course it’ll be my loss because I can’t reach my goal if you die. If I am widowed without showing my ability as a Marchioness, it’s almost impossible for me to remarry as someone who hasn’t established her value in society!”
Carlyx scoffed at Daisy’s brazen words.
That’s right. She wants a romantic love like the one in the fairy tales. With a great man.
There was a twinge of discomfort in his heart.
Daisy calmly added.
“No matter how heartless I am, I am not someone who will be indifferent when a person who has been with me for months passes away.”
Maybe her words finally reached him, but the animosity faded completely. At last, the conversation regained its usual flow.
Only then did a smile tug at her lips.
“I’m not a stepmother who wants to see your children sad, either.”
She could understand why Carlyx treated the knights equally. He experienced discrimination in the past, so now he didn’t want to create a gap between the knights.
However, it was done excessively and obsessively.
That was the problem.
“Although very briefly, I learned how to hold a sword. I can’t imagine how hard it is to carry that heavy weapon while fighting enemies. Troops are basically on a thin line between life and death. That is why it is important for the knights to follow and trust you unconditionally.”
Otherwise, it’s not the Zistanter Knights who would die.
“As humans, we are competing at every moment. When taking an exam at the academy. When you go out into society and talk to the nobles. When you go to the capital and look for clothes so you won’t fall behind the trend.”
Otherwise, you were the one who would die.
“We benefit from competition. Although it’s frustrating, more often than not it helps us grow and gain momentum to move forward. Of course, what you gain from competition is not always good.”
She held Carlyx’s gaze without breaking even for a moment.
Persuade him. I can do it!
“The fight to live is fiercer than anything else. It’s also a competition. I hope they’re also eager to save you just like you did. I hope they can keep their passion burning, march toward their goal, and fight.”
Carlyx started to open his mouth. Daisy had already put her hand down, but she raised it again to forestall him.
“What I’m saying is, let’s put effort into the parts that we can change.”
Carlyx’s wound didn’t count because it was something that could never be changed.
“So let’s make a bet.”
Carlyx noted her sweaty hands. It was a sign that she felt tension and fear in contrast to her smiling face.
Let’s put an effort on the parts that we can change.
It was difficult for him to fully understand her meaning.
However, at that moment, he thought of those who moved on their own free will.
‘Logan, Frederick, Jeffrey.’
Compared to other knights, who wouldn’t move without specific instructions, their attitude was different.
Unlike the other knights, there were times when they saved the others during battle.
Do we really need to change the Zistanter Knighty Order?
Is this the right thing to do?
‘Let’s put an effort on the parts that we can change…’
After a long silence, Carlyx finally spoke.
“What kind of bet are you proposing?”
“I sent an invitation to Xandervan saying that you wished to spar with him.”
The familiar name drew his attention.
As expected, she is such an unpredictable woman.
“When you trained as a knight in the Imperial Palace, you often sparred with Xandarvan. There’s not much difference in skills, but you’ve never beaten him.”
“Yes. That’s right. Five years have passed and he must have improved a lot. You call this a bet? The result is obvious!”
“No. It’s not obvious.”
Daisy shook her head. What she wanted was not an obvious result, but the opposite.
“I will bet today’s conversation on your win.”
In response to her determined answer, Carlyx frowned as if he found it peculiar.
He couldn’t understand her. She was making a reckless bet where her chance of winning was low.
No matter how much he thought about it, he had nothing to lose.
“Sure. If I lose, the Zistanter Knightly Order will remain the way it is, and if you win, let’s change the system.”
I had minor wounds on my knees and legs.
Because my legs weakened and I fell on my way back from the stable.
I washed and treated my wounds, but they still looked hideous.
I didn’t have the energy to deal with people, so I stopped May from calling the doctor.
‘I thought I was already used to Carlyx, but I was mistaken.’
It was the opposite.
He actually tried to suppress his emotion and compromise with me.
Daisy sighed and raised the hem of her dress to her knees.
If Tyler had seen it, he would have turned his gaze with an awkward cough, but there was no one around her right now.
‘It hurt when my hem brushed the wound.’
I should never get caught by Carlyx.
Daisy, burning with a strangely competitive spirit, took a deep breath.
Logan and Jeffrey were scheduled to visit in two days, followed by Xandarvan.
Unlike Logan and Jeffrey, she was convinced that Xandarvan would come even though she as yet hadn’t received his confirmation letter.
‘The Knight of Manefartal won’t participate in the war. Because of that Xandarvan will come even if he feels uncomfortable or hesitant.’
Xandarvan. He was the commander of the Knightly Order of Manefartal and was considered the best knight in the empire.
Carlyx was the only ‘knight’ who could stand against him.
For this reason, even if Xandarvan disliked Carlyx, he had no choice but to respect him.
‘Because there’s no other opponent who could match him other than Carlyx.’
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