Chapter 11

“Crazy…”

“Yes?” Joseph asked in bewilderment. He’d only come in to deliver Leonida’s orders, but he had been cursed as soon as he entered.

It was embarrassing, but he quickly regained his composure. As the eldest son of the Roberts, a family that had accompanied the Ferdinands from generation to generation, he was prepared that something like this could happen. None of the previous dukes nor the current head was rude to their subordinates, but there was no guarantee that the young master would be the same.

Truthfully, Joseph lived a comfortable life. He knew from the stories of other aides working for other families that Ferdinand was a paradise. His salary was decent and he wasn’t mistreated.

So, he decided that he would be the better person and take the young master’s cursing in stride.

“If you say it so bluntly, I’ll be quite upset…”

“Not you,” Kaon said curtly, picking up a book before putting it down immediately. “Crazy bastard…” he muttered with a distressed look.

Joseph discreetly glanced around the study. The two of them were the only people there, and so if he wasn’t the “crazy bastard”, then that meant Kaon was probably referring to himself.

As an aide and a vassal, agreeing to such a statement was blasphemous, but to be honest, he couldn’t disagree either. Of course, he didn’t make the mistake of letting those words slip out of his mouth.

“Have you eaten?”

“I have no appetite,” Kaon answered half-heartedly.

To divert his thoughts, he had gone to the study—which he normally didn’t do—to read, but it was to no avail. His mind kept replaying that one moment.

“You’re pretty too.”

His memories were torturously vivid. He had no idea why he had said that. He just said what had come to mind at the time, and it had been a mistake.

As Alessia’s face revealed an unfamiliar bashfulness, his regret had grown even stronger.

“Is that so? Miss Alessia is having dinner with Lady Leonida.”

“So Alessia… Wait, are you sure it’s her?” Kaon wanted to know if she looked bewildered or anything like that.

“Yes, I’m sure because I saw them.”

“It might be uncomfortable. Leo doesn’t talk much.”

“She must be trying to fit in with Ferdinand.”

Kaon suddenly remembered the conversation between Madeleine and Alessia, his fiancée’s friendliness opposite the maid’s chilly’ demeanor.

“The response has not been very favorable, so she might want to quit right away. What can we do? Such is the fate of those who bear the surname of Ingelos,” the aide added nonchalantly.

The tone rankled Kaon. How could it have been comfortable for her to depend on an enemy family to survive? The thought of her wandering around in a mansion where there was no one on her side made him feel bad.

“What are you saying…” he began indignantly, before remembering that he had also thought that way in the beginning.

Besides, he still didn’t like Ingelos itself as a bloodline. As a descendant of Ferdinand, it was only natural. There were only a few records left from the era of legends, but he was very familiar with the poor relationship their families had during his father’s youth.

‘Still, Alessia…’

Kaon paused.

From his observations, Alessia had great respect for knights, with none of the arrogance associated with mages. Rather, it could be said that she was even trying to get closer to the people around her.

For some reason, he felt a bit shy.

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“It’s nothing. Why are you here?”

He didn’t want to act suspiciously. It didn’t matter much if he suffered, but since the people would just shift the blame onto Alessia, he didn’t want to get involved in such a mess in the first place.

“Lady Leonidas has ordered that Miss Alessia be introduced to the knights.”

“The knights? Why so suddenly?”

“Doesn’t she need to cooperate with them to go to the monster forest? Of course, they usually act as they please, but it would still be good to have a meeting in advance.”

Kaon’s brow furrowed. He knew that part of the reason why Alessia was brought to Ferdinand was to obtain a mage in their employ, but it was still too early for that. No matter how determined they were to get rid of her, it was too much to send a person who had only just arrived to go to the monster-filled forest right away.

“She probably hasn’t adjusted to Ferdinand yet. We shouldn’t be in such a hurry.”

“It’s not Lady Leonida’s idea, though.”

He narrowed his eyes, thinking of who else other than his sister would put that responsibility on Alessia. Was it Baroness Robert?

“Apparently, Miss Alessia had requested it first. She wants to join the inspections as soon as possible,” Joseph added.

Kaon only became more confused.

***

That evening, he returned from training and was welcomed back by Alessia at the door. And after asking courteous questions like whether his training went well or whether he had eaten dinner, she asked quietly, “Kaon, when can I meet the knights?”

She seemed quite excited, so Kaon put off taking a bath and instead brought her to the barracks.

“Carl, summon the elite knights,” he ordered the first apprentice he saw.

“Yes.”

Kaon glanced at Alessia. For someone who was about to deal with monsters in the near future, she looked very calm. He didn’t know what was going on with her.

“Did you call, Sir Kaon?”

Shortly thereafter, four knights entered the hall, three of which were wearing armor while the remaining one had on a comfortable-looking chemise.

“Alessia, these are Ferdinand’s elite knights. They’re the ones in charge of dealing with monsters. Knights, this is Alessia Ingelos. As you already know, she is my fiancée.” He pointed to the four one by one. “Pierre Bonello, Niels Duval, Yvonne Leroy, and Maurice Duret. They lead each of the units.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Alessia. Please remember my name, as one day I will be famous for my exploits. Feel free to call me Maurice,” said the lively, wheat-haired young man who stepped forward first.

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Maurice. I’ll make sure to never forget that name.”

“It is an honor!”

“I am Niels Duval. I’m glad you met us like this first.”

“Pierre Bonello.”

A large middle-aged man, then a handsome one. Alessia greeted both with a bright smile.

“Yvonne,” said the only woman in attendance. Her eyes and face were cold and oozed reluctance. “Yvonne Leroy.”

Alessia, who had been watching Yvonne closely from the moment she entered, smiled widely. “So there were also women in the elite knights as well. That’s amazing, Dame Leroy.”

“…”

“Yes, Yvonne?”

But the lady knight didn’t even look up at Alessia, her gaze fixed on the ground. The middle-aged knight, Niels, made a face but stayed silent.

“I haven’t finished training yet,” she finally said. “May I go back?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Thank you.”

Kaon swallowed a sigh. If he took issue with Yvonne’s attitude right away, she would have changed it, but he knew from experience that that wouldn’t be a permanent solution.

“I’m sorry, Miss. I apologize for that.”

“No, Niels, don’t worry. Training is the most important for a knight.”

“Even if she behaves like that, she’s a professional. She doesn’t let private matters interfere with her work. You don’t have to be concerned about that.” Contrary to the expectations that his bear-like size entailed, Niels seemed quite good-natured.

Kaon, who watched the events unfold, sent the three knights back first. “Let’s go back to the room for a detailed explanation.”