Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Swap.

Max’s long fingers swept the cabinets once. He did not ask anything. There were no small grains of dirt on the floor, and it was shiny.

How the hell did it happened? His brown eyes grew bigger.

“Max-nim, we are done cleaning.”

Twinkle twinkle. Even Leasis’ smiling face was shining. Then the maids’ expressions were full of pride.

Max, who was staring blankly around, belatedly came to his senses. He covered his mouth with his hands and coughed.

“Ahem. Good job, everyone.”

“Max-nim, can we take a break since we finished early today?”

“That’s right. There’s nothing more to clean.”

At this point, he had nothing more to say. He nodded at the maids’ words.

“Everyone… relax for the rest of the day.”

“Awesome!”

The maids disappeared with a big smile. Only Leasis remained, smiling brightly.

“Max-nim.”

“…What?”

“What else do I do now?”

The current score was eleven to one.

* *

She was stronger than he had thought. Hizen’s fingers were tapping on his desk, and his face stiffened. His sharp jawline seemed to cut through paper.

“So, it failed.”

“Haha…”

Max, who was reporting the situation, laughed awkwardly in front of him. Hizen was struggling with just one girl. It was hard to believe even when seeing it with his own eyes.

The red-haired maid surmounted Hizen’s orders. As if she were some kind of wizard, she completely changed the entire Division of the Imperial Elite Knights.

Her sparkling red eyes were both beautiful and burdensome. Max trembled without realizing it. It was the first time in his life that he was afraid of people asking for work.

Rather, Hizen was calm. He did not regard any adversary as easy. He had no unconditional belief that this incident would easily succeed. To be honest, it was only a half belief, because she was an unpredictable and strange woman.

Instead of getting angry, he patted his desk with his long index finger.

‘Something fair to ask the maid to do… Oh, right. There it is.’

An extraordinary idea came to his mind. Hizen smiled with a bit of remorse.

“Max.”

“Yes, Commander-nim.”

“The luggage of Commander Ramashter was left in the training center warehouse.”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm.”

Hizen, who touched his sleek chin, had a suspicious look. Max opened his eyes wide to a hypothesis that came to his mind. He was going to tell her to move the luggage.

Of course. Hizen spoke in a calm voice.

“Even old swords and armors will never forget their owner with who they went through the battlefield. We have an excellent maid, so we can leave it to her.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Of course.”

It was a really harsh treatment. ‘Ramashter de Oles’. He was the former Commander of the Imperial Elite Knights, Hizen’s mentor and a fearsome man called ‘the Devil’s Ghost’ or ‘the Wolf Knight’. Even the best knights could not even make eye contact with him.

Ramashter was the one who gave Hizen the position of Commander years ago. Both the nobles and the knights had tried to stop him, but he had threw away his sword and had left the Imperial Palace after a meeting with the Emperor. The sudden retirement of Ramashter had been a hot topic in the palace at that time.

But there was something unknown. It was the relationship between the Emperor and Ramashter. The imperial maids had murmured that the sounds of Ramashter shouting could be heard through the doors when he had been with the Emperor.

Even more curiously, the Emperor had not punished him, but instead had helped him leave quietly the Imperial Palace.

The nobles assumed that there had been an unknown dispute between the Emperor and Ramashter, and that it was the reason why he had retired. But there was no way to dig into the truth.

After that, Ramashter had completely retired and was currently staying in a mansion near the capital. The only thing left in the Imperial Palace was Ramashter’s luggage.

In the meantime, the knights, the imperial servants and the maids had tried to follow him, but they had been left hanging at his closed door. After waiting outside for several days, the door had not opened to them.

In addition, it was the military combat birds called gilatans that were guarding his mantion instead of ordinary soldiers. The human-sized gilatans caused sandstorms with their huge wings and pecked at people with their beaks sharper than swords. It was not only one or two knights who ended injured by them.

Even if it was Leasis, it would not be easy for her to solve this problem. Max looked anxiously through the window. In the middle of the training ground, a red-haired girl was pulling weeds. She was working hard even though the sun was shining. Max, whose heart was weakened, sighed.

“Commander-nim, this is a little…”

“This mission has been consistently carried out by other maids. It’s a legitimate mission.”

Hizen wedged the troubled Max.

“Quickly proceed within today.”

*

She saw a welcomed face. Leasis, who was pulling weeds, jumped up. She smiled brightly, wiping her hands on her white apron.

“Hello, Max-nim!”

“Haha. Yes… Hello.”

Max lowered his gaze. Her apron quickly got dirty. It made his mind uncomfortable.

There was no one who was working so hard. Max sighed. Her life seemed to go to hell side by side with Hizen.

“Well, Miss Leasis. I have a new mission.”

“Please tell me!”

What was he going to do with this little lamb? Not aware of the upcoming misfortunes, she smiled brightly. The more she did, the smaller his voice became.

“Hmmm… that’s… I think you need to make a delivery.”

“Yes? A delivery?”

It was her first time hearing about the mission, so she asked back. Max nodded softly. She was a little curious but she clenched her hand, showing she understood. She was confident that she could do it, since she had done plenty of deliveries when working in Liduré.

“Where shall I go?”

“To Oles’ mansion around here.”

“Ah, a mansion?”

As Max predicted, Leasis knew nothing. She asked with an innocent face.

“Where is it?”

“Me! I’ll let you know!”

Who was it? Max and Leasis turned their heads in surprise. A man who popped out of the bushes was smiling tactlessly.

He was a handsome man with honey-colored hair. Max shouted at the sudden appearance.

“Jason, what are you still doing here!”

I’m sure it’s time for training, but I can’t believe he’s messing around here. Max glanced at him with pathetic eyes.

Jason was calm and shameless. He spoke shyly, shaking the leaves off his uniform.

“Hehe, Miss Leasis. I’m worried because this rough palace is dangerous for a young lady to live alone…”

The palace could not be dangerous. The Imperial Palace, guarded by Hizen, was the safest place within this Empire. Max could not hide his absurd expression.

“I missed you, too… Hehe.”

He was so tactless. Max, who was getting annoyed, tried to endure his anger and said.

“I’m more worried about your second half assessment.”

“Boo, Vice Commander-nim! If you say that here…”

Jason, humiliated in front of his favorite woman, was quite embarrassed. He looked at Leasis and made an X shape with his hands. It was a desperate struggle.

“Don’t worry, Miss Leasis! I don’t need any training! Even if I drink and joke around every day, my swordsmanship is always among the top five of the Imperial Family!”

“Wow, really?”

“Of course!”

Jason’s nose was raised by Leasis’ response. He put his hands on his sides and laughed loudly.

Max, who was having a headache, touched his forehead. It was one of the wonders of the world that such a devil boy’s ability was within the top five. It was thanks to his ancestors who used the sword to die in the past.

Anyway, he had to finish his mission. Max spoke in a desperate voice.

“Really… Please deliver it as soon as possible today.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t worry, Miss Leasis! I’ll show you the way!”

“Ah, can you do that?”

“Of course!”

Get out of the way. Max tried to control his facial expression, suppressing his anger. Jason, still unaware, asked brightly.

“Right, Vice Commander-nim?”

“Yes.”

He would pray for him to receive some mental education after a long time. Max raised one corner of his mouth.

“Woohoo. But what is the delivery address?”

“Oles’ mansion.”

Jason’s face turned blue. He pointed at Max with a frightened face.

“That, that, that’s a lie!”

“What a lie.”

“Vice Commander-nim, you’re lying, aren’t you?”

It was actually a good opportunity. Max approached Jason with a gentle smile. Then he patted his stiff shoulders affectionately.

“Sir Jason. Today’s training will be exceptional, so please take good care of Miss Leasis.”

*

There were three people in the carriage bound for Oles’ mansion. Jason in panic, Owen accidentally caught, and Leasis with a lot of luggage in her hands.

Owen was admiring the view through the window. It was a picturesque scenery. The world was beautifully colored, with colorful petals flying around.

“Pretty…”

“Sure. It’s really beautiful.”

Leasis could not take her eyes off the window. She opened the window and reached her hand out of the carriage. Petals fell like rain on her forearm and on the back of her hand. There were from white roses. Her lips opened slightly at the soft touch.

“Wow.”

“I didn’t know there would be such a pretty place near the capital.”

“Right. It’s amazing.”

In the girls’ conversation, Jason felt a bit out of place. He opened his trembling lips.

“Hey, this is Oles, the House of Flowers… This road to the mansion is called the Flower Road.”

“Wow, the name is pretty, too.”

Owen, who liked the name, clapped her hands. Leasis was worried about his pale face and handed him a handkerchief. It was a white handkerchief that had been washed carefully.

“Jason-nim, take it. You have a lot of cold sweat.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

It was so warm. Jason, who clenched the handkerchief with both hands, had a runny nose.

“Miss Leasis, I’ll have no regrets if I die.”

“What? If you die? Please don’t say things like that. You have to live happily for a long time.”

“Oh my gosh.”

‘Unnie, isn’t this knight weird?’

Owen asked quietly so that only Leasis could hear. Jason, who always stood by Leasis’ side, looked suspicious.

‘Don’t worry, he’s a good guy.’

‘Hmm. Got it.’

At Leasis’s words, Owen nodded in disbelief. She murmured, looking at the beautiful, heavenly road.

“Unnie, why did they ask us to deliver all the way here?”

“Well…”

The two questioned the sudden delivery mission. Leasis looked at the luggage on the floor. There was the discolored handle of a sword coming out of a golden cloth.

Leasis assumed that the owner of the mansion was a swordsman. Fortunately, Jason gave them some information, so their curiosity was satisfied a little.

“We’re here.”

“Oh my…”

Leasis and Owen opened their mouths in admiration. It was a beautiful mansion that made their eyes sparkled. A mansion as big as the Imperial Palace was shimmering in the sunlight.

Surrounding the mansion were a black iron gate with pointy edges, rose vines, zelkova trees with exceptionnaly long leaves, and birds with white fur on top of them.

The giant human-sized birds looked down at the intruders with their black eyes. Their eyes were warning them that they would not let them go if they crossed the iron gate. Jason gritted his teeth.

“As expected, these guys are still there.”

“These guys…?”

“Yes, they’re birds called gilatans. If you get off the carriage, you have to be careful of them. They peck with their beaks, then tear you to pieces… Cough. Cough. Anyway, they’re filthy guys who have the same temper as the former Commander.”

“Unnie, I’m scared…”

Owen grabbed Leasis by the arm. She reassured the frightened Owen by stroking her brown hair.

Leasis looked up. Her red eyes met the black-brown eyes of a gilatan.

It was a gilatan with a particularly tough expression. There was a huge scar crossing his eyes diagonally. He looked like the leader of the gilatans.

“Gooooooo…”

The gilatan cried low. It flapped its huge wings once and provoked Leasis. In the meantime, the carriage stopped.

As soon as it had stopped, the coachman hurriedly hid himself under it. Nervous, Jason touched the door handle of the carriage.

Creak.

The door opened slightly. He carefully looked outside and said.

“I’ll get off first.”

“Jason-nim, please wait.”

Leasis grabbed Jason’s arm.

The two looked at Leasis with wondering eyes. She spoke with a serious face.

“I have a good idea.”

“A good… idea?”

“Yes, both of you, please listen to me.”