CH 82

She wanted to show that Cosette’s existence couldn’t hurt her. Of course, she showed her anxiety in many different ways, so she didn’t achieve her goal in the end. 

Besides, at that time, she misunderstood that the knights didn’t acknowledge her, so she thought they would secretly laugh at her from behind. 

As she recalled the pain she felt at that time, her mood dampened. 

Zeke: “Noonim? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

A quick-witted Zeke asked, quickly noticing.

Keira: “Uh, hmm. I was just thinking about something.”

When Keira first regressed, she was willing to resign from her post, but her mind has changed now.

She resolved the misunderstanding with Joseph and became quite close with the knights. 

So… Couldn’t she hold on a little longer this time?

After all, the only thing the Weinberg family could do was protest. Ultimately, only the Grand Duke could decide whether to remove her from her post or not.

Now that she had the protection of the knights, she thought she could make it if she refused to step down. 

The problem was…

‘I don’t know if they will come together and support me.’

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She wasn’t certain whether the knights would question her lineage or not. 

When a wrinkle or two began to form between her brows, Zeke stood and opened his mouth.

Zeke: “I heard what happened at Great-aunt’s house. Isn’t it common sense to stay quiet for a while if your scheme fails? So why are they doing this?”

Keira: “Maybe they’re causing more trouble precisely because they failed.”

Zeke: “Noonim, you’re not going to accept their request, are you? No way! Absolutely not!”

Keira: “Of course. I don’t want to be swayed either.”

Experiencing it once was enough.

She grinned at her brother and stood up.

‘Even though I said that…’

Keira was currently hiding behind a tree and watching the Knights’ training session. She couldn’t understand why she was hiding either. It was just instinct.

She had talked to Zeke confidently, but honestly, she had no idea what to say and how to say it. 

‘L-let’s start with Sir Joseph…’

Keira hurriedly looked around for Joseph. It was hard to find him; she didn’t know if he was practicing on his own or supervising the training.

Besides, she couldn’t exactly see everything from behind the tree. So Keira sneaked a few steps to the side to broaden her view.

It was at that moment that the knights, who had more acute senses, noticed her presence. 

“Oh, Your Ladyship?”

“It’s been a long time. Come to think of it, your break is slowly coming to an end, isn’t it?” 

“Are you here to resume training?”

“You rested a lot in two and a half months, huh? Ugh, I want to go on vacation too.”

“Tell His Grace.”

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“Are you crazy? If I say I want to rest for two months, he’ll definitely say ‘So, you want to leave the knighthood’.”

“Pwahaha!”

Laughter erupted in the crowd when a knight mimicked Ludwig’s tone.

Keira couldn’t help but chuckle. The knight’s Ludwig impression was spot-on. 

‘It’s the same atmosphere as usual.’

Truthfully, Keira was nervous. She was worried the atmosphere would be tense since she presumed that they’d probably heard that the Weinbergs were demanding she step down from her position. 

“But what are you doing here?”

Keira: “I’m here to talk to Sir Joseph.”

“Ah, he’s been away for a while. So that’s…”

The knight who was trying to announce Joseph’s whereabouts abruptly stopped. 

Then he looked into Keira’s eyes. She, who was quick-witted, immediately realized why he was acting like that.

Keira: “Is it related to Cosette?”

Was there any other reason that they suddenly stopped while just joking comfortably a while ago?

The knight, sweating and fidgeting, replied. 

“Your Ladyship, please don’t misunderstand. She called for the Vice-Captain. He didn’t go there voluntarily.”

Keira: “Do you know why?”

“No, I don’t know.”

He pointed behind her back, saying that Joseph had walked to the back garden. It was the opposite side of the annex where Cosette resided. 

Keira: “They should be finished speaking by now. Shall we find them?”

“Oh, if you stay here, I’m sure the Vice-Captain will be back soon. If we bump into each other and get uncomfortable…”

Keira: “There’s no reason for me to avoid her.”

‘This is my house.’

Keira thought so and said goodbye to the knight. She then turned around and walked towards the garden.

Her steps were heavy. To be honest, she felt terrible. 

‘You didn’t have to rush to her just because she summoned you.’

Cosette was temporarily part of the family, so there was no way that Joseph, a knight of Parvis, could ignore her call.

Even knowing that fact, Keira couldn’t help but feel upset. This was because Cosette could dig into a person’s psyche and throw bait they couldn’t resist.

It was obvious what the woman who called Joseph at this time had to say.

Sure enough, she could hear voices from afar. 

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Keira silenced the sound of her footsteps as she approached them and hid.

She heard a familiar voice. It was Cosette’s.

Cosette: “Isn’t this a good opportunity for Sir? It was originally your position anyway.”

Joseph: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Cosette: “Then answer me this. Is it okay to give anyone the position of the Parvis Knights Captain? Will you be able to endure that? You must have pride of your own.”

As expected. Keira clenched her fists without realizing it. She wanted to run out right away and grab Cosette by the collar, asking what kind of trick it was.

However, she was also filled with contradictory desires.

She’d love to hear from Sir Jospeh.

No, she didn’t want it.

Despite her inner struggle, Cosette continued.

Cosette: “The reason why such an outstanding knight gave up his position was because he’s convinced that Keira was the biological daughter of the Parvis family and the next elementalist. Right?

“…”

Cosette: “Sir is a great knight. He has great skills and is very loyal. So, it’s even more unacceptable, seeing an impostor take his place. Besides…”

Cosette paused for a moment. Keira knew this technique. Cosette often paused for a beat before talking about something really important.

Cosette: “Sir wants to surpass Keira and stand on top of her. Right? I don’t think you can deny it.”

Keira froze. Cosette was an expert in understanding human psychology. 

He didn’t say anything despite the fact that she was obviously recruiting him. 

Therefore, it meant that Cosette’s remarks had quite a plausible basis.

‘Since when?’

Joseph stayed silent. He had no expression on his face, so it was difficult to read his inner thoughts.

If she thought about it more, it was natural. A young girl was his superior, and it couldn’t have been pleasant for him, who was an elite knight. 

As if to affirm Cosette’s words, he didn’t answer for a while.

Keira’s heart pounded. Her ears pricked as she squatted behind a tree. 

Finally, his mouth opened.

Joseph: “…as you said, it’s true that I think favorably of her.”

Cosette: “Yes, so I’ll help you…”

Joseph: “But it’s not a small and light emotion as you judged it.”

He addressed Cosette as ‘you,’ not ‘Your Ladyship.’ Realizing the change, Keira’s eyes widened.

Joseph: “At first, I thought you might be a victim too. Just because you were born with a face that resembled the Grand Duke, I thought you might be a victim of Weinberg’s fraud.”

Cosette: “Sir, I think you’re quite rude to my uncle and me.”

Joseph: “I know.”

His voice was ice cold.

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Joseph: “But it must have been my mistake, seeing as you just offered me something that’s not funny. I understand very well that you’re in cahoots with each other.”

Cosette: “Wait a minute, Sir Joseph!”

Joseph: “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you said. Even if you try to persuade me more, it will be a waste of time, so go in and sleep.”

Although it was eloquently delivered, he basically told her, ‘Stop with your bullsh*t and go to sleep.’

Keira snorted and covered her mouth, worried she would burst into laughter if she didn’t.

Fortunately, the two continued to argue for a while as if they had heard nothing.

But that was only for a moment. Finally, Joseph shook off his opponent and left.

His footsteps were getting closer and closer. Keira knew she had to hide, and she strangely didn’t want to.

A few seconds later, Joseph found her squatting and hiding.

“?!”

Even if Keira didn’t lift her head, she could tell he was surprised. 

Joseph: “Y-Your Ladyship?”

Keira: “Ah, Sir Joseph.”

Joseph: “S-s-since when have you been here?”