CH 9

Sonia looked up at the two on the horse with a voice full of sadness. Derivis dismounted first, followed by Rosalie. Emma, who was beside her, took over the reins.

“We went out for a moment.”

Derivis replied briefly and passed by Sonia. As Sonia pouted and looked at Derivis’s back, she hooked arms with Rosalie.

“Take me with you next time! It was so lonely.”

“Sorry. Do you want to go get some tea? I’m thirsty.”

“Okay!”

Watching Rosalie and Sonia head towards the mansion, Emma made a complicated expression.

“What could it be…”

Muttering quietly, Emma sighed and took the reins of the horse, heading towards the stable.

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It was late afternoon the next day. Rosalie, who had finished her training later than usual, was wandering around the duchy alone. Curious, she wandered around the mansion as if she were exploring.

‘The mansion is definitely big.’

The Duke of Judeheart was a highly respected aristocrat. Of course, it had been declining since the previous generation, but the mansion was still impressive.

Rosalie, who was looking around the castle with curious eyes, frowned. It was because she bumped into Bella, who was also walking around the mansion.

“Pfft—is that a training suit? How shallow and ridiculous for an aristocratic child.”

When Bella sneered at Rosalie’s training suit, even Callie, who was standing next to her, burst into laughter. Rosalie, who wanted to maintain her good mood, tried to ignore Bella lightly.

“You can go on your way.”

“You’re not going to change anything.”

Bella snapped at Rosalie as she walked past her. Rosalie snorted lightly and turned to face Bella.

“Are you scared?”

“What?”

“I asked if you’re scared of me now that I’m ignoring you.”

Momentarily taken aback, Bella couldn’t speak. She just stood there like a fool, wondering if she had misheard something.

“The way you threaten me, it’s like a cornered rat.”

Bella bit her lower lip tightly at Rosalie’s calm and low voice. Bella, who was shaking, started to raise her voice.

“Don’t you dare make a big deal out of the fact that the Crown Prince and Sonia are in the Duchy! When the guests are gone, Rosalie, you…”

“What are you going to do with the Duchess?”

Bella turned around abruptly at the voice coming from behind her. Derivis was there, his arms folded as he stared at her coldly.

“I asked you.”

Bella shook her head hurriedly and forced a smile at Derivis’s cold voice, which was equally cold as his eyes.

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just some household chores.”

“I’m very curious to know what kind of chore it is that would require me and Sonia to leave the duchy.”

Derivis’s eyes were still cold. Bella was speechless, embarrassed by this situation from which she wanted to escape from.

When Derivis opened his mouth again, Rosalie stopped him.

“Your Highness, it’s okay. It’s just household chores.”

Rosalie approached Bella and whispered softly in her ear.

“You’re the one who should be careful. When the guests leave… I don’t know what I might do to you.”

Rosalie lightly tapped Bella’s shoulder twice. However, Bella’s attention was focused on Rosalie’s harsh voice in her ear rather than the vibrations she felt on her shoulder. 

Trembling slightly, Bella looked back and forth between Derivis and Rosalie, then left the spot as if she was running away.

“Were you looking for me?”

Derivis slowly opened his mouth, surprised by Rosalie’s nonchalant demeanor as if nothing had happened.

“…I was trying to help, but I guess I didn’t have to.”

“It’s not easy to help me.”

Derivis smiled faintly at Rosalie’s indifferent remark. The more he looked at her, the more interesting and amusing she seemed.

“I suppose so. Sonia wanted to invite you for a cup of tea.”

“Then I’ll go change my clothes and go.”

“That’s too bad. That training outfit suits you.”

Rosalie blinked at him at the unexpected compliment. Still relaxed and dismissing it as a lighthearted joke, Rosalie turned and began walking away.

“I know, right? Go ahead, I’ll be there soon.”

The blunt reply finally brought a small chuckle out of Derivis. He wondered if Bella’s comment about the tackiness of her training uniform had bothered her, but apparently, she wasn’t even listening. 

He slowly stopped laughing as he watched her walk away.

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Sonia chatted all night that day as well, and it wasn’t until late morning that she woke up and prepared to leave while Rosalie was training her knights.

“See you in a week, Sonia.”

When Rosalie came to see off Sonia and Derivis, she was dressed in her training outfit. Sonia’s eyes lit up as she stared at Rosalie’s uniform.

“It looks so cool, Rosalie!”

Rosalie smiled faintly at Sonia’s compliment, thinking that her innocent face was so cute.

“Until next time, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

Rosalie placed a hand on her chest and bowed slightly to Derivis.

“See you in a week, Duchess.”

Unlike their first encounter, his attitude was noticeably gentler. 

Although Rosalie’s expression was calm, Sonia’s eyes widened. Derivis turned and got into the carriage.

“Goodbye, then!”

Sonia climbed into the carriage after him. Rosalie watched the colorful, massive carriage until it was out of sight, then turned back to the training grounds.

The interior of the carriage Sonia and Derivis rode in was enormous, with room for at least four more people. Sonia, sitting across from Derivis, called out to him.

“Devi.”

At Sonia’s call, Derivis lifted his lowered eyes.

“Did you suddenly become close with Rosalie?”

“Yeah, it was fun.”

“Did Rosalie’s personality change?”

Derivis nodded slowly. Sonia made a worried expression and muttered under her breath.

“I don’t know. I’m worried… Her new personality doesn’t fit her… More than anything, I’m worried that she’ll clash with Mrs. Bella more often.”

Derivis chuckled at Sonia’s worries. Although Rosalie whispered very quietly to Bella, he had heard the harsh words very clearly.

“I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

There was a hint of laughter in his voice, but it was firm with a touch of trust. In fact, Derivis quite liked Rosalie’s changed personality. 

He found it amusing to see her seemingly unchanging calm face change subtly depending on the situation, so much so that he found himself saying quite a few uncharacteristic things.

‘What is this feeling…?’

Sonia’s fists curled weakly into fists as a new and unpleasant feeling blossomed inside her.

That unpleasant feeling had arisen a while ago when she briefly woke up from her sleep and saw Rosalie and Derivis talking at the training ground.

She had a feeling that they had become closer, excluding her. However, Sonia convinced herself that it was just because she was worried.

“Sonia?”

As her expression grew darker, Derivis called her name, and she quickly changed her expression and smiled as if nothing had happened.

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After finishing the training, Rosalie, Aaron, and Gilbert, the blacksmith of the village, entered the office.

Gilbert’s tanned, dark skin and the burn marks and scars on his forearms showed how long he had been working as a blacksmith.

“Take it.”

Rosalie spoke comfortably, in accordance with Dolan’s request to lower her speech towards the people of the territory. Gilbert received the scroll of paper that Rosalie handed to him and spread it open.

“This is an unusual crossbow design. The handle is made of wood, but it looks like a gun, and the size is drastically reduced to make it portable… I’ve never seen a crossbow like this before.”

Rosalie nodded in agreement with Gilbert’s observation. The crossbow in the blueprint they were looking at was based on Rosalie’s memory of a modern crossbow from Earth.

In this world, crossbows were medieval in design and were too large and heavy to be portable. They were not meant to be carried but rather mounted.

Rosalie asked Gilbert a question as he examined the blueprint closely.

“If most of the rods are made of wood and the iron content is reduced, it will be easier to supply and lighter in weight, but the strength will decrease. But Sir Aaron said that you would know the solution?”

“It’s not easy, but with the help of magic, it is possible.”

Rosalie became interested in the mention of magic. She also thought that she might actually be able to see a wizard.

“Can you give the quiver and bowstring elasticity in this way? However, it shouldn’t be too heavy.”

“Hmm… If we put special magic on the bow and attach an Ogre’s tendon to the bowstring, it is possible. With this, we can increase the firing range significantly.”

“How do we create that special magic?”

“To increase the elasticity and strength of the bow… All we need to do is purchase a scroll with the magic circle or spell inscribed on it. We can also buy Ogre tendons from the merchants. However, the price will be exorbitant.”

Upon hearing the word “merchants,” Rosalie remembered a certain merchant guild. The guild that handled and sold the most goods in the Empire was currently run by Countess Seth.

Countess Seth had been a good partner for Derivis to do business with after he’d gotten the Dita Mine.

Although she planned to meet her anyway, Rosalie changed her plans to meet Countess Seth earlier than planned.

“I’ll arrange that. And do you see that object on top of the crossbow handle?”

“Is this… a magnifying glass?”

“It’s officially called a scope. It’s a device that helps with shooting. Can you make it?”

“Yes. I’ve never seen it before, but I can make it.”

Rosalie nodded in satisfaction at Gilbert’s confident answer.

“The materials obtained will be sent later, and the exact quantity and additional information will be delivered through a person. And as for making this item…”

“I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

Rosalie nodded in satisfaction at Gilbert’s quick-witted answer. At Rosalie’s instruction to leave, Gilbert bowed politely and left the office.

Aaron, who had been listening to their entire conversation, spoke up, feeling somewhat dazed.

“Are you planning to create an archer unit?”

“More precisely, a firing squad. I noticed during our military training that some lacked talent in swordsmanship, so we’ll include them in the new unit.”

The crossbow was the result Rosalie came up with instead of the gun. It was a better product that the village blacksmith could make, and they would be easier to supply.

“Then, who will teach them how to shoot?”

“I will.”