CH 23

Translated by lipzoldyck

I looked to see where the sound of astonishment was coming from.

Then I saw three people walking towards the vacant lot. They consisted of a woman and two men, all wearing black capes, uniforms, and boots.

I opened my mouth in amazement at the uniform.

The Gottfried Knights!

It was immediately recognizable because it had a design similar to the uniform that Kellerhan often wore.

I was so startled that I stood still and stiff, but the woman in front of me with pigtails jumped out and greeted me humorously

“You’re Lady Isabella Schwires, aren’t you? Our Young Madam!”

I nodded slowly, overwhelmed by the woman’s vigor.

She clapped her hands and said with a broad smile.

“You can’t imagine how much I was looking forward to seeing the Young Madam. So, by drawing lots, we picked a person to report the operation to the Captain, and the rest of us wandered around the mansion.”

I had to focus all my attention to hear the woman’s quick approach and shoot.

“But you’re with Gilbert!”

The woman glared at Gilbert playfully.

“Gilbert Wool, why didn’t you tell us you were meeting the Young Madam?”

“Because I was afraid that you would surprise the Young Madam like this.” Gilbert rubbed his forehead and sighed.

“Surprise, though!”

The woman retorted and widened her eyes. and looked at me

“Young Madam, are you surprised?”

I hesitated and looked at the three Gottfried Knights.

Everyone was looking at me, saying they were so happy to see me.

Only the woman was talking actively, but the two men behind me were also looking at me with twinkling eyes.

I was a little stunned.

People who I thought were my fantasy, deliberately wandering around the mansion just to look at me upside down, and being so happy.

“Hmm. I was a little surprised.”

“Gee, I’m so sorry!”

The woman who caught on to my honest answer apologized loudly.

I respectfully accepted the woman’s apology.

And I tried to stay still, but my curiosity wouldn’t let me go.

“Are you from the Gottfried Knights? All three?”

Eventually, I asked questions to confirm their identities.

“This, I didn’t introduce myself! How can I be so stupid!”

The woman tapped her own forehead and she spoke to herself in a very loud voice.

And with their bodies bowed, the knights greeted and introduced themselves by raising their hands to the place where their left chest and heart were.

“I’m Belmour, the regular knight of the Gottfried Knights! I have no last name! So just call me Bell!”

Following the woman, the two men also introduced themselves.

“I’m Jurgen. Like Bell, I don’t have a last name, and I’m a regular knight.”

“I’m Eric Lesbahn. I’m the only one of these guys with a last name. Not something to be proud of! I’m also a regular knight.”

I couldn’t hide my curious eyes and looked up at the Gottfried Knights.

They were the subordinates of Kellerhan and were called a criminal’s nightmare, so I thought they would be harsh and terrifying, but it was completely different from what I expected.

Everyone was friendly and active rather than scary.

I don’t know if it’s just the three people in front of me or if the whole Gottfried Knights are like this.

“But if you only call Gilbert, I’m so sad that I’m about to cry! What in the world were you talking about with Gilbert?”

The Knight of Exposure, Bell ,asked.

“That is…”

I opened my mouth to explain the situation, but words didn’t come out easily.

It was because I was ashamed to have made such a fuss because of only one stab.

Wouldn’t everyone be surprised to find out that I haven’t mastered stabbing in weeks?

“I was teaching the Young Madam how to defend herself.”

I hesitated, but Gilbert stepped forward and explained the situation in appropriate words.

“Now that the Young Madam has become a member of Barmuth, she will have to protect herself.”

I thanked Gilbert with my eyes.

I could see him smiling proudly.

“That’s right! To think of teaching the Young Madam self-defense. You’re so wise, Gilbert.”

“To be precise, it was the Captain’s thoughts, not me.”

“Captain? Did the Captain designate you as the Young Madam’s teacher? That can’t happen. You, among us, have the weakest fighting power.”

“Ah, that…”

As Bell asked so sharply, Gilbert scratched the back of his head and looked me in the eye to the extent I couldn’t hide it any longer.

At this point, I decided to rescue Gilbert.

I appreciated that he cared about my dignity, but I didn’t want to get him into trouble anymore.

“Actually, the class with the Duke was too difficult, so I was asking Sir Wool for help.”

“The Duke? If it’s him… Are you talking about the Captain?” Bell asked in surprise.

Not only her, Jurgen and Eric behind her also looked quite surprised.

Why are they surprised? Did I say something strange?

“Did the Captain look after the Young Madam himself?”

Bell asked again, and I nodded my head, bewildered not knowing why she was so anxious about it.

“Oh my gosh!”

Seeing my affirmative answer, Bell clasped her face with her hands and leaned back.

“He didn’t even bat an eye when we begged for guidance like that!”

It seems that it is true that there are a lot of knights that want to be guided by Kellerhan.

I knew Kellerhan wasn’t benevolent, but I didn’t know he wouldn’t even spare time for his knights.

Once again, I realized how much resources Kellerhan invested to teach me.

“We can’t help it. The Young Madam is ‘special’.”

At Gilbert’s words, Bell lowered her hand that was covering her face.

“That’s right. It’s true.” She nodded her head.

“If it’s the Young Madam, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

I was puzzled and tilted my head inwardly.

What? What do you mean by ‘special’?

Come to think of it, Magda once looked at me the other day and said I’m ‘the Duke’s blessing’.

At the time, I thought it was just a word to comfort me, but when combined with Gilbert’s words, those words were meaningful.

I think there’s a story I don’t know.

But the Gottfried Knights didn’t talk about it anymore.

Instead, Bell asked.

“What is difficult for you?”

“Well… Would you like to see it for yourself?”

Needless to say, I showed off my hard-earned stab in front of four knights.

I stabbed the air sincerely three times, and looking back while panting, the knights’ expressions…

“Uh… Uh…”

The knights couldn’t find anything to say.

“Did you get direct guidance from the Captain?”

Jurgen asked cautiously, and I nodded my head in disbelief.

“The Duke gave the guidance, but Young Lord Yuta showed us the demonstration. The Young Lord and I have similar physiques, so he said it would be more helpful.”

“Did you even see the demonstration of Young Lord Yuta? But…”

Bell stomped on Jurgen’s foot hard, and Jurgen said, “Whoops,” and shut his mouth.

“The Young Madam comes from a family of scholars.”

Gilbert said as if that word explained it all.

Bell, Jurgen, and Eric looked at each other and exchanged meaningful glances.

“Why don’t you try a different weapon?”

“It has already been changed once. From a longsword to a dagger.”

Gilbert shook his head at Bell’s question.

“It might not work because you insist on using a sword! The best weapon for beginners is the spear.”

“But…”

Gilbert hesitated and looked at me.

The expression ‘Can I really say this?’ appeared on his face, so I nodded to mean it was okay.

“Can the Young Madam handle the spear? She couldn’t even lift a long sword over her head.”

“What?”

At Gilbert’s words, Bell, Jurgen, and Eric were surprised at the same time.

“Is there anyone in the world who can’t lift a sword over their head?”

Excuse me. I just want you to remember that I’m right next to you.

However, the Gottfried Knights completely forgot that I was with them and had a serious discussion on the topic of ‘Is there really anyone in the world who can’t hold a sword?’

I forgot for a moment.

The members of the Gottfried Knights are all monsters no less than Kellerhan.

“Well. Still, it doesn’t change my belief that the weapon should be changed. There is no training more ineffective than holding a weapon that doesn’t work.” Bell made her own conclusions and said.

“Then would you like to see our weapons?” Jurgen, who was arguing that it would be better to follow Bell and change weapons, suggested. “Look around, and if you find a weapon you like, simply try it out.”

“Is that okay?” I asked, delightedly.

The sadness I felt in the Gottfried Knights for a while was long gone in anticipation of being able to see the weapons of the legendary knights in person.

“Sure! Our weapons will be pleased too if the Young Madam sees them.” Jurgen spoke as if the weapons were creatures with personalities.

Later, when I asked Yuta, he said that treating weapons as friends was a habit developed by knights using weapons for a long time.

The knights led me to a small annex next to the vacant lot.

I saw the annex every day while training in the vacant lot, but it was the first time I actually went in, and the inside of the annex was decorated like a fortress.

The knights passed through an undecorated hallway and opened the door inside.

There were dozens of weapons that were obviously those of the Gottfried Knights and a wide table.

A complex blueprint was laid out on the table, and someone was grunting at the blueprint.

“Who is it? I told you not to disturb me…”

“I came with the Young Madam.”

At Bell’s words, the woman who had her head stuck in the blueprint jumped up.

It was an adult woman wearing large glasses with her wavy brown hair hanging down.

Is that person also a member of the Gottfried Knights?

Bell, Jurgen, and Eric were cheerful and playful, but they had their own charisma.

But that woman in her glasses looked so gentle that she could never kill a single bug in her life.

“Oh my gosh! Young Madam?”

As she eagerly guessed the identity of her opponent, she fluttered in the hem of her large robe and hurried.