CH 25

Everyone who heard Caroline’s words turned blank for a moment.

“What did you just say, Caroline?”

The first person to speak was a handsome blond man sitting next to Kellerhan.

Seeing that his uniform was more flashy than the average knights, he seemed to have his own position.

“Is this Master Yuta’s fiance? Lady Schwires?”

The blonde knight looked at me and asked.

His tone was quite aggressive, so I shrank.

“Yes! She’s the Young Madam.” Caroline answered brightly, whether or not she knew the harsh energy of the blonde knight.

I tightened my hand again as I was anxious.

“And Lady Schwires, the Young Madam, completed the bomb? How…” The blonde man furrowed his eyebrows.

I’m going to get a scolding! I’ll be scolded!

Is it because I meddled in the Knights’ affairs as a civilian subject?

But still, this is too much.

I just wanted to help.

He said in a loud voice as I shrugged in fear of words from the blonde knight.

“How can you deliver such important news so late!”

“I ran here right away!”

“Didn’t you say the Young Madam worked hard for us! Then you should have run sooner!”

“I did my best!”

“Ooh, Young Madam!”

The blonde knight got up and jumped out in front of me and immediately fell down. It was the same posture that Kalman had done to me the other day.

W-Wait! What’s going on?

I blankly looked down at the blonde knight, unable to grasp the situation.

Then the blonde knight smiled broadly—unlike his ferocious demeanor, his face was as pretty as an angel in the torch—he said.

“I’ve heard so many stories about the Young Madam! I really wanted to see you in person, but I gave up because I couldn’t miss the meeting as I was the damn Vice Captain, but meeting like this is a miracle!”

He was the Vice Captain?

I knew he had a rank, but I didn’t know he was such a high person.

“Ah right, my name is Abraham Blasiha.”

The blonde knight, Abraham, introduced himself belatedly.

Although I hesitated, I thought I had to be polite, so I grabbed both ends of my skirt and bowed my knees to greet him.

“I’m Isabella Schwires. It is an honor to meet you, Sir Blasiha.”

But something strange happened.

As soon as I finished my greeting, the inside of the conference room became as quiet as a dead mouse.

I was puzzled and raised my head.

What happened while I was greeting them?

But no matter how much I looked around, nothing had changed.

All eyes of the knights were on me.

“What should I do…”

Just as I was about to ask what was going on, Bell covered her mouth with one hand and let out a weeping sound.

“Our Young Madam… is good at greetings too!”

Bell shouted, banging on the table with one remaining hand.

That was the beginning.

“How can she be so elegant! She’s a genius, and she’s even mature!”

“Is it because she comes from a scholar family? She has a different dignity than fighters like us!”

“No! Not all scholar families are like that. Our Young Madam is special!”

“Ooh! Young Madam!”

The last, “Ooh!” was Abraham’s voice.

“Young Madam, the fact that you returned my greetings to me… me… me…”

Abraham was still bowing down when he looked up at me with eyes twinkling in anticipation.

Belatedly, I remembered the meaning of Abraham’s posture.

Oops, this was a bow down dedicated to the lady one respected!

That’s why I was hesitant to greet Sir Kalman in this pose.

Since Abraham is a member of the Gottfried Knights, I wanted to be seen as a polite person and I greeted him without realizing it.

“It means that you will accept me as a knight of the Young Madam!”

It was the moment Abraham exclaimed in exultation.

“Shut up, Blasiha.”

Kellerhan, who had a frown on his face as if he had seen something he couldn’t see, growled in a low, subdued voice.

As expected, Kellerhan! He’s trying to stop him because the Gottfried Knights’ main power can’t be the knight of a child like me!

Of course, my expectations were shattered by the following words from Kellerhan.

“If you want to bow down in front of my daughter-in-law, get at least a dragon.”

Kellerhan glared and said.

“If you can’t catch it, you’re off limits.”

For a moment, I was captivated by the feeling of wanting to hide if there was a mouse hole.

Kellerhan, can we please stop talking about dragons?

Besides, the ones who are hearing that story this time aren’t strangers, it’s the Gottfried Knights whom I’ll continue to face in the future.

I looked towards the knights with one last hope.

The look of waiting for them to please take this as a joke, like the previous engagement ceremony guests did.

But this time, my expectations didn’t come true.

“Hoho, so you mean a ‘dragon’. I understand.”

Abraham laughed, but took Kellerhan’s words seriously.

“Dragon? Dragons are all asleep right now, so it isn’t hard to catch them, though? There aren’t many of them in the first place.”

Bell said. “I’m not confident about catching a dragon, though!”

Caroline wept, “Would you admit it if several people caught one?”

“Of course not. One per person.”

“Let’s see, then, there are at most five people who can become the knights of Young Madam.”

The knights were seriously discussing dragon hunting amongst themselves.

I felt like crying.

***

After watching the knights chatting about dragon hunting for a while, Kellerhan raised his hand to stop their chattering.

“Then how long can you make the experimental piece?”

“I think three days is enough!”

He asked Caroline, and she answered with a quick glance, in her tight tension.

“If the experimental piece is successful, how long will it take to make the bomb for the operation?”

“If it works properly, it can be done in a day!”

“Great.”

Kellerhan smiled contentedly.

“Go and make it right now.”

“Yessir!”

After Caroline answered cheerfully and gave me a broad smile, she rushed out of the conference room.

Because the Gottfried Knights primarily belonged to the Imperial Family, their headquarter was in the capital, and Caroline could engage in bomb-making from headquarter in the capital without having to travel far.

As predicted in advance, she has made the time bomb in three days.

It was an experimental bomb whose power was reduced to see if the time limit worked properly.

Targets were collected in the open space and the bombs were placed between them.

Attended by Kellerhan’s call, I stared at the pocket watch Kellerhan was holding, stiffened with tension among the Gottfried Knights.

I don’t think the blueprint I drew would be wrong.

However, I couldn’t help but be nervous as we tried to check the effectiveness of my blueprints in front of everyone.

“What’s wrong, Isabella?”

Kellerhan, who noticed my gaze on the pocket watch he was holding, asked.

“It’s nothing.”

I shook my head.

I didn’t want to say anything useless at such an important moment.

Kellerhan looked down at me without saying a word for a while.

“Yeah, I see.”

Surprisingly, he turned his head back to the bomb without trying to reassure or encourage me.

He looked indifferent, but I could see that it was his own consideration.

Besides, Kellerhan didn’t say anything, which made me feel at ease.

I would have been more nervous if he had tried to encourage me by saying, “It’s all right,” or “My daughter-in-law can’t be wrong.”

The second hand of the pocket watch moved non-stop.

When the time finally came for Caroline…

Boom!

The bomb went off.

At the same time, cheers erupted from among the knights.

“That’s enough! With this, we can shatter the treasures those dark magicians cherish so much.”

Kellerhan also had a very satisfied expression on his face.

“Sir Dolph, I will reward you separately.”

“It is the Young Madam who deserves the reward.”

At that, Kellerhan raised an eyebrow.

“Do you think I forgot that? It’s natural for my daughter-in-law to receive the reward, so I didn’t say it.”

“Is that so?”

Caroline tilted her head, and Kellerhan looked at me.

“Yes. What Isabella did is an important thing that can determine the success or failure of our operation.”

He spoke seriously.

“If I go out early tomorrow morning, I will probably come back in four days. Until then, think carefully about what you want to have.”

Kellerhan grinned.

“Because anything is fine. With this chance, I want you to realize Barmuth’s wealth.”

After leaving such a terrifying (?) word, Kellerhan headed to the conference room with the knights.

If he wants to go out tomorrow, he’ll have to start the operation meeting now.

I went back to the mansion holding the hands of Gilbert and Caroline, who weren’t participating in the operation.

I won’t be able to see Kellerhan for four days now.

After Caroline and Gilbert had gone, I entered the room alone and lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling and thinking.

Am I going to take a four-day break from training?

There is no need to worry about being bored because Yuta is here, but somehow my heart is empty.

Looks like I’m starting to like Kellerhan quite a bit…

No, stop thinking pointlessly.

Kellerhan and the people of Barmuth are good people, but I don’t think it’s desirable to depend too much on them.

As Kellerhan said while training in swordsmanship, I have to survive on my own.

I chose this place because I thought Barmuth would protect me, but they aren’t always invincible.

I can always be in danger, and then I have to deal with it myself.

“Whoa.”

For some reason, my mind was complicated and I took a deep breath.

I rolled over on the bed, trying to change my mind and think about something else.

Since Kellehan said anything I like, let’s think about a ‘reward’ that I will ask for when he returns.

“But I already have everything I want.”

I murmured as I looked around my room, which had been meticulously decorated by Magda, Harold, and others.

Soft beds, delicious meals served every day, warm bath water, and comfortable shoes and clothes.

I’m already receiving a lot, so if I ask for anything more here, I’ll feel like I’m a sinner.

However, since he’s giving it to me, it’s hard for me to refuse it.

It’s not that I want a reward, but it’ll seem like I’m rejecting Kellerhan’s sincerity.

“Then what am I going to ask for…”

I looked up at the ceiling again with my arms and legs crossed.

But no matter how much I thought, I couldn’t come up with a good idea.

The person who gave me such a hint was surprisingly Kellerhan.