CH 2.3

CHAPTER 2: SPRING COMES TO EVERYONE (III)

Part 020

After getting Damian off work, Ethan came to find Adrian, who had no work schedule today. With a report on the flow of funds from the Talus Marquis over the past three years. Adrian handed out Damian’s papers to Ethan, who had been scolding him for letting her do such a good job. Ethan’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out as he was casually flipping through the papers.

“Who did this?”

“Lady Damian.”

“Lady Ethart, did she do this in just one day?”

“In half a day.”

“Cale, why is my lord lying to me?”

“I’m not lying. She’s an amazing young lady.”

“Yes.”

Ethan narrowed his eyes at Adrian’s blunt reply and looked at him. Adrian’s expression did not change as he kept his eyes on the papers he had been looking at earlier. However, when it comes to his lord, Ethan prides himself on knowing the number of hairs on his head. So he noticed right away that Adrian’s voice contained a very subtle warmth, and he put a big smile on his lips.

“Cale, why is our lord in such a good mood?”

Cale, who had been watching Adrian’s tricks all day, answered with a grin.

“I thought summer was coming, but it seems like it’s still spring.”

“Isn’t it? The weather was great today, too. The sky was just like that water-colored jewel.”

“Ah, that jewel. The one you found after being spurned three times and searching for a jeweler called Midoc Jewelers?”

“Yeah, that. The one someone said was the clear summer sky.”

“Yes, seeing it in person, it is an unusual color.”

“Sounds useless. There’s a lot to do.”

Adrian pretended nothing was wrong, but he turned his attention away, Ethan did not the same.

“At this point, you have to admit it, right? It seems you like her quite a bit?”

Adrian lifted his head and smiled round and round, looking at the bad boy teasing him. No matter what he said, he decided to admit it calmly, as it was obvious that he would be stubbornly biting.

“She is a woman of interest.”

“You like her. You followed her around like a puppy that wanted something all day long.”

It was Cale’s criticism that he trusted. Ethan giggled openly. Adrian didn’t take a big step and lowered his gaze back to the papers. Cale made an expression similar to Ethan’s and added.

“You were so smiley that I thought you were someone else, not my lord.”

“Smiley?”

Ethan opened his eyes wide and asked again, and Cale nodded. He couldn’t help but giggle, so he grabbed his stomach and started bursting into laughter.

“Do you remember last spring, Cale? You said, ‘Just smile. Your face will take care of the rest.’”

Adrian kept his eyes on the papers, leaving only the top of his head. Cale and Ethan looked at him smiling.

“So, how is she?”

“Small, bubbly, super-smart? I’ve never seen anyone do arithmetic so fast.”

“Is she quick at calculations? Did she really do this in half a day?”

“It didn’t even take half a day. She took care of it with a nonchalant face.”

When Cale nodded and answered, Ethan, who was listening, got angry and listened to Adrian.

“No, is that why you made the young lady work all day?”

Adrian, who had never responded at all, listened to Ethan’s words and raised his head. There was a slight embarrassment on his face. Seeing Adrian’s face, Ethan placed his right hand on his forehead. He tutted and clicked his tongue, opening his mouth in a pitiful tone.

“What did she say? Didn’t I tell you to do a very, very good job to support the military? Oh my God, how many pages are these papers? From the first day, you made her suffer blindingly, but would she still want to come to this ministry? Cale, you should have stopped him!”

“Ah, no, it didn’t seem like she was having such a hard time. Even the lord told her to just sort out the paperwork, but the young lady took part in the work herself.”

“You have to make your mind comfortable so you can stay at ease. It’s obvious without looking at it. It’s obvious. The two of us put on a face and put our heads on the documents. Would the person who came as a trainee be able to rest comfortably after seeing that?”

“It wasn’t really like that. She only worked for a while in the morning. It was so fast that it became the amount. She rested all afternoon. I went out and bought some snacks for her!”

Cale, who went out and bought snacks and cushions for tea during lunchtime, cried out in injustice. Adrian, who was briefly troubled by Ethan’s story, shook his head. She didn’t show any distress or dislike. He thought about whether she couldn’t express it once again, but since she had an honest personality without adding or subtracting, he thought it would have been shown on her face if she had been reluctant.

“She seemed rather happy to be involved in the work. And the young lady’s ability is definitely helpful. Thanks to her, today’s work has been cut in half. I think it would be nice to get her help as long as it’s not too much.”

“It would be nice if she could lend a hand now, but did she really seem to be happy?

“Being honest, her face was glowing.”

“I’m glad if that’s the case.”

Ethan, who agreed with Adrian’s words, took his share of the documents as if he was used to it. Then, each of them took their seats and entered the meeting, and the atmosphere changed in an instant, as if it had never happened.

“At this rate, you will be able to bet on embezzlement by next week at the latest. Lady Ethart is sure to be of great help. Tracking the flow of funds is a problem, but if you aim for that and dig deep, there is a risk of cutting the tail there.”

“I started knowing that Talus is not a head anyway. First, I have to cut off the tail one by one.”

“Anyway, since he’s a Marquis, can he be arrested by military tribunal?”

“I’ll ask for it first, but it’s obvious that I’ll appeal to the noble court, so it’ll be difficult to get a prison sentence. But I’m sure I can get him dismissed.”

“Even the Marquised will collapse. If he wants to spit out all the embezzled money, he’ll have to sell half of the estate? Bankruptcy is confirmed unless the top line doesn’t look after you.”

“It’s not as bad if it’s thrown away, and it’s even better because if you reach out, you can go back to which hand it is.”

“George is already on standby. I know where the ledger is, so he should be able to get it any time.”

“It’s on Friday. The trial will be on Monday.”

Ethan prepared all the necessary materials, and Cale bowed his head with a moderate movement to receive the command. Reviewing the papers Damian left behind, Ethan exclaimed inwardly once more. For the first time, he thought that the young lady was the talent he wanted to recruit, apart from the fact that he was the young lady his master fancied.

It’s still something to watch, but Ethan, who thought that if the master’s heart was firm, he had to catch it somehow, released his attendants as soon as he returned to the Duke’s residence. Neither the old desk nor the crude vase in Adrian’s office caught his eye.

* * *

The House of Bigor was built on a huge lot. The former Duke, Antalov, who had large-scale knights in mind from the beginning, bought and demolished a mansion that was behind him while repairing the Duke’s mansion. A training ground for knights to train was built inside the mansion. Thanks to his ambition to increase military power away from the royal family, Duke Bigor’s house had a deformed shape with a backyard wider than the garden.

The knights quarters built next to the gymnasium were also quite large. It was Adrian who had a different opinion from his father, but he considered it as important as the knights. The military power that can be used in the event of an emergency is a very great power. The current 100 knights division was gradually increasing its size. At the end of the afternoon training, George, who had not been able to see the work for a long time because of the ‘Moon’ mission, visited the gymnasium after a long time.

Suddenly, Hegel noticed George entering the gymnasium and ran to him. After that, dozens of knights rushed after him, and George was immediately taken aback. Along with Ethan, who was the leader of the Moon and the butler of the Duke’s residence, Thierry, who wielded a huge sword and was unmatched in destructive power, George, who had the ability to specialize in spying, and a ghost who could pierce the neck of an enemy commander even with his eyes closed. Hegel, who was skilled with the bow, was a knight who met Adrian around the same time and started following him.

These four became the main axis and gathered comrades who traveled through the battlefield together, followed Adrian to Midoc and led the new knights. Hegel, who stood out with his tied silver hair, played a big role in uniting the Knights of Bigor in the early days when they were divided into three categories with his unique sad personality. Most of those now rushing after him to George were new members of the Templars. Surrounded by dozens of knights suddenly, George looked puzzled and asked the leader who took the lead.

“What, what. Why are you like this?”

“George, I have to tell you guys what you said before.”

“What? What are you talking about?

“The story of meeting the Lady of Ethart, the girls of the capital are about to die of curiosity after hearing the news that our lord has lost his heart to a certain lady.”

“Ha, these guys are slow.”

“Did you hear that the young lady came into the master’s office for education today? Ethan says that the master was even very smiley.”

“Smiley? What kind of oysters are you talking about in this season?”

George pierced his ear with a bewildered face.

“Why do I keep hearing nonsense?”

“Sweetly fresh, our lord laughed all day long!”

“What? Ethan must have been talking nonsense again.”

“Didn’t Cale say the same thing?”

“Omg?”

“Okay, we’ve had enough of it, so let’s try it again. This situation is not serious. What kind of person is she?”

Last spring, he suddenly asked him to find out the color of a certain young lady’s eyes, so it was George who said what was going on. He brought a present and went to her mansion. He was excited to see if flowers were blooming even in this dull Duke. But after that, there was no news for another while, so he was disappointed that it was just passing wind. What do you mean by this?

If Hegel’s words were true, even if their lord went mad, they just followed him. George, as if determined, did not stomp into his seat with a serious face. And he opened his mouth in a serious voice.

“It was the night of the week since I infiltrated Ethart mansion.”

All the gathered knights sat down and listened, and the knights who were doing other things also quietly gathered and took their seats one by one. Franz, a knight with a youthful face, passed the other knights and took a seat in the front row. Franz hears this story for the fourth time. Every time he met George, he begged him to talk, and this time, he opened his ears with his eyes wide open. George stopped talking and smiled at Franz. And he spoke seriously again.

“I almost gave up that day too. It must have been around twelve o’clock then? It was the moment when I had doubts and thought I should stop getting up. It was then that the door to the study quietly opened, and the young lady came out of the study with a very tired face, and our eyes met. I still remember those eyes, the very clear, clear skylight. I was also surprised, but living in a dull knights dormitory full of males even in the middle of the night was unbelievable.”

The love story of the respected lord made the Bigor Knights’ hearts flutter.