CH 8

Chapter 8 – Incident

Translator: Lioness

“Look at this outfit.”

Benedict and Lesir stared at Alice. Realizing what was it, Benedict nodded his head.

“I, dressed in commoner clothes, will go there and cause a commotion? I am good if I don’t make any of that sort.”

“Yes.”

When Lesir replied shyly, Alice showed a cold smile once more.

“So, you two will be staying watching me from here. I have something to buy alone and if you two are with me, I wouldn’t be able to choose freely.”

“It doesn’t work though. I cannot let you go alone.”

They said it couldn’t be the same but for different reasons. Alice, who liked Benedict’s words much more than Lesir’s, smiled brightly at him.

“Thank you for worrying about me, but this is really important.”

“Did you say it was important?”

“Yes. I have to undo the mistake I made.”

The two nodded as they exchanged glances as if they thought she wanted to apologize for the mistake she had made to the crown prince.

“I’ll give you 10 minutes.”

“Five minutes is enough.”

‘I’ll go and buy the cheapest one that looks the most expensive.’

Alice spun as he hummed into Lulu Lala. Lesir watched her suspiciously while Benedict shook his head at Lesir’s continued attempts to stop her.

‘It’s good that I brought the two of them.’

Hearing that there were two knights assigned by the Marquis and praising herself for not rejecting them, Alice left them waiting in the alley and hurriedly moved on to the shop. As Alice entered with a ‘jingle’ of the door, she called the clerk loudly.

“Welcome!”

“I’m here to look at expensive jewelry.”

‘Oh, no. I should have said I came to buy them.’

It had been such a long time since she went out, so the words came out in vain.

“The expensive jewels?”

“Yes.”

The clerk, who was tilting her head, guided her along with her exclamation of ‘Ah!’.

“Come this way.”

There was a jewel that caught Alice’s eye as she followed the clerk’s guide. It was a hyacinth-shaped gem. Coincidentally, the language of flowers was also a flower with the meaning of an apology.

‘Would that be okay? Were there any jewels like that in this world?’

It was so flashy which made it look expensive and the perfect jewel to apologize to the Crown Princess. Just as she was about to call the clerk for the price, the clerk had already held out an item to her.

“Didn’t you come to get this?”

“Yes?”

‘Coming to find something, what?’

Alice swore to heaven that it was her first time coming her but the clerk had already pushed the box at her while looking around.

“You have to be careful with it. Because this is precious.”

“This, I will get…”

“It is expensive. Very.”

Alice’s eyes widened at the clerk’s words.

‘No, no.’

She couldn’t take anything she didn’t pay for, no matter how expensive it was. Alice gestured to call back the clerk as she walked away, but she couldn’t move as she was caught in the crowd of people pushing her from behind. Of course, the discount period had coincided, so people rushed in in an instant.

“Hey!”

“This is not an event that comes every day! A special prize to commemorate the birthday! It’s only for one hour!”

At the clerk’s cry, people rushed in, Alice was pushed behind her. A crown had come before her eyes and she wondered where did they come from? Alice, giving up on returning the goods, walked out of her shop.

‘I’ll have to wait a bit and return it.’

The clerk said it was a one-hour sale, so she’d come back in an hour, she thought, and as she walked out of the store, she noticed that Lesir and Benedict were in a strange mood.

****

Two minutes after Alice entered the jewelry store, there was a scene in which she caught Lesir’s eye. A rich man was threatening a weak woman. The woman screamed at the man, and Lesir, who heard the scream, told Benedict.

“Does it look dangerous over there?”

“Lesir. We’re escorting the Marquis’s daughter right now. Don’t pay attention to anything else.”

“Didn’t I always say that I didn’t want to serve such a young lady?”

“Anyway, she’s the daughter of the lord we serve.”

“She is a foster daughter!”

“Even if they are not related by blood, she is officially registered. So quit.”

Lesir, who looked at Benedict with a frustrated expression, ran to the place where the incident had taken place and saved the woman in danger. Concerned that Lesir was surrounded by rogues, Benedict followed him. But Benedict still kept his eyes on the jewelry store. A person appeared in front of it.

Karus Shellington. The only duke of the Shellington duchy in the Erha Empire, and the one with the right to succeed to the throne. Karus’s mother was the emperor’s younger sister, so he had the right of succession to him as well. If a problem arises with the crown prince, he becomes the first successor. Benedict and Lesir’s eyes widened when they met such a tycoon on the street.

“Thank you for saving my sister.”

“I just did my duty as a knight.”

When Lesir, who was surprised to see Duke Karus Shellington suddenly appeared, hurriedly replied, Karus did not take his eyes off him. Karus looked at Lesir and already found his skills. Karus looked at Benedict with the same gaze. Benedict was supposed to say something but he realized that he was being scrutinized.

“Would you like to go to our duchy?”

“Yes?”

Karus proposed to Lesir.

“I mean, would you like to become a knight of our duchy along with the knight over there?”

Karus liked people with ability. According to what he looked at; the two knights were fairly skilled knights.

‘Especially over there.’

He coveted Benedict from a little distance more than Lesir in front of him. It was so amazing that he wondered how much-hidden skill he had in his sleeve. What he said to Lesir was just a means to attract Benedict behind him because he couldn’t grasp Benedict’s skill at a glance.

“I am already in…”

“Lesir, the iron-blooded knight. Wouldn’t it be better to become the sword of the duke who protects the Erha Empire as a swordsman than serving a marquis who only has money?”

“Ah, that’s—”

“It will be a good opportunity for you. If you are interested, you can immediately wear this insignia.”

Lesir did not have enough time to refuse him so Karus had seized that chance to attach it to Lesir’s sword. Because of that, Lesir got into a situation where he couldn’t refuse anymore.

‘A knight from the Duke of Shellington would be better than the Marquis of Hamilton, who are called money bugs.’

A knight who knows honor would not change his lord, but Lesir’s eyes were not eyes that knew honor. His pupils wanted fame more than money, so Karus was willing to give Lesir what he wanted.

‘Because I also need an escort knight for the Crown Princess.’

Stella Eirie. She was now Stella Erha, the woman he must hold in his hands. Karus was aiming for her who became the crown princess. As he gradually seduces her and holds her in his hands, the imperial family will naturally come into his grasp.

Once, he thought of putting a spy on the imperial family disguising as the escort of the Crown princess and just then, he got Lesir. He tried to take Benedict, but he had already said.

“I already have a lord I serve.”

“If you change your mind, come visit me at the Duke’s residence.”

After saying that, Karus took the girl and disappeared. And Alice opened the shop door and came out. Lesir’s expression as she looked at her subtly changed. Noticing her strange aura, she approached Lesir.

“Is something wrong, sir?”

“From today I am no longer a knight of the Marquess of Hamilton.”

‘What is he talking about?’

A knight who was appointed a knight from the Marquess family and swore to serve the lord was not a knight of the Marquess family, then? Alice knew that perpetual vows were not so easily broken, so she looked at him with a puzzled expression. As if it wasn’t a joke, Lesir gave strength to his eyes.

“I received an offer from Duke Shellington. He said that I am the most necessary person for the duchy.”

“Ah, yes— what? The Duke of Shellington?”

“That’s right.”

‘Why is that person here?’

Karus Shellington. He was a male supporting actor in the original story and a man who competed to the end to take over the crown prince and Stella. Of course, it didn’t work out with him because Stella, the heroine, chose the crown prince, but he was a typical scheming man with his sword in her heart.

‘A man like that could buy this Lesir?’

Alice wondered if Lesir was such a great person. She thought for a moment, but her mind flashed at Lesir’s words towards her.

“So, I will go to the Duke of Shellington.”

“Now?”

“Right now.”

‘You’ve been eating, sleeping, and accepting money at the marquis’ family and leaving without saying goodbye?’

Alice shot a sharp glance at Lesir, who was unaware of her grace. Lesir didn’t pay attention to her menacing gaze, but rather raised his chin proudly. It was to the point where no one could see that Alice had done something wrong.

“Hey.”

Alice’s voice lowered. Lesir’s thick black eyebrows wriggled at her call. Alice did not pay attention to the movement of his brows that seemed like it crawled.

“Are you ridiculing the Marquis family”

“What do you mean like that—”

“We took you to become a knight off the street, clothed you, fed you, gave you a house, paid you, and now you’re going to another Duke’s mansion?”

(TN: Criminal offensive side-eye. Geez, bro!)