CH 53

“How many troops did our two families gather?” 

“Counting the knights, the squires, soldiers, and the mercenaries we hired, it will be about 3,000.” (T/n : before I put 종자 as servant but I changed it to squire, the meaning is like a young nobleman acting as an attendant to a knight before becoming a knight himself.)

Damon answered Falden’s question. His pride should be hurt, but he didn’t seem bothered by it. 

Rather, he quickly threw away the parts he thought were wrong. 

He was different from an ordinary nerd because he was quite flexible.

“It’s 3,000. It’s not bad, but it’s not a lot.”

“If you only count people who we could use for exploration and can join the subjugation squad, it’s never a small number.”

“Isn’t it true that there are not enough talented people who can be used in various ways? No matter how good the number is, it’s always useless if most aren’t useful.”

There were certainly more soldiers and mercenaries than the number of knights or squires.

No matter how A-class mercenaries were, their skills are more or less the same as most squires. 

In a way, Falden’s complaint was also natural.

Tsk. As he clicked his tongue, he suddenly looked at her gently. She was embarrassed by the sudden long gaze coming from the second prince. 

“The meeting should continue, but I’ll be leaving for a while. Young Lady, I have something to tell you, so follow me.” 

He got up from his seat.

“Your Highness. I don’t know what’s causing you to call my sister separately, but if it’s not important that it’s confidential, please tell her here.”

Addis gave a sad look. 

Redan even held Serdel’s arm. Cartal didn’t show much, but he seemed uncomfortable. ‘Cough, cough!’ He spit out a cough.

Damon’s face also grew darker when his plans were ignored. 

Only Marquis Spendar quietly looked at his son, the 2nd Prince, and then Serdel alternately.

“It’s not something to talk about here.”

“If it’s something you can’t say in front of everyone, don’t say it. What are you doing ahead of something important?”

“Addis Robbesta. Don’t be rude. Who do you think I am?” Falden said with a tense smile.

Despite the smile on his face, a sense of intimidation that was hard to resist emanated from him.

“Your Highness the 2nd Prince.”

But Addis returned his energy instead of being pushed back.

Ha. Falden swept his hair back.

“You’ve grown a lot. Then I’ll ask Dame’s sister, Serdel Robbesta.”

She was nervous not knowing what could come out of his mouth.

For some reason, it didn’t seem like there would be many good things he could say.

“I’ll follow you…and Sister (Addis), stop it too.”

“Serdel!”

Standing up, Serdel looked at Redan, who was not willing to let go of her. 

“Brother.”

“…Sit down.”

“Let me go. Otherwise, I won’t take the medicine and I’ll burn it all instead.”

She shook the pocket full of blood curdling pills.

“Hey! Do you know how precious those are?”

But Serdel didn’t blink an eye. Ugh, he grinded his teeth and Redan eventually let go of her arm.

“Young Lady—”

“Please take care of the meeting, Sir Damon.”

Serdel, who turned her head resolutely, stood in front of Falden.

“Follow me.”

Where should she guide him?

While she contemplated, they left the building and headed to the indoor garden.

*****

After sending out Rudella, the maid, who was watering the trees, became a watcher at the entrance of the garden, Serdel boiled water to make tea by herself.

‘I only know how to drink, I’m nervous doing it myself.’

As a daughter of a noble family, ‘Serdel’ also learned tea ceremony etiquette, which is considered basic manners.

However, Serdel in the past, who was not good with her hands, made frequent mistakes. That’s the same for the current Serdel.

Strangely, she was not good at using her hands since she was young. Because of that, it was awkward for her body to do something unfamiliar. 

“Young Lady. It’s okay, just leave it.”

It seems obvious that everything is unstable.

She was embarrassed for no reason. 

“Then who’s going to make the tea?”

Should she bring Rudella? 

For a while, Falden, who was scratching his forehead, beckoned her to step away.

Instead of Serdel, who was sitting on a chair, he used his hands very skillfully, making it look effortless.

“—You are delicate.”

“I’m good at everything I do with my hands. Besides, it’s comfortable for me to move by myself.” 

It’s not a big deal if she just listened to it, but considering his status, it was an answer that showed complicated circumstances.

‘Well, most of the maids of the imperial palace must be  under the control of the Empress.’

The food they gave would not have been safe or of the best quality.

Now that he has a lot of his own people around him, he may feel relieved, but he must have been anxious day after day until he got to that point.

He would have no choice but to pay hyper alert to everything he does and consumes.

“Try it.”

The finished tea was placed in front of her. 

The tea tasted quite soft.

She liked it so much that she smiled without realizing it. 

“Isn’t it good? Young Lady will be the only one who has had the Prince serve her tea.”

“That’s right.”

Then he sat across from her. 

Their eyes and the atmosphere changed completely.

“What do you think I’ll say to you, Young Lady?”

The tone was still friendly and playful, but the boundaries seen in his eyes were not amicable.

“I’m not sure.”

“Well, are there too many things that you can’t even guess, right?”

The expression “too many” was annoying.

There were not many close encounters with him to the extent that such words could be used. 

“That silver haired man I saw in the gladiatorial arena. How is he? I’ve been wanting him a lot. I didn’t know I’d lose him to the Young Lady.” 

“I heard about that from my sister.”

“Ah— back then, my resentment remained quite strong, and as soon as I saw Sir Addis, I complained quite a bit.” 

As his gentle attitude continued, the tension disappeared from the room and he gradually calmed down. 

Come to think of it, it seems to have always been like this at the moment of crisis.

Serdel, who put down the teacup, smiled.

‘Even if I have to get close to this man for the ending at least, for now, I don’t have to.’

He is now a colleague who will walk the same path, as well as an enemy who might steal what she owns.

“But I lost someone to Young Lady again this time. Do you know how hard I tried to win Edwan’s heart?” 

“So you’re the man with beautiful blonde hair and a black spot under one eye.” Serdel asked.

“What is this, were you watching me?”

“No way. I heard about this and that while talking with Edwan, and I was just curious about who did that for him, so I asked him what they looked like. Edwan’s drawing skills were of high quality. That’s when I first found out.” 

“Since when did you aim for him?” Falden seemed convinced she was doing it on purpose.

“I didn’t aim for him. I found out because he was marrying a maid of my family.”

“Ha—!” Falden, who turned his head, swept his hair roughly.

The fingertips, which were meticulous when he made tea, were strained with irritation.

“What? Did I get pushed out by the lucky one? I’m speechless.”

Fortunately, from his tone of voice, it was unlikely that she would be forced to give up on Edwan or ask to return him. 

‘In the first place, when he took that much time to win people over, it must have been for the purpose of gaining pure loyalty rather than forcing them with authority.’ 

That way, he won’t be betrayed.

“Isn’t it weird? The two of us.” 

There was no hint of playfulness on his face when he looked straight ahead.

“How can things always overlap like this? In addition, the winner is always the Young Lady.” 

Startle. 

She clenched her hand under the table tightly as she jolted in her chair. 

His gaze on her seemed like a predator just before it ate its prey.

Goosebumps ran down on her spine. The pressure that made her feel like she might die in an instant had squeezed her neck. 

“Tell me what you want. Isn’t there something you want to say when you called me separately?” 

“Smart and bold. As expected, I didn’t see it wrong on the gladiatorial field that day.”

He slowly leaned back and leaned against the back of the chair, crossing his legs. 

“I wish I could join the Young Lady’s mercenary business.” 

“If I don’t want you to?” 

“I don’t think you can say no? Young Lady, our calculating Emperor is not very interested in the Count’s business. He’s just being polite to the family that has followed him for a long time. He might even want to step out of the car the moment you drive it.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“I’m saying let’s negotiate.”

“Then I will ask you one thing. If His Majesty asks you to step back, do you have the power to prevent that?” 

“When arrogance pokes into the sky, it’s easy to drop ones slender neck in an instant—”

“Let’s try it once.”

“—What?”

“Try to drop my neck once.”

She forcibly calmed her trembling breath.

He wouldn’t know boundaries if she conceded with a low attitude from the beginning. Once she raised the bridge of her nose, she had to keep pushing. 

To avoid being swayed by his judgemental eyes.