Chapter 10
“Ah, sorry.”
“It’s fine!”
Laura always sounded like she was yelling, but when she was up close like this, she was trying to speak more softly in her own way.
So while her voice was still full of power, it didn’t actually hurt my ears.
“Do you have any sick family at home?”
“I’m an orphan!”
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine!”
I shouldn’t be digging into someone’s family background anyway.
So I guess my theory that she tried to poison Enrico to get expensive medicine for a sick relative was wrong.
“Do you like handsome men?”
“What woman doesn’t?”
“True.”
Even though I had randomly changed the subject, Laura answered seriously.
“Do you like blondes?”
“Yes!”
She likes blondes and handsome men… So that points to Enrico. But I knew. Just guessing she loved him based on these few answers was a huge leap.
I was just curious, that’s all.
“Or maybe… someone hired her?”
If that was the case, it was better not to dig too deep. I should keep it casual, like a light conversation.
In the meantime, Laura pulled off the long towel wrapped around my neck.
“All done! I hope you like it!”
I checked in the mirror and smiled. The length was finally just right.
“Thanks.”
****
Laura Lenin headed to the infirmary in high spirits.
Blandae had told her to check on Gray’s condition and report back.
She had gone on the required monster hunt, but this was the first time she’d received a personal order. Until now, she’d only been told general things like “stay alert.”
The first time she saw Commander Blandae Lefevre’s holy sword, she was speechless. And Laura liked strong people.
The infirmary was large. Laura walked to Gray’s bed—but Gray wasn’t alone. She was asleep, looking pale, and someone was sitting beside her.
It was another aide—and the only male one—Jeremy.
Sure, Jeremy had been taking care of Gray the entire time they’d been assigned to Blandae…
But wasn’t this a bit much?
They weren’t even siblings. Wasn’t this too close?
“Sir Jeremy.”
“Oh, Lady Laura.”
“Commander Blandae asked for a report on Lady Gray’s condition.”
Laura spoke formally as she examined Gray.
“But aren’t you two a little too close?”
“I’m just… worried about her, that’s all.”
“This goes against military regulations, Sir Jeremy.”
“But the Commander doesn’t really seem to care what we do.”
Laura had to admit that was true. Blandae was busy all the time—after every monster hunt, she went straight to the Commander-in-Chief’s office to report.
So yeah, she probably didn’t pay much attention to them.
Laura felt a little down.
She quietly copied down Gray’s medical chart when Gray suddenly spoke.
“Don’t be too sad, Lady Laura.”
“Pardon?”
“The Commander probably never meant to keep us as her aides permanently.”
“What do you mean? I’m confident in my skills.”
“She’s a direct Lefevre, after all.”
Just that one sentence… explained everything.
Blandae Lefevre was basically a rare species, someone from the royal capital who almost never interacted with outsiders. If Schloitz Procyon—currently the Commander-in-Chief—was even slightly less cold, the military base would’ve been swarming with leeches trying to get close to those two.
Jeremy explained it casually and then said:
“You joined as an aide with a goal in mind too, right, Lady Laura?”
That was true. Laura was an orphan from a commoner background, but she’d awakened with rare sword-wielding talent.
Even without being a swordmaster, she was strong, sturdy, and had the kind of body that could’ve made a living as a lumberjack.
So she took a few other kids with her when she left the orphanage. She was basically spending half her paycheck to support them.
Lately, one of them had fallen seriously ill, so nearly all her money was going toward medicine.
Aide to a high-ranking commander was a well-paying job, and the quarterly bonuses were huge.
But even so, the medicine was very expensive…
Laura looked out the window at the sunlight and thought of the hair she had cut earlier.
It just came to mind.
She really was confident in her skills.
She blinked her one remaining eye.
She had become a knight now, and the military law had officially made her a noble. But she couldn’t compare to those who were born into noble families.
The military still had subtle differences based on class. Still, for a commoner-born swordmaster, this was like shooting up to the top.
How could a commoner expect nobles to speak politely to her or treat her as an equal?
She had lost an eye, but survived and became an aide.
“We were lucky. Don’t be too sad, Lady Laura.”
Jeremy said, trying to comfort her.
There had been fierce competition for the aide positions. Laura and two others had originally been selected, but the other two were hospitalized with food poisoning.
Laura was the only one unaffected—at first, she was suspected, but later cleared when it was confirmed she had a “steel stomach” and could digest almost anything.
That’s when Jeremy and Gray were urgently added. Everyone had been jealous.
“The Commander clearly doesn’t like us. Gray and I both come from humble families, and Lady Laura—well, even more so.”
“Like I said before, I’m confident in my skills.”
“There are plenty of talented, high-born people crowding around the Lefevres, Lady Laura.”
“That’s beyond my control then…”
Jeremy figured she finally understood.
But he was wrong.
Instead of getting sad, Laura just tilted her head and asked,
“But what does that have to do with you breaking military rules and being overly close to Lady Gray, Sir Jeremy…?”
“He told me to take four days off…”
As soon as I stepped down from the large carriage, Jeremy came up to report.
“We’re just outside Nephile territory, Commander Blandae.”
“How long until we arrive?”
“Within the hour.”
The Nephile Territory was the only place on the entire continent that could forge holy swords.
As I took a canteen from Jeremy, I glanced ahead.
Schloitz was receiving a report from Agnes.
Back when Raphael was being punished, he looked half-dead. Now Agnes looked like he was the one dying.
He better not die before Raphael comes back.
The water in the canteen was cold. It calmed my stomach and made me feel better.
“Why are we going so fast…?”
Thanks to the strong warhorses, the carriage hadn’t stopped once.
Good thing I don’t get motion sickness—otherwise, I would’ve thrown up three times already.
“I think I’ll take a short walk before the break ends.”
“Yes, Commander.”
As I walked off, Jeremy followed.
Since I gave that order a few days ago, he hadn’t been allowed to stay near Gray anymore.
Now Laura was paired with Gray instead.
“Honestly, it was too much.”
Jeremy had been glued to Gray for days.
“Were they really that naive? Or do they think I’m naive?”
It was strange. They were supposed to be trained aides, yet they were being shockingly careless.
When someone joins the military as a swordmaster, they’re first called cadets. After one year, they automatically become sergeants.
Sergeants have two ranks, but that isn’t important now.
Aide was a step above sergeant. Aides served as a commander’s assistant. That meant they had to follow me during monster hunts.
You couldn’t become an aide without skill.
Maybe they trained their swordsmanship but not their sense of judgment? Well, either way—I was going to replace them all.
Still, I was trying to be kind in my own way.
“I’ll give them each one of the monsters I killed.”
Not the ones I got from Schloitz, but the ones I personally hunted.
That’s why I kept going out on hunts for a whole week—so I could give them away.
Then I noticed something odd.
The way Gray and Laura acted now… it didn’t feel like “aides serving their commander.”
“More like… a noble lady and her maid?”
Gray’s attitude was oddly bossy. Laura was quietly tending to her needs.
Of course, Gray was from a noble family, and Laura was a commoner. I already knew their backgrounds.
But in the military, rank was everything. I was a direct Lefevre, and I still had to bow and scrape to Schloitz.
“Lady Laura is from an orphanage, Commander.”
Jeremy spoke up at that moment, sounding strangely defensive. He must’ve noticed me watching them.
Instead of asking what he meant, I just looked at him.
“Do you think I didn’t already know that?”
Jeremy awkwardly lowered his eyes. I felt even more annoyed.
He still couldn’t take his eyes off Gray, and it seemed like he was trying to justify things.
But his sentimental expression just made me feel worse.
Suddenly, I remembered one of Schloitz’s signature lines from the novel.
“They never stop, do they?”
Now I understood why Schloitz kept saying that.
Seriously… they never stop.
****
The Nephile Territory—
The only place on the continent where holy swords could be made.
“I remember this from the side story!”
