AME 12

CH:12

“Crazy bastard.”

“Pardon?”

Joseph was bewildered by the sudden insult. He had only come to deliver a message from Lord Leonidas, but the first thing he heard upon entering the study was a curse.

It was a sufficiently confusing situation, but Joseph quickly regained his composure. As the eldest grandson of the Robert family, who had served the Duke of Ferdinand for generations, he had mentally prepared for the possibility of such things eventually happening.

Neither the previous duke nor the current acting head of the household had ever mistreated their subordinates, but there was no guarantee that the young master would follow in their footsteps.

In fact, this was still a fairly comfortable life. Whenever he heard stories from aides working for other houses, he felt like Ferdinand was paradise. They paid promptly, and they didn’t treat retainers like dirt.

So, a bit of profanity from a young lord could be dismissed as childishness. Joseph decided to accept the situation humbly, from the broadened mindset of someone in a subordinate position.

“If you speak so directly, it leaves a deep wound in my heart…”

“Not you.”

Kaon, who had been repeatedly picking up and putting down a book he wasn’t even reading, replied indifferently.

“Ah, seriously… that damn lunatic…”

Then he even buried his head in his hands and muttered, visibly distressed.

Joseph glanced around the study. There were only the two of them, and if Kaon wasn’t referring to him as the “crazy bastard,” then the only person left was Kaon himself.

As his aide and retainer, agreeing with such a statement would be considered blasphemy, but frankly, Kaon really did look like a mess. Of course, being a trained aide, Joseph didn’t make the mistake of saying it aloud.

“Have you eaten, sir?”

“No appetite.”

Still distracted, Kaon sighed. He had come to the study—a place he rarely visited—hoping to distract himself, but it was no use.

One scene kept replaying in his mind.

“Alesia… is beautiful, too.”

That damn vivid memory continued to torment him. He had no idea why he’d said something like that. It wasn’t something he had thought through beforehand, which made it even worse.

He had simply said what came to mind at that moment, but immediately regretted it. Alesia had looked genuinely flustered—something she rarely showed—making his regret even deeper.

“Is that so? Miss Alesia was having lunch with Lady Leonidas, by the way.”

“So Alesia… Alesia was?”

Kaon, trying to ask Joseph if even he thought Alesia looked flustered, finally raised his head.

“Yes. I just returned from Lady Leonidas, so I’m sure.”

“She must’ve been uncomfortable. Leo doesn’t talk much.”

“Even when we offered to bring food to her room, she declined. I’ve heard she sometimes wanders around the estate asking the maids small questions. I think she’s trying to adapt to Ferdinand.”

At Joseph’s words, Kaon suddenly recalled the conversation between Madeleine and Alesia. Come to think of it, even then, Alesia had spoken to Madeleine in a friendly manner.

“The response hasn’t been very warm, so she’ll likely give up soon. Can’t be helped—it’s the fate of someone with the Ingelos name.”

Joseph casually added that her efforts probably wouldn’t amount to much. His tone was flat, as if stating a fact, which made Kaon a little angry.

How could living in the household of an enemy family be comfortable? Imagining Alesia walking around trying to start conversations in a place where she had no allies made Kaon’s heart ache. And then to have Joseph pour cold water on it with such words…

“What the hell are you—”

He was about to scold Joseph for speaking so casually but stopped himself mid-sentence. In truth, even he had thought the same thing before Alesia came to Ferdinand.

Besides, he still didn’t like Ingelos as a whole. That was only natural as a descendant of the Ferdinand dukedom. The number of recorded disputes was many, and he knew full well how Ingelos had undermined the efforts of his father in his youth.

‘But Alesia is…’

Kaon paused. Alesia seemed to be different. In the few days he’d observed her, she’d been very respectful toward Ferdinand, valued the knights, and showed none of the arrogance typical of mages.

She was making genuine efforts to get along with others. So this kind of reception felt unfair. Kaon couldn’t help but feel indignant on her behalf.

“Excuse me? What are you referring to?”

“Forget it. Why are you here?”

If he started rebutting each thing, people would surely grow suspicious.

He didn’t mind suffering alone, but the thought of others gossiping—“That Ingelos girl is getting close to our young lord…”—made his insides twist.

Especially when Alesia herself didn’t even seem particularly interested in him. It was always the clueless outsiders making a fuss.

“Lady Leonidas has ordered that you introduce Miss Alesia to the knights.”

“The knights? Why the knights all of a sudden?”

“She’ll need to cooperate with the knight order to enter the Forest of Beasts. Though they usually act on their own accord… Still, it would be good for her to become familiar in advance.”

The Forest of Beasts? Already?

Kaon frowned deeply at the sudden news. He had known the purpose of bringing Alesia to Ferdinand was to secure a mage, but this was too soon.

Even if they were trying to get rid of her quickly, it was too much to send someone who had only been here a few days straight into the forest.

“She probably hasn’t even adjusted to Ferdinand yet. Isn’t my sister being too hasty?”

“Ah, this wasn’t Lady Leonidas’s order.”

Kaon narrowed his eyes. If it wasn’t from Leonidas, then who?

‘Could it be Baroness Robert?’

“Apparently, it was Miss Alesia who requested it. She said she wishes to join the forest reconnaissance as soon as possible.”

But Joseph’s answer completely threw Kaon off.

‘Alesia asked for it herself?’

And that only made Kaon’s thoughts more tangled.

That evening, Alesia welcomed Kaon back at the door after he returned from training. She asked if the training had gone well and whether he’d had dinner. Finally, she casually added, “Kaon, when will I get to meet the knights?”

She seemed quite eager, so Kaon gave up even washing up and took her straight to the knights’ building.

“Karl, bring the elite knights.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kaon ordered a passing knight trainee to gather the key members and glanced sideways at Alesia.

For someone who had volunteered to fight monsters, she looked far too calm. He couldn’t guess what she was thinking.

“You called, Lord Kaon?”

Soon, four knights entered the training hall. Three were in armor, as if interrupted mid-training, and one looked very relaxed, dressed in just a shirt.

“Alesia, these are Ferdinand’s elite knights. They specialize in dealing with monsters. This is Alesia Ingelos—as you already know, my fiancée.”

Kaon briefly introduced each person.

“From the left: Pierre Bonello, Nils Duval, Yvonne Leroy, and Maurice Duret. Each leads a unit as elite knights.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, my lady. Please remember the name Maurice Duret. Someday I’ll make a name for myself as a knight. Feel free to call me Maurice.”

The first to step forward was Maurice—a cheerful, tanned young man with exaggerated gestures.

“Nice to meet you, Maurice. I won’t forget.”

“It’s an honor!”

“I’m Nils Duval. It’s a pleasure to have you visit us.”

“Pierre Bonello.”

Next were a large, older man and a blunt, red-haired, handsome man. Alesia smiled brightly and greeted both in return.

“Yvonne.”

The last knight was the only woman among them. Yvonne had remained cold-faced and wouldn’t even meet Alesia’s gaze. At Kaon’s call, she finally opened her mouth, reluctantly.

“…Yvonne Leroy.”

Alesia, who had been watching Yvonne closely from the beginning, immediately smiled brightly.

“So there’s a woman among the elite knights too. That’s amazing, Dame Leroy.”

“……”

“Yvonne, she’s complimenting you.”

But Yvonne kept her eyes on the ground and didn’t even look up. Even when Nils spoke up, trying to ease the tension, she remained silent.

“I haven’t finished my training. May I return?”

“Go ahead.”

“Thank you.”

That was all she said before asking to leave. Kaon, sighing inwardly, gave her permission.

If he pointed it out on the spot, she’d correct her behavior in front of others, but Kaon knew from experience that wouldn’t truly fix the issue.

“My apologies, my lady. Please allow me to apologize on her behalf.”

“It’s alright, Nils. Don’t worry too much. For a knight, physical training comes first.”

“Even though she acts like that, she knows how to separate personal feelings from duty on the battlefield. You won’t need to worry about that.”

Despite his bear-like size, Nils flustered easily and watched Alesia’s reaction nervously. Kaon, observing them, dismissed the other three knights as well.

“I’ll explain more in detail once we return to your room.”