SMLYSI 13

Chapter 13

I looked at Ember, who was standing behind Yezar, wondering what this situation was about, but she was subtly avoiding my gaze.+

‘What am I going to do? I can’t say anything even if I’m mistaken for a pervert……’+

I became completely dejected and waited for Yezar’s words with a miserable heart. But he seemed calm, as if he hadn’t heard what I said.+

“Madam, so you were here. The dust will dirty your clothes. Are you alright?”+

‘Could it be that he really didn’t hear what I said? That can’t be possible.’+

Even while thinking that, I quickly approached him.+

“Ah, yes yes. I’m fine.”+

And I turned around slightly and quietly signaled the maid girls to be quiet. Then they nodded, saying they would never tell.+

I felt relieved and had a conversation with Yezar.+

“Isn’t training difficult? I’m worried that I might be interfering with the training.”+

“There’s no way you’d be interfering. Since you’ve also handled a sword, you would know. The fact that when there’s someone watching, the knights train even harder.”+

“That’s true. When I was at the Count’s house, even knights who used to slack off would train diligently when I was there. I guess they were afraid I’d tell father. Even though I said I wouldn’t.”+

“Of course they’d be scared. After all, you’re the daughter of the master they serve.”+

Laughter leaked out at his naturally reciprocating words.+

“But the Blue Knights of Duke Ferhaem’s house have such a great reputation. Really, would there be anyone who slacks off?”+

“In any group, there’s bound to be at least one person who slacks off.”+

“Still, I think Yezar, as the knight commander, would handle them well.”+

He smiled pleasantly at my words. As we chatted warmly like that and entered the training ground, the knights greeted us loudly.+

“Madam, welcome!”+

Their voices were so booming that my ears hurt.+

“Thank you for the welcoming greeting. But next time, I’ll pass on such a loud welcome. It’s burdensome to receive such hospitality every time I train together.”+

Then their eyes widened. I looked at Yezar for a moment.+

“Didn’t you tell them I’d be training together?”+

“There are many guys full of competitive spirit, so I was worried they might be rude, so I didn’t say anything separately.”+

Just as he said, one of the knights raised his hand.+

“Madam, then can we also spar together?”+

“Just like that.”+

Yezar’s eyes, as he answered like that, were unusually cold. It was a look as if he would properly train the knight who had just raised his hand once I disappeared.+

‘I guess that was true.’+

Thanks to trying to have conversations for even 20 minutes before sleeping, I had learned a lot about him. Even in the conversation we had while drunk on the first night, I heard that he was strict with the knights, but there were really many interesting anecdotes I actually heard.

He said that when he led Duke’s Blue Knights at a young age, there was initially great resistance and knights who would challenge him. But he said he properly broke their spirit through sparring and led them harshly when they wouldn’t listen. Even when I heard the stories, it didn’t match well with his usual appearance. Moreover, in the novel that was described focusing on romance, only his gentle aspects were mentioned.+

But the more I watched Yezar, the more I realized that besides the devoted and gentle aspects that were emphasized as characteristics of the sub-male lead, he was actually someone who was stricter with others than I thought and just as thorough with himself.+

Yezar spoke sternly to the knight who had raised his hand.+

“I’ll deal with you separately.”+

Then the knight who realized he had made a mistake immediately cowered.+

“Aaah! Please spare me! I’m sorry!”+

“Heh. It’s fine.”+

“Madam, you shouldn’t look at it that way. You said you weren’t thinking of becoming a formal knight. Those guys are serious, so if something goes wrong, you might get hurt.”+

I think I understood why his stories about the knight order often sounded interesting. In the novel, he was always looking only at Bertisha’s back, but here he looks only forward and moves without hesitation. He doesn’t deceive his heart by saying he’s being considerate of others, he’s honest, and if they do wrong, he scolds and leads them…… That’s the gentleness he shows as a knight commander.+

‘He’s really a wonderful person.’+

Truly, Yezar was a person worthy of respect and the most wonderful person among those I knew.+

“Is that so? Surely, you’re not going to stab me with a real sword? You seem curious about my skills.”+

I turned my gaze to the knight who had asked if he could spar with me.+

“Unfortunately, I don’t have the skill to face the knights of the Blue Knights. I can keep up with training, but if it’s a one-on-one duel, I’ll definitely lose.”+

Then a knight with a slightly sullen face appeared. At that, Yezar’s gaze became even sharper, but I was pleased.+

I thought they would start by ignoring me if I asked to train together. The attitude of seriously asking if we could spar showed they thought of me as a knight who had learned swordsmanship.+

“Still, if you want to spar, we can do it. Though it won’t meet expectations.”+

I often sparred with the knights at the Count’s house too. Though we used wooden swords, they took it seriously, so I worked so hard to keep up.+

I had no intention of becoming a formal knight, but swordsmanship was quite fun.+

If father and big brother had known, they would have definitely stopped me, saying it was dangerous. But I had the knights keep quiet about it, and they were so busy they were rarely even at the mansion, so there was no way they’d know about my daily routine. Weaslet had encouraged me, saying it was better to see me doing this than being cooped up in my room.+

“Madam, it’s dangerous. If that unrestrained fool…… I mean, that guy who doesn’t know limits accidentally hurts you, what are you going to do?”+

“Of course, I know there’s a difference in skill. I’m not saying we should use real swords either. Wouldn’t wooden swords be okay?”+

“It won’t do.”+

At the firm answer that came from his usually soft lips, I pondered. Still, if it’s the Blue Knights, it’s such a great place that even the Count’s knights would say they’d like to compete with them at least once.+

‘I’d like to cross swords at least once…… But I don’t have enough skill to properly spar either.’+

As I was groaning, I suddenly had a good idea.+

“Then, would Yezar like to try sparring with me? If it’s Yezar, you can control it so you won’t leave a single wound while facing me.”+

The knights say they dream of facing him at least once. I had been bothered by the Count’s knights once before coming to the Duke’s house.+

‘Miss, is that true! That, that rumor about you being in that kind of relationship with Duke Ferhaem, the commander of the Blue Knights!’+

‘It ended up being kept secret somehow. Yes. That rumor is true. We’re going to get married soon.’

At my indifferent answer, the knights, regardless of age or gender, rushed at me in indignation.+

‘How could you do that! I, my dream was to compete with that knight commander at least once. When you go to the Duke’s house, please take me with you!’+

‘No! Please take me with you!’+

‘Me too! Miss!’+

The looks in their eyes saying they’d follow me one after another were burdensome, so I didn’t bring any of them. How much they wailed then.+

‘When it’s time to return to the Count’s house later, I’ll have a story to tell the knights. How envious they’ll be when they hear that I sparred with the commander of the Blue Knights they so desperately wanted to meet? Of course, that’s only possible if Yezar agrees.’+

“How dare I point a sword at you, Madam……”+

As expected, I knew he’d refuse like that. But this time, I didn’t want to back down either.+

“I did learn swordsmanship properly, didn’t I? You know from touching my hands.”+

“Your hands are certainly those of a knight who has handled swords, but didn’t you say so on our first night? That with your soft body without muscles, you couldn’t do anything to me.”+

“That’s true, but it was relative! I meant that I’m not as solid as a trained knight, that is, not as solid as your body, Yezar!”+

“But that was before you had touched my body yet……”+

He stood firm like an iron fortress and wouldn’t back down, and neither would I. I was so absorbed in trying to spar with him somehow that I didn’t notice the rapidly heating atmosphere around us. The same was true for Yezar, who had a serious expression.+

When we had been arguing for a while, what finally interrupted our conversation was one of the knights whose face was burning red.+

“Ahem. That…… wouldn’t it be better to discuss bedroom matters where we’re not present?”+

In the moment when only our voices could be heard, another voice interjected, bringing us back to our senses as if cold water had been poured on us.+

Our conversation was cut off automatically. When I looked around to understand the situation, I could feel the knights avoiding our gaze.+

Certainly, they don’t know about our contract marriage. So they would think we married out of passionate love for each other.+

So what they interpreted was that we had casually brought up intimate details of our first night in front of other people. Details about touching and groping each other’s bodies!+

“……It’s not what you’re thinking.”+

When I muttered quietly with my eyes turning red, they smiled awkwardly and whistled.+

“We understand.”+

“Yes. We certainly understand.”+

“It wouldn’t be what we’re thinking.”+

Ah. Now the story about us will spread even to the knights? That we’re newlyweds who are so hot that we heat up the surroundings.+

How did it come to this? It’s good to look like an ideal couple, but an ideal couple and being passionate regardless of place are different things!+

While I was in confusion, Yezar came to his senses and commanded the knights.+

“From now on, run around the training ground. Execute!”+

At his command, the knights straightened up and started running.

“Yes, Yezar.”

When I called him with a tearful voice, he carefully approached me and guided me toward the exit of the training ground. The maids tactfully didn’t follow us, and we left the training ground to be alone together.+

The more I reflected on the conversation from before, the more I wanted to forget it due to the rising embarrassment. He too was scratching his cheek as if troubled.+

“So what’s wrong with sparring with me? I, I was misunderstood again…… We didn’t even have a real first night……”