Chapter – 07
The knights watching Ferdia’s ready stance from afar could be heard whispering among themselves. They were probably talking about her appearance. Even the knights she used to lead had looked at her posture with curiosity, so it was no different for these men.
“What are you looking at?”
As her wandering gaze returned to Ereve, his eyes had already narrowed. He briefly examined her physical condition, tilted his head slightly, and then suddenly moved.
There was no need for formality. Without even a greeting, he rushed in.
Startled by his sudden attack, Ferdia tightened her grip on her sword. The moment their blades collided, her sword was knocked into the air.
Even though it was a practice sword, its edge—though blunt—was still sharp enough to slice through a few strands of her hair.
Her heart pounded in shock. When Ferdia looked up while clutching her chest, Ereve had already reset his stance and gestured with his chin.
“Do it properly.”
He lowered his stance.
“Or you’ll lose your head.”
Only after swinging her sword for over three hours in the training ground was Ferdia finally released. As she collapsed onto the ground, Ereve approached and handed her some cool water.
Her entire body was drenched in sweat from the intense training, but Ereve looked almost completely calm, aside from a few drops of sweat on his cheek.
“…Are you a monster?”
So he was this much of a monster. Ferdia found herself genuinely impressed by his ability. Ereve smirked slightly as he looked at her, then sat down beside her and suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Where did he learn this habit of grabbing people’s hands or bodies without warning?
Had she made a mistake by letting it slide because she didn’t think much of it before? He clearly had no manners when dealing with a lady.
Ferdia frowned.
“When you grab a lady, you’re supposed to ask permission first.”
Despite her complaining tone, her wrist remained in his grasp. Ereve widened his eyes slightly at her words, then carefully placed her hand down on the ground.
Ferdia stared at him with a baffled expression.
“What are you doing?”
The way he poked her wrist with his finger looked like someone checking if a fish was still alive. When Ferdia smacked his hand away, Ereve hurriedly spoke.
“I need to check something. Can I hold your hand?”
“No.”
“….”
At her single word of refusal, he immediately looked dejected. For some reason, he reminded her of a puppy.
Ferdia slowly turned her head away and raised her hand.
“Don’t do anything weird.”
“Don’t worry.”
The moment she gave permission, he grabbed her wrist again and closed his eyes. After staying still for a while, he opened them.
Did he find something?
As Ferdia looked at him with curiosity, Ereve slowly spoke.
“Try circulating your mana. Throughout your whole body.”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“I need to confirm something. Hurry.”
At his urging voice, she reluctantly began circulating her mana.
The flow moved without blockage. But it wasn’t perfectly smooth. There was a subtle difference from before.
As she sensed that slight change, Ferdia slowly opened her eyes and frowned. Ereve spoke immediately.
“It feels different from before, right?”
“How did you know?”
“I can feel it.”
“Huh?”
Ereve stood up, and Ferdia also raised her upper body. She looked up at him with a frown.
“What does that mean?”
“When we crossed swords earlier and you used your mana, didn’t you notice anything strange? Like discomfort somewhere in your body, or mana not flowing properly?”
“Nothing particularly strange…”
Seeing her scratch her head in confusion, Ereve nodded.
“It doesn’t seem like there’s any major problem, so let’s stop checking here.”
“Checking?”
He tossed the practice sword back to the knights, brought a towel, and placed it over her head. His eyes moved calmly as he explained.
“Your body hasn’t had proper rest because of the long war. Then you were imprisoned in an underground dungeon in that weakened state, got injured, and couldn’t even eat properly. So I thought there might be physical problems. I figured there might be subtle differences you wouldn’t normally notice. Since you wouldn’t notice them in daily life, I forced a sparring match. Knights like us can detect even the smallest differences when we swing a sword, right? That’s why.”
She met his eyes.
Then why didn’t he say anything beforehand?
As Ferdia looked at him with a complicated expression, his lips curved gently.
“If you’re angry because I pushed you too hard, I’m sorry. But if I told you, you would’ve focused on that and I wouldn’t have been able to properly check. So I forced it. I apologize.”
At his sincere voice, Ferdia slightly parted her lips.
“If you’re angry, I’ll give you time to vent later, so please bear with it for now. Go wash up and get shown to your room. Rest well, and we’ll talk again tomorrow. I’ll explain everything in detail then, so please be patient a little longer.”
His eyes seemed slightly uneasy.
Why?
Ferdia was free to walk around here, but in the end she was no different from a prisoner bound to Duke Grixia. She couldn’t escape.
Yet he looked like he was the one hiding something.
As if he carried a large secret.
“…What are you hiding?”
The words slipped out before she realized it. Ereve gave a bitter smile and shook his head. As she watched his back as he walked away, her eyes narrowed.
Every action he took toward her carried meaning and kindness.
And she didn’t hate it.
His care toward someone who had been abandoned.
Ferdia was guided to her room by an old man called Viscount Verjin. After being helped by three maids who attended her, she washed and went to rest.
Having moved intensely for the first time in a while, fatigue overtook her. She fell asleep sprawled across the wide bed and only opened her eyes the next morning.
Judging by the sun already high in the sky, morning had long since passed.
The quiet room had no one to wake her. The unfamiliar peace made her feel slightly awkward. She went to the bathroom, washed lightly, and came back out.
As she was drying her wet hair with a towel, there was a knock.
Knock knock.
“Come in.”
With her permission, the door opened and the three maids from yesterday bowed politely.
Ferdia watched them quietly, then sat on the bed while drying her hair and spoke casually.
“What is it?”
“The head butler instructed us to check if you need anything.”
“Need anything?”
The maids always referred to Viscount Verjin as the butler. He looked strict, but quite capable.
“For now, there’s nothing. You don’t need to worry.”
She had been raised as a knight, and until she came here she had taken pride in being easygoing.
“If I need something, I’ll call you myself. Until then, you don’t have to worry.”
“Understood. Then what about your meal?”
“Meal…”
Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t eaten dinner yesterday before collapsing from exhaustion. Missing one meal wouldn’t kill her, but now she had effectively skipped two.
Thinking about food made her suddenly feel hungry.
“How do meals work here?”
Just as each household had different food preferences, meal customs also differed. And since this was another country, asking was basic courtesy.
The oldest-looking maid answered calmly.
“If you wish, we can bring your meal here. Otherwise you may eat in the dining hall. However, in that case you would need to match your meal time with the Duke.”
“…Match my meal time with Ereve?”
She could clearly see the maids flinch at her words. Ferdia frowned slightly.
What?
“Yes. There are no other dining halls in Whiteflower Fortress. There is only the dining hall for the Duke and his family. The eastern fortress and western fortress each have dining halls for the knights and servants, but they are far away and crowded, so it would be inconvenient.”
“I think matching meal times would be more inconvenient.”
“If you dine with the Duke, you can receive higher-quality meals, so…”
“I don’t particularly need high-quality food. I’ll talk to Ereve later about meal times.”
As she muttered and stood up, she noticed the maids flinching again. Ferdia frowned and turned toward them.
“What is it?”
“….”
They didn’t answer.
Watching their suspicious behavior, she spoke again.
“Is it because I call Ereve by his name?”
“…N-No, that’s not it.”
The maid looked flustered.
“Then what is it? Does it bother you that I call him comfortably?”
“Th-that’s not…”
“Then what?”
She didn’t like this.
Maybe it was her own inferiority complex, or maybe her guilty conscience—but she could feel the people here didn’t like her.
The contempt.
The hatred.
The anger.
They didn’t express it openly, but their gazes toward her were never kind.
The looks she received while walking the halls were always sharp.
She tried to endure it, but hearts don’t always obey intentions.
“Speak.”
At her cold voice, the frightened maid finally spoke with teary eyes.
“In the Empire… calling someone by their first name affectionately usually…”
“Usually?”
“…doesn’t happen unless they are married.”
“…What?”
I’ve been played.
Ferdia suddenly recalled Ereve insisting she call him by his name.
“That jerk… don’t tell me he planned this…”
As she muttered, the maid bowed nervously.
“I-I’m sorry. No one in this castle calls the Duke by his name, so it felt unfamiliar. If you wish to punish me, I will accept it.”
“Haah…”
So that was it.
Feeling guilty for scaring someone because of her own insecurity, Ferdia shook her head. She looked at the brown-eyed maid.
“How old was she? Probably not even twenty. Yet she seemed very composed. Maybe she was well trained.”
“What’s your name?”
“S-Sandia.”
Ferdia nodded.
“Alright, Sandia. First, let me say this. I’m not someone who needs attendants. I can take care of myself. You don’t need to assist with bathing or meals. Only come when I call or when I actually need something.”
“Understood.”
