Chapter 29
“By the way, Sir Ian, aren’t you a busy person?”
“Even if I am, what can I do? The wedding is already right around the corner.”
“What does that have to do with anything like this?”
There was no way the Elune Order would make people swing maces even at weddings, right?
No matter how much it was a religion that worshipped the god of martial power, that would cross the line.
“A ballroom dance will be held.”
Ian replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Ah. I blinked blankly.
There had been a waltz segment during the welcome banquet on the Saint Investiture day, but I had used Ian’s absence as an excuse to skip it.
But at our own wedding ball, there would be no escaping it.
“Originally, I planned to assign you a dance instructor, but it seems your problem is less about dancing and more about basic physical conditioning.”
“I’m not that bad…!”
“If you want to prove otherwise, show me your stance again.”
As I gripped the wooden training sword again and took my stance, Ian looked at me as if everything was wrong.
His hand covered mine on the hilt of the wooden sword.
“Angle it like this.”
Next, he tapped my foot with the tip of his shoe.
“Stand a bit narrower. Yes. Like that.”
“…Is this right?”
I wasn’t that much of a clumsy person. It was only because Ian was watching me that I kept messing up like this.
Holding the position exactly as he corrected, I looked back at Ian nervously.
My body trembled slightly from the pressure of having to maintain the perfect posture he had fixed.
“…Hah.”
Then I clearly heard it.
Ian was laughing.
I stared at him in disbelief.
Are you laughing at me?
Do you think it’s funny that I look like I’m about to fall over at any moment?
“Don’t laugh.”
“I wasn’t laughing.”
Even as he said that, a trace of amusement still clung shamelessly to his lips.
So he can laugh after all.
Not mocking laughter. Not a scoff.
It felt like I was seeing a genuine smile for the first time.
That refreshing smile made my vision feel… clean—
Yeah, right. As if.
The fact that he was openly laughing made it even more irritating.
“Then show me a demonstration yourself, Sir Ian.”
Suppressing my irritation, I handed him the wooden sword. Unexpectedly, Ian accepted it without hesitation.
The moment he held the sword, the atmosphere around him changed.
Just holding a practice wooden sword, Ian exuded a sharp, refined aura of discipline.
If someone drew this scene and titled it something like “Beautiful Man’s Sword Practice,” it would probably sell like crazy.
Ian raised his arm and brought the sword down.
At that moment, a pale crescent shape shot out from the blade.
And then, crack!
The crescent-shaped light struck the door lock, shattering it effortlessly.
“Eek!”
I staggered back at the unbelievable sight.
Sword aura? Did he just use sword aura?
Crazy. I opened my mouth wide.
So this really is a novel-like world. This was a completely different shock compared to seeing magic for the first time.
“The lock is too flimsy. Replace it.”
Ian said calmly as he lowered the wooden sword.
“Yes, y-yes, Captain!”
Anette shouted in a spirited voice.
Ian checked the time.
“I don’t have much time today. I’ll come again tomorrow, so train with Sir Joan in the meantime.”
“Uh… ah, yes.”
I nodded blankly.
I still couldn’t believe what I had just seen.
Seeing the words “sword master” in a novel was one thing—seeing actual sword aura was something else entirely.
‘I must never mess with Ian in the future.’
I reaffirmed that resolve.
“Captain, these are the documents requiring your approval today.”
Looking at the mountain of paperwork handed by Lucian, Ian rubbed his forehead.
After the Cardinal fell ill, all administrative duties she had handled were transferred to Ian.
On top of the Holy Knight Commander duties, wedding preparations approaching, and now administrative work.
Even ten bodies wouldn’t be enough.
“Hah.”
At the sound of a laugh from his superior, Lucian looked at Ian blankly.
Did he just laugh?
There was indeed a faint smile on Ian’s lips.
‘Eek.’
He recalled Iris Grace stumbling back making a sound like a dying cry.
Ian let out another quiet laugh.
At first, he had only intended to demonstrate a stance. He hadn’t meant to break the lock.
So why had he done such a childish thing?
‘Her reactions are amusing.’
His fake fiancée, Iris Grace, often showed unpredictable, raw reactions.
Perhaps that was why he sometimes felt like provoking her.
She seemed transparent like a glass bottle, yet she never fully revealed herself.
“You should have no secrets between a couple anyway.”
Thinking of Iris’s words, Ian tapped the table.
Yes, that was it.
It wasn’t annoying.
He himself also had things he couldn’t reveal.
As long as it didn’t interfere with the contract, what Iris thought in that small head of hers was none of his concern.
And yet, he kept growing curious.
Perhaps he still didn’t fully trust her as a contract partner.
“Captain. Reports say Ricalion had eleven deaths and twenty severely injured yesterday alone.”
“The western fortress with increasing monster activity?”
“Yes. The situation is getting worse. The dispatched Holy Knights are expected to arrive within a week, but they may not be enough.”
Ian frowned.
Spring was usually a season when monsters were quiet.
For casualties to occur daily at this time meant something was wrong.
“Send additional forces. We should eliminate the root this time.”
“Yes, understood.”
Lucian bowed.
I sat at my desk, tapping a quill against my notebook.
I had declared I wanted some alone time from Anette and Sir Joan.
Only a week remained until the wedding, and I was busier than ever.
Dress selection, jewelry selection, hairstyles—there were too many options.
Still, I had a free morning today.
“Let’s map out the timeline.”
First, I had safely passed the Saint Investiture.
But there was no time to celebrate. I needed to prepare for what came next to survive the coming year.
“Right now, it’s about half a year before the story begins.”
In the original story, Ian becomes emperor about a year later, and my contract ends around the same time.
I began filling in the gaps in the timeline.
There were no direct memories from the original, but major events were sometimes mentioned in flashbacks.
“For example, the western border geyser explosion incident.”
A major event. No casualties since it was uninhabited, but the terrain had completely changed.
“And also… right, the largest salt mine discovery.”
That incident caused the protagonist’s family, who ran a small merchant company, to go bankrupt.
“Huh. Have I always had such good memory?”
I tilted my head slightly.
Strangely, I could recall details of the original novel very clearly.
It wasn’t like struggling to remember—it felt like reading the book directly in my mind.
Maybe it was some kind of “isekai bonus.”
It was nice to have good memory, but I couldn’t concentrate properly.
Because something was bothering me.
“Nain still hasn’t shown up.”
It was not something to dismiss as “no news is good news.”
They would never abandon me, number 76.
They believed I was still completing my assignment.
They wouldn’t give up after I became Ian’s fiancée and passed Saint verification.
“They should have appeared by now.”
Even if they did appear, I couldn’t do much right now.
But I could at least try to figure out what they were planning.
As I thought that, a cautious knock came.
“Iris-nim, it’s time for your appointment.”
“Ah, I’ll be right out!”
At Anette’s voice, I quickly burned the notebook I had been writing in.
Once I confirmed it had turned to ash, I opened the door.
“I’m ready!”
Today was Wednesday.
Which meant Cordelia’s salon gathering day.
At the Bernadette estate, several carriages were already parked.
“Thank you for coming again, Iris-nim. I will guide you.”
As I entered the salon, Cordelia and her guests greeted me warmly.
“Welcome, Iris.”
Seeing Cordelia, I almost laughed.
She had become a devotee of “lucky colors.”
Dressed entirely in pastel tones, she looked like a spring fairy.
“Welcome, Iris-nim!”
“It’s an honor to meet the Saint.”
Others also greeted me enthusiastically.
As I returned greetings, my eyes scanned the room.
Then I met a man’s gaze.
‘As expected, he’s here.’
I exchanged a brief nod with Rey Monahan—no, Rizelo.
