I was blankly watching the items being loaded onto the carriage when someone tapped me on the shoulder, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Why are you here, Lady?”
My face lit up when I recognized him.
“Ansen!”
Ansen stood there in a formal uniform that didn’t quite suit him. His usually shaggy hair was neatly brushed back from his forehead.
“What’s this? Why are you all dressed up?”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you’re wearing your uniform, and you’ve slicked your hair all the way back.”
“S-Slicked it back…”
Ansen took a step back with a strange look on his face.
He glanced at my outfit and mumbled, “Well, you look pretty dressed up yourself, Lady.”
Embarrassed, I tried to cover the palm-sized frills around my neck.
This outfit was entirely Anna’s doing.
‘My Lady! It’s your first outing in a while. This is really nothing, I promise!’
‘What about this one? Or maybe this pink dress?’
‘Oh my, this necklace would look perfect with that outfit!’
Anna had kept chattering non-stop, and eventually, she even showed me a necklace with a gem the size of a fist.
It was so big it looked more like a collar than a necklace.
After much resistance, we finally settled on…
“This ridiculously frilly dress.”
At least this one was only fancy around the neck. The rest was relatively modest. But the other dresses…
Just thinking about the earlier nightmare made me shake my head, pale-faced.
“I had my reasons, okay? Anyway, are you coming too, Ansen?”
“I may not look it, but I’m usually involved in most major events.”
He shook his head as if annoyed, then looked at me curiously.
“But why are you here, Lady?”
His question reminded me of what had happened a few days ago.
“So, what I’m saying is… I’d like to join the upcoming estate inspection!”
Father and Walter both looked shocked.
Walter was the first to speak.
“Suddenly? But, Lady, the Tigris territory is quite large. There are barren areas where no one lives, so bringing you along might be…”
“I know. They do monster subjugation there every winter, right?”
Walter’s face said How did you know that? I just smiled brightly.
All this time, I had been gathering information quietly from the servants, Anna, and the recently acquainted Count Bastin.
And I learned one key thing:
“Now that I’m awake, the Duke will soon leave for an estate inspection!”
This year, the inspection was scheduled alongside the annual monster subjugation.
“Because my collapse delayed the original schedule.”
That meant the inspection party would pass through Plau, a small village at the northernmost edge of the Tigris estate.
It was the only path leading to the “Cursed Land,” where monster subjugations were held every year.
I cautiously spoke.
“Now that my guardian ability has manifested, I won’t be a burden or cause for concern… Can’t I please come along?”
Putting my hands together and looking at him with pleading eyes, I saw Father raise one eyebrow.
After a brief pause, he slowly opened his mouth.
“If you’re saying you want to join the subjugation in the Cursed Land…”
Before he could finish, I quickly interrupted.
“I won’t enter the Cursed Land! While you lead the knights there, I’ll quietly wait in Plau.”
He stroked his chin thoughtfully, then muttered,
“Now that I think about it, you haven’t left the estate since you were seven.”
“…Your Grace, are you serious?” Walter asked, confused.
But the Duke didn’t respond. He seemed deep in thought.
“If she’s not entering the Cursed Land… this might be a good opportunity to let her come along.”
I silently cheered. That meant he had given permission.
And that’s how I ended up joining the estate inspection that began today.
“…Lady?”
Ansen’s voice brought me back to reality.
“Oh, sorry. Where was I?”
“You hadn’t said anything yet.”
I scratched my head.
“Well, I just kind of ended up coming along.”
“…”
“There’s something I need to find.”
Ansen tilted his head at that.
But without answering further, I stood up and walked straight toward the carriage.
A moment later—
The trumpet signaling departure rang out, and the carriage began to move slowly.
Excited, I peeked out the window.
Knights in uniforms bearing the Tigris crest and draped in dark red cloaks rode alongside, surrounding the carriage in a protective formation.
Their perfectly synchronized movements were so striking that I murmured in awe,
“They look really cool like this.”
Father looked up from the document he was reading and glanced at me.
Catching his eye, I smiled sheepishly.
“It’s just… it’s my first time seeing the knights like this.”
It was true. The knights I’d seen while walking around the estate were always in dull training gear.
Their faces were usually dirty from harsh training, and they always looked exhausted.
But now, in uniform and on horseback, they looked completely different.
I stared in admiration until Father spoke.
“Knights don’t usually wear uniforms. They’re usually in armor.”
I nodded and added,
“Since this is both an inspection and a public visit, I guess they dressed up.”
“Exactly.”
Makes sense. During the inspection, they’d encounter many residents of the estate, so it was best to appear dignified.
“No wonder Anna was making such a fuss about my outfit.”
As the daughter of a lord, I couldn’t look shabby.
Nodding quietly to myself, I turned back to the window.
The carriage had already passed the gates and was running across the wide plains.
Poooooo-
The trumpet sounded again from the front, and the carriage began to pick up speed.
But something felt strange.
The horses were running too fast.
Just as I tilted my head in confusion, Adam appeared beside me with a smile.
[Child, that’s a special ability.]
“A special ability…?”
[Yes, the horses are under a speed-enhancing ability. Look over there.]
Adam pointed at the coachman. A faint light was emanating from the reins in his hands.
I stared in astonishment.
They actually employed someone with the speed-enhancing ability just as a coachman?
I glanced at Father, who was calmly reviewing a document, expressionless.
“So it’s true… Tigris really is one of the four great duchies that support the Empire.”
It’s one thing for knights or retainers to have powers, but even the staff?
Still staring at the coachman in surprise, I jumped at the sudden voice.
“You’re surprised about the speed-enhancing ability on the horses?”
I quickly pulled my head back inside.
“J-Just a little. It’s such a clever use of the ability, and I’m surprised that a coachman has it too…”
“There are many with special abilities in the estate. In Tigris, we select people solely based on ability, regardless of status or background.”
I looked at my father with wide eyes.
And then he dropped an even more shocking truth.
“Walter was a commoner too.”
“Walter?!”
“Yes. He passed the administrative exam in our territory at a very young age and entered the mansion. He rose to his current position purely through merit.”
My jaw dropped.
Walter was a commoner? I’d always assumed he was a noble.
“Of course, there are those who criticize his background.”
Father casually set aside his document and added,
“But most of them were less competent than Walter Levy.”
Eyes sparkling, I shouted,
“Wow… seriously…”
“…?”
“You’re amazing!”
His eyes widened slightly, and I continued, excited.
“It’s not easy to value talent over background or status!”
In my past life, everyone obsessed over lineage, background, and education.
But here, they were essentially doing blind recruitment.
In awe, I said,
“I think you’re at least 2,000 years ahead of your time. Truly…”
At first, I’d thought the Duke was just a scary, cold old man, but the more I got to know him, the more admirable he seemed.
“For one thing, he’s secretly a very affectionate father.”
He was capable, rich, and above all, handsome.
“There’s no way I can just let this go.”
My eyes gleamed.
[Child, your expression just turned intense. But I love it when you get fired up like this. It’s adorable.]
I glanced at Adam and clenched my fists.
“Fired up with determination…”
That was true to an extent. I had a clear reason for joining this estate inspection.
“First, I need to get to Plau.”
And there, I planned to find the prince.
Not the one currently in the imperial palace—
But the missing prince who disappeared years ago.
The prince who, in the original novel, was Esteline’s lover and the male protagonist.
