Chapter 17
The Lady Who Hid Her Strength
“They say the two of them haven’t been on good terms ever since their big argument at the banquet.”
I had only expected that they weren’t close—but a big fight too?
“A fight?”
“Yes. Lady Stemun’s background was first brought up by Lady Yekert, and in response, Lady Stemun practically turned the entire banquet hall upside down…”
“Pfft. What a fascinating lady.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
But the steward’s expression remained serious.
“This isn’t something to laugh about. The servants who were present at that banquet get startled even at the mere mention of the two ladies. Anyway, after that, unpleasant rumors about Lady Stemun spread, and it’s suspected that Lady Yekert was behind them.”
“That figures. Lady Stemun doesn’t seem like someone who would just stand by quietly.”
“So, my advice would be that if you accept Lady Stemun’s invitation for tea first, Lady Yekert might not be too pleased.”
I smiled knowingly at the insight.
“Conversely, if I accept Lady Yekert’s invitation first, then Lady Stemun might be displeased instead.”
That meant I had to win the favor of one of them… Choosing to accept the invitation of the influential Lady Yekert clearly had practical advantages. Yet, for some reason, the name Stemun felt familiar. Had I seen it in a novel before?
“What’s Lady Stemun’s full name, by the way?”
“Sircina Stemun.”
I asked almost rhetorically—but yes, I knew that name. Very well. Too well.
I picked up the invitation Lady Stemun had sent.
“To be honest, it would make sense to accept Lady Yekert’s invitation first… but I’m intrigued by Lady Stemun. Perhaps I’ll attend her tea. What do you think, steward?”
I had a strange feeling that this could lead to a rather powerful ally.
The steward studied me for a moment, then composed his expression.
“I respect your choice, my lady. Still, just in case, after accepting Lady Stemun’s invitation, perhaps you should promptly accept Lady Yekert’s as well.”
Given the friction between the two ladies, ignoring one of them could easily cause backlash.
‘Considering I’ve never participated in society events, if I suddenly became a duchess and ignored one of their invitations…’
Yes. That would spread a hundred percent of bad rumors.
“Understood. I’ll do that.”
“Thank you, my lady.”
With that, the schedule for the gatherings was set. Stretching briefly, I left the study with a spring in my step, and the steward followed with a smile.
“Is today the day you spar with Master?”
“Yes. How did you know?”
“You seem particularly energetic today, my lady.”
Clearly, this steward wasn’t a novice.
“Then I’ll be off.”
“Yes, and should Master accidentally hurt you, my lady, please inform me. I will make sure to scold him properly.”
That was reassuring. Even as a contract lady, it felt almost wrong to receive such devotion from the staff.
One afternoon, her silver hair glinted in the sunlight, fluttering in the breeze. Blinking against the sun, Bertisha shielded her eyes, and Emperor Camileo gently blocked the rays for her.
Perhaps because they were alone in the imperial gardens, the staff had quietly withdrawn.
“Troubled about something?”
At the gentle question, Bertisha pouted.
“…Yezar sent letters, but I received no reply.”
Camileo tried to console her.
“He must be busy.”
“But he didn’t even attend the national marriage ceremony. And I only found out about Yezar’s marriage late, after the fact.”
Camileo, who had always been close with the three of them, understood Bertisha’s disappointment and replied bitterly.
“Indeed. He never hid anything from us before.”
He recalled the moment at Yezar’s wedding when he had briefly spoken with him.
‘Yezar, congratulations. I wish you had told us beforehand.’
Though he had spoken casually, as friends do…
“…I’m busy, so I’ll leave first.”
Yezar had turned away and left, leaving him puzzled. Why was he suddenly avoiding us? Camileo had no idea.
Bertisha’s worried voice broke through his thoughts.
“Do you think Yezar married some strange woman? Otherwise, he wouldn’t have hidden his marriage from us or ignored my letters.”
“Calm down, Bertisha.”
“But Camileo, what if Lady Ferhaem was jealous and didn’t forward my letters to Yezar?”
“That’s impossible. The person Yezar chose couldn’t be strange.”
Bertisha gazed into Camileo’s golden eyes for a few moments, tears forming.
“Then why is Yezar avoiding us?”
He wiped her tears and hugged her tightly.
“Bertisha, don’t cry… You know it hurts me when you do.”
“Sniff… I’m sorry, Camileo. It just feels like a friend who was always by my side is suddenly pushing me away…”
“I’ll bring him here by any means necessary. Don’t cry. Once you talk, things will return to the way they were. Yezar must have a reason.”
After calming Bertisha for a while, Camileo reluctantly decided he would arrange a meeting with Yezar. Once she seemed settled, Bertisha kissed his cheek and whispered.
“…Thank you, Camileo. Also, can you bring the young lady who married Yezar, Miss Orbetian, with you?”
Feeling a subtle unease, he asked why.
“Why?”
“I want to see for myself. To check if she’s truly a decent person.”
Seeing her pure, earnest eyes, Camileo simply nodded and offered his hand.
“The sunlight is strong. Let’s go inside.”
“Yes, Camileo.”
Bertisha smiled brightly as she took his hand, her face blooming like a flower.
Entering the training hall briskly, the knights greeted her.
“Welcome, my lady!”
“We’ve been waiting for you!”
I had told them they didn’t need to be so enthusiastic, yet today’s reaction was even more intense—apparently, they had heard I would be sparring with Yezar.
Glancing at Yezar, his eyes were sharp as ever.
“I told you to focus on your own sparring. Is that so funny to you?”
“No, my lady!”
“Sorry, my lady!”
I laughed at the knights’ sudden focus and disciplined stance.
“You needn’t scold them so strictly.”
“No, when they heard you were sparring with my lady, they got so noisy that they weren’t focusing on their own training, so I warned them.”
“Really? But I’m not a proper knight, so the sparring can’t be too intense. Besides, Yezar has a handicap.”
Since I wasn’t a professional knight, Yezar had promised to spar lightly. He also planned to hold the wooden sword with his unfamiliar left hand due to his handicap.
Yezar shook his head.
“They just want to tease me when they see me being careful around you, my lady.”
“Ah, that explains why he frowned earlier.”
“Apologies… for showing such an unpleasant expression in front of you.”
At his startled yet gentle answer, the knights seemed stiff, perhaps sensing the discrepancy. To them, he was a strict commander; to me, he was soft and gentle.
“Don’t worry. But before sparring, I’d like to warm up. May I swing the wooden sword a few times at the practice dummy?”
“Do as you wish, my lady. You may swing as long as you like.”
“Hmm… Does the duke’s house have many practice dummies?”
“We have several prepared.”
“Then that’s fine.”
I approached the dummy with a smile and swung my sword a few times. But before the dummy could be ruined, the sword snapped at the handle.
“Hmm. Sorry, but I think this sword was defective. It broke…”
I turned to request a new one, and the hall fell completely silent. Even the knights stopped moving and stared at me.
“Uh… Did I do something wrong?”
Why were they acting this way?
Seeing them frozen, Yezar approached.
“My lady… Do you often break wooden swords like this?”
“Sometimes.”
“When you say ‘sometimes,’ what do you usually mean?”
“Well… normally, after destroying two or three dummies, the sword might break, right?”
Indeed, many objects had been damaged before, and the count of the Duke’s knights trembling was notable. That had earned me a reputation as a troublemaker among the knights.
“Did the knights of the duke’s house say anything while watching your practice?”
“What do you mean? Oh, they did sometimes worry that I would mess up the surroundings when I wielded a sword, so I tried to be careful…”
Apparently, a defective sword had been mixed among the duke’s equipment. I’d need to check the distribution of swords with my steward.
But right now, that wasn’t the main concern. Glancing at the knights, I overheard murmurs.
“Such strength from that delicate body…”
“My lady has hidden her strength…”
Hidden strength? Who?
They had clearly misunderstood something.
“Uh… the sword broke because it was defective, you know?”
One of the knights replied quietly:
“I believe the sword broke because it couldn’t handle my lady.”
“Yes, the sword is not at fault.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
