Chapter 23
‘There should only be knights behind me.’
I felt flustered.
I was standing at the very back row among the people watching the performance.
I hadn’t seen anyone approach me, nor had I sensed any new presence behind me.
So there was no one who could have spoken to me.
‘Could it be a knight talking to me?’
With a doubtful heart, I turned around.
And at once, my expression froze cold.
“Looks like you’re from this village. How old are you?”
“Why don’t you come hang out with us after the performance?”
It was indeed knights who had spoken to me. In fact, two of them.
They were supposed to be on guard, maintaining order and safety—and yet here they were chatting up a civilian.
‘Some might slack off during duty, sure. But this is too much.’
Especially knights, who were supposed to set an example.
This was dereliction of duty.
I frowned and chose to ignore them instead of answering.
But ignoring them wasn’t enough. Both of them turned out to be more persistent than I thought.
“Don’t ignore us. Come over here. We just want to talk.”
“Yeah, yeah. Talking with us will be way more fun than that boring performance.”
I wanted to focus on the show, but they kept pestering me.
Annoyance bubbled up inside me.
‘I can’t just lash out at them either.’
They were knights—soldiers acknowledged by the Empire. An ordinary civilian like me couldn’t afford to provoke them.
And I’m sure they knew that too.
That’s probably why they so casually bothered me.
‘At least Estelle isn’t here. Thank goodness.’
If these men were bold enough to approach me, they would have certainly harassed Estelle too, regardless of her age.
The thought alone made me feel disgusted.
“Are you playing hard to get?”
“Cute.”
That was it. You avoid filth not because you’re afraid of it, but because it’s filthy.
It seemed better to move to another spot and return for Estelle after the performance ended.
I clicked my tongue inwardly and stepped forward to leave.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“Come on, play with us.”
But I couldn’t move forward.
One of the knights standing behind me grabbed my arm and yanked me toward him.
Thud—.
The book I had been holding fell to the ground, and my body was pulled into their grasp against my will.
“Wow. Your skin’s really soft.”
“Seriously. And squishy too.”
Disgust overwhelmed me.
Goosebumps prickled all over my body, and the arm they were touching felt contaminated.
At that point, I didn’t care whether they were knights or not. I couldn’t stand it anymore.
I tensed my arm to push them away.
And then—
“What do you think you’re doing on duty?”
At the sound of the chilling voice, I turned my head.
“H-Huh!”
“C-Captain!”
It was Claude.
His blue eyes were glacial, radiating a dangerous aura.
The knights’ panic was obvious.
They froze in place, stammering, unable to move or speak properly.
Claude said nothing at first.
His gaze simply slid downward and stopped at one point.
“H-Hhk!”
Following Claude’s gaze, the knights suddenly realized—they were still holding onto my arm.
Instead of saluting their superior the moment he appeared, their hands had remained disrespectfully clutching a girl.
They had failed to greet their commanding officer because they were too busy misbehaving.
Faces paling, they flung my arm away as though burned.
Then they stomped their feet and stood at attention, saluting Claude.
“No need for greetings.”
Claude looked at them with cold indifference.
His voice lowered as he stepped closer.
“What I want… is an answer to the questions I’ll ask.”
Claude stopped in front of me and gently took my hand.
It was the same arm the knight had grabbed earlier.
He carefully placed my hand atop his own and gave me a look—a silent request for permission to roll up my sleeve.
“….”
When he lifted the sleeve and my bare arm was exposed, his brows furrowed instantly.
My arm was in terrible shape.
Finger-shaped bruises in blue and purple. Scratches and cuts reddened with blood.
“What on earth is this….”
He muttered under his breath, examining each mark as though engraving them into memory.
The knights panicked.
And truthfully, so did I.
‘The handprint is from just now, but… the wounds aren’t.’
Those injuries were from the fight with the thugs earlier.
But Claude seemed to believe they had all been caused by these knights.
“I-It wasn’t us!”
“We didn’t do that!”
“Silence.”
He didn’t listen, no matter how desperately they denied it.
“So your knightly vows at the investiture ceremony were nothing but lies, I see.”
Claude lowered my sleeve gently and turned his back.
Positioning himself in front of me, he shielded me and barked at them with icy finality:
“If you were posted here today, then your commanding officer must be Eden. Correct?”
“Y-Yes, sir….”
They answered weakly, still clinging to the hope that he might overlook this.
“As I thought. Very well.”
But Claude crushed their hopes mercilessly.
“You are dismissed.”
“S-Sir? What do you—”
“I said dismissed. I’ll hold your superior accountable for what happened today.”
His tone was flat, uncompromising.
The knights tried to protest, but his cold voice left no room for mercy.
They squeezed their eyes shut, already envisioning the grim future awaiting them.
Their faces drained of all color.
“…Understood.”
There was nothing else they could do but obey.
Their salute now was weak, lifeless, nothing like before. Shoulders slumped, they turned and left.
“Sorry you had to go through that.”
“No, it’s okay.”
Once they were gone, Claude spoke to me.
But his expression was different than usual—an awkward, almost guilty look.
Still, I really was fine.
‘If Claude hadn’t shown up, I probably would’ve struck back myself.’
Of course, since they were knights, not lawless thugs, all I could have done was shove them.
“Are your injuries all right?”
“Huh? Oh….”
Right—he’s mistaken about this.
I felt embarrassed.
Tugging at my sleeve to cover the marks, I gave a sheepish smile.
“I’m fine. They’re not from just now. A bit of ointment will heal them.”
I tried to lighten the mood with a cheerful tone.
But Claude’s face remained grim.
He clearly didn’t like how casually I brushed it off.
‘Why that expression? …It almost looks like he’s worried about me.’
My chest fluttered strangely, and I turned my gaze away, flustered.
Then—
“What’s this book?”
“Ah!”
Claude bent down and picked up the book I had dropped.
“Etiquette Training for Cultivating Grace? What is this?”
“Ah, well, that’s….”
What do I even say?
I panicked so much my voice shook.
‘I can’t exactly tell him I made his ward do farm work and she lost her elegance because of it!’
How could I explain without sounding suspicious?
Avoiding Claude’s questioning eyes, I bit my lip in hesitation.
“Reina!”
Just then, a voice saved me.
Estelle had finished watching the performance and came running to find me.
Like a long-lost child, she threw herself into my arms and hugged me tightly.
Even though we’d only been apart during the show, she clung to me as if it had been ages.
‘Well, not that I mind.’
What mattered was that Estelle’s timely arrival shattered the awkward silence.
I squeezed her in return, smiling with relief.
“So, the two of you have finally grown close.”
Claude’s voice came from the side, and I beamed.
It felt good that even others could now see how close Estelle and I had become.
But Estelle’s reaction was a little different.
Her flushed cheeks had vanished, and her brows furrowed slightly.
For some reason… she looked a little irritated.
