Chapter 136
“……!”
Erica jumped in surprise and set down the cookie.
“Of course! Could I start from when I first joined? The story might get a bit long….”
Erica could spend ten nights straight just talking about Teneurha.
She was excited.
“Teneurha has an entry test. They rank you based on skill, and I was already fairly good with a sword.”
“…….”
“Hmm, I see you don’t believe me. Fine then.”
Erica clasped her hands neatly on the table.
“Let’s go back six years… to when I was a mercenary.”
“……?”
The epic began.
Suddenly, Erica’s Teneurha chronicle had started.
All eyes were fixed on her.
Her clear, bright voice had a certain charm.
Before long, the young ladies were drawn into her story as if under a spell.
Meanwhile, Roche was busy in his own thoughts.
‘…….’
Even while listening, his eyes and mind analyzed her.
A healthy, athletic build.
Unexpectedly clever choice of words, and graceful speech.
The more he listened, the more it became clear that she was remarkably knowledgeable.
It was hard to believe she came from a commoner background.
“So from that day, I was immediately assigned to royal guard duty!”
Talking about Teneurha inevitably led to talking about the royal family.
After all, the very purpose of Teneurha was to protect the royals.
“When I first went to the Empress’s palace for my shift, a huge framed painting was being brought in.”
“If it was going to hang in the Empress’s palace, it must have been by a famous artist,” Roche interjected with a light smile, testing whether she knew her art.
Erica clapped her hands in response.
“It was a work by the painter Marlon!”
“…….”
“I was so mesmerized by it that I followed it blindly and missed my shift.”
“……Do you know any more of Marlon’s works?”
“Do you like Marlon’s paintings too, Lady Roche? The green, endless sea?”
“I do.”
“The summer sea in the rain, the blue waves and white mist?”
“Yes, I’ve seen it. My uncle runs a large art museum in Eastbelle.”
“Wow… that painting has become so famous. I saw it a long time ago, and even with my untrained eye, it seemed skillful.”
“…….”
“Marlon expresses the sea so poignantly. I knew he’d become famous someday. I didn’t expect his works would end up in the Empress’s palace.”
During her time as a mercenary in the south, Erica had friends from nearly every social class.
Many of them were artists, including painters who became renowned throughout the empire.
“……You have quite the eye for art.”
“Not really,” Erica said, waving her hands with a smile.
Roche asked a few more questions to gauge whether her modesty was genuine.
Similar exchanges continued after that.
Mostly, Roche would interject with sudden questions, and Erica would answer skillfully.
“…….”
No matter the topic, Erica responded with ease.
Everything surprised Roche.
“……So, the bullies scribbled on my locker in Evgenian. Want to know what it said? Absolutely outrageous!”
“……Wait, you can read Evgenian?”
“……? I can read it, yes.”
“May I ask when you learned it?”
“I learned it as a child.”
“……As a child? Evgenian is a language only nobles usually learn for refinement. How? You said you were a commoner.”
“I was, but I had the opportunity. I had a good teacher.”
“…….”
The other young ladies exchanged glances.
As Roche and Erica continued talking, they began sensing something unusual.
Erica wasn’t just good with a sword.
Moments ago, they’d assumed she was just the Duke’s sparring partner. That belief began to crack.
‘…….’
The young ladies looked at Erica with confused eyes.
Erica, meanwhile, was fully absorbed in recounting her adventures.
Though Roche’s interruptions broke the flow, her resolve was unwavering.
“But could you please let me finish my story? My achievements, please!”
“Yes. Calm down and speak,” Roche gestured gracefully, granting permission.
Erica proudly continued her epic tale.
She had considered writing an autobiography someday, and now, with the perfect audience, she felt like a fish in water.
But she couldn’t go on for long this time.
Step.
“Excuse me.”
The head butler Owen approached politely.
“The Grand Duke has sent a gift for Erica.”
Silence fell.
“…….”
“…….”
Not a sound—no breathing, not even swallowing.
The moment stretched slowly, as everyone stared intently at the gift for Erica.
“……A gift, right now?”
Erica tried to hide her frown.
She was in the middle of telling the legend of Teneurha, which had appeared like a shooting star six years ago!
Why now, interrupting the flow!
Muttering to herself, she untied the ribbon on the gift box, thinking of the thoughtfulness behind it.
Inside was a large diamond necklace, sparkling brilliantly.
Even from afar, its radiance was dazzling.
Erica frowned and muttered under her breath,
“……This could’ve waited until later in my room. Why send it here?”
She recalled how Chowd had promised jewels instead of a mine. Perhaps this was it.
She closed the gift box without much thought and slid it aside.
“Sorry for the interruption, everyone.”
She seemed perfectly composed, apologizing casually.
“……?”
Then, Erica faced a strange sight.
“…….”
“…….”
The young ladies all simultaneously stopped breathing.
Their eyes widened, quivering, and some unconsciously covered their mouths with fans.
Silence reigned.
“…….”
“…….”
No one could speak a word.
It was long-standing tradition for acquaintances to send gifts during social gatherings of young ladies.
A way for nobles to showcase connections.
Gifting during tea time allowed everyone to see, usually with special meaning.
The most obvious meaning being…
‘The Grand Duke…’
‘……sent a necklace.’
A fiancé.
‘…….’
A necklace is a gift from a fiancé to show affection to his betrothed.
Northern customs wouldn’t be overlooked by its ruling family, so this was a certainty.
‘…….’
Everyone’s fingers trembled as they clutched their teacups repeatedly.
All prior scheming, calculation, and observation had been for nothing.
The game was over.
Before them stood the future Grand Duchess.
“…….”
A shiver ran through them.
They looked up as if they’d suddenly realized something.
Their eyes met Roche’s.
“…….”
The more delicate young ladies felt suffocated, wishing they could just return home and cry.
‘Roche… that unreadable expression is terrifying.’
Roche.
The prized daughter of the northern nobility, the Nigelius Marquis family.
A young lady whose name was openly circulated as a candidate for Grand Duchess.
“…….”
She said nothing, showed no change in expression, only playing with the teacup handle.
She remained like that for a long while.
No one could tell what she was thinking from her expression.
