~Chapter 53~
Early in the morning, I woke up and trudged down to the dining hall.
The soldiers here ate their first meal at 11am, after early morning training. Thanks to that, I just barely managed not to skip breakfast.
‘I could have a servant bring my meal separately…’
But I knew the staff here didn’t exactly like me.
Just like in those old cliché novels, someone could spit in my food or sprinkle sand on it, so eating with everyone else seemed safer.
I was about to leave for the castle soon, and I didn’t want to ride all that way on an empty stomach.
“My lady, your beauty is especially radiant today!”
“Flattery won’t work.”
“Tsk.”
Today, Ramon was with me.
Last night, he’d apparently been kidnapped by clerk-level knights, who made him sign piles of paperwork because they couldn’t let someone so high-ranking go free.
Still, all that didn’t erase the awkwardness I’d felt yesterday.
I mean, I was actually glad to see that wretched Duke.
“Stay right by my side until I leave the camp. If you run off, you’ll regret it.”
“Was it really that uncomfortable? Even for you, my lady?”
“Don’t even ask. It was like everyone saw me as a plague—they avoided me like I was contagious.”
Ramon, reading the room, went ahead and opened the dining hall doors.
At that moment, the lively dining hall fell silent.
All eyes turned to me.
‘Go ahead, let’s see if your stares can bother me. This time, I have an ally.’
I held my chin up high and strutted across the hall as if nothing was wrong.
The knights, stiff as statues, suddenly forced awkward smiles and bowed their heads as I passed.
Honestly, I couldn’t even tell if those were smiles or if they were just baring their teeth at me.
“G-Good afternoon, my lady.”
“It’s morning… but, uh, sure.”
One knight even pulled out my chair for me.
It was still awkward, but it felt different from yesterday.
Ramon, glancing around, whispered to me,
“I think ‘plague’ means something different between you and me.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
Honestly, I was the most confused of all.
Just yesterday, everyone looked like they’d chew me up alive—how could the mood change so much overnight?
Unless they were up to something…
‘Wait, is it because of that?’
I decided I’d let Ramon taste the food first, just in case.
As I recalled the old saying, “Test even the stones before crossing a river,” a long shadow fell over me, déjà vu style.
“Good afternoon, my lady.”
“Good morning, Your Grace.”
Even after I corrected him, the Duke ignored me and whispered something to Ramon.
Ramon glanced at me, hesitated, and then vanished—breaking his promise to stay by my side.
How mean.
Now alone, the Duke looked oddly relaxed as he sat at the table.
“Seems there’s a problem at the port.”
“The western port, you mean?”
Sipping my warm honeyed wine, I looked up in surprise.
The Duke was watching me with his chin resting on his hand.
Ah, our eyes met.
“A landslide has blocked the road from the port into Lombard.”
“That’s bad. The delegation from the Holy City might be arriving soon…”
“Maybe so.”
The Duke’s gaze was so focused on me that I finally had to look away.
“Is that why you sent Sir Ramon?”
“Yes, he’s the best man for the job.”
“…”
“How is your injury?”
Just as I was starting to feel uncomfortable, he changed the subject—he was actually looking at the spot where I got hurt yesterday.
I felt relieved.
“I’m fine. It was never that serious.”
“It might leave a scar.”
“From this?”
I put down my honeyed wine and showed him my palm.
Without a word, the Duke took my hand.
With his large, calloused hands, he cradled mine and gently brushed his thumb over my small wound.
It happened so quickly, I couldn’t even react.
“Ah…”
The Duke seemed surprised, too. He let out a low sigh and slowly let go.
“I just wanted to check the injury more carefully.”
“It’s rude to grab a lady’s hand without asking, Your Grace.”
“I’ll be careful.”
Did he really think I’d send a letter to the palace over a tiny scrape?
Maybe the old Elicia would, but not me.
Sending a message to the Empire would only bring trouble—no thank you.
‘Why does it feel so warm where he touched me…’
Maybe it was from the Duke’s hand on my skin, but that spot tingled oddly.
While I was still rubbing my wrist, I noticed a group of knights nervously shuffling over.
They looked extremely embarrassed.
“S-Sorry to interrupt this nice moment.”
“We didn’t mean to, it’s just our timing was… unlucky.”
I ignored their nonsense and looked up at the one in front.
A familiar face.
“You’re…?”
“Ah, yes. I owe you from yesterday, my lady. Please just call me Stephan.”
He was the knight I’d seen arguing about paperwork in the courtyard yesterday.
“Nice to see you. But what’s this about? You seemed to ignore me in the dining hall yesterday.”
“Did something like that happen?”
Suddenly, the Duke broke in, though he’d been quiet the whole time.
But I didn’t feel like answering, so I just pretended I didn’t hear. The knights could explain if they wanted.
Stephan, feeling both our eyes on him, dropped to his knees.
“I’m sorry about yesterday! But today, I have to ask an even bigger favor.”
“Can I say no before I hear it?”
“The knights’ order has a mountain of paperwork we just can’t finish on our own… I beg you, my lady, could you please approve these documents?”
“Heard you. Can I still say no?”
“Please! We really did only bring the urgent ones! Just those!”
“You… actually brought them here?”
Wait—surely they didn’t ambush me in the dining hall with paperwork, right?
But, as if to crush my hopes, the knights behind Stephan sheepishly pulled out stacks of documents they’d been hiding.
They tried to smile, but to me, they just looked like a pack of muscle-bound wolves.
‘Wow, they really did fall behind.’
I glanced at the documents—one was about increasing the medical budget for the order.
The date showed it had been delayed for over a year.
The knights were Lombard’s wall, so weapon and supply budgets couldn’t be delayed by the clerks.
But medical funds? Not as urgent, not as visible to the Duke—perfect for petty power games.
‘Knights need to feel they’re protected, even if injured, for morale’s sake.’
They needed more doctors and the newest treatments and medicines from the capital.
Of course, I never wanted to make anyone else happy, but medical care was a different issue.
Let’s call it basic human decency… or something like that.
In the end, I couldn’t resist and reached out my hand.
“Sir Stephan? Can I take a look at those documents?”
“Th-thank you, my lady!”
“I’m only reading them, that’s all.”
A promise that was never going to hold.
