MILWTG 63

~Chapter 63~

The towering shelves were lined with volumes on Siraka—tomes that even the temple archives had failed to procure.

It was hardly surprising; the ducal household must have scoured every corner of the land for materials in their quest to break the curse.

Still, to have them all gathered in my office feels a little… deliberate.

Were they trying to nudge her into taking a keener interest in Siraka—and Ethan?

Whatever the reason, these books were resources she had been seeking anyway.

Riden allowed herself a small, satisfied smile at this unexpected boon, when the sharp shouts of men echoed from the terrace adjoining her office.

“Yah! Haa!”

Victoria, who had been standing quietly nearby, stepped forward to explain.

“This office was arranged rather hastily, my lady, and it does have one flaw: it is quite close to the training grounds.”

The training grounds?

Riden immediately stepped onto the terrace and looked out.

There, even before the height of summer, knights stripped to the waist were sparring fiercely with wooden swords.

“Hah! Hyah! Heeyah!”

“The Duchess instructed us to relocate your office at once should you feel even the slightest discomfort. Shall I arrange the move, my lady?”

Riden, still riveted by the scene before her, replied without looking back.

“Is there ever a place with only strengths? Perhaps a flaw or two… is necessary.”

Victoria bowed gracefully.

“Thank you for your magnanimity, my lady.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. In truth, I find it hard to concentrate when it’s too quiet.”

To think she could use the knights’ rallying cries as white noise for focus—she found herself growing rather fond of this place.

With a pleased smile, Riden let her gaze wander across the well-maintained training yard.

Though it wasn’t the main estate but merely a townhouse in the capital, the facilities were impressive.

“Hmm.”

As she leaned out, squirrel-like, admiring her newfound trove of “acorns,” Victoria stepped closer.

“Standing for so long must be tiring, my lady. Shall I bring you a chair?”

“Hm? No, that’s not necessary… Hmm, actually, yes, please do.”

As expected of the Duke’s household.

At the McCurry estate, she had only seen three knights in total—and they had hardly broken a sweat.

But here, the air thrummed with the intensity of battle-like duels.

She had thought such ferocity existed only in books.

The Count’s retainers had told her there were more knights guarding the McCurry lands, but she had yet to witness them.

Perhaps because it was her first time observing true training since arriving in this world, she found it difficult to look away.

After silently watching for some time, she gestured to the seat beside her.

“Why don’t you fetch a chair for yourself as well?”

“Ah, yes, of course, my lady…”

A cool breeze stirred the curtains behind them as they sat side by side, quietly taking in the knights’ drills.

“Victoria, was it? Just so there’s no misunderstanding, I’m observing them because I wish to strengthen the Count’s forces.”

“The McCurry domain, my lady? If such a beautiful land were to be well-defended, it would be all the more perfect.”

Riden’s eyes widened.

“You’ve seen the Count’s lands before?”

Victoria’s serene smile deepened.

“I was born in the Viscounty of Homel, which borders the McCurry domain. I even visited there a few times as a child.”

Oh… how intriguing.

Lately, Riden had been spending much of her time contemplating the McCurry domain.

The capital was but a temporary stop, while the Count’s lands would one day become her permanent home.

She had been mulling over how best to nurture and develop it, but a neighboring land’s perspective was invaluable.

“Victoria, could you bring me a book from my trunk?”

Victoria promptly fetched it.

Riden opened Transforming Failure into Success: Strategies for Estate Management and unfolded the memo tucked inside.

“What was the most memorable thing about your visit to the Count’s lands?”

“To begin with…”

Just as Riden poised her pen to take notes, a commotion outside drew her attention.

The training grounds had suddenly erupted in noise.

Ethan watched from the barracks as the knights roared with excitement.

“Haaa! Hyah! Hee-yah! Raaah!”

They seem positively ecstatic.

“Haah…”

He ran a weary hand down his face, recalling the events of a few days prior—the very day Lady McCurry had visited and the final day of preparations for the expeditionary training.

“I’ll go with you.”

Merrick remembered the look of quiet determination on Riden’s face as she declared she would accompany the knights on their training mission.

He had only hoped she would remain at the ducal mansion by Ethan’s side until the expedition, yet she had chosen to join them?

It was as though fortune itself had rolled into their laps.

Samantha and Merrick had no intention of letting such an opportunity slip by.

The ducal knights were one hundred strong, all quartered in the capital’s townhouse.

They were currently busy packing for the upcoming expedition when Samantha and Merrick summoned them to the barracks grounds.

The knights, unaccustomed to such summons from the Duchess or the first son, exchanged puzzled glances.

They gathered in the open space before the barracks, murmuring uneasily.

“Did we do something wrong?”

“I have no idea.”

“This has never happened before.”

When one was summoned without explanation, it was rarely to hear good news.

Anxiety rippled through the assembly.

“But if we’re to be scolded, I’d rather it be by His Grace.”

“Where is he, anyway?”

“He went to the Imperial Palace earlier about the Holy Knights’ business. He’s probably not back yet.”

To be reprimanded by one’s own lord was far less galling than by his family members.

Though the Duchess and Merrick had never chastised them before, the knights still felt the stiff formality of strangers toward them—like children facing another household’s parents.

They were loyal to the ducal family without question, but there was an unavoidable sense of distance.

“I wish His Grace were here.”

“Curse those Holy Knights.”

Their misplaced resentment toward the Holy Knights only deepened as Merrick stepped forward.

The murmurs died instantly as his commanding voice carried across the assembly.

“First and foremost, I wish to express my deepest respect for your unwavering loyalty to the ducal house.”

He stood atop a marble dais, his tone weighty, as though about to deliver a momentous proclamation.

The knights’ faces turned solemn in response.

“I understand that you are preparing for the expeditionary training with Ethan.”

“…”

“Do you truly wish to go?”

Baffled, they glanced at one another, unsure of his intent.

Merrick continued smoothly.

“It would seem you harbor no complaints about the expedition, which tells me Ethan has already rewarded your three grueling years of war service with proper compensation. Am I correct in assuming you feel no lack?”

Each knight had indeed received generous rewards and personal commendations from Ethan.

The ducal knights were treated better than any others in the realm.

But what if they did feel the rewards insufficient?

At that moment, a brave young knight raised his hand.

“And if we do feel it is insufficient, my lord?”

The air seemed to crackle with anticipation.

After a deliberate pause, Merrick delivered the line that would set the barracks aflame.

“Then we must make amends for that lack. For instance, we could scrap this wretched expedition altogether and instead grant additional rewards and extended leave.”

A beat of silence—and then pandemonium.

“Whoooa!”

“Yaaaaah!”

“Reeeewards!”

“Please grant us leave, my lord!”

In the midst of their bestial roar, Merrick’s eloquent promises flowed like a silver stream: lavish rewards, generous leave, and even travel stipends should they desire.

“Rewards! Rewards! Rewards!”

The courtyard trembled with the chant of frenzied knights.

It was at this very moment that Ethan, freshly returned from the Holy Knights’ business, arrived at the barracks.

He halted at the sight before him: a sea of knights roaring for rewards as though possessed, all eyes fixed worshipfully on Merrick atop the dais.

The scene felt unsettlingly akin to a cult gathering.

Ethan approached his brother, his expression hardening.

“What have you done to them?”

Merrick stepped down from the dais and drew Ethan aside, his voice a conspiratorial whisper.

“This is for your sake.”