CHAPTER 06
Onyx Romel.
Before the aftermath of the Battle of Ushi-Baran could even be settled, the head of the Onyx family, Onyx Romel, issued a statement.
He declared that since his daughter had been in a romantic relationship with Sapeiros, she should be recognized as the official wife of the deceased Sapeiros.
As proof, Romel presented the beetle ring of the Mano Marquisate, which Mano Sapeiros had supposedly given his daughter as a token of their love.
Of course, this was absurd. Regardless of the reason, a living person cannot legally marry someone who has died.
In reality, the Marquis of Mano immediately dismissed Romel’s statement without hesitation.
Enraged, Onyx Romel gathered retainers he was friendly with and incited a retainer uprising.
Just as the external war had been barely stabilized, the Marquisate now faced civil war.
Romel’s rebellion was eventually resolved by granting him the right to form his own personal knightly order. This incident became a classic example of the incompetence of Marquis Hidenight of Mano.
Wait—this beetle ring is identical to the one on my hand! And right now, Sapeiros doesn’t even have a lover!
I… I was careless.
As planned, I saved Sapeiros.
I know the future. Even if this is reality, I’m safe. Perhaps I’ve become arrogantly confident in this thought.
Ah… now what should I do? How can I return? Who must I ally with to guarantee my safety? Should I just flee this territory?
Think, Mano Adamas. You can’t just die here!
A life unrecorded in history books, unknown to herself.
A Marquisate riddled with problems, destined to vanish in three years.
And I am right in the middle of it.
“You barely survived, huh? I told you from the start. You’re just a fancy disposable pawn. Tsk, tsk.”
The man wiped his hands with a silk handkerchief and spoke to Sapeiros.
It was a rude gesture that paid Adamas no mind, yet no one in the banquet hall dared call him out.
“It would have been better if you had held my hand. But of course, you’re just some girl of unknown status. Did you scrounge her up somewhere?”
Romel sneered at Sapeiros and Adamas like a hyena searching for prey.
“Head of the Onyx family,” Sapeiros said quietly.
“Show some restraint. She is the woman I love.”
Sapeiros naturally took Adamas’s hand.
Love? Her face heated up. Adamas pressed her burning cheeks with her hands.
“Absurd! A woman you claim to love doesn’t just fall from the sky overnight!”
Wow… he’s right. How could he know I literally appeared here overnight?
“She has loved me for a long time, even if we did not show it publicly. This ring is proof of that.”
“Lies! That beetle ring…!”
Romel paused, glaring at Sapeiros and Adamas, sputtering in frustration.
“She may come from the streets, but how dare the captain of the Marquis’s knights marry a lowly girl of unknown status!”
“Not your concern.”
“Tch. That’s why those of unknown birth are so insolent.”
A blatant insult.
Romel saw that Adamas bore the name “Mano” and assumed she was an insignificant orphan. This simultaneously belittled Sapeiros, who had risen to knight captain despite being an orphan.
“You insult the only captain of the Mano knights too much.”
Sapeiros placed his hand on his sword.
Ugh, he’s quick to reach for his sword at every provocation.
No matter how much Romel annoyed him, this was a public banquet—he couldn’t draw his sword here.
“Ross, stop. I’m fine.”
Adamas shook her head and faced Sapeiros, gently arranging his hair and whispering in his ear.
“Relax your hand, you fool.”
“What?”
Adamas pretended to cradle Sapeiros’s arm while pinching him sharply.
“Open display of affection, are we? I suppose the same kinds marry each other.”
“I will handle my own marriage. If the family head must meddle, it is irritating.”
Sapeiros shot Romel a sidelong glare.
“The Marquis simply lets things be. How could he concern himself with every disposable pawn?”
Romel glared down at Sapeiros and Adamas, who was a head shorter than him.
“Ah, that ugly gem is better covered up.”
He sneered at Sapeiros’s sword.
The sword’s blade was currently wrapped in cloth. The emerald embellishment beneath the blade had been damaged in battle when Adamas accidentally struck it. To prevent the fractured pieces from falling, Sapeiros had bound the emerald in white cloth.
Ugly gem? It was a powerful magical stone that had saved Sapeiros and the Mano Fran army.
“You’re going too far…”
Adamas tried to intervene, but Sapeiros quietly stopped her.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s my sword, my responsibility.”
“Hah! Do as you please. Someday you’ll regret not holding my hand.”
When Romel left the hall, most of the guests cautiously followed him.
The banquet hall suddenly emptied.
Sapeiros wiped his face with his hand, struggling to suppress his anger.
Adamas quietly took Sapeiros’s hand and led him out of the hall, through the Marquis’s estate corridors.
Once the surrounding chaos subsided, she raised her voice.
“Ugly emerald? You don’t even know. Do you hear yourself? Not only are you insulting the sword, you’re insulting the Marquis who gave it!”
“It’s well known. I only stand on the battlefield representing the Marquis.”
“Represent? Stand there? What are you saying…”
“The Marquis lacks talent with a sword. He’s in poor health. I stand on the battlefield on behalf of the Mano family, yet the long-standing retainers only point fingers, saying I am an orphan of unknown origin.”
“I see…”
“Still, it doesn’t matter to me. My loyalty remains. But I cannot bear to hear people insult the Marquis. Sure, my sword’s emerald isn’t the finest, but…”
“What do you mean! You know the sword’s power!”
Adamas shook her head firmly at Sapeiros, who smiled faintly.
The emerald may appear low-quality at first glance, but in reality, it was vital. Without it, Sapeiros—and parts of the Marquisate—would have been destroyed.
“Don’t mind what others say. The Marquis gave the best sword he could to his finest knight.”
“I was not specifically told about the stone when I received the sword. The emerald embellishment being magical is likely coincidental.”
“Even so, you cannot disregard the Marquis’s sincerity. Don’t waver. Believe what you see.”
Sapeiros thought of Marquis Hidenight.
The supportive gaze as he handled his sword. The always warm tone of voice. In hindsight, the trust was unwavering.
“I want to be a retainer who strengthens the Marquis.”
“Good! You can be!”
Adamas clenched her fist, determination in her eyes.
Her father, Dos, had been weak—a pale, frail man, yet astonishingly meticulous and resilient. He carefully recorded expenses, planned for inflation, and ensured Adamas’s safety.
Yes, even sending her to boarding school had been a way to provide a safe, warm place to live under a fatherless sky.
Adamas recalled the resemblance between her father and Marquis Hidenight and nodded.
Now it made sense why she had sung Sapeiros’s praises for so long.
“Let’s save the Mano Marquisate. First, let’s deal with that wretched Onyx Romel.”
With a resolute expression,
“You speak well. But I cannot trouble the Marquis…”
Adamas cut him off.
“Of course, we must ensure the Marquis is never troubled.”
Sapeiros stared at her silently.
“Trust me! I’m Mano Adamas! Where’s a better proof than being here, in the Mano Marquisate?”
“I see. Mano, huh.”
“Of course! And Adamas!”
A child stronger than anyone. Adamas—derived from “diamond,” meaning unconquerable.
She brushed the beetle ring on her finger.
This beetle ring led her here—to the person she most wanted to see and to the place where she could save the most “Mano.”
Thanks to it, she stood on the living soil of the Mano Marquisate, beside its hero, Sapeiros.
Unlike the first time she wished to wake from a dream, now she felt gratitude as if living in a dream.
In a quiet corner of the Marquis’s estate, Adamas made a vow.
Now that she was here, she would restore the Mano Marquisate with all her strength—alongside Sapeiros, the man she had to protect.
Yes. That was the purpose of this time slip.
Adamas extended her hand.
“Let’s restore the Mano Marquisate. I’m counting on you, my love!”
Sapeiros stared at the beetle ring on her hand for a long moment.
“Hey, stop staring so embarrassingly. Shake my hand! Or better yet, propose!”
Adamas laughed. Sapeiros reached out, then slowly lowered himself to one knee.
