CHAPTER 31………………………

Count Beatrice must have remembered the way he had behaved toward me, so he probably chose not to come out. Swallowing a small smile, I lightly greeted Sir Adonis. When she walked up to me, I noticed she was dressed much more casually than usual.

It wasn’t the academy uniform I had always seen, nor the familiar formal attire of the imperial guard. Seeing her in ordinary clothes felt rather refreshing.

Perhaps she had been practicing even though it was her day off, because beads of sweat had gathered on her forehead.

“Why have you come all the way here without even sending word?”

“I think there’s something I need to receive from you.”

“Something you need to receive…? Ah, are you referring to the handkerchief?”

I couldn’t help but feel a little ridiculous saying I had something to receive now when I had previously said she didn’t need to return it.

“It was a joke.”

“….”

“I came because I have something to give you.”

A slight crease appeared between Sir Adonis’s brows. Since she seemed unsure what I meant, I shook the small paper pouch containing the ointment.

“I wanted to give you this.”

At some point, Adolf Beatrice had appeared and was looking back and forth between Sir Adonis and me.

Several servants of the Beatrice household were also staring at me, yet none of them said anything about inviting me inside.

“Well…”

Not knowing how long I was expected to keep standing there, I rolled my eyes slightly and said,

“My legs hurt. Do I have to keep standing here?”

Only then did Sir Adonis and the servants begin guiding me inside.

“What a lovely garden.”

“It cannot compare to the duke’s estate.”

The place Sir Adonis led me to was the rear garden of the Beatrice mansion.

Of course, the gardens of the ducal family or the imperial palace were more splendid—they invested that much into them. Before I had been expelled from the ducal house, tending to the garden had actually been my hobby.

Usually, among noble families, it was the women of the household—especially the lady of the house—who took an interest in gardens. But Sir Adonis didn’t seem particularly interested in things like that. As a result, the garden looked rather modest.

It didn’t seem like she believed my compliment about it being beautiful.

When we sat down at the tea table in the garden, a maid brought a tea set. Because it was such a hot day, the tea prepared for us was iced milk tea filled with ice.

“Didn’t you say you had something to give me?”

A thin breeze blew through the garden, lifting Sir Adonis’s red hair slightly before letting it settle again.

Adonis Beatrice was definitely different from an ordinary noble lady. Normally there would at least be some light small talk, but there was none of that.

Sensing that she wanted to get straight to the point, I fiddled with my cup before placing the ointment I had received from the temple on the table.

“What is this?”

Her light green eyes—like spring sprouts—briefly touched the paper pouch before turning to me.

“It’s ointment. I tried to pretend I didn’t notice, but it kept bothering me.”

I tapped my cheek with my finger. When I brought up again the story of Count Beatrice striking her, she let out a heavy sigh. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant topic.

Both Count Beatrice and Sir Adonis probably thought they had shown something disgraceful.

The Beatrice family had produced knights for generations, so the expectations placed on their son, Adolf Beatrice, must have been enormous.

But since the eldest daughter, Adonis, was the one showing the most promise rather than the son, it must have displeased him greatly.

Yet from a third party’s perspective, the whole thing looked rather pathetic.

Even if Sir Adonis stopped wielding a sword, it wouldn’t suddenly make Adolf stand out. And seeing Count Beatrice—a man who had experienced the battlefield—treat the matter not in terms of swordsmanship but as a matter of son versus daughter only made him look like a stubborn old man.

“…Thank you, Lady.”

I had thought she wouldn’t accept the ointment out of pride, but Sir Adonis calmly picked it up from the table.

“I received it from a priest who possesses divine power. If you apply it, it’ll heal quickly. Not just your cheek—use it whenever you’re injured.”

“Since you’re here, you should take the handkerchief back as well.”

“That’s alright. I said I wouldn’t take it back, so it would be strange to accept it now. And you know the handkerchief was just an excuse.”

“It seems the handkerchief isn’t the only excuse.”

“Pardon?”

She took the round ointment container out of the paper pouch and lightly shook it.

“Isn’t saying you came to deliver this also just an excuse?”

I had assumed she would be insensitive to the roundabout ways nobles often spoke or tested each other, but that had been my prejudice.

After all, Sir Adonis was still a noble. She didn’t seem to believe that I had come purely out of concern.

I smiled lightly at Sir Adonis, who had immediately realized that both the handkerchief and the ointment were merely excuses.

Come to think of it, she was a member of the Crown Prince’s imperial guard. She was probably quicker than anyone at reading the hidden intentions of nobles.

“If you have something you want to say, go ahead.”

“Since you put it that way, I’ll ask directly.”

Sir Adonis, who hadn’t touched her drink until then, finally took a sip of tea.

“His Highness asked me to break off our engagement.”

“Cough!”

“Oh my, are you alright?”

In the quiet garden, the sound of Sir Adonis coughing violently rang out.

Was it really that shocking? I had thought she might have heard something from Lervian. Her complexion started turning as red as her hair.

I held out a handkerchief to Sir Adonis, who couldn’t stop coughing.

She hurriedly wiped her mouth with it, took a deep breath, and looked at me.

“Why—cough—why are you telling me that? More importantly, is it even alright for you to tell me something like this?”

“It doesn’t seem like His Highness will change his mind about breaking the engagement. And besides, you don’t seem like someone who would go around gossiping about it.”

If she was one of Persephone’s close aides, she would find out sooner or later anyway.

Since Persephone had already said she had waited long enough and wanted a decision, if I tried to delay things, she would surely bring up the matter of breaking the engagement officially.

“He said there’s someone else he likes. I was wondering if perhaps you might know who it is.”

The face that had been staring at me showed a faint hint of confusion. Just as I wondered if I had made a slip of the tongue, she spoke.

“…Even if I did know, do you think I would be able to tell you?”

The flush on her cheeks quickly faded, and her expression returned to the same indifferent calm as usual. I shook my head.

“You’re right.”

Of course she wouldn’t say anything. The most important quality for someone serving close to royalty was a tight mouth.

The reason I could bring up the broken engagement to Sir Adonis in the first place was because she wasn’t someone who would speak carelessly.

So where could I find out? There were only two options: pressure Lervian or pressure Persephone.

And it seemed better to pressure Lervian than Persephone, so I stood up.

I had delivered the ointment, asked what I wanted to ask—though I had gained nothing from it—and there was no reason to stay at the count’s estate any longer.

“Well then, I’ll be going—”

“Didn’t you think that person might be me?”

At that question, the garden suddenly fell as silent as a grave.

The faint chirping of insects, the rustling wind, even the sounds of the Beatrice knights practicing—it all felt as if it had been muted.

If Sir Adonis hadn’t been holding her cup, I might have thought time itself had stopped.

…I really hadn’t expected that.

That kind of probing remark was something the ladies of high society might say—not someone like Adonis Beatrice, who was the very definition of a single-minded person far removed from the social scene.

How exactly was I supposed to react to that?

I swallowed the sound in my throat and slowly sat back down.

“Well… judging from the way you are now, Sir Adonis, you don’t seem interested in dating or love. So I excluded you.”

“And how did you come to know that I have no interest in such things?”

“I’ve watched you since our academy days. Among everyone, I probably know better than anyone except my brother Lian that the only thing you’re interested in is the sword.”

Rain or shine, even in snow—she had always been practicing swordsmanship at the training grounds.

If Sir Adonis were to have a one-sided love for anything, it wouldn’t be a person—it would be the sword.

Although I said that, if Persephone’s feelings for someone else were actually unrequited love, that person could indeed be Adonis Beatrice.

Persephone liked strong and steadfast people, and Adonis fit that perfectly.

“And besides, just look at the fuss Count Beatrice made.”

“….”

“If he found out that Sir Adonis liked someone, wouldn’t he immediately tell you to quit the sword and get married?”