15
“Lady Lilliana Emeldia has arrived.”
At the butler’s announcement, Zighardt’s restless pacing finally came to a halt.
Today, Zighardt planned to ask Lilliana if she would become Princess Angelina’s chief lady-in-waiting.
Soon, Lilliana appeared.
Zighardt found it fascinating to see how beautifully she had grown—he remembered her from childhood with unusual clarity.
He felt as though he might burst into laughter at her face, which was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
“You called for me, Your Grace,”
Lilliana said as she curtsied.
Zighardt led her to a reception sofa.
Now then, how should he say it?
Zighardt was not good with words.
He often got scolded by his mother, the Grand Duchess, for being too blunt and always jumping straight to the point.
It felt terribly rude to speak so directly when making a request, but when he tried to make small talk, only trivial topics came to mind.
“…”
Zighardt couldn’t bring himself to speak easily.
Seeing him so hesitant made Lilliana strangely nervous too.
“His Grace wishes to make a request of Lady Lilliana,”
said the chief aide, unable to bear watching the Grand Duke flounder and fearing the loss of his dignity.
‘A request?’
Lilliana’s green eyes widened.
A soft sigh of both relief and disappointment escaped her lips.
She had suspected it.
When she was summoned by the Grand Duke, her heart had nearly stopped, but perhaps this was the extent of her miracle.
The idea that her stepmother’s words about arranging a match with the Grand Duke would come true—of course, it had never been real.
Still, it made her happy that someone had noticed her long-held affection.
She couldn’t say she hadn’t hoped for more, but just the fact that he wanted to ask something of her made her incredibly happy.
“…Lady Lilliana, do you have any future plans?”
He had meant to ease into it gently with a proper flow, but the moment Zighardt spoke, he realized something felt off.
Lilliana didn’t know how to respond.
Of course, she had no such plans.
She enjoyed being close to the Temple of the Sun and visiting there, but she didn’t even have money for the monthly offerings.
And now she was already twenty-two years old.
A noble lady unmarried at twenty-two was rare.
What’s more, she had two younger siblings.
She had lost her mother, and then her father as well.
She could now speak of her loss of wealth and status without pain—but the idea of having no future? That, she still could not accept.
“I-I have no plans,”
Lilliana replied, lowering her head.
She misunderstood him.
Nobles, when they wanted something, often asserted dominance over the other party before making their “request.”
Requests that were hardly different from threats.
She assumed Zighardt was going to ask something difficult of her.
As long as it wasn’t illegal, she had already decided she was willing to do anything for him.
Sensing that something had gone very wrong after her downcast reply, Zighardt decided to speak plainly.
“Ah, would you consider becoming Princess Angelina’s chief lady-in-waiting?”
In the current empire, after the empress had died, the woman with the most power—second only to the Grand Duchess of Rebladia—was Princess Angelina of Herbiant.
Even Lilliana, who was mostly ignorant of society, knew of Princess Angelina.
She was called the “Angel of the Empire”—so beautiful, wise, and lovely that many men were said to admire her.
“M-Me?”
Becoming such a woman’s chief lady-in-waiting was a tremendous honor for any noble family.
All the noble ladies of the capital were surely vying for the position, with secret bribes and favors flying behind the scenes.
But a fallen noble lady like her, with no ties or wealth… as the chief lady-in-waiting?
“How could I possibly…”
Lilliana lacked confidence.
She had never served anyone before.
She didn’t even know the latest fashions.
These days, she hadn’t even read much, always using household chores as an excuse.
How could someone so lacking be expected to serve such a noble lady?
She began to suspect it was all a cruel prank.
“Lilliana, aren’t you my old friend? If it’s you, I can entrust the princess to you with confidence.”
Zighardt gently took her trembling hand in both of his.
He didn’t understand why she was so anxious.
He had no doubt that someone as kind and wise as Lilliana would be a wonderful chief lady-in-waiting—and that even Angelina would feel honored.
“Friend… Your Grace, I may be lacking, but I will do my best!”
Lilliana was overjoyed.
Even if his feelings didn’t match hers, just being considered his friend made her feel as if she had the whole world.
She vowed to live up to his trust no matter what.
Her green eyes sparkled with tears of emotion.
Then, both realized they were holding hands far too tightly, and quickly pulled away like lightning.
‘Oh, please…’
Though he respected the Grand Duke, the chief aide couldn’t help but throw that thought at the scene unfolding before him.
He too had long had a female friend, but never said such sappy things—and never would.
Holding hands? Goosebumps.
‘Those two are not just friends!’
It seemed only the pair themselves were unaware of what “friend” truly meant.
‘Could it be… that his heart is starting to waver from Princess Angelina…?’
The sudden thought made the chief aide shake his head.
No matter what, there was no way the Grand Duke’s feelings for Princess Angelina would change.
That was an absolute truth.
*
Sweat poured down Jeina’s forehead like rain as she swung her wooden sword.
The training arena in the annex of the count’s estate was filled with memories of her father.
He had said that even girls should learn the basics, and had taught his three daughters swordsmanship here.
The most enthusiastic learner had been Jeina, who loved physical activity.
She resembled her father the most in looks, and had inherited his famed swordsmanship—he had once been a top-ranked knight before injury took him from the battlefield.
At one time, the training arena bustled with her father, his knights, and squires. Now, it was long unused, layered with dust and cobwebs.
Still, the striking dummies and some of the equipment were in usable condition.
Jeina swung her wooden sword at one of the dummies.
A side slash. A vertical slash. Her technique, self-taught since her father’s death, was surprisingly sharp.
Clap clap clap!
She had been silently praising herself when suddenly, applause echoed around the arena.
Jeina quickly turned to locate the source.
‘Helene…?!’
Since when?
Helene was sitting in the spectator stands, watching her.
Why was she here?
As far as Jeina knew, Helene didn’t even know this training ground existed.
Last time it was the mountain, now this place.
‘Is she… following me around?’
She was so startled she couldn’t even speak.
“Side slashes and vertical slashes done… next is thrusting, right?”
Helene imitated the movements awkwardly, casually reciting the sequence.
From her words, Jeina realized this wasn’t the first time Helene had watched her train.
What was she after?
Was it not enough to marry off their older sister—was she now trying to find a wealthy noble match for her, too?
Jeina’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“What exactly are you doing here?”
She questioned Helene sharply.
Helene was someone she didn’t even want to be around, and this place held precious memories.
She felt as though Helene had exposed even her hidden longing for her father—the same man she had once resented for remarrying.
So her tone grew even more curt.
“Have you ever considered becoming an imperial knight?”
“…What?”
Ugh no !!