Right in front of her, however, Ferento explained in an excited tone.
“Amazing, right? In my life, other than my Lord, I have never seen swordsmanship that is this ruthless and this overwhelming.”
Ferento’s gaze, fixed on Eren, was filled with admiration.
Suddenly, Liselotte was reminded of Eren’s rough hands, covered in scars.
“Even so, I doubt the collateral elders find it satisfactory. Since it’s not the orthodox swordsmanship of House Keilos.”
Ferento, whose complexion had not changed even in the cold, had the tip of his nose slightly reddened.
“That’s unexpected.”
The Ferento Liselotte knew was someone who had tried harder than anyone else to meet orthodox standards.
Was there really any reason to give up something that was so clearly legitimate?
As if entranced, Ferento stared at Eren and continued.
“The former Grand Duke passed away far too early, so His Highness could not receive the full training.”
Realizing too late what he had said, the sword-obsessed Ferento quickly shut his mouth.
At that moment, Masid’s sword collided with Eren’s, and sparks flew briefly.
Whooom. The sound of the blade slicing through the air reached Liselotte even from far away.
Because the duel still remained out of sight, she could only rely on sound.
But that did not last long.
A sharp, grating clash rang out, enough to make her frown, and Masid’s sword flew up into the air.
Whirring, the deflected sword slammed straight into the ground.
It had not even been ten minutes since the duel began.
Eren’s sword, which had been out of sight until now, was clearly pointed at Masid’s neck.
As if he had been waiting for this moment, Ail, acting as the referee, raised the arm toward Eren high into the air.
“Grand Duke Keilos wins!”
For a swordsman to lose their weapon is tantamount to death.
The duel ended far too easily, and Masid’s face stiffened solid.
The moment the outcome was decided, he looked around.
With the two duelists at the center, knights and subjugation force members were standing in a circle around them, but their reaction was cold.
There wasn’t even a perfunctory word of comfort like “It’s all right,” nor any empty praise like “You did well.”
Everyone in the training ground looked at the defeated man with cold eyes.
Even Masid, who was usually the loudest of all, was forced to shut his mouth and watch the mood.
Perhaps it was the last shred of his pride, but he didn’t even pick up his sword. He turned sharply and strode out of the training ground.
In the quiet that followed, Eren slid his sword back into its scabbard with a soft shing and took long strides forward.
Naturally, he stopped in front of Liselotte and looked down at her face as if inspecting her.
Ferento, who had been standing like a shield in front of her, flinched. He clamped his mouth shut, broke out in a cold sweat, and desperately pretended not to notice anything.
Hadn’t he said the old generation found his swordsmanship unsatisfactory?
Liselotte deliberately raised her voice and brightly exclaimed,
“I knew you would win!”
Shuk. Imitating sword movements she had never properly learned, she continued,
“I could barely even see it. Sir Masid couldn’t move at all.”
As if he hadn’t expected that reaction, Eren’s shoulder twitched.
Some of the subjugation force members, emboldened as though this were a spectacle, chimed in.
“His Highness is even scarier during subjugations!”
“He was holding back because it was in front of Princess Liselotte! If not, Sir Masid would’ve died!”
Perhaps Masid had irritated them for quite some time, because there was unmistakable delight in their voices.
A single sandwich seemed to have become the fuse.
The atmosphere was completely different from when she had first come to the training ground, when everyone had silently surrounded Eren and watched him.
When the mood softened, it was better to go along with it.
“Oh, so that’s why I couldn’t really see the spar?”
No wonder she had kept seeing only his back.
At her spot-on remark, Eren looked flustered and rubbed the corner of his mouth with his large hand.
“Masid’s blade could have flown off. We were that close.”
“But the distance was pretty far, and Sir Ferento was in front of me.”
“Swordsmanship may be unfamiliar to you, so it might not have been pleasant to watch.”
“It’s fine. I asked for it myself. I prefer seeing things plainly, just as they are.”
That way, she could clearly tell if he was about to lose control.
Each time they spoke, he turned his head aside.
Liselotte followed his averted gaze, tilting her head along with him and smiling brightly.
“You understand, right? Yes?”
Without even checking her expression, he abruptly turned his head and gave an order in a low voice to those gathered in the training ground.
“That will be all for morning training. Everyone, disperse.”
It was an abrupt dismissal.
***
When Liselotte returned, Marsha was pacing restlessly in front of the door, wandering back and forth.
The moment she saw her, Marsha seemed unable to wait even that short distance and rushed over with a distressed expression.
“Your Highness, why are you only just getting back?!”
“Why? Did something happen?”
“Well…”
Flustered, Marsha fumbled in the front pocket of her apron and pulled out a letter, holding it out.
The seal bore the sigil of House Gloria.
“I do not recall sending a reply yet.”
“Exactly. But it was a letter sent by Lady Diana…”
Not a new aide, but Diana?
Liselotte opened the letter as she walked into the room.
[I heard from Aide Mirkena that we have been unable to reach you!
Is something the matter?
We are currently selecting personnel to dispatch to the eastern border region for damage recovery. What do you think?]
What was the point of asking her opinion? Were they planning to do nothing and somehow fix it another way?
She could not even understand the purpose of the letter.
If this were meant as pressure, only the morning had passed.
Even before a subjugation that demanded urgency, House Gloria had taken its time while demanding ten thousand gold in joint cooperation. This was not something they had any right to hurry her over.
Moreover, the selection of reconstruction personnel from House Gloria was not something that could be resolved by asking Liselotte.
“If I asked them to mobilize ten million people, would they actually do it?”
Once her disbelief crossed into absurdity, she began craving tea.
Very strong tea.
Letting out a long sigh, she turned to Marsha and gave an instruction.
“Marsha. Tea, please.”
“Yes! I will prepare it right away.”
Listening to Marsha’s brisk reply, Liselotte spread out a sheet of writing paper and began drafting her response.
[Greetings,
This is Liselotte Keilos.
First, I am informing you of the matters currently being handled in the North.
Please review them and get back to me.]
Of course, the recipient was the aide, Mirkena.
After accepting only a single letter, Marsha asked back with slight unease.
“Is it really alright not to send one to Lady Diana?”
“Yeah. It’s fine.”
She had overstepped her authority.
Liselotte felt no need to reply to someone like that.
‘Once she interferes once, it will become twice, then three times.’
This was where the line had to be drawn.
Apologies aside, she did not want to encounter her any further.
Fortunately, perhaps because Diana had grasped her intent, no further replies came.
Judging from how things were unfolding at House Gloria, it seemed prudent to start preparing.
“I’ll stop by His Highness’s office for a moment. If the tea is ready, just place it on the desk.”
With the letter in hand, she headed straight for his study.
Knock, knock. When she knocked, unlike earlier in the day, a voice answered her from inside.
“Come in.”
“Your Highness. I stopped by briefly to share some thoughts regarding the damage recovery. Are you very busy?”
Click. When she opened the door and stepped inside, it seemed he had been changing clothes. He was fastening the buttons of his shirt when he lifted his head.
As her gaze inevitably took in the well-defined muscles beneath the neatly tailored fabric, Liselotte hurriedly blurted out at high speed from the doorway.
“Wait a moment! You clearly said to come in!”
She was not startled. Truly.
It was just that she did not know where to look, and her heart had started racing in embarrassment.
Eren, who had paused mid-motion, resumed buttoning his shirt.
“I had no intention of finding fault with you. I answered readily because I thought it was Ail, so I’m responsible.”
“It’s not that I doubted you. I just like things to be certain.”
“Certain…”
“Clear evidence, clear circumstances. There’s a quiet sense of satisfaction when they line up just right.”
After rolling the words around for a moment, he gestured with his eyes toward the letter in her hand.
“Judging by the letter, it seems to be something urgent. Would you like to sit and wait for a moment?”
Without a word of complaint, Liselotte sat down on the sofa and placed the letter conspicuously on the table, pretending to casually scan the corner of the office.
“It’s not something that requires a formal sit-down. I just wanted to let you know that the opinions from the East seem like something we should only take into consideration, at best.”
“I heard that a new aide has been assigned.”
His presence was too strong to ignore.
The portion of his upper body visible at a glance was covered entirely in scars.
