ITMWG 66

Chapter 66…

The correct order.

“Don’t the servants here know how to walk around quietly?”

Perhaps feeling perturbed, Melissa turned her head with a raised eyebrow. Although Aylesford’s workers were not comparable to that of Marquis Vine, who had worked for the noble family for a long time, they all completed their duty with utmost care. It was inevitable that Melissa would think of it as stupid, but it would never be acceptable for her to look down on the innocent people of Aylesford. If it’s because Nadia, the Madame, had been treated as a joke so far, that Aylesford was not taken seriously…

That must never happen!

Just as she was trying to calm her anxiously pounding heart and speak up for the workers, Melissa’s strange expression caught her eye. Wondering why, she turned her head and followed Melissa’s gaze, there stood Pavel and Blan. Pavel was the butler who served the lord by his side, and Blan was an outstanding knight. It was difficult for Melissa to express her anger recklessly as they were far different from ordinary workers and depending on the situation, their words could bring different weight. Moreover, Pavel and Blan were not easy-going people.

He must have finished talking with Altair.

Just when she was supposed to have an important conversation with them, an uninvited guest – Melissa – showed up, so she had to do something to chase her away first. But before Nadia could say anything, Melissa had already turned and was walking towards Pavel and Blan.

She hurriedly ran after Melissa, but the woman opened her mouth faster than she could stop her.

“This is the butler, but who is this?”

Melissa smiled arrogantly as she looked at Pavel and Blan alternately. In particular, her eyes were then fixed on Blan, who just returned to Aylesford today and was meeting her for the first time. She seemed very interested in him.

“Why is there no response? If I ask, shouldn’t you give me an answer?”

Blan, who was blinking in confusion at the woman who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, frowned and whispered to Pavel, who stood next to him.

“Hey, who is this crazy woman?”

Even though he was whispering, even Nadia, standing behind Melissa, could hear it.

“C-crazy woman?!”

As a result, Melissa became furious and pointed her finger at Blan.

“Do you know who I am? How dare you say things like that?”

“Of course I don’t know who you are.”

Despite Melissa’s rage, Blan only shrugged as if her shouts had no effect on him. His calm attitude made both Melissa and Nadia gape, but Blan just glanced up and down at Melissa judgmentally in a crooked posture that was rarely seen.

“Ha. So this is Aylesford’s way of treating guests, isn’t it? How rude and ignorant! I will definitely tell people about this when I return to the capital!”

It was a threat that would work well for the capital’s aristocrats who considered social circles their lives, but it was not something that would particularly resonate with Blan, who was far from such a place.

“Treat guests?”

And just as expected, Blan snorted without changing his indifferent attitude.

“If you want to be treated like a guest, you have to act like one. Despite being aware that you’re a guest, you are acting like you’re the host of this place, so I’m not sure who is being rude and ignorant here.”

“You…!”

At the explicit accusation, Melissa couldn’t hold back her anger and swung her hand. However, the attack was too predictable to Blan, and he easily dodged it by simply taking a step back. Consequently, Melissa lost her balance and stumbled and the Vine family’s maid hurried to support her.

“This is Lady Melissa! She is the only daughter of Marquis Vine and Baroness Aylesford’s cousin. How can you be so rude?”

At the maid’s introduction, Melissa lifted her chin and glared at Blan. The meaning was clear: ‘If you know who I am now, apologise quickly and beat it!’ But Blan just tilted his head with a calm expression.

Although he was bowing politely, his attitude seemed completely disrespectful. This time, Melissa changed her target and glared at Nadia.

“Hey! Your subordinate is so insolent, why are you just watching?”

“…Sir Blan is a knight. He’s not really my subordinate.”

“What nonsense is that? The family knight is your subordinate! Tell him to apologise right now!”

“The knight is the sword of Aylesford, following the lord’s orders. I cannot personally order an apology.”

“What?”

Melissa’s eyes widened, as if she hadn’t expected Nadia to protest to her words. Melissa looked like she was about to explode at any moment. Then, her maid, who had been quietly watching, came forward and whispered something to her. As if having found some point in what she said, Melissa straightened her posture, regained her composure, and looked at Nadia with a grin.

“Then… You apologise.”

“What?”

“A baron’s knight was rude to the marquis’ daughter, so someone should be responsible for it. But you said you couldn’t ask the knight to apologise. So, you, Madame, do it in his stead.”

Blan, who probably didn’t expect that Melissa would behave like this, frowned and stepped forward. Since the situation had come to this, he intended to apologise. But Nadia raised her hand to stop Blan.

“Madame.”

Blan called out to her cautiously, but Nadia turned away from him and looked at Melissa. Melissa snorted and leisurely smoothed her hair, while Blan gritted his teeth, glaring at her. She thought it was very clear who the winners and losers were.

“Melissa, I can apologise to you.”

“Of course you should.”

“But before I do, you must also apologise to Sir Blan. That’s the correct order.”

“W-what? Why should I?”

“You treated an officially ordained knight like a servant. A knight represents the honour of a family. You trampled on Aylesford’s honour by ignoring our knight, and he deserves an apology for that. My apology comes next.”

Melissa’s mouth was agape, probably not expecting her counterattack. It was understandable. Back in the Marquis of Vine, Nadia always went out of her way to tolerate Melissa. But Aylesford was different. Just because the Madame was treated like a joke, the innocent people of Aylesford should not be placed under Melissa’s control. It would be the role of a proper baroness not to let that happen. Still, because of her timid nature, her hands were shaking. Her voice was probably shaking too. Melissa, who was baffled for a moment, must have regained her confidence after seeing her ridiculous appearance, as she snorted and straightened her back again.

Melissa’s voice was so loud that it echoed down the hall as she spoke. Blan, who was looking at her with bafflement, and Pavel, who was quietly observing the situation, bpth stiffened. Melissa herself seemed to have realised that her remark had crossed the line due to her overconfidence, and covered her mouth with her hand. But she could not withdraw the words that had already left her mouth.

“So that’s what you think. ‘What kind of honour could a country estate like this possibly have?’”

A voice as chilly as the atmosphere came from the hallway. When Nadia turned her head at the unexpected voice, she saw Altair trotting across the hallway with an expression several times colder than usual. Altair? As she blinked blankly at his sudden appearance, Anna stuck her head out from behind him.

As soon as their eyes met, Nadia could see Anna’s eyes glistening triumphantly. It seemed that she saw the difficult situation and decided to bring Altair for help.  It was as though her gaze was saying ‘I did a good job, didn’t I!’. At that, Nadia could only grin awkwardly, and a prideful smile spread on Anna’s face.

“Oh, my lord. I finally get to see you. ”

Melissa greeted Altair with a slightly pale face. Just a while ago, she was pestering Nadia to let her meet him, but now Altair had arrived, she did not look all that happy. Altair turned to look at Blan and Pavel, ignoring Melissa’s greetings.

“What the hell is going on?”

“My apology. I…”

Blan bowed his head and tried to explain the situation, but Nadia could not let him admit his fault here, so she quickly interrupted the conversation before he could continue.

“Melissa was rude to our knight.”

Altair’s gaze, looking at Pavel and Blan, shifted to her. Perhaps it was just an illusion, but when she flinched at Altair’s frosty gaze, he seemed to soften a bit.

“Is that so, lady Melissa?”

But when she saw his stare passing her and landed on Melisa, she confirmed it was her own misunderstanding that he had momentarily become soft.

“It-…it was a mistake. If you talk to me, you will definitely understand the situation. ”

“Talk to you? Why should I talk to you? While I can hear about the situation from my wife, my knight, and my aid? ”

“About that, uh, I also need to meet with my lord in private. My father told me to send you a letter.”

“Then give it to me.”

“Pardon?”

“Just hand the letter over.”

Altair reached out adamantly. Melissa glanced at her maid, and the maid stepped forward to resolve the situation.

“It’s an important letter, so the marquis told her ladyship to deliver it to you in private. This is a public place so…”

“All the people here are the people I trust, so it’s not much different from doing it in private. So give it to me now. ”

When Altair urged Melisa without wavering, she briefly exchanged glances with the maid and pulled out the letter. It was a luxurious envelope stamped with Marquis Vine’s crest in a gold leaf.

…she really has a letter? I thought it was a trick of hers to meet Altair somehow. 

“Well, it’s as we expected.”

Altair handed the letter to Blan.

“Take a look and proceed in the direction we have discussed in advance.”

“Yes, I got it.”

Melissa’s face turned white as she just noticed Blan’s position. It was so obvious that even the reckless Melissa could see that he was no ordinary knight, but a close one to the lord.

“Excuse me …sir knight? ”

Melissa, eyes flitting nervously here and there, coughed a couple of times then said.

“Come to think of it, I was being rude. I am sorry for not revealing who I was.”

“That’s alright. ‘What kind of pride would a country estate have anyway, right?’ Please continue to treat me the same way. ”

Blan smiled as usual as he reminded Melissa of her words. At that, Melissa’s face turned pale. Blan bowed to Altair, ignoring Melissa.

“My lord, I heard Madame wishes to discuss a matter with me and Pavel…”

“Yes, off you go then.”

Blan returned to the friendly knight and escorted Nadia. Following them in a hurry was Pavel. As only Melisa and Altair were left, Nadia glanced back with worry, while Pavel adjusted his glasses and sighed.

“I’m worried.”

It was exactly the same thought as hers. She also shook her head with a sigh.

“Yeah. Melissa is not normal… How difficult it would be for Altair…”

“Sorry?”

Pavel, who was bewildered at her words, exchanged glances with Blan and soon burst into laughter.

“Madame, I am not worried about the lord, but the lady instead. ”

“His lord must have long wanted to deal with her, and just in time the other one gave him an excuse to do so. … he must be thrilled like a fish meeting water. ”

He did not look thrilled to her at all though. Nadia could not guess how the situation between Altair and Melissa would turn out, but she still kept here steps steady as she moved forward.

“The lord will take care of it. And we do what we should. It seems you have something to tell me, Madame? ”

She almost forgot about the matter with Blan. As he said, there was something they should do. It was very important, too.