TLSD 09

Chapter 9

“In here together….”

“Commander. Are you sleeping together? The lady looks frightened.”

At the unfamiliar voice, Elio startled and hunched her shoulders.

“The lady seems uncomfortable with the carriage. Shall I lend you my tent?”

A short-brown-haired knight smiled gently and ducked her head inside the tent.

Carlos stopped talking and stared at the knight at the tent entrance for a moment. Then, with a deadpan expression, he replied that he would sleep in the carriage and accepted the drink the knight handed over.

Watching the tall brown-haired knight with her bowed waist, Elio abruptly swallowed hard.

From her straight-lined bone structure to her sturdy jawline and pleasingly tanned skin, she looked like a vitality-filled, healthy young nobleman.

Yet, by some strange intuition, she just knew.

……This person,

………is a woman.

The knight’s hazel-brown eyes curved softly as she gazed at Elio.

“Lady, I am Greta of the Marquis of Hoffmann. Allow me to introduce myself. Are you finding the carriage very uncomfortable?”

“The commander’s sword is really handso—pretty.”

Elio had been admiring Greta’s physique, which was taller than most men’s, before she started inspecting her sword.

The longsword, densely embedded with a double-headed eagle emblem, garnets, and emeralds, looked less like a weapon and more like a work of art.

“It’s an heirloom of the Hoffmann family. A relic of the Tuun Kingdom. It’s the most precious treasure bestowed upon us by His Majesty the King.”

At Greta’s warm reply, Elio’s eyes widened.

“You’re from Tuun?”

“Yes. I grew up in Tuun when I was little.”

Elio hesitated, biting her lip. She felt a bit awkward about how to respond when someone proudly named a northern continental kingdom that had vanished long ago after being defeated in the war of conquest.

If she still maintained a marquis title in Lübeck even after the fall of her country… was her family a house of traitors to the Tuun Kingdom…?

Sensing Elio’s troubled thoughts, Greta smiled as if guessing them.

“My maternal family has served as the Minister of Finance for Lübeck for generations. My mother passed away when I was two, so I don’t remember much, though.”

“Ah….”

“Doesn’t my build alone make me look like a northerner? Women with a build like this are rare in Lübeck. Unfortunately, I didn’t take after my mother, who was one of the three great beauties of the empire, and instead took after my father.”

At Greta’s joke-like chuckle, Elio nodded instinctively.

Indeed, a woman this tall and statuesque was the first she had ever seen, second only to the big sis.

Moreover, coming from a marquis family and being a fierce enough knight to inherit such a precious sword… wouldn’t she make a perfect match for Carlos?

“I’ve… I’ve never met a lady as strong and handsome as you.”

Elio suddenly panicked, wondering if that was a rude thing to say to a lady, and quickly added:

“I mean it as a compliment. I’m envious. I want to become a strong person like you, too.”

Greta nodded, the corners of her lips turning up.

“The lady looks like a pure white mermaid. So delicate…. And your eye color is as beautiful as the sea.”

Elio blinked and offered an awkward smile at the unexpected, bouncing exchange of praises that felt like receiving bow greetings while flat on her back.

She was a woman who delivered even blush-inducing compliments in such a remarkably nonchalant tone.

“I’m so glad you’re here. With only men around, it was a little… scary.”

“I suppose so. You are a lady, after all.”

Greta smiled softly.

“You’re the only woman here, weren’t you uncomfortable on the way? You’ve had to camp out a lot, too….”

Elio grew curious about how on earth she managed washing, changing clothes, and using the restroom amidst all those men.

“Ah. I believe distinctions between men and women are meaningless. I have no interest in men whatsoever.”

“Ah… is that so? Right, m-meaningless, yes.”

Elio massaged her temples and blushed. She felt embarrassed, realizing she must have sounded like a clueless lady overly conscious of men.

It’s not like I meant it’s uncomfortable because I have an interest in men….

Looking a bit crestfallen, Elio changed the subject by holding the treasured sword up to the firelight.

“Anyway, it really is a sword worthy of being an heirloom! My sword is terribly ugly.”

“Do you own a sword?”

“Yes. But it’s not a pretty sword like yours. Just, you know… a small, beaten-up generic sword rolling around a blacksmith’s shop.”

“…Have you studied swordsmanship?”

“Yes!”

Elio answered cheerfully. Greta paused, then her eyes crinkled into a smile again.

“You must have attended elementary school.”

“No? I just learned it on the mountain behind my house.”

Greta stopped the hand with which she had been polishing her gauntlet. What reason would a noble lady—not even from a knightly family—have to learn swordsmanship on a backyard mountain?

“The backyard mountain? From whom?”

“From a big sis I know!”

“Did you learn from a knight?”

Elio lowered her sword and tilted her head quizzically. The big sis who had hurled endless curses insisting she wasn’t a knight probably wasn’t a knight at all.

“No? Definitely not a knight, I’m sure. She was always cursing at knights. Saying they only chased after useless formalities and lacked real skill. Oh, of course I don’t mean the Robiatan knights are like that, though.”

“Then what sort of person….”

“Just… a vagrant who’s really good at fighting?”

“Pardon?”

“Everyone to sleep! Only the second squad on night watch remains, everyone else goes to sleep! Greta, you go to sleep right now too!”

Tobi’s shout announcing bedtime echoed across the camp. Suppressing her questions for now, Greta bid Elio a good night.

She looked down at the little woman who was chattering once more about how grateful she was for the clothes-changing help.

…She learned swordsmanship?

Greta shook her head with a smile.

“Think nothing of it. By the way, you might want to wear knightly underwear that compresses your chest a bit more. If your chest bounces around, your movements become sluggish. I’ll pick some up for you when we hit a village tomorrow.”

“Underwear? I’m, I’m fine, really, I’m fine.”

“No. Even ordinarily, wearing underwear that compresses the torso will make traveling much easier. For your outer garments, wear something loose with a long hemline, too. Your skin is so fair and delicate that you’re likely to get scratched easily.”

Elio flushed bright red down to her fingertips and nodded anyway.

She was already mortified enough about having been stripped naked while unconscious. Having underwear brought up so openly made her face burn. Was she saying that just so she wouldn’t get hurt and become a burden?

Or perhaps… was she worried about her?

With a cryptic smile, Greta vanished.

A pitch-dark silence descended as dozens of knights closed their eyes.

Aside from the faint chirping of birds, it felt as though every sound in the world had vanished.

Having usurped the man’s tent and forced to lie down all alone, Elio found it hard to fall asleep.

She buried her burning face in a cushion and absentmindedly traced her breasts, which felt a bit large for her slender frame. She also stroked her fair skin, which had been called delicate.

Tossing and turning endlessly, she slid her arm out of the sleeping bag to pull out her wallet. Staring with a disheartened gaze at all her worldly wealth nestled inside the flimsy floral pouch, she shoved it back into the deepest corner of her bag.

Thus, lying curled up like an embryo in the very corner of the tent, she tried to coax sleep that refused to come.

In the early dawn before daybreak had even fully broken,

Elio wrapped herself in a blanket and moistened her lips. Even though it was the rainy season, the deep mountain dawn air was so chilly that her breath looked ready to mist.

The junior knights, stealing sideways glances rather than looking straight at her, piled her tray overflowing with freshly roasted bird legs, baby potatoes, and thin potato soup.

Elio hesitated, then offered a small, grateful smile.

The junior knight avoided her gaze, scratched the back of his reddened neck, and told her to eat plenty.

Observing the junior knight’s flushed face intently, Elio smiled brightly, nodded, and parted her lips to add something more.

“Uhm, the potatoes you roasted yesterday were also deli—”

“Lady. For smooth food distribution, would you mind moving forward a bit? Departure time is coming up soon.”

Greta offered an apologetic smile, pointing toward an open clearing further ahead.

“Ah, yes. I, I got everything.”

Greta pointed toward the clearing once more and smiled warmly. Then, rolling up her gold bracelet, she began serving the meals herself.

Seeing regular knights carrying food trays swarming up behind Greta, Elio hurried off to a corner. She claimed a spot under a tree as far away from the knights as possible.

Steam rose gently from the dented food tray.

Elio stared down forlornly at the hot tray all by herself before rolling her eyes to search for Carlos.

He looked busy unfolding a map and discussing something with Tobi, having apparently finished his meal already.

Soon enough, Greta approached him with a food tray. Carlos let out a short chuckle and patted Greta’s shoulder.

Standing side by side with Carlos, who possessed an unrivaled physique, Greta—who had felt somewhat masculine—looked undeniably feminine at a glance.

The twenty-six-year-old young duke and the twenty-five-year-old marquess’s daughter.

The combination of two young people at prime marriageable age was harmonious without a single flaw.

…A woman as strong as a man.

…The single female knight he chose to bring among numerous others.

Suddenly gripped by a startling wave of doubt, Elio stared at the two young people standing side by side.

Could Greta actually be his real lover…?

And that’s why he’s trying to avoid marrying the archduchess….

The moment she locked eyes with his beastly, chilling black gaze upon turning her face toward Carlos in shock, Elio clamped a hand over her mouth and lowered her head. Her heartbeat hammered as frantically as a fish landed on dry land.

So that made sense. If he was using her to purposely dodge an unwanted marriage with the archduchess because of his true lover. He couldn’t just defy the imperial decree however he pleased, after all.

He said he could annul our first-night oath. Was he planning to marry Greta after annulling the oath?

The story Greta had told earlier about the little mermaid suddenly flashed through Elio’s mind. Wasn’t that the story where the mermaid saved the prince, but in the end the prince married a princess from a neighboring country? No wait, what does that story even have to do with this? She shook her confused head.

Shortly after, a burst of laughter loud enough to shatter the cold air echoed out.

The knights, clustered together around Greta, tore into bird legs and giggled loudly among themselves in high spirits.

Perhaps because she was sitting too far from the campfire, her body felt cold and shivering. Tender leaves swayed desolately in the eerie wind, and the sound of bugs rang out close by.

…Don’t overthink it. At least he’s not starving you and giving you food, right? Right? He’s way better than your father, isn’t he?

She rubbed her fingertips briskly and carefully picked up her spoon. Once again, the loud laughter of the knights and Greta reached her ears.

……Whether Greta is his real lover or not. What business is that of mine?