Chapter 149

Chapter 149

Translator: Yonnee

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The stairs went on and on. It was better when I was descending the steps, but it became overwhelming to keep going up like this.

I’ve been using the spell ‘Run’ since we entered the imperial palace, but I couldn’t do it now because I had been constantly on the move.

“Let’s take a break.”

The woman in front of me was carrying two entire adults over her two shoulders, but she didn’t even look tired at all.

Her thighs, as she was leaning against the stairs, looked rock solid even underneath that armor. She had a body which she evidently trained over many years, and she looked really nice.

Wasn’t she the very pinnacle of a girl crush? While I was still working at a company, my only exercise was breathing, so I was definitely nothing like her.

Mercy was on the slender side, while most of the noble young ladies that I saw in Rosteratu’s party back then were elegantly skinny while wearing those dresses of theirs. The lady knight in front of me seemed to have made a better choice.

“…What is it?”

I guess I was staring too blatantly without realizing it. She was averting her gaze from mine until now, but she finally asked.

Hearing her say that, I laughed a little.

“Your physique looks so cool that I found myself staring. You look so strong and… I just think that you’re really amazing.”

“Your words are dripping with honey.”

“I’m telling the truth though. I know how difficult it is to put on muscle. Now that I think about it, I don’t even know what your name is. May I know?”

She answered me shortly.

“I’m Leona Blake.”

“Should I call you Dame Blake?”

“Just Dame Leona is alright. Then I guess you’re from Duke Liam’s side…”

Leona read the situation right away. I nodded in response.

“Yes. His Grace is fighting up there, and I’ve been tasked to come here to release the trapped mages.”

“Didn’t you think that it would be dangerous to come here alone?”

“I’m here with Blanc though…”

“Blanc?”

Perplexed by what I said, Leona glanced down at Blanc as he was sitting on my lap, rubbing his cheeks on me. She hummed.

Come to think of it, Blanc didn’t look tired either. He didn’t usually exert himself like this, but it seemed like he had good stamina.

Until a dragon cub would become an adult, the contractor wouldn’t be able to share anything other than the dragon’s mana. That’s why I don’t have a share of Blanc’s physical strength.

“…For you to give a black cat the name Blanc though, it’s quite unusual.”

“…Haha.”

I didn’t know to what extent I should tell her, so I just laughed by myself. Leona stared up the stairs and murmured.

“…Everything about the knight order is rotten.”

Seeing her contemptuous demeanor, I thought that I should comfort her.

“You must have had a hard time.”

“…What do you know.”

However, Leona spat out curtly. It seemed like she wasn’t used to being comforted. When she shot back in response, her eyes were directed back to me.

“There are many people who just want to project their own righteousness unto others,” I said.

I could feel that this red-haired knight’s sentiments were connected to the rumors surrounding Albert.

People who thought they were right. People who existed solely for themselves.

“……”

Leona didn’t deny what I just said. She rose to her feet.

“Shouldn’t we start climbing again?”

At her behest, we began trudging up the stairs once more.

At the same time, I thought about what kind of new country Albert was going to raise. I knew for a fact that it would be nothing like how it was under Rosteratu.

“Once the new king is crowned, the knight order will change.”

Hearing my confident remark, Leona turned to look at me. She blinked in a daze.

I recalled Albert’s figure.

“…You must like him.”

She stared at me for a moment, then she said this. I was instantly surprised, and I could feel my face flushing bright red.

I didn’t think I was the type to wear my heart on my sleeve, but I guess I just really, definitely like Albert.

I wonder if Albert could also read everything on my face. Maybe the only reason he was able to agree on us having one month apart was because he could clearly see my feelings for him.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yup.”

She looked at me and spoke frankly.

“It’d be better to keep that to yourself.”

“Why do you think so?”

“You don’t seem to be an aristocrat.”

“I’ll still get a position, you know. In recognition of my contributions.”

She didn’t know anything about me and Albert, so I knew that she was only giving me earnest advice.

However, I felt myself being affected because her way of thinking exactly mirrored the reason I’d been trying to push Albert away.

As she looked into my eyes, she saw that I didn’t agree with her. Leona continued speaking as she climbed the steps.

“It’s only natural. A king without any foundation would marry a powerful noblewoman to strengthen his position.”

I know that, too. The lack of a foundation was the very reason that Albert had been brought in by Rosteratu.

“There’s actually one such young lady who comes from a household that’s been around since the founding of the country, and that household has the blood and riches of true nobles.”

However, I don’t agree with everything Leona was saying.

Albert had a lot of power himself. Apart from that, he had Mercy—the lord of the magic tower—on his side, as well as Liam, who was a duke.

Just because I told Albert I’ll be leaving doesn’t mean I don’t want to keep holding his hand.

I asked him for a month apart exactly because I knew it would be like this.

With a grin on my lips, I changed the subject.

“That’s something that couldn’t be helped, true. By the way though… I’m set to become a noble myself, but I’m worried about manners and etiquette.”

“That’s something you’ll have control over. Even if you’re not being courteous, it’s not like your position will be taken away from you.”

Leona gave me a straightforward answer. It seemed like she was the kind of person who didn’t care that much about what other people thought.

She was someone who had a clear perspective on life. In a different sense compared to Mercy, Leona was the kind of person who had a clear view of her own position and would make sure to act accordingly. I like her.

Although my beginning in this world was wracked with a grim reality after I transmigrated Rosé, it seemed like I had enough good luck to meet the right people.

Look at how I keep meeting such good people.

It’s not easy to meet someone you’d click with in an instant like this.

That’s why I want to cherish this connection.

“Dame Leona, what are you going to do after leaving this place?”

Maybe she could be a good friend and a good teacher to me.