Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A ghost?

Something white wavered in his blurred vision. Hizen slowly opened his heavy eyelids. He felt like he was trapped in a dream.

The air in contact with his skin was cold. A cool breeze, silently coming from the window, stroked his cheek and made his blond hair dance on his forehead.

‘I must have forgotten to close the window.’

He thought so while weakly blinking his eyes. It was no big deal. He could have forgotten it as he was finally having his first sound sleep in three days. This was because he had been so busy lately.

Hizen was perfect in every aspect, and very competent. His face was splendid. Count Dratius, the head of one of the three major families, the Commander of the Imperial Elite Knights, the best in theory and in reality, had a shockingly beautiful appearance.

There was always a constant stream of people wanting him. In particular, the generous Imperial Family did not let talented people go. His broad shoulders were covered with other chores besides leading the Knights. All the workload felt like hell.

His doctor had urged him to be careful of overwork, but Hizen did not listen. It was a fact that he had already recognized, and he knew better than anyone that his body was reaching its limit.

Nevertheless, he forced himself to endure it because he was a knight to the bones, putting the country ahead of himself. The Imperial Family used to be overflowing with vultures that took power in unjustifiable ways, and he had solved the problem on his own rather than committing himself to the hands of the vermin. He had no regrets about that decision.

‘If I don’t sleep now, tomorrow will be a problem.’

His blue eyes closed slowly. Despite being tired, work was his top priority. He was that kind of man.

Tap tap.

What is this noise? Hizen, who had a good sense of hearing, responded immediately to the sound. When he opened his eyes, a white cloth was dancing in front of him.

Shaaa.

It was a bit short to be a curtain. He could see a person when he narrowed his eyes. A red-haired girl with a white apron was standing next to his bed. Her dimly visible face looked young, but she was taller than most adult men.

“…A woman?”

At the same time as he spoke, his large hand moved quickly. His white and long fingers woke up Marie’s Grave.

Clank!

The girl stopped the sword lightly with one hand as if she were holding a mop. She just blocked my sword? There was something shining on the bewildered Hizen. It was two red eyes like rubies, sparkling like stars in the dark.

He had an ominous feeling when he saw these eyes. The type of people he did not want to deal with always made that kind of face in front of him.

Sure enough, the girl said in an excited voice.

“Are you awake?”

‘I am, but…’ Hizen replied inwardly and the girl grinned.

“You’re very reticent, Count Dratius-nim.”[1]

“…Do you know me?”

“Of course!”

Hizen was a little embarrassed by her cheerful answer. He watched the girl with piercing eyes. She was about 19 years old. She seemed to be a woman especially good with her hands: her red hair was neatly tied without a single strand of hair falling out, and the black dress that came up to the floor was well pleated.

She had a big apron that made him mistake her as a ghost a little while ago. It was white and tightly wrapped around her dress and thin waist. The strap that held the apron also had a unique knot that he had never seen before.

What bothered him was the funny decorations on the end of the apron. The loud pink lace was definitely bad taste.

No, that’s not the problem now. Who is that woman? From the look of it, she seemed to know him. It was even more likely, seeing how he could clearly feel the joy in her voice, even when still half asleep.

Hizen looked at the girl again. However, she was not an acquaintance no matter how much he looked at her. She looked a little like someone he used to know in the past, but she was a woman he had never seen before.

Who the hell is she? Hizen sighed, grabbing his rattling forehead. Darkness and fatigue made him lose his cool judgment.

The girl peeped at Hizen in such a state. Wow, wow. Her admiration continued. Hizen was shockingly handsome, even when tormented by her. Her flustered heart swelled sweetly like cotton candy. As expected, he was the best knight in the world!

Hizen was clearly blessed by God, she could feel it. The skin of his face under the moon was shining unrealistically, and the golden hair covering his collarbone looked like the finest gold thread. His straight forehead, sharp nose, and straight eyebrows were as beautiful as a sculpture.

In particular, his eyes were the most special. His blue pupils filled with conviction were more beautiful than anything else. The young girl was certain of it: there would be no jewel more beautiful than his eyes, even if she searched the jewel box of the Empress.

The girl, who had never been drunk before, was overwhelmed with excitement. But she could not abandon herself to this feeling, even though it was her first time seeing him. She tried to tighten the corners of her mouth. The girl agonized, trying to control her facial expression. She was ready to do anything for the sleepy Hizen.

Her troubled red eyes were finely curved. A fierce voice that would normally only be heard from a market rang through the room.

“Count-nim, the dust storm has been severe since dawn. You should drink water more often at times like this! Would you like me to bring you a glass of water?”

Hizen was embarrassed by her sudden appearance and questions. He was only wearing a white gown that showed his bare skin in front of a woman he had never seen before. Maybe he was dreaming. He felt like he had lost something.

“Count-nim?”

“Huh? Uh…”

When Hizen answered roughly, the girl looked down slightly. His sword was still aiming at her, and she was blocking it with one hand. She lowered her head and pointed at her heart with her chin.

“Count-nim, please take this away. If you want me to bring you water, you have to put the sword away.”

But Hizen could not answer. He did not even hear her because he was already lost in thought. He agonized over his sword’s situation.

It was common for high-ranking officials to receive unwanted visits by night guests, and Hizen was no exception. He was often threatened with assassination, and was used to counterattack. He just attacked an intruder who was trying to clean up his bedroom.

But there was one thing he could not understand at all. Even if she was an assassin, she managed to block his attack, he who was called the continent’s strongest swordsman. If other people had witnessed it, they would have tumbled backwards. But he could not afford to laugh shamelessly with his sword blocked like this.

‘Is it a new type of assassination technique trying to make the opponent’s guard down and look for an opening? Where’s the assassin from? No, how did she get in here?’

The difficult problem made him frown. The girl felt sick at the sight. One would definetely get angry if woken up while sleeping well.

“I’m sorry I woke you up in the middle of the night. I tried to be quiet, but I guess I made a sound.”

“…I’m glad to know that you’re sorry.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

The girl lowered her eyes with a mop in her hand. She looked cute like a puppy reflecting on herself. Nevertheless, Hizen’s displeasure did not disappear. His bedroom was off limits to anyone. He could not forgive her for rudely breaking into his room and taking away his precious sleeping time.

More than that….

“You. What were you doing in my bedroom?”

“Uh. Well…”

Mumbling her words, she fiddled with her cheek. She could not lie, and she was having a hard time telling the truth. Hizen said in a tired voice as the girl hesitated.

“Tell me the truth.”

Hizen’s voice was perfect, too. His sexy voice full of sleep was insanely good to hear. The girl got fascinated by it and forgot her answer.

The more time passed, the more suspicious it was. Hizen stared at her. Back to her senses, she cleared her throat and explained it all from the beginning.

“I wanted to tell you something. I was going to wait for you to wake up because you were sleeping… but Count Dratius-nim’s bedroom was so dirty that I started cleaning.”

Dirty?

Hizen doubted his ears. The girl’s eyes scanned the room. From the windows to the ceiling, bed, floor, door.

“There was dust on the windows and a lot of hair on the floor. And there are so many spiders in every corner. Phew. Look at this, there’s dust flying around here! It’s like this even though I’ve already ventilated the room.”

The girl shook the dust off the air with one hand quite loudly. There was no lie in her voice, and it was irrefutably dirty.

Nevertheless, he was somewhat frustrated. It was not pleasant to have his sleep interrupted by a woman he was seeing for the first time.

First of all, she did not seem to be an assassin, so he took away his sword. An assassin who crawled into his bedroom could not have been so noisy. At least unless her goal was to kill herself.

He frowned at the girl. There was a small hanger in the pocket on the front of her white apron, and there was a rag in her hand. It seemed she had really blocked the blow of his sword in the middle of cleaning.

No way, Hizen doubted if he was dreaming. He was the best knight alive, but he just found out an person who could avoid or prevent his blow. Any top-class knight had no choice but to surrend in front of him.

‘And a skinny woman like this wooden stick blocked my sword? What the hell…’

While Hizen was struggling, the girl hit her hand.

Tack.

“Oh, it’s my first time meeting you, but I haven’t greeted you properly.”

Greetings? It was before Hizen could understand what she meant. She smiled brightly and bowed her head.

“Good morning!”

“…I can’t.”

“What?”

“I can’t say good morning.”

Anyway, it was the worst first impression.

It was not enough to say the words “uninvited guest” hundreds of times.

*

There was a cold silence. The whole place was like a field of snow in the Kessen Empire.

He was so tired. Max yawned, locking up some of the buttons of his half-length uniform. He was not even wearing his Silver Bird Medal, the pride of the Imperial Elite Knights.

Max, who was sitting on the sofa in the Commander’s office, rubbed his sleepy eyes and forced himself to stay awake. He regretted having washed his face. His usually neat brown hair was all over the place, and his warm nightly eyes were red and heavy. Some buttons on his black uniform were mislocked.

Anyone could see that he was sleepy. The red-haired girl sitting in front of him asked anxiously.

“I think you’ve just woken up. Are you all right?”

“Oh, that’s okay. I should be able to take a nap in the afternoon.”

“That’s a relief.”

The girl was truly relieved, even though she answered with courtesy. Her heart was so warm that Max could forget a little bit of his tiredness.

The bright sunlight that came through the window was looking like a wave moving on her white face. She was a young woman who had barely reached adulthood. Her shoulder-long hair, long eyelashes, and cute lips caught his eye.

She held her hands nervously on her knees, but she did not lose her smile. Her clean posture was more considerate than any other aristocrat.

A gray luggage was on the seat next to her. It was also neatly arranged. If it were to be evaluated, he wanted to give it 200 points out of 100.

‘Girls like you are very rare these days. I don’t know with who you’ll end up, but he’s a blessed man.’

Max smiled disillusionedly. At that moment, blue eyes flashed.

“Max, are you here to play?”

“I’m sorry.”

Hizen looked very displeased. Sitting on the sofa, he was wearing a perfect uniform with every button locked. Ten Silver Bird Medals glistened on his left chest. The girl could not take her eyes off the nice decorations that suited him well.

‘Snap it up’, seemed to say Hizen’s piercing eyes staring at Max. Max said, wiping off a cold sweat.

“Well… I mean. This lady… No, this maid has been in the Commander’s bedroom since dawn?”

“How many times do I have to tell you!” (Hizen)[2]

“Yes, that’s right!” (Girl)

Two people answered Max’s question at the same time. However, the nuance felt in their words was the exact opposite. Max smiled awkwardly as he looked at the two alternately.

“The two statements are consistent… I think it’s obvious.” (Girl)

“Hey. I didn’t ask you.

Just answer the questions right.” (Hizen)

“I-I’m sorry.” (Girl)

A fierce look cold like ice struck the girl. Frustrated, she fiddled childishly with her apron.

Be gentle. Max clicked his tongue. Contrary to people’s fantasies, Hizen was not a kind man.

TL notes

[1] -nim is a honorific suffix, it’s the highest form of honorifics, above -ssi.

[2] I added the person speaking as I thought it was not clear enough.