Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The training of the Imperial Elite Knights began with physical exercices.

First, climbing Mount Neches, Harknon’s famous mountain, in the early morning. Hizen and Max were the first ones to reach the top today.

The surroundings were still dark. Max yawned while looking at the view around. It was quite boring. He squatted on the ground and picked up a small branch.

‘Current score, ten points.’

Who dared to win 10 times against the strongest swordsman on the continent? That red-haired girl was more skillful than he had thought. After scribbling, Max got up shaking his hand.

Next to him, Hizen was leaning against a tree with his arms folded. He might look like a contemplated handsome man, but Max saw it all. His discomfort.

Max showed a good sense for his younger brother-like Commander. He took out a bag of macarons that he had hidden in his arms.

When he received a golden macaron, his stiff mouth slightly loosened. Hizen swallowed the macaron in one bite as if he were angry.

“Suspicious, Max. It looks suspicious to me.”

Was it about the red-haired girl again? Max grinned a little while folding the bag of macarons. In the last few days, Hizen had not missed once talking about her. He had never mentioned a woman in the last decade, so it was an incredible change.

There was another change. The always cautious and cool-headed Hizen had disappeared. He had decided himself on an answer.

“She’s suspicious. My hunch is never wrong.”

“Why don’t you just think that a brilliant maid came in? All the knights like her. She’s kind, nice, and good at work.”

“Those guys like everything wearing a skirt.”

Max liked Leasis, who worked hard on everything. He spoke unknowingly of her.

“Well that’s true, though. I think she’s excellent at boosting their morale.”

“And are there any concerns about the deterioration of the Commander’s morale?”

Even if his morale was down, he was still a fraud. Max’s mood got worse. He had never crossed the high mountain called Hizen even when he almost died from his training camp.

Max pouted his lips, but Hizen was not interested. The red-haired girl occupied his head. She was such a strange and suspicious woman. Hizen came up with one of the most likely hypotheses.

“I’m sure she’s a spy from an enemy country.”

“…What?”

Max got greatly confused. Should he change his job to a novelist like Neren-nim? No, Neren-nim was the author of a history book.

“It’s funny that the maid had a ridiculous dream of becoming a knight in the first place. It seems like she’s trying to get me off guard, but it’s useless. I can’t be fooled by her, even if Neren was.”

Max raised his hand to calm him down.

“Wait, calm down, Commander-nim.”

He could not calm down. Hizen, leaning back on the tree, put his hand on his forehead. He felt a heat as hot as boiling water.

It was because of her. The red-haired girl made a mess of serving him as if she was doing it on purpose. There was no notice. She would appear in a flash like she was using teleportation magic.

He even faced her cleaning in the bathroom of the training ground.

[Ah! Count Dratius-nim, hello!]

[…Move.]

[Huh? Where are you going? Come this way. You can use this place comfortably!]

[Didn’t you hear me? Don’t block the way and get out.]

[Hehe. I’ve got this place clean! Don’t run away, please…]

[Get out of the way!]

He swore it was the first time he had ever cursed a woman. His lips were tighlty closed, thinking of something disgraceful. Even his blood vessels were revealed on his fine forehead.

“No way… is God angry because of my absence of worship at the temple? He may have sent a demon down to Earth.”

“Hey. You’re going too far, Commander-nim. You don’t even believe in God.”

“You’re noisy.”

Speaking coldly, Hizen clenched his teeth.

“I can’t forgive her at all. I’ll make her pay me back for trying to fool me.”

She was in trouble. Max put down his hand to stop him. Hizen’s eyes were already bright blue. If an enemy was in front of him, they would have been slain on the spot.

What would happen to the maid now? Max was worried, but he was also curious about the next score.

*

At that time, Leasis was busy. She was running through the palace hallway with a basket larger than her.

In the basket, black uniforms stained with sweat, dirt and dust were piled up like mountains. She had to stay alert not to drop the basket. She focused all her nerves on her arms. Four blue tendons sprung over the back of her hand.

Then, someone came running from a distance. It was Owen with a mop in her hands.

“Unnie!”

“Good morning!”

The two greeted each other with a smile. They chatted together as they headed to the laundry.

“Leasis, what good thing happened to you?”

“Huh?”

“You look happy.”

Was it obvious? Leasis replied pleasantly.

“It’s thanks to the Count-nim!”

“The Count-nim? You mean Count Dratius-nim?”

“Yes.”

Leasis, who caught the laundry basket again, nodded vigourously. In the meantime, she had learned many things about Hizen.

He was courteous most of the time. He was just grumbling with words but was not a threatening or harsh person, and a surprisingly cute thing was that he seemed to be good at everything except cleaning up.

She tried to hold it in, but her mouth opened on its own. Pleasant laughter continued to flow out of Leasis’ mouth. For the time being, she thought it would be good to narrow the distance between them and build trust.

Her appearance was suspicious, so Owen looked up. Did she have a crush on Count Hizen Ben Dratius like the other maids?

Owen’s face darkened. A crush on him would not be a good thing. There were too many competitors. Hizen was popular among the servants, maids, nobles, and even the Imperial Family. Some foreign aristocrats had even visited the Imperial Palace just to see him again. Leasis, a commoner, had too many disadvantages to compete with them.

The worst thing was Hizen’s heart. Even Owen noticed Hizen’s strong dislike for Leasis. How could she change his mind like that?

Owen shook her head, thinking about her own work. At least she wanted to believe that there was no hierarchy in love. She was worried, but decided to cheer for her.

“Unnie, cheer up!”

“Huh? What?”

“You like Count Dratius-nim. Both of you will be fine.”

“Thank you.”

Leasis really liked Hizen. But it was in a form of admiration and respect. Owen misunderstood because she could not grasp the shape of her emotion.

“I’ll give you a chance!”

She seemed to speak of an opportunity to take a swordsmanship test. Leasis thanked her in a happy voice. Owen thought she would look into Hizen in many other ways.

When she arrived at the laundry room, Leasis’ face brightened. With a pond on the edge, it was more like a small garden than a laundry. The sound of birds chirping echoed in peace. Branches danced in the breeze, and the scent of flowers spread to her chest.

Owen went to the back of the pond to wash the mop. Leasis put the laundry in the basket she had prepared. Then she held the laundry bat in her hand and moved it like a sword.

Whip!

The bat that cut through the wind shined. Something blue began to glaze on the remaining surface. It was a blue aura. She closed her eyes and could hear Neren’s surprised voice.

[Well, a blue sword! Do you know how to use a blue sword?]

[Um… It’s my first time actually using it.]

[This is your first time? Who the hell did you learn that from?]

[It was in a book written by Neren-nim. In the book, Count Dratius-nim said that if you can concentrate all your attention on the sword, you’ll get incredible strength.]

[Hey, that’s my line! I mean, I actually wrote what Hizen said.]

Hizen, the best knight in the Empire, could use blue swords and immaterial swords. But it was purely possible because it was him. Only the very best knights in the world were able to use blue swords.

Hizen Ben Dratius’ swordsmanship was not easy for his subordinates to follow. No, they did not even dare copy it. His swordsmanship was beyond human limits. But Leasis only read books and used a sword. Neren even judged her ability as a devil’s gift.

As the blue aura gradually entered, she lowered her head. She was not satisfied yet. The swordmanship of Count Dratius, the hero who illuminated the empire. She really wanted to learn it. She wanted to see it with her own eyes and face his sword.

But things did not work out. Now, all she could do was pull out the weed of the training ground or clean up and watch the training of the knights.

[Leasis, listen to me. You have to stick close to him. Make all his skills yours.]

“I wish I could… You don’t give me a chance.”

Something was lacking with her methods so far. Leasis tapped the laundry bat, thinking about how to get close to Hizen. Tak tak. There was a cheerful noise by the pond.

*

“No way!”

“Are you kidding me?”

The women’s screams broke through the peaceful afternoon. Among the maids, Max was sweating.

He cared about the maids like his younger siblings. He could not have been happy with the current situation.

“Hmm. No.”

“You want us to clean everything from A to Z?”

“Do you think we’re some kind of wizards? It would not be enough to call in all the maids of the Imperial Palace!”

“Tell us to just get out!”

“Come on, calm down. Please calm down and listen to me.”

There was no way for them to calm down. The order that Max gave to the maids was a dream. The entire cleanup of the Imperial Elite Knights. Cleaning the grass, the indoor training center, the shower room and the bathroom of the huge training center, as well as all the towels and training clothes that have been piled up. It had to be done not even in a day, but in half a day.

He could do it himself! With a stinging glance, Max spoke as if he were making excuses.

“Based on the other records, it seems fair… No. It’s reasonable.”

“That’s for the other Knights, but this is the Imperial Elite Knights Division, which is dirtier than a dumpster!”

“No, it was a pleasant day but you ask such a thing out of the blue!”

The maids stamped their feet. In the meantime, Owen cried and grabbed a broom tightly.

“What do we do now, Unnie?”

“Huh? Why?”

She was the only one who remained calm. Owen became frustrated and asked again.

“Why? How do we do all that! Even if Unnie’s area is a little cleaner… Me and the other maids’ area…”

It was disastrous. Swallowing her words, Owen dropped her head. Leasis grabbed her shoulders and smiled.

“I’ll help you. Come one. Please gather the others around.”

There was no maid to refuse her help. At her call, the maids began to gather in groups of two or three.

Leasis carefully examined their hands and body shapes and divided them in ranks. And each of them was given the right task.

“Those who are here. Please bring all your laundry to the pond first.”

“What do you mean? These are white training suits. If we want to clean up the stains, we have to do the laundry first.”

“How long will it take? Ugh.”

“You just have to boil the stained training suits with egg shells. Egg shells will make the white clothes clean. I’ll prepare the pot and water.”

It was true. When she boiled the training suit with egg shells in a large pot, it regained its original color.

For a moment, the maids’ faces were covered with dark clouds.

“Whoa. By the way, where are we going to dry all this?”

“Don’t worry.”

Leasis quickly picked up a tree from Mount Neche, and even made a wooden laundry rod. It would have surprised a carpenter. The maids hung the laundry in the middle of the training ground, admiring the sturdy laundry rod.

Leasis did not stay still at that moment. She looked carefully at the bathrooms in each area.

“Potatoes are the best for floor mold. Now, if you’re here, please clean the mold with potatoes. The smell can be controlled with coffee grounds. I’ll get some from the cafeteria.”

“Yes!”

“Yes, I see!”

Leasis commanded ten maids like an excellent commander. There was no hesitation. Under her command, the Imperial Elite Knights division was purified.

The maids looked at her with envy. They thought she was the god of cleaning. It was a skill that was hard to believe even after witnessing it, and her personality was also great. She tried to take care of everything by herself, such as clearing a clogged toilet or cleaning spider webs. She ran so much that her feet hurted, but she did not lose her smile. Her arms, longer than most men, wiped clean the edge of the windows that the short maids could not reach.

The speed of cleaning while running here and there was so fast. She looked like a wizard flying on a broomstick. If Hizen was a hero of the continent, they wanted to call her a hero of cleaning.

Even the arrogant imperial servants asked for her help. In fact, they would secretly consult Leasis on cleaning advice. Today, they decided to properly thank her, and even lent her cleaning tools for water cleaning, it was unthinkable kindness.

Meanwhile, there was someone who was watching from afar. It was Jason. The sudden clean-up allowed the Imperial Elite Knights to take a honey-like vacation.

He could not believe there was such a nice and pretty person in the world. Jason’s mouth, looking at Leasis, was wide open. She was beautiful, even while working and sweating.

Jason held back his desire to run toward her. He had already tried to help her, but he was rejected in a single stroke.

[Lady, let me help you!]

[Jason-nim, I appreciate your kindness, but I’ll give you no choice.]

[What?]

[That would not be fair.]

She was cute, using Hizen’s annoying way of speaking. He followed her around like a big puppy.