CH 26

“Ah, really. Rosalie is getting more and more fun.”

Rosalie frowned at Nathan’s apparent enjoyment, feeling annoyed. Upon noticing her scowling expression, he quickly changed the subject.

“Oh right, Bella said she’s going back to the duchy soon and asked me to go with her.”

“She said that she’s coming to the duchy?”

“The Marquis of Windell said that she needs to be prepared once he bites the prey.”

Rosalie snorted at Bella’s obvious behavior. The preparation that Bella said was probably to take care of the property she would take with her if the territory war broke out.

“Is that all you heard?”

“Bella’s falling more and more in love with me, so I’m sure she’ll tell me more in the future.”

Rosalie began to drift off into thought again. Seeing her get lost in her thoughts, Nathan flashed a wicked smile. He then slowly got up from his seat.

“Rosalie.”

When she raised her head at his call, she felt a warm sensation on her left cheek. Startled, she quickly pulled back and saw Nathan’s face close to hers, smiling.

“Haha, your heartbeat has changed.”

Rosalie tried to punch him, but Nathan quickly backed away and waved his hand.

“Let’s count this as your compliment for me this time~.”

“You!”

Rosalie tried to swear at him, but Nathan disappeared from the terrace faster than she could react. She muttered curses at the terrace.

Then, a servant who was passing by heard her and was frightened by Rosalie’s muttered profanities. Later, rumors of a legendary ghost story spread that there was a foul-mouthed ghost in the mansion.

⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰

Two days after Gilbert’s overnight work in the blacksmith, the first training of the firing squad began. The selected individuals from the list gathered with Rosalie at the second training grounds. She wanted to teach them one by one, but it was a pity that there was no time for that.

Fortunately, the knights had experience in handling bows and had decent reflexes.

“First, you must be familiar with the crossbow. From now on, you will carry the crossbow like a sword.”

“Yes!”

“In addition, to quickly determine the shooting range and take a shooting stance better than anyone else, you need to be agile.”

“Yes!”

“Therefore, you will undergo special training with me.”

At the mention of special training, the knights holding the crossbows trembled violently but they replied loudly, fearing that they would be rolled over by Rosalie if they did not answer.

“Yes, understood!”

Rosalie’s eyes lit up at the answer. And so began the torturous training of the firing squad. Even when the knights were running with all their might, they had to take the shooting posture immediately when they heard her signal. If their posture was not correct, they were immediately punished.

“Don’t lose your crossbow!”

“Yes, understood!”

“You there! Hold your crossbow tightly!”

And even in the midst of the agility drills, when the crossbow slipped out of their hands even accidentally, there was a chorus of ‘Don’t let go of the crossbow.’

“Unify the slogan to ‘One, crossbow, Two, never drop it. Get down.'”

“Get down!”

The knights, who were all lying on the ground, started doing push-ups according to Rosalie’s slogan. Although their faces were covered in sweat, Rosalie seemed to have no intention of stopping.

“One!”

“Crossbow!”

“Two!”

“Never drop it!”

By the end of the training, the knights were so exhausted that they were sprawled out on the training ground, unable to stand. When Rosalie scanned the knights and left the training ground, the words that they held back poured out of the knights who had been lying down.

“Ah…it’s not even…phew, she’s not even human. The Duchess is a devil.”

“Ugh…hoo, even a devil would be more merciful than the Duchess.”

After several days of such training, Rosalie received a new letter from Moiron. The news was that the problem at the Noveta Pass had been resolved and that the appearance of the Imperial Knights and Derivis would ensure safety for the next few years, so Rosalie didn’t have to worry.

Rosalie put down Moiron’s letter, and next to it was the letter from Bianca that she had read yesterday.

“Let’s go to the reed field.”

She had thought about going back to the reed field since she had a lingering impression of it from her first horseback riding experience. Though it was a bit late, she still wanted to go.

As she emerged from her office, Emma called out to Rosalie as she passed by.

“Your Grace, where are you going?”

“Oh, I’m going for a short walk.”

Rosalie set off, heading straight for the stables. Rosalie, who had become adept at riding a horse, quickly rode the horse towards the reed field without any difficulty.

It was not as lush as when she last visited, but the sunlit reed field was still beautiful. After dismounting from her horse, Rosalie walked leisurely through the reeds. She slowly stroked the reeds with her hand, which reached up to her chest.

‘Being alone in a wide field of reeds makes me feel a little lonely. Is it because it’s cold?’

The soft and velvety feeling of the reeds tickled her fingertips. The rustling sound of the reeds swaying in the wind was pleasant to hear, but somehow, she felt lonely along with the cold.

‘If someone was here with me at this moment, would I feel a little less lonely?’

Rosalie chuckled at her uncharacteristically sentimental mood. It seemed that the cold reed field was stimulating her emotions. Suddenly, she remembered Derivis, who had seen this reed field with her before.

“Someone came before me.”

When Rosalie turned her body at the familiar low-pitched voice, Derivis was standing there with a smile on his face.

Rosalie looked a little confused at his unexpected appearance.

“What are you doing here?”

“We’ve completed our deal, so I came to collect the rest of my payment.”

Rosalie was momentarily speechless at Derivis’s confident attitude. Then, the chilly wind blew again. The reeds swayed like waves and finally tossed her platinum hair around.

Derivis took off his jacket and placed it on her shoulders.

‘It’s warm.’

Thanks to the warmth of Derivis’s jacket, Rosalie felt a little less lonely. Then she looked at him with a questioning glance.

“Did you… inform the Imperial Palace?”

“Since the Duchess likes unofficial visits, of course I didn’t inform them.”

“I didn’t see any portal notification from Your Highness.”

In response to Rosalie’s question, Derivis pulled something out of his pocket and shook it. In his hand was a slightly worn portal pendant with the insignia of the Dukedom of Judeheart.

Rosalie looked puzzled, as she didn’t remember giving Derivis a portal pendant.

“How does Your Highness have it?”

“When noble families open portals, they are obliged to submit pendants to the Imperial Palace. This pendant was submitted by the first head of the Dukedom of Judeheart about 300 years ago.”

Rosalie was convinced by his explanation. It was natural that she didn’t know since it had been 300 years old.

“How did you get it out of there? If you reported it to the palace, there would be a trace.”

“I stole it.”

Derivis said proudly. His confidence made Rosalie feel like she had just been hit with a gust of wind along with his audacious attitude.

“But anyway, the palace officials wouldn’t even notice if it was missing.”

“…Don’t the portal usage records remain?”

“It’s over 300 years old, so there’s no way to tell if it’s broken or not.”

“Still, if anyone ever sees Your Highness…”

Derivis shrugged his shoulders briefly as if telling her not to worry. 

“Don’t worry about that. I’m a competent swordmaster, and I’m good at covering my tracks.”

Rosalie, who had nothing else to criticize, opened her mouth. Just then, a strong wind blew again, and the sound of the reeds brushing against each other enveloped them.

“What kind of reward do you want that would make you go to such lengths?”

“Providing me with a place to hide.”

“…You mean the Duchy’s mansion?”

Derivis nodded slightly as if it was the correct answer. Rosalie couldn’t hide her disbelief at the response.

“Turning a blind eye to me sneaking out of the Imperial Palace and coming to the Duchy’s mansion shouldn’t be too difficult for the Duchess, is it?”

Rosalie looked at him blankly. She had thought that Derivis would not be involved anymore due to the friction between her and Sonia, but it was unexpected. On the other hand, she had a feeling that Sonia hadn’t told him about their argument yet.

‘But it doesn’t feel like that.’

It didn’t feel like he was trying to spy on her. Rather, he seemed as if he really enjoyed the atmosphere of the mansion.

“A deal is a deal.”

Derivis smirked, and seeing that smile, Rosalie recalled a phrase.

“Got caught.”

A while ago, Bianca’s letter mentioned that she was sad and worried that her brother went on a mission to Noveta Pass without saying anything. If Rosalie’s assumption based on the letter was correct, he had already been secretly preparing to quell the group of bandits.

‘I offered the deal without even knowing that, so I was completely caught.’

Rosalie pushed him away with all her might, feeling that he was still grinning.

‘You can’t be serious after all this fooling around…?’

However, since she had already agreed to listen, Rosalie couldn’t argue.

In fact, as Moiron had said, thanks to Derivis’s participation in the expedition, the safety of Noveta Pass was guaranteed for several years to come.

“Very well. But it must be an absolute secret that Your Highness is coming here.”

“I’ll make sure of that.”

Derivis put down the reed he was fiddling with and gave Rosalie a piercing look. His clear blue eyes, as cold and pure as ice, captured Rosalie’s face completely.

Rosalie murmured as if she was bewitched by his clear, transparent eyes.

“…It’s like a clear sky.”

Derivis’s eyes widened as he understood Rosalie’s muttering at once.

“Do you like clear days?”