“Hmm?”
Lucio furrowed his eyebrows at the sudden question.
Only then did I realize what I had done.
As a maid in my right mind, I shouldn’t have asked such a question to the young master.
I was about to quickly retract my words, biting my lip.
“Well, maybe it became a habit.”
Unexpectedly, the answer flowed smoothly from Lucio’s mouth.
“I grew up in the capital, and back then, she weren’t called the head maid “
“…”
“Afterward, when I tried to change the title, she strongly wanted me to call me by her name. And without thinking much… But why?”
Caught off guard by his unexpectedly kind answer, I blinked in surprise.
His expression remained expressionless, but it strangely felt gentle.
Gaining courage from that, I rolled my eyes and asked again.
“Then, is it uncomfortable for you when I call you Master?”
“What?”
He had a face that didn’t understand the intention of my question itself.
After a moment, he burst into laughter.
“You’re asking me right now if I’m more friendly with the maid than with my mother?”
He rested his chin on his hand and looked at me.
“You couldn’t have thought such a ridiculous thing. Did my mother say that?”
Startled by his sharp question, I quickly lowered my head.
I couldn’t meet the duchess’s gaze.
But as difficult as this topic was, I felt like I had to do something now that it had come up.
“If not, could you please be a little kinder to her?”
“…”
Yes, I know. I completely crossed the line.
I had no right to tell Lucio what to do, and I didn’t even have the position to offer such advice-like words.
But I didn’t regret it.
Even if Lucio were to scold me for being presumptuous, if my relationship with the duchess could improve even a little.
That was when it happened.
“Sure, I’ll do that.”
The answer came out lightly, as if flowing with ease.
I felt my heart fluttering.
‘Why is he so kind like this?’
In fact, deep down, Lucio Elad has always had this tender side to him. But the Lucio that other people describe has always been cold and aloof. Despite being engulfed in a strange feeling, it turned out to be a very good thing. Without realizing it, a smile began to form on my face.
“Now it’s your turn since I’ve been honest with you,” Lucio suddenly changed his attitude.
“Why are you afraid of me?”
“……Pardon?”
As if making a fair deal, he fixed his gaze on me and spoke.
“When we first met, you looked frightened.”
“Uh, well. It’s just because I was so surprised.”
Caught off guard by the sudden question, I stuttered in my response.
Lucio narrowed his eyes.
“It sounds like a lie, but alright. Then what about afterward?”
“Afterward?”
Perplexed, I gave him a bewildered expression.
He clicked his tongue and licked his lips.
“Even after that, every time you saw me, you were tense and froze up. With others…”
Not fully understanding his murmured words, I tilted my head in confusion.
Rather than repeating his words, Lucio stared at me intently, as if asking me to explain the reason.
“Well…”
I didn’t know how to answer and could only fidget with my fingers.
Whether it was frustrating for him or not, Lucio let out a sigh.
For some reason, I felt crestfallen and my shoulders slumped.
Seeing me like that, Lucio slightly narrowed his eyes and asked.
“Is it because of what I said?”
“Huh? What…?”
“At the beginning. When I told you that you’re not pretty.”
“Ah.”
Clear memories of my past life came flooding back, yet I had completely forgotten about those words despite them being recent.
Furthermore, I looked at Lucio with unfamiliar eyes, not knowing that he had been keeping that incident in his heart.
For some reason, Lucio had a stern expression.
“So, is that why? Did it hurt you?”
I realized that I had heard the same question not long ago.
At that time, I couldn’t give a proper answer, but this time, I slowly opened my mouth while lowering my head.
“I wasn’t hurt. I didn’t feel good, but…”
“…Is that so?”
I simply answered honestly as he had asked.
Lucio furrowed his brow and fell into deep thought.
It was when I raised my head, uncertain whether he liked my response or not, and met his peculiar expression.
A bewildering remark came out of his mouth.
“So, do you want to appear pretty to me?”
* * *
Training Ground.
Even in the hazy weather, the knights were in the midst of their training.
Taze, who was watching Jack and Allen’s training from one side, silently bit his tongue.
As he watched the two of them endure the training with determination, a sense of pride as a knight and pride as a mentor welled up in his chest.
Especially Jack was increasingly astonishing.
From the first time he brought him here, Taze felt it, the clear talent and aptitude to become a knight.
Allen, who strongly inherited the blood of the Earl Elad, also had a brilliant talent from a young age, making the two of them born in the same year intriguing.
It may sound like a joke, but the kid who had only picked up a sword a few months ago was already surpassing the 3rd-year apprentice knights with ease. It was not a mere exaggeration.
Especially in the early stages of training, Jack’s physical strength was not supported by his harsh upbringing in the orphanage, but he followed all the training without shedding a tear.
Seeing a child who hadn’t even fully grown yet endure the exhausting training that even adults find difficult, Taze couldn’t help but think that he should take him as his first disciple.
Even now, several hours have passed since they started the intense training, but their stance of swinging the sword remained unwavering.
The only difference from the beginning was the beads of sweat on their foreheads.
With extraordinary talent, consistent diligence, and perseverance, it was certain that they would become knights whose names would echo throughout the continent.
Despite the significant difference in the time they started learning the sword compared to Allen, Jack was rapidly closing the gap, and it only fueled Allen’s determination.
Taze, who could barely contain his excitement at the sight of the two future members of the Lexion Knights, spoke up.
“That’s enough for today’s training. It looks like it’s going to rain in the evening, so it’s better to stop here.”
Upon hearing those words, Allen looked up at the sky.
“Yeah, it seems so.”
The weather was definitely cloudy.
Taze believed that while training was important for the two still in their growing years, sufficient rest was equally important.
“We should probably skip the sparring training today.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”
Allen’s response was unusual.
Today was a day when Diana’s lessons ended early, so Jack knew that Allen would go straight to the Duchess’s room. He also anticipated that Allen would try to convince the Duchess while making a ridiculous proposal for a pretend play with Rhea.
Allen always complained, “Diana only looks for Lia!” whenever this happened.
But eventually, it wouldn’t be long before the two of them went to the library together. Then Rhea would blink her surprised eyes and greet them with a bright smile.
“…”
Jack’s expression, which was slowly softening, suddenly hardened.
Even now, the image of the person sitting in the library with Lia came to his mind.
“Jack, you should go in and take a break now too.”
Watching Allen rush towards the main building, Taze said.
Jack lowered his head.
“I’ll continue training a bit longer.”
Taze looked at Jack’s calloused hand, repeatedly bursting with blisters from intense training.
“You don’t have to be so impatient. You’re doing really well.”
Taze gently persuaded Jack, thinking that Jack saw Allen as a rival.
It wasn’t a lie. Jack was improving his skills faster than anyone else.
But Jack stubbornly raised his head once again.
Taze reluctantly tapped Jack’s shoulder and turned away, saying, “Take it easy.”
Left alone, Jack gripped his wooden sword tightly and assumed his stance, entering into self-training.
While his movements were concise, his thoughts were complicated.
As Allen had said, Lucio, his brother and the successor of the Duke of Elad, was truly an exceptional skilled swordsman.
Despite his young age, his face resembled that of a Duke, already perfect, and he had never missed becoming the top student at the academy. He was undoubtedly a genius.
There was no aspect in which Jack could keep up with him.
“Sigh.”
Taking a deep breath, Jack remembered the time he faced Lucio in the training field.
When Lucio entered the training field to watch their sparring, the atmosphere instantly changed, and Jack felt an overwhelming pressure.
Even Taze, whom Jack considered his master, couldn’t exude such a strong aura, and he felt a sense of awe that made his competitive spirit wither.
Facing someone with immeasurable skill, he couldn’t help but feel instinctual fear.
Allen’s expression, too, which had shown signs of worry since whispering to Rhea, had now turned pale.
Although he had been excitedly looking for Lucio before, now he was complaining about how difficult it was and even groaning, but Lucio didn’t bat an eyelid.
However, Lucio’s observations and advice were so sharp that Jack had no room for complaints.
‘By the end, I even felt a sense of regret.’
Every day, Lia wandered around various places doing her duties, but he brought her to the library, a peaceful space. In Jack’s eyes, Lucio was truly a strong person.
A person who could protect someone.
That’s why Jack thought, once again, that he wanted to become like Lucio.
A person strong enough to
protect others.
Therefore, Jack had no choice but to wield his sword once again.
It was all he could do at the moment.
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Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Bree.
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