Chapter 45: Advice from the Knights
Loic suddenly stopped walking.
“Right? Don’t you think so?”
Demiche gestured to the other knights behind him.
“Y-yes, I think so.”
“What’s different about him?”
“Did he get a haircut?”
The knights whispered from behind, unsure but curious. Loic cleared his throat awkwardly.
“There’s definitely something different about him today.”
Then, Leon, who was standing in the back, raised his voice.
“I think it’s his shirt!”
“Shirt?”
All the knights squinted and stared at Loic’s chest.
“The shirt’s collar is slanted.”
“Oh yeah. And there are no visible buttons!”
Loic’s shirt had a curved collar, and the buttons were hidden inside rather than lined down the center.
Demiche leaned in and asked,
“Is this a new fashion trend?”
Demiche, being a former mercenary, was known for his blunt behavior among the captains.
Loic narrowed his eyes at the familiar rudeness, about to say something, when—
“Don’t tell me…!”
Demiche grinned and asked,
“Are you attending Her Grace’s tea time?”
Ah!
The knights gasped softly, and Loic frowned.
“What are you talking about? Attending her tea time?”
“Huh? Didn’t you dress up so nicely to support Her Grace and make a good impression?”
Loic looked confused, so Demiche looked surprised instead.
“You really don’t know? It’s tradition for a husband to attend his wife’s first tea time and greet the guests, asking them to be kind to her.”
Loic, hearing this for the first time, looked around. The other knights, especially the noble-born ones, were nodding in agreement.
“I went to my wife’s first tea time too.”
“I couldn’t because I was away on duty, but my wife was really upset.”
“I had to spend so long making it up to her.”
The married knights spoke up quickly, like they had to stop their clueless boss from making a terrible mistake.
It was an act of compassion—for the sake of their lord’s peaceful newlywed life.
‘I’ve never heard of that before…’
Loic glanced at his men suspiciously, wondering if they were exaggerating. Then he made eye contact with Norton, who silently nodded in confirmation.
‘Damn.’
Loic sighed deeply.
Attending a tea party and greeting noble ladies? That might be easy for an average husband, but for Loic, it felt nearly impossible.
Just opening the gates of the duchy for today’s tea time had taken a huge amount of courage.
The duchess hadn’t asked him to attend, but…
‘Maybe she’s secretly hoping I’ll show up.’
She didn’t have much support here yet. What if his absence made her seem weak?
His excitement over the clothes she’d prepared for him suddenly disappeared.
“Wow, marriage really changes a man, huh?”
Demiche grinned, completely missing Loic’s troubled mood.
“Did Her Grace pick this outfit?”
The knights reacted with surprise and admiration.
“No wonder!”
“You look amazing! She has great taste too!”
“I’m jealous!”
“Quiet.”
The duke’s chilly aura immediately silenced them.
“You all sound way too relaxed to be this chatty.”
“Tomorrow’s training will be sparring.”
He said it in a low, ominous tone and turned around.
Ugh. The knights groaned, realizing what was coming.
But Demiche, walking behind Loic, chuckled sneakily.
He had clearly seen the back of their lord’s neck turning red.
Meanwhile, the duchy’s gates—closed to outsiders for nearly 17 years—had officially opened.
The daughters of noble houses arrived in carriages bearing their family crests and were guided to the tea room by the head butler.
As they walked through the hallways, the girls glanced curiously around at the inside of the grand duchy.
At the very back of the group, Lady Cecilia—the second daughter of Viscount Territo—stretched her neck to look around.
‘This place is huge.’
Cecilia had started writing a column for News of the North a month ago. Everything she saw was either article-worthy—or not.
Her column on capital city fashion last week had been well received, and she was eager to keep the momentum going.
Writing about a visit to the grand duchy would be a huge hit, but any writing about it was strictly forbidden.
‘Would it be off-limits to write about the duchess’s tea party?’
—“Cecilia, I don’t expect you to impress Her Grace. Just don’t cause trouble. Remember, any mistake you make could embarrass your father.”
‘Fine. I’ll be like a shadow—silent and invisible.’
Cecilia sighed, remembering her mother’s desperate warning right before she got in the carriage.
That’s when someone suddenly grabbed her arm from the bushes beside the hallway.
“Eek! What the—?!”
“Shh!”
Startled and squirming, Cecilia looked up and frowned when she saw who it was.
It was Norton, a knight of Blenheim and her older brother.
“You scared me.”
Running into her brother unexpectedly wasn’t exactly a pleasant surprise for Cecilia.
“What do you want? Say it quickly.”
Cecilia looked annoyed at the sudden appearance of a family member. Norton narrowed his eyes too.
“Yeah, nice to see you too.”
“Don’t be sarcastic.”
Cecilia glared at him.
“I’m busy, so just get to the point, Sir Norton.”
“Do you talk like that in front of Her Grace too? Such manners.”
Norton clicked his tongue.
“I came to warn you not to cause any trouble at the tea party.”
“Oh great, another lecture. I’ve already heard that a hundred times from Lady Territo.”
“I’m serious.”
Norton raised an eyebrow.
“Just behave and only answer if Her Grace speaks to you first. Don’t get overly excited if she’s nice to you and start talking nonsense.”
“You never stop nagging.”
Cecilia replied flatly, glancing outside. The other noble ladies were already arriving at the guest wing.
“You’re done, right? I’m leaving.”
“Especially…!”
Just as she was about to walk away, Norton grabbed her sleeve and, unusually, raised his voice.
“Don’t you dare mention that useless knight, got it?”
“Well, if anyone’s useless, it’s the brother who never shows up at home.”
Cecilia gave him a hard glare and hurried off.
By the time she was halfway down the hall, Cecilia finally caught up with the group.
One of the noble ladies at the back glanced at her. Cecilia gave a sheepish smile, still out of breath, but the girl just turned away coldly.
Soon, the large doors opened, and the noble ladies were guided into the tea room by the head butler.
The tea room was elegant and luxurious, with silk wall hangings and gold-trimmed decorations.
The noble ladies quickly scanned the room for their names.
Leading the group, Meisel confidently walked to the seat right next to the Grand Duchess, lifting her chin proudly after seeing her name card.
Cecilia’s seat was at the far left end.
It made sense—House Territo was only recently added to the northern nobility.
When their eyes met, Meisel gave her a smug, mocking look before sitting down with satisfaction.
‘So childish,’ thought Cecilia.
Ever since a run-in with Cecilia at a tea party two years ago, Meisel had been picking on her in petty ways.
Not that it affected Cecilia much—she wasn’t interested in social events anyway.
She did find the nobles’ power plays amusing sometimes, but sitting through hours of talk about embroidery trends? She felt it was torture.
Today would likely be full of shallow chit-chat too.
As Cecilia looked around at the obediently seated girls, trying not to yawn—
“The Grand Duchess is arriving.”
At the butler’s announcement, the girls all stood up.
Meisel got up slowly, drawing Cecilia’s attention.
Wow.
Someone let out a quiet gasp.
The Grand Duchess appeared in a lovely pink dress, looking stunningly beautiful.
Cecilia’s mouth dropped open.
She had heard the Grand Duchess was pretty, but this was surprising.
What shocked her more was the Grand Duchess’s outfit.
‘I thought she’d be covered in flashy jewelry…’
But she only wore a simple pearl necklace and earrings—and still looked so elegant.
‘Maybe it’s the dress.’
The embroidery on the chest was thick and detailed, and the pleats along the hem made the skirt look full and rich.
‘Forget the capital’s trends—I should be writing fashion articles about her!’
“Thank you all for coming.”
The Grand Duchess smiled warmly and took her seat. The other noble ladies, still a bit stunned, quickly followed.
“I heard some of you traveled far to be here. Was the trip alright?”
“……”
‘What’s going on with this atmosphere?’
Even though the Grand Duchess had started a conversation, everyone just stared silently, afraid to speak.
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• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Freya• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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Advance chapters of this novel are available on my kofi channel
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