The Sapphire Knights suffered a huge blow this time for not being able to stop the thief Heilbronner. The subtle mockery from other order leaders, the harsh reprimands from higher-ups…
For Gustav, who had only walked the path of success, it was an unbearable humiliation.
Revenge on the thief Heilbroner who had insulted him.
And getting his hands on Clara Weyburn, who was trying to escape his grasp.
If he could achieve all of these, then bearing this level of risk was not a big deal.
Gustav, seeming to have made a decision, picked up his pen and began to write a reply.
A red light flickered and then disappeared from his eyes.
***
Until the promised Sunday came around, our order remained peaceful.
As expected, Lan quickly adapted to our order, proving to be a remarkably talented individual. Her competency in handling tasks were so efficient that it’d be rude to consider her Billy’s junior.
When dealing with the tasks, unlike Billy, who needed guidance for each and every interaction as if he were a child lost on the street, Lan was impressively precise and effective.
At this point, I began to wonder if I should resign from my position as the Captain and hand it over to Lan.
‘Indeed, it’s quite surprising that Lan joined our order.’
According to the original, she was supposed to move to the position of escort knight for the male protagonist, the Second Prince. Yet, she volunteered to come to our order, which is among the least prestigious.
Well, if we were to talk about the differences from the original, there were more than one or two. Ever since that day when the nameless Ruby Knights were ordered to capture the thief Heilbronner, things didn’t happen how it was supposed to be.
‘…If the original story goes off course because of this, that would be troublesome.’
The true intentions of Ludger are still unknown, but if he is indeed connected to the incidents caused by the black magic…
The only one who holds the key to changing his mind is the original female protagonist.
She was the only one who could persuade him to stop his activities as the thief Heilbronner so that the incidents caused by black magic can end, along with the original story’s ending.
However, there were limits to what I could do in this situation.
It’s not like I could suddenly run to the original male and female protagonists and say, “I know the weaknesses of your enemy Ludger Kassen. Do you know he’s actually the Phantom Thief Heilbronner? And it seems he uses suspicious black magic!”
No, before I could even reveal this, Ludger would probably finish me off first.
No matter how much I thought about it, keeping my mouth shut and observing things as they unfold seems to be the best course of action.
‘So, don’t act like you’re someone special! You’re just an extra with a bit of knowledge about the original work!’
Refocusing on the main point made me feel relieved.
Today was a long-awaited relaxing holiday.
There were no emergency calls, and Heilbronner didn’t send a warning letter. So, I decided to not torment myself with unnecessary thoughts.
Of course… in the afternoon… Ludger will come….
‘Let’s just think of it as having a delicious meal. Ludger won’t kill me!’
In the morning, I did a thorough cleaning of the house, which is always a mess from being left empty, and did the laundry.
Originally, I would have slept through the afternoon…. but now it was time to choose an outfit.
Last time, I was dragged away suddenly in my work clothes, but today I should wear something to at least match the occasion.
However, when I opened my closet, I realized the seriousness of the situation.
‘An outfit to match the occasion… I don’t have them.’
My life was filled with commuting to and from work as a knight and sleeping in on holidays.
Of course, I did have some casual clothes that I bought back when I first started working, just in case… but those were outdated and, more importantly, were so unfashionable they were hard to look at.
Other than that, I only had a range of work clothes I rotated throughout the days of the week.
Naturally, since they were worn under the knight’s cloak, they were just a bunch of humble outfits that were more like casual activewear.
When going out for a stroll around the neighborhood, the outfit doesn’t really matter, but if I tag along with a high-ranking noble to a fancy restaurant, I might end up being turned away at the entrance for my shabby attire.
“Uuugghhh… Why do I have to worry about this!”
Doesn’t it seem like I’m stressing over what to wear for a date?
…. As soon as the thought occurred to me, I was so shocked that I slapped myself in the face. It hurt a little.
“Yeah, come to think of it, it’s not a date. Who cares if my clothes are shabby and Ludger Kassen gets embarrassed!”
He’ll probably reserve a private room where nobody can see him, just like last time.
Thinking that made me feel relieved, I picked up one of my work clothes and put it on. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t pick those outdated casual wear. I’ll just throw them away later.
At that moment, the doorbell rang.
“Who is it?”
“Are you Lady Clara Weyburn?”
“Yes… I am.”
“I’m the butler of Duke Kassen’s Household. I’ve come to fetch my lady with the carriage. Are you ready to leave now?”
“Oh, I understand!”
I looked at my watch and saw it was exactly the time Ludger had specified. I quickly threw on a cheap overcoat and opened the door.
‘His voice sounded so refined, and he looks like quite a dignified gentleman.’
“Pleasure to meet you, Lady Weyburn.”
However, for some reason, his expression as he looked at me seemed unusually warm and kind.
It wasn’t exactly inappropriate, but… I couldn’t understand why he looked so pleased to see me on our first meeting.
“Yes, pleased to meet you as well. Are we heading to the restaurant now?”
When I asked, he tilted his head.
“Hmm? Didn’t you receive the letter?”
“Letter for what?”
“We’d be heading to a boutique store today.”
“…??”
The butler urged me to discuss it on the way down, so I followed him, still puzzled.
“What do you mean by boutique?”
“Well, it’s to finalize Lady Weyburn’s dress.”
“My dress…?”
Before I could even process what that meant, the door of the carriage waiting on the first floor opened.
Today, the impeccably handsome man, who always shone from head to toe, was smiling dazzlingly, even more so than the sun outside.
“Nice to see you again, Lady Clara.”
“Yes… Nice to see you again, Duke.”
I got on the carriage in a daze and sat across from him. Ludger naturally took my hand and escorted me to a comfortable seat.
“Pardon me, Lord Duke. I have a question.”
“Feel at ease.”
“Weren’t we supposed to go to the restaurant today?”
Ludger had mentioned before that he wanted to revisit the restaurant, praising the chef and expressing a desire to dine there again.
So I had thought we were heading back to that restaurant…
But suddenly a boutique?
“No… I don’t think I have specifically mentioned a restaurant.”
“….”
Now that I think about it, he hadn’t explicitly said ‘restaurant’. He had only mentioned wanting to be served again by the chef.
But why does that lead to a boutique…?
“Today, we’d be attending a social gathering hosted by Count Morsal.”
“…Huh?”
My mouth dropped open in surprise. A social gathering?
“The event also includes the announcement of the new menu from the chef you liked before. The owner of that restaurant is Count Morsal.”
“….”
“And since it’s a good opportunity, I thought I’d have you try it as well… Captain Clara?”
“Is Lord Duke… planning to take me as your partner to the gathering?”
“Precisely.”
They say that when people are faced with situations that exceed their mental capacity, they freeze, and I personally felt that.
As soon as he confirmed the truth, I couldn’t react at all.
Perhaps flustered by my expression, Ludger added.
“It’s really just a light gathering, so there’s no need to worry. Many business associates will be there, so it’s not an event exclusive to nobles.”
“Ah….”
“However, since it’s a social gathering, you need an apprenticeship attire. And since I’m requesting you to come with me, I have no other expectations from you. I hope you don’t worry about the cost at all.”
“….”
I held my forehead. There were too many places to tackle.
‘Is this the mindset of a high-ranking noble!?’
It seemed he had tried to be considerate in his own way, but the result was this.
“Is it burdensome?”
“Well, it would normally be burdensome, wouldn’t it?”
“…It seems I made a mistake.”
Looking up, I saw Ludger’s face looking slightly dejected.
‘Why does he look kind of cute…?’
Nevertheless, being handsome is a privilege. My frustration at the situation melted away.
Thanks