Asher de Phillion was officially appointed to the ducal seat at the age of 18. Moreover, as the Duke of Killiard, a land everyone avoided. It was the land of death, where hopes and dreams had disappeared. Even the kingdom had given up on it.
No one had expected him to rule Killiard properly. Many thought he would abandon it and run away.
However, shattering everyone’s expectations, Ash performed a miracle by raising the dying Killiard back to life in just five short years. It was a result that no one had expected, and this was the reason that he was recognized for his abilities, even though he was criticized for being the son of the witch.
At this moment in the Dukes office.
“…”
Ash slowly rubbed his eyes as if exhausted. He hadn’t returned to the estate until dawn, but had no time to rest as he had to deal with the work that had piled up in the few days he had been absent. The extra work that pertained to the exam that would be coming up also added to the pile of work making it enormous.
Knock. Knock.
“Come in.”
The door opened quietly as Lowell entered the office. After bowing politely, he approached Ash.
“Sir, I have something to report.”
Ash answered, not even taking his eyes from the document he was reading.
“Go ahead.”
“A person came through the western gate, from the Solv Mountains.”
Only then did Ash lower the document and look at Lowell.
The western gate was right in front of the monsters’ nest, so no one ever entered from there. It was very rare for that door to be opened, unless it was to subdue a monster.
“What do you mean?”
“Two days ago, we received a report from the western watchtower that a person had appeared from the forest. After hearing the guards’ story, I went down and found it true. At first, I also suspected that it was a demon or a human shaped monster, but it was definitely a person.”
“Where are they now?”
“That’s… probably at the test site…”
“What?”
When Ash frowned, as if he though Lowell was speaking nonsense, he hastily continued.
“She said the reason she came over the mountain range was so that she wouldn’t be late for the recruitment exam date. She would have gone to training center number 2 to take her exam by now.”
“If it’s a her, then she’s a woman? Also, the second training center? Did she apply to become a Knight of Philres?”
“Yes.”
Lowell quickly held out a document to Ash.
“This is her application form.”
“…”
Ash quickly skimmed the document he was handed. His eyes stopped for a moment, but then quickly resumed as if nothing had happened. After reading through everything, there was a moment of silence before Ash suddenly burst out laughing. Seeing his Lord’s sudden strange reaction, Lowell cautiously called out.
“Your Grace?”
“Whether she’s a fly or not, we’ll know soon enough.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Is there anything else you have to say? If not, you can leave.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Lowell saluted politely and left the office. After he was gone, there was only silence. The expression on Ash’s face, which had been smiling just moments prior, also disappeared. He lowered his frosty gaze and rested his chin on the palm of his hand with an expressionless face.
Where his gaze was directed, there was an open application form for the person whom Lowell had reported. He muttered, while tapping his fingertip on the spot his gaze had stopped earlier.
“Elaine…”
‘Of all the names?’ Ash thought as he ran his finger over the area where the applicants name was written. But soon, as if shaking off a stray thought, he put the application aside and began to work on the stack of documents again.
***
The regular knight exam is held over multiple days, but the Philres Knight exam is held in just one day. The preliminaries, first and second rounds take place in the morning. The successful candidates will then make it to the third and fourth rounds held in the afternoon. It was a harsh schedule that showed the organizers intention to only select the most elite of the elite.
Elaine, who had passed all the morning exams, was eating at the canteen near the exam center during the remaining lunch break. The room was noisy, with people filling each table. Most of them were people who had come to take the entrance exam. Elaine could hear a stocky man talking at the table near her.
“… So I punched him in the face right then and there!”
“As expected of you, McGaff! You’re amazing.”
The people gathered around were showering him in praise. The man named McGaff smiled brightly and puffed up his chest in pride. Words of flattery poured out again from the mouths of the people surrounding him.
“Passing the remaining exams in the afternoon will be nothing for you, McGaff.”
“Isn’t it obvious? It’s basically already been confirmed that McGaff will join the knights of Philres.”
“It’s true!”
A burst of laughter broke out within the group. Some of the people at the other tables were frowning at the sight of the gangsters talking loudly, as if they owned the place. McGaff cleared his throat a few times at the thugs’ flattery and pretended to remain calm.
“Ahem, Ahem, alright everyone, don’t praise me too much.”
“But everyone already clearly saw the amazing skills you displayed in this morning’s exams!”
“That’s true, the blue band on your wrist is proof of that.”
One of the men in the group then pointed at the blue band on McGaff’s wrist. It was a token given to all of the applicants who had passed the morning exams. The cloth had Killiard’s symbol embroidered in silver thread. Both curious and envious gazes were directed toward the blue band.
At that time, the youngest among them decided to speak.
“Uh… But, isn’t that the same thing that the woman over there has on as well? Does that mean she also passed the morning exams?”
“Nonsense, how could a woman become a knight? She would have failed long ago and left already. You must have seen wrong.”
“I did not, look over there. Doesn’t it look exactly like yours?”
“That can’t be.”
McGaff, with a slight frown, turned his head to and looked toward the silver haired woman the young man had pointed to. Just then, the blue band on the wrist of the woman eating came into view, catching his attention. McGaff widened his eyes in shock, but soon enough his expression turned cruel.
“Huh, she really passed? A woman who probably can’t even lift anything heavier than the spoon she’s holding?”
McGaff clearly sounded displeased, and as a result the people around him hurriedly tried to placate him.
“No way she passed. It must be a mistake.”
“It could be an imitation of the token. Or maybe they used some cowardly tricks to make it through.”
Even though Elaine heard everything, she just continued her meal in silence, listening to the people chatting away at the table near her. Even though she didn’t want to eavesdrop, her hearing was so sensitive that she couldn’t ignore it even if she tried.
Although the gender ratio of female knights was significantly lower to the male knights, there were definitely some female knights whose skills surpassed their male counterparts. She couldn’t understand why they were overreacting so much.
Elaine finished her meal and dessert then packed her bags, not paying any mind to the unfavorable gazes directed her way. McGaff, who was still glaring at her disapprovingly, could no longer hold his tongue when he saw her about to leave.
“It’s ridiculous.”
“What?”
“Philres’ standards have really fallen if a woman like that can pass the second test. No matter how you look at it, the sword she carries looks like its just for decoration, right? I was trying to get in because I heard the salary was high, but the people here seem to be below par.”
McGaff clicked his tongue and nodded as if he had suddenly had some realization.
“Oh, now that I think about it, it makes sense, doesn’t it? In terms of being sub-par, isn’t that exactly like Asher? That guy is the worst of them all! Hahaha!”
Elaine who had been trying her best to ignore him and leave, suddenly stopped in her tracks.
“Isn’t there a rumor that the Duke was a half witch and his position was only able to be obtained by bewitching the ministers with his pretty face?”
“Is his face really that great? I want to see it at least once. How beautiful is this guy to be able to bewitch even the elderly?”
The words spoken about a duke of this kingdom were shocking. Elaine was barely able to suppress the emotions that were burning inside of her at the moment. She clenched her fist and ran her other hand down her face. Even before she had joined the order, her presence was causing trouble. This wasn’t good.
In the meantime, McGaff never stopped blabbering.
“Even if the blood flowing inside his body is dirty, the outside is still worth seeing.”
“Take back what you just said.”
“Elaine gave up on being patient. Dirty blood? Who was bewitching whom? She could easily ignore the insults directed at her, thinking of it as just another barking dog.
But Ash, she couldn’t bear to hear his name being dragged through the mud like that. Such a thing was impossible for her.
“What did you say? What should I take back? Oh, did you hear me talking about you? Even if you passed the exams by cheating, your pride is still hurt, right?”
McGaff noticed Elaine approaching him and raised his brows.
Instead of apologizing, he just threw out more insults. Elaine threw away all of her respect and no longer tried to be polite. With gritted teeth, she continued.
“I don’t care what you say about me, but take back what you just said about the Duke being dirty.”
“Huh? Why does it matter to you what we say about the Duke?”
“…”
It matters. A lot. Ash was the only person left that was precious to her, and also the person she had to protect. Instead of saying those words, she just pursed her lips. Because of her current status, Elaine was nothing to Ash. Saying those words would just make her look insane.
“Could it be that you have also been bewitched by him?”
There was no hesitation as he was belittling the Duke of a kingdom, even when there were others listening to him. His attitude said that he had nothing to fear, not even in the land that belonged to the Duke. Elaine slowly looked around.
No one in the canteen seemed to have an issue with McGaff’s insulting remarks toward the Duke of Killiard. At first glance, some of the people frowned at the vulgar words directed towards a woman, but they continued their meals without any reaction to the insults at Ash. It was as if they had already heard the words many times before.
Elaine let out a low laugh. She was the only one who was angry. No one in the canteen seemed to even care about Ash. Was it natural for people to ridicule and criticize him? Had he been treated this way the whole time?
Elaine had heard some rumors over the past couple of days, so she knew that some people saw him as unfavorable. However, when she heard people insulting him directly in front of her like this, she felt like her heart was being pierced.
She slowly closed her eyes and then reopened them, muttering lowly.
“By the looks of it, you’re the one at a lower level here.”
“What did you just say?”
“Aren’t you even embarrassed? If you have time to waste putting others down, why not take a moment and look at yourself as well. It would be quite difficult to find anyone else who was more pig like.”
McGaff met her burning gaze and felt a chill run down his spine for a moment. However, at her taunting words, he felt his anger rise and forgot about his moment of fear.
“Bitch, you’re insane! What are you saying about me when the only thing that’s good about you is your face?!”
As McGaff stood up with force, whispers spread around the whole canteen. They were wondering if the large man was really going to fight with a girl a fraction of his size. But, even if the man was several times her height, Elaine did not feel intimidated at all and looked straight into his eyes.
It was then a voice could be heard in the canteen, breaking the tense atmosphere. They spoke as if they were getting annoyed.
“Ugh, what’s with all the noise? Why can’t everyone just eat quietly.”
