25. Until the end of my life.
“Madam, you should have called me, whether it’s early morning or midnight.”
Julie jumped when she found out what happened early in the morning.
“Okay.”
“Don’t ‘okay.’ me. I know I am not that outstanding, but what lady do you think goes around without a knight or even a maid?”
“Yes, it is common for noble ladies to be accompanied by maids and knights. So, I went with the knight who was at the door when I happened to meet him.”
“I feel sad when you compare me to any other person.”
Again, she is being dramatic.
Bianca bit her cheek to prevent herself from laughing as Julie spoke harshly.
“Promise me you’ll never wonder alone again.”
“Okay, I’ll never go alone again.”
“A lot of people came into the main castle this time. It’s normal for accidents to happen at times like this.”
“Oh, I guess I worried because of my short foresight.”
“I was worried and this shouldn’t have happened. However, I hope that you will think more comfortably of us.”
Us?
When Bianca raised her head at the words she couldn’t make sense of, Julie opened the door and called someone, as if she had been waiting.
“Lord Rappin, please come in.”
“Lord Rappin?”
“He is the knight who will be the Madam’s bodyguard from now on.”
In response to Bianca’s question, Hailey, who was standing by the door, introduced the tall, gentle-looking young man standing next to her as ‘her bodyguard’.
“Lord Rappin, say hello to the Duchess.”
“Oh, hello, Madam. This is Rappin, who will be taking charge of escorting you from today.”
Even the nape of his neck was dyed red, and he was clearly embarrassed as he continued to wiggle his hands.
If it was possible to turn a big dog into a human, wouldn’t it look like this?
He had curly blonde hair that covered his ears and a refreshing-looking green eye.
His face had a youthful look, as if he had just become an adult.
“Sir, come to your senses.”
“Yes, sir.., no, maid.”
Julie couldn’t hide her sad expression as she saw Rappin scratching the back of his head.
“Sir, you have overstepped your boundaries, how dare you be Madame’s dedicated escort.”
“Julie!”
“But, Hailey! Lord Rappin is only the commander of second castle. He is not even the captain of the fortress, but he is the lady’s guard. Isn’t it too much? If I knew it would be like this…”
“Julie, shut up.”
Although Julie kept her mouth shut at Hailey’s harsh words, she seemed quite dissatisfied even with her silence.
Judging by the way she said words like ‘the lady’s guard’ and ‘dare’, it seemed like she was hoping for a grander person, but Bianca was completely taken with the young knight in front of her.
Some people may not know it, but the title ‘unit commander’ was not easy to obtain.
This is especially true in the North, which is famous for its high-quality knights.
“Madam, it’s Lord Rappin’s first time escorting a lady, so he seems a little nervous.”
Hailey said something for Rappin as if she were defending him, but it wasn’t necessary.
Bianca knew that the knight with a title as grand as a commander was not as ordinary a person as he seemed.
Although I did not enjoy the escort of a knight, I saw many excellent knights right next to me, escorting the Emperor and Crown Prince in the imperial palace.
Restrained movements, unique light and disciplined steps, calloused hands, and a calm gaze.
The knight, whose face turned red before her eyes, had it all.1Not the calm part though (≧▽≦)
“Madam, I will do my best to protect you.”
Even as he scratched the back of his head, Rappin’s gaze remained focused on her.
The fact that he never lost sight of the object of his guard for even a moment showed how outstanding a knight he was.
Bianca silently whispered to Julie, who was clearly sulking, using only the shape of her mouth to show her dissatisfaction.
‘He is a great knight. Stop it, Julie.’
Bianca extended her hand straight toward Rappin, who was standing outside the door.
“Thank you, Sir knight.”
Rappin asked again as he made a knight’s gesture.
“May I be your escort, Madam?”
“It’s too much.”
Bianca whispered the exact same words Julie had said before and smiled sweetly at her first knight.
Rappin, who had been standing firmly like a rooted tree, took a step at that very moment.
His step was big, light and very agile.
Almost as soon as I realized he had taken a step, my hand was lightly grasped by his.
Rappin gently squeezed Bianca’s hand and bent down to rest his forehead on it.
“I will live as Bianca’s sword until the day I die.”
Bianca felt suffocated by the warm sensation at her fingertips.
I thought I would never be allowed this in my lifetime.
But then, the moment came when such a reverential and extremely respectful oath was received by me!
Feeling unbelievable, Bianca unintentionally made the knight wait for an answer while trying to hold his breath.
“Sir.”
“Yes, Madam.”
“I will only allow you to serve me until you have someone more precious to you.”
For an instant, I felt my fingertips held in his hand being pressed.
A knight could swear an oath, but he could not break it.
No fool would risk his life to protect some other people.
So the knight’s oath was to be sworn only once in a lifetime.
So why did she say that?
It was obvious that Rappin had a look of doubt on his face as he met my gaze.
“Madam, do you think I’m not good enough and you don’t like me?”
“How is that possible? Sir, you are my first knight. I’m very excited and happy.”
For a moment, the air in the bedroom felt cold, but Bianca continued speaking with a smile on her face.
“It is highly unlikely that the princess who was born by killing the Empress would have a bodyguard or a dedicated maid. I never once thought I would have a knight in my life.”
“My lady.”
“I will refuse your oath, I’ve lived my whole life without an escort. I will not have an exception right now, no, I would hate it even more if I made an exception. I am content with you being just a light escort. Please whisper your oath to your wife later.”
Yes.
The words that followed at the end of her speech felt so natural that Rappin nodded his head.
“Thank you.”
Bianca happily accepted Rappin’s oath.
Rappin, who came to his senses belatedly, said, ‘Huh?’ He made a noise, but he never got a second chance.
Julie, who had been pouting the whole time, pushed him away, her eyes getting wet, and grabbed Bianca’s fingertips.
“Madam, please accept my oath as well.”
“Julie, you are already my dedicated maid.”
“Can you please call me Sir Julie?”
She said she wasn’t a child, but now Julie was throwing a tantrum like a child.
However, because her whining about wanting affection was cute, Bianca decided to pretend not to know and join in.
“Okay, Sir Julie.”
“I would like to offer my oath to you, my lady.”
“It’s too much. Well, I will accept your pledge only until you have someone precious to you.”
“Thank you.”
Julie quickly lowered her head, placed her forehead on her fingertips, and shouted, ‘I will live as Bianca’s sword until the day my life ends.’
It seemed that the maid who grew up among the knights was not satisfied with being a dedicated maid.
Bianca, who was thinking about correcting Julie’s strange habit until the day she left the north, was taken aback by the third warmth that passed her fingertips.
“Hailey?”2Wow, she is so popular(^^).
“Please call me Sir, too.”
As if she had decided to join in on Julie’s prank, Hailey was also posing in the same way as Rappin.
The head maid was seriously imitating the knights with a straight and solemn face.
Bianca felt dizzy for a moment.
But, guess what?
Her shy first-time knight may have made her adapt to this atmosphere rather quickly.
So Bianca again allowed ‘Sir Hailey’ to swear.
“I refuse to let you risk your life or get hurt on my behalf.”
“I will try my best not to do that.”
“Don’t say you will make an effort, just make sure to do so.”
“As instructed.”
It was a bit of a funny and strange atmosphere.
However, Bianca was confident that she would probably remember this day forever.
Because the laughter of the three volunteer knights was so lovely.
***
“Hey, there.”
“Yes, butler.”
“I am not a butler.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Chamberlain.”
Creta furrowed her brows as she looked at the new servants who took her for granted as the chief chamberlain.
This castle was generally a mess.
This happened because the Duke and Duchess of Baloch did not need any assistance and spent most of their time outside the castle.
The castle had minimal manpower.
Like a chef or a kitchen assistant.
After the glass greenhouse was damaged by hail, no gardeners were hired, and it was enough to have technicians take turns taking care of the cleaning in a hurry.
Eventually, the number of attendants decreased and about ten years ago and there were no more servants left.
“I am Creta Barhan. I am the duke’s lieutenant, not the chamberlain.”
Creta, with her sharp eyebrows furrowed as if showing off, explained herself and distributed work to the thirty people who were lined up.
Finally, after assigning a footman, she finally felt like she was attending to a ‘Duke’.
It was a really bad feeling.
“Alright then, everyone, make sure you move quickly. ‘The butler’ is on the way, so if anything comes up before then, ask the head maid ‘Hailey.’”
At his words, one of the servants raised his hand.
“When the butler comes, will our work assignment be reassigned?”
He was Henry Kazel, the third son of Baron Kazel, a vassal of Baloch
Since not just anyone could come in the mansion, the servants were people sent from the vassals.
Crete quickly remembered Baron Kazel.
He said he lost his son during last year’s wave.
The Kazel family had provided valuable hands for generations.
So it was impossible to end the legacy of the Baron.
So, when he was sent to her as a servant rather than a ‘knight’, she accepted it without question.
Creta looked at Henry, who looked slightly nervous, and softened her raised eyebrows.
“Why don’t you like the area you were assigned to?”
“Oh, no.”
In consideration of the Kazel family, Henry had been specially assigned to the third floor.
“I was wondering if I could mentain my position.”
The hesitant answer was so naive that it made others sigh, so Creta bursted into laughter.
“Don’t worry.”
The third floor is where the duchess lives.
A place where the knights of seventh Castle stay, the commander of Castle 2 stays as a guard knight, and a knight disguised as a dedicated maid guards it.
It was a place that is safer than anywhere else, but must be even safer.
Creta tapped Henry, who was annoyed, on the shoulder.
“Anyway, the only person you can meet is Miss Julie, the dedicated maid.”
Creta’s grinning face was so threatening that Henry’s face froze.
