Episode 65

 

“Hah, you’re a bold woman. Where do you get the nerve… huh?”

The man stopped mid-sentence, turning to take another look at Sierra.

“Well, you’re actually pretty cute, aren’t you?”

His friend joined in, grinning as he spoke.

“Hey, miss, why don’t you come with us and enjoy the festival? No need to be upset.”

His voice oozed with sleaze.

‘What idiots. Trying to pull something like this.’

As Sierra stared at them in disgust, one of the men reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Calm down and—Aagh!”

In that instant, Eveline grabbed the man’s arm and twisted it behind his back.

“Aaagh! Let go!”

“Do you have any idea who you just touched?”

“Who the hell—Aagh!”

“Let go of me! We’re nobles from the West District! You commoners can’t touch us like this!”

The men were nobles from the West District, judging by their fancy clothes and arrogant behavior.

They clearly mistook Sierra for a commoner from Flora due to her simple attire, typical of a local merchant.

No matter how much the man struggled, he couldn’t free his arm from Eveline’s grip.

“So, you’re nobles from the West District. Let’s hear your illustrious names then,” Eveline said coldly.

“Don’t you know the name of Baron Jenaide? You’ll all be punished for this disrespect!”

“Jenaide….”

The name didn’t ring a bell. I wasn’t too familiar with southern nobility.

“Yes, Jenaide! Now do you understand your place?”

“You commoners have no idea who you’re dealing with!”

Eveline ignored the men’s ranting and turned to Sierra.

“What shall we do with them, my lady?”

“Well, they are such grand nobles from the West District… How should we handle this?”

Sierra smiled as she approached the men.

“Baron Jenaide, I think you’re the one who needs to understand your place.”

“What… what are you saying?”

“If you don’t want to end up at odds with the Drenihan family, I suggest you apologize quickly.”

“…D-Drenihan?”

Sierra didn’t know these men, but there wasn’t a soul in the empire who didn’t know the Drenihan family.

“N-No way. Are you joking? Why would someone from the Drenihan family be here?”

“You’re pretending to be from one of the great noble families of the capital? You must be insane!”

Just then, one of the bystanders watching the scene pointed at Sierra and exclaimed.

“Wait, I’ve seen her before! She was in the newspaper recently!”

“Now that you mention it…?”

“She’s Lady Sierra Drenihan, who won first place in the betting for the gladiator tournament!”

The story had made big headlines at the time.

People were now starting to recognize her.

Upon hearing this, Baron Jenaide’s face turned pale.

“…Is this real? No, it can’t be.”

“Denying it won’t make it any less true.”

Eveline shoved his arm away, releasing him.

Baron Jenaide staggered backward, looking shaken.

“W-What’s your name?”

“Oh, how rude of me. My name is Sierra Drenihan.”

“The daughter of the Duke of Drenihan…?”

In his trembling voice, Sierra nodded.

“B-But why are you dressed like this…?”

“Who dresses extravagantly for a local festival? That would just be tacky.”

It was as if they had come to a ballroom instead.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Baron Jenaide’s friend quickly changed his tone, forcing a smile.

“I-I deeply apologize for the offense we caused, Lady Drenihan.”

He must have sensed how much trouble they were in.

But Sierra wasn’t done.

“It seems there’s someone else you need to apologize to, don’t you think?”

She pointed to the elderly woman behind them.

They had insulted and shoved her, nearly causing her to fall.

If I hadn’t caught her, she would have hit the ground.

“This old woman stained my expensive clothes. I was just teaching her a lesson about being careful.”

‘Who are you to teach anyone anything?’ I thought.

At that moment, the elderly woman behind us spoke up.

“I-I was just walking home with ice cream for my daughter. Those men saw me from a distance and purposely ran into me.”

Hearing this made their actions even more despicable.

“Hmph, just the ramblings of a senile old woman.”

The man sneered, but another bystander chimed in.

“I actually saw what happened. The old woman is telling the truth….”

Now that it was clear Sierra was from the Drenihan family, people started speaking up.

“I saw it too. They bumped into her on purpose.”

“I even heard them talking about wanting to start some trouble because they were bored.”

Hearing this, Baron Jenaide flew into a rage.

“How dare you all insult me!”

“Lower your voice, Baron. You’re being too loud,” Sierra said, covering her ears.

The Baron hesitated, biting his tongue.

He was clearly the type who bullied the weak but cowered before the strong.

“Apologize to her.”

“……”

“My shoulder is hurting quite a bit from where you grabbed me. I think I’ll need to go see a doctor, so hurry up.”

“I-I just placed my hand on you…!”

“A-Are you alright, my lady?” Eveline asked, her expression serious as she inspected Sierra’s condition.

Seeing Eveline’s concern, Baron Jenaide’s face turned ghostly pale.

Not only had he threatened the daughter of the Duke of Drenihan, but now it looked like he had harmed her as well. If word of this spread, he’d be finished.

What started as a game for them had spiraled out of control.

They had always flaunted their status, enjoying the sight of people trembling before them.

Today, they had spotted an old woman with ice cream and decided to have some fun.

But they never expected the only daughter of the Duke of Drenihan to get involved.

“…I-I apologize.”

Baron Jenaide clenched his fists as he forced the words out to the elderly woman.

“Is that enough? I’ve apologized, so please, don’t mention this to the Duke…!”

Even if Sierra didn’t say anything, could they really stop the rumors from spreading?

Seeing that Sierra remained silent, the two men, clearly panicking, hurried to say more.

“Well, we have an urgent appointment, so we’ll be going now!”

They fled the scene, practically running away before things could get worse.

* * *

 

I watched Baron Jenaide and his friend scurry away in a panic, then turned to the elderly woman.

“Are you alright? You must have been really shaken.”

“Oh, thank you. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you, my lady.”

“It’s nothing. But what about the ice cream…?”

The ice cream she had bought for her daughter was now on the ground.

“Oh, it’s fine. I can always get a new one. My name is Catherine. And you are… the young lady of Drenihan?”

“That’s right.”

As the elderly woman introduced herself, Eveline flinched, her eyes widening as she looked at her.

“Where is your daughter?” I asked.

“I’ve been looking for her. She went out to play in the city and hasn’t come back, so I decided to come out and search for her.”

Catherine smiled as she spoke.

“She’s probably standing by her favorite flower shop again.”

“Would you like us to help you look for her at the flower shop?”

“Oh my, would you? After we find her, I’ll give you a flower that suits you perfectly, my lady.”

As Catherine clapped her hands in delight, I noticed a group of knights approaching from a distance.

“Huh?”

The unknown knights halted in front of Catherine.

‘Could they have been sent by the Baron?’

Just as I thought that, the knight at the front of the group spoke.

“There you are, Lady Catherine.”

Eveline muttered under her breath, “Just as I thought…”

She leaned in to whisper in my ear.

“That woman is Countess Catherine Chetwind, my lady.”

“…What?”

I blinked in surprise and looked at the knights more carefully.

Their armor bore the symbol of two crossed swords—a distinct emblem.

It was indeed the sigil of the sacred house of Chetwind, one of the most powerful and influential families in the empire.

‘She’s a countess?’

And not just any countess—she was the Countess of Chetwind.

The Chetwind family had played a crucial role in ancient wars against demonic creatures and were still revered as a sacred family. Even the imperial family couldn’t easily meddle with them.

Just as the Mage Tower held a unique position in the empire, so too did the Chetwinds.

Flora, the region we were in, was part of the southern protectorate under Chetwind’s dominion.

As I stood there, stunned by the unexpected revelation, Catherine addressed the knight.

“Hins, you’re just in time. Hurry and find Isabella. She’s snuck out into the city again.”

“Lady Catherine, Miss Isabella isn’t here…”

“What? What do you mean? Did she return home?”

The knight named Hins smiled uneasily and nodded.

“That child is always causing trouble. I’ll have to scold her when I get back to the estate,” Catherine said, though her tone was one of relief, her smile betraying her worry.

I watched her carefully, suddenly pausing as a thought occurred to me.

‘Wait… if she’s the daughter of the Countess of Chetwind, then…’

Wasn’t Isabella the child who had gone missing many years ago?