Smack!
“Gah!”
Before the words even finished leaving his mouth, the man let out a piercing scream and fell to his knees. It was less a gesture of reverence and more of a sign of surrender.
“Show some respect, Kanut.”
Alyssa, the one who had just forced him to his knees, coldly warned him. Kanut, clutching his aching knee, lifted his head with a look of frustration.
“You’re doing this just because I didn’t kneel to the commander? It’s not like this is the first time—”
“For crying out loud, stop!”
“Read the room, will you?!”
As Alyssa raised her foot again, the two knights standing beside her hurriedly covered Kanut’s mouth.
Once they had restrained him, their gazes slowly shifted toward Kieran, filled with both suspicion and curiosity.
“Um, excuse me, but who might you be?”
It occurred to Kieran that this was likely the knights’ first time seeing him. He introduced himself briefly.
“Before marriage, I was Kieran Albrecht. Now though the name does not mean much, I carry the name of the House of Benoit.”
At his words, the knights began whispering among themselves in hushed tones.
“…Benoit?”
“Isn’t that the duke’s family?”
“But our commander is an only child. She doesn’t have any cousins.”
“No way he can’t be the commander’s son… right?”
As the murmured whispers came to a halt, a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz slipped out.
“Now that I think about it, the commander did mention getting married…”
The knights turned their heads slowly, creaking as they did. A heavy silence followed for a few seconds, then the intense stares directed at Kieran suddenly vanished.
“We apologize!”
“We didn’t recognize such an esteemed person…!”
The three men, each twice the size of an average person, threw themselves flat on the ground, looking like small hills. Kanut, trembling, couldn’t say a word.
The chaotic scene left Kieran with a pounding headache. He desperately wanted an explanation for what was going on.
“It’s fine, please get up. But more importantly…”
“Please, drop the formal speech! Duchess’s husb… husb…”
“Husband, you idiot.”
“Husband!”
The knights, exchanging loud words, scrambled to their feet.Kieran, trying to regain his composure, calmly spoke again.
“I understand your request well. I need to have a word with Her Grace, so could you step outside for a moment?”
At this, Kanut, who had been quietly sulking, suddenly flared up again.
“What could be more important than what we’ve just said—ugh!”
He was swiftly silenced with a blow to the stomach, causing Alyssa to grimace as she watched him.
“Take him out.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Without hesitation, the knights grabbed Kanut by both arms and started dragging him out. Even as he was being pulled away, Kanut shouted at the top of his lungs.
“If you decide not to go on the expedition because you’re mesmerized by your husband’s beauty…!”
Bang!
The door slammed shut with a deafening noise, and finally, silence settled in.
Feeling like he’d been caught in a whirlwind, Kieran let out a sigh, while Alyssa shifted nervously.
“My apologies. For showing you such an embarrassing scene…”
It was, of course, overwhelming, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. Kieran shook his head and carefully asked.
“Is it correct to say that the knights are… loyal to the lord?”
At that question, Alyssa’s face flushed red with embarrassment.
“Yes, of course. While they can’t compare to the knights in the capital, they do maintain at least minimal discipline…”
Alyssa seemed uncomfortable speaking after showing the earlier scene, and her explanation became more extended.
“Since we accept anyone with exceptional skills, many of them have less formal training. While they may not follow the refined manners of a true knight, they’ve never once failed to act according to my orders. I assure you.”
Although there was a hint of apprehension in Alyssa’s explanation, Kieran found himself feeling calmer.
The demeanor of the Benoit knights was somewhat shocking to Kieran, who had only known knights who upheld chivalry as if it were their life.
However, upon reflection, it seemed that their behavior was not excessively rude.
The demeanor of the knights was indeed perplexing for someone serving a lord, but as Alyssa said, they hadn’t completely defied her orders.
In fact, from another perspective, they seemed quite familiar with Alyssa.
A subtle smile played on Kieran’s lips as he reflected on the recent situation. Although he had been extremely tense and anxious at the time, looking back, wasn’t it quite amusing?
As Kieran chuckled at the thought of the man who had been kicked by Alyssa, he suddenly asked Alyssa, “The knight named Kanut, is he…?”
It was a name not commonly used in the Empire, and the red hair was also quite unusual.
‘Most importantly, that accent…’
It was a slightly different accent from the ordinary Imperial language. While others might not notice the subtle difference, Kieran recognized it immediately.
“Is he perhaps Elshain?”
At Kieran’s question, Alyssa flinched. She nodded as if she had done something wrong.
“Yes. Do you find it uncomfortable or unsettling to meet him?”
Elshains were foreigners who had immigrated from a small island in the west.
The Empire’s people often despised them, considering their red hair and unique language to be barbaric.
However, Kieran shook his head. He did not find Kanut unsettling at all. In fact, it felt as if he had seen a long-lost acquaintance.
“No, it’s fine.”
As Kieran shook his head, the memory of the earlier incident suddenly came back to him. He ended up smiling slightly and said,
“They are good knights.”
It was the first time he had seen people bow their heads, apologizing for not recognizing someone of high status upon hearing their name.
The Albrecht family or the Benoit ducal family were families that demanded respect, but even with that title, Kieran was not a figure of veneration.
Despite their apparent simplicity, Kieran found their innocent sincerity endearing.
The compliment given in passing made Alyssa’s face light up brightly.
“I tried to follow the teachings of the late Duke. Although I know I’m still lacking…”
Kieran paused at the mention of Alyssa’s family, a topic he hadn’t heard about before.
After a brief silence, Kieran responded monotonously.
“It seems the late Duke cherished his daughter a lot.”
He had no words about the “father” figure. He planned to simply nod along to whatever Alyssa might say next.
However, when no response came for a while, Kieran looked back at Alyssa and saw her with an awkward expression that was hard to describe.
“No.”
Alyssa, unsure how to answer, eventually shook her head.
“Rather, he loved my mother.”
The late Duke Benoit cherished his daughter?
Alyssa couldn’t answer. She had never called the late Duke “father,” nor had he ever referred to her as his daughter.
What the Duke needed was not a daughter but a successor to carry on and protect the family legacy.
When he learned that his child was a powerless girl, he named her and then withdrew his interest. It wasn’t until he discovered Alyssa’s talent for swordsmanship that he focused solely on raising her as his heir.
The late Duke clearly cherished his wife. After choosing Alyssa as his successor, he devoted as much attention to her as he did to his wife, but it wasn’t because he cherished her as a daughter.
He simply needed Alyssa.
As such, she had to prove her worth. She had to survive through any training and win every battle.
“Become a Duke without shortcomings. Fulfill your duties and prove your worth.”
These were the words the late Duke told Alyssa every day, and after his death, they were the words she repeated to herself daily.
She had always been devoted to her duty as the Duchess, protecting the territory.
Defending the land from monsters and sustaining the people in this harsh environment.
The important thing is the preservation of the territory.
Punishing the head maid and her followers was necessary because they had deceived the person in the position of the “Duke.”
The head of the family’s orders must be absolute. No one should deceive the head of the family. The seeds of discontent are the seeds of disaster.
The head maid’s disrespect towards Alyssa was of no concern. What mattered was preventing future problems by ensuring that she did not defy the Duke’s orders.
Alyssa’s reason for punishing the head maid was solely this.
The abuse from her childhood and the contempt she had endured up to now did not matter to Alyssa.
‘You exist for the sake of this territory.’
It felt as if the late Duke’s will was echoing in her ears. Alyssa quietly mouthed the words to herself.
Nothing else matters.
“Your Grace?”
Alyssa looked up at the voice calling her name.
Her calm green eyes met his. At that moment, her orderly thoughts became chaotic.
Then what about you?
Alyssa’s dry lips parted as if she was about to speak, but before she could say anything, the door burst open with a loud bang.
“Looks like I’ll be waiting all night for this conversation to end!”
It was a familiar voice. Alyssa’s eyes instantly turned cold.
Kanut was crossing the line again. It was one thing to show such disrespect to her, but it was unacceptable in front of Kieran.
‘Is one beating not enough?’
Daring to speak to Kieran in such a disrespectful manner, and then rudely bursting through the door.
As Alyssa advanced menacingly towards Kanut, a small sigh was heard from behind.
Turning around sharply, she saw Kieran pressing his temples as if he had a headache.
But after a moment, Kieran took a deep breath and, as if nothing had happened, smiled with a perfectly composed face.
“First, calm down, Vice Commander.”
Startled by the sudden change in expression, Alyssa was momentarily stunned. Kieran, having bypassed her, now stood in front of Kanut.
“The issue you raised seems to be something I can resolve.”
