Chapter : 41
Lawrence, who had been looking up at a shelf tucked away past rows of knights’ swords, took down one sword and handed it to Carlos, who had followed behind him.
“Ah, thank you, Young Duke.”
It was a wooden sword Lawrence had used when he was about seven years old.
Lawrence looked back and forth between the wooden sword and Carlos before opening his mouth.
“Just take it.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said take it.”
He didn’t like the idea of giving a sword he’d used for so long to that annoying orange-haired kid.
But the thought of Patricia and Carlos going together to choose a sword was even more irritating.
“…Thank you.”
“You’re going to take swordsmanship lessons with Patricia, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
“You’re taking the class together?”
Carlos seemed to notice the hostility buried in Lawrence’s voice and nodded cautiously.
“….”
Seeing Carlos look up at him with frightened eyes, Lawrence pressed his lips together.
Haah, dealing with a kid…
Even to himself, his behavior felt ridiculous and childish, and Lawrence quickly smoothed the crease between his brows.
“So. You’re nine?”
“No. I’m fourteen.”
“…What?”
Fourteen meant only a four-year age gap between them.
And only three years younger than Patricia.
For a moment, Lawrence stared down at Carlos as if he couldn’t believe it.
Carlos, realizing Lawrence was judging him by his height, turned his head away.
Lawrence knew Carlos was uncomfortable with his gaze—and yet he didn’t look away.
“Then what are you and Patricia—”
“…Yes?”
“Why does Patricia keep you around?”
At the irritation in Lawrence’s tone, Carlos shrank his shoulders nervously.
“Hey. What do you do in her room?”
“…We eat snacks.”
Lawrence frowned.
Snacks? Why of all people, with him?
“Then why are you taking swordsmanship lessons together?”
“…Hic.”
At last, frightened hiccups escaped Carlos’s mouth.
But Lawrence wasn’t kind enough to spare even a servant’s feelings.
“Answer.”
“…Hic, well—hic.”
The fact that Carlos couldn’t even properly answer such a simple question only made Lawrence angrier.
“Young Duke…?”
“Hic, hic.”
At that moment, Patricia entered the storage room.
She alternated her gaze between Carlos, who was hunched over and hiccupping, and Lawrence, whose face was twisted in anger.
Then she stepped closer and once again hid Carlos behind her.
“Young Duke, what’s going on?”
Lawrence let out a hollow laugh at the way she shielded Carlos, as if Lawrence had done something terrible.
“I was just asking a few questions out of curiosity.”
“To Carlos?”
Patricia looked at Carlos, who was desperately trying to suppress his hiccups, then raised her gaze back to Lawrence.
“What were you curious about?”
Even this situation—where it felt like she was interrogating him—irritated Lawrence.
“Hah? Why? Did I need the young lady’s permission to ask a question?”
“…What? No, that’s not what I meant.”
“Then step aside.”
Lawrence jerked his chin, signaling her to move.
But Patricia only tightened her protection around the boy.
“He’s scared.”
“Hah? A kid? He’s fourteen. Only three years younger than you. What kid?”
At Lawrence’s accusatory tone, Patricia frowned.
“…Why are you so angry—”
“Hic. My lady. Hic—I’m fine.”
Carlos lightly tugged on Patricia’s sleeve, trying to stop her.
At that small gesture, Patricia turned her head—and at the same time, both her and Lawrence’s brows twisted.
“Hah, Patricia. What is this attitude? Am I really in a position where I need a noble lady’s permission just to ask a question?”
“……”
“I clearly said I had something to ask that servant, so move.”
“I don’t want to.”
“…What?”
Patricia inhaled sharply and glared straight at Lawrence.
“I said no. What could you possibly be so curious about that you’d frighten a child like that?”
As she spoke, her voice grew louder with anger.
“He’s my attendant. He’s here because I asked him to come. So should I really just stand by and watch while a child who came here for my sake gets scared and suffers because of you? I don’t want to do that!”
Breathing heavily, Patricia took a step closer to Lawrence.
“And when did I ever say you couldn’t ask questions? You were angry, and Carlos was scared, so I could’ve answered for him instead. If all you wanted was an answer, then there wouldn’t have been a problem with me answering, would there?”
“Hah? Are you getting angry with me now?”
“You were angry first!”
At Patricia’s sharp shout, Lawrence stared at her, momentarily at a loss for words.
Just who did that brat think he was, to make her raise her voice at him?
Lawrence genuinely couldn’t understand the situation.
Why was he arguing with Patricia at all?
He had postponed his duties to make time for her.
He was here to help her—wasn’t he?
“So what exactly is your relationship? Are you dating or something?”
“…Hah?”
Patricia ran a hand roughly through her hair in disbelief.
“Why should I have to explain my relationship with Carlos to you? Is that really what matters right now?”
Patricia, who had been fuming, finally fell silent when Carlos tugged on her collar once more.
“Ah…”
Seeing Carlos’s tears trembling on the verge of falling, Patricia let out a small sigh.
“…It seems you don’t like us being here, so we’ll be going now.”
After finishing her words while glaring at Lawrence, Patricia took Carlos’s hand and left the training grounds.
“Hah?!”
Left alone in the storage room, Lawrence had no idea what to do with the anger boiling inside him.
He didn’t understand why Patricia was angry with him.
“…Young Duke?”
“……”
“Is your practice already finished?”
“……”
“What about Lady Herarilla—did she leave?”
Ignoring Simon as he spoke, Lawrence suddenly stopped walking.
Patricia Herarilla.
What did it matter to him what happened to her?
Yes. This was his own fault for doing something unnecessary when he didn’t need to concern himself with her affairs at all.
She was a selfish woman who only ever thought about herself.
“I won’t bother you anymore, Young Duke.”
The reason Patricia hadn’t come to see him lately.
The reason she had changed.
In the end, Simon had been right.
Patricia Herarilla no longer liked him.
Her sudden decision to learn swordsmanship was probably for Carlos—for that boy.
He didn’t know the full reason behind the change between Duke Herarilla and Patricia, but—
“Everything’s been resolved. You don’t need to worry anymore.”
She had drawn a clear line, telling him not to involve himself anymore.
He’d thought it was just polite words, said because asking for help was difficult.
But it wasn’t.
Patricia had truly drawn a boundary. Told him not to care anymore.
From the beginning to the end.
A woman who did whatever she pleased.
“Simon. Never bring up Patricia Herarilla again.”
Bang!
At the loud slam of the firmly shut office door, Simon could only blink in surprise.
“My lady, I’m sorry. This all happened because of me.”
“Carlos, why would you be?”
Though my anger hadn’t completely subsided, I tried to calm myself for Carlos, who was nervously watching my expression.
“The person who suddenly loses their temper is the one at fault.”
“Still…”
“Ah, I don’t know. That man is really strange.”
Lawrence Gerhardt.
I couldn’t understand his moods at all.
One moment he’d suddenly get angry, then suddenly be kind.
Completely self-centered.
Just like today.
He was the one who first offered to lend us the training grounds.
Yes, fine. He only invited me, and I brought Carlos along without asking—that part might have been my fault.
“Haah…”
But still.
Would it really have been a problem for one more person to be in such a huge training ground?
It was something he could’ve said nicely, but instead he nitpicked.
And if he didn’t like it that much, he shouldn’t have stopped us when we said we’d leave.
And taking his anger out on Carlos—what was that about?
And asking if we were dating?
Just thinking about that mocking tone made me angry all over again.
“He even gave me a sword…”
Carlos fidgeted with the sword, watching my face carefully.
At a glance, it suited him far better than the sword the instructor had given him.
“…Forget it. Who asked him for it?”
I’d started all this to help Carlos.
That spiteful instructor had given him a sword that didn’t even suit him.
And Lawrence took his anger out on a completely innocent child.
“At this rate, you’ll ruin your shoulder.”
I already felt bad enough.
What on earth was he so dissatisfied with that he had to push a small child that far?
Carlos was the kind of kid who couldn’t even complain when something was too heavy.
To think he was scared enough to start hiccupping.
Maybe Lawrence had even let a bit of killing intent slip again.
Back then, I had been at fault, so I couldn’t say anything.
But this time—what was his problem?
“I’m so annoyed. When we get back, I’m firing the instructor first.”
“My lady, if I caused a rift between you and the Young Duke, I’ll go apologize.”
“Don’t. Whether we fall out or not, I don’t care. And what did you do wrong that you’d need to apologize? I’d never let you do that.”
I glanced at Carlos.
Carlos was meant to become the commander of the Gerhardt knights one day.
Well—
Lawrence Gerhardt wouldn’t let a talented knight slip away just because of personal feelings.
So I probably didn’t need to worry that far.
