IAMFMFL CH 06

The girl flinched, her shoulders trembling, and turned her head toward me. Her deep violet eyes, soaked in confusion, filled my vision.

As expected, she was breathtakingly beautiful. When our eyes met, a pure, delicate scent brushed past my nose.

“W-Who are you?”

At her question, I gave an awkward smile. Her reaction was so exaggerated that it felt embarrassing.

“Who are you, then? I didn’t hear there would be anyone else here besides me.”

Her faded dress and sparse accessories that looked better off nonexistent.

Compared to her angelic face, her clothing appeared rather shabby. At best, she didn’t seem like a noble… probably a young maid working in this palace.

The girl blinked rapidly, then bowed deeply and straightened again. Her purple eyes were filled with panic and fear.

…Fear? Why is she afraid of me?

“I-I’m sorry. The door was open, so I thought it was okay to come in.”

Could a maid really be less familiar with the palace than me? She was too overly submissive to be a noble, yet her speech and behavior were slightly unnatural for a maid.

Well, it didn’t matter. Maybe because it had been so long since I last spoke with a girl, my heart was pounding even more than when I stood before Brait.

“You can probably come in. You don’t have to apologize so much.”

This wasn’t even my room to begin with. Trying to steady my nerves, I spoke again.

“I’m Katrina Ezelot. And you?”

“M-Me? I’m not sure if someone like me should even tell you my name…”

Bang.

At that moment, the door to the reception room swung open.

The third person to enter was a middle-aged woman with a stern face lined with wrinkles.

She swept her gaze across the room, then slightly lowered her head upon meeting my eyes. Soon after, her attention shifted to the girl standing awkwardly beside me.

“Miss!”

Her voice was sharp enough to hurt my ears. The woman strode forward, her footsteps loud, her movements brisk yet harsh.

“So this is where you were. I’ve been looking everywhere. Didn’t I tell you not to wander around on your own?”

“I-I’m sorry. I wanted to see the knights’ training grounds…”

“If the young master personally invited you, you should have waited quietly. You really are willful and lack even the most basic manners.”

The girl trailed off and lowered her head. The fear on her face deepened.

“The Duchess despises disobedient children the most. If you keep acting like this, I won’t be able to say anything good about you to her.”

“I-I’m really sorry. I’ll stay quietly in one place from now on. I promise.”

So she wasn’t a maid, but a daughter of a ducal house?

I found myself watching the two of them like a bystander. The atmosphere between them felt suffocating, like being trapped in a steam-filled chamber.

“Honestly, this is so frustrating! This is why blood from unknown origins is… never mind. Come here.”

The woman glanced at me, unable to hide her discomfort. She roughly grabbed the girl’s arm and began dragging her away.

“Blood from unknown origins.”

It was just one sentence, but it was enough to grasp the situation.

The girl was likely an illegitimate child of the ducal family. Her shabby appearance meant she wasn’t welcomed within the household, and judging by how even an older servant treated her, she seemed to be looked down upon by the staff as well.

But none of that mattered to me.

A face as beautiful as a fairy, a delicate neckline, a voice like birds chirping.

Perfect. Exactly the kind of model girl I had been looking for. Flawless!

She had everything needed to become Nazar’s bride without the slightest shortcoming. Her status was a bit concerning, but in love, would being illegitimate really matter?

I raised my voice toward her retreating back.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

The maid didn’t stop walking, but the girl turned her head toward me. Even as she was being dragged away like livestock to slaughter, there was no trace of shame in her eyes.

Then her trembling voice reached me.

“I-I’m Caron Entera. I’m very sorry for entering the room without permission, Lady Ezelot. Next time we meet, I’ll properly apologize. I’m truly sorry!”

Next time we meet… does that mean we’ll meet again?

Before I could ask, her figure disappeared beyond the corridor. If I heard correctly, she definitely said we’d meet again. Caron Entera herself!

“That means we’ll meet again, right? It does, doesn’t it?”

They say even brushing sleeves creates a bond. If we’ve already promised to meet again, then we’re practically close friends.

Becoming friends with a future beauty of the century after just one meeting… how could things go this smoothly?

I practically floated around the reception room in excitement. At that moment, Sir Pansione and everything else had completely slipped my mind.

Unable to contain my emotions, I hugged the empty vase on the table tightly in my arms. I don’t know what came over me, but I spun around with it and somehow ended up leaving the room.

Golden autumn sunlight filled the corridor. Warm light poured down through the windows, and white dust particles floated in the air.

And in the middle of it all stood an unfamiliar man.

His blond hair was thick like a lion’s mane, and his eyes were a vivid violet. Even without a breeze, the baby’s breath flowers he carried swayed gently.

As I stared blankly at his face, the distance between us gradually closed. When he stood right before me, he spoke in a calm tone, his voice cool yet gentle.

“It’s a good thing I brought baby’s breath to place in that vase.”

The flowers in his arms fell into the vase I was holding. A deep floral scent spread beneath my chin, filling the world around me.

I couldn’t take my eyes off his face. Who is he?

Before I could even ask his name, he turned away and left.

Under the blazing sunlight of the outdoor training grounds,

Lockhard entered while clutching his throbbing neck. Even though he had only been grabbed for a short time, it ached as if it were fractured.

Damn it, I’m on night duty today. This is going to be rough.

By the time he casually walked toward the center, training was already nearing its end, and the area was noisy and bustling.

One of the knights spotted him and grinned, sweat dripping down his face.

“What’s wrong with you? You show up late just when we start forgetting about it. Keep that up and the captain might quietly dispose of you one day.”

“You’re the clueless one. Can’t you see I’m already in the process of being dealt with?”

Saying that, Lockhard rubbed his neck and shoulders again.

No joke, this is really going to hurt.

“You’re the clueless one, idiot. His Highness Nazar got tired of waiting for you and ended up sparring with us.”

“Nazar?”

He remembered hearing the previous evening that Nazar would be busy all morning reviewing documents. Nazar wasn’t someone who changed his schedule on a whim.

Did he already finish everything?

At Louis’s words, a fellow knight, Lockhard scanned the training grounds.

Some knights were sparring lightly, some were collapsed on the ground catching their breath, others were dumping water over their heads. Everyone was winding down in their own way.

But no matter how much he looked, Nazar was nowhere to be seen.

“He’s not here. Did he already head back to the palace?”

Louis shook his head.

“He did leave, to deal with some immature noble ladies. A few of them kept sneaking looks at him near the training grounds. I must’ve told them to leave fifty times.”

“…He went to deal with women? Nazar?”

Nazar Audrine Cabal had two things he absolutely hated.

First, pandering to people who brought him no benefit.

Second, dealing with fools who couldn’t understand reason.

Unfortunately, most nobles who followed him fell into at least one of those categories.

Those who could benefit him were too busy to chase him around, and those who could understand him didn’t bother chasing him in the first place.

“He kept apologizing for disturbing the training. Probably just trying to deal with them briefly and send them away. Haha! Some of them were even stripping off their shirts to show off!”

“That’s exactly why it’s strange. The fact that he’s even showing that kind of consideration. Sigh… just yesterday he looked like he was ready to kill someone.”

Nazar was sensitive. Especially when he hadn’t slept for days due to work, that sensitivity doubled.

For the past few days, he had been reorganizing personnel in the imperial palace, staying up all night. As a result, the atmosphere in the crown prince’s residence had been gloomy, like a house of mourning.

At his sharpest, Nazar resembled a snow leopard starved for fifteen days. A predator baring its fangs at any intruder.

During times like that, even Lockhard would quickly grow exhausted dealing with him.

Perhaps aware of this himself, when his sensitivity reached its peak, Nazar would abandon everything and leave the palace.

And when he boarded a carriage in that worn-out state, there was usually only one place he went.

The small reception room on the first floor of the Ezelot estate.

He would enter through the front gate and head straight there, as if waiting for someone to come find him.

“Ah, here he comes.”

At Louis’s words, Lockhard turned. Not far away, Nazar was walking toward them in light attire.

Even from a distance, his well-built physique rivaled that of a knight. His straight, confident stride cut across the training grounds.

Every time Lockhard watched him from afar like this, he felt a strange sense of awe.

Nazar was like a refined, unbreakable porcelain vessel made to rule. Even after staying up all night, he trained alongside knights as an equal. A vessel that wouldn’t shatter even in a storm.

Though his personality was a bit rotten.

Grinning, Nazar spoke.

“So the lazy noble finally shows up.”

Lockhard could only avert his gaze awkwardly. In truth, Nazar’s personality wasn’t just a bit rotten. It was very rotten.

“Why hasn’t Sir Brait kicked you out yet? Got some leverage on him?”

“In case you forgot, the captain isn’t a man who can be swayed by a few gold coins.”

“This isn’t about ethics, it’s about discipline, isn’t it, Sir Louis?”

“You’re absolutely right, Your Highness.”

With a small laugh, Nazar exhaled deeply and began unbuttoning his shirt. Up close, his face looked paler than usual, as if he wasn’t in good condition.

After Louis stepped away briefly to get water, Lockhard spoke.

“Why don’t you at least get some rest? Why are you pushing your body when you look half-dead?”

At that, Nazar glanced at him and shook out his damp hair. His dark hair rippled like waves.

“No one notices but you. It’s strange that you do.”

“Hey, Your Highness. That’s not what I asked. Are you trying to show off your stamina or something?”

Without answering properly, Nazar simply shook his head again. Yet his complexion, which had only seemed tired, suddenly darkened.

Lockhard stopped mid-stretch. For some reason, he had a bad feeling.

After a moment, Nazar spoke quietly.

“Last night, His Majesty mentioned a northern campaign.”