Chapter 8
My happy day off flew by in an instant. All I’d done was eat, sleep, and lie around reading novels—yet when I opened my eyes, it was already the day of departure.
“Ugh…”
Groaning softly, I dragged myself up and changed clothes.
After fastening all the buttons, I stood in front of the mirror and examined myself.
The knight order’s uniform, a blend of white and blue, looked quite impressive—but in terms of practicality, it was awful.
It got dirty easily, and once blood stained it, it never came out. I’d thrown away dozens of uniforms because of that.
Even so, I’d never suggested changing it, simply because it was pretty. And because white suited me well.
After finishing my preparations, I gathered the luggage that had already been packed and quietly slipped out of the house.
I hadn’t told my family that I was departing today.
I didn’t have the emotional energy to calm Pavel down if he tried to stop me. Instead, I left a short note telling them I was stepping out for a while and not to worry.
Marian was waiting in front of the estate to see me off. I lightly hugged her and greeted her.
“I’ll be back soon. Make sure you explain things to Pavel too.”
“Miss, this is something I made for you. It’s a decoration for your sword.”
With teary eyes, Marian handed me an ornament made of blue thread. From the knot down to the tassels, the strands were tightly woven, making her effort obvious at a glance.
“Marian…”
I almost joked that this was something she should give to her lover—but stopped myself. It would only hurt us both, since neither of us had any experience with romance.
“Thank you. I’ll treasure it.”
With that, I finally forced my reluctant feet to move and left home.
On the way to the departure point, I kept sighing.
No matter how much time passed, I never got used to this knight order business.
I really was going to quit for good. Ten years of forcing myself to do work that didn’t suit me was enough. It was time to leave and find something I actually wanted to do.
Still, I planned to meet the person Captain Alonso said he would introduce me to before resigning.
‘If he introduces some weirdo, I swear I won’t let it slide.’
Reinforcing my resolve, I continued toward the gathering point.
When I arrived outside the city gates, the knights were already assembled in formation. Among them, I spotted Kiern and Ricardo.
I exchanged brief nods with the members and stepped to the front of the formation, quickly assessing their condition.
Excluding Ricardo, there were eight knights total—a balanced mix of rookies and experienced fighters.
Since this subjugation involved monsters near a small village, it was important to move quickly with a compact force rather than an oversized group.
In some eyes, I saw curiosity and excitement; in others, anxiety and tension.
At least on the first day, it was best to establish authority as commander. I’d had more than enough trouble in the past managing people who acted out at the slightest opportunity.
I straightened my posture and lifted my chin. Everyone’s attention focused on me.
“Welcome to this subjugation mission. Some of you have plenty of experience, while for others this may be your first time facing monsters. If anyone plans to act arrogant because they have experience—or shrink back because they don’t—you may leave right now.”
I meant it sincerely. Some might have been forced or pressured into coming here. They deserved at least one chance to choose for themselves.
“Regardless of experience, the people this knight order needs are proper knights who can fulfill their responsibilities.”
I met each person’s eyes as I continued.
“So I’ll give you one last chance to run. If you leave before I finish counting to ten, I won’t hold you accountable.”
I counted slowly to ten in my head. Not a single person left.
There might still be casualties in this mission. I couldn’t understand the knightly spirit that drove people to risk their lives fighting monsters.
“Those who remain must bear full responsibility as knights. Even if you regret staying, it’ll already be too late.”
After briefly outlining the schedule, I ordered them to prepare for immediate departure.
Ricardo stood some distance away, already prepared, looking as though he intended to follow along while barely making his presence known.
After glancing around once more, I took the lead and urged my horse forward.
I intended to complete the entire schedule within a month. Just reaching the destination village alone would take nearly two weeks.
Factoring in locating and dealing with the monsters, the timeline was tight. We needed to move as efficiently and quickly as possible.
For years now, monster attacks near the village had grown frequent, more than local soldiers could handle.
That was why Alonso Vargas had formed a knight order specializing in monster subjugation—the Third Knight Order, which I now commanded.
In the Perunia Empire, fighting monsters was an honorable duty reserved only for skilled knights.
Naturally, there was a lot of internal backlash when someone as young as me was appointed commander.
Of course, no one openly questioned my qualifications anymore.
Every time such people appeared, I thoroughly crushed them—and proved through real combat that my skills were more than sufficient.
“If you don’t like it, do it yourself.”
That was something I said habitually, and I genuinely wished someone would take me up on it.
Unfortunately, very few ever did—and those who tried quickly tucked their tails and ran.
Once this mission ended safely, I really needed to start seriously planning how to quit the knight order.
No matter how I thought about it, this job didn’t suit someone as soft-hearted as me.
My father had plenty of businesses going; if I took charge of just one, I’d have no trouble making a living. Lost in thoughts of the future, I picked up the pace.
Near midnight, we reached a small nearby village. Since we hadn’t yet strayed far from the city center, villages were still close by—but once we passed through the forest, we’d have to camp along the road.
Tomorrow would mark the start of real hardship.
Planning to sleep well tonight, I refused the alcohol my subordinates offered and went straight to my room at the inn.
The room contained a single bed, a small desk, and a chair. Several small candles sat on the desk, keeping the room from being too dark.
I loosened my clothes and sat on the edge of the bed, checking tomorrow’s route on the map.
Knock, knock.
Before I could answer, the door opened with a creak.
Since the candlelight didn’t reach the entrance, I narrowed my eyes to see who it was.
As the man stepped into the light, golden hair and a shadowed face came into view.
“Ricardo?”
“I came because I have something to say.”
I examined him with suspicion.
“At this hour?”
“There are too many eyes during the day.”
Something about that sounded strange.
“And why can’t others see?”
“You don’t like me talking to you anyway, so I tried to be considerate. Guess that was unnecessary?”
It’s not that I dislike you—it’s that you dislike me, so I avoided you on purpose, you idiot.
Letting out a hollow laugh, I got up from the bed and sat in the chair, gesturing toward the seat across from me.
“Skip the pointless talk and get to the point. What is it?”
“You’re the one doing something pointless right now.”
…What did I just hear?
Frowning, I asked,
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“Why did we stop at an inn? Why are you so desperate to treat me like a pampered young master?”
Well… he was born and raised as a duke’s heir.
But I’d never treated Ricardo like a young master. Maybe I’d jokingly called him that once or twice, but—
If anything, I’d been treating him like he didn’t exist. I had no idea how he reached that conclusion.
“I don’t understand. Are you saying I stopped at an inn and slept here for your sake?”
His confident expression practically screamed Isn’t that obvious?
So I emphasized,
“I did that—for you? On purpose?”
“I know your knight order’s schedule well. You normally camp out and sometimes ride nonstop for three days and nights. So why did you stop at an inn on the very first day?”
The sheer absurdity of it left me at a loss for words. Resting my chin in my hand, I mulled over his words.
So what he was saying was—
Before I could finish thinking, Ricardo continued.
“That’s what I mean by pointless consideration.”
“Listen, Ricardo.”
Scratching my eyebrow, I debated how to clear up this misunderstanding.
Honestly, I didn’t care whether he misunderstood or not, and part of me wanted to just tell him to get out. But thinking about the mood within the knight order afterward, I changed my mind.
“This is exactly why I call you a young master. Do you realize how self-centered you are?”
No matter how much of a protagonist you were… this was extreme.
“This wasn’t consideration for you. I’m not that altruistic. We stopped because the village was on the way, and since it’s the first day, I planned to let everyone rest properly and reorganize the formation tomorrow.”
“So it wasn’t consideration?”
“No. Why would I treat you specially? I honestly don’t know where that confidence comes from.”
“I know you look at me differently than you do others.”
‘What? I do?’
My eyes widened at a fact I hadn’t even been aware of.
Well… I had looked at him differently.
Because he was the protagonist. I’d glanced at him a few times with thoughts like ‘Oh, the protagonist.’
Okay—maybe more than a few times.
Still, I never thought he’d interpret that as special treatment.
“Well… maybe I glanced at you a few times because I was worried the duke’s heir might get hurt.”
“I know. And I can’t stand that.”
Ricardo’s blue eyes flickered coldly.
“The way you look at me like that—it makes me feel…”
“Wait!”
I stopped him and thought.
This… the flow felt wrong.
After reading hundreds of romance novels, I could say this with confidence.
His wavering gaze, the soft candlelight illuminating just the two of us—this atmosphere between Ricardo and me was… a classic romance setup.
The kind of scene where the male lead begins to realize his feelings for the female lead and blurts out an unconscious confession.
‘This suddenly?’
Had Ricardo’s feelings shifted so abruptly that even a romance addict like me hadn’t noticed?
But I’d long since shaken off any lingering feelings toward him. Calling it lingering feelings was generous—it had been light and fleeting to begin with.
At this point, I felt absolutely nothing romantically.
Rubbing my chin, I slowly studied his face.
His looks hardly needed explanation—he was the male lead.
The straight forehead, sharp nose, firm jawline, and deep-set eyes, made even more intense by the candlelight.
I must have stared too long, because Ricardo, unable to endure the silence, spoke first.
“What… is it?”
“Oh—no, it’s nothing. Go on. Finish what you were saying.”
I gestured for him to continue.
For now, I decided to hear him out.
As his Adam’s apple moved up and down, I swallowed without realizing it.
“I just…”
