Chapter~19
“…Excuse me, but did you just say that I… particularly… admire you, Young Duke?”
“Yes. Or was it not admiration, but romantic affection?”
“What kind of ridic—”
I barely managed to stop myself from blurting out What kind of nonsense is that?
Calm down. He’s my superior.
“…Honestly, I’m quite taken aback.”
Admiring your boss? That’s not a bad impression to give.
But love? Are you insane?
A strong instinct told me that if I left this misunderstanding as it was, things would go very wrong.
I needed to correct it—quickly.
“May I ask what made you think that?”
At my serious tone, Pierre also seemed to sense that something was off.
“Well… when you joined as a knight.”
“When I joined?”
“At that time, the Imperial Palace was also recruiting knights. Wasn’t there a reason you chose to serve the ducal house instead?”
“…Because I thought joining the ducal knights would be the most suitable way to achieve my goals. It also makes it easier to protect you, since you’re their target.”
Because this place pays the most!
And it’s easier to level up!
“Not the Imperial Palace, where both the First and Second Princes are? If the Second Prince is truly the one behind everything—”
“Isn’t the Imperial Knights’ Order a much more rigid organization than the ducal one? I wasn’t sure they’d even accept a woman like me. And the factions are in tight conflict.”
The requirements for the ducal knight route were less strict than the imperial one.
The conditions here were better, and the freedom was greater.
I had simply chosen the best available option.
“So it was just a rational decision?”
“I do respect the ducal house. I also respect its members. But I don’t particularly admire you alone.”
Pierre’s pupils shook violently.
After a heavy silence, he asked urgently:
“B-But didn’t you interfere in my romantic affairs? You separated me from the princess.”
He spoke as if trying to convince himself.
“The princess belongs to the First Prince’s faction. There was no need for you to intervene unless… you cared about me—”
“As a knight, I am loyal to the ducal house. When I receive a task, I carry it out. That was simply an extension of that.”
“Even when I said you didn’t have to? It was a personal matter.”
“It was an order. If I can do it, then doing it is only natural, isn’t it?”
Being given “personal requests” disguised as orders from your superior—it’s common in any workplace.
People usually call that an abuse of power.
But just because I carried it out, does that mean I admire him or love him?
What kind of ridiculous logic is that?
I didn’t bother hiding that thought from my expression.
“…W-Well, putting that aside.”
At a loss for words again, Pierre tried another angle.
“Then what about the contract relationship? It was clearly a mission that would damage your marriage prospects. You could have refused—”
“My master is you, Young Duke. As a knight, I simply followed orders. As I said, I value my life as a knight more.”
“…I see?”
“Yes.”
By now, Pierre’s face was completely red.
He seemed to have fully realized his mistake.
“…Young Duke?”
Is it because he lacks social experience? Or because he’s never had to read the room?
How could he not know this?
“W-Wait, no, just a moment…”
Seeing how innocently he had misunderstood, I was reminded of a junior who once mistook basic workplace kindness for something more.
Thinking of it that way… he almost seemed pitiful.
“I… thought that in some way, you held special affection for me.”
“That is a misunderstanding.”
“…Truly not?”
“Yes. It’s a misunderstanding.”
Pierre buried his face in both hands.
Judging by how his ears were burning red and how he couldn’t lift his head, he was experiencing pure, unfiltered embarrassment.
“…I see.”
“Um…”
Even his neck was flushed red like a ripe persimmon.
At this rate, he might collapse from overheating.
“Are you alright, Young Duke?”
“…Let’s continue the rest tomorrow. I’ll take my leave.”
“Young Duke?”
“There’s no need to see me out. I’ll go on my own.”
Pierre practically fled the drawing room.
I was left alone.
“…Seriously.”
I sat there for a while, processing the absurd situation.
Thinking of it as a proud noble brat’s misunderstanding made it funny… and also just ridiculous.
Anyway, one thing was certain—
“I’m kind of looking forward to seeing his face tomorrow.”
…Because today would definitely become someone’s black history.
Meanwhile, that someone…
“Damn it…!”
The heir of the great House of Edenrosa.
A man so talented and handsome that, with his pride, he had only ever rejected others—never been rejected.
Pierre Edenrosa arrived at his estate, his skin burning and his thoughts in complete disarray.
“To think I made such a ridiculous misunderstanding…!”
Grinding his teeth as he replayed the day, he hurried to his room.
“Young Duke? Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing. It’s nothing. Leave!”
He drove out the attendant waiting in his room and dropped into a chair.
Shame.
Overwhelming shame engulfed him.
“I was arrogant…”
It was truly idiotic.
Anyone would think so.
No matter how much he tried to forget, her incredulous expression remained vivid in his mind.
“Damn it!”
Every time he recalled it, he felt the urge to break something—or just destroy everything.
It was a feeling he had never experienced before.
“Those black magicians… I won’t forgive them…!”
And that frustration and anger ended up being directed somewhere completely unrelated.
“To make me experience such humiliation…!”
Black magicians: unexpected +1 victory.
“…Wait. If I make her fall for me, then I’d be right, wouldn’t I? If I seduce Sonnet—”
He slapped himself to his senses.
Anyone who saw that would’ve thought he’d gone mad.
“…L-Let’s just work. If I keep busy, I’ll forget.”
He staggered to his feet.
After that, he believed he handled his duties fairly normally.
Of course, the people who saw him clenching his fists and slamming his desk might disagree.
‘What’s wrong with him…?’
‘Did the Young Duke… lose his mind?’
His aides whispered among themselves, quietly covering up his strange behavior.
Thanks to that, no rumors spread.
And that night—
In Pierre’s bedroom.
As he tried to sleep, the memory suddenly resurfaced, and he screamed.
“Aaaagh!!!”
“Young Duke! What happened?!”
“It’s nothing! Leave!”
After the commotion, he could only grit his teeth and kick his blankets repeatedly.
Praying desperately to forget.
‘Forget it, forget it…!’
Unfortunately, the more you try to forget a black history moment, the more it resurfaces.
Facing such a moment for the first time, Pierre spent the night tormenting his poor blankets and pillows until he finally passed out at dawn.
The next day
After a good rest, I arrived at work refreshed.
“Good morning. You called for me?”
“…Yes. Good morning.”
In contrast to me, Pierre looked exhausted as he returned my greeting gloomily.
After a moment of silence, he spoke with difficulty:
“…About yesterday… ha… I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright.”
He must be really bothered.
From my perspective, it’s just funny.
Well, as long as he doesn’t misunderstand again, it’s fine.
“I understand your situation now, so I have nothing more to say about it. I called you today for something else. Though… it may be related.”
“What is it?”
“It concerns black magicians.”
He cleared his throat.
“There are rumors that black magicians have recently appeared in the black market.”
Meanwhile…
Soft, glossy pink hair that looked smooth to the touch.
A gentle, innocent-looking face, with striking peridot-colored eyes.
A girl who was always smiling kindly at others…
Now wore a cold expression.
“Didn’t I tell you to be careful?”
Thud!
The man she kicked with her high heel groaned in pain.
The one who tried to stop her was her senior, a blue-haired woman—Damia Cartier.
“Mabel! Stop…!”
“Mind yourself, Lady Cartier.”
“…My apologies.”
Despite her harsh tone, he silently endured her scolding.
“I never expected Lady Sonnet to recognize their faces. From now on—”
“I don’t care about that.”
Mabel cut him off sharply.
“Whether we’re discovered or not, what does it matter to me? I told you, didn’t I? Even if it fails, as long as the objective is achieved another way, it doesn’t matter.”
“Then please—just stop…!”
“There’s only one problem.”
Ignoring Damia, Mabel continued:
“You put my sister in danger.”
Her heel pressed down harder on the man’s wound.
“Ugh…!”
“Didn’t I tell you? If you involve my sister in any way, I’ll kill you.”
“In the current situation… it’s unavoidable that Lady Sonnet gets involved. She’s by the Young Duke’s side.”
“You should have avoided putting her in danger in the first place.”
“Yes. This time, we failed to control the situation. But you understand, don’t you? To achieve our goal, Lady Sonnet will inevitably face some degree of danger.”
“That’s your goal. Mine is different.”
“But our current direction is the same, isn’t it?”
Coughing, the man replied:
“If necessary, we could make more use of Lady Mabel’s power—”
“Are you joking? No. Most of my resources are focused on my sister right now.”
“All that just to receive her affection?”
“Shut up.”
“Lady Mabel.”
The man steadied his breath.
“If you refuse to use your authority, even temporarily, then we have no choice but to accept some level of risk. Please understand that.”
“…Ha.”
After glaring at him, Mabel finally withdrew her foot.
“How annoying.”
“Don’t worry.”
He grinned.
“Even if something happens to her, we can simply erase a bit of her memory.”
Wtf is going on bro!!??