“Is that perhaps why you sent that lady?”

Instead of answering, Kaylen silently watched the small woman walking briskly away.

So small and slender, like she’d fall over from the lightest push.

But her body wasn’t like that.

When she had been sitting close beside the carriage earlier—

Even while a gentle warmth tingled against him, Kaylen could feel the firm, compact muscles at her side.

That’s not the kind of muscle you build easily.

It was the kind of body that had been trained consistently. And that wasn’t all.

The way she loaded and fired a musket without hesitation.

With that gentle face…

To shoot a gun without pause, and then look at him with a pure, innocent expression, as if she had no idea what she’d done—honestly…

“…What a shame.”

“What is, sir?”

Kaylen waved off the sudden thirst rising inside him and replied,

“If she weren’t so suspicious, I’d have asked her to join the Saint Portou troops.”

“Please. This old man would grow even older from the stress.”

“You say that, but you’ve been going strong for eighty years now.”

Kaylen ignored Clarke’s whining.

Soon, Clarke voiced his concern.

“But what exactly is she trying to do? She couldn’t even get inside.”

“We’ll see soon enough.”

“But Your Excellency, are you really going to let them wander around Saint Portou like that…?”

“How far could she wander anyway, with those tiny feet?”

“……”

Kaylen glanced down at the small footprints left in the thawed dirt and chuckled softly.

Clarke held back the urge to say, Don’t you remember that little lady took down a monster?

“For now, let’s do something about these bandits.”

“If you acknowledge that…!”

Kaylen placed a hand on the elderly man’s shoulder as he started to raise his voice again.

Crack.

In an instant, space distorted and the two of them disappeared into the shadows.

“Hmm. Good.”

I proudly sat on top of a cork barrel laid out in front of the fortress wall, shrugging my shoulders.

“This should be enough to camp out for a while.”

Barrels stamped with seals—one from the capital indicating it was sent from there, the other from Saint Portou showing it had been received.

“They really hit the jackpot. And all we did was dig a hole.”

Even Bes looked smug, smiling with pride.

Her sleeves were caked in dirt, but her face was triumphant.

Normally, she’d scold me for sitting with my legs spread wide, saying I was a lady now and not a young master…

“Even if a monster comes, we could toss a few barrels their way to keep them fed.”

The redhead peeking through the half-open gate looked stunned as we flaunted our loot.

“But Bes, don’t these supplies look an awful lot like the ones that were supposedly stolen from the capital?”

“Oh come on, really? Why would stolen supplies from the capital be buried here?”

“Right? This is just a lucky find.”

“Exactly. Which means they’re ours, right?”

Jeremy, who had been listening to our teasing exchange with increasing irritation, finally stepped out through the gate with heavy steps.

“This is…”

No matter how many times he rubbed his eyes, the seals stamped on the barrels didn’t disappear.

“……”

Jeremy turned toward me with a face full of confusion, shock—and anger.

I ignored him and smiled at Bes.

“Come to think of it, this is more than enough to make up for the shortage of supplies.”

“Seriously. Whoever thought to bury them like this must’ve been incredibly thoughtful.”

“Are you saying… those were the stolen supplies?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I tapped the barrel lightly.

The seal showed the shipment and receipt dates clearly—barrels that had changed hands a full week before we even arrived.

“Oh, right. We couldn’t carry the rest because it was too heavy, but…”

“There was at least five times more stuff buried than what we brought!”

“That ought to help fix the supply problem pretty nicely.”

“Right?”

“But we found it, and we’re stuck outside the walls.”

“Exactly! Can’t just go announcing this to everyone. Unless they let us inside.”

Bes crossed her arms and grinned smugly.

As expected of my personal maid—she matched my rhythm perfectly.

I turned to Jeremy.

“So what’ll it be?”

Jeremy’s expression screamed that he found us utterly detestable.

“Suit yourself if you don’t want to.”

“……”

“You’re an outsider from the capital. You could just stay out here camping and not meddle in Saint Portou’s affairs.”

Jeremy clenched his jaw tightly.

But to his credit, he seemed to know how to separate personal feelings from his duty. He gave a curt nod.

“…You may enter.”

“Oh good. We’ll need a few hands. The cargo’s pretty heavy.”

At my words, Jeremy sighed deeply.

Several hours later.

I was too busy admiring the grand view of the duke’s manor from inside the gates.

“At least it’s not the absolute worst.”

“The worst?”

I’d thought Saint Portou was barely scraping by, relying on the duke’s personal fortune due to lack of support.

But the inside was surprisingly refined.

Doesn’t seem like they’re struggling as much as I thought.

The manor proudly displayed the family crest made from gold gifted by the Emperor.

Fine silk banners and the black marble floors were kept in pristine condition.

Even the streets I saw on the way in looked alright.

People were moving around, and there was a good deal of life.

But what impressed me most was the immaculate state of the training ground in the manor.

…Even though that very training ground had erupted into total chaos.

“You lunatics!”

“How could you steal those supplies?!”

While the duke was away, the soldiers had started fighting among themselves.

“And you call yourselves soldiers of Saint Portou?!”

“Shut up! You don’t know what it’s like living in the outer district! We’re still fighting monsters even now—”

“They always come down in winter! That’s why His Excellency went on an expedition!”

“And you weren’t even that desperate for supplies when you stole them!”

“…Everyone, be quiet!”

A resigned voice quieted the shouting.

It was Jeremy, who had been massaging his temples the whole time.

“Ohh.”

I watched the ruckus from across the yard like I was watching a fire from across the river, quietly impressed by Jeremy’s commanding voice.

“I thought he was just a lazy gatekeeper.”

“Right? Seems like he’s got some kind of rank after all.”

“I can hear you, you know?”

Jeremy shot us a glare, then quickly composed himself again.

“Of all times, this had to happen while His Excellency is away.”

“……”

“Regarding the punishment for this matter…”

As Jeremy began speaking, I turned and walked away from the training yard without hesitation.

Bes followed after me, eyes wide.

“Where are you going?”

“If I hang around long enough to hear the sentencing, they’ll resent me even more.”

“Resent you? You uncovered the embezzlement happening inside the fortress!”

“That’s exactly the problem.”

“Why?”

“It was an outsider who uncovered it. And now the soldiers inside the fortress are being punished because of it.”

Even if your family does something wrong, it still stings when someone else points it out.

—

Elaine, did you beat up someone else’s noble heir again…?

Marquis Pascal!

Ah. Count Elfi. I sincerely apologize on her behalf—

Why does Lady Elaine hit people so hard with such a small body? Is that a ‘small but deadly’ kind of thing?

…Excuse me? Small? I believe the one your heir lost to is the one you’re calling small?

What did you say?!

—

I was reminded of my father, who always tried to apologize for my messes but would get angry when others insulted me.

He always scolded me himself, but couldn’t stand others doing the same.

It’s not like I had anything between my legs to care if they called me small or big anyway.

Exactly. If your own child causes trouble, you scold them—but when someone else criticizes them, it’s infuriating.

If a local troublemaker exposes someone else in town, how annoying must that be?

Saint Portou’s people clearly had strong bonds.

To them, outsiders from the capital must already be irritating enough just by existing.

And now, to have one of them expose a fellow citizen?

Even if they punish the thieves now, I bet they’ll resent me more in the long run.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if they hate me even more after this.”

I had no regrets. I knew what I was doing.

And besides, what could they really do to me?

I’m going to be the lady of the house.

Just getting Bes and the coachman safely inside the walls was good enough for now.

“Anyway, that’s why we should avoid scenes like that.”

“You’re surprisingly considerate.”

But it wasn’t Bes who said that.

I quickly turned my head.