Chapter 08
Even as she left the mansion, Emma seemed uneasy.
“I’m not sure if this is really okay. The Baron strictly forbade it…”
“Emma, isn’t that a bit rich coming from the one who snuck into my drawing room first to get the fire?”
“…I just entered a little discreetly.”
“People call that sneaking in.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
While Emma hesitated, we reached the mansion’s entrance. Perhaps security had been tightened since the Baron’s order, as a knight in uniform was guarding the entrance. Emma’s face darkened when she saw him.
“As expected, there’s a guard.”
She whispered cautiously into my ear.
“Naturally. The Baron did give that order.”
“If we have the fire, they’ll never let us out.”
“Then how were you planning to get out, Emma?”
At my question, Emma hesitated, glanced around, and then spoke.
“Well… there’s a servants’ passageway…”
“A passageway. Doesn’t sound very appealing.”
Why would I use a hole in the wall when there’s such a large, comfortable door right here? I strode confidently towards the entrance.
“Ah, Miss!”
Emma swallowed a scream and clung to my back.
“What are you trying to do?!”
“What do you mean? I’m going out.”
“But a knight is guarding the entrance!”
“I see that. I have eyes too.”
“If you saw that and still go out so brazenly…”
“What’s going on here?”
Just as Emma was frantically patting her chest in frustration, the knight guarding the door approached us, who were whispering.
‘He has a very vague impression for a knight.’
He looked so delicate I wondered if he could even properly wield a sword.
‘Typical extra material.’
Leaving Emma, who was frozen stiff and watching my reaction, behind, I calmly greeted the knight.
“You’re working hard even this late.”
“…Miss?”
The knight, finally recognizing me, greeted me with a surprised face. The fact that he was startled just by seeing my face meant he had likely heard of my notorious reputation. I vaguely accepted his greeting and then gestured towards the main gate with my chin.
“I need to go for a walk, so open the gate.”
“A walk? At this hour?”
“Yes. A walk. At this hour.”
At my firm reply, the knight looked up at the sky with a dumbfounded expression. It was the dead of night, with the bright moon still clearly visible. It was definitely not a time suitable for a walk, that was for sure.
“This guy here keeps pestering me to take him for a walk. Ah, you’ve heard the rumors, right? The dog I’m raising.”
Finally, the knight’s gaze, which had been looking at the sky, moved to my feet. The butler had been asking around the mansion all day to find Harry’s owner, just in case. The knight must naturally have known about Harry too.
“Woof!”
The moment the knight’s gaze reached him, Harry let out a resounding bark as if he had been waiting for this.
‘No matter how many times I hear it, it’s unmistakably a dog.’
Harry didn’t stop there. As instructed beforehand, he moved busily and started tugging at the hem of my dress.
“As you can see, this guy keeps pestering me, so how can I possibly get a proper night’s sleep?”
“But it’s far too late. If you entrust him to me, I will take him for a walk and return.”
As the knight said that, he reached out his hand as if to take Harry. Of course, Harry didn’t just stand by and watch.
“Grrr!”
Harry growled fiercely, as if he would bite the outstretched hand at any moment, causing the knight to pull his hand back in surprise.
“Harry, you mustn’t do that.”
I feigned sternness and scolded Harry, stroking his head. Where had his earlier ferocity gone? Seeing Harry meekly accepting my touch, the knight’s jaw dropped.
“It seems this guy has chosen his owner already. He doesn’t listen to anyone else but me… It would be difficult to entrust his walk to you, Sir.”
“But as I mentioned, the night is too late for you to go out, it’s dangerous, and also the Baron ordered that no one is to take the fire outside…”
“So, I can’t go out?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
The knight said firmly, though he was still watching my reaction. He looked quite timid, but unexpectedly had backbone.
‘No choice. If I can’t slip through vaguely, there’s only one method left.’
I shifted my weight to one leg to strike the villain’s signature pose. I didn’t forget to cross my arms with a sullen face. On top of that, I scowled fiercely, causing the already delicate-looking knight to gasp ‘Eeep!’ and suck in his breath.
“Hey, Sir. Are you blocking my path right now? I am Iveria Oberon, you know?”
“A-A-A-Absolutely not! How could I block the Young Lady’s path?!”
“Then you should just get out of my way right now.”
“B-B-But I can’t just move aside for you…”
“Are you going to block me or move aside? Huh?”
“Eeep!”
I glared wide-eyed, grinding my teeth. The knight turned pale as if he were about to faint.
“I-I-I-I’ll move! Please just don’t cut off my fingers! My future as a knight depends on them!”
“Fingers?”
The threat seemed to be working, but the direction was a bit strange.
‘I don’t remember ever saying anything about cutting off fingers?’
What kind of creative threat was this?
As I stood there bewildered, Emma cautiously whispered to me.
“There’s a rumor that you cut off the fingers of people you dislike and have them preserved, Miss.”
“…What’s the point of preserving severed fingers?”
“I’ve never preserved fingers myself, so I don’t know.”
“I don’t know either, because I’ve never done it.”
“Eh? You’ve never done it?”
Emma asked with wide eyes. She seemed to firmly believe the rumor was true.
“…I’m starting to get a clear idea of what my rumors are like.”
Rumors naturally tend to get exaggerated as they pass from person to person. From the capital in the south to here, Erel in the north. How many people had the story passed through, and how exaggerated had the rumors become?
‘Should I be grateful that the rumor isn’t that I cut off fingers and eat them roasted?’
I let out a sigh and waved my hand dismissively at the knight.
“I have no interest in fingers, so rest easy.”
“T-T-Then you’re going to behead me after all…!”
“I have even less interest in necks! I just said to open this gate for me!”
“But you really mustn’t go outside.”
The conversation had finally circled back to the beginning. It was frustrating to the point of death.
“I wanted to resolve this nicely, but it seems that’s not possible.”
I let out an exaggerated sigh and commanded Harry.
“Harry, bite that knight’s fingers off.”
Harry, who had been watching my standoff with the knight with a bored expression, brightened up.
[Really? I can eat the fingers? Since I’m eating them anyway, can I eat the arms, legs, and head too?]
[Can you do that? We’re just threatening him, so just pretend to bite his fingers.]
[Tch. How boring.]
Harry grumbled but obeyed my command and approached the knight. Seeing Harry growling ominously as if he would bite his hand off at any moment, the knight jumped.
“O-O-Okay! I’ll open the gate for you!”
The knight sniffled and opened the main gate. Even as he did so, he kept muttering things like, ‘I shouldn’t be doing this,’ or ‘The Captain will scold me.’
‘Now I see why he’s stuck guarding the gate at this late hour.’
I clicked my tongue and walked past the extra knight, stepping out of the mansion. Emma followed behind me.
“Where is the place you were going to take the fire? Guide us there, Emma.”
“Yes, Miss!”
Emma nodded, her face flushed. She seemed so moved just by having gotten the fire outside the mansion that her eyes were brimming with tears. Emma walked ahead, and Harry and I followed behind.
But behind us, there was the sound of one more person who shouldn’t have been there.
“Why are you following us?”
It was the extra knight from the entrance. He was still sniffling and following behind me.
“Well, it’s just so late, and it seemed too dangerous to let just the Young Lady and a maid go out alone…”
“So, you’re going to escort us?”
“That’s right. It’s a knight’s duty.”
The knight puffed out his chest, his face full of pride and self-satisfaction. Of course, he didn’t look reliable in the slightest.
“That sentiment is quite commendable.”
I pointed towards the mansion gate, which was now almost out of sight, having receded into the distance.
“Weren’t you guarding that gate alone?”
“Yes, I was.”
“If you’ve followed me out like this, who is guarding that gate now?”
At my question, the knight became tight-lipped, rolling his eyeballs left and right. By the time his pupils had darted back and forth a couple of times, the knight’s face had turned pale.
“W-W-W-What do I do, Miss? The main gate is completely unguarded now! The Baron told me to guard it well!”
“You should have thought of that before you followed me out.”
Me, born as a villain, where everything I do gets messy, and this knight, born as an extra, where everything he does is somehow lacking. We were both hopeless in our own ways.
‘Strangely, I feel a sense of kinship. Should I help him out a little this time?’
I lightly patted the flustered, sniffling knight on the shoulder to comfort him.
“Don’t cry. Nothing will happen.”
“Sob. Are you sure nothing will happen?”
“If anything does happen, just say I threatened you and forced you to come with me. Then they won’t blame you, right?”
“But you’ve never done that before, Miss?”
“Aren’t you afraid of getting scolded? No one here will scold me, so just use my name. I’m lending you my name because it’s commendable that you followed me out to protect me.”
“O-Oh, Miss…”
At my words, the knight’s tears, which had subsided, burst forth again.
“Hey, I’m helping you, so why are you crying again?”
“I’m so grateful… If I ever get kicked out of the knight order and don’t need my fingers anymore, I’ll give them to you, Miss. I can give you all ten fingers!”
“This guy, really. I told you I have no interest in fingers! Stop crying right now and escort us properly. Isn’t that why you came out?”
I took a handkerchief from my pocket and handed it to the knight. Still sniffling, he naturally took it and wiped his tears.
“Yes, Miss! I will definitely protect you!”
The knight shouted with a face smeared with tears and snot. He really didn’t look convincing at all.
