Chapter: 24
She couldn’t think of any reason why she alone had been summoned. She decided to follow quietly for now, but from behind, Laurent called out with a mischievous grin.
“Hey, where are you taking our youngest?”
“……I was ordered by His Grace to bring her once training was over.”
“Oh, really? Jeanne! If the vice-captain gives you any trouble on the way, report straight to me, got it?”
“…….”
Cedric shot him a sharp glare, but Laurent only chuckled.
This kind of exchange between the two wasn’t unusual, but being stuck in the middle made Jeanne uncomfortable.
Cedric let out a sigh, as if holding something back, and started walking. Jeanne followed behind him.
The two walked in silence for quite some time, until they were only a few steps away from the mansion.
Cedric was the first to break the silence.
“I’ll be blunt.”
He turned to face Jeanne, his eyes cold.
“Frankly, I don’t like you very much.”
Even hearing that straight to her face, Jeanne wasn’t particularly shaken. She had already guessed both the chill in his gaze and the reason behind it.
From what she had observed, Cedric valued hierarchy and obedience more than anyone else in the knight order.
“I know.”
Her candid reply seemed to catch Cedric off guard; he stopped breathing for a brief moment.
“A commoner woman suddenly appears, speaks casually to my lord under the pretense of being a former classmate, and then even joins the knight order. From that point on, your first impression of me must’ve already been terrible.”
“…….”
“You’re keeping quiet because I passed the official exam, but you’re worried His Grace might favor me because of our past and that it could undermine discipline within the order. Am I wrong?”
She had clearly struck a nerve; Cedric’s expression stiffened.
“If I were in your position, Vice-Captain, I’d dislike me too.”
She understood his concern completely. As the one managing the knight order in Claude’s stead, he had to be wary of any internal fractures.
She could even sympathize. In her previous life, she too had borne responsibility as a commander, and her rigid personality was not unlike Cedric’s.
“But I don’t dislike you, Vice-Captain.”
“What?”
“You dislike me because you think I might use connections to disrupt discipline. Which means you judge people solely by ability. I’m confident in that. Even without being His Grace’s former classmate. I don’t mind harsh training either.”
Perhaps because he hadn’t expected that answer, Cedric’s eyes widened noticeably. After all, she’d just told someone who disliked her that she didn’t dislike him.
“I don’t intend to demand a good position from His Grace either. If you don’t trust me, you can treat me more strictly than anyone else. I plan to rise from the very bottom through my own strength.”
“…….”
Listening to Jeanne’s confident declaration, a deep furrow formed between Cedric’s brows. Whether he was deep in thought or had grown even more disdainful of her perceived arrogance, she couldn’t tell.
“……That’s enough. His Grace is waiting.”
In the end, Cedric gave no answer to her resolve and turned his back on her.
* * *
When the two arrived in front of the office, Gaston, who had been waiting, knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
At Claude’s voice, Cedric opened the door. Once inside, the door closed behind them, and Claude could be seen between piles of documents stacked on both sides of his desk.
“Excuse us.”
“Mm. Just a moment.”
Scratch, scratch—Claude was writing something on the paper before him. Only after muttering a quiet “Done” to himself did he look up at the two of them.
As soon as Claude raised his head, Cedric stepped forward and handed him the paper he was holding.
“This is the knight order’s duty roster for the week.”
“Good work. You can go.”
Claude said this while scanning the paper, but Cedric didn’t move. He only alternated glances between Jeanne and Claude.
A beat later, Claude noticed Cedric standing there blankly and asked, puzzled,
“Why are you still here?”
“May I ask why you summoned Sir Leclerc?”
“I called her for personal reasons. Why?”
Jeanne felt a silent damn it escape inside her head. She shook her head subtly, but Cedric bowed again.
“Then I’ll excuse myself.”
After glancing once at Jeanne, Cedric left the office. As expected, his gaze hadn’t been particularly kind. Jeanne let out a sigh.
“Why the sigh?” Claude asked.
“……Not something you need to worry about.”
“Why the sudden formality?”
“I don’t want to be told I’m rude again.”
When she pointedly referenced the incident at the induction ceremony, Claude smiled faintly, as if recalling it still amused him.
“It’s just the two of us. Relax.”
“I’m fine. I’m on duty.”
She had barely managed to slightly improve her image in Cedric’s eyes, and Claude had instantly undone it. Annoyed, Jeanne stood extra straight on purpose.
“Then this is an order. From now on, drop the formal speech.”
“…….”
“You already forget how much you said you hated being called ‘Your Grace,’ Sir Jeanne Leclerc?”
She almost snapped back, asking why he looked so pleased while speaking so solemnly, but since she needed to prepare for the expedition, Jeanne decided not to waste time.
“So why did you call only me?”
“We’re heading down to Cassis today, right?”
“Yeah.”
Claude took out a rolled-up bundle of paper from his drawer and handed it to her. At his gesture, she stepped closer to the desk and accepted it.
When she unrolled it, it turned out to be a map of the Cassis territory. Red X marks stood out all over it. Jeanne flipped the map so Claude could see.
“What are these marks?”
“Places where holy barrier stones are installed.”
Claude pointed at the map with his fingertip.
“I want you to reinforce them with holy power.”
“Me?”
“If the Goddess’s child does it personally, it’d be reassuring. We request it from the temple every year, but they charge whatever they feel like.”
Jeanne flipped the map back and examined the marked areas.
From the coastline to the harbor and even inland, there were well over fifty marks. It was a lot, but not an impossible task for one person.
If I want to keep being the Goddess’s child a secret, I’ll have to move around at night.
She was now a proper member of Loren. Even without Claude’s order, she felt a responsibility to protect it.
“Alright.”
Jeanne rolled the map back up and held it in her hand.
“That’s all, right?”
“No, one more thing.”
“What now?”
“When you’re there, there’s a restaurant near the beach called Le Bois.”
Jeanne stared at him blankly, not understanding.
“They say the grilled sea bass there is unbelievably good. Go try it and write a report.”
“What? Hey, what kind of report are you talking about? If you want to eat it, go yourself!”
“I don’t have time to go down.”
“Then bring the chef here!”
“It’d be rude to summon a busy chef.”
“And you think I’m not busy?”
“You’ll have time to eat at least.”
“Then I’ll just eat and tell you about it! Why do I need to write a report?”
“Are you questioning the commander’s order now, Sir Jeanne Leclerc of the Loren Knight Order?”
“…….”
It was absurd how he emphasized his higher rank, but she couldn’t refute it.
“……No objections.”
Jeanne answered through clenched teeth. Amused by her reaction, Claude propped his chin on the back of his hand and grinned.
“Oh. And make it at least five pages.”
“…….”
“Understood?”
She couldn’t punch him.
Lowering her trembling fist, she bowed.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
“Mm. Have a safe trip.”
Jeanne glared sharply at Claude as he waved lightly, then left the office.
Grilled sea bass, my ass.
* * *
The way the door slammed shut made it obvious how furious Jeanne was.
Still, Claude couldn’t tell her the real reason he was sending her to Cassis. It was better that she curse him out instead.
The closed door quietly opened, and Gaston entered carrying an armful of documents.
“What did you do this time to provoke Sir Jeanne?”
“Provoke? I just gave her some work.”
“If you keep tormenting her like that, you’ll really be hated someday.”
With a dull thud, a new tower of papers was placed on the desk. Claude grimaced and scanned the documents up and down.
“Why are there so many?”
“More than half of them urge you to hurry and take a Grand Duchess to secure the succession.”
Claude shook his head while looking at the papers, his distorted expression clearly saying he didn’t even want to see them.
Even so, he picked them up one by one and began writing replies. There were so many that Gaston ended up helping as well.
For a while, there was no conversation—only the scratch of pens against paper.
“But did you really need to send her today?” Gaston finally asked, breaking the silence.
“In two days, Prince Alexis will arrive here.”
