Chapter 17
A Sword Master who has reached the peak of mastery… gets bumped into by an eight-year-old child because he didn’t see her coming?
‘That makes no sense.’
Why he pretended not to know Eve after bumping into her, I don’t know.
But one thing was certain: Seobold Ferdinand had deliberately collided with Eve Royze.
That was the conclusion Neil had reached.
Neil was a very smart man, and his thoughts usually lined up like perfectly cut pieces of wood—almost always right.
However, there was one problem.
“…Do you have a death wish?”
If the other party was deliberately hiding their true intentions, then exposing them carelessly could be dangerous.
“What are you so sure of, to speak with such confidence?”
For forgetting this very basic fact, Neil Royze, after returning to Ferdinand after eight years, now found himself facing death.
Seobold glared at Neil with piercing eyes, as if to say he had no intention of tolerating such baseless talk.
In the end, Neil quietly shut his mouth.
***
[Something’s definitely off. There are eyes watching you.]
‘Right? You felt it too?’
I replied as I continued chewing my cookie.
[Quiet down so I can concentrate!]
‘Okay, okay. Focus away.’
I kept chewing on the cookie slowly. The sword, filled with displeasure, trembled slightly, but I ignored it.
X fell silent as if focusing. The body of the sword emitted a faint blue light.
How long had it been?
[Damn it! They’re all skilled, so it’s not easy to sense them. How did you even notice this? The presence is so faint that even this legendary sword barely detected it…]
‘It just felt… obvious. Maybe your powers have gotten weaker?’
[You insolent brat!]
Though I brushed it off, I honestly found it strange too.
‘It is weird.’
Just a few days ago, I couldn’t even detect a drunk man hiding in the bushes and got caught from behind.
And now, only a week later, I could sense someone watching me from afar?
Was this X’s special power?
Ever since I met X and gave him a name, my hearing had definitely become sharper.
At X’s request to be put down to better detect things, I dropped Excalibur onto the floor like a broomstick.
[Hey!]
‘Huh? That’s not how you do it?’
[Treat me with more respect—wait, hold on.]
X suddenly went quiet, as if he had sensed something. I swallowed my cookie and waited seriously for him to speak again.
[Someone watching you is nearby. I might even be able to catch them… What do you want to do? But if this really is an “intruder,” you could be in danger.]
‘Geez, why even ask that?’
This was the Ferdinand ducal estate.
The only ducal house in the Calixte Empire. There’s no way their security would be so lax that random strangers could sneak in.
Which means the person watching me was probably someone inside the estate.
In other words, someone working for the Duke. And since I was here as his granddaughter—technically his guest—there’s no way they would harm me.
‘Let’s go! Where is it?’
[Heh, thought you’d say that. Pick me up and close your eyes. Feel me. I’ll guide you.]
I gripped X in both hands and closed my eyes as instructed.
And then…!
‘Wow…’
A path appeared.
In the darkness.
I could clearly sense which direction I needed to go—X was guiding me.
‘Is it close?’
If it was far, I couldn’t go recklessly.
This was the Duke of Ferdinand’s estate, and I was just a guest.
It would be rude for a guest to go snooping around the mansion. Even a country girl like me knew that much.
[It’s close. Right over there.]
I closed my eyes again and memorized the path X was showing me.
Then I opened my eyes and checked where the glowing trail ended.
‘Huh?’
Behind a display cabinet?
[More precisely, behind it.]
In Ferdinand’s reception room, there was a huge display cabinet big enough for a person to stand inside. X was referring to the space behind that.
‘You mean… they were in the same room with me?’
[Exactly! Damn it, why did I only realize this now? It’s your fault, kid! Ever since you became my owner, my powers have really been weakening—mmph.]
‘Shhh!’
I firmly pressed the gemstone embedded in the center of Excalibur. X fell silent, like someone whose mouth had been physically blocked.
I (forcefully) silenced him, then tiptoed quietly toward the display cabinet.
There was a faint shadow behind the massive furniture.
There was actually a space behind it—big enough for a person to hide.
I crept forward and grabbed the edge of the cabinet.
“!”
“Heheh.”
And I peeked into the gap.
“!!!!!”
The person hiding inside stared down at me, flustered and wide-eyed.
There really was someone inside.
The gaze I’d felt earlier must have been from this person.
I took a good look at the person hiding.
She was wearing a uniform of white fabric accented with blue, and embroidered with the pattern of a blue dragon.
A dragon—the symbol of House Ferdinand. Just as I suspected, she was likely a knight assigned by Grandpa to watch over me.
“L-Lady Eve…!”
She called out my name in a trembling voice, her face red with embarrassment at being caught.
“What are you doing in here?”
I asked as innocently as possible, wearing my most wide-eyed expression.
Blushing furiously, the female knight adjusted her hair in a panic before slowly slipping out from behind the cabinet.
She must have decided it was too ridiculous to stay wedged in such a tight space after being discovered.
Even after she emerged, I peeked behind the cabinet to check for anyone else.
Thankfully, she had been hiding alone.
The knight cautiously opened her mouth.
“W-Well…”
“Did the Duke order you to do this? To watch me?”
“N-No, Lady Eve! The Duke didn’t order this at all…”
She spoke in a voice on the verge of tears.
I looked up at the Ferdinand knight while gripping X tightly.
‘I’m the one being spied on—why does she look like she’s about to cry?’
[Perhaps because she failed her mission.]
‘A mission to spy on me?’
[Yes. Since you found her, she must consider it a major failure. Most knights on surveillance duty view being discovered as a deep disgrace. And besides…]
X continued,
[This woman—she’s no ordinary knight. She’s one of the strongest I’ve seen.]
Huh?
I looked up at the female knight who had been hiding and watching me from behind the cabinet.
She was still mumbling, her face a deep red and eyes glistening, saying, “L-Lady Eve, it’s not what it looks like…”
“…A skilled knight?”
Ack, I accidentally said that out loud!
Fortunately, she was so flustered she probably didn’t hear me clearly.
That was a relief.
I decided to wait until she calmed down a bit before trying to talk to her again, and gently sat her down on the sofa.
And then—
Knock knock.
There was a knock at the door.
