Chapter 46
After Su left, Belia organized the documents she had been reviewing and headed straight to Soph’s room.
Tov followed behind her.
“Milady.”
“Mm?”
“When did you return from the banquet yesterday?”
“Yesterday? Why?”
“I never saw you head back to your chambers.”
“Well, of course you wouldn’t. You weren’t assigned to escort me at the banquet, so you weren’t by my side.”
“…I didn’t see you come out after you went onto the balcony with His Highness the Crown Prince and the Tower Master.”
“That makes it sound like you were only watching me the whole time.”
“I am your knight, Milady.”
“…Tov, you really are loyal.”
Excessively so.
Belia swallowed her last thought and quickened her pace, furrowing her brows.
From the opposite direction, Baron was walking toward her. Unlike Belia, he was accompanied by a large entourage of aides and attendants.
“Brother?”
“It’s been a while, Belia.”
Belia flinched when Baron stopped right in front of her instead of just passing by.
“Mm, it has. I’ve been busy, so I haven’t seen you. You should’ve come to the banquet yesterday.”
Belia smiled brightly as she spoke.
“I was too busy with work. My apologies.”
He didn’t look the least bit apologetic, making Belia wrinkle her nose.
“It’s fine. Work comes first, after all…. Oh, but where are you headed?”
“Why?”
“Hm?”
“Why ask that?”
“Obviously because I’m curious. You’ve even brought an aide and guards with you…”
As Belia studied his group, her expression hardened slightly.
For a brief moment, something strange flickered in Baron’s eyes.
“I’m on my way to the trading guild for business.”
“Really?”
Belia’s clenched fist turned pale white.
“More importantly, how is your knight?”
“…What?”
Baron motioned toward Tov with his chin.
“Ah…”
“He’s loyal. And skilled, too. I’m sure he protects you well.”
Something in his tone made it sound like those words carried another meaning, and Belia’s grip tightened.
It wasn’t easy to pretend nothing was wrong when her attention was pulled toward the figure standing at the very end of Baron’s retinue.
Forcing herself to manage her expression, Belia met Baron’s gaze.
“If that’s the case, Brother, why didn’t you keep him by your side?”
“I wanted to, but… Tov preferred to focus on honing his sword. His skills improving benefit the entire household more than just guarding me.”
“You certainly think a lot about the family.”
“Of course. Naturally.”
A smile tugged at his lips, one that looked suspiciously like a sneer.
“When Tov became your knight, I was disappointed, but… well. You’re my only sister. I decided to think of it as a good thing.”
“…I didn’t know you thought that way.”
“Even if I don’t look it, I do care about family.”
Baron tilted his head.
As if I’d believe that.
Belia held the words inside and gave a faint smile.
“I have to go. Oh, and congratulations on your salon opening. Truly. I’ll send a gift for the occasion.”
“Thank you.”
Baron exchanged a meaningful glance with Tov before departing.
Left standing alone, Belia slowly continued toward Soph’s room.
Her face had gone pale.
This is impossible…
Closing her eyes tightly, she recalled the man standing at the very end of Baron’s entourage.
The very person she had desperately tried to avoid had shown up where she least expected.
Rude.
The eyes she met when passing by were terrifyingly familiar.
Belia quickened her pace toward Soph’s chambers, with Tov following close behind, watching her intently.
“Ah, Brother?”
“Yeah.”
After meeting with Soph, Belia rushed straight to the training grounds and hurriedly called out.
Bedol, who had been swinging his sword, lowered it and wiped the sweat from his face.
“Ugh, it’s hot.”
“Hurry and tell me!”
“What’s got you so impatient?”
Taking the towel Belia handed him, Bedol wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“You mean about our eldest brother choosing a knight? What’s the big deal?”
“Did that knight volunteer himself?”
“Who, Rude?”
“Yes.”
“No. Our brother personally picked him. He even came to observe that sparring match of your knight candidates, remember?”
“…Our eldest brother watched my knight selection duel?”
“Yeah. He came partway through, said he was bored, so I even set up a chair for him.”
As Bedol walked over to where the water was, Belia trailed after him.
“Anyway, a few days ago he asked me something.”
“What did he ask?”
“He wanted to know who that knight was—the one who got sick during your sparring.”
“…The one who got sick?”
“Yeah.” Bedol gulped down water.
“I found it odd.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… honestly, even though he’s my brother, he’s not exactly… how should I put it… the caring type, right? I’ve never seen him worry about injured knights or servants before.”
“And?”
“So it surprised me when he suddenly asked about a knight who’d been ill.”
“He specifically asked, ‘Which knight got sick that day?’”
“Exactly. Well, since it was the finals, I guess Rude collapsing stood out in his memory. I think Brother probably thought so too.”
“What do you mean?”
“That if Rude hadn’t gotten sick, he would’ve won. So maybe that’s why he wanted him close. Still, the more I think about it, the stranger it seems. You know how Brother only surrounds himself with nobles.”
“…True.”
“So even if someone’s skilled, it’s weird that Brother—who values status so much—would keep a common-born knight like Rude nearby. I even asked him multiple times if he was serious about appointing Rude.”
“And Rude?”
“What?”
Belia realized she had spoken too familiarly and quickly corrected herself.
“I mean, how did that knight Rude respond when our eldest brother offered?”
“Oh, that’s where it gets interesting.”
“What happened?”
Bedol put on a dramatic expression.
“Rude refused at first. Shocking, right?”
“And then?”
“You’re not surprised?”
“About what?”
“A knight of the household refusing to serve as the personal guard of the heir—the next Marquis! Isn’t that shocking?”
“It is. So what happened?”
Bedol pouted.
“Of course I was shocked. Even the knight commander mentioned it was rude and considered punishment.”
“That’s not important. Just tell me—if Rude refused, why did he become Brother’s knight anyway? Did he get punished?”
“Of course not. That would’ve embarrassed Brother even more. Apparently, it was Tov—your knight—who persuaded him.”
“…What?”
Belia frowned deeply.
“Out of nowhere?”
Bedol shrugged.
“I don’t know the details. But rumors in the order say that after Rude refused, Tov started sticking close to him for a while. People assume that’s when he convinced him.”
Belia stopped, her expression growing grave.
In every other life, Tov never liked Rude. If anything, he hated him.
Like master, like knight—Tov hated Rude just as much as Baron did.
For Tov, it was unbearable that a lowborn knight like Rude was stronger with the sword than him, a man of noble birth.
And now Tov supposedly persuaded Rude? Impossible.
“This makes no sense.”
“What doesn’t?”
“They’re both acting strange.”
“Honestly, you’re the one acting strange. Why are you suddenly so curious about Rude?”
“…No reason. So, did they even hold a formal appointment ceremony?”
“No. Brother brushed it off, said there was no need for fuss. And Rude didn’t seem to mind either. Why, are you disappointed?”
“…What?”
“You keep asking about him. Is it because he almost became your knight instead? Like I said, if he hadn’t been sick, he would’ve beaten Tov.”
“…That’s not it. Anyway, thanks for telling me. I’ll go now.”
“Huh? Already? What about dinner?”
“It’s late. Next time!”
“When?!”
Ignoring Bedol’s shouting, Belia left the training grounds.
“Su! Where’s Tov?”
Su, who had been waiting outside on Belia’s orders, straightened up.
“Sir Tov? He went to the stables, as you instructed.”
“When?”
“Hmm, about five minutes after you went inside the training grounds. He came by, I passed along the order, and he went straight there.”
“…I see. Su, has Tov ever left his post outside my chambers while on duty?”
“Sir Tov? Well… let’s see. Since you don’t have other knights, he usually guards you constantly. But sure, there are times he leaves—when he has personal needs or something. Still, I always stay in front of your room, so it’s fine. Why?”
“It’s nothing.”
Belia slowly walked toward her chambers.
Something’s wrong…
So many events had already shifted since her sixteenth birthday banquet. The possibility was slim, but it existed.
And her gut told her it wasn’t good.
Because Baron hated Rude—not just because he’d once been Belia’s knight, but because of something deeper.
The thing Baron despised most in this world was low birth.
