Chapter: 8
Through the half-open window, the wind seemed to sneak in, making the candle flicker once. Along with the candle, many things wavered—the shadows of the two on the wall, the shading on their faces, Claude’s delicately curved eyelashes, and his red eyes.
Jeanne stared blankly at Claude, who had come close, and asked:
“So… what now?”
“……What?”
“What’s so ‘not okay’ about it? We slept together for days back in the old days.”
Back in their cadet school days, Claude and Jeanne had occasionally gone on monster hunts as part of group assignments once or twice a year.
From that point on, even after graduation, sleeping together on the battlefield during the war against the Demon Lord’s army had become routine, with no distinction between men and women.
Perhaps because she had been exposed to an environment where survival mattered more than morality, Jeanne didn’t consider sharing a bed a big deal.
“Stop talking nonsense. Let’s just organize the supplies. Since it’s cramped anyway, we can just push them into that corner.”
Jeanne turned and began moving the scattered supplies to the edges.
“Do we have a blanket, though? It’s spring, so maybe it’s not necessary, but since we’re in the woods, it might get cold at night.”
She asked Claude while tidying, but no answer came. When she peeked at him, Claude was silently pressing his lips together, wearing a look of sheer disbelief.
“Why?”
“……Nothing. Forget it.”
Contrary to his words, Claude shook his head with a resigned expression and began rummaging through the corner supplies.
‘What’s he doing?’
Curious, Jeanne watched his back. Claude pulled out a thick piece of cloth from a bundle and measured the space between the walls.
“What are you doing?”
“I thought it’d be better if we could at least divide the space with a tent.”
“Out of nowhere?”
“You talk in your sleep again, so I’m putting this up to make it less uncomfortable.”
“Hey, when have I ever talked in my sleep?”
“It was during the training two years ago, wasn’t it? You kept muttering, ‘I’m not a perpetual second place!’ all night, and I couldn’t sleep a wink.”
Jeanne couldn’t firmly deny it. Her father had also asked her, “What were you mumbling about instead of sleeping?” more than once.
Though she felt guilty, Jeanne teased him anyway.
“Be honest. You’re just lying so you can have the cabin to yourself, right?”
“I think the video of that scene is somewhere in the mansion……”
“What?”
Jeanne’s body instantly heated, and she yelled in a burst of anger.
“Hey, why did you film that! Delete it right now! If you don’t, I’ll—”
“If I don’t, what?”
“If you don’t delete it, then… you know……”
She had no way to act—no rights over portraiture, no legal action, not even a punch.
Seeing Jeanne trembling in anger, Claude chuckled, unable to resist.
“Just kidding. Did you forget that bringing video disks into exams is prohibited?”
“…….”
“You’re hot-headed, huh? Fine, then go wash up quickly.”
Claude gently nudged her back toward the door and waved as if to say, take care. Jeanne, irritated, turned and glared at him with a sulky expression. Claude tilted his head.
“What’s wrong? Scared? Want me to go with you?”
“No, I’m fine!”
Bang!
Jeanne slammed the cabin door so hard it shook and stormed toward the lake, stomping her feet all the way.
Following the path from the cabin’s front gate, she soon reached a spacious lake. The moonlight reflected on the calm, clear water, creating a mystical, dreamlike atmosphere.
But there was no time to admire the scenery.
“Seriously, Claude, that guy! Really! He knows exactly how to push my buttons!”
Jeanne dipped her bloodstained clothes into the lake, scrubbing them against the rocks. Anyone passing by might think she was tearing her clothes apart.
After scrubbing until her shoulders ached, she finally calmed down. Then, a wave of embarrassment washed over her.
When leaving her hometown, she had planned to address Claude formally, calling him “Your Excellency” if needed. She had even been thankful that he allowed her to speak casually when they met again.
Somehow, she had ended up yelling and losing her temper at him.
Looking back, this was usually how things went with Claude.
Whether in exams or competitions, if she lost, Jeanne would flare up, and Claude would deliberately provoke her. Then Jeanne would grind her teeth and wait for her chance, and so on.
Despite the constant bickering, when fighting monsters, Claude and Jeanne were the most synchronized pair.
Arguing with Claude in her own way made her previous life feel like a lie—becoming Alexis’ knight, losing her father and companions one by one, enduring the bloody battlefield while suppressing both monsters and her own feelings…
[I should have died with the Demon Lord.]
Was this a reminder not to forget? Alexis’ words suddenly came to mind, as if cursing her not to forget because this was not a dream.
Jeanne splashed her face with cold water and forced away the creeping thoughts.
‘Focus. Meeting Claude earlier than expected is already a good start.’
She quickly cleaned the cockatrice blood from her body, changed clothes, and left without looking back.
“Back already?”
Claude sat on a chair placed in the corner, waving his hand.
“Not scared being alone?”
“Cut it out.”
Jeanne shot him a sharp look, and Claude chuckled, gesturing to the chair opposite him.
“Sit. You must be hungry.”
On the table were simple provisions: jerky, hardtack, triangular Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and dried fruits.
After long travel and battles, Jeanne was hungry, and the sight made her mouth water.
“Where did you get all this?”
She sat down cautiously and asked.
“I brought it. Here, quench your thirst first.”
He handed her a metal hip flask. Jeanne took a sip without thinking and paused at the sweet, sharp taste coating her tongue.
“Is this alcohol?”
“Port wine. Water could spoil quickly.”
After the explanation, she took another sip. She was slightly surprised by the unexpected taste but didn’t dislike alcohol.
After drinking enough to wet her throat, she set the flask down. Claude immediately grabbed it and drank from it himself.
“Hey, that’s yours. Why are you drinking it?”
“There’s only one. Where’s your share?”
“Then you should have said so. I wouldn’t have touched it.”
“You care about that?”
“Not really.”
Jeanne didn’t mind either. She had asked only to see if Claude, a noble, might be uncomfortable with it.
“I don’t care either.”
Claude, too, drank freely from the flask without hesitation. In moments like this, he seemed more like a carefree aristocrat than a duke.
Though most cadets liked seeing this side of him…
[It seems the young duke takes after his commoner mother in temperament.]
Occasionally, students would speak ill of Claude in his absence. When Jeanne overheard, she would scoff and shake her head at their foolish jealousy.
‘At school, there were students everywhere acting as Claude’s eyes and ears.’
Soon, those who had talked recklessly suffered crushing defeats from Claude during sparring classes. Thanks to that, Jeanne saw firsthand how brutal it could be to be beaten on a rainy day.
In other words, aside from his mother being a commoner, Claude had no real weaknesses.
‘Doesn’t matter to me anyway.’
As Jeanne chewed her jerky, recalling the past, Claude set the flask down and spoke.
“Now that everything’s settled, I have to ask. Why are you in this forest when you should be at the palace as a knight?”
Her chewing stopped mid-bite. She swallowed the jerky she hadn’t finished.
“How did you know?”
“Prince Alexis bragged at a recent banquet. He said, ‘My knight will be a cadet school graduate, second in class, whom I discovered and nurtured. I even rented the temple for the investiture…’”
Jeanne buried her face in her hands, exasperated. He had done nothing except enroll her in cadet school, yet claimed he had raised her.
Moreover, any noble with money could appoint a knight. There was nothing to brag about.
With a deep sigh at Alexis’ absurdity, Jeanne looked up and met Claude’s gaze. She had been hesitating to ask him herself, but he had saved her the trouble.
“I haven’t received the knight investiture.
