Chapter : 39
“Little Duke, it has been a while.”
“Young Master Herarilla. Thank you for allowing my visit.”
Lawrence took the box Simon handed him and passed it to Morgan.
“It’s a tea I’m fond of.”
“You didn’t need to go that far. Thank you. Ah—please, have a seat.”
Lawrence watched Morgan fumble about for a moment before sitting down.
“Ah, at the last gathering, Young Master Hart had quite an amusing story. When he went down to the southern region—”
Lawrence nodded slowly and lifted the teacup placed before him.
What should he say to Morgan to find out what was happening at the Herarilla ducal estate?
Truthfully, he wanted to ask directly without beating around the bush.
The day Patricia had been driven out of the house and come to him.
The Duke had pressed him to take responsibility for Patricia—so why was everything being glossed over now without a word?
Honestly, it didn’t matter much whether he asked the Duke himself or Morgan.
Whether they lied or told the truth, he would find out eventually.
Still, despite wanting to ask outright,
Lawrence kept his mouth shut and simply waited for Morgan’s long-winded chatter to end.
A gathering of several young nobles.
An event he had deemed unnecessary and chosen not to attend.
“That young master didn’t even know his place, and yet he said it was the maid’s fault. It was utterly ridiculous.”
The sole reason Lawrence listened to these pointless stories from the last gathering was one thing:
He didn’t want dredging up past events to cause harm to Patricia.
“Everyone seems busy preparing for the swordsmanship tournament these days. Have you prepared much, Little Duke?”
Only then did Lawrence recall the tournament he had nearly forgotten.
It was an event held once a year by the Imperial Family.
Every noble house was required to send at least one of their children to compete.
“I’m preparing… more or less.”
As an only child, Lawrence was automatically the participant.
“Everyone is training hard, but I have a feeling this year will end with your victory again, Little Duke.”
“Rather than that, who will be representing the Herarilla estate? Will you be participating, Young Master?”
At Lawrence’s question, Morgan hesitated.
Typically, the eldest son was the one to compete.
But seeing Morgan struggle to answer, it seemed another brother would be entering instead.
Likely because competing himself would only make him a laughingstock, he had passed it off to someone else.
“I heard that recently you hired a professional instructor to teach swordsmanship?”
“Ah, that’s not for me…”
Morgan hesitated before speaking.
“It’s Patricia.”
“The Lady?”
“Yes. She said she wanted to learn.”
Morgan seemed unusually subdued.
Under normal circumstances, he would have shown his usual disdain toward Patricia.
“And as for the tournament, Barber will be participating. I’m rather busy learning the work from Father.”
“I see.”
Lawrence nodded lightly.
At this rate, it seemed he wouldn’t be able to learn anything of substance.
He swallowed a sigh of frustration.
Knock, knock.
Just then, someone knocked on the reception room door.
“The Lady has arrived.”
At the maid’s words, Morgan glanced at Lawrence before speaking.
“Let her in.”
The door opened, and Patricia entered.
“I heard that the Little Duke had come to the estate, so I came to greet you.”
Patricia bowed.
After her greeting, silence settled over the room.
Seeing her offer such a formally polite greeting, Lawrence found it hard to speak.
For some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling that she was drawing a line between them.
Patricia looked at him briefly, then spoke again.
“Then I will take my leave. I hope you enjoy your time with my brother—”
She seemed eager to leave, as though she were very busy.
“You’re learning swordsmanship these days?”
The words slipped out before he could think.
They came out rather sharply.
Startled by his own tone, Lawrence frowned.
“Ah—yes. I haven’t been learning long yet, but I’m working hard.”
“…The Herarilla estate doesn’t have a training hall, does it?”
“No. So I take lessons in the back garden.”
“…If you want, you can practice at our training hall.”
Even Lawrence didn’t understand why he said that.
But more than embarrassment at his slip of the tongue, he felt an even greater fear—that she might refuse.
Patricia blinked slowly, clearly puzzled by the offer.
After that brief pause, Lawrence hastily added,
“If you want, I could watch over your training as well.”
“Ah…”
Only then did Patricia seem to seriously consider his proposal.
“Then… would it be all right if I stopped by occasionally?”
“Do as you please.”
Only then did Lawrence turn his gaze away from her.
“Thank you for your consideration, Little Duke.”
“I have to prepare for the swordsmanship tournament anyway. No need to worry about it.”
“Yes. Then I’ll take my leave.”
After Patricia left, the previously silent Morgan spoke up.
“You’re going to personally watch over Patricia’s swordsmanship?”
He stared at Lawrence with wide eyes, as if asking why on earth he would do such a thing.
“There’s no training hall here, after all.”
Lawrence knew his answer wasn’t a proper explanation, but he hurriedly ended the conversation regardless.
* * *
“Carlos. Let’s go to your lesson.”
“Yes!”
Carlos dashed out as if he’d been waiting.
It had been a week since the swordsmanship lessons began.
With lessons twice a week, today was the third.
On the first day, they learned how to hold a sword.
On the second, the most basic techniques.
Today would likely be review.
I glanced down at Carlos.
He seemed to enjoy the lessons, but he struggled with handling the sword more than I’d expected.
I distinctly remembered reading that he possessed genius-level talent in swordsmanship.
So far, though, he didn’t seem much different from me.
I wondered if the instructor simply wasn’t very good—but without a proper benchmark, it was hard to judge.
To be honest, the instructor wasn’t particularly kind to Carlos.
He seemed displeased at having to teach a mere servant with no noble standing.
Of course, because the request came from me, he didn’t openly scold Carlos—but his curt tone and frequent nitpicking made that clear.
Even when I asked him to watch Carlos’s posture since I was fine, he would only give a cursory glance.
I hadn’t expected the instructor to be like this.
It caused me more than a few problems.
Because the instructor focused intensely on teaching me, I ended up swinging a sword nearly nonstop during what was supposed to be a relaxed lesson.
As a result, I suffered muscle pain for days—while I couldn’t even tell if Carlos was truly learning properly.
“Carlos, are you enjoying swordsmanship?”
“Yes. The sword still feels unfamiliar, but it’s fun.”
Even if I left him alone, Carlos would one day become the Empire’s greatest knight.
“Then let’s go practice swordsmanship at Duke Gerhardt’s estate from time to time.”
“Duke Gerhardt’s estate?”
“Yes. The Little Duke just gave permission for us to use their training hall.”
Lawrence had even said he would occasionally watch over the training.
If Lawrence taught him personally, it would undoubtedly be a huge benefit for Carlos.
Moreover, nothing was safer than Carlos quickly catching Lawrence’s attention and being recruited into his knight order.
If—by some horrible twist—Carlos ended up bound as a knight of the Herarilla estate…
Just imagining it was the worst possible outcome.
It would mean that my attempt to help Carlos would instead end up shackling him.
The safest course was for Carlos to be noticed by Lawrence as soon as possible.
“While we’re practicing, we could ask the Little Duke to check your posture. Doesn’t that sound good?”
“…Yes. I’d like that.”
Carlos hesitated briefly, then nodded.
“Is the Little Duke good at swordsmanship?”
“I think so. I haven’t seen it myself, but that’s what I’ve heard.”
“But would the Little Duke really look at my posture too? Mine as well?”
“Well… if we ask, wouldn’t he?”
Carlos nodded awkwardly, then spoke again.
“Is the Little Duke kind?”
“Hmm. He seems like a kind person.”
“Like you, milady?”
“Huh?”
“Is he kind like you?”
It was completely unexpected praise.
When I looked at Carlos in surprise, his eyes were utterly serious.
It wasn’t empty flattery meant to please me.
“Is he even better than you, milady?”
“Ahem.”
Looking at him now, it seemed this child had already mastered the ways of the world.
I lifted my chin slightly and said arrogantly,
“No. I’m probably the better person.”
“…That’s a relief.”
“Huh? I didn’t hear that.”
“It’s nothing. Milady, let’s hurry.”
Carlos shook his head with a bright smile.
As I followed his quickened steps, I spoke.
“So, Carlos—what is it that you want? This kind, beautiful, and even wise lady is in a very good mood right now. If there’s anything you want, go ahead and tell me.”
