“You’ve been living just fine for three months in the mansion without the subjugation team, haven’t you? With His Highness gone and no other knights around. It wasn’t that different, was it?!”
Masid exclaimed in shock as he pointed out the contradiction in her words, but Liselotte’s face was even thicker than that.
Pretending to be innocent, she looked up at Eren and recited earnestly,
“They say people are brave when they don’t know anything. But after seeing things up close, the North looks different now.”
Masid clearly didn’t believe her.
But what could he do?
The original Liselotte had always been willful to begin with, and this level of fickleness was perfectly ordinary for her.
Honestly, it was fortunate that she had caused so many problems in the past.
‘If you don’t like it, then go join the subjugation force.’
Liselotte simply blinked rapidly and sent moist, pleading eyes toward Eren, who was looking down at her impassively.
Just as expected, Masid calmly placed a hand over his chest and replied smoothly,
“I was planning to stay. But thinking about it now, as Sir Ferento said, it might be careless if even the East is missing a knight commander. I’ll take part in the subjugation.”
At Masid’s easygoing, grinning response, Ail’s lips curved into an even wider arc.
It was the moment she realized that someone could smile while being angry.
Sending Masid away was important, but Liselotte actually had another goal.
‘By now, there should be some sort of reaction.’
No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than Eren’s low voice rang above her head.
“I hadn’t thought that far.”
As if he had only just realized it, he seemed to be giving the matter quite serious thought.
To the point that it almost made her feel bad.
“You lived in the Imperial Palace your whole life, so the North must have felt unfamiliar. I should have explained things in advance.”
“…Huh? Explained what?”
For some reason, even Ferento was looking at her with something like pity in his eyes.
Leaving her momentarily flustered, Eren continued,
“The Keilos estate is protected by double—no, triple layered barrier magic stones. On top of that, guards with subjugation experience are left behind.”
Ferento also nodded actively in agreement with his words.
“That’s right. On top of that, the areas where monsters frequently appear are quite far from the Ducal Estate. You can rest easy.”
It seemed Eren had completely misunderstood something, as he began discussing the matter with Ferento in a grave tone.
Ferento in particular rested his chin in his hand and muttered seriously.
“Now I finally understand why you kept asking to be sent back to the Capital all this time, Princess. For us, it was so obvious that we didn’t even think twice about it.”
“Indeed.”
“Come to think of it, as soon as we returned from the subjugation three months later, Princess Liselotte’s attitude also changed. It seems we misunderstood her as we only returned to the estate once every few months.”
‘No, no. Wait a moment. Would it be wise to correct this misunderstanding?’
In the current situation, it was more convenient to let them think that way.
Of course, this was not the outcome Masid had hoped for.
His expression looked as though he had bitten into something unpleasant, but that was not the important point right now.
Liselotte hurriedly stepped toward them and spoke up.
“Th-that’s right. Still, I feel uneasy, so could you leave just one knight behind?”
At Liselotte’s request, Masid, who was standing behind them, raised both hands as if to distance himself and said,
“I will go. I must take part in the subjugation.”
‘Who asked you?’
He had not been under consideration to begin with.
The others seemed to feel the same way, as not a single person even spared Masid a glance.
Seizing the moment, Liselotte pointed directly at the person she had already chosen.
From the beginning, her target had been only one person.
“Among everyone in the North, Sir Ail is the person I feel most at ease with, so I would like it if he stayed.”
Setting aside Masid’s objections, Eren was more than capable of completing the subjugation on his own.
This time, in practical terms Ail, Masid, and Ferento would all be joining.
Having all of the North’s knight commanders participate was excessive with even the East participating.
Masid had not been entirely wrong to raise the concern.
After hearing Liselotte’s opinion, Eren calmly turned to Ail beside him and asked,
“Ail. Your thoughts.”
“I have no objections. I will follow Your Highness’s orders.”
“…Then so be it. Ail will remain at the estate as Liselotte’s escort.”
“Understood.”
Thinking the matter settled, Eren gave a brief nod toward the training grounds where the subjugation force was gathered, signaling the next step.
When he started walking, everyone followed after him except for Ail.
Watching his straight back, Liselotte called out a farewell.
“Have a safe trip! Take your time and dry those monsters out!”
For a moment, it seemed like he turned his head to look back, but no reply followed.
Booo—
Hearing the horn that signaled the imminent departure of the subjugation force, Liselotte returned to her room.
Ail, who had been following a step behind her, stopped in front of the closed door and asked seriously,
“Princess Liselotte. Do you prefer someone who is talkative, or someone tight-lipped and quiet?”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“The knight who will serve as your escort.”
It seemed he had taken her words seriously, as if a list had already been forming in his head.
The gentle smile he usually wore was nowhere to be seen.
“The talkative one is skilled enough to stand on the monster subjugation front line. However, he comes from a lowborn mercenary group, and only his abilities earned him selection into the subjugation force, so…”
Mid-explanation, he seemed to realize something and briefly swallowed back a sigh.
Then, returning to his usual smile, he drew a conclusion on his own.
“Someone of lowborn origin would likely make you uncomfortable. After the subjugation is over, I will instead assign someone more quiet.”
“No, I’m fine without an escort knight!”
Liselotte replied in a hurry.
Ail slowly tilted his head, smiling with a hint of curiosity.
“Is it because I mentioned recommending someone of lowborn origin?”
“No. It is just that I never needed an escort knight in the first place.”
“Even so, having one would be best. I did think you would be buried the moment a snowstorm hit. With an escort knight beside you, they would at least dig you out properly.”
Was there no option to simply not go out before getting buried?
Just what kind of lives did people in the North live?
Suspicious, Liselotte asked,
“Are people in the North usually… raised to be tough?”
“Could you explain what you mean more specifically?”
“Earlier, I saw that the Grand Duke had a wound on his arm, and no one paid any attention. And now the talk about snowstorms too.”
“Well, injuries are a daily occurrence for the subjugation force.”
Ail seemed entirely unconcerned. Rather, Liselotte’s reaction appeared to intrigue him.
“I am not sure people here grow up tougher compared to other regions.”
“…I see.”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. Even if shoulders bump while walking down the street, people apologize and move on.”
“That’s unexpected. No fights break out?”
“Of course not. What if someone’s family comes chasing after you with a sword, talking about revenge?”
That was what they called growing up tough.
When Liselotte looked at him calmly with eyes that clearly did not believe it at all, Ail smiled faintly.
“Don’t worry. Anyone noticeably exceptional usually ends up joining the subjugation force, regardless of status.”
In short, since everyone you passed on the street was a strong fighter, people naturally became more mild-mannered.
Still, even within this short exchange, Liselotte could glimpse Ail’s character.
‘So Ail really doesn’t care much about someone’s background.’
That was precisely the reason she had chosen to leave him here.
Of course, if this had been the original Liselotte, it would have been an issue she would have flown into a rage over.
Ail was loyal to House Keilos, but his disposition differed slightly from that of most others.
The fact that he had even considered assigning a subjugation force member of commoner origin as a personal knight to the Grand Duchess was proof of that.
Most of the members of the subjugation force, as well as the majority of House Keilos’s retainers, were from the North.
Because different regions produced different types of monsters, it was natural that people native to the land were more familiar with the terrain and better at adapting to unexpected situations.
That was also why even when Masid made disloyal remarks about Eren’s bloodline, they were not treated as serious faults.
However, capable individuals could be found even among people from other regions.
‘From what I’ve seen, they do favor locals everywhere, but it doesn’t seem as rigid as the North…’
The older generation, which formed the core of power, could not bring themselves to trust outsiders.
By contrast, Ail was firmly committed to the idea that as long as someone was capable, he would employ them regardless of their birth or place of origin.
If people like that came to the North, they would at least serve as a counterbalance to the old generation.
Because of this, Ail frequently clashed with those who supported the older generation.
‘And that’s probably why he became the first target for the old guard.’
Later on, after Eren fell into darkness, even Ail’s pride would be crushed — but that was a matter for the future.
Liselotte herself shared Ail’s stance.
‘In a situation where the Head of the House is despised simply for having nomadic blood mixed in, employing only Northerners would only cause the same cycle to repeat.’
Due to the surrounding snow-covered mountains, the North was more closed off to outsiders than any other region.
To dilute that mindset, the first step was accepting a variety of people and growing accustomed to them.
Unfortunately, Liselotte herself was from the Central region.
She could not be certain who in the North was genuinely well-intentioned or trustworthy.
And thanks to her past behavior, she had utterly destroyed her own social standing.
No connections whatsoever.
There was no chance she had any close Young Ladies from other regions, either.
‘If anything, it would be fortunate if there were no enemies.’
In that sense, Ail was the right choice.
