Chapter 10: A Face Hard to See
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 10: A Face Hard to See
The next day.
I headed toward the training grounds with a light spring in my step.
Finally, I’m going to meet the Grand Duke.
It had happened the previous day, just as Norton was returning to his post in the garden.
– “Sir Norton, I have good news. I’ve finally figured out which room is the Grand Duke’s. It’s the one at the far west end of the third floor in the main castle, right?”
– “……No, it is not.”
– “Liar. Your reaction was a second too slow just now.”
Norton had desperately denied it, but after I threatened him with a choice—either I barge into the Grand Duke’s bedroom or he helps me ‘accidentally’ run into him—he finally cracked. He confessed that the Grand Duke would be participating in a training session this morning.
Oho, so this is the famous training ground?
Following the sounds of exertion, I came upon a vast field where knights were paired off, sparred in earnest. I had already met several knights individually, but seeing so many gathered in one place created a completely different atmosphere.
Northerners really are built differently.
Since these were the handpicked elite, every single one of them was tall and well-proportioned.
Despite the biting chill in the air, they were all clad in nothing but thin, low-cut shirts as they traded blows. My heart couldn't help but flutter at the sight.
As my eyes darted busily from one group to another, a man with a presence unlike any other caught my gaze.
Flowing black hair and sharp, piercing eyes.
Even his simplest movements as he swung his sword were elegant and overwhelming.
That’s the Grand Duke!
I watched his movements in a daze, feeling a faint sense of relief. It was then that a familiar voice reached my ears.
“Your Highness the Consort!”
“Sir Leon?”
Leon, who had been standing on one side of the training ground, spotted me and came running over in a hurry.
A friendly face!
As Leon greeted me, I could almost see an invisible tail wagging behind him.
Looking around, I noticed other familiar faces like Johas. Since they were in the middle of sparring, they couldn't come over to talk, but their expressions clearly showed they were happy to see me.
Thanks to them, my fragile self-esteem felt a bit more restored.
“What brings you all the way here?” Leon asked with a broad grin.
“I came to see the Grand Duke.”
I smiled back at him, but when I turned my head again—
Huh? The Grand Duke, who had been right there just moments ago, was gone.
Where did he go?
I scanned the area, but he was nowhere to be found within the training grounds. Leon tilted his head in confusion as well.
“The Captain… was just here a second ago?”
A hollow laugh escaped my lips at Leon’s bewildered remark.
Ha. Did he seriously run away because he saw me?
He knew perfectly well I’d come all this way to see him, and he just bolted?
The sheer absurdity of it made my head spin.
“Your Highness?”
“It’s nothing. I was just passing by and decided to drop in. It seems I’ve interrupted your training, so please, get back to it.”
The knights’ lingering glances were incredibly blatant, but surprisingly, they weren't as hostile as they had been that first day in the chapel.
There were even a few who seemed genuinely glad to see me.
It would have been nice to stay and exchange greetings while the mood was so decent. However, I couldn't exactly step forward and introduce myself when the Grand Duke hadn't officially presented me yet.
I turned away, wearing a foolishly awkward smile.
Forgetting all sense of decorum, I plopped down on the stairs of the main castle and began hurling silent curses at the Grand Duke.
That petty, mean-spirited jerk!
Even if I am the daughter of his enemy, isn't he even a little curious about what kind of woman his wife is? How can he go to such lengths to avoid even making eye contact?
I only need us to get along for about a year.
One year.
I planned to leave Blenheim after one year.
Conversely, that meant I had to endure living here until then, no matter what.
In the original story, Marquis Frais eventually commits treason. He attempts to eliminate the Imperial Crown Princess for the sake of the Empress and the Third Prince, whom he supports. However, the rebellion ultimately fails, and the Frais family vanishes like dew on the execution grounds.
At that point, Annette survives because she has remarried into the family of Count Raymond’s second son and no longer carries the Frais name. But ridiculously, she shows up at Constine’s wedding and practically begs for death.
The setting was that she’d gone half-mad from the severe persecution she suffered at the Count’s house.
Therefore, I must not divorce the Grand Duke until the Frais family falls. I have to keep the name Blenheim to avoid being swept up in the execution.
I’ll live quietly, like I don’t even exist, and then divorce the Grand Duke and leave for parts unknown once Constine’s wedding is over in a year.
That was my plan.
All I needed to do was inform the Grand Duke that I had no intention of staying in Blenheim forever and negotiate well, and all my problems would be solved.
But why won't he meet me! Why!
If he’s willing to run away just from seeing me approach, going to his room would probably yield the same result.
I wanted to go out right now and see what a Northern village looked like, meet people, and try the street food.
Frustrated, I kicked at the floor, then suddenly stood up.
Whatever, I’ll just go out. It’s not like anyone is stopping me.
I was saving the 100 Danir I had left as an emergency slush fund, but...
What difference does it make if I spend a few coins now?
That much would be more than enough for a shopping trip to the village.
I immediately called for Whitley and requested a carriage.
It was my first outing since arriving at the Grand Duke’s castle.
*
From late winter to early spring, monster activity was sparse.
It was a rare period of rest for the Blenheim Knights, but for some reason, the eyes of the captains attending today’s regular meeting were gleaming with an unusual light.
Loik felt a prickle of discomfort at the sight of his subordinates’ exceptionally sparkly eyes as he took his seat.
It was then that Demich, the Captain of the 1st Knight Division, spoke up abruptly.
“My Lord! When are we going to officially pay our respects to Her Highness the Consort?”
“What?”
Loik’s eyebrows shot up.
“Hmph, do you really think the Marquis of Frais’s precious daughter would even care to receive greetings from the likes of us?” Vermuth, the Captain of the 3rd Knight Division, snorted.
“You just don’t know. That fellow Johas has been bragging nonstop about how ‘Her Highness knows my name.’”
Demich rested his chin on his hand with a dead-serious expression.
“Even the greenest youngest master is going around boasting about having a meal with Her Highness. At the very least, shouldn't we captains have a formal introduction by now?”
The high-ranking captains who attended these meetings had spent years sharing life and death on the battlefield, so they were usually quite informal with Loik.
But today, it seemed they had all banded together to corner him.
Loik’s lips pressed into a thin line.
The Grand Duke’s castle, usually so quiet, had become quite noisy lately because of the lady who had been wandering all over the place.
Everywhere he went, questions about the Grand Duchess poured in.
Even men who usually couldn't even meet his eyes were now chattering in front of him about how they had ‘seen Her Highness.’
He had heard that even today, once word got out that she had appeared at the training grounds, a wave of resentment had erupted among the knights who hadn't been there.
“Vice-Captain! The guys who were at the training grounds are praising her as the incarnation of a goddess. Is it true? The Captain won't say a word, so we’re dying to know.”
When Loik didn't respond, one of the captains turned the question to Hedrick.
In some ways, Hedrick was a stricter superior than Loik.
Hedrick glanced over the faces of the men, who looked like they didn't expect much of an answer given who they were asking. Then, he spoke nonchalantly.
“She is a rare beauty.”
“Ooh!”
To think even Hedrick would chime in like that!
The captains began to chatter excitedly among themselves about when to set a date for the formal greeting.
Where had all the subordinates gone who had been fuming, saying the Marquis’s daughter wasn't nearly good enough for their Lord?
Was it since then?
It had started after Leon began recounting the story of the lady booking the inn as if it were some epic saga, describing her as if she were a saint. That was when the captains’ interest had spiked.
No, perhaps it was after Hedrick had nodded in agreement when someone said she was a lovely woman, completely different from the rumors.
After all, it was practically unheard of for the Vice-Captain—who was as devoid of emotion as Loik himself—to show favor toward anyone.
“A bright, lovely person, like warm sunshine.”
Loik recalled the cringeworthy adjectives the knights had been throwing around.
To think she even moved Hedrick.
Honestly, at this point, even he was starting to get curious about what kind of person she was. Whatever else she might be, she was clearly extraordinary at winning people over.
I don’t understand why she’s trying so hard to meet me.
She must know that I dislike her.
Loik kept his mouth shut, unable to admit in front of his overexcited knights that he hadn't even properly seen the lady’s face yet.