Just One Body Toss to Save the Grand Duke
I watched as smiles I had never seen in the original story began to appear one by one.
“Well then, shall we stop here for today? It’s only the first day, so pushing too hard might make it harder for the information to stick.”
Around the time the bells rang out softly across the Arteta Grand Duchy Mansion to announce noon, Lady Rebecca closed the book with a gentle smile.
“Haa… Thank you, my lady. Thanks to you, I feel like my eyes are finally opening a little.”
I massaged my stiff neck and bowed my head with genuine gratitude. It wasn’t flattery—Lady Rebecca’s teaching was incredibly systematic and kind. The only problem was that my brain was suffering from Yips Syndrome, stubbornly rejecting this world’s script, which slowed our progress.
“Hehe, Sir Bale has sharp eyes, so I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it soon.”
The lady smiled and was about to rise from her seat when a knock sounded at the library door. A servant approached cautiously.
“My lady. A knight from afar has just arrived. She introduced herself as the swordsmanship instructor you hired.”
At the report, Lady Rebecca’s face lit up with delight.
“Oh my, that’s right! She was supposed to start today!”
She clapped her hands together lightly and turned to me.
“Sir Bale, why don’t you come along? Since she’ll be someone we’ll see often at the mansion from now on, it would be good to greet her in advance. I went to great lengths to bring her here.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
I stood up and headed to the central hall on the first floor together with Lady Rebecca and Veronica, who had been glued to her mother’s side the entire time, watching nervously.
A single knight was already waiting in the central hall. Clack. Clack. As Lady Rebecca approached, the knight knelt on one knee with perfectly disciplined precision and bowed her head. The heavy clatter of armor echoed through the hall.
“I have arrived at your summons, my lady.”
And from beneath the knight’s helmet came a woman’s voice.
A female knight? And a swordsmanship instructor at that…
“My name is Karin of Libertree. I have been honored with the command to serve as the young lady’s swordsmanship instructor.”
Karin. Karin of Libertree…!
One of the rare female knights in the entire world of A Rose Blooming to be Broken who had reached the absolute peak of martial prowess. And if there was only one person who became most deeply involved in the life of the villainess Veronica, it was her.
I stared at the crown of the kneeling knight’s head and frantically searched my memories.
Karin. As a commoner, she had no family name. She was the legendary figure who, during a massive festival held in the County of Libertree, crushed every formidable male knight in the swordsmanship tournament, won the championship, and was granted a knighthood in an unprecedented move.
That’s right. In the original story, the Grand Duchess personally recruited and brought her here.
There were plenty of skilled knights within the Grand Duchy who could serve as swordsmanship instructors. The majority, however, were men. Their sword styles might instill bad habits—habits a ten-year-old girl should never learn.
That was why Lady Rebecca had squeezed every connection she had across the empire to find Karin—a commoner knight who possessed both outstanding skill and a sword style perfectly suited to a woman’s physique—and summoned her to the North.
…The problem was the timing.
I clicked my tongue bitterly in my mind. In the original story, this upright and excellent knight’s fate had been utterly tragic. She had arrived at the Arteta Grand Duchy Mansion at the most ambiguous and worst possible moment.
After her long journey from the southern reaches of the empire to the northernmost edge, when she finally knocked on the mansion’s door, the entire estate was already steeped in sorrow. It was right after Grand Duke Gareth had returned as a cold corpse, struck down by an assassin’s blade.
In that chaotic time, when the Grand Duke’s uncle Gawain had begun revealing his ambition to seize the ducal title and was taking control of the mansion’s power, the newly widowed Lady Rebecca had clung to the hands of the newly arrived commoner knight—who had no ties whatsoever to the North’s political scene—shedding tears as she begged.
Please, Sir Karin. At least… at least protect our Veronica.
Karin, who was nothing more than a pure warrior without any political backing or power, had staked her life on that desperate plea and sworn an oath.
But there was painfully little a commoner hired knight could do. While Uncle Gawain claimed the Grand Duke’s seat, humiliated his sister-in-law Rebecca, and dragged the family into the gutter, Karin could only bite her lip and take Veronica to the training grounds, silently teaching her nothing but how to swing a sword.
She knew that the moment she left Veronica’s side, the uncle’s filthy hands would reach the young lady as well. That was the only thing she could do.
And when Rebecca, who had eventually been violated by Gawain and left pregnant, was dying and gave her final command—
Take Veronica and run. Please.
Karin had fled the Arteta Grand Duchy Mansion, carrying the young Veronica through the northern snow. But she was surrounded by Gawain’s personal guards in pursuit.
When Karin, riddled with arrows and slashed by swords until she was drenched in blood, finally fell to her knees at death’s door—
Stop! Stop it! I’ll go back… I’ll go to my uncle, so please, Master—please spare Karin at least!
Veronica had chosen to walk back into the mansion herself to save the only person who had risked her life for her.
After that, Karin, who had barely survived and been driven out of the North, lived the rest of her life consumed by guilt and disillusionment. The self-loathing of having failed to protect her liege and pushed her disciple into danger. Ten years later, at the original story’s timeline, she had become a one-armed mercenary who wept upon seeing Veronica turned into the worst villainess. The only person who wandered the empire calling herself a failed knight, met the heroine’s party, and testified to Veronica’s last remaining shred of humanity. And later, the ill-fated master who was the only one to cross swords with the rampaging Veronica in order to stop her.
That was Karin. Karin of Libertree.
…But things are different now.
Snapping out of my dark thoughts of the past tragedy, I shook my head slightly to dispel the visions. In my sight was the perfectly healthy young Karin of today, kneeling with disciplined poise, and Lady Rebecca smiling at her with warm affection.
All because I took the blade meant for Grand Duke Gareth’s back. The early plot of the original story has already gone completely off the rails.
The Grand Duke had not died. Of course, for some reason he had rushed off to the Capital yesterday in a hurry, so Karin hadn’t been able to see him immediately upon arrival like in the original. But I was here.
Well, I am a little worried about that pushover Grand Duke brother of mine who went to the Capital…
At least there was me—a variable solid enough to serve as a cornerstone. As I let out a sigh of relief, the warm exchange between Lady Rebecca and the butler reached my ears.
“You’ve come such a long way. Thank you for your trouble, Sir Karin. I look forward to working with you from today onward.”
Lady Rebecca patted Karin’s shoulder lightly and spoke with kindness.
“Just like I did for Sir Bale yesterday, I will personally give you a tour of the—”
“My lady.”
Just as Lady Rebecca offered to act as guide herself, the butler standing beside her interjected.
“I apologize, but I have already instructed the head maid to handle the mansion tour. You must head to the office immediately.”
“Pardon? The office? Me?”
“His Grace left for the Capital more abruptly than expected yesterday, so urgent documents concerning all matters of the territory have piled up awaiting approval. With His Grace absent, you, as the Grand Duchess, must handle those duties in his stead.”
At the butler’s firm instruction, Lady Rebecca’s shoulders drooped.
She looked at Karin with a somewhat regretful expression.
“Ah… I see. I’m truly sorry, Sir Karin. It seems I won’t be able to look after you properly on your very first day.”
At the lady’s apology, Karin shook her head and answered in a steadfast, serious voice.
“Please do not concern yourself, my lady. For a commoner knight like myself, it is already an excessive honor that you have welcomed me so warmly.”
Karin slightly revealed the clear, resolute features hidden beneath her helmet and bowed with proper etiquette.
“I came here to repay the trust you placed in someone of humble birth by hiring me. Rather than touring the mansion, I believe the best courtesy I can offer you is to meet the young lady as soon as possible—even if only an hour sooner—and begin teaching her the fundamentals of swordsmanship.”
At the answer that perfectly embodied the upright warrior’s creed, Rebecca smiled brightly, looking satisfied.
“How reassuring. Then the path to the training grounds is—”
“Ah, and my lady.”
Karin interrupted, as if something had just occurred to her.
“As I passed through the main gate earlier, I encountered a maid who seemed overjoyed that she had finally obtained the books you ordered her to acquire.”
“…Pardon? Books?”
Lady Rebecca tilted her head in confusion.
Karin stepped slightly aside and gently ushered forward the maid who had been standing hesitantly behind her. In the maid’s arms were several suspicious books, thickly wrapped in brown paper with no titles visible on the covers, held with great care.
Yet the maid carrying those books had a face flushed bright red. She was even hiding behind Karin’s back, unable to meet anyone’s eyes, fidgeting restlessly.
“Oh my, they’ve already arrived…”
Lady Rebecca, who had been approaching the maid with a pleased expression, suddenly froze mid-step. Then the Grand Duchess’s fair, elegant cheeks began to burn just like the maid’s.
“A-ah, ah, aah!”
Rebecca slapped her own burning cheeks with both hands in a panic.
“T-that’s right! That’s for later! Put them away quietly later! Quietly!”
She waved her hands frantically at the maid, shouting as if she were about to faint.
…What is it? What kind of book would make her react like that?
I looked back and forth between Rebecca and the maid, harboring doubts in my mind. Secretly acquired books. Books that made even the maid blush. And books that the Grand Duchess was desperately trying to hide in a panic.
Hmm… I have no idea…
I couldn’t sense anything at all. And it felt like I really shouldn’t.
Lady Rebecca, who had been squirming in shame, suddenly lifted her head as if she had found a way out and whirled toward the butler.
“Butler! That’s right! Those important matters of the territory you mentioned earlier! We mustn’t delay, correct? Right now! Let’s go to the office immediately!”
“Pardon? Ah, yes, my lady. It would indeed be best to hurry, however…”
“Then Veronica! Make sure to greet Sir Karin properly! Mommy is busy, so I must go now!”
Lady Rebecca grabbed the butler’s arm and dashed up the stairs as if her backside were on fire.
Tap tap tap tap!
As the sound of footsteps faded, only I, the maid with her head bowed and face still red, the still perfectly upright Karin, and Veronica—who was sticking close to my leg—were left standing awkwardly in the central hall on the first floor.
What on earth was it that made the lady…
“U-um…”
A tiny voice, no louder than a mosquito, came from near my waist. When I looked down, Veronica was fidgeting before taking a brave step forward.
“Since Mother… is very busy… I will show you… where the training grounds are.”
Her voice was small but steady. The child who had been so shy she couldn’t utter a single word in front of strangers was now mustering courage in front of a knight several times her size with a frightening appearance, trying to fill her mother’s absence.
She had clearly grown by a full span since the library earlier. Karin’s eyes trembled at that small display of courage.
Soon, a gentle smile spread across Karin’s face as she bent down in her armor to meet Veronica’s eye level. She placed her hand over her heart and bowed deeply once more.
“It is my honor, young lady. I will gladly follow your guidance.”
The tragic master and disciple who, ten years later, would have to point their swords at each other’s hearts. Their historic first meeting, unlike the one I knew from the original story, bloomed warmly beneath the gentle afternoon sunlight.
Just one body toss to save the Grand Duke. Smiles I had never seen in the original story began to appear one by one.
“Then… let’s go.”
Veronica blushed shyly and took the lead, walking ahead. Karin followed silently behind her.
As I watched their backs with a warm feeling, the butler—who had been dragged away by Lady Rebecca earlier—quietly approached my side.
“Sir Bale.”
“Ah, Butler. What about the lady?”
“She is simply staring at the documents. I thought it best to leave her alone until she calms down, so I slipped out.”
The butler smiled faintly and gave my side a light nudge.
“By the way, why don’t you accompany them to the training grounds as well, Sir Bale?”
“Pardon? Me? I have absolutely no talent for swordsmanship…”
I’d only ever swung a spear like a madman. The butler lowered his voice and gestured with his eyes toward the receding figures of Veronica and Karin.
“Sir Karin is indeed an excellent practitioner, but given her status, she has not had much experience with real combat within Libertree. On the other hand, you, Sir Bale, survived the Northern Wall and possess abundant real combat experience, do you not?”
“Ah…”
“As the heir to the Northern Grand Ducal House, the young lady must learn not only formal swordsmanship but also the flow of the battlefield. If you observe from the side, Sir Karin will also gain assistance in teaching the young lady. And above all…”
The butler patted my shoulder and added,
“Haven’t you grown quite stiff from being stuck at a desk since morning? Trying to sit still and study letters all day after living as you did must make your back scream in protest.”
He was right. From last night’s banquet to this morning in the library, sitting in fancy chairs and staring at tiny letters had left my body itching for movement. I almost missed the barracks that smelled of blood and sweat…
I don’t feel it at all! Honestly, it was fucking awful! It wasn’t just the military—it was a military where we fought a war every single day! This current life is way too comfortable!
Still, the desire to move my body was there.
“…You are correct, Butler.”
I nodded at the butler’s suggestion and followed after Veronica.