Chapter 120. Maid Nancy's Jealousy
"Because of the avalanche, Kara and I were trapped in the snow. Kara's body was freezing, on the verge of death. I... had to strip naked and embrace her, warming her frozen body with my own to save her life."
"....!!"
Nancy's breath hitched.
Logically, she understood—it had been a desperate act of survival, a means to overcome a life-or-death crisis.
But in that moment, a sharp pang of betrayal and jealousy surged from the depths of her heart.
She recalled how, not long ago, she had seen him standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Kara on the training grounds, laughing heartily. To think they had shared such an intimate, harrowing ordeal.
Yet, she couldn't bring herself to be angry at him.
After all, hadn't she just confessed to sleeping with the Count herself, excuses aside?
The same went for the Knight Commander.
He knew better than anyone that Nancy had originally been his lord, Lucian's woman. If anything, he was the one who had taken his master's woman for himself. And knowing the terrible illness plaguing his lord and the desperation behind it, he had neither the right nor the justification to blame Nancy.
They had both hurt each other, yet they were bound by a twisted understanding.
In the suffocating atmosphere of this warped castle, the two lovers shared a bitter, regretful silence.
The Knight Commander was the first to reach out, gripping Nancy's tear-streaked hand firmly.
"Nancy."
His voice was steady as stone, unshaken.
"Once the castle's restoration is complete and the Eckhart Fief is fully stabilized... I will formally request to resign as Knight Commander."
"Commander..."
"And then... we'll return to your hometown. We'll build an ordinary life together. I don't want to drag you into the heavy fate of this castle any longer."
Nancy's eyes widened.
Her peaceful hometown, with its horse pastures. A simple, warm life away from the overwhelming shadow of Count Lucian, shared with this rough yet kind man. It was a dream she had secretly entertained.
"...Really? Are you sure the Count will...?"
When Nancy asked hesitantly, the Knight Commander smiled faintly and nodded.
"Our lord will be disappointed... but I know he'll allow it. He's far deeper and more compassionate than we give him credit for."
His gaze held unwavering trust in Lucian.
Only then did Nancy feel the weight of guilt and anxiety lift from her shoulders.
"Yes... I'll wait for that day."
The Knight Commander stepped closer, pulling her into a tender, cherished embrace.
Nancy wrapped her arms around his broad back and buried her face against him.
In a corner of Eckhart Castle, where desire and betrayal ran rampant, the two held onto each other—a silent promise for a peaceful future.
But the memory of that day, trapped in the blizzard and teetering between life and death, lingered like a strange burden in the Knight Commander's heart.
The act of sharing his body heat to thaw Kara's frozen skin, of caressing her bare flesh—even if it had been a desperate measure to survive—left him with a deep sense of guilt. He was a rigid, principled man, and the fact that they had been half-naked and entangled weighed on him.
Even after confessing to Nancy, he found himself avoiding Kara's gaze whenever they crossed paths on the training grounds.
It was Kara who finally broke the awkward tension.
"Commander. If you keep avoiding me like this, it's hurtful as your subordinate."
In the empty training yard after drills, Kara blocked his path, speaking bluntly.
"If it's about that day, you can stop worrying. I'm not the type to dwell on things."
"Kara... But..."
"You have Nancy—a beautiful, lovely woman who loves you. I don't see you as anything more than a comrade. What happened was just a desperate struggle to survive. It meant nothing more to me."
With her usual easygoing smile, she gave his shoulder a light punch.
"So treat me like before—just a reliable subordinate and comrade. This awkward version of you isn't my style."
Her cool, straightforward attitude finally eased the tension in his stiff shoulders.
"Thank you, Kara. I was being foolish. You're right. We're comrades."
He smiled back, genuinely grateful. From then on, the awkwardness between them melted away, and they returned to their usual camaraderie, training side by side without reservation.
But to a third party watching, their "easygoing friendship" looked very different.
One day, while taking a stroll through the outer gardens with Ari, Nancy happened to pass by the training grounds.
She stopped when she spotted the Knight Commander and Kara sparring in the distance. The two were taking a break, chatting as they drank water.
"Ari, wait a second..."
Nancy's sharp eyes caught something.
The way Kara was looking at the Knight Commander.
Kara was laughing cheerfully, but every time the Commander turned to wipe his sweat, her gaze lingered—sliding over his thick arms and broad shoulders in a way that felt... sticky.
'Huh...?'
Nancy's eyes narrowed.
Kara had drawn a clear line, claiming she had no feelings for him. But unconscious gestures and glances were hard to fake.
Nancy, perceptive as ever, didn't miss that subtle shift. From then on, she began stealing glances at the training grounds whenever she could, observing Kara's behavior.
The next afternoon, Nancy headed to the training grounds with a basket of freshly baked pies and chilled fruit drinks—partly to score points with her lover, partly to stake her claim.
"Commander! Take a break and have a snack!"
As she approached with a bright smile, the Knight Commander wiped his sweat and greeted her warmly.
But Kara's actions beside him instantly grated on Nancy's nerves.
"Oh, Nancy. Perfect timing—I was thirsty."
Just as the Commander reached for the drink, Kara brushed dust off his armored shoulder and said,
"Commander, your defensive stance was a little off earlier. You were putting too much force into it."
Under the guise of training, she pressed her fingers into his firm arms, "correcting" his posture. To Nancy's eyes, it looked less like instruction and more like an excuse to touch him—with what seemed like a strangely suggestive smile.
"Ah, was I? Haha, I'll be more careful next time."
The Commander laughed heartily, completely oblivious.
Watching this unfold in real time, Nancy's face froze.
Her grip on the basket handle tightened until her knuckles turned white.
'Ugh... How dare she flirt with my man?'
For the first time in her life, Nancy's inner female instincts roared to life.
During her time as a maid in Eckhart Castle, Nancy had accepted—even tried to understand—Count Lucian's countless nights with other women. As part of his harem, she had willingly shared him.
But the Knight Commander was different.
She could tolerate Lucian's infidelity, but the thought of the man who had promised to look only at her giving even a moment of attention to another woman was unbearable. Maybe it was only natural for her to feel this possessive.
"Commander! Ah, say 'ah'!"
Fueled by jealousy, Nancy became aggressively affectionate.
Right in front of Kara, she fed him bites of food, wiped his sweat, and clung tightly to his arm. At night, she even pulled him into secluded corners, showering him with deep kisses and guiding his rough hands to her chest in fierce seduction.
"N-Nancy! What's gotten into you... Hah..."
The Knight Commander, though flustered by her sudden intensity, was overjoyed.
He firmly believed Nancy had finally let go of her lingering feelings for the Count and fully embraced him.
'Once the castle's restoration is done, I'll take Nancy back to her hometown and start our new life together.'
Driven by his strong sense of responsibility, he began working behind the scenes to speed up that promise.
To ensure the Eckhart Family's military strength wouldn't waver after his departure, he started unofficially grooming Kara—now his most trusted subordinate—to take over as Knight Commander.
"Kara, this formation is more efficient if arranged like this. And when guarding the Count..."
Day and night, he kept Kara by his side, teaching her the ropes. Their time together—heads bent over maps in the strategy room or deep in conversation in the training yard—increased exponentially.
But to Nancy, his earnest "preparations to resign" looked entirely different.
"Again... they're together again."
Hiding behind a pillar, Nancy bit her nails.
Even after all my affection, why is he spending more time with Kara? Why does he look at her with such seriousness—more than he ever does with me?
The spiraling suspicions gnawed at her sanity.
'Just like Count Lucian, who claimed to love me while holding Ari and Ella, then married Lady Rachel... Is the Commander seeing Kara as a woman too? No—is he going to abandon me for that strong, impressive Kara in the end?'
Nancy's eyes trembled with unease.
Once the seed of paranoia took root, it grew uncontrollably. In a quiet corner of the castle, Nancy's precarious tightrope walk—between love and jealousy—had begun.