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“Ah, my lady?!”
“W-where did you come from?’
Did you hear what we just said?
If she hadn’t, her expression wouldn’t have been so cold.
They haven’t seen Her Ladyship sport such a frosty look in a long time.
She must have misunderstood that the Knights of Parvis were scheming behind her back.
Just as Arthur was about to make up excuses, the knights heard a voice above their head.
Marquis: “Keira, are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Looking up, they saw an old man with a familiar face.
It was none other than Marquis of Edinburgh, Her Ladyship’s maternal grandfather.
He was pale with worry.
‘Did she come down from there?’
No wonder she suddenly appeared.
It was the second floor of the banquet hall, so it was higher than the second floor of a general building, but it was no problem for Keira, an experienced and exceptional knight.
‘The question is, why did you jump?’
The three clenched their fists in tension.
She must have accidentally overheard their conversation and jumped down in anger.
“M-my lady. Please listen to us.”
“We’re here because– My lady?”
Keira strode past them without uttering a single word.
Her feet, visible under the hem of her dress, were bare. She seemed to have thrown off her shoes before jumping off the balcony.
Gulp. Someone swallowed loudly. Keira’s voice then rang out.
Keira: “Why
 Why are you here?”
Keira’s gaze was directed into the pavilion where a man and a woman were passionately entangled.
“Ah, wait– Honey, I think someone’s here
”
“Tell them to go.”
“No, hold on. Hold on. I think they know you
”
Before the woman could finish speaking, Keira grabbed the man by the back of his neck.
“Ack!”
Keira: “Didn’t you say you have a reading club meeting to attend
?”
Aiden: “M-Miss Kira, what are you doing here–Ack!”
Although Keira recently learned to let loose a little, she was still one of the greatest nobles on the continent. She couldn’t be generous in a situation where someone lied to her.
More so if the liar was the man she gave her heart to.
Keira: “Hmm? Answer my question.”
“H-how can he answer when you’re holding him like that?”
The woman beside Aiden made a desperate excuse. Aiden’s face was turning blue from lack of oxygen.
However, when she met Keira’s cold eyes, she had no choice but to immediately shut up.
“I-ignore me. Keep going
”
Aiden: “Ack!”
The woman quickly stepped back. Even when Aiden stared at her with a resentful glance, she couldn’t help it.
‘I only have one life, too.’
Just before Aiden’s eyes rolled back into the back of his head, Keira let go of the back of his neck.
He collapsed to the floor and breathed rapidly.
“Huk, heuk! W-what kind of woman is this strong–!”
“That’s not important right now.”
The knights, who were watching the scene from behind, whispered.
‘Hey, what’s going on here?’
‘Well. Fortunately, it worked out well.’
‘We just have to stay put, right?’
Unfortunately for them, however, they were not allowed to stay put.
It was all because Keira, who was fumbling around her waist as if looking for a sword, realized she was wearing a dress and instead raised her fist.
Reina rushed in and held her back.
Reina: “No, you can’t beat him up, Your Ladyship! Untrained men are weaker than you think!”
“I-if Your Ladyship hits him hard, he might die!”
And it wasn’t an exaggeration. If a trained knight hits a civilian with all their might, the civilian might really die.
Even if she came from the Parvis family, people would still talk if she killed someone from a noble house.
Keira: “Huu
”
Let’s hear his explanation first.
Staring at Aiden, who was still on the dirt floor, Keira said.
Keira: “Give me a plausible excuse, Aiden Castro.”
Truthfully, not a shred of hope had been extinguished.
Maybe the meeting with his friends was cancelled, or that he had nothing to do with that woman.
Was there a complicated situation she wasn’t aware of?
Unfortunately, Aiden made the worst choice.
‘L-ladyship? Did they just call her Your Ladyship?’
There were about four women in this country who could be addressed as ‘Your Ladyship.’
But there was only one woman Aiden had never met before.
Plus, only one woman had the strength to manhandle adult men like that.
The only Lady who fit the bill was the elusive Lady of the Parvis family, a skilled knight.
‘Damn it, damn it, damn it!’
He prayed that Kira wasn’t an extended member of the Imperial family. While his wish come true, the problem now was that she was more terrifying than an extended member of the Imperial family.
But it’s not like there’s no way out.
Thinking hard, Aiden replied.
Aiden: “I-I don’t know why you’re asking me to explain myself, Lady.”
Keira: “What?”
Aiden: “The meeting was canceled, so I accepted the Marquis’ invitation. Because of that, I ended up unintentionally deceiving Lady, but is that enough of a reason to push people like this?”
He acted as if he was treated unjustly.
That attitude made Keira recall terrible memories.
The memory of a certain someone whose specialty was pretending to be good and just.
She ground her teeth in frustration.
Keira: “Who’s the woman you’re with, then?”
Aiden: “My partner, of course!”
Keira: “She doesn’t look like a simple partner.”
If she hadn’t shown up, they’d be on the verge of doing something that mere friends wouldn’t do.
Keira knew he would make excuses.
That it was a misunderstanding, that it wasn’t what she imagined, things like that.
But the absurd remarks that came out of his mouth were beyond her wildest dreams.
Aiden: “Y-your Ladyship, you sound like we’re dating.”
“
”
Aiden: “Someone might misunderstand.”
No matter how new to dating she was, she knew that her meeting with Aiden wasn’t having a meal together.
She couldn’t fathom why he was playing dumb.
But it was one thing to realize the truth and another to be ashamed of it.
Reina, who was holding onto Keira’s arms to stop killing the snake, moved away from Keira.
Reina: “On second thought, I think you can hit him a few times, Your Ladyship.”
Arthur: “I agree.”
It would be annoying if he died, so hit until he’s only close to dying. Arthur whispered something that.
Keira also agreed with them.
Violence was the only way to deal with a son of a bitch.
With her fists clenched, she took a step toward Aiden. His face turned noticeably blue.
Aiden: “No, wait a minute?! Wait a minute, Lady! Is there anyone here? Save me! Fire! Fire! Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
If she killed him, they’d have a hard time cleaning up.
It would only further hurt her pride if a piece of garbage ruined her life.
So, I’ll let you live.
Keira pulled his weight from the ground and threw him with all her might.
Thump!
Aiden: “Keuk!”
There was a sound of a heavy object falling, and a scream soon followed. After that, it was silent. The snake most likely fainted, and hopefully he had a few broken bones.
Keira stared for a moment at the place she had thrown him, then turned around.
Arthur followed her and said.
Arthur: “He won’t die if we leave him like that, right?”
Keira: “The woman who ran away, she was hiding behind a rock over there. I’m sure she’ll take care of it.”
Arthur: “That’s a relief. Um
 are you okay with that?”
Keira: “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“
”
Her eyes were red.
Fortunately, Arthur and Reina knew how to read the situation. The two pretended not to see anything and followed Keira back to the banquet hall.
Then they ran into Joseph, who was in a rush to go outside.
When he spotted them, he froze.
Joseph: “Y
your Ladyship? D-did something happen?”
As he spoke, Arthur and Reina tried to desperately send him a signal.
‘No! Shut up!’
‘Don’t ask! Don’t ask! Don’t ask!’
Joseph immediately shut up.
Keira then murmured in a small voice.
Keira: “I
 I left my shoes on the terrace.”
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