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It was a sound signaling the hour from a nearby temple.
Immediately, Elisha let go of his hand holding Sir Jenkins.
“Thank you for today. Master.”
And he politely bowed and gave his greetings.
He had just been staring at Sir Jenkins like he was going to kill him?!
Of course, Sir Jenkins also changed his attitude in an instant.
“Well, well. It was really fun, wasn’t it?”
He had such a bright face that it was hard to believe that he was the person who had just been nearly strangled.
“It wasn’t fun at all.”
Elisha immediately took off his coat and wrapped it over Rieta’s shoulders.
It was so big that Rieta was completely buried in his clothes.
“Do you know how surprised I was when I found the Princess in the hallway?”
“That’s why it’s fun. Responding to emergencies should also be part of the training. It was necessary for you.”
In their conversation, Rieta only now realized one thing.
“Don’t tell me, Sir Jenkins.”
She took a step towards him, forgetting to say her proper greetings.
“Did you call me at this hour on purpose?”
“Of course. That was the purpose of today’s training.”
He smiled proudly.
“There are very few things that can surprise Elisha Maureen. I should use everything that is available.”
He stroked Rieta’s hair too.
With all the kindness that one would treat a granddaughter with.
In fact, there wasn’t much of a difference between them.
“I mean, I was very surprised.”
“But didn’t your knight protect you well?”
Judging by the way he smiles, it seemed that he was proud of Elisha for running away with Rietta.
“How about getting sick?”
He tightened Rieta’s collar and gently pulled her arm.
Let’s go inside the mansion.
Watching him meticulously looking at her complexion in the meantime, he must have been paying attention to Elisha’s words when he spoke ‘critical condition’ a while ago.
Because Sir Jenkins had a weak heart for the sickly. Still . . .
“I’m fine. As always, it’s just that Elisha is overprotective.”
Rieta smiled with a very bright face.
Because she didn’t want him to worry about her.
“Well, of course. If you’re weak enough to be in critical condition with just this, I’ll have to hit the Duke.”
Rieta thought it was fortunate that she was able to protect the Duke from getting hit.
As she entered the relatively warm hall from the front door, she soon felt someone behind her ruffling the hem of her dress.
She turned and looked down, and Elisha was on his knees, wiping the snow and dirt from Rieta’s hem.
“It’s okay. This is okay.”
“No.”
He shook his head and brushed away the rest of the snow.
“Because I am a subject of your Kingdom, there is no reason for a foreigner to reach out to you.”
He was conscious of the people around him, and this time he spoke in the Kingdom language.
Rieta stood there without hesitation, waiting for him to finish arranging her dress.
“Princess.”
Suddenly, Sir Jenkins called Rieta in a rare way.
It was his habit when he gave serious talks.
“Tell me, Sir Jenkins.”
“When that guy strangled me a little while ago.”
“. . .”
“Did you know how to react?”
“Yes.”
Rieta pondered for a moment.
And even though she didn’t like it, she said what she thought was the right answer.
“I should run away.”
When Elisha, not someone else, was trying to take someone’s life, it also meant that Rieta was in trouble.
If knights had the duty to fight, royalty had the duty to live.
Even if they pretended not to care for the death of someone they care about . . .
Rieta learned this attitude from the Duke and Sir Jenkins.
So, maybe.
Rieta’s answer would not have been wrong.
“Oh dear.”
Contrary to her expectations, however, Sir Jenkins sighed sadly.
Maybe it was wrong?
“It’s not . . . to run away?”
“No, that’s right.”
“But you looked at me sadly.”
“Well, it’s because it’s obvious that you’re answering that reluctantly!”
“How could I answer that without hesitation?”
“You can’t even answer without hesitation, can you run away without hesitation in practice?”
“That . . .”
“Whether you make your knight die a dog’s death or an honorable death depends on your determination. Do you understand, Rieta?”
He looked into Rieta’s face. He emphasized it again and again.
“You should value what this guy has entrusted on the back of your hand. It’s every knight’s dream.”
Rietta lightly wiped the back of her hand that had touched Elisha’s forehead a while ago.
“. . . I will try.”
“Okay, I should give the good Princess a present.”
When the dress was finished, Sir Jenkins took the two of them to the parlor.
It was full of sweets that Sir Jenkins liked, and Rieta handed the two of them cards inviting them to her birthday party.
In fact, Rieta only visited in the first place to hand over this invitation.
. . . But she never thought she’d get caught up in their class like that.