But if he goes into the re-investigation, Heiner will be nervous in his own way. Besides, he will be greatly scolded by Duke Lodgemund for hurting the face of the family.
Itâs a small thing, but that was the greatest revenge I could ever take on Heiner.
And I didnât want to miss that opportunity.
âItâs really fine.â I spoke as calmly and confidently as possible, so that Kalman could believe me.
âAre you serious, Lady?â
âOf course. Canât we just ignore the wrong things because weâre afraid of things that havenât happened yet?â
My words made his expression look strange.
It was like the expression of an explorer who found a platypus speaking human language.
âPlease investigate! Thoroughly, with no gap! Let no one ever do something like this again.â
Kalmanâs eyes widened. He looked back at me again.
âThe Lady really is the perfect fit for Barmuth.â Kalman looked relieved now.
âAccording to Ladyâs words, we will thoroughly investigate with no gap so that no one can ever make up for something like this again.â
And an amazing thing happened.
Kalman knelt down on one knee in front of me.
This is known as a greeting that knights only give to their superiors or to a lady they personally respect.
Itâs a salutation I can never receive, isnât it?
âThank you, Lady. Thank you for giving me a chance to restore the honor of the 1st Knights.â
Kalman didnât pull back his bow even when he was in front of me, who was startled and not sure what to do.
Rather, his attitude became more reverent, and his voice became more serious.
âIf there is something that Lady needs my help with, I will do my best to help.â
âExcuse me, Sir Kalman. Please get up first.â
âOnly if Lady would accept my thanks.â
Whoa, if I get Kalmanâs greeting here, Iâll be his âDear Ladyâ!
Even if itâs me, itâs a bit burdensome!
But Kalman really didnât seem to want to get up until I received his greeting.
What should I do? I canât keep letting Kalman on his knees.
So it was the moment when I had no choice but to receive his greeting
âSir Kalman, what are you doing now?â
Above my head, I heard the chilling voice of Kellerhan.
Thatâs a relief. Kellehan was aware of my plight and tried to help me.
Of course my expectations were shattered by the very next words he uttered.
âDid you think I would let the deputy commander of the 1st Knights swear an oath of respect to my daughter-in-law?â
What? What did I just hear?
âIf you want my daughter-in-law to be a Lady, you must bring at least one dragon!â
No! What nonsense are you talking about, this human!
When you make jokes, think about my dignity too!
I had no doubt that his words were meant to lighten the mood.
The other knights who were watching the bizarre confrontation (?) between me and Kalman laughed as if they thought Kellerhanâs words were a joke.
âKalman, thatâs all you have to do, get up. I donât know what else the Duke of Barmuth will say.â
Kalmanâs superior, a man who appeared to be the leader of the 1st Knights, beckoned to Kalman.
âHaha, I canât help it that the Duke came out like this. What do you mean a dragon, unless Iâm a brave hero, I canât even give my name to Lady Schwires then?â
It was a moment when only Kalman pretended to lose and retreated.
âDo you think my words sound like a joke?â He asked, tilting his head in real wonder. âIâm serious, though.â
For a moment, the knights looked at Kellerhan with expressions like, âNo way?â
âOne who wants to be my daughter-in-lawâs knight, catch a dragon. Of course, catching dragons doesnât mean everything will work. He has to be a good guy in my opinion.â
This guy, heâs serious!
Not only me, but all of the engagement ceremony guests noticed it.
I was so embarrassed that I wanted to hide in a rat hole.
I know Kellerhan sees me as something to be protected.
And I know he likes me quite a bit.
But!
But this!
It was then. It was Yuta who took the lead in this crazy situation.
âWell, thenâŠâ
Yuta carefully opened his mouth.
âIf I⊠I destroy all the dragons left on the continent, no one but me can become Isabellaâs knight, right?â
What did he say?!
The knights burst into laughter at his ambitious words.
No one took Yutaâs words seriously except me.
I donât know about Kellerhan, but everyone thought that Yutaâs words were the spirit of a nine-year-old.
Thatâs a relief.
Thanks to everyoneâs laughter, the atmosphere has become quite relaxed.
The engagement ceremony ended warmly in a relaxed atmosphere.
Everyone must have forgotten words pronounced like âdragonâ, right?
I politely greeted the guests and reassured myself inside.
It was only very later that I found out that Kellerhanâs remarks made my nickname âa dragonâ.
Ch. Obtain New Ignorance
From the very next day after the engagement ceremony on, I went back to training.
âTraining should never be neglected. Originally, it should have been done on the evening of the engagement day, but you were given special consideration.â
Kellerhan said that.
Fortunately, a dagger was made that was right for me, and it wasnât too difficult because Kellerhan also trained me only in a way that didnât put any strain on my body under Gilbertâs advice.
But the problem isâŠ
ââŠI thought that changing to a dagger would make it work.â
The problem was that my skill never improved even after repeated training.
Kellerhan looked down at me with a look of absolute incomprehension.
It was as if he was looking at a platypus struggling in a pit with pity.
Yet Yuta was a little different.
He didnât care at all about not improving my skills.
On the contrary, he seemed to be happy with the fact that I was sluggish and the training time increased.
ââŠIsabella, you look like a wet platypus.â
One day, Yuta muttered to me as he looked at me, who was exhausted from swinging a dagger at the target.
âDoesnât platypus originally live in water?â
As I replied, Yuta turned his head to the side. And he covered his face with a gesture that resembled his father.
His shoulders were shaking. I wonder if he was possibly laughing.
Moments later, Yuta lowered his hand and looked at me.
âAlright. I wonât call you a platypus.â
He concentrated on the demonstration again.
I observed Yutaâs movements closely, pulled out a notebook that Magda prepared, and wrote down what I understood.
Organizing information in text is the most effective training method I have found.
âDo you need to fill three notebooks to learn a stab?â
Although Kellerhan said that.
Days of training passed like that.
A dramatic turning point in my training came when some members of the Gottfried Knights stopped by the Barmuth mansion to report.
***
âToday, the Gottfried Knights are visiting the mansion.â
My stamina was exhausted from the daily training, and I was dozing off while eating breakfast. I woke up to hearing Magdaâs words.
âThe Gottfried Knights are coming?â
The Gottfried Knights were the most famous security organization in the Empire, but they were also so secretive that only few knew their true nature.
It would be difficult for the knights to conduct investigations or operations if their faces were known, so everyone said they kept their faces and personal information a secret.
One of the main tasks that Duke Lodgemund and Heiner worked on in their previous lives was to find out the identity of the Gottfried Knights and try to convince them.
So I was a little excited that the Gottfried Knights, who hadnât even attended the engagement ceremony, were visiting the mansion.
âNot all of the knights are coming, but only some of them are coming to report the operation and discuss on purpose.â
Still! Does a thing such as on purpose exist!
Theyâre people whom ordinary people canât see a single hair of until they die.
Magda smiled affectionately, as if she was reading the anticipation on my face.
âWould you like me to talk to the Duke and give you some time?â
âNo! Thereâs no need for that.â I quickly shook my head.
Because I didnât want to wield the people who came for business as reserve public servants.
I was curious, but not enough to interfere with Kellerhanâs work.
I started to focus on breakfast again.
A good plan flashed in my mind while I was drinking milk with honey.
âThat⊠Perhaps Sir Gilbert is also coming here?â
When I asked carefully, Magda tilted her head.
âIs it Sir Gilbert Wool?â
âYes.â
âYes. He is also coming. Even if he doesnât report, he often goes in and out of the mansion.â
âIs Sir Gilbert coming on a mission too? Does he have any spare time?â I asked just in case.
âOh my, no.â
Magda said with a smile.
âHeâs not part of this mission. He just said that he came to serve as a guide for other knights and to report on the status of the knights.â
âReally?â
When I asked with my eyes wide open, she laughed out loud.
Whatâs so funny, Magda looked into my eyes for a long time.
âMiss, your eyes are sparkling.â She smiled fondly at me.
Was it too obvious that Iâm so excited?
I felt awkward and drank the empty glass one more time.
âExcuse meâŠâ
I opened my mouth carefully as Magda was refilling the empty glass with milk.
âIf that so, I want to spend some time with Sir Gilbert⊠Is that okay?â
âSure.â Magda replied coolly.
I was able to meet Gilbert as soon as I had breakfast.
Kellerhan went to listen to the knightsâ report, so there was no training this morning.
What I did when I had to take this opportunity to meet GilbertâŠ
âHello, Sir Knight Gilbert.â
âPlease just call me Sir Wool. Iâm not such a great person to hear the word âKnightâ.â Gilbert said, shaking my hand.
âThen Sir Wool, I have a favor.â
âOh my. If itâs Young Madamâs request, this Gilbert Wool will listen even if my body changes. What is it?â
At Gilbertâs question, I brought out what I had prepared.
His eyes widened as he saw the twinkling dagger in my hand.
âCan you take a look at my posture while the Duke is away?â
âAre you talking about your posture?â
âYes!â
âI know that the Duke takes care of the Young Madam every day.â
âThat isâŠâ
I hesitated for a moment before continuing.
âI think the Duke is such a good swordsman that he has a hard time teaching me.â
Kellerhan is a man worthy of being called a genius of battle.
In the eyes of such a genius, how dull would I be seen among the dullheads?
âIf this Gilbert Wool is inferior in skill to the Duke, will I be a good teacher?â
âNo! I didnât mean it that way.â
âI know, I know. Even if itâs not about skill, the Duke is a bit dogmatic.â
Gilbert reassured me that what he had just said was a joke.
âLetâs go to the vacant lot. I donât know if Iâll be of any help, but Iâll do my best to teach you.â
âThank you!â
I was so happy that I couldnât hide my smile.
We went to the vacant lot and brought the target that Gilbert had laid in the vacant lotâs corner.
âWhat, what? Gilbert, are you going to play alone with the Young Madam? Let us join too!â
As I was prepared to stab at the target under Gilbertâs gaze, I heard an unfamiliar voice.