A way to confirm directly…..

Just as I was about to open my lips, Ian brought his face close. His eyes, which became clearer as the distance narrowed, were rippling like waves.

Could he be trying to smell if there’s a cherry scent?

“W-wait a moment.”

I hastily covered my mouth and took a step back. That’s when I heard movement from inside the quarters.

Hearing footsteps that seemed to be getting closer, I quickly pushed Ian’s chest away. At the same time, the entrance door swung open.

“Rosebelia?”

The one who appeared in the doorway was Edwin in casual attire.

“Edwin.”

“Rose, are you staying at the quarters today?”

“Yeah, that’s how it turned out.”

Edwin’s eyes widened as he was about to nod. His gaze, which lingered on me briefly, immediately shifted to Ian.

“Don’t tell me you two were together?”

Noticing Edwin’s lips twitching, I quickly retorted.

“I was just coming back from a walk when I happened to meet Klein in front of the quarters.”

I sent a silent glance to Ian, and he let out a small sigh before speaking.

“Yes, that’s right. I’m staying at the quarters today too.”

“Is that so?”

His narrowed eyes scrutinized me and Ian in turn, as if to say ‘Is that all?’

I need to change the subject before he says something weird again.

“Edwin, are you feeling better now?”

Edwin’s eyes finally fixed on me. While waiting for his answer, I casually covered my lips while pretending to touch my mouth.

“Yeah. I feel better after resting.”

Edwin flashed a bright smile as if he felt fine. Come to think of it, Edwin’s complexion, which had been pale until the afternoon, had returned to its normal color.

“That’s good.”

“I was feeling a bit stuffy staying inside, so I was going for a walk.”

“I see, enjoy your walk. I’ll go in first then.”

Deliberately ignoring Klein’s persistent gaze following me, I made my way into the quarters.

As soon as I entered the room, I checked the mirror first. There was a slight trace of blood at the corner of my lips.

Considering I had wiped it off once, the conclusion is that it must have been noticeable at first.

“I wonder if the cherry pie will work.”

As I rubbed my forehead, I approached the table. Then I picked up a cherry pie and took a big bite.

Ian probably wouldn’t come all the way to my room to check if I ate cherry pie, but it made me feel more at ease.

“Even if I deny it to the end, what could he do?”

After washing up in the small bathroom provided in the room, I immediately lay down on the bed.

It felt a bit hard, but not uncomfortable. No, rather, it was comfortable.
Is it because it’s a space where I can be completely alone, even if it’s small?

“For a single room, this is quite nice.”

Considering there’s even a private bathroom in the room, it wasn’t that small. The building used for quarters was built so large that there were extra rooms, and I liked that once a room was assigned, it wouldn’t change until leaving the knighthood.

Whether I stayed or not, this room would be exclusively mine until I left the knighthood.

The emperor must have invested a lot in the knights’ facilities to persuade the White Knights Order to move their headquarters from the outskirts to the capital.

As I was blankly staring at the ceiling that felt unusually close, Ian’s words suddenly came to mind.

‘May I check for myself?’

“How exactly does he plan to check……”

My thoughts came to an abrupt halt as Ian’s face, which had suddenly overlapped with mine, flickered in my mind.

Just recalling the incident with Ian was enough to revive the sensation of warmth seeping through the cool night air, tickling my forehead.

Half-rising, I absentmindedly rubbed my forehead that seemed to tingle again and let out a small sigh.

I thought he was an iron wall, but he came at an unexpected timing.

Is that why it’s more bewildering? Because he was someone I didn’t think would approach first?

“Could it be that he doesn’t see me as a woman, so he has no reservations?”

That could be it. It would suit Ian better that way.

Nodding, I soon lay on my side on the bed. Hugging the blanket tightly to my chest, I tried hard to fall asleep.

*

‘Elder sister, are you returning now?’

‘Yes.’

It was Rosebelia’s voice. Realizing this was a dream, I quickly took in my surroundings.

It was the path leading to the main building of the marquis’ residence, and the ones talking were Rosebelia and Cayden.

‘Do you have something to say to me?’

‘No, nothing.’

‘If you’re going to talk about the sparring we had last time again….’

Cayden seemed to be trying to hide his nervousness, repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fingertips. Rosebelia glanced at this behavior, paused for a moment, then spoke again.

‘I didn’t say I would never spar with you again. It’s just that you’re too young now…. Even within our knighthood, no one spars with me.’

Her voice that followed still sounded firm, but it came across much softer.

‘Not a single person?’

‘Yes, not a single person. I refuse all sparring within the knighthood.’

So Rosebelia really didn’t spar with Ian until the end.

‘I wasn’t planning to spar with you right away, elder sister. I just wanted to have at least a small hope that if I work hard, I might be able to spar with you someday….’

‘If instructional sparring is fine.’

Cayden’s eyes widened at Rosebelia’s abrupt words.

It’s understandable to have such a reaction. I was inwardly surprised too.

I thought she would firmly refuse like she did with Ian, but Rosebelia was definitely weak to her younger siblings.

‘Really? Do you mean it?’

‘I’m not saying right now either. Even if it’s instructional, it’s still sparring, so first get your skills recognized by Schultz.’

‘I understand, elder sister.’

The dream ended there. After blinking a few times, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling instead of darkness.

“What’s this? Was what I saw a story from the original work?”

It was still just a guess, but with each dream, I became more convinced that I was seeing stories from the original work.

That’s because the Rosebelia I saw in the dream looked exactly like the one in her memories.

But why show me this? It seems like what I said to Cayden was similar in nuance to the original work.

In the end, isn’t there no difference from the original?

“There must be an intention in showing the original story….”

Am I thinking too deeply about this?

As various assumptions linked one after another, a mild headache arose. Pressing my temples as if to apply pressure, I deliberately forced my eyelids shut.

*

The sky was clear as if there had never been a downpour. As I was about to take in a deep breath of the refreshed air, I saw a red head in the distance.

I was about to call out to Edwin right away, but I paused for a moment to carefully observe his gait.

Somehow, the movement of his left leg seems to have become more sluggish?

While his right leg seemed to step forward without hesitation, his left leg appeared to flinch just before touching the ground. At a glance, it almost looked like he was limping.

“Edwin.”

“Rose.”

“About your leg. You didn’t just twist it a bit, did you?”

Edwin glanced down at his own leg. Seeing him cough somewhat unnaturally, my suspicion quickly turned to certainty.

“It’s the ankle you injured during the last monster subjugation, isn’t it?”

Because he was affected by the monster’s poison, the doctor said he should devote at least 3 months to treatment and recovery, but Edwin showed up at the knighthood after just two months.

“…Yeah, can’t fool you.”

Edwin smiled weakly and continued.

“As you guessed, the pain is flaring up again in the ankle I injured then. I’ve been enduring with painkillers, but ah, it’s not usually this bad… I didn’t know I’d be staying at the quarters, so I didn’t bring painkillers, and today it’s particularly bad.”

“Have you seen a doctor?”

“I’ve seen several, but they think the poison might not have been completely neutralized back then.”

When Rosebelia’s memories flowed in, there were a few emotionally difficult periods, and one of them was when she went on monster subjugations.

Although Rosebelia herself wasn’t injured, when memories of colleagues getting hurt or dying flowed in…

I felt a tingling sensation in my palm and glanced down. As I unclenched my fist that I had unknowingly tightened, a faint breath escaped through my teeth.

“What do they say you should do?”

“I’m trying to get the medicine again.”

I could feel Edwin watching my reaction. Since being affected by a monster’s poison isn’t a common occurrence, it would be difficult to find proper medicine on the market.

If that’s the case, there was only one place Edwin could get the medicine from.

“Are you getting it from the Riley family?”

The Riley family. That is, the Riley Grand Ducal family, which is Olivia’s birth family and the current empress’s birth family, was famous for herb cultivation and compounding techniques.

So far, only the Riley family had properly produced medicine that could neutralize monster poison.

“Well, yeah. I’ve put in a request, so I’m going to wait and see.”

“Yesterday when you were sick, was it possibly……”

“No, that’s unrelated. Really.”

As I didn’t drop my suspicious gaze, Edwin raised both hands as if to prove his innocence.

With his eyebrows curved downwards, he does look wronged.

“What are you two doing here?”

It was Lucas who abruptly spoke up.

“Why? Is something happening?”

As Edwin asked with sparkling eyes, Lucas boasted while replying.

“You’re slow on the news, Ed. The list for this subjugation is out.”

“The list?”

“Go check in front of the main building.”

After exchanging glances with Edwin, I immediately ran to the main building. At the top of the notice, it was written that Gabriel, the captain, would lead the subjugation team, and below that were the names of the members chosen for the subjugation.

Since social status isn’t important in the White Knights Order, only names were listed.

After confirming the name ‘Rosebelia’ below Gabriel’s name, I slowly lowered my gaze. As my eyes skimmed over familiar names like Edwin, Vanessa, and Lucas, they caught on one particular spot.