“Kyaak!”

“Oh my, goodness.”

The man who caught me as I almost fell backward in surprise smiled awkwardly.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Barely managing to hold onto the towel slung over my shoulder, I was at a loss for words in front of the huge man before me.

The man’s face had a long scar running from his right forehead to the left end of his jaw.

The wound had completely healed, but the remaining trace seemed to show the pain of that time.

“Ah, you were surprised by my face. Haha, this is embarrassing. I feel even more sorry now.”

However, contrary to his fierce appearance, the man had an innocent smile.

Relaxed by his gentle tone, which contrasted with his burly physique, I bowed my head in greeting.

“Hello. Is Dietrich perhaps here?”

“Young Master Dietrich?”

The man’s eyes sparkled at the name Dietrich, and he stretched out his arm to point somewhere.

Following the man’s hand, I turned my head to see Dietrich swinging a sword in the distance.

“He’s been training since he arrived earlier. But who are you?”

“Oh, I’m Heidi. I’m a maid at the mansion.”

“I see. So you came to see the young master?”

“Yes. I have an errand he asked me to do.”

“The young master did?”

The man tilted his head at the mention of an errand.

Seeing his face full of doubt, I hurriedly added:

“He said he couldn’t wipe his sweat without this towel.”

At those words, the man, who had been silent for a moment, suddenly burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.

The man who had been laughing for a while even had tears in his eyes.

“Hahaha, that’s the funniest joke I’ve heard lately. You’re a witty maid.”

“What? It’s not a joke, I really came here because of this towel.”

“You’re saying the young master can’t wipe his sweat because of a mere towel? I’ve heard all sorts of rumors about the young master, but this one is quite petty and funny.”

The more I listened to the man’s words, the more my eyes hardened.

‘So Dietrich, that bastard, was just training me like a dog?’

Gritting my teeth, I politely asked the man:

“May I go in there?”

“Ah, that’s a bit dangerous. Everyone’s using real swords.”

“Then could you call him for me?”

“…What? You really want me to call the young master?”

“Yes. If not, I’ll just-!”

“No, no. Hehe. Alright. Then I’ll let him know.”

The man immediately ran to Dietrich. He whispered something to him and then winked at me.

Dietrich, who had spotted me, approached with slightly quickened steps.

“The towel?”

I roughly handed over the towel to Dietrich, who was looking for it as soon as he saw me.

While roughly wiping his forehead, sweaty from intense training, with the towel, he asked:

“What did you talk about with the vice-captain?”

“Vice-captain?”

“Yes. The man who just told me you were here is the vice-captain of the knights.”

I see. He did have the look of someone who would hold an important position.

I awkwardly smiled at the man called the vice-captain, who was closely watching us from where Dietrich had been standing.

Seeing this, Dietrich asked again.

“What did you talk about, I said.”

“Nothing much. That person just let me know that you were training me like a dog. You don’t really need things like this towel, do you?”

“…I do need it.”

At my words, Dietrich glared at the vice-captain.

The vice-captain, who flinched, seemed clueless as to why Dietrich was glaring at him.

I glanced around the dusty training ground and said:

“I’ll be going now.”

I had brought the towel to Dietrich, and there was nothing more for me to do at the training ground, so I was about to leave.

“Wait a moment.”

“Why?”

Dietrich grabbed my wrist, seemingly having something to say.

As I looked up at him with a surprised expression, the vice-captain, who had approached closely without my noticing, spoke to Dietrich.

“Um, Young Master. I have a report for you today.”

At the vice-captain’s words, Dietrich glanced at me and nodded for him to speak.

In the end, I couldn’t leave and ended up listening to their conversation in an awkward posture.

“A new recruit has joined. We conducted our own entry test for those who applied to the knight recruitment notice.”

“I see.”

So he’s reporting about the Hareon Knights’ affairs to Dietrich.

I listened intently to their conversation, learning new information.

The position of Duke Delgado was still vacant.

Dietrich was the most suitable person within the Delgado family to handle the affairs of the Hareon Knights.

After all, Dietrich was known for his exceptional skill in swordsmanship, unmatched by others.

He was said to be so impressive in the field of swordsmanship that it left people in awe, so it seemed the Hareon Knights were also implicitly acknowledging him as their captain.

“Would you like to see? There happens to be a cute new recruit who admires you, Young Master.”

The vice-captain, contrary to his initially scary impression, smiled quite affectionately while talking about the new recruit.

He quickly turned around and gestured to someone. Then, a boy with light sky-blue hair and a youthful appearance came running out.

The boy who stood in front of Dietrich was looking at him with a flushed face.

He looked like he might even kiss him if given the chance.

His sky-blue eyes, sparkling with expectation at meeting his idol, were shining uncomfortably bright.

“My name is Blaine!”

His voice, filled with strict discipline, was trembling slightly.

Dietrich, who had been looking at the boy indifferently, nodded briefly.

Is that it? Really?

I looked at Blaine, who was at a loss with excitement, with sympathetic eyes.

The boy introduced as a new recruit seemed to firmly believe that Dietrich would say something more.

Out of pity, I stared at Dietrich, but he didn’t even glance at me.

Now the boy named Blaine turned his gaze to me.

Hey, I’m sorry, but I’m nobody.

I was about to feel sorry that there was nothing I could do, when surprisingly, Dietrich spoke first.

“Do you know how to handle a sword?”

At those words, the vice-captain began chattering with an even more excited face than before.

“Well, Young Master. Even though this lad looks a bit weak, he entered with the top score in the entire entry test. He’s just turned twenty, and among ourselves, we’re saying he’s going to be great in the future. Haha!”

Twenty years old?

I looked at the boy, or rather, the young man named Blaine with surprised eyes.

Thanks to his overall ethereal appearance, he looked like a boy.

“He has good reflexes and wit. If he grows well, I think he’ll become an excellent member of the knights!”

The old man’s shoulders seemed to reach the sky with pride. Meanwhile, Blaine timidly waved his hands and bowed his head deeply.

“Is that so? If Vice-Captain Calt says so, he must be quite skilled.”

“I’m still very lacking. I want to learn a lot from you, Young Master.”

Dietrich approached Blaine, who had humbly bowed his head, and raised his sword to point at Blaine’s scabbard.

After lightly tapping the scabbard a couple of times, he gave a brief nod.

“Draw it.”

“…Pardon?”

Blaine, who had grasped his sword with stiff movements, asked.

“The sword, I said draw it.”

The moment I turned my head to look at Dietrich to understand what was happening, I realized.

‘Ah, this guy…’

On Dietrich’s face was a mixture of excitement and anticipation I had never seen before.

A sparkle completely different from the monotonous expression he had shown me.

That appearance was so dazzling that it seemed as if there was actually a halo shining behind him. As expected of a sword maniac!

His hand that had been holding my wrist slowly released.

The vice-captain, who had been observing Blaine’s tense expression, nodded approvingly and gave him a push on the back.

“Blaine. This is a golden opportunity. A duel with the Young Master!”

The atmosphere in the training ground started to heat up.

All the knights, who seemed to number over 100 at a rough estimate, were looking at Dietrich and Blaine.

Dietrich, who was heading towards the dueling area in the center of the training ground, suddenly stopped mid-stride.

Then he slowly turned his head to look at me.

Just as I was beginning to question his lingering gaze that kept me rooted to the spot, I heard his low voice.

“Don’t go anywhere, wait right there.”

“…Huh?”

No, I can’t slack off here!

Contrary to my mind saying I should go back, my feet had no intention of leaving the training ground.

Dietrich, the sword maniac.

A person so obsessed with swords that comments about him loving swords more than the female lead would pile up.

He was described as having such fantastic sword skills, so I was curious about his abilities.

“You’ll probably want to watch this with both eyes wide open.”

The vice-captain, who had approached without me noticing, whispered beside me.

Watching the backs of Dietrich and Blaine while licking his lips, he seemed to be no less obsessed with swords.

“Young Master Dietrich is the most outstanding person I’ve ever seen. Not many people use sword energy.”

“Sword energy?”

“Ah, you probably don’t know much about sword energy.”

He cleared his throat and explained.

“Sword energy can only be seen in people who have reached the level where they can make their sword resonate. Not many swordsmen can activate sword energy.”

“Can you do it too, mister?”

“Ah, mister?”

Surprised at being called ‘mister’, the vice-captain made a hurt expression.

“Mister? I’m only forty years old!”

Only forty?

He was definitely a mister.

Seeing that I had no intention of changing the way I addressed him, he sighed and said,

“Don’t call me mister, call me Calt.”

“Okay, Mister Calt.”

“…”

For a moment, I saw Mister Calt’s brow twitch, but I pretended not to notice.

Why wouldn’t I call a mister a mister!

While I was chatting with Mister Calt, Dietrich and Blaine entered the dueling area.

As the two cautiously pointed their swords at each other, Mister Calt gulped.

The surroundings fell silent, and someone rang a bell with a ‘ding’.

At the same time, Blaine rushed at Dietrich as swiftly as a flying squirrel.

And then I saw it.

At that moment, the perverted smile of satisfaction on Dietrich’s face.

It was the moment when the true nature of the sword maniac was revealed.