Despite their whispers, both men’s voices were so loud, I could hear them.

Commander Dag of the 4th Division – who had lost an arm in the battle with Calligari – also joined the conversation.

“Count Barkun’s granddaughter is also making her debut in society, right?”

“Oh, really?! I’ve heard she’s both beautiful and wise!”

Mobie said excitedly, yet with a hint of worry,

“It’s about time for His Highness to marry, isn’t it?”

“He’s already late, always wandering the battlefields.”

Ergo replied.

I silently looked to the opposite side.

There, beautiful noble ladies were gathered.

Perhaps due to the cold of the North, many of them had exceptionally pale and clear skin.

They seemed less worn and more innocent than the noble ladies of the Empire.

‘That’s good. His Highness can choose one of them.’

At that moment.

Why?

A corner of my heart suddenly felt a sharp pain.

But I couldn’t show my pain, so I forced a smile.

The Duke slowly walked down from the stage toward the group of ladies.

All the knights and nobles’ attention focused there.

The ladies’ faces, more visible from my side, blushed with rosiness.

All of them pretended not to look at the Duke while stealing glances.

They fiddled with their hair or fanned themselves, even though it wasn’t hot.

I lowered my head. Looking at the quiet and unchanging floor, my restless heart seemed to calm down.

Then, people began to murmur.

Lifting my head, I saw the Duke extending his hand to Daisy Antoine.

“Oh! A wise choice indeed!”

Ergo exclaimed, excited. Mobie laughed as well,

“Yes, indeed, the Anton family is the highlight today. The only lady of the Antoine family as the first dance partner, haha!”

Other ladies looked at Daisy with a mix of envy.

That’s right. The Antons were the highlight today.

I unwittingly smiled.

‘A wise decision, Your Highness.’

But Daisy, who should have been happy, looked at me with a sullen face.

Huh? Why?

Count Antoine, standing beside Daisy, coughed and whispered something to her.

Then Daisy quickly grabbed the Duke’s hand, lifting the hem of her mini-dress slightly as she curtsied.

“How cute!”

An exclamation burst from among the ladies.

Daisy then haughtily lifted her nose and glanced in the direction of the exclamation, as if to say, ‘Who dares call me cute?’

The Duke and Daisy walked to the center of the hall. The musicians in a corner of the room started playing.

A slow and beautiful dance, befitting the waning winter of the North.

I watched the pair with a joyful heart, listening to the music.
At the Duke’s great height, Daisy had to raise her arms high and hang on while dancing.

As the Duke bent over to accommodate the young lady, the scene became amusing and endearing.

Throughout the dance, Daisy kept making a sad face and looking at me. Each time, I responded with a puzzled expression.

Really clueless.

‘Surely it’s not because she couldn’t have the first dance with me.’

Surely not.

But after a while, as Daisy exchanged a few words with the Duke, she burst into laughter.

‘She looks happy.’

Unwittingly, I continued to smile while watching them.

Finally, the Duke’s dance ended.

As soon as the dance was over, Daisy hurried towards me and extended her hand.

“The first dance! I wanted to dance it with you.”

She puffed her cheeks in a pout.

“Knight, did you forget? My first dance?”

‘Ah…’

I laughed.

“I never thought I’d take precedence over His Highness the Duke. Didn’t I tell you? I’m not very good at dancing.”

I joked, feigning seriousness, and Daisy laughed.

“I’m good at dancing, so it’s okay!”

I was led by Daisy to the center of the hall.

The tune was a bit faster than the first one.

‘I wish it were a slower song, a fast one now?’ I thought, my mind suddenly filled with confusion.

‘How should I move quickly? What should I do with my feet?’

When I danced with Medea at the palace, the situation was so dire that I didn’t think about dancing well.

But now…

The gazes of the people were fixed on Daisy and me. I could also hear whispers, “That’s the Sword Master.”

The noble ladies of the North looked at me with a mixture of curiosity and envy.

Because of that, I became stiff.

“Ow!”

Daisy winced as I stepped on her foot.

“Oh, sorry!”

Daisy laughed.

“It’s okay. One, two, three! Now turn!”

“Ah!”

“Ouch!”

As I, taller than her, turned holding the young lady’s arm, she let out a small cry of pain.

“Oops! Sorry!”

“It’s okay.”

The young lady bravely smiled.

“You might need some special lessons in dancing.”

“Ah… yes, I guess.”

I laughed awkwardly out of embarrassment.

Then, when I looked up, I caught the Duke’s gaze.

He was smiling at me with a leisurely curve in his eyes. But as our eyes met, he quickly turned his gaze towards Daisy.

‘I must be really bad at dancing.’

Then Daisy said,

“Knight, earlier His Highness asked if I didn’t want to dance with him. I honestly told him I had promised to have my first dance with you.”

“Really?”

I asked in surprise.

“Yes, and then he just laughed. When I asked why, he said he couldn’t help but smile thinking of you, Knight.”

“?!”

“It makes him happy, even if he’s not happy. I didn’t understand, so I just pretended and laughed along.”

The young lady laughed.

Happy to see me even if he isn’t happy? His Highness?

“Maybe because I handle the sword well, it makes him happy.”

I told the young lady that, and Daisy nodded as if convinced.

The first dance, akin to a whirlwind, thus came to an end.

That night.

Under the unusually bright moonlight.

I headed towards the Duke’s castle garden, where the wildflowers had just begun to bloom.

The natural garden, covering most of the high and wide plateau outside the castle.

A place I wanted to visit after hearing about it from Arcadia, but never had the chance due to being busy.

I wanted to walk freely there, breathing the fresh air, without carrying my sword.

I started walking barefoot.

The scent of fresh greenery and subtle flowers tickled my nose. I took a deep breath.

When I reached a distance neither too far nor too close from the main castle.
Rustle

A low sound of footsteps crushing fallen leaves reached my ears.

I tensed up instantly.

‘What’s that? Walking so softly.’

I stopped walking.

An assassin, perhaps?

I looked around, but no one was in sight.

‘I should have brought my sword.’

I scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes.

A moment later.

Rustle

The sound came again. It was definitely not an animal.

Quickly, I hid behind a large tree. Silently, I moved towards the source of the sound.

Then, I spotted a large shadow moving slowly.

The surroundings were engulfed in the darkness of the night.

I pounced on the shadow’s owner.

At that moment, the shadow’s owner wrapped their arm around my neck.

‘An attack?’

We entangled in the dark.

Every time I aimed for a vital spot, the figure grabbed my chest.

‘If only I had a sword! Hand-to-hand combat isn’t enough.’

Then, the moon emerged from behind the clouds.

I froze upon seeing the owner of the dark shadow revealed in the moonlight.

“Your Highness?!”

It was the Duke.

The Duke also seemed surprised as he looked at me.

I was gripping the Duke’s collar. His bare skin was exposed through the ripped fabric.

“You…”

The Duke, too, was holding my collar, poised to flip me over, pinning me down.

As a result, I was bent backwards, almost cradled in his embrace.

His hand was raised as if to tear my clothes. Involuntarily, I looked at my own body.

The moonlight shifted, beginning to reveal my skin.