“Dian, aren’t you training?”

Howard struck Dian. After the Duke and Princess Madelleine had left, the training ground, once again filled with turmoil, had resumed. But instead of blending into the noisy atmosphere, Dian was standing facing the castle road, where the Duke and ‘Princess’ had disappeared.

With a look of disbelief, Dian’s brown eyes were staring blankly at the castle.

“…Nice to meet you, Miss. I am Dian Stellin, a knight loyal to Duke Vicander.”

Morning training time. Leaving the hotblooded knights behind, Dian saluted the princess. The princess’s green eyes widened a little. She seemed to remember their eyes meeting the night before. There was a sense of satisfaction as he angrily saluted the princess.

Olivia Madelleine.

The eldest princess of the Madelleine, the head of the Emperor’s faction, and the fiancée of the crown prince.

At the same time, she was the uncontrollable vicecommander of the Imperial Palace’s 3rd Knight Division, Jade Madelleine’s sister.

And…

…The bastard who looked down on people arrogantly with green eyes, the symbol of a humble dancer.

Though he never told anyone, Dian knew better than anyone the rumors about Olivia Madelleine.

Shivering with excitement, he secretly collected information about her through the local newspaper, even on days when he occasionally went to the bar.

So, Dian couldn’t trust the princess.

The princess, who had silently accepted the prince’s lover out of love for him, had suddenly changed her attitude and followed Duke Vicander down to this place. There was no doubt she was up to some sly trick.

Moreover, if the rumors were true, the princess should be throwing a tantrum at him.

Dian hoped that the princess would be furious with him so that the scales would fall from the Duke’s respected eyes.

“Pleased to meet you, Sir Stellin.”

But when the princess opened her lips, Dian’s face twisted for a moment. Contrary to his expectations, it was a polite and courteous greeting.

This isn’t it. Dian unconsciously looked at the princess, and at that moment, he felt his breath catch.

Those green eyes looking at him were filled with a dignity that no one could easily have. Those eyes were looking at Dian and clearly saying,

“I look forward to working with you.”

What does that mean? Dian bowed his head without realizing it. The renowned Dian Stellin had bowed to someone other than the Duke, Bethany, and his sister Daisy.

When he raised his head, berating himself for being late to realize how ridiculous it was, the Duke and princess had already entered the castle.

Only then did Dian glare at the castle, exhaling a sigh, filled with a sense of shame.

So it’s true that she’s arrogant!

“Wow, shi What’s that, ugh!”

Before he could finish speaking, Dian clutched his throbbing back head. As if the strong shock that had struck him wasn’t enough, he was fiercely kicked in the shins.

A heavy shadow loomed over Dian, who had collapsed onto the training ground.

“Watch your words around the lady.”

It was Howard. Dian blinked. So, the person who had just knocked me down was Sir Interfield?

Howard, with his characteristic indifferent face, swung the large gauntlet he had been holding. Someone shouted, “Nice catch!”

That’s when he came to his senses. Dian quickly got up, lowered his body, and glared at Howard.

Reacting reflexively to a battle stance, Howard shrugged his shoulders and let a smile slip at the corner of his mouth.

The Duke certainly had good eyes. Scouting formidable men while roaming the battlefield and fostering the Vicander family’s power, even picking up a dying man who proved to have a strong will.

Now the height and physique were comparable to Howard, but still, in Howard’s eyes, the first sight of Dian was clear.

A body so thin that you could see the ribs heaving with each breath. Old bruises here and there. And those faintly open green eyes. The scoundrels who had surrounded Dian had been loud even as they fled.

“You greeneyed brat, what are you doing! Did your mother abandon you because of your green eyes?”
When Dean growled softly, Howard finally broke out of his contemplation and faced Dean. The brown eyes in his fiercely raised brows sparkled sharply.

“Now, the princess,”

“Not princess, but miss.”

But the fact that he was a pitiful creature in the past gave Howard no reason to excuse him, especially if the lady to whom he committed disloyalty was one who had sworn allegiance to His Majesty.

…Even more so if I have now resolved to pledge my loyalty to the lady.

Howard snapped his fingers. Simultaneously, Dean’s sunburned face reddened as much as his red hair.

An atmosphere of acute tension was instantly formed. In contrast to Dean’s seething breath of anger, his brown eyes cooled down.

Soon, people gathered around Howard and Dean in the training ground, forming a circular shape. Among them, someone addressed an apprentice knight.

“Watch closely. The barehanded fight between Interfield Commander and Sjellin Commander is as real as it gets.”