“Hiyah!”

“Hah!”

“The left side is open! Focus more!”

Lucion Temery, the captain of the Black Knight Order, was the foster brother of Lord Darius. The Temery family, a loyal vassal of the northern Inkheart duchy, had never forgotten their allegiance.

〈Brother, our family could marry into Lord Darius’s family, right?〉

His younger sister Rose seemed greatly shaken by their lord’s recent marriage.

The day the new Duchess arrived, she had a conflict with her and was even punished.

〈Whomever the Duke marries is his decision.〉

It wasn’t that Lucion disliked the Duchess for punishing his sister.

But a woman from the Porshe ducal family? Lucion wasn’t particularly pleased with that decision.

‘A woman from a ducal family, not even royalty.’

It felt like a marriage that lowered the status of the Inkheart duchy he served so loyally. A decline in the duchy’s status meant a decline in his own as well.

“Everyone, stop training!”

“Huh?”

The signal flag for training cessation fluttered vigorously. Lucion removed his sweat-drenched helmet.

Behind him, an out-of-place elegant lady was approaching the training ground.

‘Who is she?’

“The Duchess has arrived.”

“Please, continue as you were. The Duke allowed me to wander around the castle today, so I came here out of curiosity.”

Lucion’s mood soured at Annette’s casual tone. Perhaps because he already had a poor impression of the Duchess.

‘Why is she looking around like that? As if she’s appraising the training ground.’

Despite the Duchess’s presence, most knights awkwardly avoided speaking to her.

Thump, a subordinate tapped Lucion’s back.

“Commander, we can’t understand these things. Shouldn’t you guide the Duchess as our representative?”

“No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I just wanted to see the training ground. How much it costs… I mean, how diligently everyone is training.”

“Sorry for the poor hospitality, Madam. This place is meant for serious knight training.”

Lucion replied curtly.

His long blonde hair, tied up to avoid hindrance, swung sharply, mirroring his blunt attitude.

“Your presence is disrupting the training ground, Madam. Your footwear is inappropriate for here.”

Annette looked down at her high-heeled shoes, which had slightly indented the ground.

“I understand. I shouldn’t be here then…”

Without hesitation, Annette removed her shoes.

“Oh my, Madam!”

Her white lace socks got dirty with mud. The maid accompanying Annette turned pale.

“I was damaging the knights’ training ground with my heels.”

Annette held the pair of removed shoes in one hand.

She then extended her other hand towards Lucion.

“I’ve shown my manners late, so you should show yours too, Lucion. The courtesy a knight shows to a lady.”

She implied he should kiss her hand.

‘A noblewoman who cares so much about her image, removing her shoes and exposing her feet in public! Even though they are not bare, still!’

‘There will be a buzz in the castle for sure. Whether it’s in favor of Lucion or the new Duchess, I can’t say.’

The knights’ gossip travels faster than the wind.

Annette’s toes, now stained brown with mud, wiggled freely. They seemed joyous, like she was relieved to be out of her tight shoes.
In front of him was the bold Duchess, and behind him, his subordinates waited eagerly for his response.

“……My apologies. I, Lucion, the captain of the Black Knight Order, welcome the new lady of Inkheart Castle.”

“Wow!”

The knights, forgetting who their captain was, enthusiastically applauded Annette’s assertiveness.

After realizing the dire financial situation of the castle, the first place Annette visited was the knights’ training ground.

Being a knight isn’t for just anyone. It’s a gathering place for skilled individuals with high status, talent in martial arts, and loyalty to their lord. She thought that if any place had seen financial investment, it would be there.

However, the Inkheart banners in the training ground were so dirty they seemed like they hadn’t been washed in ages. The knights practiced with wooden swords due to a lack of real ones, and the ground of the training ground was in such poor condition that it got damaged by her high heels, leading to complaints from the knights.

‘How did the North even survive until the protagonist’s arrival?’

‘Of course, the protagonist, arriving in such a poor North, discovers legendary treasures, generously shares gold, and heals diseases. That’s why the people of the North couldn’t help but love her!’

No matter how much it’s a setup for lifting the protagonist, the current North is too impoverished.

‘Can the North really become strong enough to conquer the Demon King before the protagonist arrives?’

‘Ah, everything needs money. Establishing cotton fields, upgrading the forge, reorganizing the knight order – where can I find the funds?’

In novels, transmigrators use hints from the original work to make money…

“What did Annette do today?”