Darius would be leaving Inkhart for a while. And for the dangerous task of monster extermination, no less. I felt uneasy.

After dinner, I was walking absent-mindedly when I heard shouts coming from ahead. Before I knew it, I had arrived at the training grounds.

I like this training ground. Perhaps because I paid to have it repaired.

“My lords?”

When I opened the door to enter, torches were blazing as bright as day.

“Hiyaah!”

A common knight charges at Lord Lucian with his sword raised.

Clang. Sparks fly as the blades clash.

What time is it now, anyway?

“If you can’t even control your own strength and are going to fall, don’t charge in the first place.”

Lord Lucian easily deflected the charging knight. True to Lucian’s assessment, the knight couldn’t control his own momentum and fell to the dirt.

Ptooey. The fallen knight gritted his teeth and stood up again.

“Thank you for the lesson, my lord!”

“Who’s training at this hour?”

“Lady Anette. What brings you here in the middle of the night?”

Lord Lucian removed his helmet and shook out his sweat-soaked hair, trying to show proper etiquette in front of me. His long golden hair shimmered in the firelight.

Now that I looked closer, it wasn’t just one or two people – the entire knighthood was training. They must have been at it for quite some time, as everyone’s foreheads were beaded with sweat.

“Lady Anette!”

“My lady!”

“What brings you here at this late hour?”

The knights who recognized me eagerly crowded around. It felt like watching dogs wagging their tails in front of their owner.

Everyone, could you please approach one at a time?

“Alright, I understand. I’m glad to see you all. However, when you all crowd around me at once with those big frames, it’s a bit intimidating, you know?”

With those bulky figures all armored up, I feared that one wrong move could crush my small, delicate frame.

“As it’s time to head up to the northern mountains, we’ve been intensifying our training. We need to set an example, after all.”

“I heard about exterminating monsters in preparation for winter, but what’s this about setting an example? I assume there are others going besides the knights?”

“Yes, not just from Inkhart, but also from other northern territories under our control. Though they don’t participate every year, knights from neighboring territories near the mountain range also join us in ascending the mountains. After all, the damage caused by monsters during winter affects the entire northern region.”

When I handed him some water from the training ground, Lord Lucian bowed his head politely and drank. The hastily gulped water overflowed, trickling down his sweat-drenched Adam’s apple.

Rose has been saying lately that she wishes Lord Lucian would get married soon. Apparently, she wants to expand her own space by getting rid of her useless brother’s room or something.

‘If only the ladies in the castle could see this instead of me, Rose’s wish might come true.’

What a waste that only I get to see it.

“The north is still a place where the law of strength prevails. In fact, this is true for any gathering of knights.”

The harsh natural environment of the north fosters a particularly strong spirit of self-reliance.

“The late Duke was a thoughtful person, but unfortunately, the circumstances were not favorable in many ways.”

So, due to the natural environment, people here already have that kind of disposition, and with the weak governance of the sickly former Duke added to that, the gaze of the northern nobles under the Duchy, who were already looking down on the ducal family, became even more blatant.

“If they feel we can be looked down upon, there will be those who try to take the lead.”

“It’s about establishing dominance in many ways, this winter monster subjugation.”

Still, compared to monsters, human power struggles don’t put lives at stake, so maybe this is better?

“Would anyone like a late-night snack? It seems you’ll all be up all night. Tell me what you want, and I’ll bring it right away.”

Swoosh, Anette’s skirt fluttered as she headed back towards the castle. Her destination was the castle kitchen.

“Haha. My lady is something else.”

“Such swift movements, like a squirrel with food in its mouth. The kitchen door must already be closed by now, we didn’t even have time to tell her.”

Everyone laughed.

It was already too late to make a fuss cooking.

“Still, since the lady has come to cheer us on, shall we do one last round?”

They were about to start their final training session, a bit later than usual, when…

About an hour later, Lady Anette reappeared carrying a basket of fried food.

“I thought this would be easy to eat, but I wonder if it might be too heavy for this late hour?”

“M-My lady?”

“Perhaps it is a bit much? It’s nighttime, so digestion might be difficult.”

“My lady, your hands… Are you hurt?”

“Oh, this.”

Anette shyly hid one hand behind her back as she held out the basket of fried food.

“I’m a bit embarrassed to admit, but I’m not very skilled at cooking… Some oil just splashed a bit while I was transferring the finished fried food, so don’t worry.”

“Goodness, to think that our noble lady would cook for us with her own hands!”

“And even burning her hands with oil in the process!”

“What if it’s burnt! Not only did you hurt your hand, my lady, but there’s also a chance that a beginner’s cooking could be dange— mmph!”

The tactless last knight was immediately silenced. Anette waved her hands hurriedly, her face flushed red. The handkerchief on her hastily treated hand fluttered. That sight made the knights’ hearts flutter.

‘She made this with those small hands that we should be protecting!’

“No, no! It’s not burnt! But now I’m worried it might not taste good…”

Lord Lucian wordlessly took a piece of fried food and dipped it in mayonnaise.

“I like this fried food.”

“Oh my.”

“It’s delicious. Really. The crispiness is perfect.”

“I, I like fried food too! Even if I didn’t before, I’ll like it from now on!”

“Oh! This taste is like potatoes and carrots freshly dug from the field, and shrimp from the sea all frolicking together! I can’t believe I’m eating such excellent cuisine! The ingredients dancing on my tongue are so vivid, it’s as if they might return to nature if I let them out of my mouth!”

“Wait, isn’t that taste dangerous? What exactly did you eat, my lord? Is that really what I fried?”

They couldn’t refuse food that the lady had personally made for the knights. Moreover, it actually tasted good.

The knights hurriedly grabbed and ate the fried food amidst the commotion. Perhaps because she hadn’t made too much from the start in case it didn’t suit their taste, after each person ate two or three pieces, the basket Anette brought was empty.

“I’m glad. It seems everyone likes it.”

“It was really delicious! The slight disappointment is perfect for a late-night snack!”

“Oh, that won’t do. I’ll go in and fry some more. It won’t take long, so please wait.”

“Pardon?”

The knights who had been laughing and chatting realized at that moment that something had gone wrong.

She’s sorry there wasn’t enough and is going to prepare more fried food? She’ll be back soon, so wait?

So what are we supposed to do while we wait?

“Well, now that we’ve had a good snack, let’s get back to training. She said she’ll make a lot this time, so two hours of movement and then eating again would be perfect.”

“Um… Captain, surely not.”

“If you’re confident you can beat me, you’re free to leave right now. You won’t get to eat the lady’s fried food tonight, though.”

Lord Lucian, who had put his helmet back on, tossed a sword to the knight who couldn’t believe the reality of the situation.

“Come at me.”

* * *

The morning sun shone down on the training grounds. Chirp chirp chirp, Barbarossa opened the door to the training grounds, watching a bird that had settled early on a branch.

“I… I…”

“Whoa! You startled me!”

Startled.

From what looked like a mountain of corpses strewn about, one person wriggled and then darted towards a basket placed in front. Despite having been collapsed just moments ago, it was an impressive speed, driven by some kind of obsession.

“The lady’s last piece of fried food is mine. I won’t give it up.”

Grinning, one of Inkhart’s knights looked at Barbarossa, who had just entered, then took out a piece of fried food from the basket and ate it.

“I… ate the last one. The glorious fried food.”

Munch munch.

He put the cold piece of fried food in his mouth as if showing it off, then fainted before he could even chew it properly.

“What on earth is that…”

Barbarossa. It had been years since he left the knighthood and lazily rolled around in back alleys.

The returned prodigal son was feeling the gap in his skills as he watched others train, even though he put on a tough front outwardly. That’s why he had come to the training grounds at this dawn hour when it should have been empty.

Barbarossa was dumbfounded at the training grounds where everyone had fallen asleep after an all-night training session.

What the hell is that, showing off like “You couldn’t even eat this”? It’s irritating for no reason.

Barbarossa discovered his sleeping brother among the pile of bodies and kicked him in the head.

* * *

“I heard that Anette personally made snacks for the knights last night.”

“Yes. The lady’s encouragement was a great source of strength for our knighthood.”

Lord Lucian was indeed a model of an excellent knight.

While all the members of the Black Knights who had to patrol the training grounds all night were too sleepy to keep their wits about them, only Lord Lucian seemed perfectly fine. He even had a sparkle in his eyes, as if he had just gone for a light jog. Madman.

“Hmm.”

Darius looked at me with a somewhat dissatisfied expression.

Why? Does it look like I, an amateur, got overzealous and pushed our precious Inkhart knights too hard?

No, originally I was just going to bring one basket of fried food and quietly return to my room.

Sylphid again.

If I hadn’t had the premonition that if I went back like this, I’d end up doing spirit training without sleep until dawn again, I wouldn’t have sat in front of the frying oil all night either.