Riena flinched at the shadow cast over her head by the burly men, but soon realized they were friendly towards her and smiled.

“Hello, nice to meet you.”

While she had been introduced to the mansion’s employees, she hadn’t formally greeted the knights.

The knights caused a commotion, each trying to introduce themselves first.

Starting with Max Carrot, they finished a round of introductions, and then the knights each shared their impressions.

“When our lord first said he was engaged, I didn’t believe it. Of all people, our lord? It was like the earth splitting and the sky falling.”

“Even when we asked to introduce the lady we would serve, our lord seemed to have no intention of introducing her.”

“Was that all? Whenever the lady was mentioned, he would resort to violence under the guise of sparring, we all know… mmph!”

“That’s not something to say in front of the lady.”

Riena couldn’t help but cover her mouth and burst into laughter.

‘I’m glad he seems to have been doing well.’

She had worried that Cassel might have been very lonely after losing Asher, but fortunately, it seemed he had many good people by his side.

Sandra, Amy, and the knights too.

“Thank you. I’m glad Cas seems to have enjoyed himself thanks to all of you.”

“Enjoyed? Our lord, you mean?”

“That can’t be. Oh, well, he did seem to enjoy sparring with us.”

The knights continued to chatter boisterously.

“Anyway, we had speculated that our lord’s lady might actually be a fictitious person, but good heavens, Sir Carrot’s sister said she was serving the young lady.”

“We interrogated Sir Carrot thoroughly, but even he didn’t know much about the lady. However, he assured us that the lady was indeed a real person, which surprised us once again.”

“It’s a shame to meet the lady for the first time in a dusty, sweat-smelling training ground, but it’s an honor to meet you like this nonetheless.”

“I’m really glad to meet all of you too. I look forward to getting along with you.”

“Of course…!”

At that moment, a stern voice was heard from afar.

“What are you all doing gathered there instead of training as you should?”

It was quieter compared to the knights’ bustling voices. But it had the power to command the crowd.

The noisy chatter of the knights suddenly fell silent as if a mouse had died.

“I asked what you’re doing.”

“Well, that is…”

Cassel, who had been walking slowly, stopped momentarily when he spotted Riena standing among the knights. At the same time, his fierce aura softened.

“Ria.”

As he approached with quickened steps, the knights moved aside to make way.

“What brings you here?”

“Ah, well…”

“We sometimes use real swords, so it can be dangerous if you’re not careful.”

“It doesn’t seem that dangerous. Everyone was quite friendly too.”

“Is that so?”

Cassel’s gaze swept around. The knights avoided his eyes and pretended to be busy.

“I feel a bit stiff. I should go swing my sword some more to loosen up.”

“Same here. I haven’t even broken a sweat yet, so I don’t feel refreshed.”

“Lord Molden, didn’t you ask to spar with me last time? Let’s do it now.”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

The knights suddenly found things to do and dispersed all at once. Max Carrot was also dragged away by a colleague.

In an instant, only Cassel and Amy remained around Riena.

Cassel asked again.

“So what brings you here?”

“Well…”

Riena was about to honestly say she came to see Max. But Amy, who was holding her arm, pointed at Cassel with her eyes.

Riena found herself mumbling without thinking.

“Um, to see you…?”

It ended awkwardly as a question, but Amy seemed satisfied and nodded.

Cassel replied with a slightly bewildered face.

“…Pardon?”

“No, I mean.”

Riena hurriedly explained her statement in detail.

“We haven’t seen each other properly except during breakfast and dinner, right? I was curious about what you do during the day.”

It was quite plausible for an improvised reason.

“Also, I wanted to watch you practice sword fighting after a long time. I used to watch often when we were young, remember?”

When Cas was learning swordsmanship from the Count at the Dyke mansion, Riena used to sit in the cool shade of a tree and watch the two of them.

“Yes, there were such times.”

Cassel accepted Riena’s words without doubt. She continued, feeling a little relieved.

“And since I was here, I also met Sir Max Carrot, Amy’s brother. I was curious about what kind of person Amy’s family member would be.”

“You mean Sir Carrot?”

“Yes. I just met him earlier, and he seemed like a good person.”

“Indeed. Sir Carrot is a knight I can trust.”

“Of course, of course.”

Amy looked proud at Cassel’s words.

“I also wanted to ask if Sir Carrot could escort us when Amy and I go out to see the festival.”

“The festival, you say?”

“Yes. Amy was sad because she had no one to go with. Me too, of course.”

Amy poked Riena’s arm again. Riena saw her glancing at Cassel and asked as if entranced.

“Do you want to come with us, Cas?”

This time too, Amy nodded, looking satisfied.

“I’d like to go too, but I feel I might just be in the way.”

“No, you won’t!”

Amy quickly interjected.

“I can go with someone else! So, um, Ryan also said he was sad because he had no one to go with. I can go with Ryan!”

“I’ve already agreed to go with you, so that’s not possible, Amy.”

Amy’s shoulders slumped a little dejectedly at Cassel’s answer.

“I really don’t mind…”

“I do mind. Go with Ria.”

“Okay.”

Amy looked disappointed but didn’t argue further.

Having obtained Amy’s surrender, Cassel turned to Riena. His face was quite serious.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t formally assigned you a guard knight yet. I should have paid attention to this earlier.”

Cassel spoke in a slightly apologetic voice. Riena shrugged as if it was fine.

“I haven’t had any reason to go outside the mansion until now. There was no need for a guard knight when I was just staying in the mansion, right?”

“Still, it was my oversight.”

“Then can’t we decide now? Who do you think would be suitable? I’m inclined towards Sir Carrot, maybe because he’s Amy’s family. I hear he’s skilled too?”

“Yes, that’s true.”

After pondering for a moment, Cassel called out to Max.

“Max Carrot, come here for a moment.”

Max, who had been glancing this way with his fellow knights, came running immediately.

“You called, my lord?”

“I’d like you to be in charge of Ria’s guard from now on. What do you think?”

“Me, guarding the lady… you say?”

“Do you dislike it? If so, I’ll find someone else—”

“No! I’d be glad to!”

Max exclaimed before Cassel could finish speaking.

“I was just worried if my meager skills would be enough to assist the lady well.”

“Humility is good, but excessive self-deprecation can be harmful. Your skills are good enough for me to acknowledge, so have some pride.”

“My lord…”

Max wore an expression of deep emotion, then bowed seriously to Cassel.

“I will obey your command. I will protect the lady safely, even at the cost of my life.”

Riena, who had been quietly observing, muttered in an embarrassed voice.

“There’s no need to go as far as risking your life.”

“That’s right, brother.”

Amy giggled. Ignoring his sister’s teasing, Max, still with a serious face, knelt on one knee before Riena.

“It’s an honor to become the lady’s knight.”

He extended his right hand to her, intending to kiss the back of her hand as knights often do for the ladies they serve.

However, seeing Max’s action, Amy was startled and began to cough.

“Cough, Duke, cough cough. Are you cra… cough.”

Max realized his mistake and turned to look at Cassel. He discovered that Cassel’s subdued aura had turned menacing again, and quickly lowered his hand.

“Ahem, anyway, I look forward to serving you, my lady.”

Riena awkwardly lowered her half-extended hand and smiled.

“I look forward to it too, Sir Carrot.”

“You can comfortably call me Max. You call my sister Amy, don’t you?”

“Still, I should respect you as a knight. Calling you Sir Carrot doesn’t mean I’m keeping my distance.”

“My lady…”

Max exclaimed, moved.

“I truly will dedicate my life to protect you!”

“I told you, there’s no need to dedicate your life.”

After the commotion subsided, Cassel and Max returned to their training. Instead of going back to their rooms, Riena and Amy decided to watch for a while before leaving.