“So, to avoid embarrassment, everyone put on your clothes. Those who don’t will be considered disobedient and will start outdoor sleeping training immediately.”
The tension eased quickly, and the atmosphere lightened again.
Where does this man’s sincerity end, and where does deception begin?
“Yes, understood.”
The knights hurriedly picked up their training clothes.
“Your Grace, I’m not sure which one is mine.”
“It’s too sweaty to wear again…”
Despite their complaints, the knights dutifully dressed.
“So it won’t bother you to get sweaty again?”
“We’re putting them on now.”
“We’re wearing them.”
Quickly complying, the knights wore whatever training clothes they could find.
“Everyone, dismissed. Go rest and freshen up.”
After ensuring that everyone was dressed, Laches sent the knights away. They bowed and quickly left to change out of their sweaty clothes.
Laches picked up the now empty basket and handed it back to me.
“You must have found it heavy. Good thing, right?”
“……I’m a Northerner now. You don’t need to sugarcoat the North for me.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Laches smirked, dismissing my complaint lightly.
“……Was telling me about the capital yesterday also meant this way? That since I’m not a Northerner, I should return to the capital?”
“That’s quite a leap. Let’s just say it was for the sake of my dignity and the North’s.”
“Dignity?”
“Yes, it’s a thing. From now on, leave the training clothes in baskets outside the rooms. I’ll tell the housekeeper.”
“That’s my job.”
“I know. And giving orders is mine.”
Laches waved his hand lightly and started walking away. As he took a step, he seemed to remember something and looked back at me.
“Pack up your room today.”
“……What?”
“You can’t sleep in that room today.”
What is he talking about?
He offered no explanation, just waved and disappeared into the distance.
Like a feather floating in the air, light but with legs stuck in an inescapable mire.
‘What kind of person is he really?’
Am I guarding against the man who wants to kill me, or is it just simple curiosity?
Or perhaps a scholarly interest in exploring an unknown world, a world I’ve never set foot in before.
No.
Maybe what I really want is to break those arrogant, unbent knees of his and make him kneel before me.
Watching Laches walk away, I headed to the training ground.
There, knights who stayed voluntarily for personal training were engaged in their routines.
Scanning the area, I spotted the distinctive golden hair amidst the dusty air – the face I remembered from my memories.
‘That’s him.’
He moved incredibly fast compared to the other knights, impressive even to an outsider like me.
‘If the Nirel family had a knight like him, maybe I could have avoided some of those numerous deaths.’
I waited quietly, planning to introduce myself and shake his hand as he finished training.
Just as I started shivering from the cold, thinking I might have to wait for another chance, his training ended.
The blond knight walked towards the door.
‘Finally…’
By shaking his hand, I hoped to find out why Laches was seeking the deadly poison Demaroxin.
As the knight approached the door, he thankfully spoke to me first.
“……Have you been standing here all this time? Need me to call someone for you? Or can I help with something?”
Now was the time. The perfect opportunity to read his memories was right now.
I reached out my hand as if to shake his.
“Just a moment…”
Thud.
Suddenly, something hit the knight’s back, interrupting my greeting.
“Hey, Ronan! Sorry about that. The stone bounced your way?”
Two knights in training clothes, laughing and holding stones, were clearly visible from a distance.
It was obviously no accident but a deliberate act.
“Ha.”
Ronan, the blond knight in front of me, sighed and swept his hair back.
“You dare sigh in front of your senior, Ronan? I’ve held a sword and trained for years longer than you. How dare you roll your eyes at me like that?”
“The one who used to follow me around like a puppy, acting like a lackey. Now you think you have pride because you’re a knight?”
‘Is this what bullying within a group looks like…?’
No one seemed inclined to help Ronan in the hostile atmosphere.
Wondering if I should step in, Ronan suddenly spoke up.
“What does it matter how many years you’ve held a sword, senior? When monsters appear, you turn pale and push the young ones forward while hiding yourself. Do you still expect respect as a senior?”
“What?”
“If you have time to spare, better improve your skills. Isn’t it more embarrassing to lose to a lackey than to a senior?”
“You brat!”
“Senior. My training is over, I’m leaving. You seem to need more training, so you should stay.”
Nodding in greeting, Ronan glanced at my outstretched hand, then casually took off his training top. He neatly folded it and placed it on my hand, bowing slightly.
“Sorry for the trouble of laundry collection. I’ll be going now.”
“……What?”
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
