My sister casually brought up such a depressing story before suddenly realizing what she had done.
“I didn’t mean to make you sad, Tie.”
“I know, Sister. That’s why all of us are trying this hard now, so you’ll never have to wander the outside world alone like that again. Nothing like that will ever happen a second time. Of course, your knowledge has been incredibly helpful, but……”
If I had been alone, I probably would have agonized over how to solve all of this until I collapsed unconscious from the stress.
“Are there any mana stone mines that haven’t been bid on yet? Or undiscovered deposits? I think it would be good if we owned at least one.”
“Hmm……”
My sister rested her chin on one hand and sank into thought.
She had said she regressed sometime in her late twenties.
Trying to sort through nearly ten years’ worth of memories must naturally be difficult.
“Can you give me some time to think about it?”
“Of course. I’m meeting Lady Ginevra for tea today anyway, so I’ll discuss it with her too.”
“Alright.”
“I only meant that if things go well regarding mana stone negotiations with their side, I’d still feel more secure if we had our own source too. So you don’t need to tear your hair out over it, Sister. The maid you carefully prepared for this is practically fainting over there.”
“Thank you for inviting us, Lady Rosena.”
“We’re grateful for the invitation.”
The young man and woman who stepped down from the carriage greeted me politely.
One was Hayley, and beside her stood the tall man escorting her.
With his broad frame and unmistakably honest face, he naturally inspired trust. After hearing about his previous life, that impression only felt stronger.
Jade Delphoi.
In the past, he had stood on Vincent’s side, but this time he was someone we hoped to recruit as Lucian’s knight.
“No, I should be the one thanking you for coming. As I mentioned beforehand in my letter, this is only a small gathering, so there isn’t much prepared. I hope you’ll excuse the simplicity.”
“Not at all. We’re simply grateful to have been invited.”
Hayley spoke with complete sincerity.
Why so formal? I laughed awkwardly and was just about to begin walking when a shadow fell beside me.
“If everyone else has partners, shouldn’t the young lady receive an escort as well?”
A teasing voice sounded next to me. When I looked up slightly, I saw silver hair and blue eyes curved into a smile.
Lucian.
To me, his face looked exactly the same as always, but perhaps others saw a different impression entirely.
Smiling faintly, I willingly accepted his escort before turning back toward Hayley and Jade.
“Allow me to introduce him. This gentleman is Sir Lux, one of today’s guests and my escort for the party. He was recently knighted.”
“A knight……”
Just as expected, Jade reacted immediately.
Lucian smiled gently and offered his hand without hesitation.
Haston had claimed Lucian was practically a reckless delinquent, but in everything I had seen so far, I could not find even the slightest trace of such behavior.
If all of this was an act, then either way it was impressive.
“Jade Delphoi.”
“Lux Allen.”
The moment their hands met, Jade seemed to roughly grasp how much strength Lucian possessed.
I had told him there was no need to hide the fact that he was a Sword Master. Was he already planning to reveal it?
Jade blinked once before releasing his hand. Lucian smoothly resumed escorting me as we walked into the estate.
Inside, Minabel and Haston had already arrived and were waiting.
‘Shouldn’t I bring a partner too?’
‘His Majesty said he’d lend me Sir Haston.’
‘R-Really? Is he alright with that?’
‘Apparently that part isn’t very important to him.’
Haston had essentially been dragged here by force, but he did not seem especially displeased.
He had mentioned there was a woman he cared about. Briefly, I wondered if this was really alright before dismissing the thought.
We all quietly took our seats and began the tea party.
Naturally, it was best to start with harmless conversation.
Pretending to know absolutely nothing, I opened my mouth.
“Sir Delphoi, by the way, when is your wedding planned for? As far as I know, the two of you have been engaged for quite some time already.”
Jade froze briefly with his teacup still in hand.
The frail young noble lady who knew nothing of the world because she spent all her time locked away indoors recovering from illness.
And the youngest daughter of Rosena, who had rescued his fiancée from danger and possessed enough influence to shake House Paneschula itself.
Now then, with such an easily usable card placed before you, how would you answer?
Soon, his lips moved.
“Lady Paneschula is targeting Hayley.”
Minabel and I exchanged startled glances.
I had not expected him to bring that up so suddenly. What exactly did he mean by “targeting”?
I thought I had done an excellent job pretending to appear innocent and naïve, but somehow the conversation had veered in a completely different direction.
“Targeting her? Considering I only asked about your marriage plans, that’s quite… an unexpected response.”
In other words: what on earth are you talking about?
Strictly speaking, Paneschula’s real target would be Ginevra.
And strengthening the Crown Prince’s faction through a marriage alliance with Delphoi would be the more logical conclusion, wouldn’t it?
Yet the man before me spoke with absolute certainty that the current target was specifically “Hayley.”
And to reveal that so abruptly to someone he had only just met—no matter how I looked at it, wasn’t that rather reckless?
“Jade!”
“I apologize for startling you with such sudden words, my lady. However, there is something I wish to request, even at the cost of committing rudeness.”
Even Hayley seemed aware this statement was practically explosive, unable to hide her confusion.
“I’m truly sorry, my lady. I didn’t know Jade intended to bring up something like this……”
“It certainly is a little… surprising.”
I could more or less guess why he was telling me this.
According to rumors, Flotie Rosena was someone capable of saving Hayley without caring in the slightest about offending House Paneschula. She had even disrupted the book club while drawing Violet’s youngest daughter onto her side.
And on top of that, there were whispers that she was especially close with Cherita, the woman currently stirring up high society.
‘Even if Flotie Rosena isn’t extraordinarily clever herself, House Rosena may still hear about Paneschula and become cautious.’
Perhaps that was his reasoning.
Even so, this level of impulsiveness was still unexpected. If it were a private meeting between only the two of us, that would be one thing—but Minabel, Haston, and even an unidentified knight were present here.
Lucian, meanwhile, had chosen to silently observe the situation with an indifferent expression.
Wouldn’t it be better if you at least pretended to be surprised? Acting that calm only makes you look even more suspicious.
“I believe it’s already widely known throughout the capital that Lady Paneschula has continuously been sending me marriage proposals.”
“……”
Until then, Hayley had been desperately trying to stop Jade, but at those words her face darkened instantly and she pressed her lips shut.
“Hmm.”
“Because of me, Hayley has already suffered humiliation after humiliation, constantly being compared to Lady Paneschula. What kind of knight fails to properly protect the honor of the woman he loves?”
“No, Jade. I’m really alright.”
I hadn’t bothered investigating that deeply myself. Learning every insult people exchanged would only make me irritated.
“Hayley told me this herself. She said that although Your Ladyship surely knows everything already, you deliberately pretend not to know for the sake of preserving our dignity and reputation.”
“……”
“And when you naturally spoke just now as though our marriage were an obvious certainty, I understood. You are not someone who would ever be swayed by malicious gossip, my lady.”
Well, of course not. I disliked gossip from the beginning.
Minabel was the one who spent entire days chasing rumors while practically screaming ‘Give me more!’ and then neatly summarized only the information I actually needed.
Even just listening to her reports already left me gasping to keep up.
Still, misunderstandings could occasionally become useful.
Just like Lucian quietly remaining silent right now without interfering……
“Indeed. One has to question whether someone incapable of protecting even his own woman is qualified to serve as a knight to his lord.”
