Chapter 4
4
‘I should go to Young Master.’
Butter and sugar, of all things.
Nina kept giggling as she headed to Adrian's room. His room, set apart from the others, was empty.
‘Is it his swordsmanship practice day?’
Adrian practiced swordsmanship in a secluded training ground. Nina and Adrian tried to maintain it, but the weeds grew at an alarming rate.
She was skipping along happily when she heard voices.
Rough curses and ominous sounds.
She stopped without realizing it, then pushed off the ground.
The sounds from the training ground grew clearer. The Swordsmanship teacher was cursing and unilaterally assaulting Adrian.
It wasn't a wooden sword, but an Iron sword.
Nina learned what it sounded like when metal hit a person.
She charged at him like an angry hen.
"What, what is this?"
The Swordsmanship teacher flinched for a moment. Nina grabbed his leg and bit his thigh with all her might.
"Ugh! You ××, you bitch!"
"Nina!"
Blood and flesh tore into her mouth. Nina spat it out and bit him again.
The Swordsmanship teacher hit Nina with the Iron sword. He struck her several times, threw her off, and panted.
"I'll kill you first!"
He approached Nina with the Iron sword, but Adrian struck the back of his head with a wooden sword.
Thwack! With a dull sound, the wooden sword broke, and the Swordsmanship teacher collapsed. Adrian hurriedly grabbed Nina, who had been thrown away.
"Nina, are you okay? Nina."
"Adrian?"
"Thank goodness."
He bit his lip and held Nina in his arms.
"You, you bastards..."
The Swordsmanship teacher staggered to his feet. Even in this situation, Nina thought, 'He's quite the blockhead.'
Then, the ground beneath the Swordsmanship teacher's feet gave way. It was as if he had fallen into a swamp.
Nina knew that Adrian had a contract with the Spirit of Shadow and Darkness. But it was the first time she had seen its power with her own eyes.
"Huh? Aagh! What is this! Save me! Someone help!"
He struggled and was slowly sucked down. Adrian stared at him with cold eyes.
The Swordsmanship teacher pleaded with Adrian.
"Save me! I was wrong! I was just doing what the mistress told me to do. Save me!"
Nina, held tightly in his arms, thought.
'Right, our Young Master was a cold-hearted sweetheart.'
He wasn't just a kind second male lead.
Darkness completely swallowed the Swordsmanship teacher. Even though the Swordsmanship teacher screamed like that, no one came.
"I dropped the cookie."
Nina whispered in his arms, and Adrian replied.
"We can pick it up."
"Are you okay, Young Master?"
"I'm okay."
He held her tighter.
Feeling Nina's breath and warmth, he whispered again.
"I'm okay, Nina."
But you...
The words lingered on his tongue before passing down his throat.
The two went to the well and washed away the blood and wounds.
Limping, swallowing the pain, the two sat down and shared the cookie. Dirt crunched in their mouths, but it was still sweet, and Nina felt much better.
"But will it be okay?"
"What?"
When Adrian looked puzzled, Nina pointed to the ground.
"The teacher who disappeared here..."
Adrian gave a graceful smile.
"You don't have to worry."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
\ \ \
Despite his assurance, Nina wondered if it would really be okay, but it really was.
Even though the Swordsmanship teacher disappeared, no one asked about his whereabouts.
Nina felt a chill at the calmness. The servants gossiped, but since he was such a jerk, they all figured he was out drinking and passed out somewhere.
'Is it fortunate that this is a place where people don't come?'
She didn't feel the horror of someone killing someone, of someone dying.
This world, Bellac, is a place where death is very close.
Bellac and knights were inseparable. The knights defeated Bellac and protected the people.
It was the same in The Roubaenue Dukedom. However, the knights of The Roubaenue Dukedom appeared more often in other stories than in stories with Bellac.
"They lost again this year."
Nina blurted out.
Her breath streamed out in the winter air. In this cold weather, the two were sitting side by side in a corner of the garden, watching the stars.
Even wearing all the clothes they had, it was freezing. Nina was strong in winter because she had contracts with the North Wind Spirit and the Frost Spirit, but Adrian must have been colder.
She had asked him several times if he was okay before coming out.
"Is this the second time they've lost?"
When Adrian asked back, Nina nodded.
In this place where Bellac appeared, the popularity of the knights was beyond imagination.
The commoners knew the knights' insignia even if they didn't know the lord's crest.
Each territory and family had a knight order, and they often resolved problems with duels.
They were truly warlike imperial nobles.
The Exchange Tournament was also such an event.
The knight order representative of The Roubaenue Dukedom and the knight order representative of the nearby Count Lava's territory gathered to compete.
The winner was granted the right to use the Crystal Well, the largest well in the plains, so it was a very important event.
But this was the second year in a row they had lost.
This would make farming and animal husbandry difficult.
"The Jet-Black Knights are now just a ragtag bunch. They say they're buying up all the people they can with money."
Nina knew that Adrian would be appointed as the 'Jet-Black Knights Commander'.
So, whenever the Jet-Black Knights were mentioned, her ears perked up, but the stories she heard were all bad.
Thanks to this, there were rumors that the Jet-Black Knights might be disbanded and a new knight order created.
"I see..."
Adrian trailed off. Nina said, "Ah!" and turned to him.
"Did you see the shooting star just now?"
"No, I didn't."
"Too bad. If another one falls, you have to say your wish three times. Please let there be cake at this year's New Year's party. Cake, cake, cake."
Adrian smiled at Nina's shout.
Nina pouted and looked back at him.
"Cake is important."
"That's right, it's important."
He made a serious face.
The two watched the stars for a while longer before getting up.
It was Nina's judgment that they might freeze to death if they stayed like this.
\ \ \
Whether Nina's wish had an effect or not, cake was served at the New Year's party that year.
It was a luxurious cake, with each of the servants getting a slice.
Nina grabbed a piece of cake and ran to Adrian.
Seeing Nina's triumphant face, Adrian smiled and said, "I should have made a wish too."
Nina stabbed the palm-sized piece of cake with a fork and put it in her mouth.
"Mmm!"
The taste of rich butter and sugar.
It was so delicious it was chilling. Seeing Nina's flushed cheeks and shining eyes, Adrian took a small piece and said.
"Eat a lot, Nina."
"Young Master should eat more than me!"
She cut a large piece and held it to Adrian's mouth. Adrian, who was forced to eat the piece of cake, gave a bitter smile.
"Is it good?"
"Yeah."
"But it's definitely crunchy. I guess it was hard to whip in the winter. Or is it just ours that's like this?"
Nina cut the cake into small pieces again, put one in her mouth, and stuffed the rest into Adrian's mouth.
"How is it?"
When Nina asked, Adrian looked at her.
Adrian's gaze towards Nina was just like when he looked at the stars. She was embarrassed, but on the other hand, she understood.
The cake is worth it, isn't it?
He reached out and wiped the cream from the corner of her mouth.
"May the Blessing of the Spirit overflow this year."
At Adrian's New Year's greeting, Nina smiled and greeted him back.
"May you have a year filled with the Blessing of the Great Spirit."
