Chapter 47
47
Whisper, whisper, Nina's voice grew softer. Adrian parted his lips slightly as if to speak, then pressed them shut again.
Nina laughed.
"Come on, say it quickly."
"Say what."
"What you want to say. What you have to say."
"I'll say it later."
"Who knows when 'later' will be. No, no. Now."
"Please, do it when I'm not around, please."
At Jin's loud sigh, Nina laughed and moved away from Adrian.
"Why, Jin, should I do it for you too? Is there anything you want to say? Go on, go on."
"I'd like to ask you to keep your distance right now, Commander."
Jin grabbed her shoulders and gently pushed her away. Nina laughed and was pushed back.
She turned to Adrian and said,
"Then I'll go change, Your Grace."
"Permission to withdraw is granted."
Nina crossed her arms, bowed, and headed to the lodging with Jin.
Nina, who had changed into her uniform in an instant, combed and tied her hair back up.
Then she opened the window and jumped down.
The fastest way is a straight line.
Jin, who was coming out of the front door, was startled by Nina, who had suddenly fallen. Adrian didn't even look back at her and said,
"Nina, use the front door."
"Yes, yes, I'll be careful."
Nina stood behind Adrian at attention.
Soon, the sound of Lord Louis and his party crossing the castle gate could be heard.
The sound of the Unicorn's hooves was lighter than that of horses.
Poco was sitting in front of Lord Louis with a stiff face.
An ordinary horse would have looked burdened carrying two people, but the Unicorn looked effortlessly light.
"Why is Poco so nervous?"
Nina whispered very quietly, maintaining a dignified expression.
"I heard it's his first time riding a horse."
At Adrian's words, Jin whispered very quietly, "Really?" Adrian replied curtly, "Yes."
Then the Unicorn stopped, and Louis got off the horse and escorted her.
Nina nodded deeply to herself as she saw Poco's cheeks turn slightly red.
Louis, with his shiny, light brown long hair tied back, always with a gentle smile and speaking softly, looked like a knight from a fairy tale come to life.
If the maids working in the castle were blushing, eight out of ten were because of Louis.
Louis treated even the dishwasher like a lady, so it was no wonder he was so popular.
It was no wonder that Nina and Jin would say, "I can't imagine Louis not being a knight," and unconsciously use the title "Lord Louis" rather than "Chief."
Even if he wasn't the vice-captain of the Jet-Black Knights, a knight was a knight, so it wasn't a wrong title, but still.
Poco's gaze turned to Adrian and Nina.
Poco made a Rengsi Kingdom-style greeting of raising both clasped hands and said,
"It's good to see you again, Lady Nina."
"The pleasure is mine."
Nina lightly placed her hand on her right breast and then removed it.
She told the awkwardly standing butler to show them to their rooms and let Poco enter the castle first.
"Lord Louis, thank you for your hard work."
Louis smiled gently at Nina's tribute.
"It was more of reminiscing about memories than hard work, as it was my first time in the Violet Forest in a long time. And Commander."
"Yes."
"You shouldn't walk around outside in that outfit. You didn't catch a cold, did you?"
Nina looked down at her outfit for a moment, then raised her head in surprise and whispered to Louis.
"Did you see me?"
"I wouldn't not know if an intruder entered a place where Your Grace is."
Louis's smile was gentle and his voice was soft, but the content was piercing.
In Jin's style, it would be something like, 'I'd be an idiot if I didn't know that. Did you think I was an idiot?' but in Louis's style, it was so gentle.
However, Nina knew that she shouldn't be fooled by that gentleness, so she quickly apologized, "I'm sorry."
"And?"
When Louis continued to ask, Nina judged that he wasn't angry enough to open his eyes wide and lowered her head.
"I'll be careful in the future."
"Good."
Only after Louis smiled did Nina step forward and give the soldiers who had come with them a dismissal order. Nina, having confirmed Louis's smile, finally felt relieved and turned around.
While the servants were moving the Unicorn and the luggage, she glanced at the door from time to time.
Louis even asked outright, "Did you prepare a surprise party or something?" Nina sighed and hesitated, then quickly stood in front of Adrian and Louis, who were about to enter the castle.
"Ah, actually, you're not supposed to open the door like this."
"Is there a problem?"
When Louis asked, Nina pouted and then smiled.
"I was going to surprise those who came back, but I wish I had more time to prepare, but I can't help it."
She opened the front door and bowed.
"Welcome back to Black Shield Castle."
Even with Nina's exaggerated words, Jin proudly puffed out his chest. He wanted Adrian and Louis to be surprised by the results that Nina, himself, and the servants had worked so hard to achieve.
Adrian and Louis looked at each other once, then walked into the entrance.
Adrian stopped at the entrance.
Louis gasped softly.
"It feels like it's only been a short time since I've been gone."
At Louis's words, Nina cleared her throat and raised her chin.
"The atmosphere has completely changed. I only thought of it as an old castle..."
Louis trailed off.
It didn't feel like that at all now. Rather, it reminded him of the ancient Yara Fortresses that appeared in old poems.
Clean, neat, and cozy...
The decorations, which were seen for the first time, were placed neither excessively nor insufficiently, and the sconces on the wall shone like new, as if they had been polished very diligently.
The Tapestry on the wall was also new. A bright and cheerful Tapestry suitable for a spring day was hung ostentatiously.
There were also decorations that seemed to have been brought from ancient relics, but they matched the clean interior and created a refined atmosphere.
"You must have really worked hard."
At Louis's words, Nina humbly lowered her head, saying, "I received a lot of help from Randell-Shah."
Jin patted his shoulder and said,
"Even so, the Sage didn't lift a finger to move the furniture."
"He cleaned."
At Nina's words, Louis asked back with a strange face, "Cleaned? The Sage?"
Nina said to the two of them, "It's a long story."
"First of all, you must both be tired, so change your clothes and wash up. I'll have a light meal prepared. Butler."
At Nina's call, the butler quickly approached.
"Prepare a meal."
"Yes, I will. Shall I bring up the hot water now?"
"Yes."
"Yes, I will."
As the servant stepped back, Nina playfully asked.
"Then, shall I help you take a bath, Young Master?"
Adrian stared at Nina's face for a moment and replied.
"Good."
"Yes!"
As Nina excitedly followed Adrian up, Jin made a dazed sound of "Uh, uh?"
Louis said to Jin,
"I'd like to hear the stories I've missed in the meantime. Of course, Lady Nina will tell me separately later, but there's no harm in hearing it in advance."
"No, is that okay?"
"What do you mean?"
At Louis's words, Jin gaped and made a face that said, 'No, just now, that. Don't you know even after seeing it?'
Louis replied with a kind smile.
"The Vice-Captain still doesn't seem to know Your Grace well. Now, let's go in quickly."
Jin looked at the upper floor with a worried face, then was led to the room by Louis.
