189 - I Got Engaged to the Blind Duke
Blind Duke and Fiancee 189
Henders called the youngest one at the very end.
"Hey, youngest."
"Yes!"
Garnet, who had been standing at attention, raised her hand high.
Henders quickly averted his gaze at Garnet's response.
"Not you, I mean the other youngest one."
The count's daughter was volunteering as the youngest of the Knights Order, but she was still an uncomfortable (?) youngest.
"Why?"
Uvis approached with a bothered expression.
Garnet glared at Uvis with jealous eyes.
"Have you ever dealt with a Monster?"
"Yes."
Henders frowned, as if surprised.
"When? Where?"
"I encountered a Cave Monster on the way to the capital last year."
"Ah, right. You came back injured then, didn't you?"
Uvis avoided answering, pouting his lips, and Henders chuckled.
"I can win if I get older like the seniors!"
"Oh, look at this one. Go drink more milk, you little punk."
Henders grabbed Uvis by the neck and shook him. It was cute how the guy who used to barely reach his waist was now trying to climb over him just because he had grown a bit.
"Stop it. You stink."
"Hey, I showered a week ago?"
"Ew."
Garnet, who was listening to their conversation, also made a retching sound in her mind.
"Ew or whatever. Get out there! Uvis!"
"Where to?"
"A duel with a Monster. Win this time, you punk."
"Wow, this senior is crazy!"
Uvis looked at Henders as if he couldn't believe it.
"Why?"
"That's the young lady's precious Companion Monster."
"Companion Rabbit."
Garnet corrected him, but her voice was drowned out by the laughter of the noisy knights.
"Hahaha. Hey, does it make sense to put the word 'Companion' in front of Monster?"
"Are you going to tell our young lady that exactly as it is?"
Uvis snorted and turned to move, but Henders grabbed the back of his neck tightly.
There wasn't a knight who didn't know that Uvis and Marin were close.
"Hey! Are you really going to tell her that?"
"Already heard it?"
The knights froze instantly at the clear voice that suddenly came from behind.
Slowly turning their creaking heads, they saw Marin smiling brightly and waving her hand in greeting.
"Young lady!"
"Senior."
Marin made eye contact with Uvis and Garnet and approached Henders.
Henders, who was frozen stiff, quickly lowered his head when he met her eyes.
"Good day, young lady."
"Everyone looks like they haven't been able to sleep?"
"Finishi- finishing up something."
Henders tried to say 'Monster' but quickly changed his words.
"Finishing what?"
"Uh, finishing cleaning the training grounds. Right?"
Henders looked to the side with pleading eyes, but his colleagues looked away.
"Are you all gathered here because of the Giant Rabbit?"
Marin asked, seeing ten knights standing in a row near the wooden house.
"……Yes."
When Henders readily agreed, Marin gave a troubled smile.
Even if BaniBani didn't harm people, ordinary people couldn't help but be surprised by its size.
So, she had set up its accommodation in a secluded area within the Duke's Castle, next to the Knights Order, who seemed to get along well with BaniBani.
But the knights were suffering because of BaniBani.
"Amazing."
Gerald, who had approached unnoticed, scanned the knights with a displeased look.
The knights immediately stood at attention at Gerald's appearance.
"My Knights Order is this weak."
The knights collectively became gloomy at his cold words.
Marin clicked her tongue inwardly as she watched the scene.
Why kill people's spirits?
She called out to Uvis, who was the only one who didn't seem affected among the knights with gloomy faces.
"Uvis."
"Yes."
Uvis was confident on his own, not discouraged at all.
"Would you like to spar with Rabbit?"
"Really?"
Uvis asked, his eyes sparkling.
The knights held their breath at her words.
It was a joke earlier, but Uvis, who was still an Apprentice Knight, couldn't be BaniBani's opponent.
Henders, who had mentioned the sparring earlier to tease Uvis, quietly raised his hand.
"Young lady. Uvis is not yet a match for a Monster - no, Rabbit."
"I know. That's why it's a sparring match. So that neither of them gets hurt."
Soon, Uvis stepped forward with a wooden Sword in his hand, looking excited.
BaniBani, who had been rolling around on the ground, looked up at Uvis with an arrogant expression.
Uvis also glared at BaniBani as if he wouldn't lose.
Marin approached the lying BaniBani and introduced Uvis.
"Rabbit, this is Uvis. He's a kid I care about."
He was all grown up, but still being treated like a kid.
Uvis glanced at Marin with an expression that he didn't know whether to be angry or happy.
Still, Marin Young Lady said she cared about him.
"Uvis wants to spar with you. Sparring is when your teeth come out long."
BaniBani, who had gotten up from its spot, pulled out its teeth long as if it understood her words.
The knights who were watching the scene from behind swallowed hard.
When BaniBani made its teeth long in the desert, the surroundings were always covered in blood.
"But you have to stop when I tell you to."
Rabbit stamped its foot on the ground and snorted at Uvis.
It was as if it was saying, 'Come on in.'
The moment Uvis swung his wooden Sword from top to bottom, BaniBani quickly went behind Uvis and kicked his back.
"Ugh. Again!"
Uvis, who had fallen forward from BaniBani's kick, jumped up and stood straight.
Even after that, Uvis couldn't keep up with BaniBani's fast speed and was constantly getting hit.
"Wow, that's possible."
The knights who were watching the sparring had a surge of competitiveness in their hearts.
A serious sparring match with a Monster without shedding blood.
The Monster BaniBani was an apex predator even among the Desert monsters. It took three knights who used Aura to handle one BaniBani.
And they could fight one-on-one with such a Monster without getting hurt?
"Rabbit. Stop."
At Marin's words, BaniBani, who had been standing triumphantly on Uvis's back, stepped back.
"Uvis, are you okay?"
Garnet, worried, rushed to Uvis.
"I'm okay."
Uvis groaned and got up, brushed off the grass on his body, and smiled brightly at Marin.
"That was awesome! I want to do it again!"
"Hey, youngest."
A knight who was as big as a bear called the youngest.
"Yes!"
Garnet, who was next to Uvis, answered first.
"Ahem. Not you, Uvis. There's an order to things."
"Huh?"
Uvis frowned as if he didn't know what he was talking about.
"Young lady, next time, can I have a turn……."
The big knight smiled sheepishly and asked Marin.
Behind him, the other knights quickly lined up in a row.
The fear of living with a Monster had disappeared, and competitiveness had taken its place.
Gerald's eyes sparkled at the change in the knights.
The knights were the ones who clashed with BaniBani the most in the desert. So, he understood their fear.
But Marin had turned that fear into a competitive spirit.
Gerald looked at Marin, who was arranging the knights' order, with a pleased expression.
Whose fiancée is so wise. Beautiful. Cute. Lovely.
Gerald only regretted the limits of his expression.
No matter what praise he attached to her, it wasn't enough.
Olive stood before Gerald with a tense look.
"So, the Imperial Sanction hasn't arrived yet?"
"No."
Olive lowered her head with a face that said she had no excuse.
Gerald stared out the window with an indifferent face.
He had shown the Emperor that he was still healthy and warned him not to do anything foolish. But to come out like this meant…….
"I shouldn't have gotten involved with the Crown Prince after all."
Olive silently agreed with Gerald's quiet words.
The only reason the Emperor could ignore the Duke's words was, in his opinion, the engagement between Dia and the Crown Prince.
"How is Dia doing these days?"
"She exchanges letters with His Highness the Crown Prince frequently."
Gerald clenched his fist to calm his anger towards the Emperor.
He wanted to go to the capital and turn it upside down right away.
However, if Dia was sincere about the Crown Prince, he couldn't stop her from marrying the one she loved, especially after she had lost her parents.
If it were the old him, he would have ignored it and exploded his anger at the Emperor, but now he knew how precious a loved one was.
"Send a letter to the Emperor again. He won't be able to ignore my letters forever."
"Yes."
"And……."
Gerald, who had been silent for a moment, made up his mind and opened his mouth.
"Contact those who are planted in the Imperial Palace."
He didn't want to use this card.
He had buried the Emperor's deeds by eliminating the Eastern Grand Duke, but if he continued to act like this, he would have no choice but to pull out his own card.
Gerald closed his eyes to hide his cold gaze.
Olive looked at Gerald's dark expression with a heavy heart and lowered her head.
It was because she knew why the Duke was so troubled.
In order not to reveal the identities of those in the Imperial Palace, they had not made contact for a long time.
To contact them meant that the true battle between the Emperor and the Duke was about to begin.
