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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: A Show of Force
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The elders wore sour expressions the entire time, but their attitudes had become polite.
After meekly surrendering control of the finances, they meekly refused tea and meekly exited the mansion.
Their steps were hurried, as if they thought I held their weaknesses in my grasp.
As they left, the butler spoke, looking as though he’d been deeply moved.
“You really do have a fondness for numbers, don't you, Little Madam…! My faith was lacking!”
Of course. I used to cook the books for loan sharks, you know?
…is what I couldn’t say…
“Right? Very lacking, indeed. Worship me!”
I spread my arms wide and declared arrogantly.
The butler, whom I expected to be appalled, worshiped me as reverently as a praying priest.
“How can you be so clever, so wise, and so eloquent…”
It was the moment my image, shattered by yesterday's ghostwriting incident, was restored in one fell swoop.
I triumphantly handed the entire set of accounting ledgers I’d received to the butler.
“…?”
The butler stared at me, his face asking if this was the revelation bestowed upon him at the end of his prayer.
“You said you'd take care of everything once I got them, didn't you? Good luck! I'm cheering for you!”
I gave the butler a smile meant to infuse him with encouragement. He hesitated for a moment, but then nodded with a look that said this was better than nothing.
“Yes! I'll take care of everything! All of it!”
Of course, of course. You should take care of it.
*…But I’m the one who’ll be leaving in ten months.*
Watching the excited butler, I felt a pang of discomfort somewhere in my chest.
*He really loves his work, doesn't he… To be so happy even after being handed accounting documents…*
I turned my gaze from the back of the butler, who was leaving excitedly with the ledgers, and looked at Nina.
“By the way, why did you do that earlier?”
You didn't seem like the loyal type at all… No, in the first place, what loyalty is there between us!
Nina, like the clever servant she was, answered without hesitation.
“Because it seemed more likely that you, Little Madam, would extend my employment contract longer than the elders would.”
Ah, I love that answer.
I grinned and nodded.
“A wise choice, Nina.”
“I knew it, right? Then for dinner tonight…”
“Goes without saying! We’re having meat!”
I exclaimed with a determined look.
I feel like those old bastards sucked all the life out of me.
Watching me, Nina muttered something strange.
“…So… cute… So…”
In the afternoon, the physician the Duke had called visited to check on my condition.
Just as Eric had said, he had already been bribed, or perhaps persuaded… In any case, after a cursory examination, he left with a face that clearly showed a guilty conscience, saying only that the mother and fetus were healthy.
Before he had completely left the mansion, I nudged him in the side, held out a jewel from my jewelry box, and said.
“I'm in the early stages of pregnancy… Please make sure to tell them I mustn't overexert myself. Please.”
With a look of resignation for his already damaged dignity, he accepted the jewel and nodded.
I don't know what the doctor said, but after he left, the butler began to wait on me hand and foot.
He didn't try to stop me, even when I was lazing about, opening wedding gifts, and rolling around.
Nina also kept bringing me delicious things to eat, saying.
“Lady Imeline… Ah, no, Little Madam, you are so very cute.”
*…I don't think I've done anything particularly cute…?*
Although, cute things aren't cute because of what they do; they're cute just for breathing…
Anyway.
After eating the snack Nina brought me and declaring I would lounge in bed, I wrote a letter to my mother.
Not having had a chance to see my mother's face since we parted at the princess's palace had been weighing on my mind.
My decision not to go with them was a choice made for my mother and Philip, so I had no regrets.
However, the look on my mother's face that day still bothered me.
I stared blankly at the empty stationery for a while, then instead of picking up the quill, I took out a few jewels from my vanity drawer.
*A few of these… would be more than enough for Mom and Philip to live on for several months…*
Just as I was thinking that and about to put the jewels in the envelope.
*‘These are the things the late great madam left for the Young Lord's future wife.’*
The butler's voice echoed in my ears.
*Ah, who cares. I'm just sneaking one out… Shoo, shoo!*
Young Lord Eric would never notice if one jewel went missing from this large collection.
I tried to convince myself and open the hand clutching the ruby.
If I just opened it, the ruby would drop right out of my hand and into the envelope.
But strangely, my hand wouldn't move.
“Move! I said, move!”
I muttered desperately.
But my hand wouldn't listen to me. Not until the very end.
In the end, I had no choice but to put the ruby back in the drawer with a sullen expression.
*Aish… Damn it…*
How did I end up like this?
Is it because I've been sticking so close to Young Lord Eric that something like a conscience has started to sprout in my heart?!
I looked at my reflection in the mirror with fearful eyes.
*Ah, a conscience is really useless for getting by in life…*
In the end, I could only write a short letter to my mother and put it in the envelope.
I'm doing well. I hope you are too, Mom.
There were so many words that couldn't be contained in those short sentences.
I couldn't bring myself to seal the envelope for a long time, but at the last moment, I put in the 100,000 gold Eric had given me and sealed it. The wax spread messily, but Mom wouldn't care about something like that.
Aish. Since it's come to this…
I'll just focus on Margaret Beaufort.
With that thought, I took the letter Eric had written to Margaret Beaufort.
By the way, when the hell is Eric coming back? I have to tell him how much I suffered because of the elders today.
If I were a real daughter-in-law of this house, I would have escaped immediately!
The fact that I can endure it because I'm a fake daughter-in-law, not a real one. Isn't that a strange irony?
If I were the type of person who poured their heart and soul into such things, this would have been an unbearable situation.
*A world where only the sincere lose out.*
I shook my head.
Because at the words "a sincere person," Eric Orleans naturally came to mind.
✵ ✵ ✵
Two months.
The time Eric had been away from the Royal Knights. During that period, Eric was no longer the commander, but merely a nobleman.
Most of the knights gathered here were the second sons of nobles, or their illegitimate children, and thanks to that, they were spared the duty of continuing their family lines and had accepted the knighthood's vow of chastity.
However, most firstborn sons and legitimate heirs of noble houses were not particularly familiar with the martial arts. This was because many families had few heirs, so they were raised with painstaking care.
The knights assumed that Eric, too, must have slacked off on his training while he was back with his family.
He probably just attended social gatherings and drank himself silly. Didn't he even have a sensational wedding with his father's fiancée's daughter? What training could he possibly have done amidst all that?
Eric must have gotten weaker after resting that much, so let's take out all our frustrations from when he was commander.
That was the mindset with which they all approached the duels.
Moreover, today's training involved each of them facing Eric with their weapon of choice.
It seemed like the perfect dueling theme for Eric, who stubbornly insisted on using an old-fashioned greatsword, to suffer a defeat… or so they thought.
“…!”
CLANG!
The smiles vanished from the knights' faces as they saw the chain that had caught Eric's sword snap in an instant.
Sir Meland, whose main weapon—a mace—was easily shattered by Eric, waved his hands in horror.
“I surrender! I surrender!”
He shouted, his armor half-shattered even though Eric had gone easy on him.
An axe, a spear, and now a mace. Eric had defeated them all with a single greatsword.
The knights didn't laugh at the loser. They were scheduled to be in his position soon enough.
“Next up is the magic gun, Young Lord.”
Just then, the new commander of the knights introduced the next challenger.
A magic gun.
This time, everyone looked up in anticipation. A weapon capable of facing an aura swordsman had to be something like a magic gun, after all.
Gun and sword.
It seemed like an absurd fight, but if the opponent was Eric, they'd probably be evenly matched, until…
*Still, he'll probably lose.*
The knights thought they would finally get to see their former commander, who had once trained them so harshly, be broken. To see him raise his hands and shout his surrender.
Soon, a knight holding a magic gun stepped forward.
Eric engaged in the duel without a break. He didn't look tired at all.
“Then, let's begin!”
The duel began in an instant.
Pshew!
The knight fired a magic bullet the moment he heard the word "begin."
Ting!
Eric's sword easily deflected the magic bullet.
A second shot.
Pshew!
Ting!
Eric's sword blocked the second magic bullet without difficulty.
A third…
No gunshot was heard.
SWISH!
There was only an ear-splitting sound as the gun's muzzle was suddenly sliced clean off.
The knight with the gun stared at his weapon, which had been cut by the sword of Eric who had closed the distance in an instant, and grit his teeth.
He drew a dagger hidden at his thigh.
“Sir Ark! You're only supposed to use one weapon…!”
The current commander tried to intervene. The dagger aimed for Eric's exposed side and went in…
…or it was about to, when Eric, without panicking, kicked the knight in the groin.
“Aargh!”
He screamed and collapsed to the ground.
The knights turned their heads, their faces showing they could imagine the pain.
Watching his opponent writhing in an unsightly manner, Eric spoke with a calm face.
“A gun is effective in long-range combat, but it's easily defeated up close. A dagger, on the other hand, is the opposite. Its range is shorter than my leg… If you were going to draw a dagger, you should have waited a bit longer. Though you chose the wrong secondary weapon to begin with.”
Eric sheathed his sword.
The current commander froze. The other knights did as well.
Just as Eric was about to say "Next" impassively.
From a distance, Ella waved her hand. All the knights bowed their heads.
Ella clicked her tongue and said to Eric.
“That's enough. If you help with training two more times, you'll end up defeating all the Royal Knights.”
Eric also bowed respectfully. Ella glanced at the knight writhing on the ground and spoke coldly to the commander.
“Tell that knight to go make some coffee. Two glasses, iced, with plenty of ice.”
The commander asked with a bewildered expression.
“Your Highness! There are maids in the palace…”
“So what? The knights and maids of this palace are all my people, aren't they? What's the difference if he makes it or she makes it?”
Ella looked coldly from the commander to the knight.
“Oh ho… Don't tell me this is insubordination?”
Only then did Sir Ark grasp the situation and stand up. His expression was still pained.
“N-No, Your Highness!”
Ella muttered as she watched Sir Ark's retreating back.
“He doesn't have the guts to be insubordinate, but he has the guts to cheat, I see.”
Cowards only seem to find courage when they're doing something cowardly, anyway.
Ella laughed, finding that courage pathetic.
