Chapter 16: Chapter 16
"Is this a new assassination technique?"
The Duke asked with his usual nonchalant expression. I was so flustered that I quickly got up, but in doing so, I accidentally pressed hard on the Duke's thigh with my hand.
His brow furrowed slightly.
"This too?"
"I'm so sorry. Really sorry."
I couldn't raise my head. I was too stunned.
"What's going on?"
Arcadia's voice came from outside.
"It's nothing, just my new servant almost tripped over the table."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. Relax a bit, Arcadia, or you'll get indigestion."
Arcadia fell silent.
After a while, I suddenly heard a soft chuckle. It was the Duke.
"Are you okay?"
In response to my anxious question, he said, "I'm fine. This heat is nothing to worry about."
He nonchalantly dusted off his soup-stained shirt. Light crimson stains had set into the white fabric.
"I'm really sorry."
"Okay. Shall we continue then?"
"Pardon?"
"Finish our meal. Mobius will be curious if I enjoyed the meal or not."
"…Yes."
"The soup is ruined, but how about sharing a little bit of the steak?"
"I'll do it."
It seemed impossible to refuse the Duke's insistence. As a servant, it was right for me to take action.
I carefully cut a very small piece of the steak.
"Sit down."
At the Duke's command, I pulled out a chair and sat down, but I ended up sitting to his right.
I felt his gaze on me.
I had inadvertently sat on the side of my disfigured face.
I felt uncomfortable.
To eat, I needed to remove my mask. Just as I was about to do so, he said, "If it's not uncomfortable for you, would you sit to my left?"
"…Thank you."
I moved to the left side of the Duke, who was seated at the head of the table.
I removed my mask and ate. The steak was so tender it melted in my mouth. It was the most delicious food I had ever tasted.
Contrary to what he had told Arcadia, the Duke didn't ask me any particular questions. But I was tense.
I occasionally felt his gaze on me.
Once, while eating dessert, our eyes met. His eyes were deep and inscrutable.
I quickly turned my eyes back to the food.
When the meal was over and I began to clear the plates, I remembered Mobius' request for the Duke to hand over any laundry.
"Do you have any laundry to give me, Your Grace?"
He looked at his soup-stained shirt.
He went to the bed, took out a fresh shirt, and then turned his back to me and began to take off his shirt.
I remembered the statue-like figure I had seen in a temple, wide-shouldered with moderately sun-tanned and well-defined muscles, showing how he had wielded his sword in battle.
Embarrassed, I quickly turned away.
The Duke handed me his shirt.
"Just this, please."
"Yes."
I took the shirt and hurried out of the tent.
Arcadia stood outside in the moonlight, his pale skin and platinum hair glowing, his green eyes staring at me.
"Remember that you are always being watched."
"Yes, I'll keep that in mind."
I bowed to him and turned away.
The Duke's shirt in my hand carried a scent I had once smelled in a forest on a rainy dawn.
I wondered, 'Is this the scent of the northern wind, or just the Duke's scent?'
It was a warm and nostalgic smell.
The next morning, after staying up late doing laundry I had never done before, I was awakened by a commotion outside.
"What? The patient from the South?"
I could hear people running.
The patient from the South?
I suddenly snapped to attention, hurriedly dressed, grabbed my mask, and ran outside.
Almost at the medical tent, a beast-like roar reached my ears.
"You, who are you! Get away!"
It was the Yellow Caterpillar. He had woken up!
I hurried inside the tent.
'No, this can't be happening!'
I froze at the sight before me.
In the middle of the tent, the Caterpillar, standing on two legs, was swinging a sword, threatening anyone who tried to approach him. Two knights and a few soldiers, armed with swords, were pressing him.
"I don't want to die!"
"What's he saying?!"
"His tongue's been cut in half!"
"Ugh… Aaah!"
The Caterpillar raised his sword. Then, someone rushed past me.
Arcadia.
He drew his sword towards the Caterpillar.
"No! Caterpillar!"
I quickly ran and stood between Arcadia and the Caterpillar, arms outstretched to block Arcadia's advance.
Arcadia's sword stopped right in front of my face. The Caterpillar's sword struck down on my shoulder.
'Thank goodness.'
It was the flat side of the sword; the Caterpillar was in a state of panic. I staggered slightly but quickly regained my composure.
"What are you doing!"
Arcadia shouted.
"You can't kill him, he's my friend."
Arcadia looked at me incredulously.
"Move aside, he threatened our injured soldiers."
"I can't."
"What?"
"Please give me a moment. Just a bit of time to explain the situation to him. I beg of you."
Arcadia sheathed his sword, as the Caterpillar had dropped his.
"White… Caterpillar?"
"Yes, Caterpillar. It's me."
I turned to face the Yellow Caterpillar and gently held his trembling shoulder.
"Here… Where is this?"
"We're in the Northern Knights' medical tent. You were thought dead by Medea's blade, but you didn't die. I found you in Rahel Forest, still breathing, and brought you here. We came here for our survival. The Duke of the North has taken us in."
"…"
The Caterpillar looked confused and then reached for his tongue, realizing it was cut. His eyes slowly filled with shock.
I knelt beside him.
"They cut your tongue, Yellow Caterpillar. So you couldn't say you weren't the culprit. We were just tools to them. You understand, right?"
After a moment, the Caterpillar began to sob. I gently embraced him, struggling to keep himself together.
"You survived. So don't do this. Okay?"
"Uuuuu…"
"It's safe here. Don't worry."
I comforted the weeping Caterpillar and looked at Arcadia.
He had sheathed his sword and was watching me. Behind him stood the Duke of the North, Zion Belphast, his blue eyes flickering as he gazed at me.
I spoke.
"He was momentarily confused from the shock of being nearly killed, thinking this was the South. Please, Vice-Captain, show some mercy."
Arcadia thought for a moment, then resheathed his sword. He spoke.
"Your movements are very agile."
He was referring to how I had blocked him earlier.
"Yes, I'm a bit agile."
Arcadia's eyebrow twitched at my response.
"You can't just walk away from causing such a disturbance. Being a refugee from the South doesn't automatically make you a Northerner. You said you'd prove your usefulness, didn't you?"
"Yes, anytime."
"Seeing your movements today, I think it's not a bad idea to give you a chance to prove yourself. Are you prepared?"
"Yes."
I straightened my posture and knelt on one knee before Arcadia.
'If it means being accepted, I'll do anything you want.'
"The method will be a tournament. Three rounds of sword fighting. I will choose your opponents from among the soldiers."
I nodded in agreement.
Then, Duke Belphast spoke.
"For the third and final round, would you consider a knight as the opponent, Arcadia?"
"What?"
Surprised, Arcadia turned to look at the Duke.
"If you cannot defeat the first and second opponents, you won't make it to the final round anyway. So, how about it? The last opponent being a knight, and a very strong one at that. Our Northern Knights are the strongest in the Empire, after all."
"Understood."
Arcadia bowed, and the Duke turned away. For a moment, our eyes met. His gaze was inscrutable.
Then, suddenly, the Duke stopped and turned back towards us, addressing the Yellow Caterpillar.
"I heard you're from the North, is that correct?"
He remembered what I said.
The Caterpillar, somewhat calmed down, hastily wiped his tears and nodded vigorously.
"Is your name Caterpillar?"
The Caterpillar shook his head.
"No."
"He says no."
I translated for the Caterpillar.
"Caterpillar… it's just a name they use to call us, like him and me."
The Duke asked.
"Do you have a name? If not, may I give you one?"
The Caterpillar looked up at the Duke with a touched expression, tears welling up again.
I told the Caterpillar, now named 'Yora', about Medea as much as I could. Yora, a year younger than me, hails from a remote village called Bern in the far north of the Duke's territory. Fortunately, there was a wounded soldier from near Bern who reached out to Yora.
Slowly, the soldiers' wariness towards Yora turned into sympathy.
Yora, a northern orphan boy who had wandered until he was sold to the South and treated like a bug within the walls of the Rahel Castle.
Thanks to Yora, the soldiers' perception of me softened significantly.
However, Arcadia's gaze on me became even sharper.
That evening, the Duke didn't ask me to serve him dinner.
The sword duel was scheduled for the following afternoon.
If Yora and I prove our worth in tomorrow's duel, we will be able to go to the North with the Knight's Order.
"Be strong."
That night, at the medical tent, Yora quietly encouraged me. We had unknowingly grown close. He looked at me as if I were his older sister.
On the way back to my quarters, I ran into Arcadia. He stood up from leaning against a large tree as if he had been waiting for me.
"Estelle."
"Yes?"
I stopped.
"I have a question."
"Ask me anything."
"…I heard from Mobie that you are clumsy in cooking and laundry. In reality, you've never really cleaned properly, have you?"
His direct question made me tense. I deflected the conversation, fearful of what he might say next.
"…I'm sorry. Even in the South, I was clumsy and often scolded."
"It's understandable if you've never done it before."
"…"
"It's better to be honest. Really, what was your role in the South?"
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This novel has been translated up to chapter 66.
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