A Willing Pledge to the Villain

“…Sister, who is that child?”

A boy leaning against the library window reading a book finally asked Ashili, who was selecting books nearby, about the commotion coming from below.

“How unusual, Cardel. For you to take an interest in an outsider.”

“I wouldn’t call it interest.”

“You asked me because you’re curious, so couldn’t that be considered interest?”

Ashili chuckled at her brother, who wouldn’t give her an answer. Cardel ignored his sister’s teasing and turned his gaze toward the direction of the noise.

Cardel de Radelica. The eldest son of the Duchy of Radelica and Ashili’s younger brother. And the older brother of their youngest sister, Lucia.

Ashili tilted her head slightly and observed her brother watching intently. He was clearly concentrating, judging by his furrowed brow. How could he claim he wasn’t interested?

Ashili scoffed inwardly and decided to investigate the child her father had brought instead of selecting books.

“Make sure you’re on time for breakfast. Don’t be late like last time.”

“…Understood.”

Cardel answered, finally tearing his gaze from the window and returning it to his book. So cold, that child. Ashili left the library first, leaving her willful brother behind like always.

Left alone in the library again, Cardel’s eyes drifted toward the window.

“She looks like a girl.”

Why is she wearing a shirt and pants? And despite being so scrawny, she’s holding a wooden sword.

Under Leopold’s instruction.

“…How irritating.”

Cardel snapped his book shut with a sharp sound. He hadn’t been absorbing the words on the page he’d been reading for a while now.

But at that moment, Cardel didn’t realize something—he’d become interested enough in Evolaine to forget to bookmark the page he’d been reading.

“Who is that person?”

Once Cardel finally left the window, Evolaine asked Leopold.

“That person… ah, you mean the young lord.”

“Young lord?”

“Yes, that’s the Duke of Radelica’s son. The second of three siblings and the eldest son.”

Evolaine looked back at the window. The boy called the young lord had black hair and eyes that shone like gold.

Though still young, his beauty didn’t seem human, and Evolaine admired him purely before refocusing on her training.

Leopold was pleased that Evolaine followed along better than expected and went further than the progress he’d anticipated.

“Your Excellency.”

“Ah, you’re here.”

Leopold visited the duke as soon as Evolaine’s training ended. The duke was working frantically, buried in mountains of documents like usual.

“What is it?”

“I came to inform you of the date for Evolaine’s entrance exam.”

“Already? That child just had her first training session today.”

“Yes, it is early, but… she’s exceptionally talented. Not just her speed in understanding and comprehending, but the process of applying it is fast. At this rate, she should be able to participate in the entrance exam we planned.”

“Hmm…”

Leopold was a renowned expert in the empire. For her to please him to that degree.

‘She said she’d prove her usefulness.’

“…She’s certainly impatient about keeping promises.”

“Pardon?”

“Never mind. Inform Evolaine as you suggested.”

“Understood.”

The duke sat back at his desk and checked the pile of documents, thinking.

Even after losing consciousness, the marquis seemed to have a long and stubborn tail.

* * *

“Hey. Is your name Evolaine?”

“Who are you?”

“His Grace is calling for you. I’m Meli, a maid in this castle.”

Meli took Evolaine and entered through the back door. It was because the place where Evolaine had been staying to practice swordsmanship was close to the back door.

“Why is His Grace calling for me?”

“I don’t know either. How could I understand what those high and mighty folks are thinking?”

The maid shrugged and played innocent. Evolaine was following quietly behind the maid, but she couldn’t be certain the duke was really calling for her.

‘The commander said he’d be back soon.’

It was strange that the duke would call for her immediately after Leopold left. Moreover, hadn’t Leopold told her to wait and practice more?

“Are you sure His Grace really called for me?”

When Evolaine stopped abruptly and asked, Meli couldn’t hide her flustered state.

“What’s wrong with you? He really did call for you. If we’re late, we’ll both get in trouble, so we need to hurry.”

“Commander Leopold told me to wait. He said he was going to see His Grace.”

“…You followed me knowing everything?”

Meli laughed hollowly. She’d thought she was bringing along some stupid orphan, but the child’s mind worked better than expected.

However, a child was still just a child.

“But what can you do? His Grace really did call for you.”

“He couldn’t have called for me. It doesn’t add up.”

“Right, it doesn’t add up. Because that duke isn’t the one who brought you here.”

Meli gripped Evolaine’s wrist forcefully and tried to drag her along. But Evolaine’s resistance was stronger than expected.

“Let go! Ugh!!”

“You’re so insolent, and uselessly strong too!”

Meli threw Evolaine to the ground. She intended to injure her to weaken her strength.

‘They told me not to injure her, but I have no choice. At this rate, I won’t even be able to get her out of the castle.’

Thrown to the ground, Evolaine ended up hitting her head against the wall. Having suffered an impact to her head, which had only recently been treated, Evolaine’s vision soon scattered dizzily.

‘I’m dizzy…’

If no one came, she’d obviously be dragged away by this mysterious maid, Meli. She could only desperately hope someone would pass by this area.

“Commander…”

“What the h*ll is this mess?”

Just then, a girl who appeared to be about eight years old spoke in rough language that didn’t match her age.

Her glossy black hair was braided into two pigtails decorated with ribbons, and her sparkling golden eyes, which seemed almost alive, overflowed with vitality like she’d discovered something interesting.

‘D*mn it.’

Of all people, the duchy’s mad dog had to discover them. Meli roughly released Evolaine’s collar that she’d been gripping.

“Trying to leave through the back door? That won’t do!”

“Youngest Princess, that’s not what—”

“Huh? You know me?”

“Yes! I’m a maid working in this castle. My name is Meli.”

‘She’s just a kid, so she won’t know all the maids’ names.′

She wasn’t old enough to oversee them anyway, so she probably wouldn’t know if Meli made something up.

Besides, the duchy’s heirs didn’t engage in social activities before turning twelve.

Therefore, unless you worked in this castle or secretly leaked information, it was difficult to distinguish the heirs. Recognizing the youngest princess was itself a form of identity verification.

“Is that so? I haven’t heard of a maid named Meli.”

“You must have forgotten. I work at the laundry area…”

“Huh? But the laundry area is on the opposite side over there?”

Oh no! Dismay showed on Meli’s face. She’d gotten her movements mixed up trying to piece together a story.

“What could this be about? A maid who works at the laundry area came all the way here to the back door on the opposite side, taking the long way around, and is gripping the collar of that bleeding girl over there.”

Isn’t that really interesting?

The girl giggled. Like the cold sweat flowing down Meli’s forehead, her feelings were utterly miserable. This girl—Lucia Lou Radelica, the youngest princess of the Duchy of Radelica—was a mad dog.

Of all things, to run into a monstrous troublemaker you couldn’t underestimate just because she was young!

“I have a common name, so even if you heard it, you probably forgot.”

“I never forget once I hear something.”

I’m smarter than you think. At Lucia’s boast, Meli forced the corners of her mouth up into a smile. In response, Lucia smiled even more brightly. While dropping a bombshell statement.

“But I heard everything before coming in here.”

“…What?”

“Didn’t you clean your ears? I already heard your entire conversation with this girl.”

Properly interpreting Lucia’s words meant that from the moment Meli dragged Evolaine here, she’d already been hiding at this back door watching the entire situation.

“Monster…”

“Oh my, thanks for the compliment. But I didn’t come here alone.”

A man with a massive build entered behind Lucia. What caught Meli’s eye then was the sword sheath hanging at the man’s waist.

‘The emblem of the Lacrel Knights!’

She had to run quickly. If she delayed any longer, forget escaping—she’d obviously be locked in prison and interrogated.

Meli threw the smoke bomb she’d been carrying onto the ground, creating thick smoke.

“Cough! Hey, stop right there!”

The smoke was thicker and more acrid than expected, and taking advantage of the gap, Meli broke through the wall and fled.

If only that mad dog hadn’t appeared, her commission would have ended successfully. As she ran away, Meli shed tears over the generous compensation flying away in her future.

“What’s that? How dare she break my castle’s wall?”

“Princess, it’s not ‘my castle’ but ’His Grace’s castle.’”

“Same difference! Anyway, shouldn’t we check on that girl’s condition first?”

“I already checked Evolaine’s condition when the smoke cleared. She hit her head again, so we should have the physician look at her.”

“You’re already carrying her—you’re quite something.”

“You’re even more impressive, Princess. It would be better if you’d just fix your rough speech…”

“Rejected. This is my trademark.”

Lucia arrived at the infirmary with Leopold, and the physician, who’d heard the news in advance, rushed out to greet them and treated Evolaine.

“Considering the impact she received, the damage is minimal. At least that’s fortunate.”

“The sound was freaking huge though. Hey, did you check wrong?”

“Princess.”

“…Did you examine her incorrectly?”

The back-alley thug-like speech pattern—where had she learned it? Recently, Lucia had been acting like a thug, putting her hands in her dress pockets and swaggering around, or talking like a world-weary old person.

‘Her quick learning is the problem…’

The problem was that if something seemed interesting, even if unnecessary, Lucia would properly absorb and use it. Recently, Ashili had caught her and scolded her, and when that incident reached the duke’s ears, the castle had been turned upside down.

‘That was the first time I saw His Grace’s expression of losing his country…’

In fact, it was a sight he didn’t want to see again. He’d never wanted to know that side of the superior he served…

“Well… this young lady seems to have a sturdy body…”

“Sturdy, so she’s not hurt much from that sound? Does that make sense? Huh?”

“Hic.”

When the physician finally hiccupped and fainted, Leopold tried to divert Lucia’s attention.

“Princess, it’s time for the evening banquet, so perhaps you should return…”

“I can eat later. I’m not hungry.”

“I see…”

“More importantly, who is this girl?”

“She’s my disciple. She’ll be taking the entrance exam soon.”

“Whoa, your disciple? A disciple of someone as strict as you. How dreadful.”