As Medric had said, physician examinations increased to twice a day, morning and evening. The wounds she had received at Count Renox’s mansion had all healed except for some scarring, and she was in excellent health with no pain. She had just shown this to the physician in the morning and was resting in her room when—

“What? A guard?”

“Yes, Airix Asa will be in charge of your protection, my lady.”

Apparently thinking that doubling the physicians wasn’t enough, Medric had suddenly assigned her a guard. Eve looked at Airix, who stood at her doorway with a friendly smile. A guard out of nowhere. And not just any guard—Airix was the Deputy Commander of the Knights.

“…I look forward to working with you.”

She greeted him politely, but the confusion and surprise were evident on her face.

She couldn’t understand why the Duke would assign the Deputy Commander of Knights as her personal guard. How much danger could her life possibly be in when she barely left the ducal residence?

“I’ve been wanting to meet you in person, and finally I have. The mansion has been abuzz with rumors about you, my lady.”

‘What rumors is he talking about? Nothing bad, I hope?’

“It’s an honor to serve you, my lady. For now, I have knight training, so I’ll guard you during the evenings, and starting next week, I’ll be by your side at all times.”

Eve was about to say that wasn’t necessary but closed her mouth. It was surely Medric’s decision, and she had no intention of going against his wishes.

“…Thank you.”

“You can count on me. I just stopped by briefly to introduce myself today, so I’ll return tomorrow. I look forward to serving you.”

Eve awkwardly smiled as she watched him disappear like the wind after speaking so rapidly.

No matter how she thought about it, there was no need to assign such a busy person as her guard… She swallowed the words that had risen to her throat.

Marie entered the room, having completed the preparations Eve had requested.

“Was that Sir Airix Asa who just left?”

“Yes, he’ll be my guard starting tomorrow.”

Marie approached Eve with an excited face, her enthusiasm so intense that Eve almost stepped back.

“The Duke truly cherishes you! To think he assigned Sir Airix Asa himself!”

Eve knew Airix was the Deputy Commander of Knights. So he must be impressive.

“Let me tell you just how remarkable he is…!”

Marie continued her explanation with flushed cheeks.

Airix, despite having delicate features that suggested he might be more inclined toward literature than martial arts, was selected as an elite knight of the Archild duchy at age 15 and rose to the position of Deputy Commander of Knights by the young age of 20.

In the western region, which was full of magical beasts, he had participated in beast subjugation campaigns with the Duke of Archild, earning merits and rising from elite knight to his current position purely through ability. He was reportedly a talent even the Kingdom of Ptotr coveted.

What started as an interesting story soon turned into Marie detailing exactly what foods Airix liked and disliked as a child, and even how many pieces of fruit he ate each month.

As Marie continued her enthusiastic explanation, blushing while sharing unnecessary details about his past, Eve couldn’t bring herself to tell her to stop and had to listen to the entire story.

“And that’s how he received ownership of that territory and became Viscount Asa. He’s not only remarkable in martial arts but also very capable in intellectual matters. That’s probably why he and the Duke have known each other for a very long time. Oh, but of course, David is the Duke’s closest friend.”

The conversation that had started with trivial details about him had now shifted back to his professional accomplishments.

Eve gave an awkward smile.

The more she listened to Marie’s story, the more one thought kept circling in her mind:

‘No matter how I look at it, there’s really no need for someone like him to be my guard…’

Eve shook her head. She had to receive Clareta at the mansion in the afternoon. There was no time to think more about her guard.

Although she hadn’t wanted to invite Clareta, she had done so because Clareta had insisted on visiting the Archild mansion. Given her reason for visiting and her past behavior, Eve couldn’t help but feel on edge.

Clareta arrived at the mansion wearing what anyone would consider the most splendid dress in the world, her shoulders perfectly straight.

Seeing her for the first time since the wedding banquet, Eve could tell she was full of hostility.

“It’s so difficult to meet with the Duchess. I was almost hurt by how you didn’t respond to my letters. What could possibly keep you so busy?”

Aggressive words flowed from her very first greeting at the mansion.

Clareta Marvel was the precious daughter of a ducal family. Still, she was just a young lady, while Eve was the official Duchess, married to the Duke. In terms of rank, Eve was clearly higher.

Yet she had addressed her not as “Duchess Archild” or even “Madam,” but as “Duchess” in a particularly informal way.

There were so many things to correct.

At the banquet, she had subtly pushed boundaries, but now she was openly crossing the line.

‘Without witnesses around, she’s going all out.’

Eve stared at her directly.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Please show me to the tea room quickly. My legs are sore from traveling such a long distance.”

Her attitude made it seem like she was the mistress here.

Eve couldn’t help but laugh inwardly. Fine, let’s see how far you want to go.

Eve decided to set the stage for her.

“This way.”

Eve guided Clareta to a tea room slightly separated from the main building.

Every item in the tea room was seasonally appropriate, and the interior was decorated with as much care as for the wedding banquet.

Even Clareta sat down silently, impressed by the meticulously arranged tea room.

The calla lilies on the table particularly caught the eye.

Clareta’s expression soured as soon as she saw the flowers, suggesting she had heard about them. Quickly composing herself, she spoke before even tasting the tea.

“I know you met my father recently. I wanted to attend too, but you didn’t invite me.”

Clareta openly expressed her dissatisfaction, asking why she hadn’t been invited to the dinner.

Eve couldn’t help but laugh at her words.

“Why are you laughing?”

Clareta showed her displeasure at Eve’s sudden laughter.

Eve stopped laughing and slowly answered her question.

“Young lady, do you think you should have been invited to that gathering?”

The implication was clear: ‘Clareta wasn’t important enough to be invited to that event.’ Clareta’s face reddened, and she raised her voice.

“W-What?”

She couldn’t respond, of course. She knew she was merely the daughter of Duke Marvel without any title of her own.

“Duchess, right now…”

“Duchess of Archild. Young lady, you should be careful with how you address me. I fear who might overhear.”

Once might be forgiven, but not twice. Eve corrected Clareta’s form of address.

Clareta seemed to feel humiliated that her words had been cut off. The way she glared at Eve with her reddened face was…

‘Just like at the banquet.’

It reminded Eve of that time.

“…Fine, Duchess Archild. Are you looking down on my status right now?”

“Of course not. I’m simply saying it was difficult to invite you to a gathering where only titled individuals were present.”

Clareta’s face clearly said, ‘That’s the same thing!’

Eve inhaled the aroma of the tea and took a sip.

She didn’t want to waste any more time here.

“Let’s stop with the tedious talk and get to the point.”

“…Yes. Fine.”

“Your letter mentioned the broken engagement.”

“Yes, I came to ask about that. I was also curious about what you thought of it.”

‘Curious about what I think? That can’t be it.’

She probably didn’t think the letter would reach Medric or Duke Marvel. The broken engagement was like an embarrassing past romance. She likely expected Eve to receive the letter and quietly feel hurt by herself.

‘Such childish thinking.’

Though they weren’t far apart in age, Clareta seemed to have been raised with too much indulgence. Despite her cunning nature, she didn’t seem very intelligent.

Eve waved the letters Clareta had sent and said:

“You might be curious. But aren’t you also curious about what Duke Marvel or the Duke of Archild might think? How about I show them these and ask for their opinions directly?”

“That’s…!”