Chapter 3 – That’s too much, Captain! (Part 1)

Three years had passed since the first subjugation.

Lena, clutching unfinished documents to her chest, let her disheveled hair down. Her long honey-colored hair fluttered in the wind.

“Late again today, sigh!”

If it weren’t for that overtime, she wouldn’t have been late.

The face of her boss, who always dumped piles of work on her, floated in her mind.

“Where are you going?”

“I have a lunch appointment with my cousin.”

“Don’t lie.”

How did he always know when I was lying?

Alhendore, who had a ghostly knack for detecting her lies, moved up the deadline for the report due next week to today, knowing she had an appointment with her fiancé.

He had the nerve to push it to tomorrow only after she was already late for her appointment.

“Really, he’s too much!”

Because of him, she was always late for the two or three dates she had per month.

No wonder her fiancé kept urging her to quit every time they met. He had a point.

Even she would tell herself to quit a job that didn’t allow her to keep a single appointment and left her no personal time.

“Sigh, is it there?”

Running across the bustling streets of the capital, she finally spotted a secluded tea house. Confirming it as the meeting place with her fiancé, she hurriedly opened the door.

Upon entering, Lena saw the man sitting by the window and walked toward him.

When their eyes met, the man, who had been waiting for her, gulped down his cold tea, and she habitually bowed her head.

“I’m really sorry!”

It seemed every meeting with him began with an apology.

“Today, the Knight Order’s work ended late—”

“Today ‘too,’ Miss Leshuriel.”

Her fiancé, Galverd of the Paraton Earl’s family, forcefully set down his teacup. He grimaced and let out an angry sigh.

“Please, sit down.”

“Yes……”

“Hah, Miss Leshuriel, do you know what time it is?”

“Around one o’clock……”

“Then you must also know I’ve been waiting here for twenty minutes?”

As Galverd raised his voice, Lena bowed her head again. She had no further excuses for her frequent tardiness.

“I’m really sorry.”

“Hah! Words are easy.”

“……”

Galverd roughly ran his hand through his hair and reached for the teapot.

Lena quickly stood up and lifted the teapot instead.

‘Oh….’

No wonder the teapot felt unnervingly light.

When she tried to pour it, only a few drops came out.

With a furrowed brow, Galverd spat out his words at her. Once his anger started, it wasn’t easily quelled.

“I’ll ask again. Is it absolutely necessary for you to assist that knight captain? Constant overtime, business trips. Why must you, a woman, go alone to a place swarming with men?”

“It’s just work!”

Galverd sneered at her, who couldn’t even sit down and was shouting. How could he be sure she was only working there?

Above all, the idea of a woman wielding a sword was unimaginable to him.

“Do you really need to work? You could live comfortably as a countess without doing any work. Stop running around and disgracing the family.”

“If I quit……”

I won’t be able to save my dowry.

Over the past three years, she had scrimped and saved every penny, and she was nearly at her goal.

Just a little more, and she’d have enough. 

Couldn’t you wait just a little longer?

The words she wanted to say lingered in her mouth but were ultimately swallowed.

She knew that not saying anything would only lead to misunderstandings, but she couldn’t bring herself to say, ‘I’m working to save up for the dowry.’

She was already being looked down upon enough; how much more would he belittle her if he knew she didn’t even have the money for the dowry?

She didn’t mind him insulting her, but she couldn’t stand the thought of her father being insulted as well.

“Why did you agree to an engagement that doesn’t suit you in the first place?”

Indeed.

Lena quietly bit her lip. Galverd had always tended to look down on her, but his words had become increasingly harsh over time.

Galverd, who had been glaring at her up and down, ran his hand through his hair irritably. He didn’t like the clothes she was wearing.

Since she often had to travel with the captain, Lena was dressed in the uniform provided by the Knight Order.

Galverd scowled and clicked his tongue.

“When we meet next time, I hope to see you in a dress, Miss Leshuriel.”

Realizing what he meant, Lena’s shoulders slightly trembled.

Hoping to see her in a dress meant he wanted her to quit the Knight Order by the next time they met.

“I’m not in the mood to talk anymore today, so I’ll leave first.”

Galverd shook the empty teapot he had drained while waiting for her.

Lena sighed softly, like a condemned criminal.

Even after he stood up without hesitation and left the teahouse, she couldn’t catch his retreating figure and just clenched her waistband.

“Sigh… I don’t know either.”

Did he really hate me working for the Knight Order that much?

Their relationship felt like a tangled ball of yarn. Trying to untangle one part only made the other part more tangled.

Was joining the Knight Order to save up the dowry the problem, or was it her foolish pride thinking she could save up the dowry herself?

Or was the engagement to Galverd the problem itself?

Unable to find an answer, she turned back with a heavy heart.

***

Within the Knight Order, the building handling administrative tasks had a space for the captain.

There was the captain’s office for work, a personal training ground outside, and even a rest area for relaxation.

Lena quietly tiptoed towards the captain’s lounge.

When feeling down, that’s the best place to go.

Clutching the documents to her chest, she smiled faintly.

From the moment Alhendore moved the report deadline, her destination for today was already decided.

‘No one should be there, right?’

The captain would have gone home by now, and the empty lounge would be lined with fine wines.

Since the captain didn’t enjoy drinking, the wines he collected were practically Lena’s private stash.

‘Wine!’

Wine was the perfect friend to blow away unnecessary worries!

Entering the lounge, Lena stood in front of the captain’s wine display.

Which one should I taste today? 

Humming a tune, she ran her fingers over the wines.

‘The captain has no interest in things he’s not interested in.’

He wouldn’t notice if one or two bottles disappeared from this vast collection. Still, she was careful not to drink too often.

“Oh? This one!”

After looking through the wines for a while, she stopped her finger in front of an old-looking wine.

“Chai… Wan?”

The name engraved on the wine was faintly familiar. The accent might have been slightly different, but it was definitely that wine from back then.

At that moment, Lena recalled a memory from the past.

At the beginning of the year, there had been a gathering for the Knight Order where the captain had opened a fine wine.

Until then, she hadn’t had much interest in wine. But that wine, which she drank without much thought, was on a different level from anything she had tasted before.

The wines she had tasted so far were nothing compared to that wine.

Tasting the ‘finest’ wine for the first time, Lena had fallen in love at first sip.

What is this heavenly taste?

Since that day, unable to forget that savory flavor, she couldn’t just pass by the captain’s lounge.

Once, her gaze lingered so longingly on the display case that the captain glanced at her and made a comment.

“If you want to drink it, go ahead.”

“No, I’m fine!”

At that time, she shook her head vigorously, but in the end, her hands reached for the display case.

Since the captain had said she could drink it, Lena used that as a free pass to raid the captain’s lounge again today.

A high-end wine that a mere country baroness like her could never dream of tasting. She picked the one that caught her eye the most and popped the cork.

Pop! As the sealed entrance opened, a fresh aroma wafted out.

Burying her nose in the wine bottle and taking a deep breath, the moodiness from her engagement issues melted away.

“Hoo-ah!”

Indeed, alcohol was the best remedy when feeling down!