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

[Dear Earl Paraton,]

Just as she wrote his name, Lena stopped and put down her pen.

‘But what if a sudden mission comes up during my leave?’

The nightmare of the first subjugation mission, where she had a sudden change in schedule, loomed in her mind. She squinted at the letter.

It was probably just a worry.

She tried to shake off the ominous feeling that something might go wrong with this plan too and resumed writing the letter.

“Lena?”

A soft voice called out as the door creaked open, and a petite blonde girl peeked in. Her bright green eyes, so much like Lena’s, were staring at her intently.

“Livri?”

“……It’s not like you to come home at this hour.”

Livri Canabella. The daughter of Earl Canabella and Lena’s closest friend.

Livri rubbed her eyes as if seeing a ghost. She blinked several times and craned her neck like a turtle to scrutinize her.

Seeing her, Lena smiled and said confidently,

“I got a leave this time.”

Livri’s eyes widened, and she ran towards Lena with all her might.

“Sniff, Lena!!”

Hugging her cousin as if reuniting after a thousand years, Lena comforted her.

The little whiner, with tears welling up, was quite cute.

“It’s been a while, Livri.”

“Sniff, ‘been a while’? Is that how you greet family members who live in the same house?”

“Uh, is it?”

“Of course it is!”

Though Lena lived with her aunt’s family, her frequent late-night work meant she rarely saw Livri. Apparently, Livri was quite upset about it, as she clung to Lena and complained for a long time.

“I’m not letting you go today!”

Shouting at the top of her lungs, Livri hugged Lena tightly as if she would never let go.

What should I do with her? 

After a moment of pondering, Lena decided to play along with her whining a bit.

After all, she had a whole week of vacation. Spending a day with family wouldn’t be so bad, right?

She decided to catch up with Livri, whom she hadn’t seen in days.

The two headed to a bustling street they used to frequent as children and found their old favorite alehouse.

“How can we live together and not see each other even once a day?”

“There’s just so much work with the knights.”

“Jeez. If the Duke works our Lena so hard, he should take responsibility!”

Gulping down a mouthful of ale, Livri shouted. Startled, Lena quickly looked around and covered her mouth.

Fortunately, the other patrons were too engrossed in their own conversations to pay any attention.

“Livri, shh! You shouldn’t say things like that.”

“Why not? Did I say something wrong? No matter how great the Duke is as the youngest captain of the Imperial Knight Order, this is too much, isn’t it?”

“The captain does even more work than I do.”

“Who cares? Still, why does he always make you stay even later on days you have plans with your fiancé?”

“Ah…”

There’s really no good way to argue against that.

“Is it your fault that he’s got such a twisted personality and hasn’t had a single girlfriend? No wonder his nickname is ‘impotent’!”

“Livri!”

“Instead of ruining other people’s relationships out of jealousy, he should fix his own character first.”

Livri babbled endlessly with her slightly slurred speech.

She must be really drunk. 

Lena, sipping her ale, tilted her head at the thought.

‘But why am I defending the Captain?’

After all, Livri wasn’t entirely wrong. It was true that there was a lot of overtime work and that the Captain deliberately kept her late whenever she had plans with her fiancé.

‘I get that there’s a lot of work, but…’

Interfering with her plans with her fiancé was something she couldn’t overlook, no matter how much she tried. Even with the recent tea shop appointment, he had done the same.

What was sadder was that she was getting used to such treatment from the captain. When Alhendore handed her new documents, she accepted them without hesitation.

“Sigh…”

She chugged her ale at the painful memories. The sharp, bitter taste was so intense it made her head throb, and she chewed on a pitted cherry aggressively.

“Lena, phew- our poor Lena. Ugh, that horrible Captain! Does he think he’s so great that he can just bully our Lena?”

“This girl is really asking for trouble.”

Afraid of what else her drunken cousin might say, Lena quickly took her outside.

The morning sun shone warmly, and the cool late autumn breeze felt refreshing.

The tipsiness she had felt was carried away by the cool breeze.

“Lena! Our beautiful Lena-!”

“This girl, seriously. Get a grip!”

Being with this mischievous cousin never left a dull moment. Lena linked arms with the staggering Livri, supporting her.

“What are you going to do getting drunk in broad daylight?”

“I’m not drunk! I’m perfectly fine. Let’s drink more, okay? Mooore-!”

“Alright, alright, I get it. You’re the one who suggested we visit the whole downtown area since it’s been a while. If we don’t hurry, we won’t see everything today.”

“Jeez-.”

Lena bought Livri a fresh fruit juice to help her sober up.

Since childhood, Lena often visited her aunt’s house, and each time, she and Livri would explore the downtown area.

Today, to commemorate her long-awaited vacation, she intended to revisit all their favorite spots.

As they strolled through the downtown area they hadn’t seen in months, old memories resurfaced.

‘Come to think of it, I wonder how he’s doing?’

It was back when Lena had just moved to the capital and was staying at her aunt’s house.

One day, she and Livri were exploring the downtown area when she lost sight of her group and got lost. She remembered crying a lot until a boy found her and escorted her back to Earl Canabella’s mansion.

“Brother Ar, where do you live?”

“Quite far from here.”

“Come visit Lena’s house!”

The boy, who smiled faintly at Lena’s invitation, gently patted her fluffy wheat-colored hair.

“I can’t. I have to go to the academy now.”

“Academy? What’s that?”

“It’s a place to study.”

“Study?”

“Yes.”

A boy with jet-black curly hair, who was at least a head taller than Lena, with youthful innocence still in his eyes. The color of his eyes was probably-.

“Lena, Lena!”

“Huh?”

“Are you listening to me?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, I’m listening.”

“Ugh, I don’t think so.”

Lena awkwardly scratched her cheek under Livri’s sharp gaze.

“Haha, sorry, sorry. So, what were you saying?”

“Jeez-.”

Whether it was from walking or the fresh fruit juice, Livri, who had sobered up, puffed out her cheeks. Then she pointed to a dessert shop.

The shop, which looked newly opened, was decorated with white marble and expensive antiques, much like any noblewoman’s salon.

At a glance, it exuded a sophisticated atmosphere, reminiscent of aristocratic social gatherings.

“Over there?”

“Yes, over there! It just opened and is supposed to be really, really good. They say it sells out every day and closes before sunset!”

“Really?”

Come to think of it, there was a line in front of that shop.

Should we check it out?

As Lena’s curious eyes turned to Livri, Livri nodded in agreement. The two, excited, walked straight towards it.

Through the large window facing the street, they could see the bustling counter and the crowded seats inside.

While casually scanning the seats, a familiar profile caught Lena’s eye.

‘Huh?’

Why was he here? And who was the woman with him?

For a moment, Lena wondered if she was mistaken. Or perhaps it was ‘that man,’ but he was just coincidentally with an acquaintance.

‘It must be someone he knows! Haha, I’m being silly…’

It must be a foolish misunderstanding.

After all, wasn’t she working in the knight’s order, filled with men he despised so much? Wasn’t she making acquaintances among those men?

Her fiancé also had every right to build acquaintances with young ladies from various noble families.

‘But… why does it feel like this is the first time I’ve seen Galverd smile like that…?’

The man visible through the large window was smiling without any pretense. In front of Lena, he always wore a sneer or a meaningless smile.

‘No, no. Why do I keep having these strange thoughts!’

Was this how Galverd felt as well?

“Lena?”

Livri’s concerned voice came from beside her, but she had no time to respond.

‘I, I… didn’t know.’

Even if she could understand her fiancé being with another woman logically, it didn’t mean her heart could accept it.

‘No, it can’t be.’

If she greeted Galverd warmly with Livri and introduced herself, he would gladly introduce the woman as a friend or a cousin… right?

‘I need to apologize properly to Galverd this time! Since I’ve almost saved up the dowry, I’ll quit the Knight Order. I’ll explain honestly that I joined the Knight Order because I didn’t have the dowry. Apologize… apologize… huh?’

Her scattered thoughts were jumbled together.

The man reached out to the woman, gently tidying her hair and naturally kissing her on the lips.