Chapter 7 (Part 1)

Grace Lowell ran toward the Knight Order as if fleeing, and only after she was far away from the 1st Knight Order’s building did she bend over, panting heavily.  

Somehow, she felt strange.  

Moreover, when Leonardo softly stroked her hand as if caressing a sensitive spot and looked at her, it felt as though her heart had dropped.  

‘What is this? Why do I feel so embarrassed, awkward, and strange?’  

As one problem after another gets resolved, there will eventually come a time when everything ends.  

When that happens, will there be no reason to meet with Leonardo, who is now standing in front of her?  

Yes, there will no longer be a reason for him to hold her hand like he did just moments ago.  

‘You’re crazy, Grace.’  

Recalling the whirlwind of thoughts that had surged through her in that brief moment, Grace squatted down and buried her face in her knees.  

Her emotions were in turmoil.  

While she was drowning in her feelings, knights who recognized her from afar greeted her in loud voices, as if they were delighted.  

“What’s this, Commander! Did you have a fight this morning?”  

“Wow, so passionate, so fiery!”  

“Did you lose today, though?”  

Without knowing the details, they chattered noisily, saying things like their commander wouldn’t lose to the 1st Knight Order’s commander and telling her to cheer up.  

Hearing the ruckus the knights were making, Grace’s head began to throb.  

Clenching her fists tightly and gathering all her strength into her abdomen, she shouted.  

“Shut up, you damned bastards!”  

Grace’s booming voice echoed across the training grounds.  

At her words, the knights whimpered and said,  

“‘Damned bastards’… Commander, that’s too harsh.”  

“You’re going to kick us out of the Knight Order just for talking…”  

“You’ll turn us into beggars…”  

Seeing them huddle together and whisper among themselves, Grace, her face flushed with anger, shouted again.  

“Shut up, you bastards!”  

After shouting, Grace watched the knights who continued to laugh and snicker at her. She closed her eyes and spoke.  

“Stop moving.”  

At the ominous tone in their commander’s voice, everyone froze in place.  

Looking at each other’s faces, they exchanged glances, wondering what they had done wrong, but when they saw Grace’s expression, they gulped nervously.  

Her face was one of impending explosion.  

Grace slowly walked down to the training grounds, smiling faintly at the knights who were all staring at her.  

“Eek!”  

Hearing someone yelp in fright, Grace said,  

“The first ten to finish, twenty laps.”  

As soon as she finished speaking, the knights bolted off.  

Pushing and shoving, they ran desperately, trying to get ahead of each other. Watching their backs, Grace added,  

“The last five, I’ll personally give you a training duel.”  

The fear of her “training duels,” infamous for their brutality, was evident on their faces.  

As they screamed and ran, Grace sat on her chair, resting her arms on the armrests and propping her chin.  

It was truly a strange thing.  

‘What is it that you want, Grace Lowell?’  

Wanting to know more about someone like Leonardo Fernandez… Was this a sane thought?  

The only things worth knowing about him were that he was a mage, the commander of the 1st Knight Order, and the son of the Duke who led the royalist faction.  

Anything beyond that was utterly useless information for her life.  

‘But haven’t I already learned too much?’  

That he was good at cooking, obsessively neat to a fault, and that, despite his beautiful face, he occasionally swore.  

Not to mention, that he had well-defined abs and carried an enormous weapon between his legs.  

And that he was quite skilled in bed.  

Recalling all this, Grace bit her lip.  

‘Is it because it was my first time? Why do I keep thinking about it so much?’  

Grace covered her flushed face with both hands.  

She could sleep just fine without having strange dreams anymore, so why did these thoughts keep popping up, over and over again?  

Why had she become like this?  

‘It’s because of the sorcery, the sorcery!’  

If not that, it must be the curse Pla had cast on her.  

And if not that, it must be the effect of the Golden Day Primrose, that blasted flower known for its supposed aphrodisiac properties!  

Feeling as though she might truly lose her mind if she kept thinking about it, Grace stood up.  

By the time the rankings of those running around the training grounds began to take shape, Grace shouted.  

“What kind of training have you been doing while I wasn’t here!”  

At her outburst, those in the lead yelled back.  

“Ah, seriously! We’ve been working hard!”  

“This is unfair!”  

Seeing them whining like children, Grace scoffed.  

Unfair, my foot. 

It was obvious they had been slacking off and enjoying themselves in her absence.  

“Vice-Commander.”  

At her call, a man at the front quickly ran up to her.  

Seeing that he wasn’t even out of breath, Grace gestured with her chin and asked.  

“Did they slack off or not?”  

“…”  

“Liam Dyson. Didn’t I tell you it’s your job to maintain discipline others while I’m gone?”  

At Grace’s cold gaze, Liam, looking flustered, hung his head low.  

Seeing Liam unable to even meet her eyes like a criminal, Grace ground her teeth.  

Knowing how mild-mannered Liam was, it was clear the knights had taken advantage of him.  

“I told you, if words don’t work, you can use force to keep them in line.”  

“I’m sorry.”  

“You stay here and wait.”  

Watching Liam shrink back like a guilty man, Grace smiled grimly.  

Though he was the most skilled here, aside from herself, his overly gentle nature was a problem.  

The other knights, well aware of this, had undoubtedly exploited him.  

‘I told him to act a little more ruthless, but he can’t even do that!’  

Already troubled to death by Leonardo Fernandez, and now this mess with the Knight Order, Grace decided to vent her frustration fully.  

“One minute!”  

“Argh!”  

Her shout was immediately followed by screams.  

***

Flipping through the documents and reading them one by one, Leonardo’s face was grave.  

The woman sitting across from him, sipping tea, set her cup down and pointed at the papers he was reading.  

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”  

“No. There’s no problem, Iris.”  

Iris Sherman, whom he had called by name, stared quietly at Leonardo’s still-serious face.  

He always had such a handsome face.  

Even his usual expressionless face looked like a masterpiece, but she especially loved the slight frown he made when concentrating.  

“Then why do you look so serious?”  

Iris thought of the nasty rumors that had started spreading since his return and asked.  

But Leonardo didn’t seem to hear her, as he didn’t answer and continued reading the documents.  

‘Well, that’s just like Leonardo.’  

Since she hadn’t really expected an answer, Iris picked up her teacup again and took another sip.  

Just sitting across from him, even drinking tea made from cheap leaves felt luxurious.  

Once he finished reading those documents, he would undoubtedly look at her and ask questions.  

‘I’ll just enjoy the moment when it comes.’  

Iris suppressed the urge to hum a tune.  

What might seem trivial to her could be serious to Leonardo.  

“Iris, is everything written here true?”  

At his question, Iris deliberately put on a serious face and asked back.  

“What’s going on for you to ask that?”  

Iris was confident Leonardo would answer her question.  

He had always trusted her as his childhood friend and a fellow mage, and she was sure he always would.  

“Answer my question first.”  

But Leonardo shattered her expectations.  

Momentarily flustered, Iris looked at him.  

This had never happened before; something she hadn’t anticipated was happening now.  

Trying to hide her confusion, she spoke.  

“If it’s about the Golden Day Primrose, yes, it’s unverified, but that’s how the legend goes.”  

At Iris’s calm reply, Leonardo looked back down at the documents.  

They contained a brief account of the “Spirit of the Golden Day Primrose.”  

‘Since it’s only known in the Eastern Continent… it must not have reached here.’  

According to the records, the spirit residing in the Golden Day Primrose was extremely rare to encounter and detested the destruction of its flowers.  

Meanwhile, it was said to enjoy playing pranks on humans. Its most famous prank was impersonating the person the victim thought about most strongly and engaging in intimate acts in their dreams.  

‘So that’s why I dreamed of doing such things with Sir Lowell.’  

The Grace in his dream had done nothing but smile, and that too was the work of the Golden Day Primrose’s spirit.  

Finally finding the answer, Leonardo furrowed his brows.  

“Leo, what’s got you so worked up? Can’t I help you?”  

When Iris called out to him again, Leonardo placed the documents down completely.  

Looking quietly at Iris, who was gazing at him with concern, he organized the papers and replied.  

“You’ve already helped enough, Iris. I’ll ask for your help again if I need it.”  

Then, he immediately stood up.  

Watching him, Iris bit her lower lip.  

She wanted to stop him, to spend more time with him, but she had no pretext. Her report was already complete.  

“My father wants to see you, Leo. Please visit us sometime.”  

When Iris smiled brightly and spoke, Leonardo paused briefly to look at her.  

There was only one reason Iris’s father would want to see him.  

‘Though Iris herself seemed unaware of it.’  

“I will.”  

“Thank you. Let me know if you need anything else.”  

At Iris’s kind words, Leonardo nodded. 

After he opened the door and walked out of sight, Iris slowly hardened her expression and clenched her fists.  

‘They say he commutes with Sir Grace Lowell. What kind of relationship do those two have?’  

The words she couldn’t bring herself to say lingered at the tip of her tongue.