Chapter 9 (Part 2)

“Then, what should I do with this?”  

Grace rolled the bottle Leonardo had given her in her hand and asked.  

Seeing her obvious hesitation, Leonardo took out his own bottle, opened it, and lightly tapped it against hers as if making a toast.  

“You can drink it now.”  

As Leonardo brought the bottle to his lips, Grace swallowed nervously and met his gaze.  

At the same time, they tilted their bottles and drank the contents, closing their eyes.  

“Ugh, it tastes awful.”  

Grace muttered, and Leonardo cleared his throat. Hearing the sound, which seemed like he was suppressing laughter, Grace glared at him.  

Covering his mouth and coughing, Leonardo finally couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter. Then he said to Grace,  

“I’ll make sure to pay more attention to the taste next time.”  

At his words, Grace replied with a pout,  

“I’d appreciate it if you did.”  

Her response made Leonardo laugh again.  

His bright, unrestrained laughter caught Grace’s attention without her realizing it.  

Even with his already handsome face, seeing him laugh so genuinely without pretense made him shine like a ray of light.  

Still smiling, Leonardo reached out and held Grace’s hand.  

“Then, let me check.”  

Grace closed her eyes, accustomed now to the sensation of Leonardo’s mana flowing through her body.  

Seeing her entrust her hand to him and close her eyes, Leonardo smiled deeply.  

‘Hmm, it’s still not enough.’  

While the branches of the curse had been severed, the core still tightly bound her heart.  

The only relief was that it had loosened somewhat.  

“My abilities are still very lacking.”  

At Leonardo’s words, Grace flinched.  

She could feel for herself that the curse hadn’t been completely lifted.  

Grace spoke without realizing it.  

“Well, still… my body does feel a lot lighter.”  

Leonardo smiled at her, appreciating her attempt to console him despite his shortcomings.  

Then, gripping her hand more firmly, he said,  

“I will definitely resolve this, Sir Grace.”  

“A-ah, okay.”  

Grace, feeling a ticklish sensation from Leonardo’s unusually gentle voice, averted her gaze as she answered.  

Leonardo was about to say something else when someone knocked on the door from outside. Both of them turned their heads toward the sound simultaneously.  

“Looks like someone’s here.”

Grace murmured, looking toward the door.  

As her gaze shifted away from him, Leonardo instinctively frowned. But when Grace turned back to him, he reflexively smiled.  

“Commander, are you in there?”  

Startled by the voice outside, Grace jumped up from her seat. Then, in a small whisper, she said to Leonardo,  

“I think I should go! I’ll write down anything you need to know, so read it later when our bodies switch!”  

With that, Grace waved her hand, hurriedly opened the door, and stepped out.  

Through the slightly ajar door, a tall male knight could be seen. He smiled gently at Grace.  

In an awkward tone, Grace said to him,  

“Oh, sorry, sorry! I was discussing the monster subjugation issue.”  

Since when had Grace Lowell discussed monster subjugation with Leonardo Fernandez?  

Even a passing dog wouldn’t believe such an excuse, especially delivered so awkwardly.  

But despite the nonsensical explanation, the man simply smiled.  

“Are you planning to go on another subjugation soon?”  

“Y-yeah, that’s the plan. By the way, how did you know I was here, Liam?”  

“I asked around, and it wasn’t hard to find out.”  

“Oh, I see.”  

With that, Grace closed the door without looking back.  

Leonardo glared at the slowly closing door, grinding his teeth.  

Beyond that door was a tall, foolish-looking knight chatting with Grace. Leonardo was certain, with all his magical instincts as a man, that the knight secretly harbored feelings for her.  

The moment he realized this, a fiery jealousy surged within him.  

‘Those insolent eyes, I’ll—!’  

To dare look at his commander with such disrespectful eyes.  

Facing his own raging jealousy, Leonardo came to a clear realization.  

This wasn’t due to sorcery or a curse or anything else.  

It was just the foolishness of a man oblivious to his own feelings, caught in the throes of a one-sided love.  

It was unrequited love.  

‘If I ask Sir Grace to replace her deputy… Hah… She wouldn’t listen, would she?’  

Like someone who had just discovered an unnecessary truth, Leonardo chuckled bitterly to himself.  

‘They say love makes fools of men. I’m the perfect example.’  

Such was the misfortune of the one who fell first—or the one who realized it first. But perhaps it was also the beginning of happiness, though Leonardo didn’t yet know it.  

***

Grace stepped outside and walked alongside Liam, but she couldn’t shake the strange sensation that something was tugging at the back of her mind.  

It felt as though she had forgotten something important.  

Noticing her unusual behavior, Liam cautiously asked,  

“Commander, is something wrong?”  

“Ah, um, no, it’s nothing.”  

“Did you leave something behind in the 1st Knight Order’s Commander’s office? Judging from the sweet smell around you, could it be dessert?”  

At Liam’s words, something suddenly clicked in Grace’s mind.  

The lemon pound cake. She had been told to take an extra one since they made more, but she had completely forgotten and left without it. Finally recalling this, Grace looked regretful as she replied,  

“How did you know?”  

“Because I can smell the lemon pound cake you like so much, Commander.”  

When Liam ended his sentence with a knowing tone, Grace burst into laughter and lightly smacked his back with her hand.  

“Impressive, impressive! You’re definitely qualified to be my Deputy Commander!”  

As she laughed, Liam smiled back at her, but as he glanced toward the 1st Knight Order’s Commander’s office behind them, his expression briefly turned cold and sharp.  

‘Why does the Commander associate with that man? What’s the reason?’  

There was definitely something going on.  

However, Liam knew that if he tried to uncover something he wasn’t permitted to know, he would be cast out of Grace’s circle.  

Even so, he couldn’t just sit by and let the two of them continue their interactions. To Liam, the man’s gaze seemed unsettling, as though it carried an unpleasant undertone.  

‘Yes, something like… affection.’  

Of course, Liam was certain that man couldn’t possibly harbor such feelings for the Commander.  

If he did, he wouldn’t have made things so difficult for Grace in the past, nor would he have left those ridiculous rumors circulating everywhere unchecked.  

So, it couldn’t be true.  

‘It must not be true.’  

Watching Grace passionately describe how delicious the lemon pound cake was, Liam smiled faintly.  

“Anyway, Liam, I have a lot of paperwork to handle today, so you’ll need to oversee the knights’ training.”  

At her words, Liam nodded and, with a slightly worried expression, asked,  

“Will they listen to me?”  

Grace furrowed her brows and smacked Liam’s back hard once more.  

“Didn’t I tell you that you could handle it? If you act like a coward again, I’ll make you give up your position, so figure it out.”  

“Ah, yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”  

Hearing Liam’s reply, Grace patted his shoulder encouragingly and said,  

“Other than me, there’s no one in the Knight Order who can beat you. So, go all out. I told you that when I appointed you as Deputy Commander.”  

“Yes, Commander.”  

“Think of this as your last chance. I don’t like seeing someone who’s supposed to protect me hesitating without confidence.”  

After giving Liam a few pats on the back, Grace raised her hand in farewell and headed toward her office.  

Watching her retreating figure, Liam turned his gaze back toward the 1st Knight Order’s direction. He stared for a while before turning to look at the knights scattered around the training grounds.  

“―Everyone, gather up.”  

At Liam’s low, commanding voice, the knights, who had been joking around and playing, immediately stopped and ran toward him.  

Once they were assembled in front of him, Liam said,  

“The Commander is busy today, so I’ll be taking over.”  

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of someone swallowing nervously echoed in the silence.  

Liam turned his indifferent gaze toward the source of the sound and said,  

“Starting now, everyone will practice basic swordsmanship 100 times each.”  

Before he even finished speaking, the knights sprang into action in perfect unison.  

The scene was completely different from the one earlier, where Liam had worriedly asked Grace if the knights would listen to him.  

Watching the knights busily moving about, Liam turned his gaze toward Grace’s office.  

Meanwhile, one of the knights wandering around the training grounds muttered quietly as he watched Liam.  

“…That guy’s got a split personality.”  

Hearing the comment, Liam turned toward the knight and smiled, baring his white teeth.  

As if to say he knew exactly what was being said.