Chapter 1 (Part 6)

Dark sorcerers are those abandoned by mana.

They cast curses on people. And they draw power from the dark and negative energy emitted by the cursed.

“I hope there are more survivors.”

Yuliana’s brow furrowed slightly.

“I will definitely protect you, Lady. I promised Young Lord Louis that I would protect you with my life.”

“You promised my brother? You didn’t need to stake your life on that…”

“I intend to keep that promise no matter what.”

Avoiding Anthus’s gaze, which seemed to look at her with longing, Yuliana looked down at the carriage floor. Anthus was indeed strange today.

Before long, the sun began to set.

“We should camp here for tonight.”

Yuliana summoned the water spirit to provide plenty of water for the tired horses and people.

“As expected of Lady Loengrin. Your spirit magic is excellent.”

“You’re truly the best.”

“Honestly, we’d be uneasy going alone, but with you, Lady, we feel reassured.”

The knights’ praise for Yuliana continued.

Yuliana felt a bit embarrassed. Even though they had seen her spirit magic several times on previous expeditions, they were praising her today as if they were seeing it for the first time.

“Thank you for the compliments.”

“Let’s have a toast for our Saint of the Battlefield!”

Yuliana’s face turned red amid the knights’ praise. The embarrassment was all hers.

“Lady Loengrin.”

Anthus, who had approached her at some point, called out to Yuliana.

“Yes?”

“I would like it if you could join me for a meal in my tent.”

Smiling with beautiful eyes, Anthus extended his hand to Yuliana.

“…Yes.”

Yuliana thought it better to accept and eat alone with Anthus in the tent rather than continue to receive the knights’ bombardment of questions and compliments.

As Yuliana and Anthus headed to the tent, the knights gave them thumbs up behind their backs.

* * *

While eating salad, Yuliana subtly observed Anthus. He ate with elegant manners, his face constantly smiling.

Putting down his knife and fork, Anthus asked Yuliana,

“Is the food to your taste, Lady?”

“Yes, it’s delicious. I didn’t expect to eat such fresh meat outdoors.”

“Thanks to the cold magic stones from our duchy’s magic stone mine, we can keep ingredients cold and enjoy fresh food even outside.”

“As expected of the Rockbellion family’s magic stones.”

Yuliana nodded.

“What foods do you like and dislike, Lady?”

“I generally eat everything well.”

“Is there anything you dislike?”

“Yes, I don’t like pumpkins.”

Anthus widened his eyes at Yuliana’s words.

“I don’t like pumpkins either.”

“You don’t like pumpkins, Duke?”

“Yes, I don’t.”

Although Anthus usually ate pumpkins well, he decided from now on that pumpkins were his least favorite food because she disliked them. Anthus’s heart fluttered every time he discovered a forced commonality between them in their conversations.

With a satisfied smile, Anthus matched his eating pace to Yuliana’s.

Watching Yuliana put down her fork and wipe her lips with a handkerchief, Anthus elegantly spoke with his red lips.

“I think you and I are very compatible, Lady Loengrin.”

“Oh, yes… is that so?”

“I think we are not only well-matched but also well-suited for each other.”

Yuliana was startled by Anthus’s words, which implied a romantic compatibility.

“What you’re thinking right now is probably correct, Lady Loengrin.”

Yuliana looked at Anthus as if he could see right through her mind.

“How do you know what I’m thinking and say it’s correct? You’re speaking too hastily, Duke.”

“I do not speak hastily. I’m saying this because I truly believe we are well-suited for each other.”

Anthus spoke with a relaxed smile.

His sudden words made Yuliana unconsciously bite her lip. After a brief silence, Yuliana was the first to speak.

“Confidence… Are you saying that we’re well-suited because you like me?”

“You’re very perceptive, Lady Loengrin. Shall we call each other by nicknames?”

Yuliana’s face turned red at the suggestion of using nicknames.

“You may be confident, Duke, but I am not yet certain.”

“Can I take it that if you become certain, you’ll call me by my nickname? My nickname is ‘Yan.’ What is your nickname, Lady Yuliana? I just want to know.”

Anthus looked at Yuliana with eyes full of curiosity, raising his eyebrows.

“My family calls me ‘Lia.’”

“‘Lia’. It’s such a cute nickname, Lia.”

He kept murmuring the nickname Lia in his charming voice.

“It rolls off my tongue so well. I want to keep calling you ‘Lia’.”

“Please don’t call me by my nickname in front of others.”

“Then, can I call you that when we’re alone, Lady Yuliana?”

At some point, what he used to call her ‘Lady Loengrin’ had changed to ‘Lady Yuliana.’

“No, you can’t.”

His beautiful red eyes, which could captivate anyone, seemed to be yearning for her.

“Why not?”

“People might misunderstand, Duke.”

“What kind of misunderstanding? Could you explain in detail?”

“Calling me by a nickname implies…”

For an unmarried man and woman to call each other by nicknames suggests a relationship beyond mere friendship. Even close friends of the opposite sex don’t use nicknames.

“I want to call you ‘Lia’, Lady Yuliana…”

His words and actions were indeed enough to cause misunderstandings.

“Please refrain from using nicknames.”

“I understand for now. And there’s something I want to say.”

“Yes? Please, go ahead, Duke Rockbellion.”

“I hope you misunderstand all my actions.”

To Yuliana, Anthus didn’t seem like his usual self but rather like a golden-furred fox wagging its tail and smiling beautifully.

* * *

On the way to Luteons Village, they encountered a group of ordinary monsters, which the Rockbellion knights easily subdued.

However…

“Lady Yuliana, I’m hurt. It hurts a lot here.”

Anthus, who had started calling her ‘Lady Yuliana’ instead of ‘Lady Loengrin,’ began seeking her out for minor injuries even in simple battles.

“You’re hurt again?”

Anthus extended his right hand to Yuliana, showing a slight cut.

“You’ve been cut again.”

“Will you treat it?”

“Of course.”

It was strange. He was a Sword Master, but he was getting injured in every battle. None of the other knights were hurt. Yuliana found his injuries puzzling and asked the knights.

“Why is the Duke the only one getting hurt?”

“That’s because the Duke fights at the forefront to protect us!”

The knights knew very well that a Sword Master like Anthus couldn’t be injured by ordinary monsters, but they had no intention of saying that out loud. They were well aware that their lord was intentionally getting hurt to receive Yuliana’s care.

“Even in battles with low-level monsters, one cannot be careless, Lady Loengrin.”

Yuliana nodded in agreement with the knights’ words.

“Many lords don’t care if their knights get hurt, but the Duke takes care of each of us… I’m proud to be a knight of Rockbellion. I plan to dedicate my life to the Rockbellion family.”

“You’re not the only one. I’m dedicating my life too.”

“I’ll tell my children to dedicate their lives to the Rockbellion family as well.”

“Being a knight of Rockbellion is an honorable thing.”

After hearing the knights’ words, Anthus looked at Yuliana and spoke.

“As a Sword Master… I often get hurt because I fight at the forefront to protect my people.”

“You get hurt while protecting the knights…”

“Even though I’m a Duke, I believe it’s my duty and responsibility to protect those weaker than me.”

Having heard the knights’ words, Yuliana was deeply moved by Anthus’s words.

“You’re exemplary as a noble, Duke Rockbellion. But it still pains me to see you getting hurt.”

“I feel more at ease getting hurt myself than seeing others get hurt…”

Even after that, several battles occurred, and Anthus continued to get hurt and seek out Yuliana, who diligently treated him.

Every time her fingers touched his wounds during treatment, Anthus blushed shyly and lowered his gaze.

Seeing this, Yuliana also blushed and averted her eyes.

* * *

“Thanks to your spirits, Lady Yuliana, the investigation of the monsters on the way went quickly. And thanks to you, we were able to deal with monsters that could threaten people. Please convey my thanks to the spirits.”

“I will.”

“Yes.”

Yuliana slightly lifted her head and looked at Anthus. He was watching her with a joyful expression. Naturally, their gazes met again.

“Every time I see the spirits, they’re cute, but Lady Yuliana, you are cuter than the spirits.”

Yuliana blushed slightly at Anthus’s compliment. It was the first time someone other than her family had called her cute.

“Why is that, Lady Yuliana?”

“Only my family has ever called me cute. Thank you for saying that although it’s a bit embarrassing.”

Anthus thought of her former fiancé, the foolish Beonar, upon hearing Yuliana’s response.

How could he not praise her beautiful pink-tinged golden eyes and lovely face even once!

Anthus silently cursed Beonar and looked at Yuliana again. No matter how many times he looked, she was beautiful, cute, and lovely. He wanted to embrace her immediately, but he knew he had to wait.

“I’m curious about something, Lady Yuliana.”

“Yes. Please ask.”

“Do the spirits also call you ‘Lia’?”

“No, the spirits call me ‘Yuli’. But…”

“I see.”

“You seem very interested in my nickname lately, Duke.”

Yuliana looked up at him, and once again, their eyes met.

Yuliana blinked her large eyes at Anthus. Anthus raised his hand and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb.

“There’s something on your cheek.”

The spot where Anthus’s hand had touched quickly heated up. Her heart beat slightly faster.

Anthus cleared his throat and opened his magical space.

“I brought some homemade jerky as a snack. Would you like to try it?”

“Yes.”

Yuliana took the jerky he offered and tasted it. Despite its toughness, the rich meat juices made her exclaim in delight.

“It’s delicious.”

“This jerky… I actually made it myself.”

“You made it yourself?”

“Yes. The men of the Rockbellion family learn to cook as a basic skill.”

“Cooking?”

Yuliana had heard of noblewomen cooking as a hobby, but it was the first time she heard of noblemen cooking.

“It’s to cook for their pregnant wives after marriage.”

“Cooking for a pregnant wife… The woman who marries you will be lucky.”

Nodding, Yuliana continued to chew on the jerky.

“Did you like the jerky?”

“Yes.”

“Would you like more?”

“Yes, please.”

“Do you have a favorite snack?”

“I like snacks with lemon.”

“If I make a lemon pie… would you eat it?”

Anthus’s heart pounded as he asked, hoping she wouldn’t reject him.

“A pie made by you… I’d be grateful to eat it if you make it.”

“You must eat it, then.”

Finding Yuliana, who was chewing on the jerky, extremely cute, Anthus couldn’t take his eyes off her.

He imagined her eating the lemon pie he made. Shaking his head slightly, he tried to regain his focus.