Chapter 1.6

Ragaen recognized the man in front of him.  

Richard Lievo. One of the promising knights who had recently started training under his command. Despite his sly and sometimes lazy demeanor, he was well-liked among his fellow knights for his good personality and was a diligent trainee. His skills were excellent, and he was soon to be promoted to a senior knight.  

That was the extent of Ragaen’s knowledge about Richard Lievo. In truth, Ragaen wasn’t someone particularly interested in others. Even if Richard had joined the First Knight Order earlier, he wouldn’t have evaluated him in greater detail unless it was necessary for work. Ragaen simply wasn’t interested in anything unrelated to his duties.

To put it simply, Ragaen wasn’t close to Richard Lievo. He didn’t even intend to get closer. Forming relationships and getting close to people consumed too much emotional energy. Yet, here Richard Lievo was, standing before him after urgently requesting a meeting from the morning. Although Ragaen was not a particularly sociable person, he was inwardly taken aback. This reaction would have been the same regardless of whether it was Richard Lievo or someone else.

“Greetings, Commander!”  

Richard Lievo was full of energy. He exuded energy when he joked with his fellow knights, and he exuded energy even when he greeted others. People as energetic as him could sometimes be exhausting. In fact, Ragaen, who had just returned from meeting Monsieur Tout—or rather, the Crown Prince—was feeling slightly drained.  

“What is it, Sir Lievo?”  

“I have a personal favor to ask.”  

“Personal?”  

Richard, with a determined expression, still brimming with energy, seemed unaware of how his statement could be misunderstood.  

“Yes! A personal favor!”  

Would sitting him down drain some of his energy? Or would standing allow him to conserve it and make him even more energetic? 

While briefly pondering this unnecessary question, Ragaen sighed inwardly and spoke to Richard.  

“Speak.”  

“Yes! Thank you! Commander, do you remember the Ayarn Quail Hunting Competition from last month?”  

Ragaen nodded reluctantly. It was an unexpected topic. To Ragaen, the recent quail hunting competition was remembered by three keywords: the foolish Second Prince, a bear, and a screaming woman. 

Ah, come to think of it, that screaming woman was named Greta, wasn’t she? She was the younger sister of the Richard Lievo standing before me.  

“As you may know, Commander, the Greta Lievo whom you rescued during that hunting competition is my inadequate younger sister. Over the past month, my foolish younger sister has wanted to express her gratitude to you but hasn’t known how to convey her sincerity and has been at a loss. She doesn’t know how to write a proper thank-you letter—or rather, her gratitude is so immense that she feels it cannot be expressed through a letter. Ahem, she wishes to meet you in person to express her thanks. Therefore, I humbly ask if you could spare a brief moment of your time for my younger sister, despite your busy schedule.”  

Why is he talking so much?  

Ragaen wasn’t good at catching the main point when someone talked excessively. It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it, but his focus tended to waver when conversations dragged on. That’s why he usually kept his mouth shut and maintained a composed image in social settings. This way, no one could tell that he had no interest in what they were saying. Thanks to this image, a simple “Hmm” or “I see” was usually sufficient. Any gaps could be filled by his aide, Jespa.  

Of course, Ragaen didn’t dislike aristocratic conversations because he was stupid. Judging by Richard’s speech, it seemed like Richard was closer to being foolish—or perhaps just nervous.  

“In short, your sister wants to thank me?”  

“Yes. Ah, in person.”  

“I only did what I was supposed to do.”  

“I think so too, but my, uh, that is… Commander, is this a rejection?!”  

Ragaen responded with resolute silence. However, he couldn’t grasp how desperate Richard was. To protect the precious secret under his bed, Richard had to arrange a meeting between Ragaen and Greta at all costs. If he failed, he couldn’t predict what his sister, whose mind had been absent for a month, might do.  

This was the greatest challenge of Richard’s life!  

“Is there really no way? If you could just meet her once…!”  

“…It is not advisable for an unmarried man of marriageable age to meet a woman of marriageable age, Sir Lievo.”  

This was an excuse Ragaen had hastily concocted to refuse.  

Richard let out a silent scream.  

That’s a good thing! Besides, who in this day and age cares about such outdated propriety? Commander, are you living fifty years in the past? Who says two people meeting alone means anything romantic these days? You just don’t want to meet my sister, right?  

“That’s what you’re worried about! As expected, Commander, you’re a knight among knights! Since this is purely for expressing gratitude, there’s no need to worry about that. I’ll be there too! If it’s difficult to find time, I’ll ask her to come during your training break. She can express her thanks right here in your office! I’ll be with her, Commander!”  

For some reason, Richard’s eyes seemed to glisten with moisture.  

“Please, please meet my sister…! Or at least meet the two of us together! If you do, I promise to train diligently, participate in the remaining drills, and help new knights adapt to life in the order.”  

Ragaen found everything bothersome. He lacked motivation for everything, and the idea of meeting new people for social activities was utterly unappealing.  

But for some reason, Ragaen wavered. He didn’t want unnecessary social interaction, but rejecting someone’s gratitude also felt a bit uncomfortable. Moreover, at this moment, the effort of trying to dismiss the pleading man in front of him seemed more bothersome. He didn’t want to think about it anymore. And, well, just because.  

“Sigh, I have some free time tomorrow afternoon.”  

That was really all there was to it.

***

Unlike her peers, Greta wasn’t particularly interested in grooming her appearance. This didn’t mean she disliked dressing up. Greta enjoyed wearing beautiful clothes and makeup. However, there were other things she found more interesting and valuable, and she considered spending time on her appearance a hassle.  

For over twenty years, Greta had lived without much regret about this, but today, for the first time, she regretted it bitterly.  

Greta sat in front of the mirror. In the reflection was a young woman with brown hair. Greta knew the woman in the mirror well. In fact, she quite liked her. But today, she disliked everything about her appearance.  

Her usually soft-looking brown hair seemed messy and resembled the rough mane of a sickly horse. The unique reddish-brown eyes of the Count of Lievo’s family looked dull and unremarkable. There were blemishes scattered across her skin—marks left from picking at pimples before her last period and scars on her forehead from falling off trees as a child. 

Why did they stand out so much now? Was there anyone else in the world with such messy skin? 

Looking closer, she noticed her eyes were slightly different sizes. Her right eye’s corner was slightly higher than the left. She hadn’t realized it before, but her eyebrows were uneven too! Even her nostrils and ears were slightly asymmetrical!  

“Aaah!”  

Despair overcame her. The woman in the mirror was none other than herself—Greta.  

“Waaah, I can’t possibly go out looking like this! Everyone will laugh at me! What if the Duke of Adantie sees my face and his impeccable aesthetic sense is damaged? I’ll become a living weapon against eyes! Waaah….”  

For an hour, Greta sat in front of the mirror, muttering and eventually sobbing. Watching this, Richard was dumbfounded.  

“Hey, Sis. What on earth are you doing? You’re going to be late for your appointment! Do you even know how hard it was for me to arrange it?”  

“But, but how can I go out looking like this? How can I?!”  

“Why? What’s so wrong about it?!”

Richard turned Greta around irritably.

Greta was pretty. Not the kind of face to be called a peerless beauty, but still. Greta’s soft brown hair, like puppy fur, was fuller than anyone else’s in the family, so much so that the servants occasionally said things like, “Miss, your hair is a joy to style.” Her reddish-brown eyes, which she also shared with her family, were just ordinary reddish-brown eyes. They weren’t particularly unique, but Richard liked how they sometimes glimmered with a vivid red hue when touched by sunlight. Moreover, Greta’s skin was clear even without makeup, and her features were well-defined.

“You look like a person! A person! You look perfectly fine like a normal person!”

“Sniff… Like a person? I feel like I look so bizarre! Waaah!”

Between Greta, who had fallen in love for the first time, and Richard, who had yet to experience such a love, there was an unbridgeable chasm.

When someone falls in love, they begin to notice new things. These things are not always positive. For the first time, Greta lost confidence in her own appearance, which she thought of as “unladylike.”

“Richard, what should I do? All I have are hunting clothes!”

“What’s wrong with hunting clothes? They’re comfortable! Just wear them! Who cares about that these days? You even wear them to social gatherings!”

Greta was desperate, and Richard was annoyed.

“How could you! Make! The appointment! So soon! You should’ve set it at least a week later! That way, I could’ve bought some clothes! Richard, you idiot! Idiot! Fool! I won’t let this go!”

Indeed, Richard had immediately set the appointment for the earliest date Ragaen had offered, driven by the singular determination to resolve Greta’s matter quickly. In other words, he had scheduled the meeting 48 hours after Greta had ordered him to arrange it. And he had even perfectly reserved a private room at an upscale café! From Greta’s perspective, it was only natural to think that Richard had deliberately set her up to fail.

“If I hadn’t bought a gift that day, I would’ve gone empty-handed!”

“You didn’t even tell me to set the date sooner, so why are you yelling at me?!”

Greta was frantic, and Richard felt wronged.