Side Story 1: The Knight and the Lady (Part 2)

“I need a knight to escort me on a boat ride today…”  

When Celestia casually brought up the matter, the butler of the Danverton Estate let out a habitual sigh. Once again, he’d have to argue with that insolent knight. Kayev was never one to follow orders without a fight.  

Unaware of the butler’s struggles, Celestia, who always insisted on having Kayev accompany her on outings, naturally expected him to prepare Kayev as her escort.  

However, to the butler’s surprise, the Princess of Danverton shook her head decisively with a firm expression.  

“No. I’ve been assigning too much work to Kayev lately, so I’d like someone else to escort me this time. Hmm… Since there will be many young ladies my age attending, I’d prefer someone with a neat appearance.”  

Celestia wasn’t sure if her plan would work, but she decided to go ahead with it anyway.  

It was a scheme to provoke Kayev’s jealousy.  

Unaware of her adorable little plan, the butler felt a deep sense of relief. 

Ah, our lady has finally lost interest in that knight!  

With this misunderstanding in mind, the butler selected a young knight who was considered the second most handsome in the estate after Kayev. The blond knight, who had just turned twenty, accompanied Celestia in her carriage the next day and served as her escort throughout the day.  

‘What is this…?’  

On the morning of the boat ride, Celestia had this thought as she looked at the knight standing before her.  

‘He’s ugly…’  

It was a thought that would have been impolite to voice aloud.  

The butler had praised him endlessly, claiming he had carefully chosen the best candidate, but was this really the standard of the Danverton Estate’s knights? 

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that only Kayev would do. However, it was too late to back out now.  

From that day on, Celestia requested the blond knight a few more times.  

However, her plan was soon abandoned entirely. Contrary to the maid’s advice, Kayev seemed completely unaffected by her actions.  

Celestia was deeply disappointed. She quickly lost interest in the whole endeavor and gave up on it altogether. Not only was it ineffective, but she also missed seeing Kayev’s face, which felt like an enormous loss.  

***

“Hey, Young Master. Lately, the lady hasn’t been looking for you, has she? Looks like she’s moved on to someone else.”  

Kayev ignored the older knight’s taunting words.  

“Young master” was the nickname he had earned since coming to the estate. It was a mocking title given to him by those who, in the past, wouldn’t have dared to even lick his boots, whether in terms of strength or status. Yet, Kayev didn’t react to their ridicule.  

What mattered to him now wasn’t such trivial provocations. He was focused on a much larger and grander revenge. To him, these fellow knights who mocked him were no more than minnows swimming by.  

“You should’ve treated her better while you had the chance. Where else are you going to find a beauty like our lady? You acted all high and mighty like you were something special, and now look at you!”  

The knight who shouted at him spoke as if Celestia’s loss of interest in him was a major event, but Kayev honestly felt relieved.  

No more lingering gazes, no more troublesome gifts. For the first time since arriving at the estate, he felt truly isolated. And that feeling wasn’t bad at all.  

…Or so he thought. For the first few days after Celestia’s attention waned, he felt as though he had regained his freedom.  

But after those few days passed, he was surprised to find himself in a foul mood.  

Kayev couldn’t pinpoint the source of his irritation. The only thing he knew for sure was that it had everything to do with Celestia.  

He clicked his tongue inwardly. She was, in many ways, nothing but a hindrance to his life. Far from being helpful, she was more like an obstacle. But what infuriated him even more was how much he still thought about her.  

She said she liked me so much. Was her heart really that light?  

Childish thoughts, ones he couldn’t believe he was having, flitted through his mind. Although he couldn’t say exactly why, Kayev’s mood had hit rock bottom.  

A few days later, Kayev happened to encounter the person Celestia had supposedly chosen as his replacement.  

“Hey, that guy over there is the one the lady’s been hanging around with lately.”  

At someone’s remark, Kayev’s head turned almost involuntarily in that direction.  

‘Hanging around with? More like a new toy.’  

When he saw the man’s face, Kayev’s expression darkened. Her taste in men… truly left much to be desired.  

Although he had never been one to care much about appearances, at this moment, he found himself feeling deeply offended.  

How could she possibly compare me to that scrawny-looking guy? In what world are we equals? 

He felt more irritated than he had been when he didn’t know who the man was.  

Perhaps it was because of these twisted feelings. One day, during a training session, Kayev found himself facing off against the man and ended up fighting him seriously, almost without realizing it.  

The blond knight, who looked feeble at first glance, proved to be even more useless in combat. With a single strike, Kayev sent him sprawling to the ground. The man, his face flushed red, limped away in defeat, declaring his surrender.  

While the fight had somewhat relieved his frustration, it also left him feeling pathetic.  

I lost to someone like that?  

The annoyance bubbling up inside him refused to dissipate. If he could, he would’ve gone straight to Celestia to confront her, but that wasn’t an option.  

“You think you’re something special just because the lady’s paying attention to you? Don’t get too full of yourself—it’s all temporary. You’d better focus on your training.”

Kayev, who took out his petty frustrations on the wrong person, returned to his quarters in a foul mood.

A few days after that incident, Kayev received a summons from Celestia for the first time in a long while. To his surprise, he found himself feeling happy about it.  

It was a thought he would rather have died than admit, but he secretly resolved to handle her moods better in the future. Being compared to random riffraff was unbearable, and it was far better for him to remain by her side.  

Moreover, he reasoned—albeit absurdly—that if the childish young lady extended her troublesome whims to the rest of the estate’s knights, it would cause an even bigger mess. It was better for him to shoulder the burden alone.  

When he saw her again after several days, she was still as beautiful and as headstrong as ever.  

But this time, he greeted her with a slightly softened expression. Perhaps he had grown fond of her in the meantime. As she shyly smiled at him, Kayev felt his heart momentarily relax and lose its tension.  

“Kayev, I missed you.”  

The moment she saw the face she had longed for, Celestia couldn’t hold back and blurted out her true feelings. For some reason, Kayev’s face wasn’t as cold and indifferent as usual; instead, it held a subtle expression.  

“Didn’t you miss me, even a little?”  

Mustering her courage, Celestia asked such a question. Somehow, she felt that Kayev wouldn’t ignore her words this time.  

“…If you summon me, Madam…”

However, Kayev gave her an unexpected answer.  

“I’ll come immediately, so please don’t call for any other knights in the future.”  

Though his voice remained as stiff as ever, Celestia noticed a small change. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest. Even the tiniest, almost invisible speck of possibility sent her emotions soaring uncontrollably.  

“Alright, I’ll do as you say.” 

Kayev quietly met her gaze as she answered him so obediently. Her face, which he could never bring himself to hate, remained unchanged, and the affection that shook his heart stayed firmly in place.  

Neither of them knew.  

That half a year later, Kayev would leave the estate, and Celestia would become a commoner.  

And long after that, when she had become a maid and he had become a Duke, they would meet again.  

On that day, they could not have known.  

On a peaceful day, under the bright sunlight, the young lady and the knight stood like a picture, gazing at each other with nothing but beauty in their hearts.  

<Side Story 1: The Knight and the Lady> The End