DYPIOOP Chapter 19

Introduced

Returning to her room, Elonia dashed off a brief reply accepting the tea party invitation. As she handed the letter to Amy for delivery, an uncomfortable feeling settled over her.

'It's like I forgot something before leaving. That sensation when you can't quite remember what you left behind...'

She must have looked troubled, because Amy asked worriedly, "Should I... not deliver the letter?"

"Why?"

"Your expression looks like someone told you they took something, but you don't know what they took."

Only after receiving that oddly specific answer did Elonia realize the original purpose of her visit to Carvel.

"Oh, right!"

The guest list! She'd meant to get the guest list while she was there. But she'd been so shocked by the revelation that Carvel and Aselir had discussed marriage that she'd just left. At Elonia's sigh, Amy kindly prompted, "You left something in the Duke's study?"

"Wow, that's uncanny. Do you moonlight as a fortune teller?"

"No. You asked me before you left if you'd forgotten anything in the carriage."

Amy answered matter-of-factly. Ah, right. As Elonia rose awkwardly, Amy added, "Should I fetch it when I deliver the letter?"

"No. I should go myself."

The guest list felt too sensitive to entrust to someone else's hands. It wasn't for any other reason—she needed it specifically for her spirit mage role, which made it all the more important.

'It's not like I got permission to obtain that list anyway.'

Better to handle it herself. If she'd known this would happen, she wouldn't have bothered with that encouragement in his study.

'This is why they say you should live virtuously.'

If she went back now, she could already imagine what teasing awaited. Elonia crossed the corridor reluctantly. When she arrived at the study, it was empty—all her hesitation for nothing. Instead, she had the good fortune to encounter Head Butler Paol passing nearby. As if someone had instructed him, he opened his mouth the moment he saw Elonia, before she could even ask.

"The master is at the training grounds."

"This early?"

"He has always been at the training grounds this early."

"Is he very busy? I accidentally left something behind."

"Time is something that exists and doesn't exist, doesn't exist and then exists again, is it not."

"...So he has time, right?"

"That depends on the master's will, making it quite difficult for me to answer."

His voice was gentle, but his response speed was unnaturally fast. He spoke so rapidly his words could have blurred together, yet strangely every syllable came through crystal-clear. He had a vaguely snake-oil-salesman quality. Paol bowed his head and asked, "Shall I guide you to the training grounds, or shall I summon the master?"

She'd been about to ask him to summon Carvel when Elonia changed her mind.

'Wait. Carvel's been the one interrupting my lessons this whole time, hasn't he?'

How inconvenient those mid-lesson intrusions—hardly intrusions—had been! Now. This was her golden opportunity to turn the tables.

'Let him lose some dignity in front of his knights.'

Elonia swallowed a wicked smile and answered with grim determination, "I want to go to the training grounds. Absolutely."

"An excellent choice, madam."

Paol bowed politely and led the way without delay. Elonia quickened her light steps along the lengthy corridor. As they reached the first floor, knights began appearing beyond the corridor windows, one by one. She'd occasionally seen guards on duty, but this was her first time seeing them train in earnest. Even among all those knights, Carvel stood out at a glance. Unlike his usual smiling demeanor, his face was serious as he spoke. At his words, the surrounding knights bowed their heads briefly in perfect unison. The sight felt unfamiliar.

'He is the Commander-in-Chief, after all.'

She'd rarely seen him actually holding a sword, so this was fascinating. Perhaps sensing her gaze, Paol added, "The master rises at 6:30 AM and handles simple tasks starting at 7:30."

"...Pardon?"

"From 9 to 12, he's at the training grounds."

At this sudden schedule briefing, Elonia stared at the back of Paol's head in bewilderment. He continued doggedly, "This is the master's schedule."

"Ah, yes..."

Elonia responded awkwardly to the force-fed itinerary. But Paol rattled off details she hadn't asked for. After walking for some time, letting it flow in one ear and out the other, they circled the massive estate and reached the training grounds. A distinctive heat radiated from the space. When Elonia appeared, some of the knights at the outer edge recognized her.

"Excuse me, are you the prospective madam?"

"I am, but—"

Paol answered on Elonia's behalf. At that not-particularly-loud voice, countless gazes instantly converged on her. A brief moment of silence fell. Should she greet them? She was still wondering when someone rushed over from the group—a man with reddish-brown hair, though no one had summoned him. The moment he arrived, he bent at the waist and greeted her loudly.

"Vice-Captain Dedd Rovern. I greet the prospective madam!"

At his waist bending to a burdensome degree, every knight in the training grounds bowed their heads. Despite having a build that seemed a head taller than most, his face wasn't particularly threatening. Rather, he had such an affable quality that he felt approachable even on first meeting. With his waist still bent at ninety degrees, Dedd peeked his head up and asked, "What brings you all the way to the training grounds?"

Without giving her a chance to answer, he asked again, his face somewhat serious, "Has something happened with the security?"

"No, not at all! I just came by briefly because I have something to tell Carvel."

Dedd's complexion brightened at her urgent hand-waving.

"Ah, our lord!"

Dedd turned his head and pointed to a knight holding a wooden sword.

"Bring the lord."

"Yes, Vice-Captain!"

With an excessively sharp response, the knight bowed so vigorously his head wobbled, then ran off at high speed. Watching this, Paol quietly instructed from beside her, "You can't leave madam standing here, Sir Dedd."

"Ah, right. Of course."

He looked around and scratched the back of his head in apparent difficulty. Given the training grounds' nature—an open space—finding shade was difficult. His eyes moved noticeably fast. There were rough chairs the knights used scattered here and there, but for some reason, Dedd didn't guide her to those. He tapped the back of a nearby knight to get his attention, then said to Elonia, "There's no suitable chair, so I'll prepare something. Please wait a moment!"

"Can't I use one of the training ground chairs?"

"Ah, no. It's not that, but. The prospective madam in such a humble place..."

"It's fine. People live everywhere, after all."

If anything, she felt bad that everyone had stopped what they were doing just because she'd visited. When Elonia headed for a bench in the corner, he hurriedly pulled a crumpled handkerchief from his pocket and spread it on the chair. She nodded her thanks and sat. The knights watched her as if waiting for her next words. Elonia waved her hands and said, "Please don't mind me. I'm quite comfortable."

"Yes, thank you."

The knights bowed in unison and slowly began swinging their wooden swords again. Elonia quietly asked Paol beside her, "Paol. I'm sorry, but there isn't a rule like 'the Duke's wife can't come to the training grounds,' is there?"

"No. There isn't."

"You're certain?"

"Of course. I don't lie, madam."

Paol simply stood upright and answered her questions. That smile that only stretched his lips somehow made him feel less trustworthy. Elonia surveyed the unfamiliar training grounds with suspicious eyes. The noisy atmosphere from moments ago had quickly been erased by training fervor, as if it had never existed. Except for Dedd's gaze, which kept watching her like someone who wanted to say something. Standing not far away and staring intently, he was impossible to ignore. Finally unable to bear the attention, Elonia spoke first.

"Sir Dedd. Is there something you want to say?"

"Not at all!"

Anyone could see he was saying the opposite of what he meant. Elonia smiled kindly and asked again, "It's all right. What is it?"

After hesitating for a while, Dedd finally spoke.

"Do you really... call our lord 'honeybee'?"

Cough. Elonia desperately swallowed the cough that tried to escape. Wait, he told them about that too? Elonia shook her head vigorously and answered, "It was a joke! Don't misunderstand. I really only called him that once!"

"For our lord to accept such teasing."

He murmured in amazement.

"I knew it from the moment he started visiting madam after training ended."

"Carvel?"

At this unfamiliar information, Elonia asked again, and Dedd nodded.

"Yes. When training ends, he leaves without a backward glance."

So that's why he always came after her morning lessons ended. Come to think of it, 12 o'clock—when training finished—roughly matched when her morning lessons ended.

'Obviously he's coming to monitor me.'

Elonia pursed her lips invisibly and listlessly observed the training knights. Thinking she was watching carefully, Dedd added an explanation from beside her.

"They're just wooden swords, but depending on who wields them, they can be as effective as bladed weapons. Our lord can cut people down even with wooden swords."

Pride seeped into his every word. Even without Carvel, the knights' movements slicing through the air sounded threatening. How long had she listened to the rough dirt being displaced and hard wooden swords clashing? Just when she was starting to feel bored, the Nymph's face suddenly appeared right in front of her. Elonia gasped reflexively and clutched at her pounding heart in shock.

'Wow, I thought my heart was going to jump out of my mouth!'

But unlike her, the Nymph was just smiling brightly. It was nice to see a familiar face after so long. Since she couldn't speak at the training grounds, Elonia greeted her with eye contact instead. The Nymph pointed downward shyly.

'Look down?'

Following the Nymph's finger, Elonia lowered her gaze to find a small ochre-colored child looking up at her and energetically raising his hand.

[Hello! I'm Gnome. Earth spirit!]

With a mischievous face and a spirited smile. The Nymph must have brought him.

'Who knew spirits would introduce me to each other.'

As Elonia hesitated over how to respond, Gnome tilted his head and said to the Nymph, [Nymph. Are you sure you got this right? Can she actually see me? She's not answering?]

At his words, the Nymph anxiously tugged at the hem of Elonia's dress. Elonia quickly raised her hand to signal she'd heard. Gnome's eyes lit up in fascination.

[Wow, it's real? You're the first person to see me in a thousand years!]

His eyes sparkled with excitement. Gnome lightly scratched his nose and asked, [Want a potato?]

Elonia glanced at the knights and shook her head slightly. Gnome floated up and sat beside her on the chair, asking, [Don't like potatoes? How about sweet potatoes?]

Elonia resolutely pretended to focus on the training more intently than ever, making her refusal clear. When she didn't respond, Gnome tilted his head and followed her gaze. The Nymph sat down next to him as he watched the training knights.

[Oh, really?]

After some whispered exchange, Gnome spoke to her again.

[Spirit mage. You should avoid that.]

Not immediately understanding, Elonia glanced sideways at him. Gnome pointed at knights sparring nearby and said, [Nymph says their wooden swords are rotten. If they break, someone could get badly hurt.]

The swords Gnome indicated looked no different from the other wooden ones on the outside. But she remembered what Dedd had said earlier about wooden swords.

'He said even wooden swords are similar to bladed weapons if wielded skillfully...'

Elonia watched the sparring with anxious eyes. Suddenly, she heard a crack. Rising from her seat urgently, she instinctively shouted, "Watch out!"

But stopping a sword mid-swing wasn't easy. Snap. With a rough splintering sound, the wooden sword broke. The flying fragment headed straight for Elonia. As she flinched to dodge, thunk—a rough sound rang in her ears.

Fortunately, she'd dodged well enough that nothing hurt. But she also didn't hear the sound of the fragment landing anywhere. Instead, Carvel's voice resonated quietly from in front of her.

"You came looking for me. But you surprise me like this."