Chapter 14

"Hold it. You need to form a line, a line!"

While I was still in a daze, Blan started lining up the knights who had gathered.

"Hey! Blan, who do you think you are to make us form a line?"

"Ugh! Get lost, Blan!"

"Hmph! If you're upset, why didn't you take the basket first?"

Blan snorted at the protesting knights and then smiled at me.

"Right, my lady?"

"Y-yes…"

In response to the question seeking agreement, I nodded, still in a daze, and Blan puffed out his chest proudly.

"See? My lady said so!"

The knights, who had been fiercely protesting against Blan, muttered, "If my lady says so, there's nothing we can do…" and began to form a line obediently. Amid the commotion, Cain, who had subtly taken the first place, picked up a sandwich from the basket and greeted me with an exaggeratedly polite knight's bow.

"Thank you for your kindness, my lady."

"Oh, no! It's nothing, really."

Feeling guilty for bringing a bribe with ill intentions, I felt a pang of conscience. Thanks to Cain's grand first greeting, the knights who received the sandwiches afterward also discarded their earlier boisterous behavior and greeted me politely. Unlike the perfect knights I had seen in the capital, they seemed a bit awkward and clumsy, but I didn't find it amusing. Their earnestness was endearing, and I couldn't help but smile. At that moment, the knights who had gathered in groups and were stuffing sandwiches into their mouths suddenly fell silent.

They all stopped eating, their mouths agape, staring at me as if they had lost their minds. Some even dropped their sandwiches. Why were they all acting like this suddenly? As I pondered, the answer quickly came to me.

'…Did they think I was laughing at them just now?'

That must be it! As I was sweating, trying to figure out how to resolve the situation, Cain began to scold the frozen knight by slapping his back.

"Hey! The sandwich my lady gave you fell!"

"What?"

The startled knight looked at the sandwich rolling on the ground, and the knights around him urged him on.

"Pick it up quickly! It hasn't been 3 seconds yet!"

"Right. It hasn't been 3 seconds, so it's fine! Pick it up and eat it!"

But the sandwich was already covered in dirt.

'Besides, hasn't it been more than 3 seconds…? 3 seconds…'

I was worried that the knight would fall for their encouragement and rushed to him.

"It's covered in dirt; you'll get a stomachache if you eat it."

"Pfft. A little dirt won't give you a stomachache. It still tastes good!"

However, the knight picked up the sandwich from the ground, shook off the dirt, and bit into it, looking as if he wasn't lying. He smiled brightly while eating.

"On expeditions, we often eat worse than this. Don't worry, my lady."

Thanks to distributing the sandwiches, Blan, holding the now empty basket, came to my side and explained the situation. However, instead of feeling relieved, I felt a heavy heart. To think they often ate worse than a dirt-covered sandwich. I had heard that they earned money by hunting monsters, but I didn't realize the conditions of their expeditions were so harsh. The knights in the capital always wore perfectly pressed uniforms, spoke elegantly, and received the attention of the ladies. They only engaged in real combat for duels over their own or their lord's honor. However, the knights of Eilsford were on the front lines, fighting to ensure the survival of the estate. They didn't seem to find it unreasonable or shameful. A sense of respect for the knights welled up in me, and my determination burned anew.

'After all, I need to earn money to free the knights from such harsh tasks. I am the Lady of Eilsford. These are the knights of Eilsford.'

The hesitation that had lingered in my heart was now gone.

"Actually, I came to you today because I have a request."

As I tried to calm my trembling voice and speak, the knights looked at me with a different expression than before. Perhaps they didn't listen to requests from the lady, only from the lord? That worry was dispelled when Cain spoke.

"A request, my lady? That's not appropriate. You should give us orders, not requests, as the lord of Eilsford."

The lord of Eilsford. I had thought I needed to be true to that role, but hearing it from someone else felt different. It made my toes tingle.

"Of course, my lady. Just tell us what you need! We are quite capable. Although the first strategy meeting was a mess… in any case, since we owe you, we will carry out this order excellently, no matter what!"

The knights coughed and avoided my gaze as Blan continued. 'First strategy meeting,' what was that? As I tilted my head, Blan laughed and knelt before me.

"Alright, what order will you give, my lady?"

His short question made me feel more confident. With a completely different mindset from when I entered the training ground, I boldly made a request, or rather, gave an order to the knights.

"I've heard that something of great value is hidden in the mountains. It's information I found personally, and it's quite reliable. I want you to explore the mountains."

The unexpected order left the knights speechless. They probably expected a more ladylike request. The first to react was Blan, Altear's adjutant and a leader among the knights.

"What exactly are you looking for, my lady?"

"A magic stone mine. And I want this to remain a secret until we have results, even from the lord."

The training ground fell silent again at my words. * * * No one was unfamiliar with magic stones or mines. But a magic stone mine? In our estate? Blan found it hard to believe. If such a mine existed, why wouldn't we have known about it?

'But…'

Nadia, standing before the knights and giving orders, was confident. She might have obtained reliable information through a trustworthy source. Even if it was a dubious piece of information, it was worth the gamble. After all, it was a magic stone mine. However, the mountains were dangerous. With the monsters rampant, even Eilsford's knights couldn't easily venture in. They needed to be well-prepared and move systematically to minimize risks.

'If I think about it that way, it makes sense why we didn't know about the magic stone mine until now.'

Who would think of exploring such a dangerous mountain? If a magic stone mine were discovered, it would be problematic. There would certainly be monsters living there, and they would need to be completely driven out before development could begin.

'But we have the lord in our estate.'

A powerful knight who could use aura was rare, with only a handful in a generation. Most talented individuals left for the capital, making such a knight even rarer in this eastern backwater. But Eilsford had such a powerful knight. He could drive out the monsters.

'So if there really is a magic stone mine in the mountains…'

Eilsford's situation would change 180 degrees. Just imagining it made Blan clench his fist lightly.

'But keeping it a secret from the lord…'

Blan had never deceived Altear since becoming a knight of Eilsford. Of course, he had tried to deceive him once after the 'first strategy meeting,' but that was a different matter. The lady said she didn't want to upset the lord with uncertain information. Her reasoning made sense, but since it involved moving troops, it needed to be reported to the lord. Blan would be going against the lady's wishes, but his direct superior was Altear.

"My lord. Um…"

Blan looked at Altear, who was focused on his documents, and spoke cautiously. But Altear spoke first.

"I'm going to Rembrou to hunt a dragon."

"Huh?"

Blan, caught off guard by the unexpected news, forgot what he was going to say and jumped up.

"But you refused that before?"

"I did, but I changed my mind. The reward is a year's budget for Eilsford, so it's worth the effort."

"Why suddenly? Of course, the reward is high, but there will certainly be many casualties."

"That's why I'm going alone."

"What, what are you saying?"

"I thought about taking you and Cain, but the estate would be empty. Besides, you would just be a hindrance in dangerous situations. If they know we have a weakness, Balhail will move again."

Blan was flabbergasted. Of course, Altear was a powerful knight, but he couldn't possibly defeat a dragon alone. When Altear easily cut through monstrous beasts, Blan had thought, "He could probably defeat a dragon alone!" but it was impossible.

"Don't talk nonsense! Absolutely not!"

"Are you defying your superior? That's insubordination."

"Letting a superior go to his death is insubordination! Why suddenly decide to hunt a dragon? Do you want to be a hero?"

Hunting a dragon would certainly bring great fame.

'But that's only if you succeed!'

Altear, however, seemed to have anticipated Blan's reaction and continued to focus on his documents without looking at him.

"After refusing the Rembrou estate's request, the monster hunting requests dried up. Do you think that's a coincidence?"

"…Requests have always been inconsistent."

"Have there been times when there were no requests for three months? You must think that's unusual, right?"

"…"

It wasn't a wrong statement. Indeed, the recent lack of monster hunting requests had seemed strange. Even small requests had been steady, but there had been none for three months, making the estate's situation even worse.

"Are you saying the Rembrou estate is behind it? Preventing us from getting requests?"

"Perhaps."

"Cheating bastards!"

Blan, forgetting he was in front of his superior, cursed roughly. Altear didn't seem to mind.

"There's no need to get worked up. It's just a matter of going along with their demands. They're offering a lot of money, so there's no reason to refuse."

Blan bit his lip, unable to find the right words. He couldn't stop Altear from going to hunt the dragon, nor could he let him go.

At that moment, a thought he had momentarily forgotten about flashed through his mind.

'The magic stone mine!'

With Altear's permission, if they could quickly explore the mountains and find the magic stone mine, they wouldn't need to play into the Rembrou estate's hands. Of course, exploring the mountains was a big gamble, but given the current situation, what was a little gamble?

"My lord. Please delay accepting the request for now."

"Why?"

"Well, today my lady came to the training ground and personally distributed sandwiches she made…"

"What?"

Altear, who had been reading the documents indifferently, finally looked at Blan.

"Sandwiches she made?"

"No… my lord… that's not the important part… please hear me out…"

Blan sweated under Altear's intense gaze.