Time had gone by in a flash. It had been two weeks since I arrived at Schubeiden Manor.

During that time, I’d been attacked by assassins at night three times, had two homemade bombs thrown at me while walking in the garden, and the new bathing cream I’d bought turned out to be laced with powdered iron. Basically, I was in a lot of danger.

On the bright side, at least they didn’t mess with my food, probably because Lacius ate the same food as me. So, we ended up sharing every meal together.

“By now, there must be enough rumors of me to drive everyone mad... I think it’s time to go out again,” I suggested.

All the newspapers had been talking about no one else but me for days and it was finally starting to calm down. Naturally, it was time to drop some more bait. I’d memorized the map of the capital in the past two weeks, and so I tried to think of a place to go.

“There actually is a suitable place,” Lacius said hesitantly, putting down his knife.

“Where is it?” I asked, happy I didn’t have to come up with my own idea.

“It’s dangerous, though.”

“Well, I’m already in danger all the time, even in my own bedroom. Just tell me where it is.”

The paintings of the maids and the black panther were not yet finished. Since they were oil paintings, I had to work layer by layer. In the meantime I’d made dozens of simple sketches to get some practice—sketches, mind you, not doodles. I was feeling pretty good about myself... until Lacius told me what he had in mind.

“The imperial palace.”

“The imperial palace?” I repeated, shocked.

“The knights’ training ground, to be more precise.”

I could almost hear the sound of death coming for me. There were countless ways I could die in such a place.

This is... certainly dangerous, that’s for sure.

I wondered if I should just change my mind and stay in bed like a potato, staring at my walls. I could try on my new sapphire ring and ruby earrings to marvel at how beautiful I looked in everything. That would most certainly make time pass really fast.

“Shaye?”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse the man in front of me. It was obvious that he wanted me to go with him. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to introduce me to his fellow knights of the Order of Lentus. It’d be difficult to refuse.

I considered it for a moment before nodding. I picked up some bread from one of the huge pastry piles.

“Let’s go,” I said finally.

“You’re coming?”

“Yes, there’s someone I would like to meet there anyway.”

I presumed that Sir Siontine Adeles would be there. This would be the first step of my plan to stay alive. I needed to befriend Siontine. I took a huge bite of the pastry with my ulterior motive in mind.

A full stomach would be needed to accomplish this, no doubt.

* * *

Siontine Adeles was an unusual woman. Not because she refused marriage to become a knight, despite coming from a good family, nor because she’d got the highest score in the entrance test to the Order, and not even because she was strong enough to beat her older brother. Siontine was unusual because she blindly and unconditionally protected the female protagonist. She was whole-heartedly devoted to keeping her safe, like a mother bear protecting her cub.

When asked who’s the undisputed top fangirl, I’d say it’s Siontine. Readers also thought the same about her.

Siontine did everything she could to stop the female protagonist from marrying Lacius. Of course, she didn’t allow any other woman, in general, to get close to Lacius. She knew that place belonged to the female protagonist, but she didn’t want their marriage to happen too fast either.

She’s a tough nut to crack. It would be best to have her on my side as soon as possible.

I thought about it as I put on a tight dark blue dress. I still had a chance. Siontine was going to meet the female protagonist at a ball and become her fan after that. I could win her favor before that happened. If I could at least befriend her, she wouldn’t try to kill me. I desperately tried to remember some facts about Siontine Adeles, and then I recalled that she had a soft spot for small and cute things, which made me feel somewhat sad.

“I may be pretty, but I’m a little too tall...”

It wasn’t like I could make myself smaller. I sighed as I tightened the cord of my dress. I put on a broach made from a transparent gem on my chest and grabbed a fan. I was ready. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and smiled as widely as I could.

Well, let’s go and see how things play out. I’ll never know if I don’t try.

* * *

The military of the Teran Empire had four forces: the Imperial Guards, the Knights of the Imperial Palace, the Peacekeepers of the Capital, and the armies stationed in the provinces. Lacius belonged to the Knights of the Imperial Palace. He was the Grand Master of the Order of Lentus, the name of the order meant “unyielding.”

“Today’s an official dueling day. Rankings within the Order will be changed,” Lacius explained.

“And civilians are allowed to watch?”

“Not according to the rules, but as far as everyone is considered, you’re a bad girl who I’ve fallen in love with. They can’t say no.”

Oh, that’s right, I’m playing the part of the “crazy girl.”

I nodded.

The palace wasn’t too far from the Manor. Lacius and I headed straight to the second training ground. It belonged solely to the Order of Lentus and was considerably spacious.

“Captain!”

“The captain’s here!”

The moment I stepped into the black brick residence with Lacius, all the knights jumped to their feet and saluted. It was almost like a Whac-A-Mole game, as they popped up everywhere. That was the moment I realized just how important Lacius was.

“Um, is that woman...” a man stepped forward to ask. He had very little presence about him, he definitely gave the impression of being no more than an unnamed character in the story.

Since this was now his second time being out with me, Lacius acted like a natural. “This is my fiancée, Miss Oberon.”

“Whoa!”

“Why such a reaction?” Lacius questioned sharply.

The knight immediately stood at attention. “I’m sorry, captain!”

“Do not give any inconvenience to the lady.”

“Forgive me for my foolish actions.”

The knights were, shall I say, quite well-disciplined. They were usually allowed to be at ease, but they had a strong chain of command with Lacius at the top as captain. I knew that soldiers had to obey their superiors, but I’d never seen it firsthand.

With sparkly eyes, I told the knight that there was no problem. “It’s okay. Everyone reacts like that to us.”

“Nia.”

“Laz, I’m really okay. Anyway, I’m sorry that I insisted on tagging along. I guess everyone was surprised to see me. I was just too curious, though I thought it may be a hindrance.”

I smiled, thinking no one would agree that I was in their way. This would turn out to be naive thinking. I’d forgotten there was one person in the Order who was more than capable of such behavior.

“This isn’t a place for civilians to visit out of mere curiosity,” said an icy voice, chilling the mood instantly.

The curtain of the changing room in the corner pulled back and a knight in silver armor emerged. She had long legs, as well as a tall neck. While she appeared young, she was undeniably the best among her peers. It was Sir Siontine Adeles, the third daughter of House Adeles, the house known for its cold rationality and invincible integrity.

“Captain, you must send her back. This is a violation of the rules,” she demanded.

It was so strange. I couldn’t help but feel at a loss when I finally saw her in real life. How could that human ice cube end up caring so much about the female protagonist? There must surely be a reason. But at the moment, I couldn’t afford to think about it. I couldn’t let Lacius stand against one of his own knights because of a woman. It simply wouldn’t look good. I needed people to think that I was crazy and had forced him to take me here, but if he insisted on keeping me with him, people were going to say that he was the one who’d gone mad. I decided to back off for now.

“I’m sorry, I should have known better...” I looked down and held my hands, seemingly in shame. I didn’t forget to quiver my eyelashes. Lacius looked back at me and raised his eyebrows, but all the knights behind him, both men and women, were already buying into my act. “I knew I shouldn’t have, but the mere thought of him leaving me behind was just too...”

Sad thoughts. Cut up all the onions. C’mon, sad thoughts, more onions. I tried my best to make my eyes teary and sniffled.

Then the NPC knight who’d greeted me earlier jumped up and exclaimed, “Y-you can stay!”

“Sir Luke!”

“Siontine, your problem is that you never know when to yield. I know rules are important, but our captain has finally shown us his fiancée! Do you really have to be so harsh on her?”

“But...”

“I know rules are rules, but they’re clearly madly in love. Of course they don’t want to leave each other. We should let the lady stay, right? Don’t you all agree with me?”

I’m sorry that I said you were just an unnamed character, Sir Luke.

I kept up the act and brushed a tear away. “Can I really stay?”

“But of course! Of course it’s okay! I’ll go and find you a seat at once.”

“Thank you, Sir... Luke.”

I took my time saying his name on purpose so that he’d feel like I was pronouncing it fondly. Obviously, it made him grin like a fool. It didn’t take long for their famous discipline to crumble in front of a pretty lady.

Siontine must have thought the same. She whispered into my ear as she passed, “Nice work manipulating him like that.”

“Hmm...”

“What is it?” Lacius asked after seeing my expression.

Of course, I couldn’t just say, Oh, she’s a character who is supposed to end up hating me, but it seems like she already does, so I just gave him an awkward smile.

In conclusion, I’d made a terrible first impression.

She thinks I’m going to marry Lacius, so when the heroine shows up and becomes even the slightest bit stressed because of me...

Well, there wasn’t much to mull over. I’d just created one more reason for me to be killed. At least the others were very welcoming to me, so I had quite a nice seat to watch.

Each order had a dueling event every three months. It was called the “Quarterly Dueling Competition,” and those who’d improved their skills could defeat a higher-ranking knight and take their place. It happened, though rarely. I couldn’t forget how in the original novel, Sir Siontine Adeles had defeated twenty-seven knights to give the honor of victory to the female protagonist.

Every year in late autumn there was the Imperial Dueling Festival, where only the top thirty knights of each order were allowed to duel. I was sure that was where she had defeated everyone.

Then I realized something.

Wait, is she going to increase her rank now?

It was still technically too soon. The Imperial Dueling Festival was going to take place in the late fall, just before winter. Since it wasn’t yet spring, Siontine didn’t have to make it to the top thirty today. There would be another competition where she could level up her rank. Yet, for some reason, I felt like Siontine would make it today.

“Lacius.”

“Yes?”

“What is Sir Siontine Adeles’ current rank?” I leaned to Lacius next to me and whispered so that no one else could hear.

He raised an eyebrow, wondering why I was asking such a question. “She’s number thirty-one out of fifty.”

“Oh.”

“What is it?”

“I think that she’ll make it into the top thirty today.”

Lacius seemed quite surprised to hear this. “How could you possibly know that?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve never seen Siontine fight.”

“Oh, um, that’s...”

My mindless comment was now putting me in trouble. I looked around, trying to think of an excuse.

Oh, I have a magical ability that lets me see your rankings above your heads... Nope, that wouldn’t work.

While I delayed answering, two knights faced each other on the ground. They each had a round medal with their rank number on their chests.

“Wow, they have their ranks just out in the open?” I quickly took the chance and changed the subject.

Lacius was still suspicious of me, but he explained nonetheless. “Yes. The duel takes place when a knight of lower rank challenges a knight of higher rank. If the lower ranked knight wins, they will exchange their medals.”

“Then... It would be quite humiliating for a knight of higher rank to lose.”

“Yes.”

“Then they must train hard all the time so that they don’t lose.”

I was in awe. They may not be at war currently, but they’re still having their own battles. Losing would mean spending at least the next three months in shame. I shook my head. I knew I would be fuming, running around, and jumping in anger if it ever happened to me. I’d give everything I have to get my revenge.

Then which knight will be sadly defeated today?

The first duel ended without any climax after only a few moves. It was between the fourth and fifth in rank. so it made sense that they would be basically at the same level. I took a bite of a cookie Sir Luke had brought me and waited with anticipation for Siontine’s turn.

I’d stepped outside just to create rumors about the crazy woman following Lacius to the Order of Lentus’ training ground, but suddenly this trip was turning out to be much more enjoyable than I’d expected.

“Next, Sir Siontine Adeles, rank thirty-one, against Sir Orman Terlos, rank nineteen!”

I knew it. Would Siontine gain her right to fight at the Imperial Dueling Festival at this very moment?