This was supposed to be a normal day.

I started it with the usual breakfast, schedule, rest, and after one more class, all I needed to do was wait for the training session with Mother.

But of course, none of my days had been normal so far, so why would this one be?

I was walking down the halls with Leila on our way to the baths, a rare moment where I was allowed some time away from my guards. The day was hot and humid today, and I definitely needed some refreshment after another boring dance class.

As my feet continued their march, I couldn’t get the image of that knight, Yeremiah, out of my head. That blankness in his eyes… they felt just the same as Raymond’s when he was about to attack me.

Was he that furious about that promotion thing? Considering I hadn’t even approached him once after that incident, I could see why he would be. But…

A part of me said that the way his eyes stared straight into me was… wrong.

Should I just find him and apologize?

A shiver ran through my whole body, a sense of mine telling me it wouldn’t be a good idea.

This might be paranoid of me to do… Rude even, but…

I didn’t slow down my pace as I addressed the maid, following closely behind me.

“Leila?”

“Yes, Lady Carine?” she responded, her pace stable.

“Keep an eye out for the knight named Yeremiah, would you?”

“Yeremiah…?” Leila was silent for a second before she hummed approvingly. “Understood, My Lady.”

Before long, we reached the family baths. Time to unwind.

—

I was walking around the manor as Feyt as well, mostly just to breathe in some fresh air. I could do some more warm-ups before the session with Mother, but I figured it was best not to overdo it.

I was still relaxing in the baths as Carine, having my back washed by Leila. Figured I should let my other body relax too, thus the indoor walk.

My goal? Wherever my legs take me.

The hallway was, once again, occupied by knights patrolling their assigned areas. The servants assigned to clean the halls were clearly working double time. Some of them were still on paid leave apparently.

A full week had almost passed since Mother and Father agreed on enforcing this policy, which meant we would be returning to the class with the other students. I doubted if the knights were ever gonna stop patrolling, though.

As I was passing by the second-floor gallery, I took a peek in the lower entrance lobby. There, I saw someone wearing an attire I rarely saw in the manor, let alone in the whole kingdom. A light knightly armor with a red shoulder cape, bearing the sigil of Setus.

In other words, a Royal Knight.

I nearly stopped in my tracks. What was someone of that rank doing here?

I scrutinized her from afar, as best as my eyes could let me see. She had long, dirty blonde hair and pale skin. That didn’t help much, nearly half the kingdom looked like that… in Feyt’s eyes anyway.

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She handed over her sword to a maid who was tending to her. The maid proved to be a familiar face. Eliza.

Eliza accepted the sword with both of her hands, treating the sword like it was a national treasure. Then, she bowed.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Sir Reysha,” Eliza said, turning to the knight beside her. “If you would follow him, he’ll lead you to your destination.”

The Royal Knight nodded. “Thank you, I shall.”

Not long after that, she left with the knight deeper into the mansion.

I wanted to ask Eliza who she was and why she was here, but she looked busy with that sword, carrying it somewhere. Best leave her alone for now.

I continued my walk like nothing had happened.

It was clearly none of my business.

As my feet continued to move me from place to place, though, I eventually with someone… Someone I thought I shouldn’t have met.

Yeremiah…

With a frown, he stopped in his tracks when he spotted me, signaling to me it was too late to turn back.

“You…” His words trailed off as he sized me up and down. “You’re the kid that’s close to Lady Carine.”

What a way to call me. I have a name, you know?

“G-Good afternoon!” I said to him, trying to be nice.

I feared he wasn’t in a good mood and might lash out at anyone, judging from yesterday’s experience. But I didn’t sense any hostility from him, at least, not directly. All I could hear from him was a sense of lethargy.

On one hand, I was relieved that Feyt wouldn’t be involved in the crossfire. On the other hand, this just proved that whatever he had against Carine was completely personal. Great.

I didn’t want to hang around him much longer. This silence was beginning to grow mighty awkward. As I was about to say my farewells, though, he spoke up.

“Say…”

“A-Ah, yes?”

His deep, sunken eyes bore into me as his voice dropped low. “I believe it would be best for you to avoid getting close to her…”

I blinked, instinctively gulping. “W-Why?”

“Hmph…” he scoffed. He walked past me, as if I didn’t exist. Then, his voice reached my ears. “Have you ever considered that she doesn’t even see you as human?”

He left without saying another word. His metal boots groaned with every step he took. His hand rested on top of his sword’s hilt.

Again, my sense of unease spiked.

I didn’t know what sort of conclusion he had come to about Carine, but boy, I would bet my life savings it was something bad.

I had to report this to Mother. But I was still a bit hesitant, thinking about what situation this might create. Mother might suspend him or even fire him, which would only deepen whatever grudge he had on me. He could even lash out if confronted directly, which might endanger any of me or even Mother.

But it was better safe than sorry.

Our classes were about to start soon after Carine’s etiquette class. A private room with only both of me and Mother, that would be the best time to properly talk things through.

Little did I know, I had much less time than I thought.

—

Lady Maltine, one of the few respected etiquette instructors in the capital, greeted me with a warm and serene smile.

“Nice to see you again, Lady Carine.”

I bowed, lifting the hems of my dress elegantly to display my machine’s perfect greeting. “The same to you, Lady Maltine.”

With greetings done, the lessons started almost right away.

Etiquette has always been about repeating the same actions until it is totally ingrained into your mind and muscles. Although it wasn’t as much of a bore as the dancing lessons, as Lady Maltine would often give me ridiculous challenges for each new thing I learned.

Today, however, she seemed more interested in talks, mainly…

“Forgive me if this is too direct of me, but… How was the First Prince’s birthday party?”

Disastrous.

That was what I wanted to say. Heck, it was the only thing I could say about it.

What else would you expect? A freaking fireball went through the walls and almost killed Leila and me!

Of course, I gave her the standard Carine-like answer of “Yeah, the venue’s pretty good”… Just, with a lot more elegance than that.

It would seem Lady Maltine was genuinely interested in the party. Considering how exclusive it was, I kinda get that. But just as our conversation was starting to flow really well…

Firm knocks came through the door.

Both Lady Maltine and I turned our heads in confusion.

“Who is it?” I demanded, my voice loud enough to reach the person beyond that door.

“Forgive the interruption, Lady Maltine. But Lady Carine has been summoned by the Duchess and I am sent to escort her.”

Mother summoned me?

I assumed she wanted to talk about something important if she went so far as to interrupt my lessons. I looked at Lady Maltine, my eyebrows raised a little.

She looked at me with her serene smile and nodded gently.

I rose from my seat and pulled open the door. A strange tightness coiled in my chest, as if I had just made the wrong choice.

I was met with armor in front of me, its polished steel reflecting my face. As I looked up to see who it was towering over me…

It was Yeremiah.

His sword at the ready.

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