The moment I saw who it was, I realized I fucked up.

But I had no time to panic.

I stumbled back and shouted at the top of my lungs, “Guards!”

I couldn’t believe it, but Mother’s security protocol proved to be a blessing.

Two knights, the ones assigned to guard me, came barreling in like they were waiting for an excuse for some action.

“What’s wrong, Lady Carine?” one of them asked, his hands already reaching for his weapon.

Their gazes soon fell upon Yeremiah, who stood between us.

“Wait, Yeremiah?” The other knight stopped mid-sentence as his eyes drifted to the sword Yeremiah was holding. “What are you doing with—”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Yeremiah said frantically, waving his hands at the guards, acting innocent as if he was the victim here. “I was just giving some orders from the Duchess to—”

“Lies!” I wasn’t going to let him blurt out any excuses. Using my authority and voice, I steeled myself as I glared forward. I jabbed my fingers at him. “His sword was drawn the moment I opened the door! Seize him!”

Against my direct order, and the undeniable proof of the drawn sword in front of them, the two knights had no reason to hesitate, so they rushed forward. Yeremiah stumbled back in a panic.

…

As all that was happening, I was rushing to Carine’s location as fast as I could, in case things went awry.

I was just about to kick back in my room when it happened. The drawing room was practically on the opposite side of the mansion from the East Wing.

Getting there fast was a lost cause unless a miracle decided to bless me, so I figured the best thing I could do was drag along any knights I ran into on the way.

I didn’t waste time thinking whether they would believe me or not. This was my life on the line here.

I took off down the hallway, my boots pounding the carpeted floor. As I rounded a corner, I heard someone’s presence. Their steps and breaths were nearly silent, so I stopped myself just before I crashed into them.

Turns out, it wasn’t just anyone.

It was Leila.

She stared up at me with that same dead expression she always wore, her voice flat as ever as she asked, “Sir Feyt? Are you in a hurry?”

Yeah, a little.

It was actually the first proper conversation I’d ever had with Leila as Feyt. Not exactly how I imagined it going. Still, I couldn’t afford to slow down. Not now.

“No time to explain! Carine is in danger!” I blurted out. “I need your help!”

I figured Leila could gather some knights or even inform Father quickly. But—

Just from that single sentence alone, Leila’s posture changed. Like a switch being flipped, her whole entire atmosphere changed. Her head dipped low as her eyes sharpened.

“Where?”

I paused, caught off guard by the sudden change.

“The drawing room—”

Before the words even fully left my mouth, she spun on her heel and launched herself down the hallway. One second she was right in front of me, the next she was barely a blur, just tearing through the corridor.

Holy hell, she’s like the wind!

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She didn’t even question my words. She just took off as if she wasn’t taking any chances.

I shook my head. This wasn’t the time to be stunned. I kicked my foot against the carpet in pursuit.

…

The two guards seized Yeremiah and shoved him back into the room. He tripped on his own feet, giving the guards the perfect excuse to slam him down to the polished marble floor. The crash echoed through the room, followed by the sharp clatter of his sword skidding across the floor.

“Ack—!” Yeremiah gasped in pain. “Stop— I wasn’t—”

Lady Maltine shot up from her seat, hands flying to her mouth. “Oh, my!”

My eyes scrutinized Yeremiah as he thrashed around, still trying to play victim. His eyes looked desperate as they tried to look into the eyes of the guards. But within that desperation, I sensed that familiar, uneasing blankness.

I still couldn’t quite put it into words. All I knew was that there was something wrong with him.

I flicked my gaze to one of the knights. He looked like he was ready to execute any order I gave, but I could sense a hint of hesitation rising from him.

Not surprising. Just moments ago, Yeremiah had been one of their own. Now he was pinned down like some petty criminal. It was pretty clear that they were to follow my orders first and ask questions later.

“L-Let me go! This is just a misunderstanding!” Yeremiah struggled and kicked, but the knights held firm.

Although it took a while, Yeremiah finally stopped resisting under the weight of the two knights. The room seemingly calmed down, but the atmosphere was as intense as ever.

“Why did you point a sword at Lady Carine?” one of the knights growled.

Yeremiah remained silent, at first.

Until—

“Tch,” he clicked his tongue. “You’re all deceived.” His voice was low and covered in anger.

The two knights, who probably knew Yeremiah personally, stiffened. Though seemingly surprised by his change of character, their hold against him remained strong and firm.

“She’s a tyrant!” Yeremiah blurted out, throwing his head up to glare at me. “A cold, ruthless tyrant who sees us as nothing but tools!”

I blinked, speechless, and caught off guard.

I mean, sure, I knew rumors like that would eventually start swirling around. Tried my best to prevent them but… I wasn’t exactly known for being all sunshine and rainbows.

But this? This felt way too personal for a simple grudge about me being rude.

The longer I thought about it, the less sense it made.

“Yeremiah, have you lost your mind?” one of the knights said.

“What in the world are you talking about?” the other added.

Their faces were pure confusion, and maybe that was the only reassuring thing in this mess. At least they didn’t seem to buy whatever it was Yeremiah was selling.

Yeremiah continued to bark, “Don’t you see?! She doesn’t care about us! She doesn’t care about any of us! All she sees are pawns! People she can step over! Disposable tools for her own needs!”

The two knights’ faces tightened, eyes squinting as if they were cringing hearing his words.

“She—She promised me a promotion! She lied right to my face like it was nothing! That’s what she and other nobles do! They smile at you, lie to you, and then throw you away when they’re done with you!”

I held my ground, eyes glaring into his in an attempt to hopefully see past that blankness clouding his eyes… but I couldn’t.

As for his argument and comments, there was no point refuting them. In his mind, he had already built me into the villain of his story.

“And you!” Yeremiah sneered at the other knights. “You’re just her lap dogs! Following her words like a bunch of idiots! She’s just using you, too, you know?!”

The knights stiffened once again. Whether they were confused, uncomfortable, or pained, I wasn’t sure. But before either of them could respond, Yeremiah moved.

And he moved fast.

A sudden jerk of his body startled the two knights. He elbowed the ribs of the knight to his right, then twisted and shoved the other knight, who was caught off guard.

It all happened so fast, yet so slow in my eyes.

Yeremiah was free, and without wasting a single second, he lunged for his fallen sword with frantic eyes.

Realizing this, I quickly moved to intercept. I had no weapons to fight, and if he reached me before the knights could…

But I was too late. His hand was already on the sword’s hilt when I took my first step.

Shit—

I almost thought all hope was lost, considering I was still far away as Feyt.

But then a blur materialized by the doorway. In a split second, my eyes recognized who it was.

Leila.

To everyone else, and Feyt’s eyes for that matter, she looked like a blur, as if she had just teleported.

But not to me.

My eyes caught everything.

With eyes sharpened like a blade, she lunged forward and was behind Yeremiah in under a second. She twisted her body, whipping up her leg high above her head, way more than her maid uniform was supposed to accommodate. She brought it down at a terrifying speed, right at Yeremiah’s neck.

It was a vicious and elegantly executed diagonal axe kick.

The impact shook the floor.

Yeremiah’s eyes went white. He collapsed instantly, crumbling under the sheer force of Leila’s kick. His sword clattered to the ground once more.

A heavy silence filled the room. No one moved, and no one breathed either.

The knights were unblinking…

Lady Maltine’s hands hadn’t uncovered her mouth…

And me?

This was the closest my face had ever come to dropping my jaw.

Leila calmly placed her foot over Yeremiah’s back, pinning him down like someone stepping on a curb to tie their shoelace.

Her expression and voice, when she turned to me, was as monotonous as ever.

“Are you alright, My Lady?”

I realized right then and there—

—that I had no idea who Leila really was.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep