Chapter 43: Securing a Big Shot (3)

After the Grand Duke of the North departed for the capital,

his children also dispersed to their respective posts.

As a result, only the secretary trainees and Debier remained in the mansion.

He led us into the staff meeting room on the first floor.

“Since everyone is here, I’ll introduce the second test.”

Five trainees sat at the long table stretched out on both sides.

With his hands clasped behind his back, the Chief Secretary spoke with a solemn expression.

“A month from now, Her Majesty the Empress and the Second Prince will visit Nord.”

The visit of the Empire’s most exalted figures.

At that, all the trainees promptly straightened their postures reverently.

“Until then, each of you will serve as the personal secretary to one of the Grand Duke’s children and assist them in their work.”

Debier lifted one hand casually and snapped his fingers.

Then, a knight of the Grand Duke’s house entered, carrying an elegant box.

“Now, I will call out the name of the person each of you will serve.”

When the Chief Secretary opened the box, a badge in the shape of a black lion with a golden ribbon was revealed.

The insignia of the Grand Duke’s house, something only formal secretaries could receive.

The sight of the dazzling badge made the others swallow hard with envy.

“Tobang will assist Archduke Eric, Lucun will serve Freya, Windsor will take care of Edward, and Brook will assist Edgar.”

Each of them received the badge along with the name of the person they were assigned to.

And then, finally, the moment came when one was handed to me.

“Lastly, Roger will be in charge of Lady Echina.”

I looked up at Debier with hollow eyes.

This badge didn’t simply acknowledge us as members of the Grand Duke’s household.

It carried the clear implication that if something went wrong, we would bear responsibility as if we were formal secretaries.

‘In other words, it’s a kind of warning to do our best within what we can handle.’

“The first schedule you’ll face is Her Majesty the Empress’s visit to the city.”

Debier laid down a schedule document he had organized.

Lucun, who sat closest to him, quietly passed the document along.

“Whenever Her Majesty goes on an inspection, she always observes the local culture and arts and gets a feel for the atmosphere of the streets.”

The elite trainees immediately began calculating in their heads upon receiving the document.

What kind of stage and musicians they should prepare to satisfy the Empress.

“The children will be busy with their own duties, so you’ll need to prepare everything from start to finish.”

Debier pressed one hand firmly on the table as he spoke.

“Perfectly. On your own.”

An eagle pushes its chick out of the nest.

The Chief Secretary gave us his instructions in just that way.

“Then, begin now.”

「Yes, understood!!」

The trainees shouted in unison.

After that, the door to the meeting room swung open, and everyone hurriedly began leaving their seats.

“Julius Roger.”

Just as I was about to be the last one out.

The lady of the Grand Duke’s house gave me a warning with a solemn gaze.

“Her Majesty desires only the very best.”

As if to say that, since I’d caught the Duke’s attention, I was expected to deliver the most satisfying result in the world.

“I believe you understand what that means.”

I looked at Debier and returned the same expression, signaling that I understood.

It was the kind of lifeless gaze only shared among chief secretaries.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

I gripped the black lion insignia tightly in one hand.

So tightly, in fact, that my fingers dug into the black crystal and blood began to pool.

「――――――,」

Upon arriving at the dormitory, I caught sight of my peers busily moving about.

Some were already packing their briefcases and heading home.

They were all planning to make the most of their personal networks to succeed in this mission.

Sure enough, numerous carriages were approaching from beyond the horizon.

The procession was so grand, it could’ve been mistaken for an escort coming to fetch the Grand Duke himself.

Three carriages came to a stop in front of the dormitory building.

Each had a banner bearing a shield emblem, and the carriage flanked by escorts looked especially luxurious.

“Windsor, get in quickly.”

A noblewoman with brown hair identical to Windsor’s opened the door herself and gestured to him.

Even the coachman dismounted to carry Windsor’s briefcase for him.

“Yes, Mother…!!”

As Windsor stepped into the carriage, he glanced briefly back at me, waiting on the roadside.

Then, with a faint smirk, he boarded the carriage.

“……”

While his luggage was being loaded into the trunk,

Brook also stepped up into the carriage that had come for him.

His family was quite well-known in the North, so he was accompanied by not one, but two escort knights.

“Young Lord, the family head is waiting for you.”

“Let’s go.”

Seeing them being escorted by knights like that, they really did look the part of young noblemen.

Watching men like them serving as secretaries showed just how powerful the Grand Duke’s house truly was.

However—

The real young nobleman was someone else.

―――――

A thundering sound of hoofbeats echoed from afar.

The rumble was so great, one might think an entire army was approaching.

“Roger.”

Following that sound, Tobang stepped out of the dormitory as if he’d been waiting.

As he casually brushed past me, he spoke.

“Now that you’ve been chosen by the Grand Duke’s daughter, you sure seem relaxed.”

Was it because he’d been selected by Eric, the eldest son?

His eyes were brimming with confidence.

“Your Julius family always seems full of baseless confidence whenever I see you.”

The Julius family and Tobang’s Arman family—

In truth, both families had once belonged to the same mercenary corps.

Maybe it was because, in the past, my father had claimed too much credit for modest achievements thanks to his handsome appearance and smooth tongue.

Despite producing better results, the Arman family had often been overlooked, and Tobang resented that deeply.

‘Though in reality, it was the knight commander—who was wary of the Arman family—who deliberately showered my father with praise.’

However, there was no way Tobang could have known.

My father had only risen in the ranks thanks to political maneuvering—he’d simply been lucky.

Of course, his handsome looks and excellent image management had certainly helped too.

“But this time, things will be different.”

Five grand white carriages arrived in front of Tobang.

Four knights on white horses stood around them.

‘Intermediate Sword Experts.’

The highest-ranking fighters among knights personally owned by noble houses.

In addition, there were four more private carriages guarding the one Tobang would ride in.

The sheer presence was truly fitting of the prestigious knightly family, the Arman family.

“This test will make the difference between you and me painfully clear.”

A majestic flag bearing the tilted head of a white horse flapped with force.

And from within, a man in a white uniform stepped down.

“We greet you, Young Lord Tobang.”

“Yes, Lance. You’ve prepared what I asked for, haven’t you?”

The red-haired man bowed his head to Tobang as he greeted him.

I knew who he was.

The knight before me would become a Swordmaster ten years from now.

Of course, by then, he would no longer serve under Tobang but be active within the Imperial family.

For now, he was just a cadet training under the Arman family.

“Yes, I’ve arranged a meeting with the President of the Nord Music Association.”

“Let’s go right away. No time to waste.”

Tobang placed his foot on the carriage steps and glanced back at me.

Then he gave a short, bitter laugh and boarded the carriage.

‘How unfortunate.’

Even if a family is rich, what good is it if the heart isn’t at ease?

Ordering his son to torment the child of a rival family—it seemed the Arman family still hated my father.

With both hands in my coat pockets, I stared at the many carriages occupying the roadside.

It looked so extravagant, one might think it was a gathering of the Empire’s top aristocrats.

It was a scene only possible because the Grand Duke of the North and his children had vacated the estate.

“All this fuss just to pick up a single son.”

Lucun walked up to me, as if echoing my thoughts.

In his hand was nothing more than a simple briefcase.

“No one coming to get you from your family?”

“My house fell long ago. We don’t even have a coachman.”

I shrugged and gave him a playful look.

Lucun calmly shook his head and added,

“That’s unfortunate.”

“No need to think that. A secretary is meant to be like a shadow anyway.”

I slowly rotated my ankles, limbering up at the thought of walking off the estate on my own.

Before long, I’d be looking down on their families from above anyway.

“I’ll head out first.”

Carrying just a briefcase, I crossed the road with light steps.

But then—I had no choice but to come to a sudden stop.

The faint sound of hoofbeats could be heard in the distance.

“Young Lord, someone is approaching,” said Lance, the knight who had been about to close Tobang’s carriage door.

Tobang let out a scoffing laugh and shook his head.

“Leave it. It’s probably that commoner calling in a donkey or something.”

Brook, sitting in the carriage across from him, poked his head out the window and chuckled.

But—

Their expressions quickly turned cold.

Because the sound of those approaching hoofbeats was far too fierce to be from a donkey.

――――――

Soon, the silhouette of a person appeared beyond the horizon.

Not only the trainees, but even the knights began watching closely.

And the moment they saw her flowing black, elegant hair—

They all began scrambling out of their carriages in a rush.

The one riding the massive black horse was…

“Op—open the door!!”

“Everyone, out of the carriages! Show proper respect!!”

The only knight of the Northern Grand Duke’s household—and the second daughter.

It was Echina Luton.

“Why is she suddenly back…? I thought she was headed to the Academy,”

Tobang muttered as he hurriedly stepped down from the carriage, visibly flustered.

Even Windsor’s ever-proud mother disembarked and bowed with formal etiquette.

――――――

But the Grand Duke’s daughter didn’t spare them so much as a glance.

She simply rode straight past the carriages and came to a stop in front of me.

“Julius Roger.”

Under the blazing sunlight, a female knight looked down at me intently.

Her golden eyes and noble figure struck me square in the face.

“I thought you had already left for work, Lady Echina.”

I bowed my head respectfully in greeting.

Echina, holding the reins, brushed her bangs aside with grace and spoke.

“I just thought of something on the way.”

With one hand, she pointed directly at my narrow, sly eyes.

“Your annoyingly smug, greasy-looking eyes.”

She’d thought of me on her way back.

At that, my fellow trainees turned pale and stared at me in disbelief.

That the cold Northern Grand Duke’s daughter had thought of someone—

And of all people, a mere secretary trainee.

“Our path is the same anyway, so I’ll give you a ride.”

“But you’ve only brought one horse…” I said with a puzzled tilt of my head.

Echina responded with a matter-of-fact look.

“Obviously, you’ll be riding behind me.”

Riding in the saddle with the Grand Duke’s daughter.

At those words, even Tobang and the usually silent Lucun, watching from afar, gaped in astonishment.

“You mean, I’m to ride behind Lady Echina…?”

“Yes. It’s common practice in our knight order.”

Even I, with ten years of experience as a Chief Secretary, was flustered by this.

But before I had time to process it, Echina had already made the black horse lower its legs skillfully.

“Get on. Aren’t you busy with the performance preparations?”

“Ah, understood.”

Swallowing hard, I slowly stepped toward the black horse.

Fortunately, the saddle was quite wide—more than enough for two riders.

However—

“Have you never ridden a horse before? You’ll fall off like that.”

Maybe it was because I kept a noticeable distance behind her on the saddle.

Echina glanced back at me and gave a cold warning.

‘As if I’ve never ridden before. I was a knight cadet myself.’

That wasn’t the problem.

It was the Grand Duke’s daughter’s back right in front of my face.

Where was I supposed to place my hands for support?

“Understood…”

I let out a small cough and gently placed both hands on her shoulders.

At that, Echina turned around fully with a disgruntled expression.

Like a lioness looking at a clumsy cub even after generously offering her back.

“How frustrating. Resting your hands on my shoulders means nothing.”

“Then, how about I steer from the front while Your Ladyship rests?”

With a sigh, I offered to take the reins myself.

But Echina shook her head with the cool gaze of a seasoned knight.

“That won’t work. This horse doesn’t listen to anyone but its master.”

As if agreeing with her, the massive black horse tossed its head roughly.

I could feel the heat of its breath just from its snort.

Even so—

“Just leave it to me.”

I dismounted first and spoke with confidence.

“A proper secretary should at least be able to handle their lord’s horse, don’t you think?”

“……”

Echina stared down at me blankly for a moment.

Then she stepped back behind the saddle and gave a warning.

“I don’t know where your confidence comes from, but be careful.”

Before mounting the horse again,

I slowly approached its head.

“A Dunkirk stallion has too much pride. You have to greet him first before he’ll offer his back.”

Without saying a word, I locked eyes with the horse’s deep black eyes—just like its coat.

Then, gently stroking its cheek, I let it feel my touch.

“You have to introduce yourself to let him know who’s riding. That’s how he relaxes.”

Horses are intelligent animals, capable of connecting with others.

Especially stallions from noble lines—they know how valuable they are.

Which is why they must be treated with the proper respect.

“Well then, let’s be on our way.”

I climbed back onto the saddle smoothly.

Even when I gripped the reins firmly, the black horse made no sign of resistance.

“As you can see, he doesn’t seem to dislike me.”

“Strange… He used to kick at any knight who tried to mount him.”

Anyone in the world, no matter how difficult, appreciates being treated with care.

Animals are no different.

“Then hold on tight.”

Following my words, Echina reached her hands forward.

But her hands came to a hesitant halt, unsure of where to go.

“What’s the matter…? You need to hold on so we can go.”

I turned my head slightly—just as the Grand Duke’s daughter had done to me—and asked quietly.

At that, her red lips parted slightly as she fell into thought.

“Where should I… hold on to…”

Only now did she seem to realize how I had felt earlier.

Her golden eyes, uncertain and searching, flicked back and forth between my waist and my back.

She looked just like a flustered feline caught off guard.

“Lady Echina—? At this rate, even someone of your stature might fall off—”

Her eyes grew wide, like a startled cat.

Then, at last…

She did exactly what she had done when scolding me earlier—placed both hands squarely on my shoulders.

“Let’s go.”

I glanced back at her with a dumbfounded expression.

In turn, the Grand Duke’s daughter cleared her throat and spoke more quietly, trying to keep her composure.

“Just like this… let’s go.”

“Yes, understood—”

I turned my gaze forward again with a faint smile.

Then, with practiced ease, I steered the black horse toward the Erian Hotel.

For the sake of the second test.

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