I looked up in surprise and saw Perdes looking even more surprised than me.
"Why..."
“Why, why? That’s what I wanted to ask.”
Perdes clicked his tongue, took a handkerchief out of his pocket, and carefully wiped my palm.
“Your palms are bleeding.”
"Ah."
Only then did I notice blood on my palms, and I let out a small gasp.
I was so angry that I clenched my fists so hard that I didn't even realize my nails were digging into my skin.
“I understand that you’re upset because that bastard badmouthed your family, but don’t be self-destructive.”
“It’s not that I was self-harming...”
“Then what is this?”
When Perdes pointed to the wound on my palm and asked, I was speechless and smiled faintly.
“Show me your other hand.”
"It's okay."
"Show me."
Since Perdes spoke so strongly, I had no choice but to show my other hand.
“What? The situation here is more serious.”
“It’s okay...”
“No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t look okay, so don’t tell me it’s okay.”
The words that had been rising to my lips disappeared again.
I had to focus on the match between Aldor and Usher, but I couldn't concentrate because Perdes kept touching my palm as if he were wiping the blood away.
“I would tell you to go to the doctor right now, but you will miss the duel, so make sure to go to the doctor after it is over.”
“...It’s like my mom nagging me.”
“What did you say?”
I felt as if I was being shocked by the sincerity that spilled out without me knowing, but fortunately, Perdes didn't hear me and asked me back.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“No. I think you said something.”
"Really..."
"End!"
I was about to say it was nothing when I heard the referee's loud voice.
The duel is already over.
What was the result? Who won?
I turned my head so violently that it made a whooshing noise and looked at the arena.
“...”
“Haa, haa.”
Sir Aldor stood with his usual expressionless face, while Usher, who had crouched down in front of him, was breathing heavily as if he had just run a marathon.
Sir Aldor was holding the wooden sword tightly, but the wooden sword was not visible in Usher's hand.
That means Usher can no longer compete.
“Sir Aldor has won.”
"...Yes."
After realizing that Usher was the one who took Sor Aldor's life in his second life, I was anxious and hopeful, but it turned out to be really fortunate.
“Of course, the vice-captain should win.”
“That’s right. That’s right. I wasn’t worried at all.”
“That shameless brat needs to be punished more, but it’s a shame that the game ended too quickly.”
On the other hand, Leopold's knights took Aldor's victory for granted.
“It’s petty.”
Perdes had a similar reaction.
“Still, he held out for a long time.”
“Yeah. I thought it would be over in less than 5 minutes.”
“The war of nerves was better than I expected, but the skill gap is still big.”
The royal knights also spoke as if it was natural for Usher to be defeated.
Usually, after a duel, it was polite for the winner to shake the loser's hand first as a gesture of appreciation for their hard work.
“...”
However, Sir Aldor did not shake hands with Usher and immediately left the arena.
The knights of Leopold understood that Sir Aldor's actions were justified, but the knights of the Imperial Court did not.
They openly gossiped about how knights had no manners.
“These guys...”
"Stop."
When the enraged Leopold knights looked like they were going to attack the palace knights at any moment, Sir Aldor raised his hand to stop them.
And after giving them a warning with his eyes not to come out, he approached me and bowed his head slightly to apologize.
“I’m sorry for showing you such an ugly side of me, Miss.”
“You fought for the honor of my family and the Knights, so what’s so ugly about that? And on top of that, you won a great victory.”
When the knight thoughtfully offered me a towel, I took it and wiped the sweat running down Sir Aldor's face with it.
“Thank you for your hard work, Sir Aldor.”
"...Thank you."
“Still, please don’t create unnecessary trouble.”
Apart from compliments, I also have some advice to give.
“If something like that happens, don’t come forward yourself, come to me and tell me. I’ll take care of it.”
If it were another order of knights, I would have let them do whatever they wanted, but if it were the Imperial Knights, it was a different story.
It was best to avoid any unnecessary trouble, as it could lead to the royal family being caught later.
Well, this incident is clearly the fault of Usher, the royal knight, so the royal family won't be able to say anything.
...Instead, the Emperor will have other plans.
I glanced at Usher, who was being scolded by the royal knights, including Sir Dominic.
I was anxious because I didn't know what his intentions were in provoking my knights.
I don't think it was done simply to test one's skills...
“Miss, I have something important to tell you.”
When Aldor spoke to him, he looked at him again.
“Tell me.”
“I would like to speak quietly.”
It meant that it was a story that other people shouldn't hear.
Then, as I was about to ask if he wanted to come to my office later, Sir Aldor leaned down and brought his mouth close to my ear.
“...!”
I opened my eyes wide in surprise as the distance became so close that I could hear him breathing.
“That imperial knight is indeed a member of the Anatome Guard.”
For a moment, I looked at him, surprised by his hot breath and the words that came out, but with a different meaning.
How does Sir Aldor know that?
It was even more puzzling because only a few hours ago when he came to report to me, he had apologized for not being able to figure out Usher's identity.
If he had found out about it after investigating, he would have told me the news right away.
But what you're me saying now is... Are you, like me, able to recognize Usher's swordsmanship after seeing it?
That means he remembers his second life when he crossed swords with Usher.
“Sir Aldor, by any chance...”
“Let’s have a celebration party!”
I was about to ask if what I was thinking was correct, but then the knight suddenly interrupted and my conversation was cut off.
I looked at the interrupting knight in bewilderment.
As if he didn't sense me staring, the knight smiled brightly and looked at Sir Aldor.
“On such a happy day, we should have a celebration party, even if it’s just a simple one, Vice-Captain!”
“That’s right! We should have a party to celebrate the moment we flattened that unlucky bastard’s nose!”
That's true, but is it okay to say it so openly?
I looked towards the royal knights, worried that they might be fighting again.
Fortunately, they had already left and were no longer there.
“Let’s party, let’s party!”
“It’s noisy. Do you think I don’t know what you guys are thinking when you try to drink beer under the pretext of a celebratory party?”
“Hey, if you know, please just let it go this once.”
“Right!”
“I thought you said it was noisy?”
I wanted to ask if what I was thinking was right but now doesn't seem to be the time.
“Let’s go get some palm treatment.”
When I urged them to hurry to Perdes, they withdrew for the time being, promising to meet again next time.
Come to think of it, Sir Aldor also knew the hidden secret path behind the Duke's mansion.
Besides that, there were times when he reacted strangely, and times when he recognized Usher right away.
No matter how much I thought about it, it seemed right that Sir Aldor remembered his second life.
So, does he remember his first and third lives?
Or does he only remember his second life?
I was very curious. I wanted to know.
Unable to contain my curiosity, I went to see Sir Aldor the next day and asked him.
“Do you remember your previous life, Lord Aldor?”
When I asked him outright, Sir Aldor looked slightly embarrassed and asked me back.
“What does it mean to remember my past lives, young lady?”
...You really don’t know?
Or are you just pretending not to know?
I asked around, wondering if it might be the latter, but the conclusion was the same.
Sir Aldor has no memory of his previous life.
So was I mistaken?
I don't think so.
“Miss, your birthday present has arrived.”
While I was wondering, an unexpected birthday gift arrived.
It was a birthday present from Prince Philos.
He celebrated my birthday even when I was at the Academy.
So it wasn't surprising that he sent me a birthday present, but the problem was...
"...What's this."
The gift sent by Prince Philos was a statue.
It was during my academy days that I was made into a statue of myself wearing my school uniform.
That alone was absurd, but what was even more shocking was that the statue was made of gold.
That's not all. Jewels were placed in places like the pupils, accessory decorations, and buttons.
My head was spinning and dizzy from the flashy and expensive gifts that even an Emperor would never have received.
I repeatedly told him not to do anything that would attract attention, so why wasn't he listening?
A sigh came out on its own.
“It’s the first time in my life that I’ve seen a golden statue.”
“I only saw it once at the temple.”
The employees looked at me with a curious yet slightly puzzled look.
They wonder what the relationship is between me and Prince Philos.
It was only natural that a simple friend would not give such an expensive statue as a birthday present.
“What is this?”
Perdes, who came out after hearing the rumor, also looked at the golden statue with extremely bewildered eyes.
His gaze was soon fixed on me.
“This is a gift from His Royal Highness the Prince, a close friend of mine at the Academy, to celebrate my birthday.”
I explained it right away to Perdes so he wouldn't misunderstand, but he didn't believe me.
Instead, he looked at me with even more suspicion and asked.
“Are you really just close friends with that Prince?”
"That's right."
We weren't just close friends, but we weren't in a strange relationship that Perdes and his employees misunderstood.
“So please don’t misunderstand.”
"Well."
Perdes muttered as he looked at the statue again.
“This is a gift that cannot be misunderstood.”
That's right. At a loss for words, I sighed and looked at the messenger who brought the statue.
He was the attendant of Prince Philos, whose face I had seen several times at the Academy.
I was about to tell him that I appreciated the gift, but that I would only accept his heart, so he should take it back, but the attendant held out a box.
“This is also a birthday gift from His Highness the Prince to Young Lady.”
“...You mean there’s another gift?”
“Yes. Please take a look.”
It was a gift from a Prince, so I couldn't just reject it without even looking at it, so I opened the box.
Perdes, who came up next to me, frowned when he saw the contents of the box.
“...It’s a magic music box.”
"Why..."
“Why, why? That’s what I wanted to ask.”
Perdes clicked his tongue, took a handkerchief out of his pocket, and carefully wiped my palm.
“Your palms are bleeding.”
"Ah."
Only then did I notice blood on my palms, and I let out a small gasp.
I was so angry that I clenched my fists so hard that I didn't even realize my nails were digging into my skin.
“I understand that you’re upset because that bastard badmouthed your family, but don’t be self-destructive.”
“It’s not that I was self-harming...”
“Then what is this?”
When Perdes pointed to the wound on my palm and asked, I was speechless and smiled faintly.
“Show me your other hand.”
"It's okay."
"Show me."
Since Perdes spoke so strongly, I had no choice but to show my other hand.
“What? The situation here is more serious.”
“It’s okay...”
“No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t look okay, so don’t tell me it’s okay.”
The words that had been rising to my lips disappeared again.
I had to focus on the match between Aldor and Usher, but I couldn't concentrate because Perdes kept touching my palm as if he were wiping the blood away.
“I would tell you to go to the doctor right now, but you will miss the duel, so make sure to go to the doctor after it is over.”
“...It’s like my mom nagging me.”
“What did you say?”
I felt as if I was being shocked by the sincerity that spilled out without me knowing, but fortunately, Perdes didn't hear me and asked me back.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“No. I think you said something.”
"Really..."
"End!"
I was about to say it was nothing when I heard the referee's loud voice.
The duel is already over.
What was the result? Who won?
I turned my head so violently that it made a whooshing noise and looked at the arena.
“...”
“Haa, haa.”
Sir Aldor stood with his usual expressionless face, while Usher, who had crouched down in front of him, was breathing heavily as if he had just run a marathon.
Sir Aldor was holding the wooden sword tightly, but the wooden sword was not visible in Usher's hand.
That means Usher can no longer compete.
“Sir Aldor has won.”
"...Yes."
After realizing that Usher was the one who took Sor Aldor's life in his second life, I was anxious and hopeful, but it turned out to be really fortunate.
“Of course, the vice-captain should win.”
“That’s right. That’s right. I wasn’t worried at all.”
“That shameless brat needs to be punished more, but it’s a shame that the game ended too quickly.”
On the other hand, Leopold's knights took Aldor's victory for granted.
“It’s petty.”
Perdes had a similar reaction.
“Still, he held out for a long time.”
“Yeah. I thought it would be over in less than 5 minutes.”
“The war of nerves was better than I expected, but the skill gap is still big.”
The royal knights also spoke as if it was natural for Usher to be defeated.
Usually, after a duel, it was polite for the winner to shake the loser's hand first as a gesture of appreciation for their hard work.
“...”
However, Sir Aldor did not shake hands with Usher and immediately left the arena.
The knights of Leopold understood that Sir Aldor's actions were justified, but the knights of the Imperial Court did not.
They openly gossiped about how knights had no manners.
“These guys...”
"Stop."
When the enraged Leopold knights looked like they were going to attack the palace knights at any moment, Sir Aldor raised his hand to stop them.
And after giving them a warning with his eyes not to come out, he approached me and bowed his head slightly to apologize.
“I’m sorry for showing you such an ugly side of me, Miss.”
“You fought for the honor of my family and the Knights, so what’s so ugly about that? And on top of that, you won a great victory.”
When the knight thoughtfully offered me a towel, I took it and wiped the sweat running down Sir Aldor's face with it.
“Thank you for your hard work, Sir Aldor.”
"...Thank you."
“Still, please don’t create unnecessary trouble.”
Apart from compliments, I also have some advice to give.
“If something like that happens, don’t come forward yourself, come to me and tell me. I’ll take care of it.”
If it were another order of knights, I would have let them do whatever they wanted, but if it were the Imperial Knights, it was a different story.
It was best to avoid any unnecessary trouble, as it could lead to the royal family being caught later.
Well, this incident is clearly the fault of Usher, the royal knight, so the royal family won't be able to say anything.
...Instead, the Emperor will have other plans.
I glanced at Usher, who was being scolded by the royal knights, including Sir Dominic.
I was anxious because I didn't know what his intentions were in provoking my knights.
I don't think it was done simply to test one's skills...
“Miss, I have something important to tell you.”
When Aldor spoke to him, he looked at him again.
“Tell me.”
“I would like to speak quietly.”
It meant that it was a story that other people shouldn't hear.
Then, as I was about to ask if he wanted to come to my office later, Sir Aldor leaned down and brought his mouth close to my ear.
“...!”
I opened my eyes wide in surprise as the distance became so close that I could hear him breathing.
“That imperial knight is indeed a member of the Anatome Guard.”
For a moment, I looked at him, surprised by his hot breath and the words that came out, but with a different meaning.
How does Sir Aldor know that?
It was even more puzzling because only a few hours ago when he came to report to me, he had apologized for not being able to figure out Usher's identity.
If he had found out about it after investigating, he would have told me the news right away.
But what you're me saying now is... Are you, like me, able to recognize Usher's swordsmanship after seeing it?
That means he remembers his second life when he crossed swords with Usher.
“Sir Aldor, by any chance...”
“Let’s have a celebration party!”
I was about to ask if what I was thinking was correct, but then the knight suddenly interrupted and my conversation was cut off.
I looked at the interrupting knight in bewilderment.
As if he didn't sense me staring, the knight smiled brightly and looked at Sir Aldor.
“On such a happy day, we should have a celebration party, even if it’s just a simple one, Vice-Captain!”
“That’s right! We should have a party to celebrate the moment we flattened that unlucky bastard’s nose!”
That's true, but is it okay to say it so openly?
I looked towards the royal knights, worried that they might be fighting again.
Fortunately, they had already left and were no longer there.
“Let’s party, let’s party!”
“It’s noisy. Do you think I don’t know what you guys are thinking when you try to drink beer under the pretext of a celebratory party?”
“Hey, if you know, please just let it go this once.”
“Right!”
“I thought you said it was noisy?”
I wanted to ask if what I was thinking was right but now doesn't seem to be the time.
“Let’s go get some palm treatment.”
When I urged them to hurry to Perdes, they withdrew for the time being, promising to meet again next time.
***
Come to think of it, Sir Aldor also knew the hidden secret path behind the Duke's mansion.
Besides that, there were times when he reacted strangely, and times when he recognized Usher right away.
No matter how much I thought about it, it seemed right that Sir Aldor remembered his second life.
So, does he remember his first and third lives?
Or does he only remember his second life?
I was very curious. I wanted to know.
Unable to contain my curiosity, I went to see Sir Aldor the next day and asked him.
“Do you remember your previous life, Lord Aldor?”
When I asked him outright, Sir Aldor looked slightly embarrassed and asked me back.
“What does it mean to remember my past lives, young lady?”
...You really don’t know?
Or are you just pretending not to know?
I asked around, wondering if it might be the latter, but the conclusion was the same.
Sir Aldor has no memory of his previous life.
So was I mistaken?
I don't think so.
“Miss, your birthday present has arrived.”
While I was wondering, an unexpected birthday gift arrived.
It was a birthday present from Prince Philos.
He celebrated my birthday even when I was at the Academy.
So it wasn't surprising that he sent me a birthday present, but the problem was...
"...What's this."
The gift sent by Prince Philos was a statue.
It was during my academy days that I was made into a statue of myself wearing my school uniform.
That alone was absurd, but what was even more shocking was that the statue was made of gold.
That's not all. Jewels were placed in places like the pupils, accessory decorations, and buttons.
My head was spinning and dizzy from the flashy and expensive gifts that even an Emperor would never have received.
I repeatedly told him not to do anything that would attract attention, so why wasn't he listening?
A sigh came out on its own.
“It’s the first time in my life that I’ve seen a golden statue.”
“I only saw it once at the temple.”
The employees looked at me with a curious yet slightly puzzled look.
They wonder what the relationship is between me and Prince Philos.
It was only natural that a simple friend would not give such an expensive statue as a birthday present.
“What is this?”
Perdes, who came out after hearing the rumor, also looked at the golden statue with extremely bewildered eyes.
His gaze was soon fixed on me.
“This is a gift from His Royal Highness the Prince, a close friend of mine at the Academy, to celebrate my birthday.”
I explained it right away to Perdes so he wouldn't misunderstand, but he didn't believe me.
Instead, he looked at me with even more suspicion and asked.
“Are you really just close friends with that Prince?”
"That's right."
We weren't just close friends, but we weren't in a strange relationship that Perdes and his employees misunderstood.
“So please don’t misunderstand.”
"Well."
Perdes muttered as he looked at the statue again.
“This is a gift that cannot be misunderstood.”
That's right. At a loss for words, I sighed and looked at the messenger who brought the statue.
He was the attendant of Prince Philos, whose face I had seen several times at the Academy.
I was about to tell him that I appreciated the gift, but that I would only accept his heart, so he should take it back, but the attendant held out a box.
“This is also a birthday gift from His Highness the Prince to Young Lady.”
“...You mean there’s another gift?”
“Yes. Please take a look.”
It was a gift from a Prince, so I couldn't just reject it without even looking at it, so I opened the box.
Perdes, who came up next to me, frowned when he saw the contents of the box.
“...It’s a magic music box.”
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