Chapter 20
I already felt bad for Sir Hunter since I heard he was punished with cleaning the warehouse—no, the archive.
However, it is a much better punishment compared to Sir Lambert, who has to clean the training ground alone every day for a month.
At least this warehouse is smaller than the training ground.
“And this.”
Seirena stared blankly at what Sir Belmont handed her.
What is this? This was something she, a noble lady, was seeing for the first time. She had never seen it even when she lived as the queen.
For her benefit, Sir Belmont unfolded it and said,
“It is a mask. You put this string over your ears to cover your nose and mouth.”
“Why do we have to cover our noses and mouths?”
Fortunately, Moana asked first.
Belmont turned his gaze to Moana, then looked at Seirena and said with an expression of pity,
“Because there will be a lot of dust.”
How much dust could there be, even if there was a lot?
Seirena and Moana, who had never cleaned anything themselves, didn’t know. How much dust a warehouse could accumulate.
The two opened the warehouse door, stepped inside, and were so surprised by the immense amount of dust that they merely blinked.
Behind them, Sir Belmont spoke again with pity.
“The last time it was tidied up was the beginning of this year.”
“Who usually cleans it?”
Moana turned her head and spotted Sir Belmont avoiding her gaze.
Normally, tidying the warehouse is the job of Michael Belmont, himself.
“Does the Commander know about this?”
‘Are you crazy? This is dereliction of duty,’ were the words that crept up to Moana’s throat.
Michael closed his eyes tightly, clasped his hands together, and said,
“That’s why I even prepared masks.”
Oh, so this mask wasn’t something they usually provide? Moana and Seirena’s eyes turned back to the mask.
I guess I have no choice.
Seirena sighed and took the mask.
“Alright.”
“Alright? Really?”
Moana was surprised and shouted, looking around the warehouse.
“You have to clean this all by yourself. It won’t be finished even if you work for a whole month!”
“What can I do? It’s a punishment. It’s better than cleaning the training ground, isn’t it?”
Of course, it is better than that.
Moana scrunched up her face, recalling the sweat-scented training ground.
If she were asked to choose between cleaning the training ground and the warehouse, she would choose the warehouse. At least this place is small and dry.
“You should go. I’ll do it.”
At Seirena’s words, Michael quickly turned around.
That, that, that. She said the same thing to Moana, who was clicking her tongue.
“You go too.”
“I’ll help you.”
“It’s okay. It’s a punishment. If someone helps me, what will they say?”
“They’ll say that Sir Hunter has more popularity than Sir Lambert.”
Seirena’s eyes widened at the unexpected answer.
Popularity . She thought that was a word she would never be associated with. When she was the queen, there was no one by her side.
It was strange. Seirena smiled widely, her mood lifted by the playful remark.
Moana must have said it as a joke, but in that moment, she felt happy.
“You know I like you, right?”
Moana’s eyes widened at the sudden confession. Huh? Soon after, her face lightly flushed, and Seirena put on the mask and said,
“Thank you. Go do your work. Just the thought is enough.”
Moana tilted her head and turned away. What did I say to make her so happy? She herself didn’t realize why Seirena had become happy.
The warehouse was narrow and full of accumulated dust. It was dirty, but the fact that it was all dust was a blessing, if there was one.
Seirena climbed onto the ladder and looked down. Since the floor was cold and dusty, she would have noticed a rat right away if there was one. A rat’s footprint would have been imprinted on the dust.
At least there don’t seem to be any rats. She thought that reflexively and then shivered.
She hates rats. Just thinking about them dragging their long, thin tails as they run made her shudder. And their pitch-black eyes.
Strangely, Ash came to mind at that moment. He also has pitch-black eyes. Pitch-black eyes and pitch-black hair. Yet, his name is Ash Greywind.
“It doesn’t suit him.”
She muttered that and began to tidy the books that were placed haphazardly. It was clear that Michael had taken them out and just piled them up without putting them back properly.
“Greywind.”
It is an awkward surname for a man with black hair and eyes to have. Just thinking about the name, it might have been better if Ash wasn’t of the royal family.
“Why?”
At that moment, Ash’s voice was heard right below her.
Oh? Seirena was surprised and turned her head toward the door.
“Over here.”
Unnoticed, Ash had entered and was standing right below the ladder.
She was startled. Seirena unconsciously spoke stiffly.
“I told you not to approach from behind.”
I knew you would say that. Ash smiled broadly and pointed to the door.
“It was open, so I peeked in, and it sounded like you were calling me.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You called me Greywind.”
“Me?”
Ash’s expression turned strange. He stroked his chin and said,
“You just said it. Greywind. Since I’m the only Greywind here, aren’t you talking about me?”
Ah, I know what you’re talking about. Seirena shook her head. She did say Greywind, but she wasn’t calling him.
“I just thought it was a strange surname.”
“A strange surname?”
“It’s a surname given to the royal family.”
“Excluding the King, Queen, and Crown Prince, that is.”
Yes. Seirena nodded.
It is a surname given to the royal family members excluding the King, Queen, and Crown Prince. Those three use the surname Taimas.
“I was just curious as to why that is.”
“Ah, that.”
Ash covered the back of his neck with his palm, feeling a reversed view unlike usual.
Seirena was always below his field of vision, but now that she was above him, it felt strange.
“The strongest of the five knights became the King, right?”
What is he talking about? Seirena, who was momentarily puzzled, realized that Ash was talking about the founding myth.
The five knights who defeated the dragon. The strongest among them became the King, and the four knights became the four noble families who served the King.
“One of the four knights had the nickname Greywind, apparently.”
“Is that so?”
She hadn’t known that.
Ash smiled broadly at Seirena, who looked like a child, with her eyes wide open in wonder. He reached out and held Seirena’s hand, saying,
“It seems that back then, if you got married, the woman unconditionally changed to the man’s surname.”
She hadn’t known that either. Seirena listened attentively to Ash’s words with wide eyes.
In Taimas, when getting married, the woman adopts the man’s surname, but the head of the family is an exception.
Since the first child basically inherits the title and the position of head of the family, if a woman becomes the head of the family, her spouse adopts the family’s surname.
For example, since Seirena is the head of the Hunter family, her spouse, not her, would use the surname Hunter.
However, the head of the family is bound by the condition that they must produce an heir.
That’s why Seirena planned to hand over the position of head of the family and the title of Countess to Ezra when he turned twenty-one.
“But one of the knights was a woman.”
She knows that story. Seirena nodded. The five knights. One of them was a woman.
“If she got married, her surname would change, but since the family’s surname couldn’t be changed, the King at the time gave her a new surname. Greywind.”
“I thought it was a rather interesting surname.”
Ash chuckled at Seirena’s words.
“It’s not interesting, it’s probably a funny surname.”
To be honest, it is. But she wisely didn’t say it out loud.
Ash continued to speak, holding Seirena’s hand.
“That knight’s nickname was Greywind, they say. There were other nicknames in some circles, but the knight preferred Greywind, apparently.”
So there’s a story like that too. Seirena nodded blankly. This was the first time she had heard it.
Ash used the hand not holding hers to steady the ladder. He was worried that this small knight might fall off the ladder.
“And the daughter born between the knight and her spouse married a prince and became the queen, they say. When the daughter became the queen and the Greywind family line was broken in one generation, the surname Greywind was given to the princes and princesses who did not become the King generation after generation.”
When Ash’s story ended, the archive fell silent. The brief sunlight of the dry winter was seeping into the warehouse through a small window.
Seirena stared blankly at Ash’s face without realizing it. The scene of the dust floating in the air slowly drifting around the two of them felt surreal.
“Purple Eye.”
Ash let go of Seirena’s hand and said quietly. All that was visible on Seirena’s face, which was covered by the mask, were her purple eyes.
“Yes?”
“That was Purple Eye, they say.”
What was? Question flickered in Seirena’s eyes.
“I mean that knight. They say she had two nicknames. Greywind and Purple Eye.”
Ah. Seirena nodded. Purple Eye and Greywind. Greywind is better than Purple Eye.
No, is Purple Eye better? It was such an odd surname that it was difficult to choose, and she forgot that she was leaning her body too close to Ash and asked,
“Why did they give her the nickname Greywind?”
Ash smiled broadly.
No way. Seirena asked, surprised. Her hand touched his shoulder.
“It’s not because her skin color was grey, is it?”
“She was human, you know?”
Humans can have grey skin too! Ash spoke again to her, who was grumbling.
“They say her aura was grey.”
Ah. Seirena’s mouth fell open. She had thought so. That is, not because of the color of the aura, but because the five knights were Masters.
Master. Among them, one who has reached the pinnacle of the sword is called a Sword Master.
A Sword Master can use aura . And the color of the aura changes depending on the personality of the Master.
Could I also emit aura? Seirena’s thoughts shifted from Greywind to herself.
Everyone who taught her in her childhood said she had the talent to become a Sword Master. If she became a Master, she could become a Chevalier. Then she would receive a Viscount title.
She didn’t want the title, but Seirena needed a way to protect herself. Skill and honor. And wealth. All of that must be had. It would be great if she could become a Master. She asked Ash,
“How old were you when you became a Master?”
Me? Ash’s eyes widened and then narrowed again.
This man, she had thought he somehow resembled something, and she knew what it was.
Seirena looked into Ash’s eyes and thought. He looks like a cat. The eyes holding the black pupils keep widening and narrowing. It was exactly like a black cat. Though he is too big to be called a cat.
“I was twenty-one.”
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