If that were the case, then everything I’d done so far would also—
‘No, that’s not it!’
What had I even done……?
I’d nearly been stabbed in my sleep out of nowhere, but it passed quietly without anyone knowing.
I had reported on the Grand Duke, but I was criticized for the content being insubstantial.
I had tried to monitor the Grand Duke, but in the end, I had nothing to show for it.
‘To begin with, there aren’t many traces of me that could give me away.’
If there had been solid evidence, I would have already been disposed of like Subject No. 32…… probably. Therefore, this was most likely a kind of ‘sting operation’!
I deliberately raised my head and answered confidently.
“I’m extremely shy around strangers.”
At that, Dylan raised one eyebrow. His expression said he was hearing a rather pathetic excuse.
Times like this called for being even more brazen.
“I-it’s hard for me to get close to people until I get used to them. I make a lot of mistakes when I work, too!”
“Oh ho…….”
“But now I’ve adjusted somewhat, so it’s just that.”
It wasn’t a complete lie. That really was my personality.
But Dylan was still looking at me with eyes that seemed suspicious. In the end, I had no choice but to pull out my cheat card.
“They say a person changes after narrowly escaping death! After I went through that accident a while ago, I even gained some kind of realization…….”
At that, Dylan, who had been listening quietly, slowly nodded.
“Yes, I understand.”
Fortunately, it seemed that had worked.
Just as I was inwardly relieved and catching my breath, Dylan added something else.
“Sometimes, through a very trivial trigger, a person’s life can change.”
“……”
“For better or for worse.”
His green eyes stared at me as if piercing through me. There was something deeply meaningful about it.
“Then, I’ll be going now, Miss Lilian.”
But before I could say anything, he gave a slight bow and disappeared.
Left alone, I just stood there blankly for a while.
* * *
What did he mean by that?
The adjutant’s words from yesterday kept circling in my head.
‘Sometimes, through a very trivial trigger, a person’s life can change.’
‘…….’
‘For better or for worse.’
It might have been said without much meaning, but it left a lingering unease.
‘Anyway, whether it’s the Grand Duke or that adjutant…….’
The more I thought about them, the more uncomfortable and strange they seemed.
I pouted my lips and badmouthed the two of them, if only in my mind. Just then, a shadow fell over me.
“What are you thinking about so deeply?”
“Ah, Anna.”
It was Anna, who had finished work a little later than me.
She wiped her wet hands on her apron from washing dishes and plopped down beside me.
“Did you just finish?”
“Yeah, I had some things the others asked me to do.”
Asked you?
I tilted my head. At that, she answered nonchalantly.
“They just asked me to finish up a bit for them, that’s all.”
I heard Anna’s answer, but I still didn’t understand.
‘They’re not the kind of people to ask something like that.’
And Anna wasn’t the kind of person to quietly accept such a request either.
As I quietly rolled my eyes, Anna, seeing that, seemed to belatedly remember that my memories weren’t intact. She quickly added an explanation.
“Today is the day of the knight order’s group training, after all.”
Ah, I remember now.
For the past few days, there had been frequent talk about the knight order in the east annex. Talk about group training, too.
‘Knights…….’
The main players of the war, who had crossed the line between life and death alongside the Grand Duke.
In truth, despite being in the same Grand Ducal estate, they were beings we almost never encountered.
The east annex was under the servants’ management, and the knights even commuted in shifts.
We only ran into them occasionally when running errands to the east annex.
‘Thanks to that, competition among the maids was fierce.’
Among the maids, the knights were extremely popular.
Healthy bodies and minds, the honor of being a knight, and the reward money received from victory in war! It would have been stranger if they weren’t popular.
But in reality, it was hard to even catch a glimpse of their faces, so even a single errand like that sparked competition.
“Are you going to watch too, Lilian?”
Watching the knight order’s training was, in principle, forbidden. There were issues of information leaks, and it was a matter that could easily disrupt discipline.
However, the group training that took place once a month was a slight exception. It was possible to secretly peek at it!
‘Actually, it happened because most of the knights participated in the training, leaving the security lax.’
Thanks to that, it protected the maids’ romantic fantasies and, at the same time, even boosted the knights’ motivation. It was killing two birds with one stone.
I heard the knight commander tacitly allowed it as well.
‘Come to think of it—’
Even though it was break time, there were hardly any maids sitting here. Especially the young maids who usually mingled with us.
It seemed everyone had gone to the east annex while I was lost in thought.
“Aren’t you going to watch, Anna?”
“Not particularly.”
There are some faces I’d rather not see.
At my question, Anna scrunched up her face. Was there someone in the knight order she disliked?
Just then, another voice cut in.
“Hmph, everyone’s so swept up.”
It was Ivy, who had finished work early and was already resting.
She unnecessarily straightened her clothes and grumbled as if talking to herself.
“Do you think His Highness the Grand Duke or the knights will even notice you just because you sneak peeks like that? If you just work well like me, then anytime……”
What? His Highness the Grand Duke?
I unconsciously looked at Ivy.
‘Was the Grand Duke coming to that training too?’
No, thinking about it, it was only natural.
The Pellium knights were the Grand Duke’s comrades-in-arms, and he frequently visited the training grounds in the east annex even normally.
“What are you looking at!”
Feeling my gaze, Ivy snapped sharply. I shook my head and smiled brightly.
“Thanks, Ivy!”
Then I sprang up from my seat and ran outside.
“W-what—!”
I heard Ivy’s flustered voice behind me. But I didn’t stop walking.
Perhaps due to the group training, there were fewer people passing by than usual. I briefly became conscious of my surroundings, then quickly moved onto a less-traveled path.
Tap, tap—
The east annex wasn’t connected to the main building, but distance-wise, it was closer than the west annex. The path was simple, too.
‘There are places to hide, as well.’
The area around the training grounds was surrounded by grass and trees, apparently to block the view of the training. Thanks to that, it wasn’t a bad environment for hiding.
‘If I hide “well,” that is.’
I headed to a spot I had scouted while wandering near the east annex to monitor the Grand Duke.
As quietly as possible, suppressing my presence as I moved—
Startled.
A chill ran down the back of my head.
Instinctively, I turned around and caught what flew at me.
Thwack—!
Something hard landed in my hand.
I opened my hand and saw it was a ‘wooden sword fragment’ about a handspan long.
‘W-what?’
I was bewildered by the sudden situation, but a strange sense of déjà vu came over me, as if something like this had happened often before.
So, just as I was staring blankly at my palm.
“Whoa……?!”
A young knight with exotic features was pointing at me with a dumbfounded face.
……Somehow, it felt like something had gone wrong.
“How did you catch that?”
Having soon come to his senses, he asked me in a serious voice. Flustered, I threw the wooden fragment to the ground.
“I-it was coincidence…….”
“A piece of wood flying from behind, ‘by coincidence’?”
“I-I was lucky…….”
“You…….”
The young knight approached with a stiff face, taking big strides. At the threatening sound of his footsteps, I unconsciously stepped back.
That was when it happened.
“Maknae, where did you go again—!”
“You little bastard, seriously!”
“Did he run off again?”
“What are you talking about! His Highness will be arriving soon—!”
At the voices coming from nearby, the young knight turned around. They seemed to be calling him.
‘Now’s my chance!’
I seized the moment he let his guard down and quickly moved my feet.
