Could I go watch? Would that be all right?
If it were somewhere I had been before, I wouldn’t even hesitate — I would go immediately. But this was somewhere I had never been, and that gave me pause.
Going without saying anything and causing trouble would be bad. Having been burned before, I had become more careful about these things.
I was standing there in serious debate when the door opened. I turned — and a familiar face appeared.
“Oh — Lady Melberine? I thought you couldn’t make it today.”
“Ah, the plans fell through. Hello, Lord Xenon.”
Right — I could just ask Xenon.
“Actually, Lord Xenon — I believe there’s knight training happening right now. Would it be all right for me to go and watch?”
“Knight training, you say?”
He paused briefly, scratching the back of his head, then answered.
“I would think so! Allow me to escort you, Lady Melberine.”
“Thank you, Lord Xenon.”
Following Xenon, I was not long before the vast training grounds came into view. I walked out and my mouth fell open.
Not because of the scale of the grounds, impressive as it was.
Was knight training… always like this?
Perhaps it was the fierce afternoon sun — but every single knight training on the field had their shirt off.
My gaze drifted toward them of its own accord. The lean, well-defined muscles built through years of rigorous training were very much in evidence.
I was looking rather intently at the sight when a voice reached me.
“Lady Melberine?”
“Oh — yes! Yes.”
I returned to myself. Xenon tilted his head.
“You were looking at the training grounds for quite a while — do you know one of the knights? If you tell me who, I can go and call them over immediately!”
“Oh — no! Nothing like that. It’s just — I’ve never seen knights training before, so I suppose my eyes just… went that way.”
“Ah, I see.”
That was close. I had been staring rather openly. I smoothed the moment over with a quick wave of my hands.
Fortunately, it seemed to land. Crisis averted.
I made a deliberate effort not to direct my gaze toward them and followed along behind Xenon.
After a few more minutes of walking, I caught Axel’s eye from a distance. He looked up and visibly startled at the sight of me.
Unfortunately, unlike the knights, Axel had his shirt on.
Knowing his personality, he wouldn’t be taking it off — that much I knew — but I couldn’t help feeling slightly wistful about it.
Setting the wistfulness aside, I waved at him and quickened my steps.
I held out a towel and a bottle of ice water to Axel — both obtained from Xenon in advance. Still looking mildly at a loss, Axel accepted them and asked:
“…What brings you here? I thought you had plans with the Duke.”
“Oh, the lunch ended up being canceled. So here I am. Were you surprised? Didn’t see that coming, did you!”
I spread my palms wide at him with a flourish — and in that moment, the knights nearby recognized me and began murmuring among themselves.
“Is — is that Lady Melberine?”
“Come on, why would the Lady come somewhere like this… wait, actually, it really is.”
“Do you think she came to see the Captain?”
“But the Captain’s expression doesn’t look great… is this actually okay?”
“Right? He looks like he’s angry. Should we go intervene right now? This is making me anxious…”
They were knights, but their voices were carrying enough that I could hear every word.
Not meaning to, I had absorbed their entire whispered exchange, and I tilted my head in puzzlement.
Angry? Axel? That couldn’t be right.
I glanced up at his face.
On the surface, his mouth was set in a rigid line — but that didn’t quite look like anger.
I could see, very faintly, the corner of his mouth making almost imperceptible movements.
That looked more like someone managing their expression — perhaps because of the audience? Rather than actually being angry?
Not wanting the knights’ misunderstanding to deepen, I smiled at them to demonstrate that everything was fine.
When my eyes met theirs, their shoulders lifted lightly. Their mouths closed for a beat — and then small sounds escaped.
“I — I’ve never seen Lady Melberine smile like that before.”
“I always knew she was beautiful, but I didn’t expect this…”
Flattering things drifted over from various directions. This kind of praise never got old. Thrilling! Wonderful!
In the best of spirits, I was about to smile at them again — when my field of vision went suddenly dark.
Hm?
I looked up, and found Axel. Our eyes locked at close range. Involuntarily, I swallowed.
Wait — did I misread things earlier?
The face that had looked perfectly composed up until moments ago had gone rigid. As though actually angry, specifically.
Keeping my expression innocently curious despite the warning signs, I asked:
“Your Highness? Is something the matter?”
“…So what brings you all the way here? I don’t believe I gave you permission to be in this area.”
The tone had reverted to pure frost — chilly enough to suggest an incoming blizzard.
So the misread had been mine, not the knights’.
To deflect the crisis, I let my shoulders drop and did my best to look genuinely downcast. My eyes went adrift, eventually finding the ground. I pressed my lips together.
“I just… wanted to see you, so I came. Was that not allowed? I’m sorry. I truly had no intention of causing you difficulty. I can just leave and go back right now—”
“W-wait — no, I didn’t mean—”
He had always expected me to come at him head-on like a battering ram, so the unexpected reaction clearly caught him off guard.
He was startled enough that before he had even finished thinking, he had reached out and caught my arm.
“…Yes? What is it, Your Highness?”
I looked up at him with wide, guileless eyes.
An extremely complicated set of emotions played out across Axel’s face. He opened his mouth, closed it again, and then dragged a hand roughly over his face.
“…I apologize. I was — on edge for a moment. I said something I didn’t need to say to you.”
“So I’m allowed to be here? It’s actually fine?”
“Is it really? Oh, wonderful!”
I win.
I smiled in transparent delight — while Axel, in contrast, was radiating unmistakable agitation, glancing around him with short, restless motions. He turned back to me.
“Let’s move somewhere else, for now.”
Where Axel led me was a tent a fair distance from the main training area.
“This will be better.”
“Your Highness — would it be all right if I watch the training from here?”
“…Watch?”
It wasn’t to his taste — the slight crease in his brow made that clear. I added quickly:
“I want to see you use a sword, Your Highness. I’ve never seen it before. You wielding a sword — it has to be incredible… is that not allowed?”
The dark eyes moved back and forth. He was weighing it.
I pressed my advantage while his resolve was shifting, gripping his hand firmly and speaking with urgency.
“I’ll be completely still, I promise! I won’t do anything. No trouble at all. I’ll swear to it, Your Highness.”
Clear, earnest eyes fixed on him. Even with all his composure, he seemed to find this particular combination of expression difficult to withstand — and with great reluctance, something like a surrender emerged.
“…Fine. Do as you please.”
“Thank you so much!”
After our brief exchange, I waved at him as he turned back toward the training ground.
“Please don’t get hurt, Your Highness!”
In exchange for allowing me to watch, Axel had put one condition on it: that I not get too close to the training area. He emphasized that I should stay in this tent as much as possible.
That was not a difficult request, so I nodded.
He was clearly worried I might get hurt if I strayed too close.
Axel really is thoughtful…!
The fact that he thought to set that condition at all moved me more than I expected.
From somewhere nearby came voices. I turned — a group of ladies-in-waiting, not far away.
Why are ladies-in-waiting at the training ground?
Curious, I turned to Xenon.
“Lord Xenon — may I ask, why are there ladies-in-waiting here?”
“Ah, it’s a sort of tradition that’s been going on in the palace for quite some time, my lady!”
“A tradition?”
