"Hmph, hmph.... I can't do this anymore.... Let's go easy on each other...."
"That's not human stamina...."
The Knights of Delmark collapsed onto the training ground, each groaning in pain.
However, it had absolutely no effect on Caligo.
"Don't act weak! Anyone who collapses before me, who only arrived at the mansion yesterday, won't be able to lift their head today."
"By that logic, we just returned from a monster hunt yesterday, you know?"
"Then it's similar. Me, who slept uncomfortably for days in a place that wasn't even my own, versus you guys who went on a monster hunt, sleeping soundly with your legs stretched out. Isn't that right?"
Caligo kicked his subordinates, ordering them to get up. Far from standing up, the knights rolled on the ground, dodging his feet.
Caligo was considered one of the elite within the Knights' Order. With excellent stamina, skill, and a great personality, he was considered a candidate for the next Commander.
However, the knights hoped that the day he became Commander would never come.
The reason lay in the brutal intensity of the training.
'Please, if only someone would stop the training...'
Just as the knights rolled on the ground, desperately wishing for it, someone appeared at the entrance of the training grounds. All eyes turned in that direction.
There stood Blair and her servants, holding baskets in their hands.
"I brought some snacks because you all look like you're suffering."
The eyes of the knights, which had been lifeless, suddenly gleamed.
God had answered their prayers!
Even those who usually disliked Blair saw her as an angel at this moment.
"If I have disturbed you, I will leave this behind so you may eat it later..."
"No! I want to eat it now!"
"Given the effort you put into preparing this, isn't it proper etiquette to eat it before it gets cold?"
The knights, who had been sprawled out like corpses, scrambled to their feet and approached Blair and her servants.
Caligo kicked the butt of one of his subordinates as he approached Blair, but the men ignored him.
In the end, Caligo gave up.
"Well, since the Madam has come in person, it would be impolite to let her go without even saying goodbye. Thirty minutes of rest."
Cheers erupted among the knights.
The servants distributed snacks to them: baguettes filled with meat and vegetables, and apple juice.
Blair personally approached Caligo, who was watching his subordinates eat, and handed him a snack.
He accepted it and rejoiced like a child.
"Oh my, to think you took care of this for me personally... I am humbled, Madam. A household really needs a lady of the house."
"I rarely came this way because I was worried I might be interrupting the training, but if I had known everyone would like this, I should have taken care of this sooner."
"Those guys certainly enjoy getting their training interrupted so they can rest. Anyway, I'll enjoy this."
He, too, must have been hungry, as he immediately began to eat the baguette.
Blair, watching him from the side, looked colder than before.
In truth, Blair had not visited the training grounds purely for the purpose of looking after the knights.
This morning, as soon as Herdin left the bedroom, Blair sent a letter to Mikhail asking him to investigate Caligo.
However, with the killer right in front of her, she couldn't just sit around waiting. Thinking she had to do something—anything—she had come here using the knights as an excuse.
"Oh, this is delicious. The whole way down from the estate, I was craving warm, freshly baked bread so much... The bread sold at inns is like a rock, you know. You haven't tried it, have you, Madam?"
"You mean the bread is as hard as a rock?"
"It's true. You'll be visiting the estate next time, so give it a try then. It feels like you're going to lose all your teeth—"
"...Teeth?"
"Tsk, I shouldn't use such language in front of a noble lady... I apologize; I grew up in such lowly circumstances that I don't know much about such things..."
Caligo belatedly slapped his rough mouth, then spotted a subordinate passing by and nudged him.
"Go get me one more loaf."
"Me?"
"Can't you see I'm talking to you right now?"
The subordinate grumbled as he went to get some bread. The fact that he grumbled was proof that Caligo was a good boss. It meant he was accepting of it.
Blair stared blankly at Caligo. The man who had killed her was far too ordinary to be a murderer.
He liked it when someone looked out for him, he enjoyed eating something delicious, he got along well with people, and he didn't look down on others with prejudice.
That made it even more frightening.
That someone like him could kill her.
"You must have been in Delmark for a long time, Sir. Everyone seems to look up to you."
"I have been here longer than those guys. Was it when I was thirteen? I came to Delmark around that time."
"Then where were you before that?"
Unless Caligo had killed her for personal reasons, he must have been acting on someone's orders.
If his liege wasn't behind it, it was highly likely to be someone he had a connection with in the past.
"Before coming to Delmark…"
Just as Caligo began to speak, a presence was felt near the entrance of the training grounds.
Turning to follow the sound, they saw Herdin just entering.
"Your Excellency? What brings you here at this hour? Isn't this a busy time?"
"I finished work early and came to spar, but there was a guest here before me."
His gaze toward Blair and Caligo was strangely cold.
Blair looked at him with displeasure at his sudden appearance.
'If I had talked a little more, I could have guessed who the mastermind was…'
But now that Herdin was here, she couldn't bring up the topic further.
And above all, looking at him made her uncomfortable. After all, the argument they had had just happened this morning.
In particular, the words she had spoken the moment she saw him came to mind, making her want to avoid him even more.
"I really... hate you..."
Why did I say that? I'm not a child.
"He isn't the type to be hurt by such trivial words."
That was the only word I knew to express my feelings, so I blurted it out in a fit of anger...
Doesn't it sound exactly like a six-year-old sulking?
Of course, I hate him. I detest him.
But I hated it because the emotion expressed by that single word felt infinitely lighter than the weight in my heart.
"I only intended to deliver a snack, but I've taken up too much of your time. I'll be going now."
Blair left the training grounds with the maids, as if fleeing from Herdin. Herdin's cold gaze followed Blair's retreating figure.
Caligo, who had been watching, let out a small gasp as if he had noticed something.
"Ah, you two had a fight?"
"...."
"They say a marital quarrel is like cutting water with a sword."
Instead of an answer, Herdin's cold gaze returned.
When he returned to the mansion yesterday, immediately after the monster hunt, he felt a twist of nerves upon seeing Blair with Caligo.
The way she couldn't take her eyes off Caligo, the way she asked about him while nestled in his arms, and that letter—he didn't know who she was sending it to—everything.
The result of all those things combining was this current situation.
"These are the good times, the good times."
The oblivious Caligo nudged Herdin's arm.
However, Herdin's expression as he turned around was cold. The knights watching Caligo turned pale. Only then did Caligo instinctively realize something was wrong.
And that belated intuition turned out to be exactly right.
Herdin gestured toward the back and gave an order.
"Go fetch the sword."
The hellish duel had begun.
***
"You mean this little fellow is really a predator of the forest?"
Meli looked at Pippi, who was drinking milk, with a sense of wonder. Lying sprawled on Blair's lap to drink, she looked just like a master.
Blair nodded and enthusiastically explained the knowledge about martens he had read in books.
"Yeah. They travel in herds and hunt and eat water deer and stags that are bigger than themselves."
"Gasp. They look so cute, but they're scarier than they look?"
"That's why I hear some nobles who enjoy hunting occasionally raise martens to take on hunts."
"I'll have to make a good impression on this one from now on, if I don't want to get hunted, you know."
Blair laughed at Meli's playful banter. Since Blair entrusted Pippi to her, the two had grown much closer. Of course, with Lina as well.
Just as Blair was talking about Pippi with Meli, footsteps were heard.
Turning around inadvertently, Blair brightened up at the sight of Lina approaching.
Could it be news from the Guild?
However, the words that came out of Lina's mouth were merely ordinary everyday stories.
"Meli. The butler asked you to come over for a moment if you aren't in a hurry."
"Go ahead, Meli."
Disappointment flickered across Blair's face as she watched Meli leave, only to vanish with a bitter smile.
'After all, it is a task that takes a long time.'
Fifteen days had passed since she had asked Mikhail for information regarding Caligo.
And fifteen days had passed since she had fought with Herdin. Perhaps
his enthusiasm had cooled after their argument, as he did not even visit her bedroom, which he used to visit every night.
They ate together just as before, but that was all. It was a meal where hardly any conversation took place—just eating together.
That day. She still didn't know why, suddenly, or for what reason he revealed such a twisted disposition, but it was actually for the best.
Ever since she had considered the possibility that he might have killed her, it had been hard to look him in the face.
She knew she had to reconcile before she had Asiel, but for now, she didn't want to think about it anymore.
Just as Blair was shaking off thoughts of Herdin and playing with Pippi, a maid entered through the open door.
"Madam, Lady Laureline has arrived."