17 – The Meeting Place
At the central plaza, where the main road’s fountain was.
A man with dark brown hair and a beautiful face was standing, idly looking around, as if waiting for someone near the fountain.
He had a peculiar charm that made passing females glance stealthily at him every now and then.
“Why isn’t she coming…”
He was Dick, from the Earldom of Taylor’s house. Dick Taylor.
Having a weekend off, he decided to spend a day around the town with his academy friend after a long time.
Their meeting spot was exactly here.
“I shouldn’t have trusted that guy again. Sigh.”
His friend, the second son from the Earldom of Raba’s house, came from a likewise titled family, and they were able to befriend because they shared the second-son’s pain.
Although they often hang out, the guy always makes him waiting, being late at the appointment time.
Then, from far away, he could see his friend running towards him.
“Taylor! I’m sorry! I found a cute puppy on my way here and it took me some time!”
He always finds reasons to be late.
“Do your reasons for being late get more creative over time?”
At least until now, he had brought up decent reasons like he had to help an old lady with her baggage or to help a street fruit vendor who has spilled oranges.
“But you seem to lose conscience over time”
“I’m sorry~I’ll buy you a drink at 32 degrees and buy you this and that!”
And it always ended like this.
The boy comes from a rich family that manages a large conglomerate, always solving problems with money when they felt guilty.
He was Dick from the comparatively poor Tailor earl family, so he had no reason to refuse.
“And I told you not to call me by my family name.”
His family name is Tailor, similar in pronunciation to the duke family of Tyler.
Therefore, for several years at the academy, his classmates teased him by associating him with the Tyler family.
Why would he be teased for being associated with the most prestigious family in the kingdom, the duchess family?
The problem was Beatrice Tyler, who had studied with him in the same grade for six years.
As strong and reliable women were his type, Dick had little interest in the always quiet and isolated Beatrice.
But Beatrice was a target of aversion and exclusion among her classmates, and Dick had caught some of the fallout for an absurd reason.
There were fewer who came to tease him with childish insults as they matured, but it still remained as a small wound in his heart.
And so, he had developed a bit of ill feelings even towards her who had never given him much thought.
“Sorry, sorry~ It’s a habit left from childhood.”
In his early teenage years, he was one of the boys who used to make fun of Dick, but now he understood that he bore no ill feelings.
“This guy’s just an idiot…”
Nevertheless, he did inherit the talent of his lineage.
Other than that, he was just an idiot.
“For a change of mood, let’s start with station 32.”
Whatever you eat, you have to eat it well, don’t you?
He decided to demand a high-end dessert first, which would usually empty his pocket-money once a month.
“Okay, let’s go!”
As they were about to move, three women approached them.
“Who do we have here? Isn’t this the distinguished young educator Tailor?”
Dick turned his head and frowned.
The three women were wearing the trainee knight uniforms denoting their status as students of the Royal College Knight Department.
Petra, the daughter of the duchess, a reputed sword family ranking second to Tyler in the kingdom, was at the center.
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The issue was she was the one who attempted a marriage proposition to Dick.
“What can I do for you?”
“I was heartbroken after my proposal to you was rejected, so came out for a day with my friends.”
She was laughing, but behind her eyes was a subtle aggression.
“How about enjoying an outing with us to assuage my sorrow?”
Although she spoke courteously like a knight-in-training, her gaze swept over Dick’s collarbone to his groin like a serpent, making him feel licked.
I’ve always hated that look. That’s why I turned down her marriage proposal.
“No, we have an appointment today, so we’ll have to decline.”
He bowed his head slightly and tried to turn away.
“Wait a minute.”
She grabbed Dick’s wrist.
Dick looked back and tried to pull his wrist away, but it was impossible.
No matter how much magical power a noble man possessed, he couldn’t resist the power of a noble woman.
“Let this go,” he said calmly, but his body was already stiffening, and his heart was gripped with fear.
He noticed the anger on Petra’s face becoming more intense.
He glanced at his friend and saw that he, too, was at a loss.
Just then, a voice came from behind them.
“Aren’t you disgusted? Let them go, seniors.”
The eyes of all five of them turned in unison toward the intruder.
There stood a slender, red-haired girl with not an ounce of fat on her body, standing like a sword.
She wore a gorgeous outfit that was a casual and simplified version of a knight’s uniform.
However, in contrast to her confident appearance, there was a hint of anxiety in her eyes.
Petra was surprised that she hadn’t noticed the girl until she was right behind her, but regained her confidence when she saw her eyes.
“I don’t know who you are, but it’s not good to interfere in other people’s business,” she said, taking an intimidating stance since she was taller than the red-haired girl.
“That man is someone I know. It’s hard to consider him a stranger,” she said, glancing at Dick, who also seemed to have no idea who this girl was.
“Oh, I wonder how you know each other,” Petra said, a vein throbbing in her forehead.
“Oh, right.”
Suddenly, the girl’s presence in front of her felt strange.
Her eyes were filled with embarrassment.
‘Is she trying to make me relax?’
Petra was still wary of the girl, but
‘Seize the opportunity,
she decided to let her junior taste a bit of bitterness.
‘Family secret art: Sword-Thrust.’
This skill could make the opponent feel as if they’ve been struck by a sword without even drawing it.
Petra lightly laid a hand on the hilt of her decorative waist sword, exerting a slight pressure.
The girl before her eyes should experience a hallucination of her arm being cut off, inducing panic.
“From now on, be mindful of others… huh?!”
With a snort of laughter and a warning, Petra instead,
witnessed her own arm in a state of phantom detachment.
‘What… what just happened?’
Her own energy had been reflected back at her.
Even though it was hers, she was totally unable to block it.
Cold sweat started to bead on her forehead and her legs started shaking subtly.
The girl before her was staring at her without a hint of anger, distractedly.
With eyes that one might have while watching a small animal thinking, ‘why is it behaving like that?’
Only then did Petra take a closer look at her appearance.
‘C-couldn’t be…’
One of Petra’s own idols, the girl strikingly resembled her.
‘But the daughter’s of the chief commander are…’
Although she hasn’t seen the chief commander’s daughter personally, she’s heard of them.
Petra rapidly shook her head.
‘It’s not the time for this. I should get away first.’
The absence of anger that should have been there, made her eyes even scarier.
Amidst her confusion, Petra found her footing and regrouped her thoughts.
“Ha, hahahaha. It’s immature to pick a fight any further as your senior. Let’s go.”
She hastily took her two companions and withdrew from the scene.
“T-thank you! For helping…”
Dick bowed deeply in gratitude to the red-haired girl who had helped him out.
His friend was following suit, awkwardly returning the bow from next to him.
The girl who saved him was wearing a strange expression.
“But do you know me…?”
Dick recalls the words she’d spoken earlier.
‘There’s no way I’d forget such a beautiful woman’.
Though he probably hadn’t met her before, he had lied to save himself.
Half his heart had already been stolen by her.
“Ha, hahahaha. On second glance, I guess not. Please take care, I shall take my leave.”
“Wait, hold on a moment!”
The girl quickly retreated from the fountain.
Her movements were light, like she was jogging, but her pace was surprisingly fast.
“…Ah.”
Dick reached out as if it was regrettable, but he couldn’t catch her.
———————–
On the day of their second meeting, Betty waited at their appointed meeting spot an hour before the agreed time.
The place was in front of the fountain at the central square of the royal road.
“It shouldn’t be, weird, right?”
She had checked her appearance for two hours in the dorm, but she still couldn’t calm down.
This was her first time wearing such nice clothing.
As expected of Hayes’ Boutique reputation, they made her armor look so amazing.
They’d even mixed in a bit of Elven silk which she had paid as compensation.
‘I need to make purchases here more often…’
She remembers the store owner who had an androgynous appearance.
Ten minutes have passed since then. She did one last check of her attire before standing upright in front of the fountain.
She had the feeling that passersby were stealing glances at her.
‘Is it weird? For someone like me to…’
She puts a stop to her negatively spiraling thoughts.
‘No, I look like my mother right now! They’re looking because I look great.’
She forces herself to think positives thoughts but, the reality is that she was partially correct.
The bystanders were looking because firstly, she was a noblewoman dressed in a fine dress which was an unusual sight.
Secondly, they found it fascinating that she was standing as still as a statue for several minutes.
The last time, she had looked cool.
A few minutes had passed, and there was a slight disturbance from across the fountain.
Three people clad in knight and uniform garb, the future seniors she would look up to, came into view.
Yet, for some reason, it appeared that they were picking a quarrel with two men.
“Oh, Taylor Gongja?”
One of the two men was Goomyun.
One of the few classmates she remembered, as his pseudonym was similar to hers.
She cautiously approached them.
The woman in the middle of the apprentice knights snatched Taylor’s wrist.
Betty paused momentarily, trying to plant her foot forward.
‘What can someone like me do?’
All the negativity she had received about herself.
Those recollections prevented her from taking action.
But now, she wanted to change.
She wanted to become strong enough to at least protect her companions.
Betty stepped forward.
“That man is someone I know. Hard to think of him as a stranger, isn’t it?”
That’s how she replied when asked why she was interfering.
However, seeing Taylor’s surprised expression, she realized her mistake.
‘This fool.’
Taylor Gongja didn’t know how he appeared at this moment.
‘What should I do…’
As she was pondering, she suddenly felt a sharp sense of hostility from the apprentice knight.
It was shot towards her,
and the immense magical power inside her easily repelled it.
The apprentice knight immediately blanched.
‘What did she do?’
As she stared in bewilderment, the woman changed the subject and lef the scene.
Betty felt awkward.
“And you said you know me…?”
Finally, Taylor asked the question.
“Ha, hahahaha. Seeing again, you’re not. Well, be careful. I should get going.”
She made an excuse and left the spot.
“Wait, just a minute!”
She heard a voice trying to stop her from behind, but she didn’t stop.
Betty hid in a corner of the square and secretly watched them.
Taylor and his group, with a momentary expression of blankness, leave the fountain.
“Phew….”
Betty, with a sigh of relief, was about to return to the fountain, the meeting place.
But she felt the attention of the pedestrians in the square shifting noticeably to one side.
Caught up in the herd mentality, Betty turned her gaze in that direction and lost her train of thought for a moment.