I Don’t Want to Be a Lady

“Umm…”

When Arianne opened her eyes, her long eyelashes tickled Charter’s chest. She hesitated for a moment at sight in front of her. Then she let out a low sigh, realizing she was in his arms. The wind that leaked from her mouth tickled Charter’s chest, and he opened his mouth as if he couldn’t take it any longer.

“Are you provoking me again? Arianne.” He spoke in a low voice and kissed Arianne on the forehead.

“Provoke?”

I struggled to escape his hard arm but soon gave up and looked up at him. Anxiety struck me when I saw his eyes, which looked deeply sunken.

“All your actions provoke me. Your gaze, touch, sigh, and scent are all like God’s arrangements to capture me. I can never go against it.”

At the same time, I hurriedly raised my hand to block his approaching lips.

“Stop! No more. It’s already dawn. No, it’s already been a long time since the sun came up.”

I looked back on last night. He was like a hungry beast trying to quench his long thirst. Suddenly I was terrified by it. Perhaps recognizing my feelings, he suddenly changed his attitude and began to be considerate of me very carefully. His cautious attitude made me laugh, but I didn’t show it. But I couldn’t hold back my laughter when I saw his expression.

“Pfft. What’s wrong with you… expression?”

As I laughed, Charter spoke in a subdued tone. “I don’t want to hurt you… I’m holding out as much as possible.”

I see. He’s patient and considerate of me even at this moment. Really… I wanted to satisfy the thirst of this lovely man who cared for me endlessly. Well, what’s the big deal?

However, that was a very foolish idea.

“Don’t hold back.”

At my one word, the crouching animal raised its head again. The moment I felt that Charter’s eyes had changed, I realized. That I awakened an existence I couldn’t handle right now.

His thirst was endless, and he caught me running away and pulled me back into his arms. He lusted after me again and again until he couldn’t even control his body and finally swallowed me up. It lasted until I saw red blood oozing from the bandage wrapped around his arm.

“Stop. There are things that need to be done.”

At my words, Charter looked disappointed. What’s the point of being disappointed after doing that? Why…  Are all men like this? I wanted to ask, but there was no one to ask anyway. I guess I just have to think of it like that and move on.

Barely out of his arms, which he didn’t release easily, I quickly put on my clothes and came out of the tent. As soon as I came out, someone greeted me as if she had been waiting.

“You’re finally up. Nice to meet you, Baroness Devit.”

When I turned my head, a lady smiled at me. Right on this front, standing alone.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Alice Hood.”

It was Alice Hood, the daughter of Marquis Hood.”

“Yes… Nice to meet you?”

* * *

It happened a few days ago, right after Marquis Hood left for the battlefield, in the family of Marquis Hood.

“What are you doing, little kid?”

Robin Hood opened the door to her sister and asked. Normally, Alice would have argued about who he called little kid, but she didn’t get mad for some reason. Rather, she said as if he had been waiting for him.

“Brother, I have decided.”

“What?” For some reason, Robin felt uneasy.  

Twinkling her eyes, Alice said, “I’m going to fight in this war.”

Robin seemed so shocked that he couldn’t speak, and after a moment of silence, he continued with a firm look. “No, Alice. Don’t ever bring that up again.”

Alice then asked. “Why? Why not? Because I’m a woman? I can do it too. Brother knows my skills well, right?”

Robin said to her as if he was frustrated, “It’s not that you can’t because you’re a woman!”

“Then?”

Robin said with a sigh, “I’m saying no because you’re my sister. You’re the one I need to protect. I will do it even if it means I have to go to war. How dare you defend your brother on the subject of being a little sister?”

He scolded Alice by smacking her head.

“But Brother has a baby soon to be born. I don’t have any family members. So it’s okay for me to go.”

“I, your sister-in-law, and that child are all your family members. Now that father is away, I’m the head of the household. So don’t talk nonsense like that anymore.”

Robin was adamant. But Alice’s stubbornness was famous for being the most stubborn person in the history of Marquis Hood. She spoke again to him, who took her words lightly.

“I’ve already decided. I’m going to Baroness Devit. Next to her, I will also prove my worth.”

“Baroness Devit?”

Robin was well aware of Baroness Devit’s reputation. No, rather, he was the one who watched the confident appearance of the woman who had won the competition. For some unknown reason, he also remembered seeing the image of his sister, Alice, overlap with the figure of that woman at that time.

To mention Baroness Devit… Robin noticed that Alice meant it. Once she made up her mind, it was useless even if anyone in this world tried to stop her. Even his stubborn father gave up when she was already stubborn like that.

“No. Alice, I can’t lose you. So please don’t do this.”

He was the only precious younger sister to Robin. Robin, who was especially affectionate, took good care of her younger sister from a young age. The two were close siblings who grew up studying together, causing trouble together, and getting scolded together. The thought of Alice entering a dangerous battlefield was something he didn’t want to imagine.

“It’s because I can’t lose my brother either. Brother should be the father of your baby soon.”

“But!”

Alice said, staring straight into Robin’s eyes, “Brother, I’m saying that each of us should do what we are good at. Brother is in charge of protecting the family. I’ll make our family shine.”

“What? Why are you the one who will make our family shine?”

Alice replied with a grin to Robin’s absurd question. “Is it because my skills are superior? You’ve never beaten me before, have you?”

“…”

Robin had to admit it. He knew that Alice was serious now and would never break that will. And as she said, Robin had never beaten her in the study, archery, and even in making trouble.

Perhaps Alice would have enjoyed much more if only he had been a man. The victory of this hunting competition could have been won by her, not Baroness Devit. If only she was given a chance. That’s what Robin thought.

Alice’s bowl was too big to be just someone’s wife or concubine. Their father tried to make her obey him, but Robin feared she might one day fall out of line if that happened. And, in fact, he liked Alice the way she was.

Robin wanted to give her a chance. In the absence of their father, the decision-maker would be himself. If only he was the only one who made the decision, he could have opened up a new world for her. In agony between his role as the head of the family and his brother’s role in wishing for his sister’s happiness, he couldn’t make the decision easily.

After a while, Robin opened his mouth. “You have to come back alive, Alice.”

In the end, he decided to let Alice go. Alice smiled at him as if she knew it would happen and said, “I will come back alive even if I die.”

* * *

“But what brings you here?”

Alice answered my question with her eyes shining. “I will participate in the war. Please use me as Baroness’s aide!”

“…Pardon?”

I was bewildered to be honest. Of course, I thought there would be many women who are unsatisfied with their current situation and are aiming for an opportunity to express their will. However, I didn’t expect that there would be a woman who would appear in front of me and ask me to use her as my aide.

That bewilderment was only brief, and in fact, it was something I would welcome. If you have a comrade to be with, rather than facing the world alone… The corners of my mouth went up.

“I will ask you straightforwardly. What do you know?”

At my question, Alice straightened her shoulders with a confident attitude and said, “I’m good at archery.”

“Ar…chery?”

Nowadays, where guns are the main focus, bows are only part of culture and self-improvement and haven’t been used in war. It was because guns were weapons that anyone could use if they learned simple controls but bows required long hours of training.

But what if you’re skilled in archery? The bow’s effectiveness, such as accuracy and quickness, was never replaced by guns.

“I’m proud of my skill, and perhaps no one in the Harpion Empire can surpass me in archery.”

That confidence. I love it. I smiled at her. “Greet. I will appoint you as my aide. By the way, does Marquis Hood know this?”

Alice replied proudly to my question. “No, he didn’t know. I have to tell him now.”

This. Is this like a bet?

I introduced Alice to Madrenne and Bane and instructed her to stay with Madrenne. Then only Bein accompanied me to attend the commander meeting. It was because I had no intention of bringing the private issues between father and daughter to the public. It’s a problem the two can solve on their own.

When I entered the commander’s tent, Charter, already dressed neatly, awaited me. Seeing him like that, I couldn’t help but laugh in contrast to his messy appearance last night. Charter looked at me like that, pretended not to know, pointing to the empty seat, and said, “Come over here and have a seat. Let’s start the meeting.”

Around the round table sat Marquis Hood, Count Blanc, Viscount Bening, Charter, Luiden, and the crown prince.

What the… this man? He had a high spirit, neatness without a single strand of hair messed up, and a cold attitude showing the will to clearly distinguish between public and private. I shook my head. Charter during the day and during the night was very different as if he was a different person.

When I sat down, Charter continued to speak with his casual attitude. “For now, let’s finish talking about what we did yesterday. Judging from yesterday’s situation, there seems to be a problem with the Harpion camp. There’s no law saying something like yesterday won’t happen again, so we need to check the commander structure,” said Charter as he stared at Count Blanc.

Count Blanc fiddled with his sleeve, pretending not to know. He shied away from responsibility by saying he had only entrusted the command because that person was already a member of the imperial knight. The evidence only pointed to Viscount Girol, and the connection between Count Blanc and Duke Crow was only suspicion.

After the meeting, the commander’s tent was left with Charter, Luiden, Marquis Hood, and the crown prince. Marquis Hood momentarily glanced at the crown prince and said as if he didn’t understand.

“It’s unbelievable that a situation in which the commander-in-chief could be isolated simply because of the chain commander. Perhaps you haven’t told me, but do you not trust me? Duke Kaien?”

Charter seemed to be pondering for a moment and then went on. “I will tell you the truth. In fact, yesterday, a knight of the third order of the imperial knight was pressuring the soldiers so they wouldn’t save me from isolation. Even the commander and deputy commander were replaced by people who weren’t appointed by me.”

“How could that!” shouted Marquis Hood in disbelief.

“Only a few people in this empire can reverse my orders.”

Marquis Hood rolled his head for a moment and thought, then his eyes opened and looked at Charter. No way…

“No way, did Duke Krow do this? But how could he do such a thing at this time?”

In response to Marquis Hood’s question, Charter told him about yesterday’s conclusions. “He has no loyalty to the empire.”

Seeing his disastrous face, Charter spoke as if to console him. “In this world, there aren’t only loyalists like Marquis Hood.”

But even his praise couldn’t offset the heartache of Marquis Hood. Charter, who finished speaking, called out Luiden, who was lost in thought.

“Your Highness, what are you thinking?”

Despite Charter’s question, Luiden was still pondering something with a troubled face.