I Don’t Want to Be a Lady

“Honestly, yu surprised me.”

Right. You must be surprised. Because I came back alive and well. I pressed down the rising curse I wanted to say and quickly recalled the promise before Dondon said anything else.

“Obviously, I pulled them out of the canyon as promised. So now keep your promise too.”

“Hmm~ I don’t know~” Dondon scratched her head with her index finger, avoiding my gaze.

My eyebrows twitched at Dondon’s lukewarm response. This little shit?!

“You’re not trying to say two different things with one mouth, right? For someone whose name belongs to the imperial family.”

“But the cundition didn’t match. There really wasn’t a ruyal family?”

I answered, keeping my calm as calm as I could. “They’re already packed up and ran away. They’re worse than domestic cats. Even cats chase mice away instead of getting food. Those whose name is the incarnation of God are worse than animals.”

Enok’s head went down half-span at my sharp criticism.

“Yu don’t even know where dey ran away?”

Dondon narrowed her eyes and looked at Arianne. She didn’t know why, but she felt uncomfortable. It was Dondon’s instinct that the woman was hiding something from her.

“If I knew, these people wouldn’t have followed me.”

“Is that so?”

Dondon pursed her lips and began to grumble.

“This wun’t do…. I have to take the ruyal head to the emperor…”

Enok’s shoulders flinched. And for a moment, Dondon’s eyes turned to Enok.

While Paku may not have been able to do it, Dondon, on the other hand, was indeed a Kelteman. Could it be that with the unique intuition of the Kelteman, she was able to see through Enok’s subtle movements?

“That man…”

I shuddered when I found Enok where Dondon’s gaze was directed. How could she find him among the kingdom’s army? Grit. Biting my molars, I quietly stepped on the hell of my other boot with my right foot. I was thinking of pulling out my pocket knife and disposing of Dondon.

“There’s a jewel in his shoes.”

Huh? What? Shoes? Jewel? What on earth is that… As I looked at Enok’s feet, who had drawn his head down, the red ruby shone brightly as if begging me to see it.

We’re doomed. Right, Dondon was the one who had the ability to find jewels in the crowd, which was like finding a needle in the sand.

I glared at Enok’s head. That idiot! I told you to throw away all your jewels, didn’t I?

Enok felt his heart about to jump out of his body. Is this how I get caught?

As Arianne suggested, he took off all her rings and necklaces, but he couldn’t help but wear shoes. In the royal palace, there were no shoes to change because he ran away bare, had clothes, and all the property was taken by another royal family. Of course, you couldn’t find any of the royal family’s shoes without jewels.

“Well, he must be a rich nobleman. Isn’t the Chewin Kingdom rich?”

“Is that…so?”

It was only with Paku’s unexpected support that Arianne’s complexion returned. But Dondon hasn’t yet completely cleared her doubt. Shoes are shoes, but she recognized at once that the fabric he was wearing was also of the highest quality.

“That man, come here…”

When Dondon tried to bring Enok closer, her back became noisy.

(Tiger! The tiger came out of the cage!)

(Kill! No, you can’t! Catch! Catch it!)

(Uaargh!)

Dondon turned around as if her head was about to break.

(What?)

The tiger, which was supposed to stay calm in the cage, was going crazy and rampaging. As if to destroy everything in front of it, people and objects were swung by its huge front paws, tearing them apart with its sharp fangs.

At that time, when a soldier threw a spear at the tiger, Dondon shouted desperately and ran to them. (No! Don’t kill it! If you kill it, you will die in my hands!!!)

The soldiers only surrounded the tiger with weapons, but they couldn’t do this or that.

(Bring my bow and anesthetic! Right now!) At Dondon’s shout, a soldier came out of Dondon’s tent with a bottle of anesthetic.

(Give it to me!) Dondon ordered the soldier who applied anesthetic to the arrowed head. She, who received the arrow coated with anesthetic, aimed at the tiger with a stiff face.

(Tsk.)

Swish. Tuk. The arrow landed right in the tiger’s hind leg.

Growl. The tiger began to rampage further due to the pain felt in its hind leg, and the soldiers confronted the tiger, fearing that the tiger might hurt them.

Roar. Enraged, the tiger ultimately destroyed Dondon’s tent pole. Tilt. The tent, which had lost its balance, began to lean in one direction.

(No! Hold it! Hold the pole!) shouted Dondon, contemplative.

The soldiers were about to die as they suppressed the rampaging tiger and supported the collapsing tent.

(What are you doing? Can’t you come over and help right now?)

(But the prisoners…)

(There’s no royal family anyway, so leave them alone and come quickly! You stupid ones!)

  In the end, even the forces surrounding the Chewin Kingdom army were deployed to hunt the tiger and set up the tent.

“Run away at this moment. Hurry.” I took advantage of the commotion and approached Enok, then whispered.

“…I will never forget this grace.”

Enok glanced at me with a hardened gaze and hurriedly took his soldiers.

“Return to the capital! Take care of every single person!”

At Enok’s command, the Chewin Kingdom army disappeared in an instant like sand blown by the wind.

A black shadow cast over my head as I looked at the back of them, disappearing instantly.

“I’m glad you’re safe, Arianne.”

I smiled and welcomed the voice coming from behind me.

“I’m glad you’re safe too.”

Charter and I looked at each other and smiled. We couldn’t hear the tiger’s roar, Dondon’s scream, or the soldiers’ shouts. We only looked at each other for a long time, as if there were only us in this world.

“Tranquil, indeed.” Paku, who was watching the two, was also quietly watching the scene with a relaxed expression after only saying so.

He found this commotion just amusing. Did he ever finish a battle on this plain without shedding blood? No, was there a battle that didn’t shed blood in the first place?  Really, that’s amazing.

Whatever she did, she made something impossible become possible. Paku had no choice but to look forward to her now. If it’s her… maybe she’ll give a thread on that stern emperor’s mask. If that was the case, then he…

“Ha.”

What on earth are you thinking? Paku, get yourself together. It was ridiculous. He couldn’t be happy. He should never be happy. Paku repeated as if imprinted on his heart. I should never be happy. Never.

He took too many lives. It wasn’t his will, and he couldn’t stop it. He could not have done it if he didn’t want to, but he already took the lead in taking other people’s lives. It was just because he didn’t want to be emperor. Therefore, he should never be comfortable or happy.

* * *

“Go back now,” said Marquis Hood to Alice, who had been looking at the map for days.

Alice took her eyes off the map and turned back with a low sigh. The wrinkles seemed to deepen on her worried father’s face.

“Commander-in-Chief.”

“…”

The Marquis Hood’s wrinkled face hardened. Is she trying to stay? Marquis Hood could see the determination in her daughter, who called him as commander-in-chief, not father.

“Since baroness is away, I, as her aide, must take responsibility for her duties as the aide.”

“Baroness Devit… may not be able to return.”

No, she couldn’t come back. Even if she had been lucky enough to get out of the river, there was no way that she could survive in the enemy territory without weapons or food.

Marquis Hood hurriedly tried to set up a search party and send it. Still, he couldn’t send it because Count Blanc, who swayed public opinion, said this would only increase innocent victims. So he hurriedly sent letters and messengers to the imperial family, but there was no reply yet. A week has already passed. Then it’s obviously…

If they didn’t return, the emperor would have no choice but to take the lead in the war himself, and Duke Krow wouldn’t miss that opportunity. If the thing I’m concerned about happens… this empire…  

Marquis Hood closed his eyes tightly in misery. Alice approached such a father and hugged him gently from behind.” Father, don’t worry. Let me help you.”

Marquis Hood raised his wrinkled hand and gently caressed Alice’s hand. He felt the calluses lodged in her fingers. It was the hand of the person who worked hard.

I only saw her as a child, but when did she grow up this much? Marquis Hood wasn’t ignorant of Alice’s talents and her desires. Rather, he was afraid because he knew her too well.

They say a crooked stone hits the mark [1] . Her talent and determination would put her in more danger. And yet, this empire only suppressed women, saying that it couldn’t be helped because it didn’t allow women to grow and become independent. Nevertheless, she seemed to be firmly on her way. And now, a milestone has been set on the road that she used to walk aimlessly.

Baroness Devit…

A forest that was already full of trees and didn’t receive sunlight cannot grow other trees. The Harpion Empire was a forest, and she was a fire that would burn the forest to its root. Certainly, even in the ashes, new seeds would sprout.

Alice was also preparing to sprout out her own buds. What kind of tree would she grow into?… it would be fine even if she just became a weed. Each of those weeds, small and large trees, would gather together to become a dense and huge forest again someday.

A very small smile fell on Marquis Hood’s lips. It was at that time.

“Commander-in-chief, the emperor’s messenger has arrived.”

“Let him in.”

Alice quickly moved away from her father and straightened herself. And at the same time, the tent’s entrance was lifted, and a tall, middle-aged man entered.

A man with an intimidating impression from his sharp eyes and tightly closed lips. Having neatly combed his half-gray hair, he relaxed his face and smiled when he made eye contact with Marquis Hood.

It must be the search party. Marquis Hood smiled gladly at the man in front of him. “Of course, you should.” He felt like he could finally breathe.

Count Silver Trano. He was the leader of the imperial knights, and if it was him, maybe he could safely rescue Duke Kaien and Baroness Devit. He was the most reliable man, friend, and idol in this world.

“That’s what I said. So, let me borrow your daughter.”

“What?”

Huh… there’s no one to trust in this word.

1. This proverb highlights the idea that individuals who possess exceptional qualities, skills, or achievements often become the subject of envy, criticism, or resentment from others. It implies that those who excel or stand out may face opposition or negativity from those who feel overshadowed or inferior in comparison.