The Young Duchess, Brigitte Crown (1)
“Haa.”
Jerome swallowed a sigh as he saw the worry and disappointment clouding his daughter’s face.
But at this moment, his duty as commander of the knights took precedence over his responsibilities as a father.
“What species and how many?”
“Four Giant Centipedes! The vice-commander has already taken the Third Division and headed out!”
“Damn those monsters. I’m sick of them. Are the mages and priests just for decoration? They never do their jobs!”
Jerome rose from his seat in anger.
He was about to follow his subordinate outside when he suddenly paused and turned back.
His daughter, Brigitte, stood with a gloomy expression, staring only at her own toes.
“Bri, your father…”
Jerome swallowed the rest of his words.
Every time this happened, he resented the fate that forced him to leave his child behind.
After losing his wife, he had raised his only daughter like a precious jewel, yet the time they spent together was never enough.
That was what he felt most sorry about toward her.
“Please be safe.”
“Bri?”
“Are you not the Sword of the Empire, Father?”
Brigitte’s face hardened in an instant, like a clam snapping its shell shut.
Upon her lovely features rested a resolve far beyond her years.
“…I’m sorry. Stay right here and don’t move. I’ll be back soon.”
Jerome gently stroked Brigitte’s hair before immediately leaving his office.
In the end, only Brigitte remained in the room.
“Hmph.”
Brigitte let out a sound that could have been a snort or a sigh.
Then, as if her father’s warning meant nothing, she slipped out of the office right away.
“I can practice archery by myself just fine.”
Brigitte glanced up and down the corridor, confirmed that Jerome had completely disappeared, and her face brightened.
The small girl’s eyes sparkled as she ran off, the hem of her green dress fluttering behind her.
“Haa, three more shots!”
Edwin looked at the target bristling with arrows and smiled with satisfaction.
“Ninety-seven out of a hundred and twenty hits. Not bad, right?”
Just as Edwin reached for another arrow—
“Kyaaak—!”
A scream rang out from not far away.
Edwin looked around in surprise.
“What was that…”
“Kyaaaaak—!”
“…Catherine?”
It was definitely a woman’s scream.
The only woman who would come to the Gloria Knights at this hour was Catherine.
Could she have had an accident while bringing him a snack?
“Catherine—!”
Edwin dashed toward the source of the scream.
He followed the narrow path beside the training grounds and spotted an unfamiliar figure.
“Kyaaaaaaaak! Go away! I said go away!”
“Catherine! Are you alri—?”
Edwin hurried to her side only to stop dead in his tracks.
The owner of the scream was not Catherine.
“Uh…”
Standing where he had run to was a girl he didn’t know.
Bright red hair and jewel-like teal eyes.
She looked exactly like a single rose blooming quietly in a place no one knew about.
Edwin’s pupils trembled.
“Hwaaaang!”
The girl, who had been sitting on the ground screaming for a while, finally clutched her head and burst into tears.
At her feet, a snake was hissing menacingly.
“Aaaaaah! Save meee—!”
The girl recoiled in terror as the snake slithered closer.
When Edwin saw her about to kick at the snake, he quickly reached out in alarm.
“Hey, if you don’t provoke it and just stay quiet, it’ll probably just leave…”
The girl finally seemed to notice his presence after he spoke.
She stopped sobbing, looked startled, and raised her voice.
“Wh-what? Who are you!”
“Who am I? Um, I’m Edwin…”
“What are you staring at? Do something about that thing!”
The girl didn’t seem to care about his name at all.
She simply shouted in desperation, as if who he was didn’t matter.
“What are you waiting for? If someone’s in danger, you should do something!”
“That’s why I’m saying if you stay quiet and don’t move—”
“Aaaaaah! No! Get rid of that disgusting thing right now!”
It seemed the girl had completely lost her composure.
“Haa.”
Edwin eventually raised his bow.
He gripped one end of the bow and extended the other toward the snake. The creature recoiled.
“Good boy. I’ll send you somewhere else.”
The snake flicked its tongue, hesitated, then climbed up the bow.
The moment it reached the top, Edwin flung it far beyond the bushes.
The snake landed safely in the undergrowth on the other side and quickly slithered away into the distance.
“Are you okay?”
Edwin offered comfort to the girl, who was still sniffling.
But she only muttered to herself, venting her frustration.
“Hic… Father is the worst!”
“Huh?”
“If he hadn’t left me alone, this never would have happened!”
The girl kicked her legs wildly, clearly upset about something.
“He promised to practice archery with me! But he’s always busy! He always leaves me by myself!”
“Uh, um…”
Before he knew it, Edwin was crouching beside the girl, listening to her grievances.
“If Father hadn’t left me alone, I never would have run into a snake! Right?”
“Y-yeah, right?”
After fuming for a while, the girl glared at him.
“You! You think I’m pathetic right now, don’t you!”
“What? No! I didn’t think that at all!”
Edwin waved both hands wildly, looking flustered.
The girl pouted, then spoke again.
“…Aren’t you scared of snakes?”
“Well, I see them pretty often.”
The imperial palace grounds were full of trees, and the area behind the Third Prince’s Palace was all mountains.
Snakes and bugs often found their way into the rooms.
Thanks to that, ever since he was little, Edwin had played with them instead of having many toys.
The girl, who had been listening, suddenly shouted.
“Aaaah! That’s so pathetic! It’s humiliating!”
She began venting her anger for a completely ridiculous reason.
“How dare a mere creature humiliate me? I will have my revenge!”
The snake had probably just been passing by. Could that really be called humiliation?
Edwin had a purely innocent question, but he kept his mouth shut.
He remembered what Emma had taught him: if a woman gets irritated and there’s nothing you can do to comfort her, just listen.
“S-so, how are you going to get revenge?”
Instead, Edwin chose to play along with her words.
When he asked awkwardly, the girl narrowed her eyes like a cat.
“How? I’m going to learn not to be afraid of snakes!”
“…Is it possible to learn not to be afraid?”
“Of course!”
The girl clenched both fists and suddenly jumped to her feet.
“Starting today, I’m going to study snakes!”
Her vivid teal eyes gleamed fiercely, as if a snake were dangling in the air before her.
“I’m going to collect every kind of snake on the continent and observe them every single day! I’ll learn all about their diet, habits, and habitats!”
“Uh, will that make you stop being scared?”
“You said you weren’t scared because you see them often, right?”
“Yeah? I-I guess so.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen a real snake today! My fear comes from ignorance!”
The girl crossed her arms and stared at Edwin.
“I read it in an Eastern classic. If you know your enemy and know yourself, there is nothing to fear.”
Her solemn voice made her sound like a general about to head into battle.
Edwin could only stare at her in awe, speechless at her spirit.
“I already know my weakness of being afraid of snakes. All that’s left is to understand what kind of creature a snake is. Then the situation will reverse.”
It sounded like complete nonsense, yet somehow he felt strangely convinced.
Edwin found himself nodding before he knew it.
“Wait, now that I think about it—who are you? Why are you here?”
It seemed the girl had completely forgotten that he had already told her his name earlier.
In the end, Edwin had to introduce himself again.
“I’m Edwin. I was training with the knights here.”
“What? You’re a knight? Which division?”
Division… should he say that?
After hesitating, Edwin held up three fingers.
“Third Division? You’re a commoner?”
“No, that’s not…”
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
Edwin’s eyes widened at her words.
“…Amazing?”
“Yes. It’s not easy for a commoner to join the knight order. You must have worked really hard, huh?”
After receiving such praise, it felt awkward to correct her.
With his face slightly flushed, Edwin scratched his head and nodded.
Meanwhile, the girl straightened her disheveled dress and hair before continuing.
“Thank you for today. But I’d appreciate it if you kept this a secret from others.”
It wasn’t like he had anyone to tell anyway.
When Edwin stayed silent, the girl snapped at him.
“Why aren’t you answering? Are you planning to spread it all over town? That I was crying and screaming because I was scared of a mere snake?”
“N-no! Why would I do that? I’m not that petty!”
Edwin shot to his feet and shook his head frantically.
The girl looked him up and down, then turned her head away.
“Hmph! If today’s events ever leave your mouth, I won’t let you off easy!”
“I really won’t say anything…!”
“Then I’ll be going. Today has been an unlucky day.”
The girl turned around, her dress fluttering.
“W-wait!”
At that moment, Edwin called out to stop her.
“What? Do you have something else to say?”
“Y-your name!”
Edwin reached out toward her without thinking and shouted.
“What’s your name?”
“My name?”
The girl raised one eyebrow at his question.
Then she smiled so widely that dimples appeared in her cheeks.
“Hmm, I don’t really feel like telling you.”
Edwin stared blankly at the girl smiling at him.
“Still, if you want to know my name, try to convince me.”
With her hands clasped behind her back, the girl looked at Edwin.
“Why do you think I should tell you my name?”
With a smile so radiant it could steal one’s soul.