Virgin Knight Who Is the Frontier Lord in the Gender Switched World - Chapter 157

Suddenly, an intuition crossed my mind.

It was both a sixth sense and a form of empirical experience.

At times like these, my intuition rarely fails.

“Lady Valiere seems likely to encounter some terrible misfortune,” I blurted out as the thought crossed my mind.

Martina, my retainer, responded while reading the newspaper, her usual stern expression plastered on her face.

“Isn’t that always the case? With a subordinate like Lady Sabine, who is so hard to pin down whether she’s more like a chimpanzee or a human, and the brainless subordinates she leads, peaceful days are impossible.”

“Indeed.”

Upon reflection, it was always the case.

What am I stating the obvious for?

It’s common knowledge that Lady Valiere’s misfortune is apparent to everyone, including both Martina and myself.

I laughed and scratched at my short hair before correcting myself—no, that’s not it.

“It’s different this time. I feel like she might encounter something worse than usual on our journey to the imperial capital, maybe even worse than her first battle.”

“Really?”

“So, she’s having an even worse time than usual, isn’t she? What about it?”

“It doesn’t matter if she encounters misfortune.”

Martina folded the newspaper as if to say it wasn’t her concern. For some reason, Martina is rather harsh and cold towards my fiancée.

“Just the other day, Duchess Temeraire asked if she wasn’t my fiancée. I’ve been thinking about it, and as Lady Valiere’s advisor, it seems odd for me to just sit here in the imperial capital without doing anything.”

“Are you thinking of going to meet her?”

“That’s what I’m considering.”

In this world, it’s not frowned upon for a man to stay at home quietly, waiting for a woman’s visit.

However, I did not find this to be an acceptable situation for myself.

As a knight born into this role, I have my pride.

“If Lady Valiere is in trouble, and I can foresee that, shouldn’t I, as her subordinate, help her? As a lord knight, I would not let my people be sacrificed needlessly, but as Faust von Polydoro personally, I’ve sworn to exert my strength for my lord. I shall not falter from that.”

“…Well, I understand your character, Lord Faust.”

Martina is wiser than I am. She must understand what I want to say.

“Seriously though, would that be foolish?”

Is what I want to do acceptable, or is it a problem from a noble’s perspective?

Sadly, this Faust is not well-versed in social affairs and lacks common sense.

Therefore, I turn to Martina for answers.

“It’s obviously foolish.”

My brain trust’s answer was clear.

“Look, Lord Faust. It is well known that your fiancée is Lady Valiere. However, with her approval, you’ve been accompanying Lady Anastasia as her partner to the Electoral Prince’s succession ceremony, attending banquets and soirees.”

“Hmm.”

I still don’t know what Lady Anastasia is thinking, but here in the imperial capital, I am serving as her partner, as we promised before entering the city.

At Duchess Temeraire’s soiree, I’ve already suffered enough, causing various mishaps.

“We stormed the besieged fortress, blasted the gates open with cannons, slaughtered a hundred Landsknechts in the frenzied boar knights, and killed and resurrected Duchess Temeraire by splitting her skull. It’s fortunate she doesn’t remember any of it, but she went into hemorrhagic shock and her heart stopped once. She only revived because the transfusion was timely.”

All of this, to me, seemed unavoidable.

I made a modest effort to resolve the situation to the best of my abilities.

People should stop looking at me as if I’m a monster; it’s embarrassing when someone suddenly starts crying while shaking hands.

It’s one thing to be cried at out of fear, but it’s quite another for someone to be so moved by honor that they start crying.

I think it might be better for Lady Anastasia if I’m not invited to soirées anymore.

Why do they keep inviting me?

“In the imperial capital, you are recognized as Lady Anastasia’s partner, Lord Faust. Whatever the personal desires behind this—well, that’s irrelevant now. In this situation, going out would be clumsy.”

“I’ve come to a conclusion. If I abandon Lady Anastasia, whom I’ve promised to serve, and prioritize my fiancée, am I not violating my duty of loyalty?”

“That would be the case. The Anhalt Electoral Prince’s succession ceremony is imminent. It would be unforgivable to insult Her Highness with such a clear disregard. Oh, the man-eater, her partner abandoned her and fled to his fiancée. That will surely be the talk of the town.”

Martina warned me.

Indeed, I never intended to demean Lady Anastasia, nor is such behavior permissible in the business of saving face, let alone in chivalry.

However, if street urchins were to ridicule Lady Anastasia, she might just carve out their hearts with a knife and eat them on the spot.

Regardless.

“I understand the reason, but can’t something be done?”

“And how would you propose we do that?”

“As long as no one finds out that I, Faust von Polydoro, have gone to greet Lady Valiere, it should be fine. The party invitations have already been sent out and the rounds of greetings are done. Essentially, I just need to make it seem like I’ve been in the imperial capital the whole time.”

In truth, I have no desire to formally welcome Lady Valiere in a visible manner. This isn’t about maintaining the appearance of an engagement or fulfilling my responsibilities as a lord. It’s simply because I’m too worried not to go and offer my help.

“What’s the matter, Martina? My intuition is almost always correct. I even have a premonition that Lady Valiere might die if left alone. I must go; otherwise, it would be unwise.”

“People die eventually,” she replied dryly.

“That’s not what I’m discussing,” I snapped back, frustrated.

I’ve always wondered why Martina is so cold towards Lady Valiere. Despite Lady Valiere’s petite stature and lack of curves, that’s no reason to treat her with discourtesy or disrespect. True insults could lead to lethal duels, as I learned from my encounter with Duchess Temeraire.

“Regardless, I’ve decided. From now on, Faust will feign injury or illness and remain secluded in his manor.”

“That’s far-fetched. No one will believe it.”

“—What would be better, then?”

Indeed, this Faust has seldom been injured, much less fallen ill. A suitable pretext was necessary.

“It would seem unbecoming to spend my time idly. I might claim I’ve been busy hunting down a local band of thieves.”

“That would be dishonorable, to kill a band of robbers for no profit. Rejected.”

The proverb goes, “Though the sands of the beach may run out, the seed of thieves will never be exhausted.” Indeed, there might be small bands of robbers to find, but why must I go out of my way to play the hero?

“While it may seem honorable at first glance, I refuse to be mocked as a fool for engaging in profitless deeds.”

“Would Faust von Polydoro, who once saved my life, really say such things?”

“If people laugh at me for saving Martina, then let them. That’s an exception.”

I’m not a particularly good person, but I cannot stand to see children suffer for their parents’ crimes. It’s simply too unpleasant for me to tolerate. Let them mock me.

In my past life, I couldn’t forgive such things, and as a knight, I am self-deprecating about my foolish actions.

“This Faust has no right to undermine the official security operations of the knights and guards in the capital. That would be out of the question unless I had prior permission to interfere with their duties.”

While robbers may not be protected by law, I wish to avoid actions that could earn me the enmity of others. Although it might be the narrative of a chivalric tale, it’s not a wise move in the harsh reality of the knightly world.

“Lord Faust, you are being stubborn. I can’t think of any other alternatives.”

“Smart Martina, my retainer.”

“Flattery won’t work. I simply can’t think of anything else.”

Martina gave me a piercing look. She was definitely lying. She must have thought of several pretexts but chose not to share them. I sighed deeply.

“What are you trying to say, ultimately?”

“—Are you intending to leave me behind?”

So that was the discussion.

Well, it would come to that. In my domain, at this very moment, I would likely be dining with my little daughter—Chief Retainer Helga would say the same.

“Are you planning to leave me, your retainer, behind?”

“I even told Helga not to come with me to the capital. I wouldn’t allow her to follow.”

“That was deceiving the naive Helga-sama. She was essentially paid to go and have fun in the capital. You said she didn’t need to come.”

“—It’s not a lie. I truly meant it when I told Chief Retainer Helga that, and I wouldn’t lie if she asked me.”

But this discussion was different now.

“If Helga-sama knew, she would be distraught. She was the one who clung to my feet at the age of nine, sobbing, begging to serve as Lord Faust’s retainer.”

That hurt to hear.

Essentially, this was Retainer Martina’s argument. If you are to fulfill your duty as a knight, then that’s fine. But as a retainer, it’s only natural that I follow you, isn’t it? Surely you aren’t planning to leave me behind?

She was indirectly reproaching me.

“—Very well, Martina. As your knight, I command it. Come with me as my retainer.”

“You should have just said that from the start.”

I wasn’t keen on taking a child around.

Honestly, I didn’t want to, but it would be disrespectful and even insulting to view just any child and Martina in the same light. After all, worrying about Martina, who is stronger than many adults, would make a fool of anyone.

“Let’s go and see Lady Anastasia then, Lord Faust. After all, we can’t just go to Lady Valiere without the sovereign’s permission.”

“That we shall.”

I sighed heavily and nodded. Yet, I remained deeply concerned about Lady Valiere.

Surely, nothing tragic would happen to her before I arrived. My feelings weren’t romantic affection but rather a pure and profound respect and concern for my liege, Lady Valiere.