The Secretary of the Northern Grand Duchess Has Run Away

Chapter 6:  Reception Room Confrontation (1)

“It was in the same context as when you washed your face a moment ago.”

I deliberately steadied my voice.

Then, raising the towel stained with dirt, I spoke.

“Even when you were exhausted, you still arranged your appearance before meeting your father. The Grand Duke must have been inwardly pleased.”

Echina silently agreed with a sharp gaze.

Her black eyelids glimmered faintly under the midday sunlight.

“In this way, outward appearances are important.”

I tapped lightly under my tear mole and added.

“So that they cannot fault you for injuring your opponent during the sparring, we will also pretend to be injured.”

“Pretend to be... injured...?”

The Grand Duke’s daughter looked at me with a cold, disapproving expression, as if she disliked the word “injured” itself.

Because the Luton family never conceded to anyone except the Emperor.

“The main point of this controversy is that you pressed your opponent too hard, isn’t it?”

“I had no choice. It’s easier to deal with a mage thoroughly when you have the chance.”

Echina’s eyes glinted with the menace of a lioness.

No matter how strong a knight, mages who exploited terrain and objects were always infuriating.

“There was so much dust at the time that even though I protected my body with mana, I kept coughing.”

“That’s right. If you emphasize that cough, the opponent won’t dare come at you too aggressively.”

As she listened to my scheme, the Grand Duke’s daughter furrowed her delicate brow.

“You’re telling me to pretend I’m injured?”

For the Academy’s most promising student to have been hurt by a peer—

Such rumors would spread not only across the northern provinces but all the way to the Imperial Court.

“That isn’t an honorable thing to do. I don’t mind, but my father would be displeased.”

If that happened, the other Grand Dukes who habitually kept Duke Luton in check would seize the chance to wound his pride.

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

With my hands clasped behind my back, I shook my head like some precocious old man.

Then, with eyes as black as pitch, clouded by all manner of corruption and politics, I spoke.

“We just have to make sure that what happened today will never be spoken of.”

“That’s... what do you mean by that, Roger?”

Hearing my cryptic words, the Grand Duke’s daughter tilted her head.

To her confusion, I handed over the towel and gave her a steady look.

“For now, please enter the reception room first. I’ll handle the rest.”

Echina accepted the towel, thick with dirt.

At the words of a mere cadet saying he would resolve this situation, she let out a brief sigh.

“So you have another plan.”

“Yes. I’ll ‘prepare’ and follow you.”

Echina nodded calmly for now.

She had decided to trust me once more, having seen what I was capable of.

“Very well. Let’s act according to your plan.”

The Grand Duke’s daughter silently pressed the dirt and white dust onto her fair skin.

In that time, I too stepped back with a meaningful expression.

But just as I was about to leave—

The cold voice of the knightess called me back again.

“Julius Roger.”

“Yes, My Lady.”

I turned back to her with a leisurely smile.

Echina stood there alone, arms folded, looking at me with a detached gaze.

‘Now that her face is actually dirtied, is she feeling displeased…?’

Recalling her fierce and sensitive temperament in the past, I swallowed hard.

And the moment I quietly looked at Echina’s red lips—

“Is this all you want as your reward?”

Her response was so unexpected that I blinked several times.

“My dirtying my face is simply part of the plan. It’s not a reward for you.”

Other nobles usually tried to avoid giving any reward at all.

But Echina, known for her coldness, was considering her subordinate even in the midst of her busy affairs.

…

The sorrowful expression she had worn when she was near death overlapped with the Echina standing before me now.

Unwittingly, a bitter smile crossed my face.

“No, there’s still one more thing.”

At my words about wanting a reward, she let out a short, knowing laugh, as if to say, ‘Of course.’

No one ever refused a favor from the Luton family.

“Speak.”

From glittering gold coins to the official position of secretary in the Grand Duke’s household—

Echina folded her arms, wondering what sort of desire I might reveal.

But—

“I’d like to meet the Grand Duke’s household physician.”

My answer was nothing like what she had expected.

Instead, it left her momentarily taken aback.

“The physician… Are you more seriously hurt than I thought?”

“That’s right. My body feels a little unwell.”

Echina stared fixedly at my dress shirt, still marked with the footprints.

“Well, I suppose it’s impressive you managed to keep walking around in that condition.”

It didn’t feel like she was actually worrying about me.

She simply seemed to reproach herself for not realizing her temporary subordinate had been injured.

“Then go and rest.”

“Thank you, My Lady.”

I bowed my head to her and expressed my gratitude.

And when the sound of Echina’s military boots finally disappeared—

I headed alone toward the clinic where the household physician worked.

At a pace far too brisk for an injured man.

――――――

Echina stood in front of the reception room.

Wearing her pure white uniform, she pushed the grand doors open with both hands.

The first thing that met her eyes upon stepping inside was a father and daughter.

They sat silently on the sofa, waiting for the Grand Duke’s daughter.

“You’ve finally come.”

A middle-aged man with pomade-slicked hair stood up first.

His body was clad in an elegant suit and a luxurious tie.

“Echina Luton. We’ve been expecting you.”

On the surface, the Director had the benevolent image of a patron supporting the Academy.

But in truth, he was a cunning man who always supplied low-grade materials, pocketed the difference, and used it to reduce his taxes.

“Thank you for waiting, Director Liam.”

The Grand Duke’s daughter exchanged a brief greeting with the Academy Director.

After that, she faced the young lady with red twin-tailed hair, the one she’d had trouble with.

“You’re late. Is it acceptable to keep your guests waiting like this?”

Lize Liam.

Her arms were covered with bruises as she greeted Echina with a cold voice.

“I stopped by to see my father for a moment.”

The Grand Duke’s daughter clasped her hands behind her back in a leisurely posture, even in front of the father and daughter.

She gazed up at the portrait of Duke Luton hanging on the reception room wall and spoke.

“It seemed he was occupied with official duties, so only I came today.”

“You made us come all this way, and he wouldn’t even meet us…?”

Lize let out a hollow laugh at Echina’s expressionless face.

She had intended to use this opportunity to overturn the Academy’s pecking order, but instead, Echina’s unruffled composure was simply baffling.

Yet this was only the beginning.

“Everyone knows he’s an exceptionally busy man, don’t they?”

With a blank expression, the Grand Duke’s daughter lifted her fist lightly to her lips.

For an instant, she wore a delicate, demure look—

“Cough. Cough.”

—and began to cough right in front of the peer she had just beaten mercilessly.

And in the most awkward way possible.

“…?”

Lize scowled in disbelief at the Academy’s ace, performing an act like that for the first time in her life.

She shook her head as if to say, Who would ever fall for such shameless playacting?

But Echina’s target was not Lize.

“She’s coughing… Are you feeling unwell?”

Her real aim was Lize’s father—the Academy Director.

No matter what dispute he had with his own daughter, the injury of the Academy’s star student was not something that could be ignored so easily.

“Ah, the coughing’s been happening little by little ever since the sparring…”

“I coughed plenty too, you know? Stop making such a fuss!”

Lize stretched out her hand to point at the table in front of her.

On it lay a heap of tissue scraps, visibly marked by coughs.

“For now, let’s all calm down and have a seat. You’re both clearly unwell.”

Director Liam tried to soothe the two young ladies.

Only moments ago, he had arrived with the intent to demand an explanation, yet now the mood had shifted into something peculiar.

“When I’d only heard my daughter’s account, I didn’t imagine you would be in this condition, Echina.”

Mutual fault.

Since both duelists had been hurt, there was no way to pin the blame on only one side.

“At this point, there’s no reason to argue over who was in the wrong.”

Liam hid his mixed feelings behind a polite smile.

Almost as if he were relieved it had turned out this way.

“It seems the Director feels some relief seeing me injured.”

But the Grand Duke’s daughter was not yet satisfied.

She fixed her uniquely cold gaze on her flustered opponent and pressed him further.

“Of course not. I only meant there’s no longer any need to discuss fault.”

“Yes, it’s better this way.”

Lize chimed in as well.

With her mage’s intelligent eyes, she opened her mouth.

“Since it was such a ‘close match’ that there’s no need for either side to blame the other.”

The young lady, like the proud young elite she was, seized the moment to subtly needle the Grand Duke’s daughter.

“Since I fought on equal footing with the famous Grand Duke’s daughter, my reputation will surely rise.”

It was the moment her true weakness was laid bare.

Reputation.

As the only knight of the Grand Duke’s household, Echina carried enormous public expectations and recognition.

And now, she had been injured in the same duel as an ordinary count’s daughter.

The instant Lize was acknowledged as her equal—

Echina’s reputation would be dragged down to that very level.

“Thank you, Echina. Thanks to you, the upcoming Founding Festival has gained a juicy bit of gossip.”

Lize dug into this blind spot to provoke the Grand Duke’s daughter.

Wearing her brilliant ruby earrings, she clearly understood the importance of “honor.”

…

Seated at the head of the table, Echina did not respond immediately.

When she heard Lize’s provocation, her sharp gaze flashed.

“That’s just like you, Lize.”

With her delicate hand resting against her smooth chin, she sank into silent contemplation.

Yet all the attendants present knew—

Those half-lidded, beautiful eyes were in truth…

Plotting exactly how to sink her teeth into the throat of this prey who dared belittle her.

“What can I say? Unlike some people, I don’t have journalists swarming around me.”

Unaware of any danger, Lize let out a short laugh and elegantly crossed her thighs.

The torn threads of her stockings, ripped during her rough spar with Echina, stretched delicately across her skin.

“Unlike the great Grand Duke’s household, I have absolutely nothing to lose.”

“Lize, is there any need to provoke her? Let’s just settle this quietly as a draw.”

The middle-aged man smiled as if to smooth things over naturally.

But behind the smile, he was already imagining how he would boast that his daughter had fought the famous Echina to a draw.

…

Sensing this instinctively, the Grand Duke’s daughter showed no emotion.

She did not particularly cling to honor, but in that moment, she remembered her father’s face, which would show disappointment if there was a blemish on her dueling record.

The same thought crossed the mind of Debier, the chief secretary who had quietly entered the reception room.

The steward of the Grand Duke’s household watched the situation in silence before closing his eyes and letting out a sigh.

As though a troublesome affair had just begun.

In a dilemma where any choice would prove difficult, even the seasoned Debier found no solution.

So a cold silence settled over the reception room.

But—

Footsteps broke the frosty stillness, sounding from a distance.

――――――

Following the sound, everyone turned toward the grand doors.

At that moment—

“Pardon the intrusion.”

A pair of shabby, creased shoes stepped onto the beautifully polished floor of the reception room.

Then, a man in a worn suit appeared inside.

“Today, I served as the acting secretary assigned to Lady Echina, Grand Duke’s daughter. My name is Julius Roger.”

Footprints still covered my dress shirt, and bruises mottled my face.

At the sight of my shabby appearance, the Academy’s father and daughter both frowned.

However, Echina and Debier wore entirely different expressions.

They had been certain I’d gone to rest—

Yet here I stood, having returned as if to prove a point, and their faces were frozen in blank surprise.

“I heard Lady Echina ordered you to take a break. What are you doing here all of a sudden?”

In this tense situation, Debier spoke first, his tone cool and precise, wary that I, a mere candidate, might commit some blunder.

In that moment when the four most powerful figures in the Empire’s highest circles turned their eyes to me—

“I came because of something very important.”

I opened my chapped lips with an unhurried expression.

As if I had spent decades in this mansion…

As if I’d already witnessed such petty quarrels hundreds of times.

“While I was resting and speaking with the household physician, I came across a piece of information.”

I slipped my hand into the inner pocket of my suit jacket.

Then I drew out a piece of paper.

“I told him that after the sparring, Lady Echina’s coughing had worsened.”

The paper I produced was the physician’s written opinion.

And it had been penned by one of the most renowned doctors on the entire continent.

“He said there’s no reason someone as strong as Lady Echina should be coughing so easily.”

I looked calmly at the Academy’s prodigy.

Echina, too, stared absently at the teardrop mole beneath my thin eye.

“So he guessed it must be an environmental factor and asked me what material the dueling ground was built from.”

I laid a document down firmly on the reception table.

A list of diseases that could result from inhaling ‘lime powder.’

“I informed him that the dueling ground floor at Nord Academy is all lime tile.”

I looked at the Liam father and daughter with a voice as cold as ever—

The same dull-eyed tone I’d used back in my days as chief secretary.

“He said if a place like that collapsed completely, even a Swordmaster could end up with lung disease.”

The cause of the injury wasn’t Lize’s strike at all—

But rather, simply the lime tile.

At that, Lize and Director Liam both froze, dumbstruck.

“And then he asked me—who was the fool that decided to build the whole floor out of lime?”

Hearing my sly voice, Echina let out a breathless, incredulous laugh.

Even Debier, who was usually impossible to surprise, twitched the corner of his mouth.

In that instant, the Grand Duke household’s most impassive figures betrayed their emotions to me.

“What do you think of this, Director Liam?”

I turned my steady gaze on that very fool.

“Have you anything further you’d like to say about it?”

From this point on, the situation would unfold in an entirely different direction.