Chapter 155 : Chapter 155

Chapter 155. I Believe a Person Should Know Their Place (2)

Ace, no, April, skillfully attended to the bath.

She washed Isabella’s white skin with a towel that was gently lathered.

Isabella also entrusted her body to that touch.

While being attended to like that, she grasped the situation.

“So you were cross-dressing to avoid the attention of others?”

“Yes. That is correct.”

“Does that work?”

“If you act confidently, people surprisingly do not become suspicious.”

“No, no matter how you look at it….”

Isabella, who was speaking, closed her mouth.

Come to think of it, she too had never thought that Ace, no, April’s gender might be female until now.

Although she had often thought, every time she saw him, how can a man be so beautiful?

“But is it alright for you to reveal your identity to me?”

At Isabella’s question, April gently poured water on her back and said.

“ms.Isabella is the one who will one day become the Young Master’s wife.”

“……”

Was it okay to reveal her identity?

Just for that one reason?

‘Come to think of it, this person was a Patrick supremacist.’

Although it wasn't very noticeable because she was a person of few words, the butler Ace showed only absolute obedience to Patrick Schneider’s instructions.

One might say, what’s so great about a butler being obedient to their master, but….

If the master was that Patrick Schneider, the level of difficulty changed a lot.

‘It’s not something that can be done with an ordinary mentality.’

No.

Absolutely not.

‘Wait, but….’

Just then, Isabella suddenly recalled an important fact.

If April’s identity was a woman….

“You were sharing a room with Patrick, weren’t you.”

“Yes. That is correct.”

Strictly speaking, the rooms were separate.

But they were living together, sharing an independent living space in the same building.

Within that private space where whatever the two of them did, the outside world would have no knowledge of.

Isabella turned her head and looked at April.

‘What on earth did you do to end up like this?’

Isabella had also grown up hearing that she was beautiful.

She had also been told she was the most beautiful woman in the kingdom.

Half of it was probably flattery due to her status as a princess, but in any case, she had never been intimidated by her looks anywhere she went.

Until now, that is.

April’s beauty was, even from a fellow woman’s perspective, a bit too much.

It was to the point of feeling self-loathing beyond jealousy.

And yet, Patrick, a healthy young man in the prime of his life, had been living in the same room with that April for over three years already.

That meant….

“You and Patrick are… that…. that thing….”

What should I call this?

No, is it even okay to ask?

Isn’t it a bit rude?

No. Isn’t it an important issue?

So what if it’s rude?

I’m a princess, isn’t it okay for me to ask this much?

Still, it would be better to choose my words carefully, but what’s an appropriate word?

To Isabella, who was choosing her words amidst a fierce internal conflict, April said calmly.

“The Young Master has never once asked me to attend to him at night.”

“Really?”

“That is correct. In fact, there was a time when I went to him first and asked.”

“…Yes?”

“On the day the Young Master became an adult. I thought that he should now know about women, so I intended to be his partner, however lacking I might be.”

“So… then?”

“He refused.”

“Isn’t he a eunuch?”

It was a very crude thing for a princess of a nation to say.

But April was not flustered in the slightest and continued to speak calmly.

“He is not.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Judging from the ‘The Duchess' Secret Outing’ and ‘The Knight Princess Captured by the Enemy’ under the Young Master’s bed, he is not.”

“Ah….”

He reads things like that?

Okay.

I get it.

I’ll remember that.

* * *

“Achoo!”

“What? What’s with the sudden…?”

“No, I feel a chill somehow….”

For a master of Patrick’s level to feel a chill was no ordinary matter.

But….

“It’s because you haven’t drunk enough. Drink more.”

“Yeah. Let’s drink, drink.”

Yes.

What was so important in front of free alcohol?

Patrick began to drink heavily with Matthew again.

He was completely unaware that his personal information was being thoroughly exposed.

* * *

Isabella let out a sigh and said.

“Anyway, you and Patrick are not in that kind of relationship?”

“We are not.”

“…Really?”

To Isabella, who still couldn't erase her suspicion, April answered in a calm voice.

“The Young Master is a noble and wonderful person.”

“……”

Him?

Isabella wanted to say that but forcibly held it back.

Instead, she asked something more important.

“Setting Patrick aside….”

“……”

“What about you?”

“……”

“You said you like Patrick, right? Is that as a woman? Or as a vassal….”

“I.”

April, uncharacteristically, cut her off and interjected.

And in a calm voice, she continued with what she had to say.

“I believe a person should know their place.”

“……”

And she poured water on Isabella’s body, washing off all the foam, and then stood up.

“Then I will take my leave.”

And watching April’s back as she left the hot spring, Isabella let out a small sigh.

“It’s not easy.”

It really wasn’t easy in many ways.

* * *

A week had passed since Patrick had started staying in Marquis Raines' fiefdom.

During his stay, Patrick had definitively taken care of two things.

One was to demolish the wine cellar of the Marquis Raines family.

He really put his heart and soul into this.

Matthew helped a little, but most of the enemies (alcohol) were dealt with by Patrick.

And the second thing he did was….

“Haaap!”

A powerful kiai.

Disciplined sword forms.

And a murderous killing intent.

“Slow.”

KWAAANG!

“Kuaaak!”

But the results did not follow.

The knight of the Marquis Raines family who had rushed at Patrick was hit by a powerful blow and sent flying more than 10 meters.

And in the direction he flew, a pile of senior knights who had been sent flying before him were already groaning.

It looked like a pile of corpses stacked up after a war.

Patrick looked at the pile of corpses indifferently and then said.

“Next.”

At that, April, who appeared from the side with a towel and a water bottle, said.

“That’s it for today.”

“Oh? Okay.”

“Yes. We’ve already gone through five rounds.”

“Really? Well, it’s a little better than the first day.”

At Patrick’s words, a small smile appeared on the knights’ faces….

“At first, I was thinking, how am I supposed to use these incompetent slugs? They were so pathetic, but now they’re at a level where they can at least roll around.”

…before it could fully form.

Patrick drank the water from the water bottle April brought him and said.

“I feel a bit stiff after some exercise. Shall I go take a dip in the hot spring?”

“I will prepare it immediately.”

“Take your time. Before that, I’ll go see the marquis first.”

“Understood.”

And as Patrick disappeared, the knights of the Marquis Raines family stood up like zombies.

“Ugh…. uuuuh….”

“He’s gone. Damn it….”

“Damn it, move aside.”

“Just kill me. I don’t even have the strength to move.”

The past week.

The sparring with Patrick had brought about two changes in the knights of the Marquis Raines family.

One was that their endurance had increased a bit.

The second was….

“Damn human….”

“Is that a person?”

“Strength? Or personality?”

“Both.”

As you can see, they had developed grit and tenacity.

When Patrick first said he would stay in the fiefdom and look over their swordsmanship a bit.

The knights thought it was an honor.

‘Good.’

‘This is an opportunity.’

‘It will definitely be helpful.’

Although they were also like disciples of Marquis Raines and usually received the teachings of a 7-star knight.

The teachings of a 7-star knight other than Marquis Raines were not something to be taken lightly.

Moreover, although they couldn't say it out loud, wasn't Patrick clearly a greater master than their lord, Marquis Raines?

It was a fact that the knights who had witnessed the previous duel had no choice but to admit.

How happy would they be to have the opportunity to receive the teachings of such a master?

That’s what they thought.

Before they had experienced the first day, that is.

[Come at me one by one.]

It was, what should I say?

It was written as ‘teaching,’ read as ‘sparring,’ and its inner meaning had to be interpreted as ‘assault.’

After thoroughly demolishing the Raines knightly order.

To the knights groaning on the ground, Patrick said.

[Humans are like weeds, the more you step on them, the tougher and stronger they become. Therefore, I will diligently and sincerely step on you.]

[Wait, what if we die in the process?]

[Then you die.]

[…….]

[What? Why? You got a problem? Want a piece of me?]

Might was right.

And so, for a week, Patrick began to sincerely step on the knights of the Marquis Raines family.

It wasn't a metaphorical expression; he actually did step on them.

Kwajik!

[Uwaaaak!]

[Look at this bastard. I just patted you lightly, and you’re going to collapse and whine that you can’t get up? Huh? Are you going to get up? Or are you going to die?]

[I… I think my leg is broken.]

[I know that too. But so what?]

[How can I fight more with a broken leg? Please treat it quickly….]

[What’s this? Are you going to say that during a war? ‘Hey. Wait a minute, my leg is broken. Let’s fight again later.’ Like this?]

[…….]

[These bastards have gotten soft. Ang! Where do knights whine about a broken leg? If you’re going to be like that, then quit. You idiots!]

That day, they saw a devil.

In fact, even at the Academy, there were many juniors who sought Patrick’s teachings.

How precious would the opportunity to receive the teachings of the Double Dragon be?

But most of them, after receiving his teachings once, would try not to even be seen by Patrick.

Only a few, including Matthew and Isabella, consistently endured Patrick’s training.

Why?

Because it felt like they would die.

The knightly order of Marquis Raines had experienced a new world over the past week.

The faces of the knights who stood up like zombies and cleaned up the training ground after Patrick disappeared were gaunt, like famine-stricken peasants.

“Hell is real. Right here, right now, this is hell.”

“It’s probably just that wherever that human is, is hell.”

“Is that a person?”

“He’s either a demon or a devil. I’m sure of it.”

At someone’s words, everyone nodded their heads as if in agreement.

And someone said.

“That day.”

One knight spoke cautiously.

“If we had all attacked him, would we have been able to win?”

At those words, the surrounding knights made awkward expressions and said.

“What kind of question is that?”

“If we had mobilized the entire knightly order and even the soldiers, we could have definitely won.”

“That’s right. No matter how high the 7-star realm is, it’s normal that we should have won.”

“Yes. …that would be normal, right?”

“……”

“Umm….”

“Normal, you say….”

They also knew the truth.

How meaningless it was to discuss normal logic when the opponent was abnormal.

‘In a way, it might have been a huge relief that we didn’t attack that day.’

‘The fortress would have definitely been destroyed.’

‘We would have had a group funeral.’

Although they couldn't say it out loud, they felt a deep sense of relief inwardly.

* * *

In the Marquis Raines' estate, there was a large training ground for group training and a separate personal training ground just for Marquis Raines.

And right now, there….

“Uwaaaaaat!”

“Not… yet.”

Matthew and Isabella were sweating profusely as they faced Marquis Raines.

The two of them attacked Marquis Raines fiercely in a simultaneous pincer attack.

Of course, their swords couldn't even touch the hem of Marquis Raines' clothes and were blocked, but still, their momentum did not diminish in the slightest.

‘Impressive.’

Marquis Raines was genuinely impressed.

They were out of breath, and their bodies were so drained of strength that their limbs were trembling.

It was only natural after sparring for a long time with an opponent whose skills were on a completely different level.

But the fighting spirit in their eyes had not been extinguished.

Even he, with his 7-star martial prowess, was not confident he could put out that flame without killing them.

Just then, Patrick appeared in that space and said.

“You both did well.”

At that, Matthew and Isabella, who had been fiercely attacking Marquis Raines, took a step back.

And Marquis Raines also sheathed his sword and said.

“That’s all for today.”

Only then did Matthew and Isabella sit down on the spot and say.

“Thank you.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

The training intensity was mild compared to what Patrick put them through.

But Marquis Raines was also a 7-star knight.

He was still a cliff that these two could not reach.

While Patrick was looking after the knights of the Marquis Raines family, Marquis Raines was looking after Patrick’s companions, Matthew and Isabella.

It was a kind of mutual assistance.

“How was our knightly order?”

“They’ve got some guts now.”

“You say that as if they didn’t have any guts until now.”

“You know it well.”

“……”

A bitter smile formed on Marquis Raines' lips.

There were plenty of knights whose skills were not inferior to Matthew or Isabella.

But in terms of tenacity?

He felt it while personally facing Matthew and Isabella.

“Ugh…. Senior, can I have some water….”

“I’m a princess.”

“Your Highness, some water please….”

“……”

Could there be anyone with the mental strength to push themselves to that point?

No matter how much he thought about it, he wasn't confident.

Marquis Raines looked at Patrick and said.

“Just how much do you have to push them to become like this? One is the young master of a noble house, and the other is a princess and your fiancée, isn’t she?”

“So what? Marquis, do you push people around based on their status?”

“No, well, a little….”

“I don’t have anything like that. If I’m going to push them, they should all roll the same way. Where do they get off with that halo. They’re asking for death.”

What an egalitarian bastard.

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