Chapter Twenty-Two: In the Courtyard of the Knights

“Elsa, will Lord William really be happy?”

I asked Elsa as I alighted from the carriage.

“Of course, he will. The lord will be ecstatic to do his work when he sees that his wife is here.”

“That’s right, with his wife on his lap, the lord will be able to finish his job just fine!”

With a basked in hand, Ariana also encouraged me.

We were at the headquarters of the knights near the royal castle. In other words, William’s workplace. Several majestic buildings stood on the vast premise. From afar, the clanking of swords as they clashed against each other could be heard.

From the day after Marietta and Ralph came, Lord William was cooped up at his office. Due to the duty of confidentiality, I didn’t know the extent of a knight’s responsibility. However, I found out about a small incident in the royal capital that involved the nobles. As a result, William couldn’t return home. The incident itself was reported in the newspaper, which Arthur showed me.

For about a week now, Lord William had his hands full with the Order of Knights. This morning, Frederick returned briefly and said to me, “Please come and soothe the lord.” While bowing his head deeply.

…Lord William seemed to be in a hitch.

“B-but won’t I just disturb him?”

“That’s impossible.”

Elsa nodded firmly with a smile.

“Once he ate the sandwich and cookies that Milady has prepared, he’ll surely get better. C’mon, let’s go.”

I could only nod at her smile.

Even though she said that I made the sandwich, Chef Phil prepared the ingredients. All I did was spread butter on the bread, and adding the fillings. However, I often baked cookies for the children at the orphanage, so I did my best to bake them from scratch. By the way, I made my husband’s favorite chocho chips cookies.

As I listened to the sound of the horse-drawn carriage that passed by the entrance and left for somewhere, I slipped through the door opened by the knight and entered the premises. There was a long hallway on either side of the large entrance hall, with a red carpet spread on the stone floor. There was a spiral staircase on both sides of the hall, leading to the atrium of the second floor.

I could see the figures of knights here and there. But the moment they turned to look at me, I hid behind Elsa.

“Frederick should be here for us…”

Elsa glanced around. Ariana and I did the same, but Frederick was nowhere to be seen.

“It can’t be helped. I’ll head for his office. I know the room number. Milady, please wait there for a moment.”

While I wasn’t too sure, I nodded and followed Elsa as she started walking. Ariana was curiously gazing around.

Ariana was a 15-years old girl and had only been hired this spring. Because the younger girl was close to my age, Arthur introduced her to me as someone to talk to. Now, she’d become a candidate for my future maid, who was in charge of assisting Elsa in serving me.

Instead of going upstairs, Elsa turned to the left hallway. There, many rooms were lined up, with numbers engraved on the doors. The very first room had the number [001] with a wooden tag hung at the door. On some of the tags, the words ‘in use’ were written, while some others had the words ‘vacant.’

“Since the knights have a duty of confidentiality, it’s too much of a hassle to come and go through the office just to hide various documents. Therefore, it’s customary to rent a room. Because the lord is the division commander, he has a separate reception space, so there’s no reason why he can’t go out, but the problem is… It’s on the fifth floor. Does Milady have the necessary strength to reach that floor?”

“…I think Milady would just collapse before we get there.”

I honestly agree.

The marquis house had three floors, but since the living space was on the second floor, I barely went to the topmost floor. Attempting to reach the 3^rd floor from the 1^st floor already had me struggling with my breathing, let alone the 5^th floor.

“Oh, Milady, look! The garden looks sublime.”

Ariana remarked behind me, and I spun around. True to her words, there was a garden on our left side, filled with more trees than flowers. The sunlight filtering through the leaves danced on top of the red carpet.

Apparently, some doors led directly to the garden.

“You’re right, the garden looks amazing.”

Although the season was reaching its end, the summer sun was still dazzling, causing the greenery to shine brilliantly.

“Why don’t you take a walk with the lord later? I’m sure it’ll serve as a pleasant distraction for him.”

“I hope so, but…”

I haven’t seen him in a week, so I’m truthfully a bit anxious.

Not so long ago, not seeing each other for more than half a year was a given, but now I’d become so spoiled…

Elsa seemed about to say something, but decided against it.

“Room [012], it should be here…”

Elsa stopped in front of the solemn door, switched the tag, before stepping inside. Afterwards, she ushered us in.

The common room was shabby, with two-seat sofas facing each other. However, the minimalist interior décor was elegant, and the room itself was furnished, so the atmosphere was completely different. On the opposite of the door was a large window that showed the view of the courtyard.

“Elsa, can I have a look at the courtyard?”

“Go ahead, but please don’t go outside yet.”

Elsa chuckled as she gave me permission. Thus, I approached the window, opened the lace curtains slightly, and peered outside. Unlike the front yard, aside from the many trees that were planted in the courtyard, there were flowerbeds adorned with summer blossoms in full-bloom. At the center of the courtyard was a fountain, where the splashing of water could be heard.

In front of the room, there was a narrow brick corridor and a small space. On the other side, was the courtyard where three large trees lined up. The leftmost tree was right in front of me, with a wooden bench placed under it, perhaps so that people could rest.

“What a huge tree.”

Ariana, who came next to me, looked up at the tree and spoke. I nodded in agreement.

“…Hm?”

A blond gentleman wobbled towards the bench. He was lurching dangerously, when suddenly, three steps later, he crumpled on the ground.

I bolted out of the door, rushing straight at the garden. Ariana followed me in a hurry.

The man who struggled to get up seemed somewhat older than Arthur. Although he wasn’t wearing a knight’s uniform, he was still dressed in fine clothing, so I assumed that he was a noble.

Nevertheless, his face was pale, while his hands were trembling. He managed to crawl and propped himself against the bench, but he looked so unstable.

“Hello, are you alright? Ariana, call for Elsa—”

“—I’m here, Milady. I’ll call someone, so please wait here. For now, please fetch him some water.”

As expected of Elsa. She immediately called for help. In the meantime, Ariana poured water from the jug into a glass and offered it to the gentleman. However, his hands were too shaky to receive it.

“Excuse me.”

I helped bring the glass to his mouth. The man’s eyes slightly fluttered open, and after whispering, “I’m sorry.” He began sipping the water.

“…I think it’s anemia.”

“Right now, my maid has gone to call someone, so please don’t force yourself to speak. Oh, Ariana, can you dampen this?”

I fished for a handkerchief from my pocket and handed it to Ariana. She carefully drenched it with water. Then, she lightly wrung the wet handkerchief.

“Can I place this damp handkerchief over your eyes?”

The gentleman nodded, and I gently draped the handkerchief on his eyes. Refreshed, he exhaled in relief.

Ariana stared at the gentleman while holding the fan I gave her.

“Recently, I’ve been working hard… It seems that it’s biting me on the back.”

The gentleman took the handkerchief from me, and spoke with a wry smile. His voice was stronger than before.

“Although overwork itself isn’t a disease, the doctor told me that it can lead to all sorts of illnesses. Please don’t push yourself too hard, as this will sadden both your family and those who care about you.”

The gentleman lifted the handkerchief and sneaked a glance at me. His hazel eyes were both gorgeous and sharp, yet his weak complexion marred its severity. I once saw Lord William in a similar state.

When our gazes collided, his hazel eyes widened in surprise.

“…Tasha?”

As I wondered if he’d mistaken me for someone else, loneliness bled into his hazel eyes, before they were hidden underneath the handkerchief once again.

“No, I’m sorry… I seem to have mistaken you for someone else.”

“No, it’s alright. Please don’t worry about it.”

“My lord!”

Suddenly, I heard a male voice, and when I turned around, I saw Elsa and a man who seemed to be a butler. Another young man, a knight, came running towards us. He was carrying a simple stretcher made of cloth and sticks. Upon arriving, he laid it next to the gentleman. Afterwards, the butler and the knight placed him on the stretcher.

“Lady, thank you for staying by my side.”

“No, I didn’t do anything…”

I shook my head in panic. All I did was approach him.

“You gave me a drink and a handkerchief… Come to think of it, I didn’t even hear your name.”

“I haven’t done anything worth mentioning. You should go see a doctor as soon as possible.”

The gentleman proceeded to remove the handkerchief. He looked as emaciated as my husband when he collapsed, so I could tell at a glance that he was exhausted. On a whim, I asked Ariana to bring me the basket and took out a packet of cookies. Then, I gave it to the gentleman on the stretcher.

“The doctor told me that sweets are good when you’re tired. Please accept this. But as it’s a gift from a stranger, I don’t mind if you were to throw it away.”

The gentleman’s eyes widened somewhat, but after examining the cookie wrapper, he smiled softly.

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it later. I’ll take your advice to see the doctor and rest.”

“U-uhm, come to think of it, it’s kind of embarrassing…”

When I saw how worrying his complexion was, I ended up blurting a lot of things in panic.

However, the gentleman shook his head before taking my hand. Even though it was summer, the big hands that wrapped around my fingertips were icy.

“…Thank you.”

“Please take a good rest.”

I replied with a smile to the gentleman who looked like a lost child, hoping that I could reassure him even a little. When someone was unwell, if everyone around him looked uneasy, it’d just lead to more discomfort for the former.

“I’m praying for your recovery.”

The gentleman’s expression relaxed as he thanked both Ariana and Elsa, “Thank you.” After he’d let go of my hand, the other knight rushed to pick up his stretcher and carried him away. The butler deeply bowed his head, before chasing after him.

“Milady, give me your hand.”

Elsa offered her hand, so I took it and stood up. Ariana dusted my hem off.

“Thank you… But do you think he’ll be alright? He seemed very sick.”

“Well, he didn’t lose consciousness, and his tone is crisp, so he should be fine.”

“—Liliana!!”

Out of nowhere, I heard Lord William’s voice. The three of us proceeded to look around, but he was nowhere to be seen. I tilted my head, wondering if I was merely imagining things.

But when I looked up, I saw Lord William leaning out of the window on the second floor opposite of us.

“I’m heading there!”

“Lord William—!?”

Lord William put his foot on the window frame, before leaping down. After gracefully landing like a cat, Lord William rushed over to me. While I stood there in shock, he lifted me up and I reflexively hugged his head so that I wouldn’t fall down. Then, he pulled me into a crushing embrace. It only lasted briefly however, and I soon found myself staring into his eyes.

“Liliana, it seems that you were talking to a male acquaintance of mine just now. What’s his business? Did something happen between the two of you?”

Lord William asked with a strangely concerned look on his face.

“When I was staring at the garden from the common room over there, he suddenly collapsed…”

“I presume it’s either anemia or hypoglycemia, so I went to fetch someone right away. During that time, the young lady and Ariana were by his side. She didn’t know who he was. Well, to be fair, they never introduced themselves.”

Elsa answered rather pointedly.

When I was worried that I had done something wrong, Lord William shook his head and drew me closer once again.

...Please put me down, why are you carrying me again?

“What do you think of him?”

“I’m not too sure… Ah, but for a moment, he seemed to have mistaken me for someone named ‘Tasha’…”

As he peered into my eyes, there was a faint glint in his blue eyes. Confused, I asked if something was wrong, but Lord William said nothing and hugged me again.

“L-Lord William, it’s embarrassing, so please stop…”

“—NO! I haven’t seen Liliana for a week!”

But Lord William was adamant.

After hearing the commotion, other knights rushed over here, so it was really embarrassing. Yet, Lord William refused to let go.

“Please get a room. Preferably, the common room. Otherwise, you’ll just be making a spectacle of Milady. Is that what you want?”

At Elsa’s level-headed suggestion, Lord William shouted. “I don’t want that!”

---

***T/N: Lmao at this point Elsa is so used to her lord’s shenanigans

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