Duke, Please Fail! - Side Story 3 (Part 2)

Side Story 3: Part 2

Sophie made an effort to whisper as quietly as possible, conscious of the hot gaze she felt on her back.

“Lizzy, if you’re going to carry something scary behind you, don’t come to the administrative office for a while.”

“Something scary?”

Lizzy turned around in surprise.

However, there was nothing there.

No matter how many times she repeated, it was the same, and she began to spin in place like a puppy trying to catch its tail.

Furniture collided with Lizzy’s arms and thighs, causing nearby objects to collapse.

“Oh no! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Sophie grabbed Lizzy’s arms, who was trying to pick up what had fallen.

When Lizzy stopped moving, Tom and Gerald quickly cleared away the fallen items.

Sophie, confirming that the surroundings were clean, led Lizzy to the side where there were no objects. She then gestured to the window behind her.

Lizzy, who couldn’t contain herself, looked behind.

Arette, standing like a tall tree, was peering inside from outside the window.

Upon spotting him, Lizzy waved cheerfully. Then she looked at Sophie.

“Why is Mr. Arette here?”

“He followed you. Didn’t you know?”

“I knew.”

Lizzy asked as if wondering why that was a problem.

Sophie rubbed her forehead. She gently sat Lizzy on the plush sofa.

“Lizzy, are you being watched?”

“Probably.”

“What happened that they need to monitor you?”

“It’s not an accident; he said he needed to check my condition.”

Sophie couldn’t understand what she was saying. Lizzy, like a puppy hearing unfamiliar words, tilted her head with her bangs hanging down.

Tom and Gerald, who had cleared away the items, approached them. Seeing everyone gathering on the sofa, Lizzy spoke brightly.

“Shall I invite Mr. Arette in?”

“No!”

“No way!”

Gerald and Tom exclaimed, shaking their heads.

Arette, doubling as an inspector, was just like Leonel’s eyes and ears. While it might be okay in a private setting, they didn’t want to meet him in a work environment.

Sophie, who shared the same thought, suggested another option.

“Lizzy, go outside.”

“What?”

“Go out.”

The persuasive tone had turned into a command without Sophie realizing it. She wrapped Lizzy in a cloak as if offering gold to a dragon and pushed her out the door.

“Huh?”

Arette caught Lizzy’s stumbling body and held her. Lizzy thanked him and stood upright. 

Arette silently unwrapped Lizzy and turned away.

“Let’s go.”

“Where to?”

“The castle.”

Anticipation and tension simultaneously crossed Lizzy’s face. 

Was he finally going to teach her a foolproof method? She thought Arette would go to the training ground or the Knight Commander’s office.

However, contrary to expectations, Arette headed for the dining hall in the middle of the western tower and the knight’s quarters.

“Wait here for a moment.”

Arette entered the dining hall, leaving Lizzy behind. After a short while, he came out with several glass bottles sealed with cork stoppers and gestured for Lizzy to follow.

The destination Arette chose was the training ground. When the Commander suddenly brought Lizzy to the training area, curious gazes turned toward them.

Some knights who had experienced war together and had come to regard Arette as a son or a younger brother shouted playfully.

“It’s love!”

“They look good together!”

Lizzy’s face turned increasingly red. 

Seeing this, Arette stopped and faced the knights.

“Add 10 minutes to the morning training.”

As his words fell, the attention that had been pouring onto Lizzy and Arette dispersed like startled cats at a loud noise.

There were still some lingering glances, but it wasn’t worth paying attention to.

Arette took Lizzy to a corner of the training ground. Facing her, he suddenly held out a glass bottle and an opener.

“Open it.”

Lizzy accepted what Arette handed her. Carefully, she turned the handle to push the spiral iron into the cork.

When trying to pull out the cork with her hand as a lever, Arette’s voice stopped her actions.

“Not like that. Pull up with force, using only your strength.”

“Only my strength? It seems impossible…”

Lizzy muttered with an unsure voice. However, Arette didn’t pay much attention.

“You can do it.”

The encouraging tone wasn’t there. Arette’s voice, as usual, was flat and unemotional, yet somehow it felt like a proof of trust. 

What might be a trivial task for some was, for Lizzy, a source of unexpected confidence and motivation. 

“I’ll give it a try.”

She poured all her enthusiasm into the task. As she worked to open the bottle, the cork was being pulled out at a fast pace. Suddenly, her hand slipped, and with a distinct pop, the handle came off.

Ignoring the incident, the knights, who had been pretending not to watch, raised their training shields, drawn by the sound. A sound that penetrated hard material echoed. One of the knights slowly lowered his shield to inspect the source of the noise.

The neatly split cork was stuck in the middle of the shield like a skirt, secured by the corkscrew.

“Oops!”

The shield fell lifelessly. Fortunately, the corkscrew was embedded in the metal part, so the glass didn’t shatter, and no shards flew in all directions.

Lizzy, searching for the missing cork, found it by the shield. She rushed to the knight in contemplation.

“I’m sorry. I should have been more careful. I’m really sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. No one got hurt.”

The knight extended his hand. Arette, who had approached from behind, checked to ensure no one was injured.

Whether it was due to reflex training of blocking or dodging sudden flying objects, the knights didn’t seem fazed. The atmosphere was nonchalant, treating the incident as inconsequential.

The only one still flustered was Lizzy. She seemed on the verge of tears.

Arette took her back to their corner. Lizzy glanced at him hesitantly.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Since working in the aristocrat’s mansion, no one had told her she was useless or unhelpful. Still, her frequent mistakes caused her to slump and view herself as pathetic. She became sensitive to the subtle changes in people’s expressions.

Though her colleagues didn’t scold her for her mistakes, there was always a trace of weariness or a sigh mixed in with assurances that everything was fine.

Levance and other administrators didn’t show any signs of irritation, but it was natural for them to feel annoyed if their colleague kept causing trouble.

She sighed deeply, bowing her head as Arette looked at Lizzy’s head swaying like wet wheat. 

After a moment of contemplation, he placed his hand on her head.

“You did well.”

In response to the unexpected compliment, Lizzy looked up at Arette. She wondered if he was teasing or mocking her, but Arette’s expression remained unchanged.

Arette consistently maintained a calm demeanor and tone, making her feel comfortable.

Once she realized it, her heart would beat pleasantly. However, since it had always been like that, Lizzy wasn’t surprised.

She just regretted that the solid hand didn’t linger on her head.

Lizzy’s gaze followed Arette’s hand. After briefly glancing at Lizzy, he turned away. He went to a place with practice logs nearby and arranged them to stand side by side.

The gap between the logs was an ambiguous width, barely allowing one person to pass through.

Arette asked Lizzy, who was a little away.

“Can you pass through here? Not sideways, but straight ahead.”

Lizzy glanced at the gap between the logs and nodded confidently. However, contrary to her expectations, the logs caught on her shoulders.

Only after the logs made a loud noise and fell did Lizzy realize this fact.

Arette approached and helped Lizzy, who was about to fall tangled in the logs.

“Let’s clean up later; for now, let’s try something else.”

“Yes.”

Following Arette’s instructions, she threw stones far away, walked along a long line, and even stood still with her eyes closed.

After completing all the inexplicable requests, the surroundings turned into chaos.

The knights gathered in a corner, quietly whispering as they watched Lizzy and Arette.

“He didn’t bring a lover but a human weapon?”

“Yeah, looks like they’re trying to make her usable.”

“The youngest in the knights is about to change.”

Due to the distance and the soft-spoken nature of the conversation, Lizzy couldn’t hear the content of the discussion. However, she intuitively sensed that it involved stories about herself.

When she tried to listen to the conversation, Arette spoke up.

“I understand.”

Lizzy’s gaze turned back to Arette. He observed the shattered stone she had thrown and concluded.

“You’re strong.”

“Strong?” 

Lizzy asked, puzzled, as she had never thought about her strength.

Arette nodded and added.

“Good stamina too.”

That made sense. Even when Levance wandered around the zombie-infested area, Lizzy was energetic.

Nodding, Lizzy tilted her head slightly.

“Isn’t that a good thing, then?”

“It’s good. However, you lack understanding of your own body, your sense of balance is poor, you don’t know how to control your strength, and you have a habit of letting go when surprised. Those things need to be fixed.”

Lizzy’s hand dropped as if she had received a death sentence. She muttered as if overwhelmed by shock.

“Can I… improve?”

“Yes.”

Even in the face of Lizzy’s despairing reaction, Arette remained steadfast. 

Lizzy found hope in his expression.