18. The Loyalty of the Knight Commander  

“Hiya!”  

“Hah!”  

“Your left side is open! Focus more!”  

The Black Knight Order’s commander, Lucion Temeri, was the milk sibling of Lord Darius. The Temeri family was a loyal vassal family of the Northern Inkheart Grand Ducal estate, and Lucion had never forgotten that fact.  

〈Brother, with our family’s status, I could marry Brother Darius, couldn’t I!〉  

His younger sister, Rose, who had admired their lord since childhood, seemed to have been greatly shocked by his recent marriage.  

On the day the Grand Duchess arrived, she had clashed with the new Grand Duchess and was even punished for it.  

〈Whoever Grand Duke marries is the his decision.〉  

Lucion did not dislike the Grand Duchess just because she had punished his beloved younger sister.  

However, a woman from the Poche family… Lucion wasn’t particularly fond of that decision either.  

‘A woman from a marquis family, not even royalty.’  

It was a marriage that lowered the status of the Inkheart Grand Ducal family, which he served with utmost loyalty. Lowering the status of the Inkheart Grand Ducal family also meant lowering his own status as a vassal.  

“Everyone, stop training!”  

“Huh?”  

The signal flag, indicating a halt to training, waved vigorously. Lucion removed his sweat-soaked helmet.  

Behind the squire, an unfamiliar young woman, out of place in the training grounds, was walking briskly toward them.  

‘Who is that woman?’  

“The Grand Duchess has arrived.”  

“Please, carry on. The Grand Duke permitted me to explore the castle today, so I decided to visit this place.”  

Perhaps because his impression of the Grand Duchess wasn’t favorable, Lucion found Annette’s casual tone, as if she were merely out for a stroll, irritating.  

‘Why does she keep glancing around as if she’s appraising the training grounds?’  

Even though the lord’s wife had arrived, most of the knights avoided speaking to Annette, wearing awkward expressions.  

Thud. A subordinate lightly tapped Lucion’s back.  

“Commander, what do people like us know? Shouldn’t you, as our representative, guide the lady?”  

“Oh, it’s fine. No need to bother. I just wanted to see the training grounds. I was curious about how sturdy the pillars are… No, I mean, how hard you’re all working.”  

“It’s an honor to have you visit, but I apologize for the lack of a proper reception, my lady. However, this is a serious place where knights train.”  

Lucion spoke curtly.  

His long blonde hair, tied back to avoid interfering with training, swished sharply, mirroring his brusque demeanor.  

“Your presence is disrupting the training. And your footwear is unsuitable for this place.”  

At Lucion’s words, Annette looked down at her feet. The high heels she was wearing had left slight indentations in the ground as she walked.  

Lucion was about to scold her, his expression clearly indicating that this wasn’t a place for childish antics.  

“If you understand, then you should leave…”  

“You’re right. I was ignorant of proper etiquette. My apologies.”  

Without a moment’s hesitation, Annette promptly removed her shoes.  

“My lady!”  

Her white lace socks became stained with dirt. The maid who had accompanied her turned pale.  

“I didn’t realize that I was ruining the knights’ training grounds with my heels.”  

Annette dangled the pair of shoes from one hand.  

She extended her other hand toward Lucion.  

“Now that I’ve belatedly shown proper respect, Sir Lucion will, of course, show respect to me as well, won’t you? The proper courtesy a knight owes to a lady.”  

She meant for him to bow and kiss the back of her hand.  

‘A noblewoman who values appearances so much that she would remove her shoes and expose her feet in front of others? Even if she’s not barefoot, still!’  

‘This will spread like wildfire through the castle. Whether the rumors favor Sir Lucion or the new Grand Duchess, I can’t say!’  

The mouths of knights are lighter than sparrows.  

Annette’s toes, now stained brown with dirt, wiggled cheerfully. It almost looked as if she was enjoying the freedom of being out of her tight shoes.  

In front of him stood the bold Grand Duchess, and behind him, his subordinates, waiting eagerly for his reaction like sparrows.  

“…My apologies. I, Lucion, Commander of the Black Knight Order, welcome the new mistress of Inkheart Castle.”  

“Ooooh!”  

The knights, forgetting who their commander was, cheered loudly, thrilled by Annette’s commanding presence.  

* * *  

After realizing that the castle’s financial situation might be worse than expected, the first place I visited was the knights’ training grounds.  

Not just anyone can become a knight. It’s a place where high-status individuals with talent in martial arts and loyalty to their lord gather. If any money was spent, it would surely be there.  

But the banner of the Grand Duchy hanging in the training grounds was so dirty it was impossible to tell when it had last been washed. There weren’t even proper steel swords for training; they were practicing with wooden swords. And the state of the training grounds! The knights had even grumbled at me for wearing high heels, saying I was damaging the floor.  

How on earth did the North manage to survive before the heroine arrived?  

‘Of course, in the original story, the heroine discovers a legendary treasure here, showers the North with gold, and even cures diseases, so it’s no wonder the Northerners adored her!’  

Even if it’s a setup to highlight the heroine, the North is currently too impoverished.  

Can the North really become strong enough to defeat the Demon King by the time the heroine arrives?  

‘Ah, seriously… Whether it’s creating a cotton field, fixing the forge, or reorganizing the knight order, everything costs money! Isn’t there some hidden treasure just lying around?’  

Hmm, in stories like this, transmigrators often use hints from the original to earn money…  

* * *  

“What did Annette do today?”  

Darius set down his pen. He had just finished his day’s work.  

‘I thought she might come to me, saying she was bored being alone, but she didn’t.’  

Not that he was disappointed. It wasn’t as if he had been secretly curious about Annette all day, refusing to ask about her whereabouts. No, he had just thought of her now.  

Maintaining a façade of indifference, a small curiosity about Annette sprouted in Darius’s mind.  

But when Daniel, who had heard about Annette’s activities from her maid, relayed the day’s events, he couldn’t help but feel conflicted.  

“She visited the training grounds, but Sir Lucion blocked her.”  

“What?”  

“Though he doesn’t seem like it, Sir Lucion has a fiery temper. He must have harbored some dissatisfaction toward the new Grand Duchess. However, the Grand Duchess managed to suppress Sir Lucion’s spirit, leaving him completely at her mercy.”  

Daniel added, 

“In a way, it’s a good thing. By asserting herself, no one will dare underestimate her now.”  

“My wife being questioned by a subordinate is a good thing? Since when did the position of the Northern Grand Duchess require the approval of subordinates?”  

Darius’s voice sharpened.  

The previous Grand Duke, who had been frail, was never fully accepted as the true master of the North. The memory of his father being disrespected overlapped with Annette’s situation.  

‘No, it’s not the knights’ fault. This happened because of me. I failed to establish Annette’s authority.’  

He had brought her as the Grand Duchess of the North but hadn’t even held a grand wedding. Without visible authority, it was only natural for subordinates to push back.  

If there’s no authority, it must be established.  

‘I’ll gather the knights and hold a ceremony swearing loyalty to Annette.’  

They need to know who their mistress is.  

Gritting his teeth, Darius stood up.  

* * *  

Annette was in her room. Perhaps because of what he had heard earlier, Darius thought Annette’s back looked smaller than usual today.  

‘Annette…’  

How should he comfort her? Holding a ceremony to establish her authority was a small matter. What truly mattered was that the emotional wounds she had suffered wouldn’t heal easily.  

‘Is that a book?’  

The desk Annette was sitting at was piled high with books. Titles like ‘The History of the North’, ‘The History of Inkheart Castle’, and ‘The First Grand Duke of Inkheart and His Lineage’. All were about the North’s legends and history.  

‘What on earth did Lucion say to insult Annette?’  

It was obvious. She had been ostracized for being from the South, so she must have picked up books about the North to adapt.  

Darius found Annette’s effort to adjust to the North despite being ostracized admirable.  

“Annette, I…”  

“Darius!”  

Just as he was about to console her trembling back, Annette turned to him with her blue eyes curved like a crescent moon.  

Annette suddenly jumped up and hugged Darius tightly.  

Her face showed no sign of gloom, only radiant joy.  

“Darius, I’ve discovered a treasure buried in this castle! We won’t have to worry about money for a while!”  

* * *  

Bang, bang, bang. Thud.

As a crumbling section of an old wall collapsed, a hidden space was revealed. Though people had been skeptical until now, a sense of hopeful anticipation filled the air.  

“Let’s wait for the dust to settle.”  

When the dust cleared and the broken wall fragments were removed, two jars appeared. They were filled with gold coins.  

Though time had aged and dulled everything else, the gold coins in the jars sparkled brightly, as if they had been waiting for this moment. It was the treasure Annette had mentioned.  

A worker washed the gold coins in water and bit one. The round tooth marks left on the coin confirmed its authenticity.  

“It’s real gold! Pure gold coins!”  

“My goodness, the lady was right!”  

Inkheart Castle became a festival overnight.