If somebody described her looks this way, another person might be inclined to imagine the ferocity of this woman, since her description was far from ordinary. But if seen in the flesh, the impression she gave off was different. Her shiny gold ponytail seemed to drift pleasantly while dancing in the air. She looked sharp, like a polished blade in morning dew.
She was beautiful, as though she was a heroine in a legend.
The fact that the atmosphere inside the carriage was uncomfortable but did not deteriorate further may very well be because of the serene atmosphere she created.
On the other hand, she was also partly responsible for the prolonged silence in the carriage. After all, she was the strangest among the strange here. The oppressive pressure she put on her surroundings, her exaggerated outfit and her good looks…... In both good and bad ways, they made her hard to ignore yet difficult to talk to. The fact she was the only outsider to the Oubeniel family was but a trifling matter when compared to her attributes.
Finally, facing this woman who did not even seem to be breathing, a person broke the silence.
It was Linus.
"Are you perchance awake......?"
He said to the woman, who had her eyes closed, her beautiful face flushed with irritation. Simone frowned slightly at Linus’ rudeness. This was not the way to talk to a fellow companion.
The woman turned to Linus without appearing offended. Her vacant blue eyes looked just like blooming morning glories.
"Were you referring to me, Count Oubeniel?"
Her voice was on the low side for women. But she didn't seem to be in a bad mood so that was probably her natural voice.
Linus grunted ever so slightly and continued to speak.
"Of course, Miss Elisha—"
"Don’t use ‘Miss Elisha’."
The woman known as Elisha interrupted promptly. Linus found himself at a loss of words again.
She softened her tone somewhat and continued.
"I'm still a full-fledged knight of the kingdom."
"—Excuse me, Lady Balbastre."
"Mm, that's good."
Satisfied, Elisha leaned her back against the seat again and closed her eyes.
The young Count's expression twisted again.
"Can't you take this job a little more seriously?"
"Hmm?"
"Linus, cut it out."
Simone couldn't help but stop him, but he continued on without a care in the world.
"You've been silent with your eyes closed for a while now. I can't believe you're guarding me properly. I even thought you might be asleep."
"Yeah, I was asleep, okay?"
"Huh?"
Linus' jaw dropped open at the outrageous response.
You were asleep? In front of a Count of the Kingdom as his guard? It was beyond unbelievable. Simone blinked in surprise, and the butler’s jacket slipped off his right shoulder.
Elisha continued indifferently to Linus, who had stiffened for god knows how many times today.
"For what it's worth, I don't have much time for sleep during escort missions. I take naps while there is no threat of attack. Isn't that a natural thing to do?"
"No, of course not! A guard is supposed to be on alert, watchful, and prepared for the unexpected!"
"That's the basics of the basics. Mine is the practical application of it. The perimeter of the carriage is secured by those who are riding alongside. I, who am in the carriage, have nothing to do. If that's the case, then it's vital that I keep my wits about me in case of the unexpected, as the Count said, isn't it?"
She seemed annoyed that her sleep was disrupted. Everything she did and said wasn’t like a guard. Linus was made a fool by Elisha's words and actions.
"First of all, I woke up when called upon. If there had been an attack, the noise would hardly be as soft as it was earlier. I will definitely wake up, so it's no problem at all...... More frightening than that is the fact that your nerves are exhausted when the time comes. Being as tense as a hedgehog isn't the only way to protect yourself, Count."
"......Pfft."
Simone lets out a small laugh as if she couldn't stand it. Elisha looked at her curiously.
"What is it? Countess."
"Fufufu. No, excuse me. It's just that you're not who I thought you were."
"Mmm. I don't remember behaving in any way outside your expectations, My Lady......"
Simone jerked her head more as she tried to hold back her laughter as the female knight replied earnestly. And Elisha's reaction to it made her nod her head repeatedly.
Linus, now a source of ridicule for his wife, muttered to himself in amazement.
"Really…… is this the invisible sound, ‘Princess Knight Balbastre’?"
"......I don't really like to be called that," Elisha turned her head to the side. "For me, I'd like to be called by a more heroic and heart-pounding nickname."
"Oh? I don’t know if it sounds heroic, but doesn’t hearing it make your heart pound a little harder? I think it sounds romantic."
"Only weak men are attracted by your romanticism, Countess. I'd rather have a fight with a man who wants to rip out my heart than a cunning thief who wants to sneak out my heart."
"I'm sorry about that...... I wonder if we should have spoken a little earlier? It's been a bit of a waste of time with how boring it has been so far."
"I agree. Not sleeping enough is a problem, but sleeping too much is also not good. Staying awake for a little while and spending some time would be good."
As if suddenly striking the right chord, Simone managed to open her heart.
Linus, unable to follow their conversation which may or may not be relevant to him, turned away.
(That old man has sent me another ridiculous woman......)
He vented in his mind at the old schemer who had connected him to Elisha. Every time he vaguely thought about the old man, he would be reminded of the old man’s wrinkled face with a triumphant smile sitting by the window of the carriage, and it made him angry.
(But then again, would knights led by this unmannered tomboy be the top amongst the kingdom’s knights?)
While thinking about it, he cast a side glance at the female knight who was making conversation with his wife.
The most elite of the kingdom's knights, the Second Order of the Imperial Guards. They were known for their extreme meritocracy and harsh selection process, and she was the youngest and first female commander in their history.
That was her — Elisha Rosmond Balbastre's — title.
However, when he saw that she had fallen asleep earlier and was now chatting with his wife, he could not believe it. The Marquis Lavallee may have taken him for a ride again.
But.
"......Don't need to look so worried, Count."
Elisha said without glancing at Linus, as if she could see right through him.
"Huh?"
"Worried about......?"
Linus was disconcerted for a moment because she hit the nail right on the head, whereas Simone was confused by the change in topic. At their staring, Elisha boldly lay her cheek on the armrest.
"I hate to follow the old schemer's orders, but the Imperial Guards owes him one. And most importantly, I'm a knight too. I’m also, despite my faults, in command of the Second Order. I will protect anyone who asks me to protect them, even if it means dying."
She sounded as if she was talking about somebody else even though she mentioned giving up her life if necessary. As if she was still making small talk with Simone.
But that is why there was no pretense in it. She really believed that she was willing to die at any time as it was her duty as a knight. She was able to say this because she didn't feel that it was anything special.
Linus, who knew the shady underbelly of the aristocratic society and who had experienced all the tricks in the book, understood this clearly.
"Is that so...? Then, I'm fortunate to have such a reassuring escort."
—He implied that her words held no lies.
"What I said earlier was a different thing, but anyways. So, Lady... What were we talking about, again?"
"Yeah, yeah. It was......."
And so, the innocent conversation between women resumed.
But Linus couldn't see her in the same light as before.
(This one is also a…...weirdo, huh.)
With both awe and discomfort, Linus tried to refresh himself on everything he had heard and learned about Elisha Rosmond Balbastre.
She was the eldest daughter of the Marquis Balbastre, a great noble. She was a tomboyish woman who devoted herself to swordsmanship. She rejected her fiancé on the grounds that he was weak and ran away from home. Up to this point, her story might seem like an anecdote about a tomboy that made listeners laugh. But her story was nothing short of extraordinary.
In order to get away from her family and her fiancé, who would probably come to take her back sooner or later, she knocked on the door of the Second Imperial Guards, taking advantage of their policy of meritocracy. They were the only order of knights in Arquell that employed women. Despite the doubts of others, she topped the entrance tests. …...Though, during the practical assessment, she sent one of the applicants straight to the church for healing and another, so fatally injured that healing magic would prove ineffective, to the grave. These people had ridiculed her for trying to be a swordsman while being a woman, but that only riled her up. In the case of the one who barely survived, it was ruled that she was in no particular fault, and she had in fact been easy on him, but he was too weak. As for the other person who did die, it was intentional.
