Chapter 17

Kal squirmed, avoiding Ariel’s gaze. Before he knew it, a shy smile had formed on his lips, and his neck and ears were bright red. Finally, Ariel had noticed him and even greeted him. Thinking about it, it wasn’t a big deal, but Kal felt his chest swell with a sense of accomplishment.

“Ah, hello…”

Kal stammered his greeting. A strange emotion stirred inside him, and his heart pounded as if he had sprinted through the northern mountains.

“Hmm.”

Ariel responded briefly before turning and walking away. It seemed like, now that they had exchanged greetings, her business was done, and her attitude was a bit cold.

“……”

This time, Kal couldn’t stop her. Unlike before, he didn’t have the courage. All he could do now was watch Ariel’s retreating figure with his flushed face.

Shane, standing nearby, watched Kal with a complicated expression.

*

“Sister, who was that human kid just now? Do you know him? He’s quite handsome for a kid, but the way he treated you was very rude. If he dares to be disrespectful to you again, I, Roo, will not stand for it.”

On the way back to the lodging, Roo huffed and puffed as she spoke.

“Even though this is a human city, they can’t treat you carelessly.”

Ariel, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. She had simply acknowledged the boy she had met in the forest who wanted to greet her—nothing more, nothing less.

In Ariel’s mind, Kal had already faded away. All she could think about now was the strawberry tart.

Its delicious appearance. It’s no wonder the strawberry tart is a popular item, selling out before noon.

Ariel’s eyes grew determined.

‘Tomorrow, for sure…!’

Today, she had been unprepared, but tomorrow would be different.

Tomorrow, as soon as dawn broke, she would rush to Delight and secure that strawberry tart.

*

As Shane had feared, the incident from the day quickly spread among the nobles.

In fact, the story had already been heavily distorted.

“I heard Duke Kal from the North was courting an elf on the street?”

“And he got rejected, right?”

“Wow, so what happens with the princess now?”

Shane felt a headache coming on.

The incident had barely happened a day ago, and already rumors were swirling. The mouths of nobles were truly light.

It was only a matter of time before this rumor reached the capital and the princess’s ears.

By then, the story would likely be even more distorted.

What started as courting might turn into a marriage proposal. In reality, Kal had only shouted for the elf to stop and exchanged a greeting, but that was it.

“Sigh…”

Shane let out a deep sigh. He knew he bore some responsibility for this. He hadn’t properly supported Kal.

The thought of attending the princess’s birthday party with this rumor hanging over them was terrifying. Everyone would be whispering, and someone might even directly ask about the truth.

‘I’ll have to come up with a plausible excuse…’

Making excuses wasn’t something Shane, who had spent his life wielding a sword, was fond of. Moreover, even if the excuse worked, most would still be suspicious.

‘I can’t face going back to the North…’

Kal’s father, Duke Kastark, trusted Shane deeply.

That’s why he had sent Shane along with Kal this time—to guard him and ensure no unfortunate incidents occurred.

But now, this major incident had happened. There was no way Shane could face returning to the North.

He would surely be punished. He might not lose his knighthood, but a pay cut was inevitable.

‘It can’t be helped…’

Shane steeled himself. What was done couldn’t be undone. All he could do was do better moving forward.

With that resolve, he returned to the lodging, only to find Kal missing. Only the soldiers of the Kastark household remained.

Shane asked a soldier,

“Where did the young master go?”

“He said he was going to train in swordsmanship and went to the backyard.”

During their stay in the city, the Kastark family had rented an entire building for lodging. Thus, they had free use of the backyard.

It seemed Kal had gone there to train.

Normally, Shane would have been proud of Kal. One could never train too much.

“At this hour…?”

But now, something felt off. It was too late for training.

No matter how much Kal loved training, he had never trained this late before.

Feeling uneasy, Shane headed to the backyard.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

“Huff, huff…”

Sure enough, Kal was training in the backyard. Drenched in sweat, he swung his sword wildly, gasping for breath.

“Young master.”

Shane approached Kal.

“Let’s call it a day.”

This wasn’t training. Kal was just swinging his sword like a madman. His posture was off, and his stamina was at its limit.

“Ah, Sir Shane, I couldn’t sleep…”

Shane didn’t ask why Kal couldn’t sleep. He didn’t ask why Kal was swinging his sword like a madman so late at night.

“…You should rest now.”

Shane said, and Kal didn’t argue further.

“Understood, sir.”

The incident from the day had been unexpected, but Kal was usually very mature.

Uncharacteristically calm and mentally strong for his age.

Because of this, Kal carried the hopes of the North. It was said he would become a great ruler of the North when he grew up.

‘Even the young master, in the end…’

Shane stopped himself there. It was better not to entertain ominous thoughts. They might just become reality.

It was just a moment. Kal was human, and as a man, his heart could waver for a moment.

When he saw Princess Illiana in the capital, he would forget about that elf.

He had to. Absolutely.

With that fervent hope, Shane entered the lodging with Kal.

*

After finishing what could barely be called training—more like “violent sword swinging”—Kal washed his body with cold water and lay down on the bed.

He was exhausted. He didn’t even have the strength to move a finger.

Normally, in this state, he would fall asleep the moment he closed his eyes, but not tonight.

Instead, his mind was clear. Ariel’s image lingered before his eyes.

Her smooth, flexible movements as she rode the wolf in the forest, her expressionless yet proud and cold gaze…

It wouldn’t leave his mind.

Slap!

Kal slapped his own cheek. He shouldn’t think about it. That elf had nothing to do with him.

Kal was picking a fight over Ariel’s rude attitude, but honestly, it wasn’t something to get so angry about.

He usually despised nobles who flaunted their titles and backgrounds. Now that he was doing the same, he couldn’t help but feel self-loathing.

After Ariel left the forest, he thought he would never see her again. But as soon as he returned to the city, he ran into her.

At that moment, what Kal felt was joy. He wanted to act like he knew her.

But Ariel didn’t even acknowledge him, and that made Kal lose his composure.

He wanted to use his title and background to make Ariel submit. He wanted to make her notice him no matter what.

Kal’s wish had come true.

Ariel had remembered him and greeted him. Just recalling that moment made Kal’s heart race.

He hadn’t felt this way even when Princess Illiana showed interest in him.

Not just the princess, but even when daughters of other high noble families approached him, trying to impress him, Kal had remained indifferent.

But with just one greeting from Ariel, Kal had been flustered and didn’t know what to do.

That was the kind of reaction Kal usually saw from noble ladies when he greeted them.

Seeing such reactions, Kal had thought them pitiful.

As a noble, one should maintain dignity and composure, but they couldn’t even stand confidently before the opposite sex, fidgeting instead. It was utterly pitiful and unbearable.

And now, Kal was doing the same…

In front of Ariel.

‘This ends here.’

Kal glared at the ceiling.

Although he had acted somewhat foolishly today, unlike himself, and strange rumors were circulating because of it, this was the end.

No more.

After today, he wouldn’t think about that elf anymore. He would forget her completely.

Kal had never been interested in romance. What he admired were knights like his father and Shane, and nothing else concerned him.

Even Princess Illiana held no appeal for Kal.

Kal was solely focused on training in swordsmanship and studying to one day rule the North.

He had been proud of that.

So, after today, Kal would return to his proud self.

The strong-willed heir of the North.

Such a person shouldn’t be shaken by a mere elf.

With that resolve, Ariel’s image no longer lingered before his eyes.

Finally, Kal could sleep peacefully…

“Young master, it’s morning.”

‘Already!’

But soon, Shane’s voice woke him up.

Outside the window, the morning sun was rising.

“I know you trained late last night, but that’s no excuse for sleeping in.”

Shane was merciless, and Kal had to get up without having slept a wink.