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Viola pressed her forehead.

“Oh dear.”

People were standing in a circle.

There were quite a few of them.

They were watching two people engage in a duel.

“Why are they fighting?”

Though obscured by the title of Prince, Jeremy was actually the heir to the Storm Blade.

He would eventually face Medea in a showdown.

It was hard to find a rival for him among his peers.

Yet here was Tundra fighting Jeremy.

The only good thing was that they weren’t using mana.

“Ah…”

Should I go out and stop them?

“Then all eyes will be on me, right?”

The moment I actively intervened, the continent’s best news outlets might handle it like this:

[The scandal involving the Partner Sword and the Prince!]

[Viola Bellatu's two men causing a stir in the social circle!]

It was dizzying.

“No way.”

He would turn into the bitter enemy of Jeremy’s fans.

Viola didn’t want to escalate things further.

“Since this is the Hailris Marquisate, the marquis’s direct knight should come out and mediate.”

She decided to just ignore it.

Hela asked.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just a bit tired.”

“Really?”

“Just trying to relax a bit in the sunlight.”

Viola pretended to be nonchalant as she perched on the windowsill.

Jeremy and Tundra were exchanging words during their duel.

“What are they talking about?”

Although they probably wouldn’t hear me, I leaned in to listen.

“…Hey!”

“…That’s not true!”

“…I said!”

“Eh? I can hear them?” It wasn’t fully clear, but I could catch the general nuance.

Their mouths seemed busier than their arms and legs, which moved with haste.

*

Jeremy said.

“Why can’t I meet Viola?”

“The princess doesn’t like you.”

“How do you know that?”

“I just know.”

Jeremy couldn’t accept it.

Just knowing.

Clang!

The swords clashed.

It was a duel without mana.

Sweat poured from both their faces like rain.

“Did Viola say she dislikes me?”

“She never said that.”

Tundra wanted to say, “Yeah, that’s right,” but he couldn’t.

Viola hated lies.

He couldn’t act in a way his master disliked.

“Then give me a reason I can accept.”

“One thing’s for sure: Your presence makes the lady uncomfortable.”

“So what makes you so sure?”

Clang!

The swords collided again.

The distance between them widened.

“Huff, huff.”

“Huff, huff.”

In duels, heavy breathing should remain concealed.

Even involuntary breaths can become a weakness.

Yet neither of them could hide their breaths.

That meant they were both exhausted.

“It’s just a certainty.”

“Is that a statement or just nonsense?”

Jeremy couldn’t make sense of it.

Had Tundra given a logical explanation, he might have understood, but he couldn’t hear such rational answers from Tundra.

“I’ll beat you down until I get a proper reason.”

“My existence is a proper reason.”

“Your existence?”

“I can read the lady’s feelings.”

“The great mage Danyack said, ‘One can know the depths of water but not the heart of a person.'”

“But I know.”

Jeremy felt like he was going to die from frustration.

There was simply no way to communicate.

“Is being a Partner Sword everything?”

Tundra swung his sword mightily.

Whoosh!

A fierce wind surged.

Even without mana, the sword’s wind was quite intense.

Jeremy stepped back two paces.

A few strands of his front hair were cut off.

“Not a Partner Sword.”

In that moment, he sensed the presence of a high-ranking knight from the Hailris Marquisate.

Both Tundra and Jeremy felt that their duel had come to an end.

If they continued any longer, it could threaten the safety of the marquisate’s citizens.

Tundra sheathed his sword.

“I am a Pet Dog.”

His eyes sparkled.

This was a sight he had never shown before Viola.

Jeremy felt that he resembled a rabid dog at that moment.

The onlookers tilted their heads at the sight.

“Seriously?”

“It’s so serious it’s almost scary.”

Tundra, engaged in the duel, had an air of reverence.

It was strange to see him assert his identity so earnestly.

Many began to whisper.

“So those two are fighting over Princess Viola?”

“A love quarrel?”

“Looks kind of like that, but isn’t Princess Viola just twelve?”

“That’s not the point. Don’t you know the Forget-Me-Not Ball is for those aged 12 to 17?”

“What’s that about?”

“Nobles usually dedicate themselves to their future partners. They are betting their futures.”

The age of the promised partner didn’t matter.

It summarized as a duel between two men fighting to someday welcome Princess Viola as their partner… although in reality, it was just a squabble between a Pet Dog keeping outsiders at bay and a curious friend wanting to be liked.

(Even though Tundra wasn’t noble, he was perceived as one by the people.)

Meanwhile, the escort knight of the marquisate approached.

“Tundra, Jeremy. Stop it.”

Tundra had already sheathed his sword, and Jeremy slid his into its scabbard.

The escort knight shouted.

“Everyone, disperse!”

At the knight’s command, the onlookers began to scatter.

Jeremy spoke up.

“What is your name, knight?”

“My name is Paldan. I am the escort knight of the Hailris Marquis family and a third-level knight.”

“Sir Paldan, I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

“I have an important person I need to meet, but this guy keeps getting in the way.”

Tundra flinched.

Jeremy now exuded the noble aura and composure specific to aristocracy.

“Who is this important person?”

“Viola Bellatu, the Sixth Princess of the Bellatu family. In your judgment, does this guy have any right to prevent me from approaching her?”

Knight Paldan shook his head.

“As far as I know, he has no such rights.”

Tundra retorted without losing.

“A dog has the duty to protect its owner.”

“Tundra. Are you saying your owner is weak enough to need your protection?”

……

Jeremy sighed.

“It’s just getting annoying again.”

So a Pet Dog is a Pet Dog, huh?

What’s with this life-or-death struggle to keep me from seeing her?

He glanced upward.

“Viola can’t be unaware of this commotion,” yet she still hadn’t come down.

“Does she really not want to see me?”

Though he contemplated, there was no answer.

He had only congratulated Viola as a friend and celebrated her victory with her.

He had rejoiced as if it were his own that she would acquire the Blue Diamond.

“That’s the only thing; it shouldn’t be something to be upset about, right?”

At that moment, he couldn’t tell.

“I should think about it more.”

I might have committed a great faux pas, so I decided to step back for now.

“Alright. I’ll call it a day for now.”

“I wish you’d stop not just today but every day.”

“My stepping back is only because I’m worried I might have made an unknown mistake.”

“Your very existence is the mistake.”

Tundra instinctively hit the nail on the head.

In fact, Viola’s aversion to Jeremy wasn’t because Jeremy had done something wrong.

It was simply that Jeremy’s presence itself threatened Viola.

“That’s a really nasty thing to say that undermines self-esteem, you know?”

“You might need to be cut down a bit more, Mister Self-Esteem.”

Jeremy shook his head once more, sighing.

“Anyway, tell Viola that I want to be good friends with her.”

Sena threw her doll aside.

She screamed and even broke a glass out of frustration, but her anger didn’t subside.

“Bellatu, those barbarians!”

They had no dignity as noblemen, not even the dust on a toe.

Father and daughter teaming up to insult the Duke of Mariantu was utterly audacious.

“I will never forgive this!”

Furthermore, what was Lady Selina thinking?

How could she bestow such a precious gift to the daughter of the Bellatu family, who insulted the Duke of Mariantu!!

This was also an insult to Duke Mariantu by Lady Selina.

For Sena, that was how it felt.

Then, Sena received some news.

Her childhood friend, Lina, who now worked as a maid, said.

“They say the Partner Sword Tundra and Prince Jeremy are having a duel.”

Sena suddenly felt cheerful.

“Tundra is like Viola’s escort knight, isn’t he?”

“They call him a Partner Sword, but I don’t really know the exact role. There’s a rumor that he’s a toy, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet.”

Sena thought to herself.

“Prince Jeremy must have been hurt by Viola.”

Yesterday, Viola had outright insulted Jeremy.

Despite Jeremy’s heartfelt congratulations, Viola hadn’t even glanced at him properly.

It was an action that deviated significantly from noble etiquette.

At the very least, a nod of acknowledgment or a slight courtesy would have been appropriate, yet Viola hadn’t even adhered to that minor code of conduct.

“The elegant Prince Jeremy must have quietly gone to protest, and that foolish Bellatu girl must have snubbed our good Prince Jeremy.”

A duel must have broken out.

“Let’s go, Lina.”

“Uh, where to?”

“I’m going to mediate and point out Bellatu’s wicked intent.”

Sena grasped Lina’s hand firmly.

The escort knight would arrive soon.

The knight would halt the duel and mediate, and at that time, she would address Bellatu’s issue.

She thought that with her status as the daughter of Duke Mariantu, she could provide some help to Jeremy.

Then everyone would criticize Bellatu for her lack of manners.

“Then Prince Jeremy would also be grateful to me.”

Bellatu would be humiliated, and Jeremy would be drawn closer to her.

That’s what she thought, but then, what was this?

“Anyway, tell Viola that I want to be good friends with her.”

Hearing Jeremy’s words made Sena feel as if the sky was collapsing.

“Wasn’t he trying to protest to Viola?”

After being so utterly dismissed, he wanted to be good friends with her?

In front of so many nobles, he had been openly disregarded?

She bit her lip.

“Who does he think he is!”

That adopted daughter, who does she think she is?

“Why does he only like her!”

She’s not even a direct descendant.

She’s not even pureblood.

What right does that lowly pest from the slums have!!

“Lina. Let’s go back.”

Sena immediately packed her things and returned to the Duke of Mariantu.

Inside the carriage, she shed sorrowful tears while vowing revenge.

At the same time.

Tundra, who had expected praise for chasing the outsider away, found himself faced with an entirely unimaginable situation.