Flower of Steel

“AAAH!!!”

I opened my eyes in shock. I quickly glanced around in embarrassment, relieved to find no one around me. ‘That’s a relief. Really. Was it a dream? Gosh, I’m going crazy!’

I almost had the urge to fall back to sleep, but I was a bit afraid that I might have that embarrassing dream again if I fell back to sleep. Instead, I was spending my weekend packing things up when I heard a knock.

“Milady. It’s me.”

It was Daisy. I told her to come in, and she spoke hastily, “Sir Reyan is back.”

“Where is he? Why are you telling me that without him coming up to report?”

Daisy sighed at my question. “It’s… He insisted he had to see the Marquis first, so he went to the office. I’m confused about what is going on…”

That made me become curious. Ray was given two months of vacation. But after he returned, he immediately went to my uncle while leaving me, his Lady of Oath, behind?

The priority of a knight’s oath differed depending on the type of oath. In the case of the Oath of Loyalty, the matter of most importance lies with the Lord. In the case of the Oath of Protection, it was the lady. I was given the Oath of Protection by Rey. With Rey’s stuck-up character in mind, I realized the reason for his vacation and such actions weren’t just for his own leisure.

‘Was he given some kind of order from my father? Why? What for?’ While I tried to guess my father’s intentions, I heard a familiar voice outside the door.

“Marina.”

It was Rey’s voice. I sighed and said to Daisy, “Daisy, open the door for him.”

The door opened, and Rey came in in a completely fine state. I decided to throw questions at him. “So, how was your vacation?”

“It was so-so,” answered Rey.

I smiled at his answer. “Isn’t it strange though? You’ve been traveling for two months, but you’re so cleanly dressed.”

Rey didn’t even blink at my words and answered with a bit of annoyance in his voice. “Why is that strange? It’s not like I’ve been sleeping on the streets. I stayed at an inn.”

I’m not a fool, and I know it’s normal to be dressed cleanly if he had stayed at an inn. But Rey’s hair was all crumpled up, and his shoes were dirty from outside dirt with soles that were all flat from wearing them long. It was awkward looking, as if he had been wearing different clothes all this time, only to change his clothes right before he came in. If he was lying about it, then there must have been a reason, and he wasn’t planning to tell me about it. If that was the case, it was better to make him think, I have no idea to make him relax and find out what he was up to afterward.

“Anyway. I heard you were attacked, Marina. The Marquis told me.”

“Yes.” I nodded, and Rey, for some unknown reason, glanced at Daisy and turned back.

“They must have been strong.”

Of course, they were. If Lumi wasn’t a sword master, it could’ve been dangerous. “It was bad since you were not around,” I replied.

Ray turned to Daisy again. I was able to make out one thing from those actions. Rey knew or suspected Daisy’s skills. And to add to that thought, I felt like it wasn’t a coincidence that I had skilled fighters like Rey or Daisy around me. That made me guess that either or both of them were my guardians and an overseer.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be with you from now on.”

I made a faint smile at his words. It felt like I had gotten a knight removed from the chess, and suddenly it returned. It was frightening to think that an unknown enemy was coming to attack me, but I felt relieved to think I had Rey with me again. But then, a sudden question made me dive into thoughts again, which removed the smile from my lips.

Was it really a coincidence that I was protected by strong pieces surrounding me as if it was planned from the beginning?