Resetting Lady

“God, will you finally spend some time with that whining fiancée of yours again, sir?”

“It turned out that way.”

Raymond replied with an unreadable expression. He didn’t want to come here that much in the first place and he didn’t look too kindly at Verdic Evans’ conduct, so Xenon couldn’t understand why he went all the way here.

Regardless of the collapse to ruin of his family, Raymond was born as a noble, so never revealed his weak side to his subordinates. That side of him made Xenon a little dismayed for a while.

But soon after, he would wonder if this young knight had any such weaknesses, and rather than harboring any feelings like jealousy towards him, he decided to regard Raymond as someone innately blessed by the gods. If Xenon was to set aside his own personal opinion, Raymond was a pretty good—no, he was a damn good boss.

Raymond’s abilities were stellar. And he was also generous in giving and fair in judgment. He was a knight who did not practice chivalry as defined by aristocracy, but rather, he imbibed the ideal values that the common people wanted.

He was a sniper.

Xenon was Raymond’s squire, but it’s rare for a squire like Xenon to be working so closely with a knight, and when Raymond would bring him water at a close distance, he still felt reluctant. Whenever Raymond went home, he would directly distribute water and some nourishment for the tired knights, and he tended to perform his duties alone.

The occupation of a sniper wasn’t exactly a nobleman’s job. Killing others while hiding oneself was considered to be disgraceful not only by the enemy but also by the aristocrats in their home country.

Dirty work. What the aristocrats involved themselves in during the war was a battle of wits and strategies, and with only words to be wielded, they could slaughter numerous soldiers and take over countless assets.

On the other hand, Raymond just acted alone during the war, lying down on the ground. On the second day, when he crawled towards the enemy camp and shot the neck of Count Githdin’s first son, everyone just criticized him. That guy was a celebrity. He was a famous composer, and of course, though it wasn’t for his wife, he went to war for a lady.

The very next day, everyone was rendered silent when the enraged count’s head was shot. A month later, 300 enemy soldiers met their demise and everyone became crazy with excitement.

Six barons and countless knights were killed. Word went around that he had clearly signed a contract with a devil, and the nickname attributed to him was mixed with legend and envy.

The marksman with magic bullets.

In the first war he fought, this was the nickname he received.

He had good eyes. His character, his patience and his stamina were also all great, but his eyesight was especially phenomenal to Xenon, being the former hunter that he was. Raymond’s eyesight was comparable to a hawk’s in the sky.

He didn’t even use a scope, saying that there was a risk of getting caught if light was reflected off it. When he heard that there was a problem in the circus, even while people poured out of the tent, he immediately ran inside to settle the situation.

Xenon felt proud that the person who was the pinnacle of nobility was the one he was serving.

“Hicc… Milady, please open your eyes.”

That’s why Xenon was flustered to see him do something quite terrible to the childish young lady of the Hare family. Xenon was sure that he saw it, but he couldn’t believe she was in this state.

“Hnngh… It was my fault.”

“…Donna, be quiet.”

The girl lying inside the rattling carriage was tremendously pale. And with an expression that Xenon had never seen before on Raymond, the knight was beside her while blocking the  bleeding at her side.

On the other side of the carriage, an attendant was anxiously praying with his hands clasped together. The maid was holding Lady Hare’s hand with a teary face.

Now that the noble young lady had become like that, they must be worried about the punishment that would befall them. Xenon clicked his tongue and sympathized with them. Because of the immature girl, even Sir Raymond would be roped into this.

The fact that they were quite restless seemed to mean that they had a close relationship, but Xenon wasn’t keen about that because relationships between superiors and subordinates were complicated. What he’s focused on and should care about was, like the other servants, was Raymond, the knight he was serving.

“…Excuse me, sir. Didn’t you say that you weren’t going to see Lady Isella?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“……”

After this, Xenon couldn’t even follow up with the question, ‘Then why are you going there?’ It could be that he really just wanted to come. Maybe he came to soothe his fiancée’s anxiety. Or maybe he was interested in the country where war was taking place, here over the mountain range.

Or perhaps it could also be to meet Verdic’s demands—he was a huge source of funds after all. Or, to see the face of Enid’s daughter, who was renowned for her beauty.

Xenon was surprised to see that she was younger than he imagined, but she was really Enid’s daughter. She looked even more beautiful than that. Since it’s like this, Xenon’s superior was a man just like any other, so he’d tend to like her. His predilection for beauty was only natural.

It was uncomfortable to be with an injured person inside a carriage. Xenon wanted to ask Raymond something, but he couldn’t bring it up. He had many other questions, but even if they were alone, Xenon still wouldn’t be able to ask them.

“Huu…”

“Milady, are you alright?” asked the maid.

“No.”

“Uh… hng…”

“…It didn’t go in deep because of the corset, so you’ll be fine,” Raymond said.

“……”

“Then shouldn’t we untie it first?” Raymond suggested.

And Carynne replied, “…Oh my, how sneaky.”

“M-Milady!” the maid exclaimed.

“It’s a joke. Since we’re almost there, just go and… uugh.”

The attendant’s face turned white.

“D-Didn’t you say that Milady would be alright?”

“What I meant is that the injury’s not a life-threatening one. Even a papercut stings.”

Seeing Raymond trying to calm Borwen down, Carynne was speechless.

“Wow, as expected, you’re a knight. If it’s you, a stab like this is just nothing… ha, haa.”

“…I don’t mean to be sarcastic. I only mean to say that outside a critical condition, the pain would be strong.”

“I wasn’t being sarcastic ei…ther. Forgive me for not making any sense because I’m in… pain…”

“Please stay still.”

Xenon couldn’t bear the light conversation flowing between them. He had no doubt about his duty as a squire. However, his judgment and comprehension as a hunter couldn’t be held back. Even if he tried to mention his superior’s fiancée, the superior in question didn’t respond.

Raymond blocked the girl’s bleeding side and comforted her moderately. In turn, the girl comforted her servants and gave her thanks and joked around with the knight after she’d been stabbed by an assailant.

The two’s lovely and flexible demeanor seemed to be something out of a theatre play, and they exuded a subtly peaceful atmosphere despite being in the middle of an emergency.

They were like the noblewoman and knight Xenon heard about when he was young. Even the maid next to him admired them, like this scene was a well-written love story on a stage.

But Xenon was sure that Raymond must have been watching her ever since the girl snuck out. When he said that he had to find a girl, he went up to a tall building, looked around in all directions and checked every location. Even within a distance that Xenon could see, Lady Hare was found cornered by two men.

God, what a scene that was. Xenon was already about to spring into a run, swearing under his breath, but when he saw his master’s silhouette, he thought that he wouldn’t need to rush down after all. It looked like he didn’t need to save her. He raised his gun and held his breath.

Two shots rang out.

Sir Raymond also had no choice but to prioritize the life of a noble house’s daughter rather than the lives of two assailants in a back alley. If Xenon stopped it himself, it would end with his death, but when he saw Raymond solving it, his mouth tasted bitter.

That attitude was so like an aristocrat. Many people would think that he was a true knight. If anyone dared to do that, he’d be told that he deserved to die.

As expected, he should follow behind his master, who ran forward first. Though Xenon had a sinking feeling, the situation was already resolved.

Raymond didn’t order Xenon to shoot his gun, but instead made Xenon approach the girl to bring her back.

“…Hu, what. My position is like this. You guys also shouldn’t hold a grudge, so… huh?”

Xenon grumbled that it couldn’t be helped while he tried to gather the dead bodies, but as he was doing so, he freaked out when he saw the state that the lady, who Raymond ordered him to fetch, was in.

His master had deliberately let the girl get hurt.