Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Eckles rubbed his face against my ringed hand and begged, “I’ll never defy you, Mistress. I’m sorry. Please forgive me just this once.” The unforgiving surface of the enormous ruby caught against his soft skin.

He could take the ring and insist on staying with me, couldn’t he? At least then he would be free from the threat of it choking him at any time. But despite my cold expression, Eckles continued to behave like a dog obediently wagging its tail.

I can’t figure out if he’s naive or crafty... I watched as he essentially handed his leash back to me. I brushed him off with some difficulty as he continued to push his face into my hand, placing the ring on the table.

Before he could whine, I held his face with my hands on both of his cheeks.

“Eckles,” I said quietly, my eyes locked with his gray gaze. “You became my knight the moment I gave you that sword. And I’m your one and only lady. Don’t ever forget that.”

Eckles was smart and would catch on to any falsehoods immediately, so I smiled at him with my eyes almost closed, that way he had no way of knowing if I was being insincere or not.

His ashen eyes grew momentarily dreamy. “Yes... Mistress.”

[Affection Score 54%]

The affection score had gone up a little. Finally. I was past the halfway point. Smiling with satisfaction, I lowered my hands from his cheeks.

“Good. Now it’s time for you to attend to your knightly duties.” Scooping the ring from the table and sliding it back onto my finger, I held my hand out to him expectantly. “Escort me to the ground floor.”

Eckles took my hand as he always did.

* * *

I’d just reached the bottom of the stairs with his help when I encountered the duke, who was dressed very nicely and accompanied by the butler.

“Father.”

They’d been headed for the door when they saw me and came to a stop.

“Good afternoon,” I said with a smile.

The duke stared at me without replying.

“Father?” I asked, puzzled.

He cleared his throat and finally replied. “Why are you dressed like that?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, offended that he had ignored my greeting and appeared to be criticizing the way I was dressed.

What’s wrong with what I’m wearing? Though I’d worn only very modest clothing after entering this body, this dress was exactly the sort that Penelope had always liked to wear.

The duke clucked his tongue, apparently displeased. “You haven’t even had your coming-of-age ceremony. How can a young noblewoman—”

“Good afternoon, my lady! You look amazing today. The pearl earrings complement your dress particularly well,” the butler suddenly interrupted what the duke was trying to say. The man was astute, I had to give him that.

“Really? I put a lot of effort into choosing the right outfit. I’m glad to hear you say that. Do you think it looks all right?” I asked, beaming at him.

The butler quickly responded, “Of course. I’m positively dazzled.”

“Thank you. You’ve greatly improved my mood.”

“Ahem!” the duke interjected, making it known that he was uncomfortable with our wholesome conversation.

Hmph! I’m never going to greet you so warmly ever again! I thought, glaring at the duke subtly. Perhaps guessing what I was thinking, the duke changed the subject.

“Why did you come down the stairs with him, anyway?” The duke turned his sour mood on Eckles, throwing an unfriendly glance at him.

I shrugged. “He’s my personal knight. I asked him to escort me to the palace.”

“Escort? Don’t be absurd! We will be going as a family since we haven’t done so in a while. Send him away. Your brothers will escort you.”

“We’ll be... going together?”

“Yes.”

Ugh... Things are looking bad already... My smile became wooden. I felt stifled just imagining the four of us riding in the same carriage.

“That sounds lovely, Your Grace,” said the butler, clapping his hands once in satisfaction and completely unaware of my gloom. “But since my lady is having some difficulty walking thanks to her high heels, why doesn’t the duke escort her to the carriage?”

“Ahem. How bothersome.”

“I’m quite all right—” I said, trying to refuse with a smile.

The duke held out his hand suddenly. “Hurry up, take my hand. We don’t have time for this.”

No more than a second had passed before he was changing his mind. I thought you said it would be bothersome? I wasn’t sure what to think. I was baffled by his shifting moods but had little choice.

“Eckles,” I whispered softly, feeling bad for summoning him. “Be a good boy until I get back. I’ll buy you lots of nice things with the prize money if you behave.”

He didn’t answer, just looked at me with an unreadable expression. He then nodded softly and let go of my hand.

[Affection Score 55%]

There was something odd about the way it had risen only a single percentage point, and the way he maintained eye contact with me.

Why do I get the feeling that he’s mocking me? I thought as I gave my hand to the duke instead.

* * *

When I’d finally climbed into the carriage with the duke’s help, I realized that my other two love interests were already seated inside.

You should have sat next to each other, not like that! I despaired when I saw that they were seated opposite one another. The manor’s carriage was large enough to hold four people without any issue. However, since I’d arrived late, I was forced to sit next to one of them no matter what. I alternated glances between them and considered for a moment.

[Affection Score 22%]

[Affection Score 25%]

Oddly enough, Derrick’s affection score, which had been 20 last time, had risen by five percentage points. Is it because of that day at the training grounds with the crossbow? Perhaps running away from him without siding with Eckles had positively affected the gauge. And Reynold, surprisingly enough, had almost caught up to Derrick. The difference was only 3%.

“Go on, sit down,” the duke pressed. I made up my mind and chose to sit next to Derrick. My dislike for Reynold aside, the affection score was all that mattered.

Two pairs of blue eyes were fixed on me. For a brief moment, both of their expressions shifted imperceptibly, then suddenly, the letters changed.

Affection score minus 1%, Affection score plus 2%

[Affection score 21%] [Affection score 27%]

Their affection scores had changed simultaneously—Reynold’s had dropped 1%, and Derrick’s had risen by 2%.

“Hey, what are you wearing?” While I was occupied with staring at the opposing score changes, Reynold did the predictable and started nitpicking as soon as I sat down.

I retorted coldly, “What?”

“What, you ask? You’re too young to be learning that kind of dress. Might as well go around naked.” mocked Reynold.

“I thought you’d matured a little after the last celebration. I guess I was wrong,” said Derrick disapprovingly, joining in.

Why are they picking a fight over nothing again? I looked down at my dress, wondering if their criticism was warranted. The V-neck revealed a bit of collarbone, but that was all. The dress was hardly indecent.

“That’s enough,” the duke rebuked, getting into the carriage just as I was about to lash out at them. “It looks fine on her. Why are you criticizing her?”

“Ha! Are you for real, Father?” Reynold seemed unable to believe that the duke would take my side.

I was also surprised, of course, since he’d been the first person to criticize my dress today. What. The. Hell? I shot him a baffled look, and he clucked his tongue and turned his head away.

“Let’s leave,” he said, casually rapping on the carriage roof twice.

The enchanted carriage began to move without a sound, and as I’d expected, an oppressive silence fell over the carriage. We could have just gone separately. Why insist that we go together? I pressed myself close to the window so that no part of me came in contact with Derrick and sighed. It brought back memories of how terrible it had been last time I’d gone to the palace, sitting as still as possible and staring fixedly out the window.

To my surprise, it was the duke who interrupted the protracted silence, clearing his throat as was his habit. “Did neither of you receive a keepsake for the hunting tournament?”

We all turned to look at him. Reynold looked puzzled. “What keepsake?”

“You know, a charm of sorts to wish you safety... like this!” the duke said, pointing at his collar and encouraging us to look. The brothers’ eyes fell on his clothes, and I looked as well, wondering what all this was about. Then my eyes widened.

Wait, that’s...

“An amulet? Where did you get it, Father?” Derrick said, speaking for the first time since we started moving.

I was dumbfounded. The duke was wearing the silver amulet I’d given him proudly on his chest like it was a medal. Wait, why is he wearing it like that? It was designed to easily attach anywhere on one’s clothing, but why would someone wear a charm like that so openly?

The weapon trader had told me that it was popular because it could be worn secretly. The duke almost seemed proud of it. I gaped, confused. I’d given only the duke an amulet and had done so for a good reason. Of course, I hadn’t gotten one for Reynold or Derrick.

But the way the human mind worked, people got easily irritated and jealous if they found out they’d missed out on something. And if he decides to brag to these idiots... The duke, unaware of my internal panic, actually looked somewhat excited as he explained.

“Well, you see, just a few days ago Pene—”

“F-father!” I interrupted him hurriedly. The brothers swung their attention to me, and I smiled awkwardly as I struggled to think of something to say. “I don’t know who gave it to you, but it looks great.”

“Is that so? Hmm.”

The duke’s lips twitched, pleased by the compliment. Biting back a sigh, I suggested in a roundabout manner, “Still, you should have hidden it on the inside of your clothing. Someone might say something disrespectful if they see it.”

I was thinking someone might suggest that the head of the House of Eckhart was a coward for wearing a magical amulet to keep himself safe. Reynold, however, misunderstood what I was trying to say.

“She’s right,” he said spitefully. “It would be disgraceful if people were to assume you had taken a mistress in your old age.”

“Let them assume what they want,” the duke suddenly shouted. “Who would dare say something so rude about a present from my daughter? If anyone dares, I won’t stand for it!”