≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫
"Hot tempers cause arguments, but patience brings peace." —Proverbs 15:18
≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫
"THAT kid! Where did he go at an important time like this!?" she heard the captain say to himself after recovering from the shock that she caused him.
While on the other hand, her father was still frozen like an ice statue in his place with his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Was her speaking about someone really that surprising to him?
Penelope was truthfully blind but she was not. They were different. Total opposite. Penelope was blind so, she picked up two pieces of trash that were disguised as gold. Lantana always liked eye-candies and Siegrain already piqued her attention... So… She wanted him!
'Father, you can't expect your child to never become interested in people of the opposite gender. After all, your child is a woman and that guy is definitely a living ikemen. The soul occupying this body is a nerd towards two-dimensional men and someone who was deprived of the chance to appreciate God's masterpieces because of addiction to men who did not even exist in her previous world.'
'Hello? Your child is a woman after all. How can you expect me not to react if I saw a living ikemen in front of me? That's just like giving a dog its food yet telling it not to eat it. That's cruel, father!'
"Where is Siegrain?!" the captain said as he shouted angrily at the knights who seemed to her earlier as if proud soldiers.
However, at that moment, they were not like the proud soldiers that they first seemed to be, but instead, they were like a mushroom that shrunk in size while being scolded as their shoulders and head cowered down.
"Captain, Siegrain's brother collapsed because of his sickness earlier. Since he is the elder brother, he has no choice but to take care of him," a man replied after he mustered his courage to speak. He was one of the guys who was with Siegrain the last time she visited.
"Captain, Siegrain is back!" someone from the back, near the entrance door, announced.
From their distance, she could see his serious expression plastered on his handsome face. By the time that he got in front of the captain, she noticed that behind his blank face, worry and anxiety were hidden inside his eyes that couldn't conceal everything he was trying to erase.
He bowed as he apologized for being late. Then, the captain immediately knocked his head which made the guy flinch in pain.
"You, crazy brat! Do this again and I'll hit you ten times harder," she heard the captain threaten him—in a not convincing way. She guessed he was just simply worried. Afterwards, the captain sighed as he smiled with relief in his face.
"Is your brother okay? I told you to leave him in your dormitory but you two are just so stubborn and won't listen to me," the captain said in a tone filled with concern.
"No one will be left to accompany him, captain," Siegrain insisted.
"Alright, alright. I said nothing. I heard that a lot of times already. Now, you go and apologize to the masters for being an inconvenience."
"Yes." Then he saluted.
Soon after, he was already in front of them. Then, he lowered his body as he bowed his head.
"I deeply apologize for causing such inconvenient interruptions, Your Grace and my lady," he said with sincerity.
"Raise your head. I know your situation so it's okay. I was the one who asked the butler to pick you so I understand," Lantana's father replied.
Siegrain's eyes showed a hint of surprise, as if it was the first time he heard of it. Somehow, he looked a little different from his usual expression which made her chuckle silently. However, even though she didn't even make a loud sound, his emerald eyes immediately pierced through her which made her cheeks fluster. Because of that, she unconsciously averted her gaze away from him.
What was that? How could a three-dimensional ikemen have that overwhelming effect? Gosh! She felt like a child who was taking an exam caught peeking at her classmate's answer. How could he look so handsome!?
At that moment, Lantana wanted to roll on her bed while squealing like a total fangirl.
With a malfunctioning system, she managed to act naturally after a few seconds of trying to compose herself.
"Anyway, next time, make sure to take care of your brother first before anything else. We'll understand."
"Yes, Your Grace. Thank you for your great understanding…" he replied to the duke as she felt him glance at her direction again.
"Then, you may go back to your line."
When Siegrain came back to his line, Orlando finally started the agenda of their meeting. He faked a cough, as if to gather the attention of the knights who started talking with each other, and then he started speaking.
"Good afternoon to everyone! I won't beat around the bush anymore since we're already complete. The reason for this meeting was because of His Grace and his daughter…" Orlando glanced at her father, as if signalling him to do his part.
With the sudden pause of the captain, buzzing noise from the knights started to rise.
Lantana's father, the duke, took a dignified step forward as an overwhelming aura of authority coated his whole being. Just with that step, the noise was immediately tuned down. Everyone immediately became focused on the duke—even his breathing was observed as if it was such an unusual yet amazing action.
"I think most of the people here already know who I am but for the sake of the newcomers, I shall introduce myself at once," he said with a sincere smile as he roamed his eyes around.
"I am Duke Philippe Ritcher Montgomery, but I am more known by the name Duke Philippe. It's nice to see you here. I hope you're enjoying your time in our place."
After that, claps from the knights echoed in the room. Then, without much care about the applause of others, the duke turned his head and gestured with his right hand, as if already confirming Lantana's identity with his action.
"I don't know if a lot of you know her, but this is my dear daughter, Lantana Penelope Montgomery!" the duke energetically announced, as if a kid that was given a new toy was boasting to his friends.
She could almost see his eyes forming a heart shape similar to the ones in manga because of how dramatic he was.
With a face painted in red because of her overflowing embarrassment due to the duke's previous action, she took a step forward, put the strand of her hair that covered her right eye behind her ear, and then she smiled bashfully.
The embarrassment wasn't entirely caused by the stares of others that were piercing through her—it was all because of the way the duke introduced her that made her shy.
"She was sick for a long time and hasn't healed completely yet so I ask for everyone's participation not to spill this news about her for a while," the duke added yet with a devious smile, as if he was threatening them silently.
After she recovered from the embarrassing situation, she started hearing whispers of the same topics.
"Is she really the duke's daughter?"
"I heard that the duke's daughter wasn't like his daughter at all."
"I thought the duke's daughter was ugly?"
"Who said that? If she was ugly with her state right now then what right do I have to even live?"
"I think those were all made up by people who are feeling inferior to the lady's beauty—I mean, who could rival that face?! Definitely no one in the whole kingdom!"
"I can't believe the duke has a daughter like that! She is too pretty—is she really the duke's daughter? She looks like a goddess to me."
Although she got embarrassed again after she heard what people said about her, she couldn't help but to also feel proud—like a proud mother to her daughter.
Oh, come on! Penelope's face was really gorgeous and she would like to commend both the duke, and especially the late duchess, for they made it look that way! With both their beauty combined, how could their child look normal?
"The reason why I am standing here in front of you all right now was because of my daughter…" she heard her father say which pulled her back to reality.
"Lantana suddenly came up to me this morning, saying that she wanted her own order of knights, and that she would personally pick. However, before the picking happens, I want the participants to be thoroughly picked by the knight's commander since there are at least five thousand knights in our duchy. First, your captain, Orlando, will choose all the knights who can use aura. I know that even when we have a lot of talented knights, not all of you can use it…" the duke said as he started.
Then, the knight captain walked towards him and whispered something which made him stop talking.
"Based on what just Sir Orlando said to me, less than half of our members can wield aura with their swords. The estimation is only roughly about a thousand. And because of that, the selection will only have two eliminations. Everyone who is able to use aura is qualified and has a chance to fight. There is no first come first serve or seniority rule. All the newbies from the seventh order are allowed to fight as long as they can use aura. The first battle would be a random selection of knights that will be paired up to fight each other from the first to seventh orders. You can fight against your own order or fight against other knight orders. After that, since the participants by that time will be divided by half, a random selection will be made again for the winners until there's only the winners from that battle standing. All those people will become a part of the heiress's knight order. And from that group, my daughter will choose her personal knight," the duke explained carefully.
The knights listened to every word that came out of the duke's mouth cautiously, making sure that everything he said was written deep inside their minds.
"Eh?! Really? I have to wait that long?" Lantana thought, which she accidentally voiced out and made everyone look at her.
Then, as silence filled the place, Lantana only realized that everyone was already looking at her and that she said something she wasn't meant to say!
"Why? What's wrong, my daughter?" worried, the duke asked her.
Suddenly reminded of her powerful features, she immediately made a disappointed expression with eyes that looked as if they would cry any time.
"Do I really have to wait that long? I thought I could pick my personal knight by today," she said gently with a low voice which unconsciously tugged the hearts of many knights, even the duke himself.
The duke, who was uncertain of what to do, to let his daughter decide for herself or would he decide on her stead, looked at the knight captain with a begging-for-help-look.
"Have you chosen a personal knight already, my lady?" the captain asked her.
Without thinking too much, she replied, "Yes. Why?"
"May I ask who it is so that we could evaluate him if he is worthy to become your personal protector?"
"Sure. It's Siegrain," she replied casually which made everyone around look at Siegrain, who was clueless as well.
"May I ask why you chose that man, my dearest daughter?" the duke asked her.
Lantana shrugged her shoulders as she expressed a smile filled with innocence.
"Well, because he's pretty handsome," she replied with a smile.
Silence filled the entire place for a few minutes, as if they were all asking her deep inside their heads if she was serious.
A personal knight was meant to protect their masters! What did face have to do with it!?
However, about five minutes had already passed by but all she did was smile.
Everyone's jaws dropped as their eyes almost protruded because of the shock they received from her answer.
"Is that not allowed?" she asked like a kid which made everyone totally lose their composure as they looked at Lantana with an incredulous expression.