In This Life, I Will Be Your Dog - Chapter 48

Bellona, who had been so busy that she lost track of time, wiped the sweat off her forehead and continued with the final touches of her cleaning.

Above all else, she wanted her siblings’ rooms to be spotless, free from even a speck of dust. Especially since Marca’s health was fragile, his room had to be extra clean.

She cleaned two large rooms, just as spacious as her old room had been, all while smiling brightly.

Though her body ached, her spirits were high. Living in the same house as her siblings was more than she could have ever hoped for. She was filled with gratitude towards him once again—for not only taking in her siblings but also accepting her subordinates.

And that wasn’t all.

She couldn’t help but admire his magnanimity in treating even a common knight like herself as an equal sparring partner. Just thinking about it made her heart pound.

She was itching to spar with him, to feel the same thrill he had given her back in Kellicus. Her excitement grew, but then her movements halted abruptly. She had just realized that they wouldn’t be able to spar like before.

His skills wouldn’t be what they once were. The incredible abilities he had developed had been honed through numerous battles and life-or-death duels. But the current Caelus was nothing compared to his former self. He hadn’t experienced war, nor had he faced any serious threats. How much could he have trained in the palace?

The disappointment that came with this realization was fleeting, quickly replaced by a heavier thought.

“Wait, he said he wanted to see my loyalty… does that mean… I’ll have to let him win?”

Bellona’s face darkened.

She had been eager to finish quickly and stretch her limbs, but now it seemed there was no need for that.

Why bother sparring at all if she was already debating whether or not to let him win?

She sighed at her own foolishness for constantly confusing him with the man he used to be. Her earlier excitement quickly faded.

“Ah… might as well get back to cleaning.”

She threw herself into the task of wiping down the room, pouring her now-dampened enthusiasm into it.

Once she finished, she stood back, admiring the room, which had transformed into something quite nice. If she added pretty curtains and changed the bedding to something cozier, Marca would be thrilled. Imagining her siblings’ happy faces eased some of her disappointment.

“Hm… looks like I’ll need more money.”

Calculating how much she would need, she hurried downstairs to find Akon.

***

As Bellona made her way to the training grounds, familiarizing herself with the atmosphere of the unfamiliar Grand Duke’s residence, her instincts as a knight led her unerringly to the place where the blood boiled. She hadn’t been there before, but she could feel it.

Just as she entered the grounds, she noticed the knights gathered in a serious discussion. At the center was Akon, the one she was looking for.

“Are you all so weak that you couldn’t even defeat a single female knight and ended up getting dragged here?” Akon sneered, his gaze falling on the Imperial knights, who were frowning deeply.

Though they belonged to a different order, they couldn’t muster a reply, only grinding their teeth as Akon, their new commander, berated them. It was clear they were still being ridiculed for what had happened that day.

“Well, they’re the crown prince’s lackeys, none of them even know how to hold a sword properly. I’m just surprised someone with Sir Bellona’s skill was among them.” Uta chimed in, as usual.

The Valensis knights laughed mockingly while the Imperial knights, who had once served under Bellona, sat silently, unable to even raise their heads. Seeing this, Bellona’s face grew cold.

Of course, she was now going to live and die alongside the Valensis knights, but still, this scene didn’t sit well with her.

The time she had spent with her old subordinates was far longer than the time she had with these new comrades. It made her stomach churn to see her men being humiliated by the very knights who had once been their enemies.

Was it inevitable that one’s loyalties would always lean inward, towards their own?

Though she had no intention of creating division, she couldn’t just let this slide. These knights were going to walk the same path together from now on. If they couldn’t become one, problems were bound to arise, and those problems would eventually trip up Caelus, standing in his way.

Sighing quietly, Bellona strode toward the group of knights, whose eyes turned to her as soon as they sensed her approach. Without hesitation, she walked up to Akon, gave him a brief nod, then turned to Uta.

“I challenge you to a duel, Sir Uta.”

“……!”

“You haven’t forgotten our agreement, have you?”

Uta, whose eyes darted around in discomfort instead of answering, cleared his throat awkwardly. Though he was clearly reluctant, he slowly rose to his feet and tilted his head.

“Ah, this is going to be an unfair match.”

“Why is that?”

“Look at the size difference. Even if I win, it’ll look disgraceful.”

“It seems you’re not even considering the possibility that you might lose.”

“Hah!”

Uta snorted and looked around at his comrades with an exaggerated laugh, as though Bellona’s words were utterly ridiculous.

“Hey, Uta! Show her what you’re made of! Let her see what a Valensis knight can do!”

“Yeah! Make her realize how much we’ve been going easy on the Imperials!”

The Valensis knights who hadn’t been present on that day cheered him on with smug faces.

Uta, who had seen Bellona’s skills firsthand, hesitated briefly before bursting into a loud laugh. With a cocky expression, he answered his comrades’ expectations.

“Alright, alright, how hard can it be? But if I win, you guys are buying me drinks tonight, right?”

“If you finish in five—no, three minutes, I’ll buy you as much as you can drink!”

Uta’s thick lips curled into a grin, clearly enticed by the offer. He glanced at Akon for permission.

“Commander, may I?”

Akon glanced at Bellona with a reluctant frown. He wasn’t sure if it was right to allow this without Caelus’s permission.

“Commander!”

Under Uta’s impatient urging, Akon sighed heavily and gave his reluctant approval. Stopping the duel at this point would make it seem like they were afraid of Bellona’s reputation, and besides, she had been the one to initiate the duel. Caelus wouldn’t be too angry about it. Still, Akon couldn’t help but feel uneasy, so he quietly warned Uta.

“Go easy.”

“What? Do you think I’m going to half-kill her or something?” Uta joked, already exuding a sense of victory.

As they say, humans are creatures of forgetfulness. It seemed Uta had already forgotten what had happened that day. Victory was already written all over his face.

But then Bellona’s clear voice cut through the noisy atmosphere, silencing the crowd.

“Let’s use real swords.”

The eyes of all the knights grew wide. Though it wasn’t uncommon to use real swords in duels, the sight of a woman half Uta’s size suggesting it seemed both astonishing and ridiculous.

“That won’t do.”

The refusal came from Akon.

“Why not?”

“Uta uses a greatsword. If you get hurt, I’ll be the one to face His Highness’s wrath.”

“I’m the one suggesting it, so if His Highness says anything, I’ll tell him myself.”

“Still—”

“Or are you worried that Sir Uta might lose to me?”

Bellona deliberately provoked him, and sure enough, Akon’s expression darkened.

In truth, Bellona’s real target wasn’t Uta, but Akon, the commander of the Valensis knights.

In any battle, taking down the leader would cause the soldiers to lose their morale. If she could topple Akon, the Valensis knights’ arrogance would follow. But since she couldn’t challenge a commander to a duel outright, she had to lure him into stepping forward himself, and Uta was the bait.

Bellona had wanted to protect Akon’s honor, but it seemed that would be impossible. Unless the hierarchy was firmly established now, the Valensis knights would continue to rely on Akon and reject the Imperial knights to the end.

Once she became the Grand Duchess, the ranks would shift anyway. She wouldn’t be a common knight but the person they would serve.

However, the title of Grand Duchess alone wouldn’t be enough to earn their genuine loyalty. Who would want to follow a former knight in name only?

As a fellow knight, Bellona fully understood their mindset, which was why she had no choice but to use Akon as a sacrifice. She wanted to show them that their future liege wasn’t just some ordinary knight but someone who could protect them as well.

Not all the knights would follow her, but it would be enough if the atmosphere shifted, and they became more controllable.

Ignoring Akon’s sharp gaze, Bellona walked over to Net, who had been standing quietly in the corner. He handed her his sword, clearly understanding her intentions.

Seeing that she wasn’t going to back down, Akon pressed his aching head. There was something unsettling about her, a stubbornness that reminded him of Caelus. A strange sense of foreboding lingered in the air, though he couldn’t quite place its source.

Bellona returned to face Uta. “Take out your greatsword. I’m more than ready to face it.”

At her bold statement, Uta’s previously cocky expression turned dark and grim.