In This Life, I Will Be Your Dog - Chapter 69

Bellona walked back toward Lycaon, staring up at the man burning with competitive spirit.

He was the only one among the noble heirs carrying a sword. He was quite tall, with an impressive build and a decent face.

However, Bellona’s impression of Lycaon could be summed up in one word.

“Sir Lycaon, would you mind showing me your hand?”

After hesitating for a moment at her sudden request, he extended his right hand.

Without hesitation, she grabbed his hand and stared at his palm. Lycaon cleared his throat and turned his head away.

‘Childish.’

Her assessment wasn’t long. There was nothing different from what she had expected, and even the faint interest she had momentarily felt evaporated.

He was born into a great family and seemed to have taken up the sword as a hobby. But that was it.

His hands were so soft that they might as well have belonged to a lady. It was clear that the sword for him was merely a decorative piece.

“I decline your request, Sir.”

“Pardon?”

“Before being the Grand Duchess, I am a knight. I have no intention of sparring with a novice who wields a sword as a hobby.”

Lycaon’s face twisted in rage at her blunt words, which were as good as an insult.

Ignoring him, Bellona turned back toward the door. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a sword being drawn.

“How can you be so sure that I’m just a novice? I admit that Your Grace’s swordsmanship is impressive, but I do not believe I am so lacking that I deserve such disrespect.”

Uta, who had been about to add a word to the quiet atmosphere, shut his mouth tight.

Having directly experienced Bellona’s menacing aura before, he instinctively understood when to step in and when to back down.

As silence fell, the sound of knights swallowing nervously echoed through the room.

Their mixed gaze of expectation and concern focused on the two.

Slowly, Bellona turned and looked coldly at the man standing with his sword held in an awkward stance. From the stance alone, it was clear that his fundamentals were a mess.

She began to grow irritated.

His attitude toward the sword, coupled with his rude behavior of drawing his weapon against someone who had already declined, pricked her nerves.

It had touched a nerve in her rigid belief—one that allowed no compromise or concession when it came to the sword.

“Are you pointing a sword at me?”

“I’m simply requesting a duel.”

“I believe I already declined.”

“It is unfair to reject me without even seeing my skill.”

“Unfair, you say… Is that why you’re pointing a sword at my back?”

“I only wish for a private audience with Your Grace! Ugh!”

Before he could even realize what was happening, Bellona had drawn her sword from her waist. In an instant, it brushed against Lycaon’s blue hair, embedding itself firmly in the tightly shut door.

Unable to move, Lycaon could only shift his eyes. Bellona spoke in a low voice, “Before I hold that sword again, you’d best stop me. Strike, kill—do whatever you need to if you want to live.”

The moment she took a step forward, Lycaon gritted his teeth, a fierce expression crossing his face.

After a moment of hesitation, he quickly lunged at her, instinctively swinging his sword with all his might.

Bellona lightly leaped into the air, stepping on Lycaon’s shoulder, and soared upward. The nobles waiting on the second floor let out gasps of astonishment.

The knights, intent on observing Bellona’s rare swordsmanship, tracked her swift movements with focused eyes.

As expected, the match ended anticlimactically.

Lycaon, staggering, turned quickly, but before he could even extend his sword, the tip of Bellona’s blade was already pressing against his throat.

A chilling silence descended, and nobody dared breathe properly. The most rigid among them all was Lycaon.

“If you were a knight, my blade would have pierced your throat without hesitation.”

“Why… Why did you spare me?”

At his strained voice, Bellona calmly sheathed her sword and answered, “Because you’re not a knight trained in chivalry. And also because I haven’t yet considered you my enemy.”

Lycaon looked down at her, the complicated emotions in his light blue eyes trembling.

“However, I will only overlook this behavior once. If you ever point a sword at an ally’s back again, I will consider you an enemy without any regard for the reason.”

Without waiting for a response, Bellona turned and left the prince’s palace without hesitation.

As soon as she disappeared, the nobles sighed deeply, exchanging glances and shaking their heads.

At that moment, Uta, who had been watching leisurely, spoke loudly with an air of satisfaction for everyone to hear.

“Indeed, Her Grace is truly different. Hey, if any of you want to be like Her Grace, run 300 laps around the training ground every day and practice striking ten thousand times!”

“Sir Uta, even you can’t do that.”

“I’m a strength knight, fool! Her Grace and I are fundamentally different types of swordsmen! If I trained like Her Grace, I wouldn’t even be able to lift this greatsword!”

“That’s why you got knocked down in one hit… hm.”

Seeing Uta’s expression sour instantly, the knight who had been teasing him quickly shut his mouth.

As the knights bantered noisily, Lycaon suddenly stepped into their midst.

“Does Her Grace truly train like that?”

“What? Oh… ahem. Would I lie about such a thing? Her Grace never skips a morning at the training grounds—”

“Where is the training ground here?”

Faced with Lycaon’s entirely different demeanor, Uta’s small eyes twitched.

***

Once she left the prince’s palace, Bellona slowed her pace. She looked up at the darkening sky, savoring the nighttime air of the imperial palace she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

“Why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

Despite Net’s question as he followed her, Bellona kept her gaze distant, walking steadily. Getting closer, Net matched her pace and asked what was on his mind.

“I thought you would make an example out of him like you did with Sir Uta, to ensure he wouldn’t rise up again.”

“If anyone hears that, they’ll think I strike anyone who displeases me.”

“Didn’t you bring the young heirs along to subdue the nobles?”

“You’re half right.”

“Half?”

Bellona suddenly stopped and looked at Net, who seemed unusually curious today. He immediately straightened his posture and bowed his head.

“If I overstepped—”

“It’s easier to control people through force, but that won’t bring genuine loyalty.”

“……”

“I want the nobles to be truly loyal to His Grace. That’s why I brought their heirs. They aren’t yet corrupted by the taste of power.”

At her heartfelt words, Net frowned slightly and gave a bitter smile.

“My mother used to say, ‘Blood cannot be denied.'”

Understanding his words, Bellona smiled lightly as well. “Then, in that case, I can always rely on force.”

As she reached a simple conclusion and moved to resume her walk, an unexpected question held her back.

“Are you happy now?”

Slowly turning her head, she saw Net smiling bitterly, his expression difficult to read.

“You seem to have changed a lot. I’m not sure if it’s for the better or worse.”

Was this what Net’s eyes had always looked like?

She had known Net across two lifetimes, but it seemed like this was the first time she was seeing this particular expression and look in his eyes.

Suddenly, the incident from a few days ago came to mind.

She hadn’t addressed Net’s disrespectful behavior due to various circumstances then, but now the conversation between the two men that day replayed in her memory.

“Are you sure that overwhelming feeling is merely admiration?”

“For now, yes.”

She remembered his gaze, which had always followed her even in the past. Back then, she had thought it was simply admiration for a superior.

But perhaps that wasn’t the case.

“Net.”

“I was just… You took me away, promising happiness, but it feels like you pay no attention to me at all… I guess I was a little jealous.”

With a sheepish laugh, he scratched his curly auburn hair.

Bellona swallowed the words she was about to say, out of concern.

There was no need to stir up a heart that might otherwise disappear like a fleeting breeze.

Warnings could come later, should he truly cross the line.

Moreover, she had come to understand that when dealing with people, flexibility was sometimes necessary.

Instead of a cold rebuke, she decided to draw a line appropriately.

“When we return to the Grand Duchy, I plan to request that His Grace officially grant you a knight’s title. So, make sure you carry out this mission perfectly before I change my mind.”

“Really?”

“Of course, but this will be the last time I indulge your whims.”

Seeing his expression turn complicated, she moved on without hesitation.

However, her steps didn’t get far before she was stopped once again.

“Your Grace, the crown prince has come to see you.”

It was Mona.