Chapter 4
It was only possible because this was the Grand Duke’s territory; if a knight order composed of body-modified individuals were formed in the capital or south, the noble council and citizens would rise in uproar.
Incomprehensible and unacceptable, the grayish-white castle evoked visceral rejection.
Trapped there, Bell deliberately avoided mentioning that she was unavoidably a southerner.
“By the way, could I go to the kitchen instead of the dining hall? I need to explain something to the chef.”
Meira shook her head.
“I can’t possibly relay information about foods I need to consume during my menstrual cycle through Samuel. That would be too embarrassing.”
In truth, there were no such foods. It was merely an excuse. She simply wanted to meet other employees and probe for secrets.
“I’d prefer to take medicine, but asking for that after being sold here would be shameless. It’s nothing special, so it won’t take long. Please, Meira.”
After hesitating briefly, Meira nodded and gestured for Bell to follow. After crossing several complex corridors, they reached a small side door on the first floor. Behind it was a large kitchen.
To think it was hidden in such a place.
Young women about Bell’s age were frantically working there. She could hardly believe she hadn’t even seen the shadows of so many people until now.
“My goodness.”
At Bell’s voice, several women noticed her and screamed. Their faces hardened as they cowered in fear. Bell gestured for them to calm down.
“I’m Bell Sevigne. I recently arrived at the castle and had no idea so many people were here. Nice to me—”
“G-get out!”
A woman cutting onions instinctively thrust her knife forward and shouted.
“J-just a moment. Why are you acting like this?”
“Get out, I said!”
“Yes, I will. But could you please lower that knife?”
“Leave immediately! The beast will kill us too!”
Another woman threw a cabbage. Bell quickly dodged the flying vegetable. The cabbage hit the wall and fell apart.
“Why are you doing this! I’m leaving! I’m going!”
The women couldn’t seem to hear her pleas. Despite Bell showing her palms and indicating she would leave, they began throwing everything they were holding.
Until Bell left the kitchen and closed the door, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and even ladles flew at her.
“Crazy!”
Bell frowned as she checked the soup splattered on her skirt.
“That red-haired woman at the end, what’s her name? She tried to throw a cutting board at me! I’ll pluck out all her hair someday!”
Grinding her teeth as she headed toward the stairs, Bell couldn’t ignore a face peeking through a first-floor window and spoke to it.
Bertrand’s face was full of curiosity.
“What is it now?”
“Hey. Don’t you find me disgusting?”
“Are you a bug? ‘Disgusting’ is what you say about spiders or centipedes.”
“Really?”
“You’re not disgusting, you’re just… different.”
“You don’t dislike me?”
She listened to Bertrand’s words but grew increasingly irritated, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. What was this about now?
“What? Do you want me to shoo you away like everyone else?”
“No. I’m just curious. Where are you from, Bell?”
Bertrand scratched his head shyly.
“I’m from Gallinia in the south.”
“Wow, I’ve heard of that! They say the seafood there is delicious, right?”
“It’s a port city, so yes. Are you from the Balzac territory?”
“No. I came from the west with Ian.”
“The west?”
Bell’s eyes sparkled.
The closed-off north, especially the Balzac territory, having someone from another territory meant something special.
Just as she was about to inquire further, a bespectacled man approached with a sigh and grabbed Bertrand’s ear.
“Owww!”
“Yanma, if you’ve finished running laps, you should come back immediately. Some of us are dying of work, and you’re just chatting here?”
“I had something to ask, so I stopped her. This is Bell Sevigne.”
“Ludvico Puccini. Administrative staff for the knight order.”
Bell registered Ludvico’s rude informal speech less than the mention of administrative work.
“Administrative work? Isn’t that usually handled by the knight commander and his deputy?”
“Unfortunately, the Dandelion Knight Order operates directly without a commander.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen a knight order without a commander, even if it’s direct.”
“Why are you so curious? You’ll be gone soon anyway.”
His hostile tone made her decide to respond with equal hostility.
“I suppose I’m curious because I won’t be disappearing soon. Or maybe it’s because this is my first time seeing a knight order composed of body-modified individuals.”
“Bell says my wings aren’t disgusting, just a bit different!”
“You idiot, falling for such obvious flattery!”
Ludvico twisted his lips and smacked Bertrand’s head.
“Is the absence of a commander due to opposition from the Ponce Knight Order?”
The Ponce Knight Order was one of three knight orders in the Balzac territory, composed of second-class citizens, ordinary people.
Their pride would never allow body-modified individuals to set foot in an honorable group like knights.
Ludvico’s face contorted as if Bell had hit a nerve.
“Let’s go! You bird-brained fool!”
“Ah, why! I’ve learned all my alphabet. Can’t we stop now?”
“The master is coming this evening. Do you want to be seen like this?”
“Is the Grand Duke here?”
Ludvico looked Bell up and down and snorted.
“I can guess what you were thinking when you came here, but if you want to leave alive, stay quietly hidden. He’s already sensitive about the Anaïs incident.”
“Who is Anaïs? What happened?”
“What good would knowing do?”
“Then why bring it up? How could I, who arrived just a week ago, know what you’re talking about?”
“Figure it out yourself.”
He was an unpleasant man. Bell gritted her teeth, vowing to someday crush his arrogant attitude, as she watched Bertrand being dragged away by Ludvico.
‘This is interesting.’
The Balzac territory had mines and vast plains, but its cold climate and barren land always left it short of people.
Therefore, compared to other regions, they accepted body-modified individuals with stronger bodies with less prejudice. Yet discrimination remained—a fact she hadn’t considered.
Moreover, from what she heard, most of the body-modified Dandelion knights weren’t originally of knightly status nor had they gone through formal knighthood procedures.
Nevertheless, the House of Balzac created the Dandelion Knight Order despite opposition from the Ponce Knight Order.
Why?
‘If there’s a reason to train body-modified individuals…’
War.
Given their superior physical abilities, body-modified individuals were used as war slaves in ancient times and are still dragged to battlefields during wars.
But she had heard the Grand Ducal family wasn’t on bad terms with the royal family externally. They supposedly maintained an appropriate distance and adequate friendliness.
“Meira, how many administrators are there under the Grand Duke?”
If there was something Samuel didn’t know, Bell had quite good wild instincts.
Insight, or what could vulgarly be called a hunch, was exceptional—her mind excelled at deriving correct answers from small pieces of information.
Whether the Grand Ducal family and the royal family were on good or bad terms wasn’t the issue. What mattered now was proving her own value.
If they needed an administrative officer rather than a formal commander, the shortage of talent within the territory must be serious. Bell was confident she could seize this opportunity to establish her position.
“Never mind. I need a detailed answer, so I’ll look elsewhere.”
Whatever the beast was that inspired such fear, she felt anger rather than fear.
Already possibly at the beast’s jaws without knowing it, now was not the time for fear but to stay sharp and focus on surviving to return home.
Bell went straight to find Samuel.
“Samuel. I heard the Grand Duke has arrived.”
“Yes. But you won’t be able to meet him right away.”
“Is he that busy?”
“That’s not for you to concern yourself with.”
“With a debt of 18 million berks to repay, how is it not my concern?”
“Miss Sevigne. What exactly could you possibly repay with?”
“That’s what I need to discuss with His Grace. I could work to repay it.”
“Do you believe there’s work you can do here?”
“It’s not that there’s no work I can do, but rather work you’re reluctant to assign me.”
“You don’t seem to consider whether you’re a difficult subject to entrust with work.”
“Being always overwhelmed with work, I hadn’t thought of it that way. I can do anything. For example—”
Bell stared directly into Samuel’s cold gray eyes and smiled faintly.
“I’m even fine with confronting the beast rumored to kill employees.”
For the first time, Samuel reacted. As his cheek twitched and he composed himself, a snort was heard from behind him.
“Even if it means offering your life?”
It was the appearance of Louise de Balzac, the young master of Balzac with black hair and blue eyes, known through rumors.
Louise Balzac, with a face as handsome as a roughly carved statue, was a man with a cold atmosphere and a wild, desolate air.
When her gaze met his icy blue eyes, she felt herself instinctively shrinking. But she relaxed her body to avoid showing tension and answered:
“There’s a rumor in the south. They say you can only leave Balzac Castle by dying or going insane. Would I have come here without being prepared for that much?”
At the mention of dying or going insane, the Grand Duke’s eyes grew colder.
It felt like breaking through frozen lake ice and stepping in. She had an intuition that the saying about dying or going insane arose because no one could endure under this Grand Duke.