I Became the Villain’s Wife - Chapter 54

~ 54.1 ~

Translator: Lioness

Editor: Lioness

Eun-woo recalled the conversation she had with him at the ballroom the other day.

He clearly said that the knight battle was meaningful in recharging the morale between the knights, competing with each other, and strengthening their relationship. That’s why he seemed to have said that even if he participated as the Commander-in-chief, it’s useless.

“I think so.”

As Eun-woo muttered, Yuria said.

“As the commander-in-chief, he must have a ton of things to deal with.”

Then Hannah pondered something, and she asked a question.

“By the way, who did his grace, the duke, serve at that time when he was still a knight? No matter how amazing and outstanding a knight is, they have those times when they are given that evaluation. Do you know the lady?”

Eun-woo blankly blinked at her sudden question.

He must be a mere knight in his early days; therefore he must have been trained under a certain master as his or her knight. No one wields the sword right after they are born.

However, Eun-woo could feel the atmosphere suddenly getting stronger. Except for Hannah, all the other maids looked at each other and kept their mouths shut.

At that moment, Selena broke the quiet silence and opened her mouth.

“The duke …  I don’t think he had undergone such.”

“What do you mean?”

Eun-woo asked a question while still not understanding Selena.

Wouldn’t it be impossible for him to rise to the position he is today if he hadn’t received training as a servant knight? Could it be that Selena is saying that he is occupying his place by his status and position?

Tashian was a very outstanding knight who made a heroic contribution to the Great Genova War and was an honorable general who was envied by all others knights.

Eun-woo wondered how he was able to become the commander of the Hellasium Imperial Knights without going through the period of a servant knight.

Suddenly, there was a cold voice from behind them that interrupted their chatter.

“…I will explain that.”

It was Johannes. Eun-woo suddenly found the butler standing at the entrance of the terrace where they were gathered.

Johannes bowed slightly towards Eun-woo and Selena. Her cold marble-like voice was heard again.

“Duke Verk that time was 18 years old when he was given the title, and right after, he was sent to the expedition to the northern part of Kartina.”

Eun-woo put down the needle she was holding in her hand upon hearing Johannes’ words.

She recalled the name of the said place she had vaguely learned in Johannes class.

Kartina was a term used to refer to the northern peoples, often called barbarians, who lived a nomadic lifestyle by raising horses in the middle of a vast grassland.

They had a combative spirit and were the scourge of an empire that went south through the borders of guarded Hellasium and Genova. However, the value of their territory was too small at that time to invade the area.

In the end, the Empire invaded the guarded* border area and was unable to take any measures other than periodically sweeping up Kartina, who was only looking for an opportunity to expand their power.

(TN: The guarded part wasn’t the literal translation of that, but because the literal tl of it was the KEEPER OR GUARD OF THE BORDER, I just changed it to GUARDED to therefore fit the context.)

“As soon as he arrived in that barren land, he was referred to as Sir Reinhardt’s knighthood and went straight to war. There was no prior notice or training. At that time, the units given to the lord were newly recruited soldiers, they were mostly boys who had just completed training and enlisted. It can be seen as literal bunches of whoever, with a boss, who had never even served as servant, nor had seen much bloodshed and had no experience in combat.”

Johannes’ expression was almost the same as usual. She continued her speech, keeping her clerical, and firm voice.

“On the other hand, the enemy His Grace and his troops had to deal with was the Plainsman cavalry of Kartina, known for their brutality. Previously, no one had spoken of this battle… but from what I heard it was basically the road to death.”

Eun-woo swallowed her dry saliva after listening to Johannes.

Even if she didn’t know the whole situation, she could already imagine how ugly the situation was at that time. Tashian, who must have stood to the frontliners, leading the troops who had a hard time defending themselves amidst a desperate situation, where they couldn’t see an inch ahead because of the amount of their enemies.

Johannes suddenly approached their table they were sitting at. The butler’s straight forehead without a single hair sticking out made her impression to others even sharper these days.

“But His Grace returned from that battle without a single member of the army scathed.”

At Johannes’ last words, no one at the table was able to speak. Even Selena had stopped moving her hand. The stillness subsided after a long while.

“…With the strong recommendation from the Crown Prince, who highly valued his achievement at that time, he was recommended as an elite knight of the Imperial Knights Templar without a separate examination. After that, he showed steady progress, thus, he was appointed to the position as the commander-in-chief after Sir Miliano, who had just retired before the War of the Great Genova. It was unanimously appointed, with no one against it.”

Eun-woo was incapable of saying anything. She recalled the first time she met him.

Facing him inside the rose garden of the Imperial Palace; he looked like an unreachable mountain- huge and unyielding. The feeling of intimidation was being disseminated like grains of sand if she dared to approach him. Because he was accustomed to commanding his subordinates, he has this indescribable power of the kind that was terrifying to look at. It seemed as if he was born that way.

But even for such a person like him, there were hard times when he couldn’t see an inch ahead of him.

Hearing his past from someone other than him was a feeling she wasn’t quite used to.

Eun-woo touched the cloth in front of her. His boyhood, when he had to climb up a barrier a thousand times higher than the others with his bare hands, seemed to come vividly as if unfolding in front of her.

At the same time, she could feel her feeling from within surfacing and turning deeper and deeper, into another path. She was afraid of her hopeless feelings for him.

Eun-woo tried not to act like a puppy pup that flirts in front of her dizzy thoughts.

“Oh, I brought a cloth.”

What awakened her dazed thoughts was the voice from the maid, Anit. She burst into admiration after looking at the white cloth in Johannes’ right hand.

“I didn’t expect you to get it so quickly! Oh my gosh.”

The eyes of the quiet maids immediately turned to the white cloth in Johannes’ hands. Eun-woo made a puzzled expression as she looked at the white cloth that Anit was lifting.

She wondered what items the smart maid, who always writes down in the ledger and submits if there is anything else she needs for her, asked the butler of the duke department to provide directly.

“Anit, what is that?”