"Miss!!"
After I was done handing over the horse to a servant, I returned to my pavilion and was greeted by Sofia with her tears of happiness.
"Miss, you finally come back safely! Are you okay, Miss?"
"I'm okay. I'm okay. I was cleared of all charges."
"Really?!"
"Yes. I've told you before that everything would be alright."
But of course I didn't think that I could return this soon at that time. I received Sofia's enthusiasm while sitting at the edge of my bed. Ouch ouch… my foot. I quickly took off the heels from both my foot.
"Nonetheless, I'm relieved that Miss is fine now. I was deeply worried something bad might happened to Miss."
If the situation went wrong, at worst I would get death sentenced. Though, I would certainly flee before they chopped my head off.
"Huh? When did you change your dress, Miss? Seems like you also had taken a bath… then, are you hungry, Miss? Should I prepare some tea?"
"I want something cold. Oh, right. I've a new fiancee."
"… what?"
Sofia who was already half way from leaving the room to prepare the tea, suddenly halted her footsteps and freezed on the spot. She quickly turned around and looked at me with anxious face.
"New fiancee? Ah, did Madam get another weirdos for you, Miss?"
"Nope. This time I picked him myself."
"Oh… I see. Then what kind of person is he?"
"Jullius Rizar, Captain of the Special Task Squad."
"…, WHAT?!"
Sofia was immediately running towards me while shouted in surprise. She looked at me with her widen eyes that contained disbelief look.
"Special Task Squad made up of criminals!"
"It's true that criminals could join in, but it doesn't mean all the members are criminals though."
In reality, those who were criminals are less in comparison to normal people.
"Besides, I heard that the Captain is an extremely scary person."
"He's nice though."
"R-really?"
"Yup. He also gave me his pudding."
"Pudding…"
"He was eating pudding and I asked him to share it with me, to my surprise, he willingly shared it."
Sofia'a face just started to look better, but then she turned dejected again.
"Turns out he's really a weirdo afterall! How could he gave the pudding he already ate to Miss?!"
"Eh…isn't that make him a good person because he had already eaten it?"
Am I wrong? But, in my opinion, if he ate it and he knew it tasted delicious, he wouldn't willingly share it with me. And yet he still shared it.
"Giving someone something that you've already eaten is an extremely rude thing to do! I couldn't say much if Miss was clueless because you suffered amnesia. But, the one who is a Captain, does he have no manners at all?!"
…, I'm sorry. Truthfully I didn't lose my memories at all. That aside, all these time the ladies that I shared my food with, seemed happy though?
"Erm… he also gave me a new dress. Including a necklace, a bracelet, and a pair of shoes."
Sofia's anger dissipated a bit when she heard I also got other presents.
"I've been wondering how Miss could change into a new dress. This dress looks good. Oh my, this necklace seems expensive. But… these things previously shouldn't have been used by another person, right?"
"…, maybe?"
"…, what?"
"I don't know. I just accepted without asking anything."
"Miss!"
Tsk, my eardrum might broke from all the screams. If I got free things then the right thing I need to do was just expressing gratitude. Is it that crucial to know the things I got were a new ones or used ones? I got up from the bed and brought the sword closer for Sofia to see it.
"I also got a sword."
"A long-sword?"
"Yes. For self-defense."
"S-Shouldn't it enough to just give you a dagger for self-defense? There isn't any man who would give a noble lady such a scary long-sword to protect herself. I don't know what to say anymore."
I couldn't bring myself to tell Sofia who were talking in anger, that I chose this sword by myself. Why were there many restrictions? Sofia would probably berated Captain Jullius if I've brought a shield back home. Ah, to be precise Captain Jullius has already been cursed out by Sofia.
"Oh mighty Goddess! Why does my Miss so miserable? Do you really have to get engaged, Miss? Even though he's a weirdo?!"
"At the very least, he's definitely many times better than my ex-fiancee."
Sofia who has been refuting all my previous words, instantly stumped on my last statement. The room fell into silence until Sofia let out a long breath.
"And the most important thing is Captain Jullius will protect me from my stepmother. He's completely different from Viscount Schwart. Captain Jullius is very strong."
"That's… right. I heard Captain of Special Task Squad is the strongest knight in the entire Empire."
…, my mood hit the rock bottom at once. Of course I had long known about that particular rumor, but I couldn't help but to feel irritated when I heard it directly.
"…, the Captain of Holy Knight Squad is also strong!"
"Even so, from what I heard before, Sir Captain of Special Task Squad is the strongest."
"How did you know? They even have never had a match before!"
My screams made Sofia sighed for for the second time.
"Miss, you can't be biased. Although Miss really admired Sir Roel, you can't take his (Roel) side like this. It's fine if it's in the past, but it's different now. Miss said yourself that you're now Captain's fiancee. Even if Sir Roel was stronger, Miss must sided with Miss' fiancee. Moreover, didn't Miss already forget anything related to Sir Roel?"
"…"
Fck! This is not fair!! Why do I have to abandon myself for Captain Jullius?! Despite being his fiancee, I still considered my own beings to be the most important. I pouted my lips, clearly showed my dissatisfaction. Sofia was helpless seeing my temper and could only sighed for the third time.
"You can't be like this, Miss. Before the engagement ceremony, Miss must learn basic etiquatte and other basic knowledge."
"…, what?"
"Don't worry, Miss. Although Madam won't invite an etiquatte teacher for you, you still have me here. I have served you long enough, so I know some basic mannerism."
Sofia smiled brightly, while I felt like crying. Damn it! Why did I ask to be engaged in the first place?!
The Countess returned to the mansion in the late afternoon and asked for me right away. Hmm…could the Countess called for me after she knew about my new fiancee? Or maybe she still hasn't know yet? I followed the servant to the main house where the Countess resided. In contrast with my shabby pavilion, the main house was luxuriously furnished inside out. Seeing the gigantic chandelier and many expensive and rare decorations made me felt the true wealth of the Count's family. If the problem could be successfully solved, all of these would be mine. I was born as an orphan and lived a humble life for all my life, but I had never expected a day like this would finally come to me.
High Priest, wait for me! Soon, the church will get enormous donation!
"We're here. Please come inside, Miss."
The servant stopped in front of the door of a room and bowed respecfully to me. I knocked on the door to announce my arrival and went inside. Inside the spacious elegant waiting room, the Countess was sitting on one of the sofa. That woman smiled gracefully to me.
"Welcome."
"…, honestly, I can't return the courtesy."
"My, my… you're such a cold child."
Heh. What a hypocrite. I walked straight towards the sofa in front of her and took a seat. Her face still looked beautiful as ever, and I wondered if calling her as a poisonous flower befitted her. Calling her as a thorny rose was still lacking for a woman who accused her step-daughter as a murderer. If she was to be compared to a poisonous flower then it must be the most deadly poison in the world.
"What's the matter?"
"First, congratulations for clearing your name."
The Countess smiled friendly until I got goosebumps. Heh, if I didn't know her true colors, I would have definitely trust her. Her sweet melodic voice covered her hidden motives really well. Ugh, seriously… I almost unconsciously captived by her voice.
"Judging by the looks of your face, I'd think that you're genuinely happy."
"That's for sure. Didn't you return home all well?"
"Did you really wish for my safe return? That's why you sent two servants to 'take care' of me."
"I just did what a mother should do. You don't need to thank me."
Oh, it seems like these days a mother sent some bad guys to give her daughter a lesson. Perhaps it was a new way to express the deep love of a mother so her child could grow stronger after went through some bitter experiences from young age.
"Cut the crap. If you've anything to say, just say it."