"The daughter of this house."

"Ah..."

"Estella Cardeine."

It was just as Estella answered with a sly smile—

BWOOOOOO! BWOOOOOO! BWOOOOOO!

A sudden blare of horn trumpets tore through the still darkness, shaking the air.

The startled eyes of the two locked mid-air, then they sprinted in opposite directions as if on cue. Movement stirred frantically in the heavy dark.

The once-empty training ground was soon flooded with knights and mercenaries. In addition to the Squirrel Mercenary Band, four other mercenary groups had arrived. Their sizes varied, but each had at least twenty members.

The mercenaries, eyeing each other warily, caught sight of the modestly positioned Squirrel Mercenary Band—and smirked.

“If you hide just right behind us, we might hand over the stragglers to you. What do you say? Pretty lady, getting curious? Wanna come stand by me?”

The leader of the Golden Scorpion Mercenaries, Jack, flashed a wink and tossed the flirt toward Lily. He had tufts of hair clumped like an island on his scalp, spiked like a rooster's comb.

Snickers rang out from nearby, but Ciel’s group didn’t even glance their way.

“Guess they’re scared. That’s what happens when you show up with a bunch of nobodies. Looks like only one guy there could even throw a punch.”

He was clearly pointing at Bruno, the biggest one in the group. It was meant as an insult, but oddly enough, no one took offense. Bruno, in fact, seemed pleased and lifted his chin slightly.

“With that pretty-boy face, you’re not gonna last long out here. Or maybe you’re good with other kinds of strength? If that’s the case, I’ve got more than enough to go around! Kekeke!”

Jack’s crude innuendo was punctuated with a sleazy gesture toward his crotch. That was the final straw for Lily.

“See, Captain? He says I’m the only one here who looks capable. You really gotta start lifting.”

She nudged Ciel’s shoulder with a grin.

“I’ll try.”

Ciel replied coolly, and Lily gave a satisfied smirk before raising her middle finger, beautifully and deliberately, toward Jack.

“He said he’ll try. So fuck off, you dickhead of a water deer. Before I yank out that long-ass chin of yours and use it as a shovel.”

The foul curse spilling from Lily’s seemingly dainty lips made Jack reflexively cover his jaw, while his men chuckled and shook their shoulders.

BWOOO, BWOOOOOO! BWOO! BW-BW!

The trumpet calls now sounded noticeably different. Estella, nearly finished prepping, turned to Ria.

“Is it a Level 3?”

She asked, lifting her eyes sharply, recalling the trumpet signal codes Ria had taught her. A Level 3 monster was dangerous, but manageable with proper preparation.

What was in the Level 3 list again…?

She tried to recall, but there were too many options to pinpoint.

BWOOO, BWOO BWOOOOOOO BW, bw. BW.

Estella’s eyes gleamed at the changed tone of the horn.

“Don’t tell me—it’s the Blue Forest?”

“Yes. Do you really have to go? Can’t you just… not?”

The Blue Forest was on a whole different level compared to the Resillin Forest where the Goliath Hopper had last appeared. The place was filled with such eerie energy that anyone who returned from it usually spent a day or two bedridden.

Ria asked with a face full of worry, but Estella looked even more excited than before and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Don’t worry. I’m a proper knight now.”

“You’re a provisional member, my lady.”

“I’ll lose the ‘provisional’ soon. I’m a sword genius, remember?”

Estella boasted, though Ria’s concern didn’t fade.

If only the lady would just learn flower arranging or embroidery like other girls...

Ria was more thrilled than anyone about Estella’s transformation, but every time she watched her charge headlong into danger, unease gnawed at her.

“Oh, wait—my lady, take these!”

Just as Estella was about to head out, Ria handed her two daggers.

They were redesigned based on Yoon Seo-yi’s memories, reducing the weaknesses and maximizing the strengths of the current daggers used by the knights.

All unnecessary decorations were removed to lighten the weight and ease the strain on the wrist. The overly long blade had been shortened to more practical dimensions, with dual edges for versatility, and a fine serrated groove added to the spine.

The grip was thickened for comfort even while wearing gloves, and layers of leather cord wrapped around it for a secure hold. The awkwardly upturned pommel was minimized.

It was the ideal shape—nothing excessive, nothing lacking.

Though it required several rounds of adjustments, Dolan followed Estella’s specifications without complaint.

Initially wary of her, Dolan now seemed almost eager to see what design challenge Estella would bring next. He even begged for one of the custom daggers himself.

“Oh! Thanks!”

Estella slid the dagger into her thigh sheath. Made of leather and steel, the sheath bore her engraved name. It was a custom design by Claire.

Claire, who had only ever made dresses, seemed delighted crafting it—said it made her fingertips tingle.

Bit by bit, Estella was assembling her own crew.

With both long and short blades strapped on, her confidence surged.

“I’ll be back!”

There was a reason Estella was insisting on joining this hunt, even if it meant pushing herself.

Nevrion.

It was because of the enhancement stones.

According to Estella Cardeine’s memories, the Blue Forest—where the monster appeared today—had abundant Nevrion deposits.

No one in Wintfall yet knew that their territory held a large store of enhancement stones.

And while her memory wasn’t exact, Estella alone had a general idea of where to find them. The thrill of holding a lottery’s winning numbers danced on her lips.

If I get my hands on Nevrion, I can upgrade Wintfall’s weapons way beyond what we have now.

If she succeeded, it would greatly aid the territory’s defense.

Estella waved energetically to Ria, who stood there with concern written all over her face. Having someone waiting for her... felt surprisingly good.

When Estella slipped herself into the formation, Lucius’s eyes snapped wide.

His stare practically shouted, What are you doing here?

But Estella dodged his gaze and stubbornly held her ground.

The knights who shared the training room with her weren’t too shocked. Her swordsmanship had been improving by the day, and they had seen enough during the Resillin Forest incident to expect something like this eventually.

Lucius, too, only stared silently for a long moment before saying nothing.

That was a relief.

“Whew!”

Estella exhaled with visible relief, straightening her back. She’d worried she might be kicked out.

She even hoped that standing straighter might make up for her short height—though it didn’t help.

She briefly considered asking Claire for height-boosting boots, but the mental image of herself bounding clumsily through a forest in thick soles made her abandon the idea.

She didn’t want to die falling out of her own shoes trying to look taller.

“Who is that woman the Captain can’t take his eyes off of?”

Lily, watching Ciel’s subtle glances toward Estella, asked Bruno with a grin.

“No idea. Was there a female knight in the marquisate?”

“Idiot, does she look like a knight to you?”

Bruno shook his head slightly as he watched Estella riding up ahead. She looked too soft to be a knight. But her posture on horseback and the air around her didn’t exactly scream ordinary girl either.

“What about the others? Anyone know?”

Lily called out, but the others didn’t answer—none of them knew either.

Ciel was exasperated.

“Uh, Lily? I’m right here.”

“These things are more fun when you ask someone else, not the person themselves.”

“I said I don’t know.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll figure it out myself.”

“Just ask me.”

“Ehh, that’s no fun. It’s rare for the Captain to show interest in a woman.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Suuure. Got it, got it.”

Lily clearly didn’t believe a word. The way her lips curled up said she’d be teasing him about this for at least six months.

Ciel opened his mouth to argue—then closed it again.

Once Lily decided to mess with you, no explanation would change her mind.

They were all supposed to be his subordinates, but for some reason, he always ended up the one getting dragged around.

“Hey, do you know who that woman up front is?”

Watching Lily shout toward Kyle at the rear, Ciel thought to himself:

I am the captain… right?

Chapter 19

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