An Arranged Marriage with an Enemy - Chapter 10-1

He led her around the estate in a clockwise direction. “The whole annex is used as training grounds. Though there’s a separate space outdoors for that, this one is divided into floors  for specific uses, like swordsmanship training.”

“I don’t see a lot of them here, though?”

“It’s an outdoor training day. I’m sure they’re all resting in the barracks.” Kaon gestured to a structure just behind the training annex.

The Ferdinand estate provided separate accommodations for their knights, renovating an entire building and dedicating it to them. It was obvious that the previous dukes intended to provide the best environment for the knights.

“Do you also do outdoor training?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t imagine staying outside in this hot weather… It must be possible because everyone has a sense of duty. The knights are amazing.”

Kaon blushed a little. Truthfully, knighthood wasn’t the path he had chosen for himself. It was closer to being a path set out for him. As a Ferdinand, there was no other option for him, and even then he wasn’t doing a particularly great job at it because he felt like it would only cause chaos.

He had no intention of becoming the head of the family anyway, nor did he have the qualifications to do so, so what would have been the point of trying too hard? He’d do just enough to support Leonida.

“Aren’t you tired, Kaon? I guess I should have waited until tomorrow, it’s not really urgent right now…” Her downturned eyes seemed to droop even more.

“This is nothing. I promised, so I have to keep it. Besides, I thought you’d be bored if you stayed in the room all the time.” He shook his head hurriedly.

Actually, Kaon was quite tired until just then. He wasn’t able to sleep well and his head felt fuzzy and his body felt heavy and he wanted to lie down. However, when he came out with Alessia, his fatigue was washed away.

She listened intently to even trivial stories, occasionally asking questions with twinkling eyes.

“In Ferdinand, we start learning how to ride a horse at the age of seven. All those who choose to become a knight learn to work with horses from then on.”

“Seven? Oh my goodness! Even now, I don’t know how to ride one, which is rather shameful.”

“It’s not that difficult. I’ll teach you later if you want.”

“Really? Then I’ll take you up on that later.”

In the first place, responsiveness is the most important thing. If a student was eager to learn, the teacher would be more eager to teach more. Kaon wanted to teach her more and more things.

Alessia’s deep interest and positive reaction were surprisingly pleasant.

And it was just that, obviously. It wasn’t that he was having fun with her. It was simply his responsibility to teach her about Ferdinand, and he was only slightly encouraged by her response.

‘It’s not that I think it’s fun or anything like that. It really isn’t, I swear. Or maybe not, if I’m swearing on something important, but anyway…’

“You’re really sweet, you know that?”

“It’s the first time I’ve ever heard of it.”

“They’re all just used to it, probably, so they don’t even have to say it.”

“… Well, let’s move on. There’s nothing more to see here.”

Kaon walked away quickly, embarrassed. The faint laughter that had now become a little more familiar followed his ears from behind him.

***

It was close to impossible to tour the entire estate in a day, so the two returned to the mansion after a look at the most important areas.

Kaon led Alessia into an arched cloister. Several portraits hung in a row on the wall, all of them depicting the dukes and duchesses that had ruled over Ferdinand.

“Is this the former duchess?”

“Yes, my mother.”

“She’s really beautiful,” Alessia said admiringly.

Kaon stepped closer and looked up at his mom’s likeness as well. She’d been a great beauty with brilliant blonde hair and light blue eyes.

It was obvious how the daughter of a tenant farmer became the duchess.

“I heard the duke fell in love at first sight,” she added.

In Ferdinand, it was a story everyone knew. Maybe even Alessia already knew about it too, since it was something that had also spread to the capital.