The Knight Commander of the Second Male Lead [Novel] Chapter 4

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 4

Chapter Title: Shadows and Sweets

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‘I need to go to the Young Master.’

Butter and sugar for once.

On the way to Adrian’s room, Nina couldn’t stop giggling. Hehe. The Young Master’s room, off in its isolated corner, stood empty.

‘Is it sword practice day?’

The place where Adrian practiced swordsmanship was a remote training ground. Nina and Adrian maintained it as best they could, but the weeds grew at an alarming rate.

She skipped along excitedly when a voice reached her ears.

Rough curses and an ominous sound.

She stopped without thinking, then kicked off the ground and dashed toward it.

The noises from the training ground grew clearer. The swordsmanship teacher was spewing curses while beating Adrian one-sidedly.

It wasn’t even a wooden sword—it was a steel one.

Nina learned what sound metal made when it struck a person.

She charged at him like an enraged hen.

“Wh-what the?”

The swordsmanship teacher flinched for a moment at her momentum. Nina grabbed his leg and bit down on his thigh with all her might.

“Argh! You damn bitch!”

“Nina!”

Blood and flesh tore into her mouth in chunks. Nina spat it out and bit down again.

The swordsmanship teacher struck Nina with his steel sword. After several blows, he pried her off and threw her aside, panting with rage.

“I’ll kill you first!”

As he raised his steel sword and approached Nina, Adrian smashed the back of his head with a wooden sword.

Crack! With a dull thud, the wooden sword splintered, and the teacher collapsed. Adrian hurriedly caught Nina as she flew through the air.

“Nina, are you okay? Nina.”

“Adrian?”

“Thank goodness.”

He bit his lip and pulled his precious Nina into his arms.

“You filthy scum...”

The swordsmanship teacher staggered to his feet. Even in that moment, Nina thought, What a thick-headed idiot.

Then the ground beneath the teacher’s feet sank with a squelch, as if he’d stepped into a swamp.

Nina knew Adrian had contracted with the Shadow and Darkness spirit. But seeing its power firsthand was another thing entirely.

“Wha? Aaaah! What is this? Save me! Help!”

He flailed as he was slowly sucked downward. Adrian watched him with cold eyes.

The swordsmanship teacher begged Adrian.

“Save me! I was wrong! I was just doing what the Duchess ordered. Please, save me!”

Clutched so tightly in his arms that she could barely breathe, Nina thought,

Right, our Young Master’s a strong, sweet guy.

Not just any sweet sub-male lead.

The darkness fully swallowed the swordsmanship teacher. Despite his screams, no one came.

“I dropped the snacks.”

Nina whispered from within his embrace, and Adrian replied,

“We’ll pick them up.”

“Are you okay, Young Master?”

“I’m fine.”

He hugged her tighter.

Feeling her breaths and warmth, he whispered again.

“I’m fine, Nina.”

But you...

The words lingered on his tongue before sinking back down his throat.

The two went to the well and washed away the blood and wounds.

Limping and swallowing their pain, they settled down and shared the snacks. Dirt crunched between their teeth, but the sweetness lifted Nina’s spirits immensely.

“But... will it be okay?”

“What will?”

As Adrian looked puzzled, Nina pointed at the ground.

“The teacher... who vanished into there.”

Adrian flashed an elegant smile, as if he’d drawn it himself.

“No need to worry.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Despite his assurance, Nina wondered if it would truly be fine—but it was.

No one asked about the missing swordsmanship teacher.

The quiet unsettled her. The servants gossiped, but since the guy was such a scumbag, they all assumed he’d gotten drunk and passed out somewhere.

Good thing it’s a place no one comes to.

The horror of killing someone—or that someone had died—didn’t sink in.

In this world with Belak everywhere, death was always close.

Belak and knights were inseparable. Knight orders repelled Belak and protected the people.

The Rubaenu Ducal Family was no different. Yet their Ebony Knight Order came up more often in other stories than Belak ones.

“They lost again this year.”

Nina blurted it out.

Winter breath misted from her mouth. In this freezing weather, the two sat side by side in a garden corner, gazing at the stars.

Even bundled in every scrap of clothing they had, the cold was deadly. Nina was strong in winter thanks to her contracts with the North Wind and Frost spirits, but it had to be worse for Adrian.

They’d checked on each other several times before coming out here.

“Already the second loss?”

Adrian asked back, and Nina nodded.

In a place plagued by Belak, knight orders’ popularity was beyond imagination.

The territory folk might not know their lord’s crest, but they knew the knight order’s.

Each territory and house had its knight order, and duels settled many disputes.

The empire’s nobility were downright belligerent.

The exchange tournament was one such event.

Representatives from the Rubaenu Ducal Family’s knight order faced off against those from the nearby Count Raba’s territory.

The winner gained rights to the Crystal Well—the largest well in the plains—so it was a crucial match.

Yet they’d lost two years running.

This made farming and ranching harder.

“They say the Ebony Knight Order’s turned into a ragtag bunch now. Apparently, they’ve bought up every mercenary money can get.”

Nina knew Adrian would be appointed as the Ebony Knight Order Captain.

So her ears perked up whenever it came up, but the news was always bad.

Rumors even swirled of disbanding it for a new order.

“I see...”

Adrian trailed off. Nina whipped around with an “Ah!”

“Did you see that shooting star just now?”

“No, I missed it.”

“Too bad. Next time one falls, you gotta make three wishes. Please let there be cake at the New Year’s party this year. Cake, cake, cake.”

Adrian chuckled softly at Nina’s shout.

Nina turned to him, pouting.

“Cake is important.”

“You’re right, it is.”

He put on a serious face.

They watched the stars a bit longer, then stood.

Nina judged they’d freeze or fall asleep if they stayed.

Whether Nina’s wish had power or not, cake appeared at that year’s New Year’s party.

A lavish cake, with a slice even for every servant.

Nina grabbed a piece and ran to Adrian.

Seeing her triumphant face, Adrian laughed. “I should’ve made a wish too, just in case.”

Nina stabbed her fork into the palm-sized slice and shoved it in her mouth.

“Mmm!”

Rich butter and sugar flavors.

It was deliciously chilling. Seeing Nina’s flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, Adrian took a small bite and said,

“Eat plenty, Nina.”

“You need to eat more than me, Young Master!”

She cut a big piece and shoved it toward his mouth. Adrian forced down the cake with a wry smile.

“Delicious, right?”

“Yeah.”

“But it’s a bit gritty. Winter makes whipping foam tough, I guess. Or maybe just ours?”

Nina took a small bite, then crammed the rest into Adrian’s mouth.

“How’s that?”

As Nina asked, Adrian looked at her.

His gaze toward her was just like when he watched the stars. She felt shy, but it made sense too.

Cake was worth it, right?

He reached out and wiped cream from her mouth.

“May the blessings of the Great Spirits overflow this year.”

At Adrian’s New Year’s greeting, Nina smiled and returned it.

“May you have a year filled with the Great Spirits’ blessings.”