The Knight Commander of the Second Male Lead [Novel] Chapter 5

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 5

Chapter Title: Ebony Shadows

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The cake had been just the beginning, and Nina told Adrian all about the New Year's banquet put on by the servants.

How much money the Duchess had spent on this year's event, how much of it the butler had skimmed off the top, and how much food was left over from the feast—stories like that.

Finally, Nina shared that she quite liked her new role as a kitchen maid, and Adrian had no choice but to nod.

"Nina, you're a glutton after all."

"What? You can't say that... but I can't deny it."

Nina admitted it readily, and Adrian laughed again. Once her stories wrapped up, Adrian shared tales from a book he'd just read and his frustration that his swordsmanship wasn't improving.

It was a pleasant evening befitting the New Year's spirit. As night grew late, Nina stood reluctantly.

"See you next time."

"Good night."

"You too, Young Master."

Her mood soaring, Nina gathered the dishes and stepped into the corridor.

Humming a tune, she rounded the corner and bumped into someone.

"Ah, so the rat was you."

An elegant, smooth, aristocratic voice.

Staring blankly at the woman in lavish green velvet, Nina startled and dropped to her knees.

"Greetings, Madam."

The Duchess gazed down at Nina with a beaming smile.

"A rat in my house. Oh, how filthy."

Her girlish voice added,

"If we shaved off all the fur and doused it with water, wouldn't it be clean?"

A chill ran down Nina's spine.

But she had no intention of screaming or causing a scene.

Adrian would hear.

"Best to do it at the well."

With that, the Duchess glided effortlessly back the way she came.

What followed was quite harrowing.

Considering it was January, Nina's survival was solely due to her being a spirit contractor.

For a twelve-year-old girl, the humiliation and pain were nearly unbearable.

As if she hadn't expected Nina to live, the Duchess issued the order and promptly forgot about her.

The servants who favored Nina didn't douse her completely naked and left her undergarments on.

Wearing clothes would make body heat drop faster, but it was still better than stripping bare in front of the entire household.

Having freezing well water—chipped ice and all—poured over her in her underwear while everyone watched in January was an experience she couldn't endure twice.

Adrian had no idea what happened to Nina. So when she didn't show up for days, he eventually went looking for her in the kitchens.

Seeing her with her head scrubbed raw under a towel, shivering with fever, left him speechless.

The kitchen maids who cared for Nina pleaded with Adrian.

Please keep your distance from her.

Adrian returned to his room without a word.

By the time Nina regained her senses, he had hardened his resolve.

Adrian stopped speaking to Nina and ignored her.

He even threw sharp words her way at times.

In the end, Nina had no choice but to sneak into his bedroom in the dead of night.

"Adrian!"

She leaped onto the bed and practically straddled him, leaving Adrian flustered.

Nina said,

"I know you're doing this because you don't want to lose me, Adrian. But if you keep it up, you'll lose me in the worst way possible."

Adrian said nothing, and Nina just stared into his beautiful rose-quartz eyes.

The standoff didn't last long, and in the end, Adrian surrendered.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

"But Nina. But..."

Seeing his distress, Nina offered a compromise.

"If it bothers you that much, we'll pretend not to know each other in public. But I'll come like this at night. That should be okay, right?"

Adrian was still uneasy but agreed.

After that day, they pretended not to know each other by day but met at night.

Their bond, nearly shattered once, endured and grew even stronger.

The days of ignoring each other dragged on.

They didn't even exchange glances. But fleeting brushes of fingertips, flowers left on the windowsill, walks passing the same spot—these were how they communicated.

And on nights when surveillance slackened, Nina slipped into Adrian's room.

Then they could finally face each other and talk properly.

Some might pity them.

If Nina said, 'We're happy enough like this,' others might retort that it was just coping, a miserable life without proper food or drink.

But Nina had no intention of entrusting her happiness to others. She held the reins of her own joy and pleasure.

She wouldn't let anyone judge it.

Nina chose the path that made her happy over what others deemed happiness.

Life was an endless chain of hardships and sorrows, so finding joy and pleasure within it was entirely up to the individual.

Nina had no desire to let others evaluate or compare the joys she carved out for herself.

Nina was a master at discovering life's pleasures, and Adrian would smile faintly each time.

Two years later.

The year Adrian turned fifteen, the event Nina had steeled herself for—and Adrian had dreaded—finally came to pass.

The Duke appointed him as captain of the Ebony Knight Order.

He was placing the fifteen-year-old at the front lines.

No one was ignorant of the Violet Forest's notoriety. The Ebony Knight Order's mortality rate hovered near fifty percent.

Anyone could see it was a move to get Adrian killed.

Adrian summoned Nina.

In broad daylight, openly.

Her hair had grown out a bit. She wished it would grow faster every day, but it was slow.

The maids said it was from poor nutrition, and Nina figured they were right.

Adrian calmly told Nina he had become captain of the Ebony Knight Order.

He opened a box.

It held his entire fortune.

Two gold coins, five silver coins.

One silver brooch.

That was the entirety of the ducal heir's wealth.

"Leave the ducal estate, Nina."

He said it with a gentle smile.

"This should cover your body price. I'm not here anymore anyway. It might even be easier without me, but just in case."

"Young Master!"

"I'll be fine. Leaving this place might be for the best. At least I won't have other worries."

He looked at Nina.

"My only worry is you."

"Adrian."

Nina reached out and cupped his cheeks. As she leaned in close, his eyes widened.

"You don't have to smile like that for me."

"Nina..."

"Not even for me, Adrian."

"Nina."

He gritted his teeth. His hands gripped her arms tightly, and in her embrace, he collapsed.

The fifteen-year-old boy sobbed.

Nina held him silently, tight.

Run away? Not a chance.

Adrian, you still don't know me.