We're Married, After All - Chapter 24
As soon as we arrived at Lamprey Castle, Baron Rodio came to find us. Just as I had expected, more tasks awaited Danel.
During that time, the Baron’s wife took it upon herself to guide me. She showed me around the outskirts of the castle, including the alms houses and the open fields used as a playground for children.
The Baroness was an eloquent woman. She skillfully led the conversation in a way that didn’t make me feel uncomfortable, yet firmly and tactfully declined my request to see the newly built hospital. Her reasoning was that tuberculosis, which had been prevalent in the winter, hadn’t completely subsided yet, and I might risk infection.
It sounded like a flimsy excuse to me. Among women of my age and status, I was unusually healthy. I had even lived alongside Petios, who was constantly plagued by illnesses, for over a decade without ever catching so much as a cold.
However, the learned helplessness I’d developed over the past six months kept my mouth shut. I had a pretty good idea of who might have instructed the Baroness.
While the Baroness chatted about the previous banquet, I took in my surroundings. Volunteer work was one of the easiest duties for a noblewoman, and it was an excellent way to gain recognition. Even I could quickly assess the situation here.
Unlike the old but sturdy alms house, the hospital looked hastily built. Children played in an empty, barren field with nothing in it. The more I observed, the more something felt out of place. What the alms house of Lamprey Castle needed wasn’t a hospital—it was a proper orphanage.
I was certain now. The reason Danel had restricted me to this area was closely tied to this sense of dissonance.
As we finished the tour and turned to head back, I noticed a familiar structure in the distance, across the empty field. Several lined-up targets and a crude training ground—though modest, it was unmistakably a training site for trainee knights.
The Baroness must have noticed where my gaze had landed because she smiled gently.
“Even becoming a common knight can take them far. Many of these children are desperate for that chance.”
She was right. The children wielding their worn-out swords and spears all wore determined, resolute expressions.
“Without proper instructors, knights occasionally come by to guide them… but even so, about five of them pass the exam each year and leave this place.”
Instead of replying, I focused on the training ground filled with children.
I see. While some people pass these exams easily simply because they were born into nobility, others have to prepare tirelessly, knowing that only exceptional talent will see them through. And then there are those who fail even the easiest of exams—three times over, no less.
The perceptive Baroness guided me toward the training ground. Up close, it was clear what she meant about the lack of an instructor. While everyone was putting in effort, their stances and basic techniques were all over the place.
I thought back to the time Petios failed his first knightly exam and how I had tried to help him. The method I came up with then might not have been the best for Petios, but… perhaps it could be different for these children?
In the end, I picked up a spear that had fallen on the ground. Then, aiming for the most precise form I could manage, I threw it. The spear cut through the air and struck dead center on the target.
I repeated the motion a few more times. Soon, a few sharp-eyed children began to mimic my stance. When I slowed down my movements for them to observe more clearly, the number of spears hitting the target steadily increased. Just as I had expected.
As I reached for another spear, I suddenly locked eyes with a pair of violet irises over my shoulder. It was Danel.
So that’s why it’s gotten so quiet around here.
He must have seen me throwing spears and come over to investigate.
Setting the worn spear down on the ground, I walked over to Danel. By now, I knew I didn’t need to worry about him minding the smell of sweat.
“Are you done with your work?”
“The urgent matters have been handled.”
His gaze followed the sweat trickling down from my forehead. Before he could lean in to lick it away, I wiped it with my sleeve.
“There’s still a lot left, isn’t there? Is it okay for me to stay here?”
“For now. I was just taking a short walk.”
Danel extended his hand to me as he spoke. It seemed he intended to take that walk with me.
I took his hand without resistance. Together, we walked toward the castle walls, with no one following us.
“I didn’t expect you to teach them directly.”
“It’s hard to do something properly if you don’t learn it the right way.”
I had thought something similar when Petios failed his first exam. If it’s difficult to understand from drawings alone, wouldn’t it be better to study a more detailed guide? Especially when there was someone nearby with nearly perfect form to demonstrate.
Of course, that wasn’t something I could do with Petios. Unless I were particularly gifted at explaining, asking him to learn by watching and imitating would only have provoked his inferiority complex.
“If hiring an instructor is too difficult, how about bringing in a few older horses? Learning to ride could make them much more competitive.”
“Horses…”
Danel’s gaze shifted to the side of my face as he spoke.
“Come to think of it, you didn’t show them what you’re best at.”
“What do you mean?”
“Jousting.”
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“It’s rare to see someone who can wield a lance while sitting so perfectly upright on horseback. If the children had seen that, they would’ve been amazed.”
