Chapter 12
By the time training ended, Katie was completely exhausted. The knight who had been her sparring partner tilted his head at her unusually poor condition.
“Katie, are you feeling unwell? You don’t look so good.”
“I think I caught a cold. I have a bit of a fever.”
“You should visit the infirmary.”
“I plan to, once I finish cleaning up. Some medicine and a good rest should help.”
Katie gave a salute in acknowledgment of his concern before quickly turning away. The effects of the medicine she’d taken yesterday must already be wearing off. Pushing through training in this state had probably made things worse.
After training, mid-rank knights were responsible for tidying up the equipment they’d used. Among them, the wooden swords were Katie’s duty.
She moved between the knights, picking up the scattered training swords one by one. Whether out of genuine willingness or not, Arnin’s lackeys also sauntered over and began gathering swords for her.
“You freaked out and refused when I asked for a towel, but now you’re all eager to help with this?”
“Cleaning up is something all mid-rank knights do. It’s completely different from being ordered around just because I’m a woman. And I never freaked out.”
“Challenging me to a duel counts as freaking out.”
“That was just me being angry.”
Arnin narrowed his eyes and glared at her. This girl never backed down from an argument. She was insufferably stubborn.
But today, unlike usual, he wasn’t irritated. After all, that attitude of hers would be corrected by the end of the day. He was determined to teach her exactly what happened when a junior acted disrespectfully toward a senior.
“We’ve got them all. Let’s go.”
Arnin spoke to her as if they were close, leading the way to the storage room. His lackeys also seemed oddly cheerful as they quickened their steps.
Though their behavior was unusual, Katie didn’t notice anything strange. She was too preoccupied with her own condition to pay attention to anything else.
Arnin was the first to step inside the storage room. His group didn’t immediately follow, instead pausing to wait for Katie to enter.
“…What is this?”
Katie shot them a look as if asking why they weren’t entering, but they remained unmoved.
“Ladies first.”
“I told you not to treat me differently just because I’m a woman, and yet here you are.”
“It’s called courtesy, Katie. One of the most important virtues of a knight.”
Right. They say people don’t change overnight. Katie gave up arguing and strode into the storage room.
“These go here. As you already know, just lay them horizontally, one per slot.”
She was placing the wooden swords one by one onto the rack when the light from the doorway gradually dimmed—then, with a loud bang, the door shut.
Katie straightened from her hunched position and turned around. Arnin’s lackeys stood blocking the door, smirking with unmistakable malice.
“…Even a blind man could tell you’re up to no good with those faces.”
Even in the dim light, she could see the murky gleam in their eyes. She’d seen that look before—the same one Damian often gave her.
“Should’ve thought twice before acting so high and mighty.”
The moment Arnin sneered, Katie let the wooden swords in her arms clatter to the floor—snatching one up and swinging it at him.
Whoosh! The blade narrowly grazed Arnin’s face. For a knight, he had decent reflexes.
“You attacked first. That’s on you.”
At Arnin’s nod, his lackeys lunged at Katie in unison. In their hands were the ropes they’d used during training.
“Does that really matter?”
Katie swung the wooden sword in resistance, but it wasn’t enough. For every one she knocked down, another rushed in. With ropes lashing at her from both front and back, she had no chance.
A whip-like rope cracked against her cheek. As she winced from the pain, Arnin tackled her from behind.
The moment his weight sent her sprawling forward, the other knights pinned her limbs down.
“Now, let’s talk.”
“Why the hell should we?”
She shouted without even the mind for formalities, but the men ignored her completely. Their faces twisted with barely contained excitement as they wound the ropes around her arms and legs.
“You f*****g bastards!”
Katie thrashed with all her strength. If she’d been in top condition, she would’ve sent every last one of them flying.
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