A few days later.
While Anna and Noel were on their way back to the fortress to report about their matter, Earl Hawkins had sent a message to the famous Marquis Stargaze. Anna had helped them a lot, so he should send a letter to the marquis.
*Knock!*
*Knock!*
A butler knocked on the door and entered as soon as there was a response from the inside, finding the marquis sitting behind his work desk.
"Master. There is a letter from Earl Hawkins about the young miss. It's currently with pigeon, but he informs us that the actual letter will be arriving later."
"What's the message?" Marquis Stargaze calmly replied. He was a middle-aged man with short blond hair. Unlike Anna's purple eyes, his eyes were blue. His muscular body was hidden neatly underneath his clothes. Despite hearing Anna's name, the marquis didn't react exaggeratively since he had to know about the matter first.
"It seems that she has saved Earl Hawkins from an Advanced Level Demon's encirclement."
"Hoh?" Marquis Stargaze furrowed his eyebrows. "Then, it must be the mission from the Demon Banner Army. How is her bodyguard?"
"She has sent him back and the Demon Banner Army also requests us not to intervene their matters."
"Then, how about her partners?"
"She doesn't have two partners like the usual knight group. This year is a bit different and they're coming in a pair, so…" The butler paused for a moment, hesitating to say it. But since the marquis was waiting for it, he had to tell him. "Her partner is Noel Ardagan."
"Ardagan?"
"Yes. He is Noel Ardagan, the only heir of Count Ardagan."
"She came to me a few months ago and told me that she wanted to torture Noel herself… As a noble, we have to be ruthless, but I don't know about having such a disgusting behavior."
"But Master, it might be because she was dissatisfied with the judgment of the Royal Family who was exiling him."
"Well, whatever. I won't interfere with their business. After that incident, Ardagan Family is gone along with my grudge, so don't interfere with their business. Let Anna solve her own problem, this will be the best situation for her to grow."
"Then, do we need to send another person to look after her?"
The marquis thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No. Anna has been different for quite a while. Instead of observing her, it's better to wait until she's finished showing everything about herself. After that, I'll personally train her."
"Understood. That's right. The earl also told us that Noel Ardagan was most likely leeching off her and the Saintess. He wanted to punish him, but the two protected him, especially the Saintess."
"Which Saintess?"
"Moon Temple."
"Then let him go. The Moon Temple might have bad reputation among the nobles, but the citizens are supporting it. Unless you plan for a civil war, it's better to stay away from the Moon Temple. So, just let them do whatever they want until their graduation. After that, give me report about both of them."
"Understood." The butler politely bowed his head and left the marquis alone again. He was wondering why the marquis didn't do anything. Normally, he would be trying to investigate the other person, which in this case was Noel.
Still, his order was absolute, so there was nothing he could do.
…
Meanwhile, the one who was talking about Noel was not only the Stargaze Family. There was a pair of siblings that had reached the fort where the Demon Banner Army was located.
They had a group of people escorting them. But unlike the previous escort, this group had a slightly better equipment.
"I wonder where Iadre is… Considering he is an Apprentice Knight, is he in the barracks?" The young girl asked while looking around.
"Then, should we go there to ask about him?"
"Yes! Let's not waste any time. We can rest later."
They nodded to each other and headed straight to the barrack. There were many people who were still training under Shale since they weren't taking any mission. Just like Noel and Anna, they took some time off to train themselves to get ready for the next mission.
When the siblings arrived and took a peek of the situation inside the barrack, Shale instantly noticed them and appeared right before them.
"Do you need anything?" Shale asked coldly, while glancing at the people escorting them. They didn't seem to be that strong, but their equipment solved that weakness. Hence, he had to make sure their intention first.
"You are…" The siblings took a step back while the people that escorted them stepped forward, trying to protect them.
"Please go back, young master. This guy is dangerous."
"I am the instructor of this year's recruits, Shale. I think I have the right to know your intention in taking a peek to our training… If you are only a normal citizen without any escort, I won't do this much, but…" He glanced to the escort, considering them as a threat.
"We… We are Rick and Rica. We are here to meet Iadre to give him his armor. Do you happen to know about Iadre?" Rick stepped forward, stopping them.
"Iadre?" Shale looked up, wondering if there was someone with that name. He soon remembered there was one unique individual who required a second identity, Noel. He immediately understood what he had to do. "I do know him. If you're planning to give something to him, you can leave it to me and I'll pass him after he returns from the mission."
"He is in a mission? If we wait for him, will it be that long?"
"I'm not very sure. The mission right now is quite hard and the location is about a few days away from him with horse, so it might take a while." Shale explained.
"Is that so…" Rick thought for a moment before glancing at Rica. "What do you think?"
"We can afford to wait for a week. If he hasn't returned, then we can only do this." She suggested.
"Alright." Rick nodded in agreement and turned to Shale. "That's how it is. I apologize if we're disturbing you. If he has returned, can you tell him that we'll be staying in the nearest inn from this place?"
"No problem."
Rick and Rica then left the barrack as if they were planning their course of action for the next week.
'It seems that no matter which identity he assumes, he's going to be quite popular.' Shale thought while staring at their backs. 'I can now understand why the commander treasures him a lot. He has that charm that makes you want to help him.'
