Father, I Won’t Do Anything

“Deitan! What happened!”

Deitan regained his senses at the sound of Marilyn’s voice. Feigning nonchalance, he stepped back.

“I, I simply made a mistake by being too casual! This cannot be considered a proper duel! Pick up your sword again!”

At that, Jaina said:

“Then if you fight and we win this time, give me all the jewels instead of just one.”

“That’s…”

Marilyn shuffled her feet and clenched her fists tightly.

“Deitan, if you lose again, I won’t let you off easy!”

“Understood.”

Deitan’s eyes became solemn, unlike before.

‘His movements were certainly blurred before, too fast for me to even see his charge coming.’

Deitan gripped his sword tightly.

“Now, the duel begins when the handkerchief hits the ground.”

Marilyn took out a handkerchief from her bosom and let the wind carry it.

And then, plop.

As the handkerchief fell, Izren and Deitan simultaneously pushed off the ground.

‘This time, I’ll take the offensive!’

Deitan swiftly charged at Izren.

‘With our size difference, if I overwhelm him with force, he’ll have no choice. Even in an endurance fight, I won’t lose. Just don’t get careless, don’t get careless!’

However, Izren unexpectedly deflected Deitan’s fierce onslaught with ease.

Clang!

Surprised the bout didn’t end as quickly as expected, Marilyn’s eyes widened.

She had only considered Izren servant material due to his mystical looks, never imagining he would be a formidable knight.

‘Compared to Deitan, he seems so slender, yet how is he fighting so well? He even looks younger!’

Watching their duel, Jaina was also lost in thought.

‘He’s only sixteen, but clearly no ordinary person. Even to my untrained eyes, his swordsmanship stands out.’

To be the escort knight of a wealthy young lady casually carrying around jewels, Deitan’s skills must be exceptional.

Yet Izren wasn’t being overwhelmed by the likes of Deitan and had even achieved victory earlier, albeit due to Deitan’s carelessness.

‘Of course, he lacks physical strength. But his prudence beyond his years makes up for that shortcoming.’

Izren’s violet eyes shone sharply, never wavering for an instant.

While some might perceive fragility in his mystique, Jaina could vouch this was absolutely not the case in this moment.

Clang!

This time, Izren didn’t evade but confronted the attack head-on.

‘Not backing down?’

Just as Deitan froze in bewilderment, Izren spoke.

“I see your pattern now.”

Izren swiftly charged through the openings, once again bringing his blade to Deitan’s throat – the same position as before.

“Ugh, ughh…”

“Admit defeat.”

Unlike earlier when he could excuse it as carelessness, this time Deitan had given his full effort yet still lost. It was an outright defeat.

“I admit… defeat.”

Izren glanced at Jaina. Flushed from the duel, his reddened cheeks resembled a pet seeking its master’s praise. Jaina smiled faintly at him.

Izren shyly smiled back.

“I won, My Lady.”

* * *

Thus, the ribbon for Yurika was completed.

A sky-blue grosgrain ribbon with a stolen pumpkin jewel attached in the center as a hair tie.

Yurika’s eyes widened at the ribbon that seemed custom-made for her.

“You made this ribbon yourself? Where did you get the materials?”

“I went to the capital.”

“Surely not alone, Miss?”

“No, I was with my escort knight, sir Izren.”

The maid was relieved to hear she had been accompanied by an escort, her face relaxing into a smile.

“I don’t know if I should accept such a precious gift.”

“I made it with you in mind, so I hope you’ll accept it.”

“But… it seems too extravagant for me.”

“Your assistance to me is more than enough, lady Yurika.”

“Since you insist, I’ll gratefully accept it. The ribbon tie matches my eye color perfectly.”

Yurika’s cheeks were flushed as she immediately undid her hair, replacing her simple hair tie with the gifted ribbon.

“How does it look? Does it suit me?”

“It’s really lovely!”

“Perhaps it’s because the ribbon is lovely, made by you, Miss.”

Yurika smiled as she spoke.

“I had no idea you had such skilled hands, Miss. Have you made any for the others?”

“No, this is a gift just for you, lady Yurika.”

“I told you to stop with the ‘lady’ honorific… But truly, you made this only for me?”

Yurika seemed touched by Jaina’s words.

Jaina raised a finger to her lips with a ‘shh’, then whispered that she too had a ribbon of the same color.

“I see. Then it will be our little secret.”

Perhaps due to her blue eyes, the sky-blue color suited Jaina quite well.

Since her hair was short, Jaina decided to make a headband rather than a hair tie.

After neatly tying the ribbon, she used adhesive to attach it to the headband.

“Izren, how does it look?”

“Suits you well.”

“Should I make one for you too, Izren?”

Jaina had imagined Izren as a cat with a ribbon and said so.

“That’s a bit…”

“You’d look adorable though…”

However, Izren ultimately refused, claiming his short hair would conceal any ribbon.

“Come to think of it, with your aquamarine hair, a ribbon might blend right in. It’s a shame I only bought the sky-blue grosgrain ribbons for the duel.”

Jaina gazed at her self-made ribbon headband with satisfaction.

Yet, was it because it had been a gift?

She found herself preferring the hair tie Yurika had given over the newly made headband.

“But I gave you something old, not new. Shouldn’t you wear something else?”

Despite Yurika’s protests, Jaina ended up retying her hair with that hair tie.

Yurika sighed softly before suggesting Jaina try wearing different clothes to match the sky-blue ribbon.

“You usually wear darker shades. Why not try a brighter outfit to complement the ribbon?”

Following Yurika’s advice, Jaina decided to try on clothes in a different style from her usual.

“Wow, you look so lovely, Miss!”

Per Yurika’s recommendation, Jaina wore a refreshing striped sky-blue dress.

‘Doesn’t it feel a bit out of place?’

Jaina scratched her blushing cheeks. While the ribbon-tied waistband was fine, the dress somehow didn’t quite suit her.

“…Pretty.”

Hence, when Mikael, passing by in the hallway, gave that casual remark, Jaina could only utter an odd response.

“You think so? It’s a pretty dress, but I don’t think it suits me very well.”

Mikael seemed to ponder Jaina’s words for a moment before replying:

“Did you think I was complimenting the dress just now?”

“Wasn’t that the case?”

Mikael was dumbfounded.

He had praised her new look only for her to say it didn’t suit her after all.

Normally when complimented, wouldn’t one blush and be pleased? This kid was really something else.

After some thought, Mikael recalled his own grumbling self beside her, the crabby Hilvenzia, and the escort knight who could barely speak the imperial language properly.

‘Come to think of it… she probably doesn’t receive many compliments. No wonder she’s unaccustomed to it.’

“Hey.”

“Yes, sir Mikael?”

He should give her a proper compliment then. So she would understand and not make strange remarks again.

“…That is.”

But when he tried to actually compliment her, the words wouldn’t come out.

“Sir Mikael?”

“So, um.”

“Are you unwell somewhere?”

Seeing Mikael only moving his lips wordlessly, Jaina looked at him with concern.

“It, it suits you well. I was complimenting you, not the dress.”

Jaina could only open her eyes wide in surprise at his words.

Fidgeting awkwardly at her reaction, Mikael mumbled:

“Wh-what are you looking at? Don’t get cocky just because I gave you a simple compliment.”

“Hmm.”

“Never mind, I take it back. I wasn’t talking about you. I meant the dress looks pretty. Don’t misunderstand.”

Seeming quite flustered about having complimented her, Mikael began rambling senselessly.

“Thank you. For the compliment.”

Aware of Mikael’s usual demeanor, Jaina simply smiled brightly.

“Hey, I said I didn’t compliment you!”

Despite Mikael’s flustered addendum, Jaina’s smile didn’t fade. His face reddening, he changed the subject.

“By the way, do you like ribbons? I’ve never seen that hair tie before, who gave it to you?”

“Yurika did.”

“Yurika? Who’s that… Oh, is she your maid over there?”

Mikael’s sharp gaze fell on Yurika, his expression one of annoyance toward her.

“Tsk, I could buy you a hundred better ones, so toss that out.”

“No, I don’t want to.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because this was a gift from Yurika.”

Mikael approached and childishly poked Jaina’s cheek, trying to pick a fight.

In response, Jaina simply looked up at him silently.

“…Damn it.”

Finally admitting defeat, Mikael grumbled softly.

“If you wanted a ribbon, you should have just told me!”

“I hadn’t even thought about it until Yurika suggested it.”

And the next day, when Yurika came to Jaina’s room, she nearly fainted at the sight of ribbons piled high outside the door.

“Ha. Did you see that?”

“Oh, hello there?”

Yurika’s gaze met Mikael’s, who seemed to be lingering nearby, perhaps to gauge Jaina’s reaction.

With Jaina absent, a menacing aura emanated from him.

“If you think to dismiss or toy with her simply because she’s a child, you may find yourself meeting an untimely demise without anyone the wiser.”

Contrary to his vibrant, handsome looks, his emotionless expression was chillingly cold.

The blushing youth from when he was with Jaina was nowhere to be seen.

‘S-scary…’

Yurika had thought his temperament had softened somewhat from how gently he treated Miss Jaina, but apparently not.

That gentle side was exclusively reserved for Jaina alone.

When Mikael had assigned the storage room to Jaina, Yurika had worried she might be disliked by Mikael, the Magic Tower’s second-in-command. But thankfully, that seemed to be unfounded.

‘At least Miss Jaina appears to be cherished, so that’s a relief.’

As she organized the piled ribbons, Yurika inwardly sighed in relief.