The Queen Who Shares Love
Chapter 12 Isabella

The sound of swords clashing against each other rang out in the field. A red-haired woman managed to corner the black-haired man. The black-haired man remained calm, as if the attack from the woman had not affected him. He waited for the woman's chance to let her down.

The woman tried to urge the man with an increasingly swift attack. He saw a gap in the left side of the man's body. He immediately launched an attack. 

Brakes...

One of the swords fell. The sword that still survives is pointed at one of the necks of the two people who practice it. The black-haired man lowered his sword from the neck of the red-haired woman.

The woman breathed a long breath. He had guessed that he could not win from his master. The strongest man in the empire he admired. The man who saved his life.

"We've done the training."

"Good, Sir."

The woman lowered her head and cleaned up the training equipment that they had not used. The man immediately left the woman alone. 

Isabella looked at Grand Duke Faust's slowly disappearing back. I don't know since when the awe he felt began to change. He hoped that at least the man saw Isabella as a woman, not a subordinate. 

However, being next to the man already made Isabella happy. Helping Gerald do his daily work was not exhausting for Isabella.

It's a sunny day. He hopes a good morning workout is a sign of a good day. I hope there are no problems happening today.

Bad rumors about Gerald are growing day by day. Starting from the cruel Grand Duke who likes to slaughter enemies and friends, likes to fire incompetent subordinates, who most badly drink human blood to be strong. All those rumors left Isabella and Gerald overwhelmed. Gerald tried to restore his reputation. Action futile. His cold nature made the rumors about him even worse. The misunderstandings that occur increasingly strange, to make them give up. 

However, Isabella has not given up. He hopes to restore Gerald's fallen reputation. He wants to return the favor to the man who saved his life.

Isabella immediately cleaned herself up and changed her sweat-soaked clothes. It's time he worked.

He examined the letters he addressed to his Master. There was a letter addressed to him. There is no sender name. The candle seal and envelope from the letter were luxurious. He kept the letter in his pocket.

Isabella comes to Gerald's workplace. Gerald hasn't come yet. While waiting for his master to come, he opened the window for an air exchange to occur. The letters addressed to Gran Duke Faust he put on Gerald's desk.

Isabella wondered who sent her the letter. He reached into his pocket. A yellow envelope with a red candle seal was in Isabella's hands.

He opened the letter. For a moment his eyes widened. He did not expect to get a letter from his old friend. A friend he had not seen for years, suddenly contacted him. Friends he hated. 

There must be a special reason that person invited him to meet. I don't know what that guy's gonna talk about. Should Isabella come? Should he go to the man who made him suffer?

Isabella's family and her family were close friends. Isabella first became acquainted with the man when the late Count Wollard visited the man's family residence. That guy's a little quiet kid. No one knows what he thinks. Even Isabella sometimes had trouble understanding it. The cleverness that person had made Isabella amazed. 

That guy doesn't have many friends like Isabella. Maybe because they were different from the other noble children. Isabella behaves like a man. She often practiced swords and dreamed of becoming a female knight. That guy honors Isabella's dream. He supports Isabella. Even that person hoped to become a female knight with Isabella. Isabella taught the man to sword secretly because the man's father didn't like him. They laugh when they make a small mistake and cry when one of them feels sad. Those were the happy times together.

As soon as the late Count Wollard's business suffered a huge loss, the man's family attitude changed. The man's father never returned a letter from the late Count Wollard. The late Count Wollard came to the man's residence to ask for help, but they were expelled. They don't want to help Isabella's family. 

Isabella looked only at the face of the man hiding behind the window. At that time, Isabella did not hate him. He still thinks they are friends.

Isabella's father struggles to recover his business. However, it did not work. Isabella's father fell ill from exhaustion. Their families have no money anymore. All the jewels and furniture in Isabella's residence have been sold one by one. 

Isabella's father's illness became more severe from untreated, leaving Isabella and her mother first. Isabella's mother, unable to resist the departure of the late Count Wollard, downed the poison. Isabella's mother left Isabella alone.

Isabella contacted her father and mother's family for help. However, they all turned a blind eye to the misfortune received by the Wollard family. Isabella began to curse everyone who was unwilling to help her family. They indirectly killed his family.

At that moment, Isabella felt desperate. He walked towards the man's residence, hoping that he would come out and help him. However, he stopped in the middle of the road. There was no way that person would help Isabella. The man remained silent when Isabella's family was expelled from her residence. Isabella hates that guy even more. He can't forgive her.

The exhausted Isabella met the passing Grand Duke Faust. Isabella asks Grand Duke Faust for help. He will do anything to survive. 

Gerald takes Isabella to the Faust family residence. Gerald gives Isabella food and temporary shelter. He even taught Isabella the sword. Isabella returned Gerald's favor by being his right hand.

Isabella's daydream collapses when the sound of the door opening. Isabella put the letter back in her pocket. Gerald immediately sat down in his chair. 

"It's not like you usually get letters, Isabella."

"Letter from an old friend, sir."

"I don't think you've had any friends since working for me."

"True, he was my friend before meeting Mr."

Since becoming Gerald's aide, Isabella has never been friends with anyone else. Bad rumors about Gerald have also affected Isabella's reputation in the eyes of other nobles. No one dared to approach him.

"What does he want?"

"He wants to see me, sir."

Gerald tapped his finger. He was thinking while looking at the letters that were in front of him.

"Do you want to meet him?"

Isabella remained silent. He doubted. 

"I'll give you a day off. The day of your meeting."

"No need, sir."

"Rest, at least a day."

Isabella is reluctant. However, he did not want to refuse Gerald's request.

"All right, thank you, sir."

Isabella lowered her head. He will meet his best friend. Empress Leticia in two days at one of the restaurants in the capital.