RETURN OF THE FEMALE KNIGHT

8. I Will Protect My Family

"What caused you to suddenly start exercising?"

Namjoon was told that Lalisa had started working out, but he thought it wouldn't be long before she quit. As the cherished daughters of the count, Lalisa and Roseanne had grown up sheltered like plants in a greenhouse. Roseanne was exceptionally weak, and Lalisa to a smaller extent. He thought Lalisa would quit at any moment, but she exercised steadily for days, piquing his curiosity.

Now that he ran with her, he couldn't help but see his sister in a different light. She wasn't one to quit overnight. She must have some sort of strong will driving her.

"Fitness is important no matter what you do. My dear brother may not know this, but I can't do the housework if my body is weak."

"...Is that so?"

"Yes. Are you going to exercise more? I'll go now."

"Yes, but don't overdo it. If you push yourself too hard at first, you will hurt your body."

"I'll keep it in mind."

Lalisa bowed lightly to Namjoon and went back into the castle, while he looked proudly at her retreating figure.

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As soon as Lalisa arrived to her room, she checked the ankle weights on her feet. There were three small sandbags tied each slender ankle. Even by sight one could tell they were of considerable weight. Contrary to Namjoon's advice, she was doing all she could to become as fit as possible in a short amount of time. She would suffer from severe muscle pain for several days, but she knew from experience that this would eventually disappear. She looked at the ankle weights and murmured to herself.

"...Should I add another one?"

Fortunately, the life of a noblewoman was remarkably simple, if monotonous. Most of the noble young women would have breakfast, lunch, then dinner, then spend the rest of their time improving their appearance. Changing hairstyles, choosing dresses, or getting skin care. Everything was centered around grooming oneself. The easiest way for women to ascend in status was to marry higher-ranked men, and there was no fiercer competition than in beauty.

Lalisa's case was unusual, as she personally managed her father's wealth. Normally after marriage the wife would manage the household, but since Hyunbin had not remarried it fell upon her. Perhaps that was why she was mature for her age. After calculating her father's salary, family spending, and other miscellaneous expenses, she had a realization. Other aristocrats would normally spent extravagantly, and it was understandable that the noblemen wanted to marry off their daughters.

Furthermore, if the children failed to increase their status, most of them ended up married in a class similar to their own. Then the cost of extravagance invested since childhood was simply wasted. When she looked at the other children in that way, she naturally saved money and refused to attend social gatherings unless it was necessary. Lalisa loved the extra time she had. After she took care of her family's meals and did her duties as a hostess, she was left alone and not interrupted by anyone.

After morning exercises and basic tasks as usual, Lalisa sat down at her desk in her office. A wave of emotion swept over this once lost familiarity, but she was able to adjust to it quickly. She still didn't know if she was able to go to Jihyo's wedding, and there were many documents that had piled up the past several days. She could have dealt with it all at once, but for the moment it was important to build up stamina, so she pushed herself a little bit every day. It was when Lalisa was mechanically examining the documents and stamping the Blaise's seal of approval that an invitation that caught her eye.