No White Knight
“What now?”
The hallway outside was in an uproar. Heavy footsteps thundered closer until the door flew open without so much as a knock.
“You insolent little bitch!”
The roar came with a blinding flash. Her head snapped sideways, and a searing pain bloomed across her cheek like a brand. Odeliana blinked, dazed, and turned her gaze toward the furious intruder.
“Even if you have nothing better to do, there are limits! You dare drag Blair into this nonsense—turning some gutter trash you picked up off the street into a knight? Do you think Blair is your servant?”
Odeliana’s eyes met Malena’s as the maid rushed in late. Only then did she grasp the situation. She spat blood-tinged saliva onto the floor.
Herman, the second son, lived in constant fear that the talented and popular Blair might steal the heir’s seat from him. Yet here he was, storming in to scold her under the pretense of protecting his brother. What a touching display of sibling affection.
“I didn’t order Blair around. I simply asked a favor, and he chose to grant it. I don’t see why a third party like you needs to interfere.”
The word “brother” felt too generous, so she used the stiff “you” instead. Herman had never acknowledged her as his sister, but the formal address seemed to wound his pride. His expression darkened instantly.
“Is it so difficult to keep your mouth shut and live like a dead mouse?”
“I already am. Since I arrived here, I’ve only left this room for walks. I’ve been very well-behaved and confined.”
“Don’t drag Blair into your vulgar schemes.”
“Vulgar? What’s vulgar about making my servant a knight?”
“Your intentions are vulgar.”
Herman looked down at her with open contempt, his voice low and cold.
“Know your place. Filth should stay among filth. A knight? Do you expect that lowborn whelp you sleep with to pledge his Knight’s Oath to you once he returns? Not that I believe he’ll pass the exam, but even if he did, he’d abandon you the moment he rises in the world. That’s how advancement works—people always seek better prospects.”
“You sound terrified Mathias might become a knight and run away with me.”
“This is the only place fit for someone like you. If your existence becomes known, our family will suffer disgrace.”
“So you do understand that hiding a child’s birth was wrong.”
At her insolent remark, Herman raised his hand again. This time, however, he was blocked by a large body that suddenly wrapped around Odeliana’s smaller frame.
“Please, speak with words, young master.”
Malena had pulled Odeliana into her arms. Odeliana stared at her in surprise while Herman bellowed.
“What right does a wretch like you have to interfere? Move!”
“It is my duty to protect the young lady. She is a frail patient. So… refrain from violence and speak instead.”
Enraged beyond reason, Herman began kicking the maid who shielded Odeliana. He ranted that anyone who served such a fool deserved punishment, that the sins of the master fell upon the servants, and that he would flog every servant in the annex. He sounded half-mad.
“Stop it, you filthy bastard.”
Odeliana ended the chaos. She hurled an inkwell at Herman, drenching him in black ink.
“You crazy bitch…”
“Get out. Now.”
At Odeliana’s sharp command, Herman smirked and gestured to the knights waiting behind him. They dragged Malena away from her. Herman crouched to meet Odeliana’s eye level, then grabbed her hair.
“If you hadn’t done such unnecessary things, I wouldn’t have had to make an example of you.”
“……”
“Shall I take the life of that boy you cling to? Maybe then you’ll come to your senses.”
“……You bastard.”
“No one is coming to save you. Wake up from your delusions. Be grateful you’ve been allowed to live this long. There is no white knight who would rescue a cripple. And you actually thought of turning a commoner brat into a knight? Even madness has its limits.”
It sounded as though he were telling her not to even dream of salvation. Stay quiet, keep your eyes and ears shut, remain a broken fool with no limbs—like you don’t exist. No prince or knight would ever appear in her life to save her.
Yes. That was probably true.
In her previous life, no such fairy-tale rescue had occurred. Only a betrayed queen, stabbed through the heart by a knight’s sword after being deceived by the man she thought was her white knight.
“You seem terrified Mathias will return as a white knight.”
“……”
“Fine, I admit it. I’ve staked my life on that boy’s potential, so yes, I’m in the position of hoping for rescue from a white knight. But why is that vulgar? I’m simply using the cards I have. Doing what I can with what’s available to me.”
Because you bastards cut off all my other paths. This is the only way left.
Noble status, family influence—none of it mattered.
If you’re born like this, are you supposed to crawl on the ground and never look at the sky? Live a miserable life, resigned to fate, never knowing when you’ll be crushed under someone’s heel?
“I won’t live like vermin.”
“Your behavior—seducing men and causing trouble—is exactly that of vermin.”
“Our family, which abandoned its own child just for being born disabled, is worse than vermin. So I suppose that’s all I could learn.”
“You need another beating to wake up.”
Unable to tolerate the insult to his parents, Herman struck Odeliana and sent her sprawling. He then pressed his foot firmly on her chest. Expecting her to finally show fear, he looked down arrogantly—only to freeze in shock. Odeliana wasn’t frightened at all. She stared straight back at him and smiled.
“I’ve never sat around waiting like an idiot for some white knight or prince to come save me. And I never will.”
“What?”
“I choose my own knight. I make him myself.”
“How dare you!”
Herman removed his foot and hauled her up by the collar. Even dangling from his grip, she refused to cower. His eyes rolled back in fury as he swung his fist. Just as his hand was about to strike her face, something darted between them.
Thud. A dull impact rang in her ears. Odeliana blinked, stunned, and stared at the boy now standing in front of her.
Herman, the watching knights, even Odeliana herself were all frozen in shock. His movement had been too fast to follow; none of the trained knights had managed to react before he slipped between Odeliana and Herman.
“Why are you hitting an innocent child!”
Odeliana threw a perfume bottle at Herman. It shattered with a sharp crack, drenching him in fragrant oil. She snatched a candle from the nearby candlestick.
“Get out. This is your last warning. If you cause any more trouble… I’ll set you on fire.”
At her deadly tone, Herman faltered. The killing intent in her eyes made him step back. One spark and he would ignite. Terrified, he quickly retreated behind his knights and fled the annex like a coward.
He remembered Adela, who had been carried out with her mouth torn open. Madwomen do mad things. If Odeliana truly wished it, she would burn him. The realization sent him scrambling out in panic.
The storm left chaos in its wake. The servants glanced around nervously before hurriedly gathering the broken glass and fleeing the room. Odeliana hurled the candle she still held in irritation.
Then she turned on Mathias and Malena, who had shielded her and suffered for it, and raised her voice.
“Why did you have to interfere and get yourselves hurt like that!”