Chapter 4
Chapter 4
“Imperial Knight Damian reporting for duty, newly assigned to the palace of the youngest princess.”
“Finally, you’re here?”
She should normally be in the academy dorms, but as expected, Yuria Rosehill was inside the palace.
As a princess, she wasn’t bound by academy rules, so she could freely move between the palace and the academy like this.
“Wasn’t that the agreement? Besides, if I were to lie to Princess Yuria, my family would be put in danger.”
“You’ve become bolder than when I first met you. I like that about you even more.”
Her hand gently touched my face.
“Where did someone like you even come from?”
“Pardon?”
“Hmm. Just talking to myself, Sir Damian.”
What she meant was probably that I had appeared out of nowhere in this timeline, someone who didn’t exist before her regression.
Well, there was no need to tell her I was a reincarnator.
In the end, both of us were keeping secrets.
A kind of mutual exchange.
“First, let me introduce you. You might have seen her before, but this is my escort knight, Sir Cecilia Sylvester.”
“I’m Cecilia Sylvester. Things are different from last time, Sir Damian.”
“Yes, senior. I look forward to working with you.”
Cecilia Sylvester looked young, but she was actually a fully grown woman of twenty-four.
At a glance, she could be mistaken for a young noble girl just entering the academy.
“I will wait outside then.”
“Do so. I need to prepare for school anyway.”
I bowed to Yuria and stepped outside.
As I exited, two knights in imperial uniforms approached me.
“…May I ask what this is about?”
“You the new one assigned here?”
Their tone was openly hostile.
This is bad.
“You two… you’re not Imperial Knights.”
Screech.
At my words, the two of them pulled hidden throwing blades from their sleeves and hurled them at me.
But they never reached me.
Clang! Clang!
I drew my sword instantly and deflected them all.
“What?!”
“A mere rookie… how?!”
They were clearly experienced assassins, shocked by my response.
But they were professionals.
Thud.
“This won’t end so easily!”
They drew short daggers and moved in from both sides, targeting my flanks.
For knights trained in formal swordsmanship, attacks from blind spots were extremely dangerous.
That kind of fighting had to be learned through real combat experience.
These guys had likely been killing Imperial Knights for some time.
Crimson aura rose along my blade.
Using aura inside the palace is prohibited, but if there is a threat to the royal family, it is permitted.
And if they are assassins targeting Imperial Knights, they are already a threat to the palace.
That makes it justified.
Tap.
I kicked off the ground and dodged their attack.
At the same time, I turned my head to track their positions.
“What?! No report said he awakened aura!”
“Damn it…!”
I dashed straight toward them.
My original plan was to disable their legs.
But instead, I changed my target mid-movement and aimed for their arms.
Feints are essential in combat.
Especially against opponents who can read trajectories.
Even assassins are no different.
Whoosh.
“Ghk!”
“Block him!”
Clang!
As expected, they raised their guards to block.
That opening was enough.
I slashed through their legs with aura-imbued strikes, severing tendons cleanly.
“Arghhh!”
“My leg!”
Without hesitation, I sheathed my sword and pulled out a binding rope from my belt.
It was used to restrain intruders within the palace.
“What is going on here?”
At that moment, a man appeared.
He had the same hair and eye color as Yuria Rosehill.
Almost as if he had been waiting for this moment.
I already knew who he was.
The Third Prince, Maximus Rosehill.
One of Yuria Rosehill’s enemies who actively tries to isolate her.
He had no real chance of succession due to gambling and indulgence, falling out of favor with the Emperor.
Which made him hostile toward Yuria, who was favored despite being last in line.
So this was him.
The one responsible for eliminating knights assigned to her palace.
“…Greetings, Prince Maximus.”
“Oh? You know me?”
“As a member of the Imperial Knights, it would be strange not to recognize the royal family.”
“Not bad. Almost a waste for my sister. Along with Lady Cecilia.”
He smiled unpleasantly and extended his hand.
“What do you think? Become my knight. From what I saw, you’re quite skilled to subdue them without killing them.”
“Are you sure they are criminals, Your Highness? They might have simply provoked me first.”
“….”
He stared silently at me.
Creaaak.
At that moment, Yuria appeared.
“What is going on?”
“…We just subdued suspected assassins. And Prince Maximus arrived right after.”
“I see…”
Well acted.
She appeared like a naive youngest princess, clearly hiding her true nature.
Probably to keep Maximus from seeing through her.
“These will be detained in the palace dungeon for interrogation.”
“They are not for a mere knight to handle.”
Maximus intervened.
As expected.
These were his men.
“No, in cases like this, it is permitted as stated by the Commander.”
Cecilia Sylvester stepped in.
Her noble status and talent gave her enough authority to challenge even a prince’s words.
And with the Commander’s authority backing her, Maximus had no choice but to back down.
“Then we will take custody of them.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“I will handle it myself, Prince Maximus.”
He clicked his tongue.
He didn’t want any trace of his involvement exposed.
But I couldn’t allow that.
My reason for being here was to prevent Yuria Rosehill from becoming the Crimson Empress.
And this man was already interfering.
If I could expose him using these assassins, I might be able to remove a major obstacle early.
“…If you need help, call me.”
Maximus turned and left.
Then Yuria called me inside.
“Sir Damian, come in for a moment?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Once the door closed—
Pffft.
“Did you see Maximus’s face earlier?”
“….”
“Don’t worry. Only Cecilia and I know you laughed at him just now.”
“I was merely concerned about provoking him…”
“You were surprisingly bold. Almost like his anger meant nothing to you.”
“I was simply focused on my duty… I didn’t consider the consequences, that was my mistake…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you and your family completely. Just keep acting like this, understood?”
“Yes, Your Highness…”
Somehow, I managed to get through it.
And her protection wasn’t even necessary.
I was going to extract information from those captured assassins myself.
It’s been a while since I used this method.
◈
“Did you investigate it?”
“Yes, Prince Maximus.”
A man who was not an Imperial Knight handed him a report.
“Name: Damian. Newly assigned Imperial Knight, top graduate of the academy’s knight department. Security clearance prevented us from immediately identifying his aura level.”
“A commoner?”
“Yes. But he is the son of the Giant Slayer.”
“The Giant Slayer? You mean Siegmund?”
“Yes.”
“Tch. So he’s the son of someone troublesome.”
“We confirmed Siegmund still has old mercenary contacts. Killing his family as an example would be difficult.”
Bang!
Maximus slammed the desk.
“Damn it…”
“I will take care of eliminating them. Your involvement will not reach the youngest princess.”
At those words, Maximus glared at him.
“That better be true… otherwise neither you, nor I, nor even my mother will survive.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”