Knight of Mu-yeol
I received the salute from the Knight of Mu-yeol and asked, "Your name's Baekseol? Like, actual Snow White?"
"Yes. Baekseol it is."
"Hoo..."
If this was the Baekseol I knew from the game, then Grandpa had just handed me something massive. Owning the woman who'd become humanity's strongest knight in the future!
Maybe I should brew her some medicinal herbs as a Chuseok gift or something.
"Young master, if you don't like her name, why don't you give her one yourself? She'd consider it an honor."
"Nah, it's fine. It's unique and cool—Baekseol."
Why toss away the name of humanity's strongest?
"Haha, if you say so."
"More importantly, let's hurry up with the commissioning ceremony."
"Ah! Right away."
The knight commissioning ceremony. Exactly what it sounds like—receiving your knight. A privilege only for those who owned them personally, like me.
The training commandant gave the signal, and the military band's tune shifted.
Baekseol stepped forward one pace, dropped to one knee, and Im Sua took the blood sampler from the commandant and stood beside me.
Baekseol spoke. Her voice carried power, but for some reason, it felt laced with resignation and utter dryness.
"I swear to become a sword devoted solely to my lord, offering this body and soul in absolute loyalty. Until the stars vanish from the heavens and the seas run dry, this loyalty shall never waver. I swear to burn this body to protect my lord's honor, safety, and dignity."
I nodded and raised my right hand.
Im Sua held out the blood sampler. I pressed my thumb to the fingerprint-looking spot.
Squish. A needle popped out with a prick, drawing blood.
"I appoint Baekseol as my knight, Go Mu-yeol's. Stick out your tongue."
Baekseol hesitated for 0.1 seconds before opening her mouth and extending her tongue.
A circuit board-like pattern slid out with a soft whir in the center of her red tongue.
If I rub my blood on that... she'll be mine from then on.
There was some lore about the mechanics, but simply put, she'd obey me and grow to love me over time. The more genetic info I fed her steadily, the stronger the bond. A slave with no free will whatsoever.
I didn't know if they saw it that way, but to me, yeah. At least from the owner family's perspective, knights were slaves, plain and simple.
Though... some might not be?
Thinking about it, even non-knights were basically slaves in the eyes of the owner family. No real distinction.
I brought my hand over. Baekseol flinched.
I pressed my bloodied thumb firmly into the center of her tongue.
"Hngut...?!!"
Soft, moist, and fucking nice. As I rubbed it in, info scrolled across her pupils at insane speed.
Baekseol let out a faint moan, then closed her mouth and sucked on my thumb. Slurp, smack... "…!"
This slutty face sucking my thumb? Fuck. If we weren't on the parade ground podium, I'd have my dick out and shoved in her mouth already.
—Bam~! Pabam-bam-bam~!
The band's tune changed again.
The woman who'd become humanity's strongest knight in history was now mine from head to toe—a knight who'd never betray me and serve eternally.
+++
The man's chest burned. And he felt nauseous, like he might puke any second.
Baek...seol...
The arrogant prick on the podium and the woman kneeling before him on one knee.
He'd loved her for over ten years. Imagined her endlessly. When he couldn't hold back anymore, he'd started confessing.
Rejected over thirty times. But he never gave up. And finally, just yesterday, he'd achieved what he'd dreamed of.
—Then... starting tomorrow.
Her awkward, shy smile. Her purple hair scattering in the air as she turned, swaying slow like time itself had halted. Every moment etched into his brain like a photo.
—R-Really? No take-backs tomorrow, right??!!
That was yesterday... but now.
"I swear to become a sword devoted solely to my lord, offering this body and soul in absolute loyalty. Until the stars vanish from the heavens and the seas run dry, this loyalty shall never waver. I swear to burn this body to protect my lord's honor, safety, and dignity."
That Baekseol was now making a confession—not to him, but to her future lord. Pledging her body and soul in loyalty... a heartbreaking vow.
—Do you... ha... even know what becoming a personal knight means?
No... don't... Baekseol, no...
—Even if your owner ends up a guy, do you think... that guy... would leave you alone?
Her words flashed by like a montage.
And then, the young master Go Mu-yeol extended his hand.
Every nerve in his body tensed.
If she takes that blood... Baekseol will!
He had to do something right now. Disrupt the ceremony, rescue Baekseol (?), and then... then what?
Then... what?
Blank. His thoughts froze.
What the hell was he supposed to do? Rescuing her from a Goryeo Group heir was a joke, but even if he did, what next? He'd get her killed too—both of them executed.
—Bam~! Pabam-bam-bam~!
"!!!"
While he agonized, time slipped away.
Baekseol... took his thumb into her mouth.
Everything... was over.
No... this can't...
A horrific feeling crashed over him. He plummeted into an endless abyss.
+++
After the ceremony, I headed to Baekseol's quarters and finally checked my stats for the first time in ages. I'd been avoiding it on purpose, worried I'd get too reliant, but fuck that—I couldn't hold back anymore. How the hell do you ignore Baekseol?
Even regular knights showed all stats as ??? in the game, so yeah.
I pulled it up. And the results?
It was a shock. Like, my sexual buzz vanished in an instant.
What the fuck, is this bitch insane?? Might at 291?
As I'd mentioned before, once the main story kicked off in '77, most key characters had primary stats around 100-120. Even that was considered high.
But 291? Knights were national assets treated like monsters, and yeah, Baekseol would be humanity's strongest, but this was overkill...
Im Sua, police team leader, was barely 69, and this blew past four times that easy.
"...Shall I undress, my lord?"
"Hold on. I'm thinking."
"?? Y-Yes, understood."
And it wasn't just might. Will at 192, Tech 209, Charm 117. Her lowest—leadership at 89—was still solid.
Seo Eun-mi... Ha Eun-young had insane stats for her age too. But this is no contest.
Even with Prestige support, specialist Seo Eun-mi (23) who could hack the prosecutors' office only hit 108 Tech. Baekseol doubled it at 20.
The crazy part? This was a 20-year-old's stats. Younger age plus higher potential meant faster growth, so where the hell would she cap out? No clue.
No wonder the government can't touch them. They churn out hundreds like her yearly—just from here.
There were multiple official knight academies. Unofficial ones? Way more. Sure, some went to the government per treaty, but a handful compared to the total accumulation. That's why Korea's regime was powerless.
And this is just raw physical might. Factor in mechs? Game over.
Knights production monopolized, training monopolized, mechs monopolized, arms basically monopolized. Goryeo Group wasn't even needed—Militaris alone could lock it down.
Honestly, the big picture of how Goryeo dominated had always been vague, but today I glimpsed a piece.
"Why are the traits like that?"
"Pardon?"
"N-Never mind. Lie down and rest."
"...Understood?"
Baekseol awkwardly lay on the bed. Watching her, I thought about it.
Knight, Subordinate, Absolute Loyalty, Resignation, Despair...
The others made sense, but resignation and despair? She was resigned and despairing about her situation...
Come to think of it, she looked reluctant when I went to press my thumb. Tongue came out half a beat late too.
Not outright rebellion. She accepted my blood and became mine.
But it didn't match the knight image I knew. Knights were supposed to be inhuman monsters of instant obedience and absolute loyalty. Hesitating without an owner? Unheard of.
Brainwashing not fully taken? Or stats too high, genetic glitch or something?