The Knight Who Knelt Before the Princess
Octavian von Roseria had lived his entire life from a position of superiority.
The eldest son. The Crown Prince. A man destined to become the next emperor. When he glared, his subjects bowed their heads. When he issued a single command, the world moved to obey. Fear was something he always inflicted on others—never something he received.
…At least, that had been true until this very moment.
“W-what are you? You bastard.”
Octavian, who had finally regained his senses, forced himself to gather his dignity and roared. He directed his fury at the blood-drenched man who had suddenly appeared in the banquet hall.
“Rowenheim?! You should be at the border—how dare you show up looking like that! Bursting into the imperial family’s banquet in such a state… Have you lost your mind?!”
His voice came out as imposing as ever. …Or so he believed.
But the moment the man slowly lifted his head—
Huk…
Octavian’s words caught in his throat.
“…….”
It was because of those eyes. Two eyes burning fiercely even while soaked in blood. They didn’t belong to a human. It felt as if he were staring into the eyes of a dragon… The instant that killing intent locked directly onto him, Octavian understood.
…Ah. So this… is what killing intent feels like.
“…Hic.”
A sound like air leaking from a balloon slipped from his lips without warning. His legs trembled. Cold sweat ran down his spine. His heart pounded wildly, yet his body had frozen solid as stone—he couldn’t take a single step. It was as if he had been thrown before a massive predator, reduced to nothing more than prey.
…This was impossible. He was the Crown Prince, for heaven’s sake. The successor to a thousand-year empire. And yet here he was—completely paralyzed by nothing more than the gaze of a mere royal guard. His instincts screamed inside his head.
Run. That thing is not something you can handle. That isn’t human. That’s… a monster.
“T-that’s right! I am the one who will become emperor of this nation!”
Octavian shrieked in a shaking voice. It was a desperate struggle to cling to his collapsing dignity and last shred of pride.
“How dare you look at me—the Crown Prince—with those eyes—!”
“…Not yet.”
At that moment, the man spoke. His voice was low and hoarse, yet it carried a chilling tone that froze the entire banquet hall.
“…Not yet, Your Highness.”
“……!”
“His Majesty the Emperor is still very much alive and well. Yet you stand before him and declare yourself the one who will become emperor? …I wonder what His Majesty would say if he heard those words.”
In an instant, a chill ran down Octavian’s spine.
…Oh no.
Only then did the words he had spat out echo back inside his own ears. ‘The one who will become emperor.’ Those were words that must never be spoken in front of an emperor who still lived. A single phrase that could be interpreted as treason—dangerously reckless.
And he had uttered it right in front of the Emperor’s Sword, of all people. In this banquet hall, where everyone was watching.
…If that man felt like it, he could use that one sentence to plunge Octavian into serious trouble. If it reached his father’s ears— Just imagining it made goosebumps rise across his skin.
‘Th-this bastard… did it on purpose…’
Only then did Octavian realize it. The man he had always thought of as nothing but a stubborn blockhead was now precisely trapping him with his own slip of the tongue. He wasn’t just a simple warrior. It wasn’t only his sword that was terrifying.
“…And furthermore.”
The man took another step forward. It was a staggering step. His body was in tatters, as if he might collapse at any moment. …Yet why was it that with every step he drew closer, Octavian felt his own breath being squeezed tighter?
“All subjects of this empire stand equal beneath His Majesty the Emperor’s feet.”
“……!”
“Whether prince or princess. Whether legitimate or not. Any member of the imperial family who carries His Majesty’s blood is equally noble. Yet what happened in this very place today—”
The man’s gaze shifted to the food scattered across the floor, the shattered plates, and then to the youngest princess whose skirt was stained with filth.
“—was treating someone of the same blood like a beast.”
“T-that was… merely a trivial prank between siblings—”
“A prank, you say…”
The man cut him off with icy precision.
“Does it appear to be a mere prank to you, Your Highness, to sully the dignity of the imperial family before the eyes of all? That is precisely what disgraces both His Majesty and this empire.”
…Octavian could say nothing. He wanted to refute it. He wanted to crush the man with something like, ‘How dare a mere royal guard—’ But—his mouth wouldn’t move.
There wasn’t a single hole in the man’s words. They were flawless, irrefutable logic. And the one delivering that logic was none other than the blood-soaked monster who had just slaughtered hundreds of monsters.
…It was the first time in his life Octavian had ever felt such utter helplessness.
“Never again.”
The man spoke as if hammering in a nail.
“Never allow something like this to happen again. As the Emperor’s Sword, I will not stand by and watch the dignity of this empire be defiled a second time.”
The warning contained in those words stabbed into Octavian’s chest like a dagger.
“…U-understood. I understand, so…”
…And then Octavian realized what he was doing. He was nodding. The Crown Prince of a thousand-year empire. The next emperor—voluntarily lowering his head before the warning of a mere royal guard.
It was a hideous humiliation.
…However, he didn’t even have the presence of mind to dwell on that shame. The only thing filling his head was one desperate urge.
I want to run. I want to escape this suffocating killing intent as quickly as possible…!
“Hmph. …T-today’s mood has been ruined, so let’s end it here!”
In the end, Octavian spat out those words like an excuse. Then, without daring to look the man in the face any longer, he spun around and fled the banquet hall as if running for his life.
…There was not a trace of the dignity befitting the next emperor.
The other members of the imperial family followed after him, their faces deathly pale, scattering in a rush. The mouths that had been mocking Victoria just moments ago were now tightly shut, as if by prior agreement.
…And so, in the banquet hall that had been swept by a storm, only two people remained.
Hoo.
Only then did I finally let out the breath I had been holding.
The moment I withdrew the killing intent I had raised while glaring at Octavian, every sensation in my body came rushing back at once. The throbbing, the stiffness, the burning pain—the price of rolling around with a pack of manticores came crashing down like a stack of invoices.
…At any rate, it seemed I hadn’t been too late.
I slowly turned my head toward Victoria. Toward her, who stood there staring at me blankly with her skirt still stained.
…What should I even say to her?
The thought suddenly crossed my mind. Come to think of it, it was rather ridiculous. I had cut down monsters with everything I had, ridden my horse until it foamed at the mouth, and finally arrived here… yet now that I was actually standing in front of her, I couldn’t think of a single thing to say.
‘Are you unharmed?’
…No, that sounds too stiff.
‘Are you all right?’
…That’s not quite it either.
‘I have arrived?’
…No, that makes me sound like some self-important hero.
If I had known this would happen, I should have thought up some lines on the way here. I’d been so focused on slaughtering monsters that I’d completely forgotten the most important part.
The exact moment my mind went completely blank—
Thud.
…Strength left my legs. The taut string of tension that had been holding me upright must have snapped the instant I confirmed she was safe. I frantically tried to steady myself, but one knee had already touched the cold marble floor.
“…Kyle?!”
Victoria came running in alarm. Forgetting all about her dignity as a princess, she hurriedly grabbed my shoulders with both hands.
…Ah, this is bad. What a sorry sight.
I hadn’t exactly pictured myself making a cool entrance, saying something impressive, and then leaving dramatically… but still. The person who came to help ends up kneeling the moment he arrives and needing to be supported? Who exactly saved whom here…?
Still on one knee, I looked up at her.
…Still, nothing came to mind about what I should say. So I simply spoke the first words that rose to the surface—the very phrase that had been hanging in a corner of my heart ever since I left the border.
“…Your Highness.”
My cracked voice came out weakly.
“…I’m not too late, am I?”
“…I’m not too late, am I?”
“…….”
At those words, Victoria’s breath caught in her throat.
…It was like a scene straight out of a fairy tale. A pitiful princess being trampled before everyone, only for a blood-soaked knight to suddenly appear, drive away the villain, and kneel before her…
It was the kind of story her nanny used to tell her when she was little. But Victoria knew. Such things existed only in fairy tales—nothing but empty illusions. At least, in the life before her regression… no one had ever appeared for her in this moment.
‘…This didn’t happen before the regression.’
The moment that realization hit her, a chill ran down her spine.
…Had something gone awry because she had regressed? He was someone who shouldn’t have been here. What had changed? What had shifted—
Just as those chaotic thoughts swirled through her mind, their eyes suddenly met as he lifted his head.
Ah…
All those thoughts scattered like lies.
His face was covered in blood and dirt. Yet within those two eyes that held only her, the complicated thoughts about what should have been or what the regression had altered no longer mattered at all.
Her heart simply pounded like crazy.
‘…Ah, what am I supposed to do about this?’
Victoria felt her face burning hot. All the humiliation and despair that had been crushing her just moments ago melted away without a trace before those eyes. All that remained was this unbearably swelling heartbeat… that was all.
Victoria barely managed to open her mouth. In a trembling voice, yet clearer than ever before.
“…No.”
She whispered shyly—very shyly.
“…You’re not late.”
…Yes. You are not late at all.
Right before this body was about to collapse. At the very moment I longed for you most desperately—
—You came to me like this.
And the one phrase she couldn’t bring herself to say out loud… Victoria quietly swallowed deep inside her heart.
‘As expected… you truly are my knight……’
She was too embarrassed. Far too embarrassed. That one sentence—she simply couldn’t say it aloud.