Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Warmth (1)
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After dancing with Lydia, I safely escaped from the Crimson Pavilion.
She had offered to let me use her carriage, but I politely refused—for the sake of not revealing my home address, if nothing else.
“Haah….”
As soon as I stepped out onto the street, the cool night air greeted me.
I walked along, reflecting on the events of the day.
‘It was definitely dangerous.’
Lydia, perched seductively on the table and looking down at me.
Just thinking about that sight kept the corners of my mouth turning up as I walked.
“…”
While passing through a back alley.
My eyes caught on a newspaper crumpled on the ground.
「His Imperial Majesty the Emperor attends the noble assembly. Praised for his past labors.」
‘The atmosphere must have been tense.’
Those attending the meeting had probably split into two main factions.
One was the conservatives supporting the awakened Emperor and the princesses.
The other was the reformers who had sided with the Crown Prince when he collapsed.
However, most would be the latter.
After all, the overwhelming power of the Crown Prince had already subdued the majority.
‘Of course, it would be nice if they returned to the Emperor’s side….’
But that was unlikely.
The fiery Conqueror King would never forgive those who had betrayed him once.
The nobles would instead rely on the Crown Prince even more than before.
As a result, the tension between the two factions would only heighten.
‘That’s why His Majesty wants to recruit me, too.’
Of course, no matter what orders he issued, I had no intention of leaving the Capital Defense Corps.
I had already done more than enough.
I had built up Irina’s knight order.
I had dealt with Hakim, who had been threatening Lydia.
I had even resolved the curse on Lea….
‘Now they should all manage on their own.’
With that thought, I flipped the newspaper over.
While walking and checking the real estate listings.
Suddenly, a shadow standing at the end of the alley caught my eye.
“…”
A dark night.
The back alley had clearly been empty.
This area was close to the abandoned old city, after all.
But.
“Veil Mikhail.”
The man standing in the distance picked out my name and spoke.
“…”
It should have been hard to recognize my face on a street like this.
Yet he knew me….
That meant he had anticipated I would come this way.
“Who are you?”
I asked, but the shadow gave no answer.
He simply walked slowly toward me.
―――.
The clanking of iron military boots echoed.
The moment I heard it, I knew.
He was a knight.
“Who I am doesn’t matter. You just need to follow.”
I stared intently at the knight cloaked in a black robe.
Then, in a serious tone, I asked,
“What if I refuse?”
The knight halted at my question.
He lowered his hood, revealing his face.
“What else?”
Silver hair and cold white eyes.
And the ominous black armor encircling his neck.
“The Empire’s shadow, the Black Knight Order.”
‘One of the Crown Prince’s closest aides….’
The Black Knight Order were originally the elite knights Rosanna had brought from her homeland.
If the Imperial Knights were her pride, these were the ones who handled the dirty work from the shadows.
Almost no information was known about their prowess.
Which meant they were that ruthless and efficient.
“Judging by your eyes, you’ve figured out my affiliation.”
The man, who appeared about my age, spoke in a low, menacing voice.
“So, follow quietly.”
“…”
For now, I completely erased my mana presence.
Then, silently, I followed him into a nearby dilapidated abandoned building.
On the way in.
Suddenly, I sensed a presence from behind.
‘His comrade?’
Someone watching my back from the opposite alley.
However, not at the level of completely concealing their presence like the Black Knight.
“Hurry up and follow. What are you doing?”
I nodded at the knight’s words.
And followed him into the abandoned greenhouse.
“…”
A place where unmanaged plants grew grotesquely.
I sensed a strange soundproofing magic emanating from those plants.
“I’ve brought him, senior.”
The skilled-looking man bowed his head.
To the man standing in the center of the greenhouse.
“Good work.”
A man clad in black armor.
Purple eyes gleamed from within his black hair.
“Capital Defense Knight Order affiliate, 80th class top graduate, Veil Mikhail.”
He recited my information calmly.
“…”
“You’re asking if that’s right.”
The silver-haired man who brought me scolded him.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
As I answered, the black-haired man asked sharply,
“Do you have any guess why I summoned you?”
“No, I have no idea. I don’t even know who you are.”
The man fell silent at my flat response.
“I am Gilbert of the Black Knight Order. I’ve been investigating your movements for a very long time.”
“Me…?”
I furrowed my brow at the claim that he had been investigating me all this time.
Gilbert smirked.
“Yes, starting from how you, despite topping the appointment exam, ended up in the bottom rung of the Defense Corps.”
As if he had anticipated my reaction.
“And yet showing no ambition for promotion despite that posting—there are too many suspicious things about you.”
Fortunately, the Black Knight only mentioned my past actions.
I replied calmly to his words.
“Is it such a grave sin that I failed to produce results due to my own lack of ability, enough to summon me before a Black Knight?”
“Of course not. We don’t even glance at such worthless groups to begin with.”
The man shed his robe, which he had worn like a cloak.
Revealing the black armor that firmly encased his body.
“The reason I investigated you is because a lowly defense knight like you somehow received lunchboxes from the princesses.”
Lunchboxes.
So it was the direct incidents with the princesses after all.
“What exactly is your relationship with them? Don’t tell me you’re their lover or something?”
The Black Knight spouted something that could cause massive trouble.
If that were true, I would already be dead by His Majesty’s hand.
“How could that be? Given the princesses’ personalities, they wouldn’t spare a glance at a worthless man like me.”
I said with a sly smile.
The Black Knight raised his fist.
“…!”
At the signal, the silver-haired knight who brought me moved.
He grabbed my arm and twisted it firmly.
“Urk…!”
“We’re not in the mood for games, so you’d better tell the truth.”
I wanted to flip him over right then.
But that would get word back to the First Imperial Consort about me, so I held back for now.
“Indeed, your mana feels very faint.”
The veteran Black Knight clasped his hands behind his back.
He looked down at me pitifully and said,
“It’s certainly at the level of a pathetic, commonplace defense knight. But that’s not what matters.”
The black-haired man raised a gloved finger.
Then pointed it at my face like a dagger.
“What matters is why the princesses took notice of you.”
“…”
If I told the truth here, information about the princesses’ alliance would reach Rosanna too.
‘I have to block that.’
I took a short breath.
Then muttered in the most aggrieved and pitiful expression I could muster.
“R-Reently, when I visited the eastern sector, I helped with Hakim’s capture operation just because I was nearby…. The lunchbox was just a reward for that.”
However, the Black Knight didn’t let his guard down even after hearing me.
“And Irina?”
“The Second Imperial Princess was the same. I just guided sparring sessions for cadets who came looking for me after the rumor that I beat Richard….”
Gilbert fell silent after hearing me.
Then, he signaled the knight twisting my arm by raising his fist.
“You’re going to believe him?”
“I’ve seen him running laps with the greenhorn knight cadets. That part is probably true.”
The junior released me with a dissatisfied look.
Thanks to that, I could finally ease my throbbing shoulder.
“However, I’m not letting it slide that easily.”
The man turned away indifferently.
Then spoke in a cold voice.
“Take him. We’ll use confession magic to uncover his real intentions.”
Confession magic.
Maybe because I’d recently felt its power from the Mage Tower Lord, a sense of crisis surged.
“Confession magic? You plan to take me to the Mage Tower?”
I asked calmly.
Confession magic required strict procedures under the Emperor’s orders.
“No, we can have the sorcerers do it without going to the Mage Tower.”
“That’s illegal, though. Even Black Knights can’t ignore procedure, can they?”
When I asked confidently, the veteran Black Knight stopped in his tracks.
Then spoke in a menacing voice.
“It doesn’t matter. This is all my independent action.”
He turned his head toward me.
“While everyone ignored you, I’ve been watching you for a very long time.”
He then glared with his ferocious purple eyes.
“From dancing with the notoriously cold Lea, to coming out of Lydia’s secret office in the Crimson Pavilion today.”
I sensed a sinister mana from his body.
“And ever since you appeared, anomalies have started occurring in His Highness the Crown Prince’s great undertaking.”
The unique black aura used only by Black Knights.
His aura made me grimace instinctively.
“So, I will uncover the truth myself.”
“…”
When I said nothing, he smirked.
“Don’t worry. If you truly have no connection to them, you’ll walk away unscathed.”
He seemed to think of me as a caught fish and turned away.
“Besides, no one in the Black Knight Order even knows about this.”
No one knows.
At those words, I looked at Gilbert with my black eyes.
“Is that true?”
When I, who had been silent until now, asked back, Gilbert halted.
“What?”
“I mean, are only the two of you aware of all the investigation you’ve done on me?”
He chuckled while facing forward.
“Yes, so you can come along obediently.”
The Black Knight started to walk again after saying that.
However, he furrowed his brow at the sudden strong mana presence.
“…?”
The veteran knight turned his head.
At that moment.
“Kiel…?”
His purple eyes, fierce until now, widened.
The junior, Kiel, who had easily subdued me moments ago.
His neck was twisted just like the arm he had grabbed.
“So, if I just kill the two of you, no one will know what happened today?”
I snapped the junior’s neck outright.
Then began wrapping golden aura around my arm.
“As expected… my judgment was correct.”
Seeing the swordmaster’s aura, the Black Knight’s lips twitched.
He seemed even more shocked by my power, so alien compared to his dead junior.
“Yes, Black Knights are different. Good insight.”
I praised his perceptiveness.
“So, for the Empire’s sake, it’s better to eliminate you.”
And I reached for his neck.
Just like I had done to his junior in one blow.
“…!!”
The Black Knight instinctively stepped back.
At the same time, he drew his sword with practiced skill, putting distance between us.
However, I didn’t retreat.
Instead, I grabbed his sword with my bare hand.
The moment I tried to break it.
“This is…!”
Black aura erupted from his sword, resisting.
Black aura.
The Black Knights’ power, handed down from surrendered black mages.
Stronger than blue aura, and when well-trained, it could rival a swordmaster’s golden aura.
Thanks to that, his sword could contend with me.
“A swordmaster…? How did a mere defense knight obtain such power?”
He asked with considerable bewilderment.
“I gained it in my past life by killing your kind.”
“Past life…?”
Kaaang!!
Black aura inherently grew stronger by absorbing the power of slain foes.
Proving that, his sword had been tempered through countless killings.
However, I wasn’t intimidated at all.
Instead, I pressed him even harder.
Because….
In my past life, it was Black Knights who had charged at Irina and me to kill us.
“Since you’ve revealed you’re Black Knights, abandon any thoughts of returning alive.”
Chaaeng!!
“You’re not worth keeping alive.”
They had killed innocent servants and anyone who didn’t follow them.
The shadows of Rosanna, who had gleefully absorbed power from those sacrifices like a madwoman.
Thinking of that group, the golden mana coiling around my arm thickened.
“Krgh….”
Overwhelmed by the vast power gap, he began breathing raggedly.
“…!!”
When he raised his sword, I overpowered him with force, making him lose his grip.
―――!!
When he drew a dagger from his bosom, I smashed it down with my sword hilt.
―――.
When he attempted a kick last, I smashed his leg with my elbow, breaking it.
Thud….
With his leg broken, he collapsed to the ground.
A heavy metallic clang echoed as his knee hit the floor.
“You….”
A Black Knight who had grown strong through slaughter until now.
He was gripped by fear at the clear power disparity.
“How did you obtain such power…?”
“By killing and absorbing from foes like you. Why act so surprised now?”
“That power would require nearly hundreds of…!”
I decisively raised my sword.
Then swung it at the Black Knight’s neck without hesitation.
Because with them, I felt not even a shred of guilt when striking.
“…”
Thud.
The Black Knight’s head rolled across the greenhouse floor like a seed.
I watched it roll intently.
It was fortunate he had acted alone to claim credit.
Black Knights didn’t share missions with each other by nature.
If I cleaned up this one’s traces neatly, the other knights wouldn’t know about me.
‘But….’
If others investigated me, starting from my closeness to the princesses like now….
Incidents like this would happen again.
‘It’d be best to keep my distance from them from now on.’
With a bitter expression, I collected their corpses.
Then looked around for a suitable place to bury them.
「――――――.」
On the way back to my villa.
I let out a weary breath.
“Haah….”
I had disposed of their bodies cleanly.
However, something still nagged at me.
‘The shadow that watched me earlier.’
When I was being taken by the Black Knight, someone watching from afar bothered me.
‘If I memorize the mana signature, I’ll know who it is if I encounter them at the palace.’
Thinking that, I climbed the villa stairs.
For now, all I wanted was to lie my exhausted body on the sofa.
‘Ah, the sofa’s broken.’
I sighed, recalling the morning’s events.
The intense kiss with Lea, the dance with Lydia in the afternoon.
Today had been filled with so many events.
Dragging my tired body, I climbed all the stairs.
The moment I reached the hallway.
“…!”
I locked eyes with the woman standing in front of my door.
“Veil.”
Irina, in a pure white dress.
The moment she saw me, she spoke with a deeply worried expression.
“Are you okay…?”
Her eyes seemed to know something had happened to me today.
The princess approached with a sad look.
“Dasha told me. That Black Knights came looking for you….”
The instant I saw her running to me.
A scene from my past life flashed in my mind.
Her staggering toward my fallen form.
“You’re not hurt, are you…?”
The princess collapsed into my chest.
Then gently caressed the bloodstain on my face with her delicate fingers.
“I’m so glad. Really so glad….”
Seeing her trembling emerald eyes.
A flood of emotions passed through me.
I had just resolved to keep distance from the princesses.
But seeing Irina, who came because she genuinely worried about me….
All the fatigue I had accumulated melted away like snow.
“I’m fine, Your Highness.”
I embraced the teary-eyed Irina.
The warmth I felt for the first time in a while seemed to wash away all the fatigue I had ever known.