Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 24. Eastern Knight Order (1)
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“Then, we shall take our leave.”
I stood from the imperial seats alongside Yawin Miya, whom I hadn’t seen in a while.
And bowed my head to the two princesses.
A perfect give and take.
I’d taken an adequate reward, so I had no intention of getting tangled up with them again.
Thinking that, I descended from the banquet hall with my senior.
“Yes, Bale. Take care on your way back.”
Irina replied in a stiff tone before the honored guests.
On the other hand, Lydia offered me no greeting whatsoever.
She merely stared at me sullenly for rejecting her offer after accepting that vague reward.
‘She’s intimidating.’
Pretending not to notice, I hurriedly caught a carriage.
Leaving the lavish banquet hall behind, I returned north.
To my quiet, cozy office.
The two princesses watched my departure from the first-floor main entrance.
Until the carriage was completely out of sight.
…
Afterward, Irina dropped her smile.
She turned a cold, ruthless gaze on Lydia.
“You…”
Before her guards, she had been fresh and girlish.
But once he was gone, she glared at her sister with the sharp eyes of a silver wolf.
“What’s with this knight order tour nonsense? What are you scheming?”
Yet even under her sister’s piercing stare, Lydia didn’t flinch.
Instead, her crimson eyes flashed like a little devil’s as she looked down arrogantly.
“Just what I said. I planned to show off our knight order’s perks to a commoner-born guy.”
The Third Princess placed a hand on her chest and declared proudly.
“We already have plenty of knights. Why chase after a commoner knight?”
Irina stepped right up to Lydia.
She stared down so intently her shadow fell over her.
“It’s just—how should I put it? I can’t stand seeing commoner bloodlines clump together.”
The Third Princess bared her sharp fangs and snickered.
Crossing her arms alone, she added slyly.
“It’s disgusting, especially knowing he’s an orphan and trying to play on sympathies.”
Irina frowned at her youngest sister’s sharp analysis.
“Sympathies…? Why do you always think so negatively?”
“Because your intentions are obvious? You can’t win with power, so you appeal to emotions.”
Lydia shrugged.
Then she stepped even closer to her sister.
“No matter how much you’ve investigated him, an ambitious knight will always choose a superior master.”
Her confident demeanor.
Irina scoffed mockingly at the sight.
“Ambitious…? After hearing that vegetable patch story, you still think Bale’s an ambitious knight?”
“You fool… You still don’t get it?”
Soon the princess’s red eyes gleamed seductively.
She grinned and said.
“That vegetable patch isn’t just some ordinary farm.”
“What…?”
Lydia turned to gaze at the mana trees planted along the palace sides.
Then she stated flatly.
“He plans to grow mana herbs there.”
Mana herbs.
Mystical plants that inherently contain mana.
“He’ll extract them to make elixirs.”
At those words, Irina touched her chin.
Fair enough.
Even he had no reason to turn down a path to success.
Yet choosing a sunstone over ties to the imperial family suggested.
A sophisticated ploy to grow strong without royal aid.
“Deliberately joining a frontier knight order to make priest elixirs. Then building power in secret from the nobles, proving himself at official events like the national tournament.”
The youngest princess laid out a plausible theory, leaving Irina pale.
“No….”
She had planned to pull him under her wing somehow!
If he became famous like that, he wouldn’t even glance her way anymore.
He’d go straight to the crown prince or another princess.
“I should’ve stopped him from fighting Richard….”
Irina regretted not intervening at the appointment ceremony.
She had known he was strong in the past.
But she hadn’t expected him to awaken even faster from battling Richard….
If she knew he’d become a swordmaster in the future, he’d ignore her even more.
Lost in repeated gloomy thoughts, Irina bowed her head sadly.
“He already looks like an advanced sword expert. Add an elixir, and it’ll be no joke—.”
Lydia drove the knife in softly.
“Enough to smash that stage to bits.”
Smash the stage…?
Irina lifted her head at her words.
She stared piercingly at the nonchalant Lydia.
“You… You knew it was Bale’s doing?”
“I know my own knight well. Batsu isn’t at a level to use such an insane technique yet.”
A heavy silence followed.
Soon the two stepped far apart from each other.
“Chilling. You knew and still let Batsu strut like he did it in front of the nobles?”
“The prime minister himself praised him, so you were grinning ear to ear.”
They were both stunned that the other had been hiding Bale’s true prowess.
…
The banquet hall, now emptied of guests.
The two princesses, having seen through each other’s intentions, fell silent.
The only sounds left were those of cleaning up the shattered stage.
Soon Lydia turned to find Batsu returning.
Before leaving, she murmured lowly to Irina.
“Flail around all you want. In the end, he’ll serve the superior master among us.”
Irina gave no reply to her taunt.
She merely turned away cynically.
Irina remained alone at the banquet hall entrance.
Soon Allen approached her side, battered and bruised.
“Allen… You did well. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Your Highness.”
Unlike his usual arrogance, he was subdued.
The former playboy bowed deeply before her.
“Why so down? You fought well….”
Irina was taken aback by how different he seemed.
“I’m sorry.”
The infamous rake of the count’s family.
For the first time, he apologized to someone.
“In truth, I’ve been ignoring Your Highness’s efforts all this time.”
Seeing Allen so earnest for the first time, Irina grew serious too.
“When you suddenly said you’d form a knight order, I thought it was just bluffing.”
The playboy looked up.
He gazed at the princess with earnest eyes.
“So I figured I’d rack up some achievements half-heartedly and bail. But to think you were so sincere….”
His eyes burned with resolve.
Moved, Irina awaited his next words.
At last, Allen declared boldly in a voice full of ambition.
“I’m leaving the knight order.”
“Huh?”
Irina wondered if she’d misheard.
“W-what…? I must’ve heard wrong?”
When the princess asked again, the knight shook his head.
“You heard right. I’m quitting.”
His expression screamed empire’s hero about to enter secluded training.
Yet he firmly stated he was done with knighthood.
“I won’t be Your Highness’s face.”
He shook his head skeptically.
“No plans to bury my bones in a newbie knight order either.”
Irina was speechless at his bold words.
After the duel, Allen had lost not just his convictions but his grit too.
Fuming, Irina clenched both fists.
‘Bale… What the hell did you do to him!’
The princess glanced awkwardly toward Batsu’s group.
Lydia and the Eastern knights in the distance.
Their reactions weren’t much different from Allen’s.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness…. I made a huge mistake at such a grand banquet….”
“No, it’s fine. You fought to the end as I commanded, so I’ll praise you instead.”
A height difference of at least three heads.
Lydia smiled brightly and promised him a reward.
“Go rest well today. You’ll need to prepare for the upcoming tournament.”
The Third Princess moved to leave the banquet hall leisurely.
But she had no choice but to stop dead.
“Forgive me, Your Highness….”
Because Batsu uttered the unthinkable.
“I won’t enter the tournament.”
“What?”
The knight order juniors listening nearby flashed their eyes.
Batsu, always the most upright and strong among them.
Now he was utterly dejected.
“S-senior. What’s that all of a sudden?”
“Yeah, if you don’t go, who from the Eastern Knight Order will?”
The dark-skinned, burly men.
They tried earnestly to persuade Batsu.
But Batsu shook his head firmly, his mind made up.
“I’m still sorely lacking. Entering like this would only tarnish the Eastern Knight Order’s honor.”
He gripped his thigh and muttered to himself.
“I’ll fully temper my body so no trick catches me off guard, then return.”
The juniors bit their lips at their humble senior’s resolve.
They couldn’t comprehend his talk of getting stronger here.
…
But Lydia was different.
Knowing the technique on stage was Bale’s, she understood Batsu’s shock anew.
“Very well, if that’s your will, so be it.”
In the end, the youngest princess let out a deep sigh.
With a wry smile, she patted Batsu.
“Postpone the tournament and train solo for a while, then come back.”
Batsu managed a shaky bow with his trembling body before heading to the barracks.
Lydia watched him go and sighed deeply.
“Haah… That Bale guy.”
‘Bale…?’
The bronze-muscled knights.
They silently watched the petite princess’s retreating back.
And once she was gone.
They exchanged grave looks.
“Who the hell is this Bale making her act like that?”
“The defense knight who jumped in during the duel earlier.”
At “defense knight,” the junior frowned.
“Wasn’t that guy cut after losing to Brother Batsu?”
“Looks like he pulled something on Brother during it.”
The two pondered deeply.
Soon Tau, the senior with a cow tattoo on his arm, narrowed his eyes.
“Did you see Senior Batsu earlier?”
“His leg was shaking bad.”
“Yeah, that Bale bastard must’ve used every dirty trick to take down Brother.”
Tau breathed roughly.
With fierce eyes, he began theorizing.
“Dirty tricks?”
“Yeah, you saw it too. That sturdy leg trembling like mad.”
The knight pictured Bale—slender like a gigolo with a sleazy grin.
But he couldn’t imagine such a scrawny guy bringing Batsu to his knees.
“Probably used a paralyzing poison.”
At his senior’s words, the junior’s eyes flashed in agreement.
Making the chicken tattoo on his shoulder twitch.
“It does fit the symptoms, for sure.”
With even the junior concurring, Tau inhaled deeply.
He glared north toward the water defense office building.
“Tell the vice captain tomorrow.”
The brutish knight’s nostrils flared.
“We’ll personally deliver the sunstone he’s supposed to get.”
He was raring to charge like an enraged bull into the bullring.
“We need to check it out ourselves.”