Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Eastern Knight Order (4)
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“I see you understand the purpose of the leopard skin—laying it on the floor is commendable.”
Lydia said, trying her best to sound nonchalant as she examined the tears.
“However, ripping apart a gift from me and not even bothering to mend it? That’s disappointing.”
The secretary standing beside her glared at me with sharp eyes.
As if demanding I drop to my knees right then and there.
I obliged for a moment, kneeling down.
But I didn’t look scared or wronged.
Instead, I focused on finding a way out of this mess.
I closely inspected the offending leopard skin.
The faint imprint of the princess’s shoe was still clearly visible where she had stepped lightly.
Seeing it, I let the corner of my mouth curl up.
“Are you saying my gift is less impressive than the sword given by Lady Irina?”
“No, Your Highness. In fact, I valued the leopard skin even more dearly.”
Valued it so much that I left it torn and neglected?
Lydia tilted her head at that.
“Valued it dearly...?”
“Yes. To explain from the beginning: I didn’t damage that skin.”
I looked up at her calmly and replied.
“What? You’re saying you didn’t ruin it?”
“That’s right, Your Highness. If you don’t believe me, you can ask the secretary to appraise it.”
I glanced briefly at the secretary.
He looked displeased at being dragged into this yet again.
His eyes held suspicion about how I knew his abilities.
‘Can’t be helped.’
Having spent over five years in the imperial palace, how could I not know about the secretaries’ formidable mana?
They were all retired battle mages from the front lines.
“Secretary, take a look.”
“Understood.”
He adjusted his monocle again.
Then, focusing mana in his eyes, he examined the Samid leopard skin to discern what had happened.
“...”
The more he examined it, the more his eyes twitched beneath.
He finished the appraisal with an even more displeased expression than when he’d looked at me.
He approached the princess and whispered the identity of the mana that had torn the skin.
“What...?”
Lydia’s red pupils contracted.
Soon, she glanced at me with a flustered look.
“Yes, Your Highness. As you heard, it was my senior who tore the skin.”
“I-is that true? Then you should have just confessed it from the start!”
Her nose flushed red, having assumed all along that I had torn it.
In response, I grinned.
With the impish look the princess herself often wore.
“The most important thing for a knight is camaraderie with one’s comrades. Thus, I believe reporting every detail of a senior’s mistake would be unbecoming of a knight.”
Camaraderie.
Even the mage who had viewed me unfavorably until now nodded at the word.
The secretary, having fought on the battlefield himself, understood its importance well.
“And in the end, it’s still my fault for not properly maintaining the gift.”
I placed a hand over my chest.
Then bowed my head humbly.
The secretary, impressed by the display.
He cautiously said to Lydia,
“It seems Your Highness judged a bit hastily this time.”
The secretary who had served and raised her her entire life.
Aside from His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, he was the only one who could reprimand her.
Having been called out for her mistake in front of the knight she wanted to recruit.
Lydia began to stammer, embarrassed.
“Th-then... what’s your excuse for leaving the gift unmended and neglected...?”
She looked quite sulky, huffing indignantly.
As if ready to storm the Eastern Knight Order offices right then.
“That’s...”
To turn this around, I decided on a bold move.
I stepped past Lydia and picked up the leopard skin.
Then politely showed it to her.
The shoe print she had left.
“It was so Your Highness’s gift could be used in a meaningful way.”
I gazed down at her wistfully.
But her face still showed no understanding.
To her, I explained confidently.
“Samid leopard skin records the traces of every guest who visits the palace.”
I rubbed the shoe print she had personally left with my finger.
Making it stand out even more.
“Though it bears a tear from someone, that too is part of its history. And because I didn’t repair it...”
Then I showed it to Lydia gently and smiled.
“Today, it could preserve the memory of Your Highness intact, don’t you think?”
Lydia stared blankly at the mark.
“I’ve heard that even in the Eastern Imperial Palace, damaged skins are never repaired separately.”
The secretary nodded in agreement.
He lifted the corner of his mouth, acknowledging the rare meaningful act.
“To think...”
I placed a hand over my chest, expressing genuine gratitude to the princess.
Then bowed formally.
‘It’s all bullshit, of course.’
History, my ass.
If not for the Eastern anecdote Senior Mia had told me, I’d have been in real trouble.
‘But will even this flimsy excuse work?’
Lydia was famously the hot-tempered youngest princess.
She might not buy such an old-fashioned reason.
Moreover, as I bowed, she said nothing.
I cautiously lifted my head to gauge her reaction.
“To think it had such a deep meaning...”
Lydia’s red eyes rippled softly like the surface of a lake.
She covered her lips with her hand, her face flushing.
“You cared so deeply for my gift?”
‘That’s not quite it...?’
“Ah, yes, well... that’s right. It holds great meaning to me.”
I went along with it for now.
She seemed mostly appeased.
Lydia cleared her throat.
Then settled lightly onto the sofa, her girlish eyes returning.
“Very well. I understand your intent.”
Next, her pink lips twitched.
As if she wanted to say something.
“Mi...”
She kept hesitating.
Both the secretary and I waited solemnly for her next words.
“I-I’m sorry... for misunderstanding you.”
Sorry.
At first glance, just a simple apology.
But the secretary’s reaction, hearing it alongside me, was astonishment.
The usually stoic man’s eyes widened at her apology.
“For the youngest princess to apologize directly...”
“Wh-what! I’m a ruler who can admit her mistakes too!”
Lydia lifted her chin and closed her eyes.
“As a princess, I greatly sinned in failing to trust my nation’s knight.”
“No, Your Highness, it’s no sin...”
I shook my head, saying it was fine.
‘Good, that should do it. She’ll back off now...’
But the moment Lydia opened her eyes again.
Her red eyes lost focus as she clapped her hands.
“So, as an apology, I must bestow new compensation.”
‘Huh...?’
Why did it end up like this?
I hurriedly waved my hands.
“No, Your Highness, no need for compensation. It’s unwarranted!”
Lydia ignored me completely.
Instead, she crossed her pale legs peeking from her skirt and gazed down at me steadily.
“Don’t misunderstand. It’s simply to uphold my honor as a ruler by properly rewarding a subordinate.”
She rested her arm on her thigh and propped her chin.
“Moreover, since you’re even helping train my knights, shouldn’t the reward be greater?”
The youngest princess leaned toward me slightly.
Then whispered as if granting a favor.
“To that end, I grant you the honor of dining with me.”
A banquet with imperial royalty.
It wasn’t just eating a meal together.
It involved hearing their grievances.
And recognizing one as true kin—a momentous occasion.
For ambitious knights seeking advancement, it was akin to a lifeline from the heavens.
But...
“I’m fine, Your Highness. I prefer eating alone.”
I firmly raised my palm.
“Besides, it’s still working hours. I usually eat lunch while patrolling.”
The skin beneath the princess’s eyes twitched at the rebuff of her gracious offer.
Twice rejected now, she seemed annoyed and lightly pinched my collar.
“Duty...? You’d throw away the honor of spending time with me for some paltry task?”
Lydia’s tone softened somewhat.
“Yes, Your Highness. Just as you fulfill your duties as ruler, I fulfill mine as a knight.”
Not yielding an inch.
At my stance, Lydia finally sighed deeply and asked,
“What is this duty, then.”
“Patrols, Your Highness. I must look after Noston’s various districts single-handedly.”
‘In truth, just sitting by the stockade watching the scenery.’
“I see. Compared to the state of this office, you seem quite busy.”
Patrolling the vast city alone.
Surely even the princess couldn’t argue with that.
“Secretary.”
“Yes, Princess Lydia.”
The youngest princess haughtily looked up at the middle-aged mage.
“Fetch a messenger bird.”
“Understood.”
The secretary approached the office window.
Then simply extended his arm without a word.
―――――.
The sound of flapping wings echoed from afar.
It grew so loud that as it neared, the office windows began to rattle.
Soon, a massive shadow soared powerfully into my office.
‘That’s a messenger bird...?’
No matter how I thought about it, those were enormous wings for one.
And eyes sharp enough to pierce all things.
The Third Princess’s messenger bird was no mere pigeon.
‘Golden eagle.’
Predator of the skies.
Emperor of the heavens, several times faster than any pigeon.
The eagle, which seemed it would heed no one, alighted gently on the secretary’s arm.
Afterward, the mage returned to Lydia’s side with the eagle.
“Reporting as ordered.”
Lydia wore a leisurely smile.
“Even if I only govern the eastern capital, I am still royalty of this nation.”
She looked down at me with playful eyes and said,
“The north is part of this nation too. It pains my heart that a single knight patrols such a vast city alone!”
She placed a hand over her chest.
Then declared confidently,
“Thus, today I command special patrols for the Eastern Knight Order.”
The princess handed the eagle to the secretary.
He issued the detailed orders in a stern voice.
“Eastern Knight Order, 1st through 5th Battalions. All units commence city patrols of Noston.”
With that, the secretary released the eagle.
The golden eagle beat its massive wings.
It cleaved through the air and soared high into the sky.
Afterward, it returned to the northern skies in just ten minutes.
Along with dozens of other eagles.
Soon, they all flew into the office in unison.
―――――.
Their powerful wingbeats whipped up a fierce gale.
Papers on the table fluttered wildly as a result.
Lydia rose with the wind.
Her black hair whipping about as she said to me,
“Now it’s settled, right? Shall we go enjoy lunch together?”
Golden eagles circling the princess.
At the sight, my eyes widened.
Feeling my gaze, the princess smiled like a goddess from myth.