Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 5. First Spar (3)
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“What do you think, Your Highnesses?”
Valerian looked at them with serious eyes.
And then, quite matter-of-factly, he spoke up in my defense.
“I believe Cadet Vail’s actions were justified.”
The sight of him—who I’d only ever met as an enemy—now hoping for leniency on my behalf.
It was strangely novel.
‘I expected as much, but he’s even kinder than I thought.’
It was almost regrettable that we’d crossed paths as foes in the past.
“I admit it. It was extreme like Richard’s actions, but Vail had clear reasons for it.”
The empire’s operations commander, who had been silent until now.
The First Imperial Princess Lea responded humbly.
“Your sisters agree, right?”
I’d thought she’d defend Richard, but she set down her quill and accepted it readily.
Then, she looked up and asked the other princesses as well.
“About that boy’s actions.”
Irina found Lea’s sudden defense of Vail grating.
However, she went along with it for now.
“The weight of that sour punch was different, wasn’t it? Of course it was justified.”
“There’s no rule against using fists in a fight.”
Lydia also seemed pleased with the hearty fisticuffs, nodding enthusiastically.
“I actually found it hot-blooded and fun.”
Valerian let out a sigh of relief at the merciful princesses’ sentiments.
And then, in front of all the knights, he declared confidently.
“The sparring match is over. The winner is Vail Mikhail!”
Cheers from my fellow cadets.
Applause from the princesses and their guards filled the annex.
The noise was so loud it felt like the annex was shaking.
“...”
Cheers and applause I was hearing for the first time in my life.
Still awkward with such treatment, I scratched the side of my head.
However, the unbelievable events were only just beginning.
The moment the official nominations began in earnest after the spar.
I was faced with something I’d never experienced in my past life.
“The top nominee, Vail, step forward.”
Top nominee.
To achieve here what I couldn’t even dream of in my past life.
It felt like compensation for all the hardships I’d endured back then.
―――.
I walked calmly to the table where the princesses sat.
And maintained a poker face as I awaited their reactions.
“...”
However, the princesses didn’t say a word to me right away.
They simply looked at me impassively.
‘Introduce yourself.’
Irina, seated in the middle, whispered quietly.
Only then did I bow my head in greeting to them.
“I am Vail Mikhail.”
At my demeanor, the silver-haired princess lifted the corners of her mouth as if she found it cute.
“Second candidate of the Knight Order cadets, and I have no family name.”
Only then did the princesses start reacting to me.
The first to speak was the Third Imperial Princess, Lydia.
“No family name, you mean?”
“Yes, I was born an orphan, so I have no name given by parents.”
Lydia cleared her throat lowly upon hearing that.
“Well, you grew up rough, so no wonder you’re strong.”
“Thank you for the praise.”
As I accepted it readily, Lydia’s expression brightened again.
She stood from her chair and placed a hand on her hip.
“Anyway, you must know my name, of course?”
Even standing, she looked about two heads shorter than me.
Yet in that petite frame, pride overflowed from Lydia’s red eyes.
“Yes, you are Princess Lydia, who oversees the capital’s eastern district.”
“Then you must also know the might of my Eastern Knight Order?”
Of course I did.
The eastern knights were mostly tall, for one thing—who knew what they ate to grow like that.
Moreover, they were known for cleaving through heavy plate armor with brute force.
Even the imperial knights avoided picking fights with them in the capital’s east.
“I’ve heard plenty about it.”
The Third Princess draped the red silk on her arm softly over her shoulder.
Then, she stepped out from the table and slowly looked me over like merchandise.
Each step she took was as lively as Eastern-style music playing.
“Well, your build is a far cry from my knights’, but your skills weren’t bad.”
I was about 180 cm tall myself, and hearing “small build” for the first time—especially from a girl much shorter than me—felt oddly amusing.
“Do you have a preferred posting in mind?”
“Not yet.”
At my words that I hadn’t decided, the youngest princess’s lips curved up.
She narrowed her eyes and approached me leisurely.
And then, out of nowhere...
“What’s there to agonize over?”
She declared while gripping the official knight’s insignia on my uniform.
“Come under me.”
A blunt, straightforward statement.
“You think anyone’s going to care about a commoner like you with no proper pedigree?”
I knew the youngest princess had a fierce personality.
But hearing this in front of everyone left me more than a little flustered.
“Come under me, and at least it won’t be boring.”
Lydia dangled the insignia I’d earned, waving it lightly.
“The knights who serve under me never retire until they die.”
She let the insignia drop carelessly, like a passing breeze.
“Know why?”
Then, covering my ear with her palm, she whispered so only I could hear.
“Because they never even think of resting—it’s that enjoyable. Everything in the east is mine.”
I had no interest in mere enjoyment.
But the fief I’d receive in the east?
That piqued my interest.
Owning land as a lowly knight was next to impossible.
With a fief, I might even relocate the orphanage that raised me to the capital’s east.
It was currently in a dangerous borderland, barely scraping by on protection money.
However.
Any knight who’d lived through the purge wouldn’t accept easily.
Even she, like Irina, couldn’t escape her fate.
“And if you throw my name around in the capital’s east...”
Lydia paused briefly in my response.
Curious about her final words, I met her eyes again.
At that moment.
“I can turn a blind eye if you kill one kid who rubs you the wrong way.”
Lydia’s red eyes smiled like a little devil.
Leaving that grin behind, she sauntered back to the table.
“...”
Thanks to that, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
A murder license from a princess’s mouth, of all things.
That’s why, when I became the Second Princess’s knight in my past life, I told my subordinates never to visit the east for fun.
I calmly looked back at the table, wondering who was next.
Irina was still lost in thought, reviewing the documents.
Thanks to that, my eyes suddenly met those of the First Imperial Princess, Lea.
Her mature, cold gaze pierced right through me.
“Irina doesn’t seem ready yet, so I’ll go first.”
A clipped tone, like a soldier’s.
Yet her visage was renowned as the most outstanding among the princesses.
Lea Andalusia rose from her seat.
Up close, she was much taller than Lydia.
Radiant golden hair and a white uniform clinging perfectly to her body.
Just looking at her made elegant classical music seem to play around us.
To be chosen by such a woman.
Even the cadets watching from afar swallowed hard, though they hadn’t been selected.
“Did Lydia offer you a murder license?”
I didn’t answer the First Princess right away.
Lydia had whispered it softly—how did she know?
“Don’t be surprised. In the empire, there’s no information I don’t know.”
She smiled leisurely, like a warm big sister.
Feminine and mature, just like the sisters who looked after me at the orphanage.
Plenty of noble sons must have fallen for that face—enough to fill a cart.
“Lydia’s still young and doesn’t seem to know you well. What you need isn’t wealth or power.”
Lea spoke as if she already knew my heart completely.
“The way you raged and fought for your comrade. What someone like you wants is...”
Lea received an insignia from an imperial knight.
And placed it ostentatiously on her table.
“Honor, right?”
I knew that insignia.
Platinum frame with a golden cross.
The second most powerful and prestigious knight order after the crown prince’s imperial knights.
The insignia of the Radiant Knight Order.
“Do you know how many Swordmasters there are in our empire?”
“Six.”
As I answered obediently, Lea slightly lifted the uniform cap she wore.
“How many do you think are Radiant Knight Order alumni?”
“Three, as far as I know.”
Lea rose fully from her chair.
She gently swept her radiant locks behind her ear.
“You know your stuff, so you must be quite interested yourself.”
The First Princess leaned in slightly, gazing up at me intently.
Her sensual figure stood out even more.
“I believe such high positions should be held by brave talents.”
Lea approached me slowly.
Soon, her elegant fingers touched my collar.
She smoothed out the crumpled parts delicately.
“If you become my knight, you could be that person.”
She drew close enough to feel her breath.
Her blue eyes looked up at me.
They sparkled as if peering into my very soul.
“A commoner-born captain—wouldn’t that inspire the entire empire?”
Indeed.
She had read all my weaknesses.
My commoner origins and my desire to overcome them.
However, I didn’t accept her offer right away.
Instead, I countered with a firm reply.
“I don’t have the ability for that yet.”
Lea didn’t back down easily.
She even smirked at my impassive attitude, perhaps seeing it as the knightly virtue of humility.
“You’re simply not ready yet.”
Her long finger trailed softly down my chest.
It soon stopped at my uniform pocket.
The princess slipped the platinum cross inside.
Then, in a tone different from usual, she whispered.
“Trivial worries like mana or origins can be resolved the moment you come to me.”
The relaxed smile of one who had everything.
I silently met that smiling gaze.
‘Mana...’
Of course, serving under her would mean elixirs to easily solve it.
Plus personal tutoring from Radiant Knight Order alumni seniors.
Countless benefits would follow.
“...”
However, those benefits drew only a snort from me.
‘After all, I learned something far more valuable on the battlefield.’
“I can’t accept this yet.”
“I’m not forcing you. It’s just a little gift from me.”
Lea turned with hands behind her back and slowly returned to her seat.
She lifted her uniform skirt lightly and sat gracefully.
“But remember this: I do everything in my power for my subordinates’ growth.”
Her fellow cadets heard those words.
They all turned to stare at me at once.
Noble cadets.
Even some fellow commoner cadets.
All glaring at me with envious eyes.
Becoming Lea’s knight meant challenging the empire’s pinnacle of power.
Members of the Radiant Knight Order rose to high positions.
But their ends were rarely good.
Border knights could preserve their lives with careful conduct.
But losers in politics and faction wars were usually executed as mist on the scaffold.
In my past life, I was one such sacrifice.
“I’ll think about it.”
Fatigue crashed over me.
Exhausted, I moved to the center of the table.
And there...
The last princess, Irina, was seated.
She gazed up at my darkened expression.
Soon, our eyes met on the princess’s face.
‘Five years ago, she’d have been 21, like me.’
Her face still held the fresh innocence of a young girl.
The Lydia I’d just met was a seductive little devil.
Lea exuded a queen’s dignity.
But Irina...
“Hello, Vail.”
Hello.
Not the sort of greeting a princess gives a knight.
Yet somehow, her words felt familiar, like those of a childhood friend.
As if we’d known each other since long ago.