Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Knight Evaluation Tournament (1)
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We rode our tamed white horse back to the plains.
There waited the Western Duke's daughter right on time.
She dismounted from her horse and paid her respects.
"I'm glad you made it out safely, Your Highness."
I looked down at her with a fierce glare.
Irina, sensing my killing intent, gave me a faint smile and made a request.
"Veil, leave Sir Antre to me."
"Yes...?"
I had been about to press her for answers, but her benevolent demeanor made me furrow my brow.
"I'll handle what happened today properly."
"Are you sure that's okay?"
"Yes. Now you need to rest too. It's the National Foundation Day holiday for once."
National Foundation Day.
Right, it was around this time.
"You know the upcoming semi-annual knight evaluation, don't you? At least take care of yourself for that."
"Then, does that mean my help ends here?"
When I asked in return, the princess removed her formal jacket.
She handed it back to me and said,
"Yes. Thanks to you, I had a great time today, Veil."
She had spent 150,000 gold for my sake, yet she was satisfied with so little.
The princess still had many inscrutable sides to her.
"Understood. Thank you for all your help today in so many ways."
I placed my fist over my left chest and bowed.
At that, Irina slowly turned her head.
She then muttered softly to herself.
"It was I who received the help...."
The princess gazed intently down at her own legs.
She parted ways with me, hiding the twitch at the corner of her mouth.
"..."
Before leaving the riding grounds.
I stared indifferently at the Western Duke's daughter engaged in a serious conversation with Irina.
Sir Antre, catching on to the vibe.
She gave me a light wave.
"This... looks like Sir Veil has me properly marked now?"
The lady knight with her brown bobbed hair fluttering in the breeze.
She gulped deeply as she watched my back grow distant.
"To emit such killing intent without using mana or aura...."
She wasn't even a Sword Master—just a solid mid-tier Expert knight—but even she could sense it.
The knight who had faced her possessed the aura of the vice-captains... or perhaps even surpassed them.
"I'm sorry, Antre."
The 2nd Imperial Princess approached her side.
She patted the lady knight with an apologetic look.
"No need for apologies. As expected of a man you've taken notice of, Your Highness."
Antre let out a smirk.
Unlike during the riding match, she gazed at the princess with warm, friendly eyes.
Antre Mirian.
Eldest daughter of the Western Grand Duke, in charge of logistics for the Radiant Knight Order.
And a childhood friend of Irina's.
"You put on a great act earlier. You looked just like some haughty noblewoman steeped in elitist pride."
"A compliment?"
Irina narrowed her eyes.
She grinned as she looked at her friend.
"Of course. Thanks for setting the stage."
From luring Veil to the riding grounds.
To staging the match that let the princess show off her splendid form.
It had all been Irina and her doing.
Antre certainly served Lea as the daughter of the Western Grand Duke.
But she held a different stance from her father.
The Grand Duke position was destined for the eldest son from the start.
Besides, she cared more about logistics and the kingdom's stability than court intrigues or politics.
That was why she supported the alliance among the imperial family and aided Irina.
"So, did things progress with Sir Veil as much as you'd hoped?"
Curious deep down about their relationship.
She watched Irina intently as the princess flushed at the mention of progress.
"Ah, well...."
The princess recalled the earlier scene in her mind.
Though she had fallen from the horse, Veil had touched her leg because of it.
And the moment his hand had trailed up to her thigh.
The strange sensations and feelings she'd never experienced before in her life.
"I don't know...."
Irina covered her lips with the back of her hand.
She muttered with a bashful expression.
"Far from showing a cool side, I even fell off the horse...."
The princess swallowed hard.
She who had resolved to approach more boldly.
Veil who had leaned in close and said he'd look forward to it.
"Still... it didn't feel bad or anything...."
Irina's lips curved up as that moment resurfaced.
The lady knight watched Irina smile like a young girl.
She smiled back in kind and replied.
"Glad you gained something from it."
Antre handed over one of the white horses to Irina.
The princess mounted it with practiced ease.
"Heading out now?"
"Yes. I've got to prepare for the knight evaluation soon."
The empire's 2nd Imperial Princess, her silver hair whipping in the wind.
She let out a deep breath, looking satisfied with the day's events.
"If it's the evaluation tournament, Sir Veil will show up too. All the capital's knights have to watch."
Antre turned her head.
Gazing at the defending knight's figure, now tiny in the distance, she said,
"I'm greatly looking forward to your performance."
"Who knows."
Unlike the expectant lady knight, the princess's expression seemed distinctly bitter.
"Veil won't want to stand out."
Irina stared at the horizon with cool, piercing eyes.
She then pondered deeply about that one man.
"But to elevate him to nobility, you need visible accomplishments."
"Do you intend to make Sir Veil this nation's guardian, Your Highness?"
Antre asked in a grave tone.
Irina gripped the reins.
She slowly repeated her friend's words.
"Guardian...."
The princess didn't agree right away.
With eyes growing ever more sovereign and cold, she voiced her thoughts.
"I can't pile more burdens on a child the nation betrayed once already."
"Pardon...?"
The lady knight cocked her head.
"If not as a guardian, what do you plan to entrust to him?"
"Nothing at all."
The princess smirked.
Turning her horse around, she said,
"Now I'll be the one to shelter him."
Irina slowly urged her whinnying horse onward.
"Travel safely."
The lady knight bowed, grasping her intent.
She waited in silence until the hoofbeats faded away.
"..."
Once the sounds were gone, Antre lifted her head again.
Unlike when bidding the princess farewell, her face now held deep concern as she gazed after her friend.
Because...
She knew those gunning for Veil were no longer just Irina.
---
The imperial capital buzzed with festive energy.
Thrilled citizens and buildings scrubbed spotless.
Ever since the emperor's illness struck, the city had sunk into gloom. Now, hopes ran high for this rare festival.
The central imperial palace felt the same.
The semi-annual knight evaluation, held alongside the National Foundation Festival.
Through it, knights could boost their worth.
Catch the eye of key figures like captains, even transfer to new orders—a prime opportunity.
Every knight polished themselves relentlessly to seize it.
Once honed, they scoped out their evaluators.
Traditionally, each order's vice-captains handled the semi-annual review.
But not this year.
「Semi-Annual Knight Evaluation Committee」
Lea. Irina. Lydia Andalusia. (Debate & Politics)
Camilla Rosinante. (Sparring)
Ekina Mir. (Monster Subjugation)
"This the real list for this year's judges?"
Unaffiliated regular knights chatting in the palace corridor.
They eyed the bulletin board smack in the wall's center with keen interest.
"All the princesses showing up...!"
"Yeah. They never even made an appearance before."
The men stood with arms crossed, smirks tugging at their lips.
"Who do you wanna impress?"
The black-haired man asked the golden-haired one.
"Lea, obviously."
"Surprise. The 1st Imperial Princess is stricter and colder than anyone."
The man chuckled at his comrade's query.
He wagged a finger and said,
"Still, she backs her favorites all the way. And besides...."
The knight's lip curled as if picturing the 1st Imperial Princess.
"She's stunningly beautiful...."
"Yeah... so that's the real draw."
The black-haired knight chuckled like he'd seen it coming.
"True, Lady Lea's a beauty. But she won't spare men a single glance."
The blond nodded in accord.
Yet his eyes gleamed undimmed.
"Yeah, she's the icy type. Makes her all the more alluring."
"Ugh... that's your thing?"
"What about you—who're you hoping notices you?"
The black-haired man cleared his throat.
With the most knightly gaze yet, he declared,
"Irina, naturally. She treats every knight equally, with such a kind heart...."
The palace knight pressed a hand to his chest, moved.
"And since adulthood, those pure imperial eyes of hers grew even more womanly."
He reminisced with a devout look, straight out of a romance novel.
But his face soon drained white and stiffened.
From the shrubbery in their corridor garden.
Someone burst forth.
"You lot don't get it."
A bespectacled man in black administrative uniform.
Grinning, he threw arms around both their shoulders.
"The true beauty is Lady Lydia."
"Huh...?"
The two knights scowled in unison.
"No, Lady Lydia's gorgeous too, sure—but she's barely an adult."
"Yeah. Got this overly delicate vibe."
The glasses man smirked at their words.
"A woman's gotta be the cute, protectable type. Especially when she's haughtily resting her chin...."
The men eyed their comrade's grin askance.
Soon, their faces turned icy.
"Yep, this guy's the real threat."
"Couldn't agree more."
They playfully thumped his gut.
"Y-you fools don't grasp true beauty's standards... pity...!"
The bespectacled admin knight laughed and bolted.
His comrades gave chase.
"..."
From afar, Irina watched the rowdy bunch.
She soon let out a heavy sigh and headed for the imperial reception room.
---
She threw open the door.
There sat two princesses rarely glimpsed in the central palace.
"Rough entrance, Irina."
Lea perched at one table in her white uniform.
Legs crossed from her short skirt, she pored over a tactics manual.
"Latest to arrive and making a racket—"
Lydia at the opposite table, dressed in schoolgirl style.
Cheek propped on her hand, just as haughty as her subordinates had described.
"Ha."
The princess snorted involuntarily at the sight.
"What brings you two here?"
Irina planted a hand on her hip.
In her black fitted leggings and white blouse, she declared boldly,
"You never gave a damn about knight evaluations before."
Lea, snug in her uniform.
She glanced up from her book at the words.
"No special reason. Just scouting talent."
Lydia, white shirt and necktie.
She smirked in agreement.
"Same. Found a guy I fancy."
Irina drew a deep breath.
She strode between the two princesses and flopped into her seat.
Her gaze flicked to Lea.
Even uniformed, her eldest sister's voluptuous figure drew the eye.
The shirt especially caught attention.
Jacket-covered, yet it seemed a larger size than usual.
But one odd thing.
Despite the bigger cut, it clung oppressively tight to her chest.
"What is it, Irina? Staring today?"
Lea eyed her sister steadily.
A leisurely smile crinkled her eyes.
"..."
Irina met her gaze but said nothing.
Because...
The once cold, feral aura now felt like a mature woman's.
That shift triggered an instinctive alarm in the 2nd Imperial Princess.
"Why would I stare? Don't kid yourself."
The 2nd Imperial Princess whipped her head away.
Her eyes naturally drifted to the youngest princess.
"Yeah, what? Got something to say?"
Lydia, meeting her eyes, toyed with her twin tails.
Irina stared hard.
She sensed it soon enough.
The same danger she'd felt from Lea.
Lydia, once just a bratty kid.
Her figure now curved alluringly; her eyes and aura had ripened too.
"No words? Then shut it."
The 3rd Imperial Princess turned away sharply, hiding her own shift.
But Irina could tell.
No longer the sharp, rigid girl of before.
Now, Lydia embodied the woman one yearned to protect.
The reception room held only the three princesses.
No one spoke up.
Yet tension hung thick, like the hush before a storm.
"..."
Irina swallowed hard.
Her two blood sisters, their auras subtly transforming.
Sandwiched between, impatience crept over her.
Perhaps from that.
"A few days ago, I hung out with Veil."
The 2nd Imperial Princess fired the first shot.
She boasted proudly of what had passed between them.