A Knight's Humiliation
It was infuriating. Chloe clenched her fists tightly. In the end, she had failed to discern the slave merchant’s intentions. She had checked the documents herself and even conducted a personal inspection. The opponent’s meticulous preparation and the innovative way they had concealed everything were, ultimately, nothing but excuses.
The noble’s sword. The noble’s shield. The revered master’s tool. The very fact that she had forced him to intervene personally over something so trivial made Chloe Tristan feel as though both her honor and her loyalty had been trampled. There was no helping the thought.
“Chloe?”
“…I’m sorry. I was distracted for a moment. In that case, I’ll head to the alley near the exit as prepared.”
“Understood. I’m counting on you.”
She offered a smile to her fellow knight Serin, who watched her with worried eyes, but the falseness of it was obvious. Serin and her unit also carried the stain of having failed to detect anything suspicious at the gates. Knowing this, neither Serin’s face nor those of the knights behind her looked well.
“I know I shouldn’t be the one saying this when Serin is present.”
Chloe had no right to comment on Serin or her unit as Leoric Franz’s direct subordinate, yet no one pointed that out in this moment.
Leoric Franz. The second son of the Franz family. Their hidden secret weapon. Rumors claimed that in magic power alone he was comparable to his elder brother and heir, Aidan Franz. A prodigy who had remained in the shadows without public activity until recently. It was inevitable that all eyes would now turn toward Leoric Franz’s recent movements.
From the unconventional method he used to select his personal knights, to the research team formed under his direct command and the camera they had created—every idea defied common sense.
His closest knight. His escort knight and Leoric Franz’s blade. Chloe Tristan’s blue eyes burned with cold fire.
“He has stepped forward himself.”
“Hmm…”
No one had noticed it. This was not merely Chloe’s or Serin’s failure. It was a failure shared by every knight in every unit. Although Leoric Franz had not blamed them, the implication was clear: he had never held any expectations of them to begin with. Their opponent’s skill was so exceptional that it would have been understandable if they had sensed nothing. He had praised the enemy’s methods more highly than those meant to serve as his hands, feet, and sword.
Humiliation. Was there any greater insult a knight could suffer? No. There was not. It was more than enough to ignite their rage.
Chloe ground her teeth.
“Committing any further mistakes is unacceptable—not only for the honor of the Franz family, but for the sake of our own honor as well.”
They must redeem this failure.
A thin line of blood trickled from the corner of Chloe’s mouth, yet no one paid it any attention. They were all biting down hard to restrain the fury boiling inside their chests.
Chloe’s message was simple. They had sufficiently analyzed the slave merchant’s forces, but there remained a high possibility that other assets had been hidden through methods the knights could not detect. Even so, that was no excuse. We couldn’t accomplish the mission because of the enemy’s unexpected tactics. It was beyond our skill to notice. To resort to such cowardly means… Any knight who would utter such excuses had no place in Franz.
“Not for honor.”
Chloe drew her sword. She had retrieved her cherished blade, which had recently been kept stored away in her room with only maintenance performed. In response, Serin and every knight from the assembled units placed their hands on their hilts.
“This is a matter that precedes the pursuit of chivalry.”
Honor or chivalry—every ideal a knight pursued—could only come after fulfilling one’s most basic duty. Could someone who could not even accomplish that minimum role truly be called a knight?
Chloe shook her head at the question. Before pursuing chivalry, even if it meant tarnishing her own honor, the absolute priority was to carry out the orders of the master she revered. A knight must fulfill that role for their master even if it cost their life.
“Everything for Franz.”
Blue magic power began to swirl across Chloe’s entire body.
“Draw swords!”
DRAW SWORDS!
The moment Serin’s order left her lips, the magic power coiled within every knight surged outward and enveloped them.
“Begin the operation!”
The instant the command was given, they kicked off the ground and moved like lightning. Like streaks of light they bounded off alley walls, building faces, and rooftops, traversing the city in the blink of an eye. Their movements were less human and more monstrous.
Watching them, Chloe began to move as well—slowly, deliberately. Heading toward her predetermined position, she gripped her sword hilt with crushing force.
There was no need for dramatic descriptions of the battle, their objectives, or pathetic excuses like Actually, this man was a good person too.
Serin and her unit members began subduing the enemies with mechanical precision. A sudden ambush. An overwhelming disparity in power. There was simply no way these mere slaves could resist.
“Uwaaaaaagh!”
“S-Spare me!”
Screams of every kind filled the air, yet the knights continued to neutralize their designated targets without mercy. In the process the slaves suffered gashes and broken bones, but it did not matter. The order had been not to kill them. So they obeyed. Even while suppressing their own rage, they subdued the enemy with pure efficiency.
“Damn iiiiiit!”
A handful resisted, but they were subdued just as pathetically. They were slaves. Their magic power was only at the adventurer level. The knights did not underestimate them, yet against enraged knights there was only one possible outcome.
Watching the scene, the bald middle-aged merchant fled his lodgings at once.
“Huff… huff…!”
Racing through the twisting back alleys, the bald merchant gasped for air. How? How had they noticed? The method of concealing the magic power had been flawless. They had verified everything in advance and had never been caught before. In fact, they had passed through the Franz outer walls without detection by the knights.
…That’s right! The knights hadn’t noticed!
‘L-Leoric Franz!’
It was him! That noble was the cause!
His appearance had been that of an ordinary young man. Even when he had suddenly appeared, he had shown no sign of noticing anything. While observing the slaves he had seemed attentive, yet he had displayed no particular interest in the location of their hidden cargo.
“Damn it!”
Had every part of that demeanor been an act? Asking about the female slave, commenting on the bronze-skinned beauty of Gryutus with a lecherous expression—all of it fake. He had simply been wearing the mask of a pleasure-loving nobleman.
The Franz family’s reputation was well known, yet to think they possessed such a man. And not even the heir, but a mere second son. Just what kind of family were they?
“I must escape…!”
To that place… No! Even if he fled without the item, he was as good as dead. He had to escape to a place no one knew and remain hidden until the pursuers gave up!
“Ugh!”
Recalling the secret item hidden in his clothes, the bald merchant ran toward the outer wall. Just a little farther…!
“Uwaaaaaack!”
A dark alley. At the end of the path the bald merchant had been running alone, a figure suddenly appeared. He froze in terror.
“W-Who are you!”
Gulp. As the bald merchant swallowed hard and shouted, the figure emerged from the building’s shadow and slowly approached, revealing their form.
“You… you’re…!”
The person who stepped from the shadows was a petite woman with silver hair and blue eyes framed by glasses. He had seen that appearance before—this afternoon, the woman standing behind the noble who had suddenly appeared. She was clearly no ordinary woman.
The sound of the scabbard at her waist made the bald merchant’s eyes tremble. Though he could not sense magic power, he was not so dull that he could miss the oppressive atmosphere.
“A-Are you a knight?! Damn it! Fuck!”
Chloe Tristan, the female knight standing before the bald merchant, gazed at him with steady blue eyes and spoke.
“Today has been truly humiliating.”
Chloe took out a small case from her pocket, opened the lid, and carefully stored the crude glasses inside.
“I have never experienced a day as humiliating as this.”
That case… After returning the glasses case to her pocket, Chloe gently stroked the box over her clothing.
The item her revered master had bestowed upon her. Did she have the right to wear it today? No. She did not.
Gritting her teeth, Chloe glared at the bald merchant.
“And of all times, right in front of the master I so desperately revere.”
“Damn it…!”
Chloe placed her hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist. The sound echoed through the quiet alley.
By now the faint noises coming from behind the bald merchant were beginning to fade.
“I-I can’t die here…!”
Fear and rage burned in his eyes. Looking at the bald merchant, a cold smile formed on Chloe’s lips.
“Don’t worry.”
“…What?”
A cold ring sounded out.
“Our great descendant of the Golden Lion. That person is exceedingly merciful.”
Blue magic power began to shimmer around Chloe’s body. The intensely swelling aura was so powerful that even the magic-less bald merchant could perceive the omen. Everything around them began to tremble from the force.
“Especially my master, who is exceptionally skilled in magic control. So much so that he can naturally perform even the difficult art of healing magic.”
The blue magical light enveloping Chloe Tristan gradually brightened the quiet, dark alleyway. In the alley bathed in blue radiance, Chloe Tristan pointed her fully drawn sword at the bald merchant.
“Even if your limbs are severed and your body is riddled with holes, as long as your head and heart remain intact, he will save you.”
Therefore, do not even think about dying easily. You commoner.