The Sword of the Knight (1)
The Sword of the Knight (1)
The escort knight tournament ended in an unexpected result.
It was surprising enough that the Second Prince's escort knight was a woman, and impressive that she demonstrated skills beyond those of an ordinary knight with psychokinesis, but as expected, people's attention gravitated toward the unexpected victor.
Alex de Gracia.
The third son of the Duke of Gracia.
And an illegitimate child.
He was currently a second-year student at the Royal Academy.
Those who took an interest in him and looked into his background also discovered that his sponsor at the Royal Academy was none other than the Queen, the Princess's mother.
"In the end, did the Queen secure him in advance as the escort knight to protect the Princess?"
The First Prince clicked his tongue after hearing the investigation report.
"It seems so. Though he is highly skilled, he is an illegitimate son, so it appears the Duke of Gracia readily let him go for the sake of the family."
"Indeed. A highly skilled illegitimate son would be quite a headache for the family in its own way."
Though he understood the Duke's decision, the First Prince could not help feeling regretful.
"If he had such skill, they should have sent him to my side instead. Why send him as the escort knight for a mere brat...?"
"He is an illegitimate son, after all. Since the other knights would surely push him aside, they likely sent him as an inconspicuous escort knight. It may also have been so they could attend the Academy together."
Hearing his subordinate's words, the explanation made sense.
This reasoning was, of course, quite far from the truth, but looking only at the outcome, it was the only logical conclusion others could draw.
"Inconspicuous, my foot..."
"It is said he has grown strong at a rapid pace ever since he enrolled. It seems even the Duke did not foresee this."
That made it all the more regrettable.
He was still only a knight apprentice who had not even graduated from the Academy. There was no telling how much stronger he would become.
He needed to recruit such talent if he wanted to easily win the struggle against his brother...
"It would be difficult to step in and snatch him away, wouldn't it?"
"It would not be easy for him to fit in, either. He is an illegitimate son, after all."
The nobles gathered around him, the Crown Prince, were all deeply rooted traditional aristocrats.
It would be difficult for an illegitimate son to squeeze in and claim a position.
"It is regrettable, but it cannot be helped."
The First Prince clicked his tongue and threw the investigated documents into the fireplace.
At the same time, the Second Prince was reaching much the same conclusion as the First Prince.
"Since there is still time until graduation, let us just keep an eye on this knight cadet until then."
The Prince set the documents aside.
To be honest, the Second Prince had no time to worry about the Princess's escort knight, with other matters arising from the knight tournament.
That was because his own escort knight had thrown down her resignation letter and disappeared.
It seemed Ines had been more shocked than the Prince had anticipated.
Then again, she had not seemed entirely sane from the moment she used a technique that could easily have injured royalty if something had gone wrong.
He had no idea what she had heard during the fight, but since she had sent sword fragments flying toward the royals, her state of mind could hardly have been sound.
Fortunately, her opponent had blocked them well, so no one was harmed, and the tournament could end safely.
But it seemed Ines found it difficult to let things end there.
After the tournament ended, she had begged the Prince to punish her.
She asked to be punished for losing the duel and putting the royalty in danger.
But the Second Prince had no wish to hold Ines accountable for such a thing.
Honestly, while it would have been nice to win, he wasn't particularly angry about the loss.
Perhaps that was because the Prince himself had not expected much from Ines in the first place.
And since her opponent had successfully blocked the danger to the royalty, there was no issue.
To the Second Prince, the incident became a thing of the past as soon as the knight tournament ended.
It had been a failed event, but since it was over anyway, he simply lost interest.
To the Second Prince, Ines, begging for punishment, only looked pathetic.
The Prince dismissed Ines's pleas for punishment with a half-hearted word of forgiveness, and she vanished then and there, leaving behind only her resignation letter.
The Second Prince was not angry that Ines had lost, but he was highly displeased that she had disappeared.
She was pleasing to the eye as a woman, and he had felt proud to possess a unique escort knight unlike anyone else's, yet she had run away like this.
He had tried to show off his escort knight, only to let his precious toy escape.
As the Second Prince frowned, a general belonging to the Capital Defense Force said,
"I will select someone from the military who is suitable to take over the escort duty."
Normally, they would have had to choose from the Royal Knights, but the influence of the First Prince and other factors made that impossible.
"Then I shall leave it to you."
The Second Prince thanked the general for his offer.
It was obvious that the general intended to appoint one of his own subordinates as escort in order to expand his influence, but there was no one else the Prince could appoint.
Admittedly, the Princess's escort knight, who had defeated Ines, seemed decent, too.
But since he had decided to consider him after graduation, he had no intention of bringing it up again in a manner so pathetic.
And just as the Prince had avoided appointing a Royal Knight as his escort, he hated the idea of having some gloomy guy as his escort knight.
"Search for Ines. Check her home as well."
Since she had left in shock, she might return once she had regained her composure.
If the general failed to find a female ability user to his liking, the Prince intended to search for Ines to the very end.
Thereafter, rumors began to circulate within the royal palace and among the nobility that Princess Aisha's escort knight was exceptionally skilled.
Although his young age and status as an unknown knight piqued people's curiosity, the rumors quickly died down once they learned he was an illegitimate son.
This was because the nobles, upon discovering his illegitimacy, deliberately ignored the rumors.
Thus, the rumors subsided faster than expected, preventing any major stir, but the Princess's escort knight remained firmly etched in the minds of the royalty and a few nobles.
Unaware of how things were unfolding elsewhere, I was confined to the royal palace, preparing for the ritual.
There was much more to prepare than I had expected.
Before the ritual, I had to bathe and purify myself, then wait for the ceremony to begin.
I also had to receive the priest's blessing in advance and prepare new clothes and armor specifically for the ritual.
Before the duel, I had never imagined I would be caught up in all this so soon afterward.
Although I had submitted an absence slip to the Academy, I had only put down one day, thinking only of the duel.
At this rate, it would inevitably count as an unexcused absence. Now, I was even starting to worry about my attendance record.
Even though I was in the royal palace, I couldn't meet anyone else.
Needless to say, I couldn't see the Grand Archduchess, nor could I see the Princess.
I had thought this kingdom kept its distance from the Order, but seeing the Order's influence at work even inside the royal palace, it seemed they weren't so distant after all.
While I was spending my time alone, the morning of the event arrived, and I met the Knight Commander.
He came to find me with the Chief Butler of the royal household, whom I had met before.
Unlike before, this Giant was wearing a neat, formal knight's uniform.
But regardless of what he wore, he was no different from the Knight Commander I knew. Upon seeing me, the Knight Commander scratched his head vigorously.
"Since this is an occasion to retrieve the Sword of the Knight... though it is a mere formality, I ended up stepping forward."
The Sword of the Knight.
The sword the founding king, Carlos, had used throughout his life. It was the Kingdom's sacred relic, which he had always held in his hand when sealing the Demon King and establishing this kingdom.
Successive kings held that sword and made their declarations upon ascending the throne. They also used the Sword of the Knight when raising armies and conferring titles.
Since we were on our way to retrieve such an important sacred relic, it was only natural for the Royal Knight Commander to accompany us.
I followed the Chief Butler and the Knight Commander down the corridor.
There was no one to be seen along the way.
They had likely cleared the area on purpose so as not to interfere with the ritual.
The scene, strangely reminiscent of customs from my past life, almost made me chuckle.
After following them for quite a while, we arrived at the King's office, guarded by knights.
Although the office had fallen into disuse after the King fell ill, it seemed the knights continued to guard it.
"We have come to retrieve the Sword of the Knight for the ritual."
"The Chief Butler, the Knight Commander, and Princess Aisha's escort knight. Confirmed."
After the exchange, the knight who had been blocking the door stepped aside.
The Knight Commander opened the door and went in, with the Chief Butler and me following behind.
Perhaps because it was the King's office, the door was massive.
Even the Knight Commander didn't have to bow his head to enter, and as I followed him, I felt as though I were stepping into a grand hall.
To think I would enter the King's office.
Even though it was currently unused, I had never imagined I would set foot in such a place.
I did my best to keep my eyes from darting around. This was no time to sightsee in the King's office.
Still, through sidelong glances and my senses alone, I could get a sense of the office's layout.
Books and documents; splendid paintings and decorations; armor and swords.
Befitting the King's office, it was incredibly large and magnificent.
The books and documents made it clear that this was a place where a king worked, while the splendid paintings and decorations made me vividly realize that this was indeed the office of this kingdom's ruler.
Perhaps because he was a Knight King, armor and swords were also on display.
Though it was a grand and splendid office, I was slightly disappointed by how different it was from my expectations.
Perhaps because so many kings had used it, the room's decor lacked consistency.
The books were scattered haphazardly, and while the paintings and other decorations were splendid, that was all they were.
On top of that, for the office of a Knight King, there were barely any knightly items to be seen.
A set of decorative armor and a few swords hanging on the wall were all there was.
The Chief Butler and the Knight Commander walked across the office.
Passing the sofa and table in the center, they headed toward the desk at the far end.
It was the desk where the King used to conduct his business.
The desk gleamed; perhaps it was still cleaned every day.
There was no sword visible around the desk, either.
Instead, an elongated box rested on a shelf behind the desk.
It was an incredibly old metal box.
'Is this an artifact as well?'
Just as the thought crossed my mind, the Chief Butler and the Knight Commander stood before the desk and, looking at the metal box behind it, spoke in turn.
"The Chief Butler of the royal household seeks the sword on behalf of the Knight King. We pray that the sword be released for the ritual of the ailing King."
"The Royal Knight Commander seeks the sword. Release the sword for the ritual of the ailing King."
As they finished speaking in turn, the metal box, which appeared to be an artifact, reacted.
Click.
With the sound of something unlocking, the lid of the metal box popped open.
Just as I thought, it was indeed an artifact.
Seeing how it opened at their words, it seemed some sort of voice lock had been placed on it.
Though I was curious about how it worked, I kept my mouth shut and watched as the Chief Butler approached the box.
Standing before the open box, the Chief Butler reached both hands inside.
A moment later, when he withdrew his hands, they held a single sword.
It was a sword that looked like an ordinary longsword.
But this was King Carlos's sword—the Sword of the Knight.