Sigrid's Ignorant Rebellion
The Valkyrja Knights. A name so absurd that no one could ever impersonate them elsewhere. Yet in truth, it was no joke. Nigilia had managed this place well, and with the addition of Marcus's former knights, the order had become quite respectable.
First and foremost, the Cornelius family's wealth ensured the knights never lacked for equipment. Each had her own private room complete with a personal bath and kitchen. Servants handled the laundry, and as women, they received thorough beauty care and hygiene maintenance. Bonuses were generous for those who seized opportunities to bring glory to the family name, so none of the knights were half-hearted about their duties. Though the all-female order's leave rotation leaned somewhat uneven, even that was tolerated. Their skill was more than enough to earn such indulgence.
Knights were already easy targets for criticism simply for being women, so the order maintained strict standards of competence internally. Conversely, those who lacked even the basics and joined merely on rumor were quickly weeded out. In that sense, the environment itself was ideal. Strip away the foreign element named Roman, and it would have been a true paradise for female knights.
Thus, they never called themselves the Succubus Knights. Instead—
"—It is true that our Valkyrja Knights have received great favor from the Cornelius family!! But precisely because of that, as knights who value loyalty above all, we cannot simply overlook this matter!!"
Bang! A female knight slammed the round table and shouted, representing the group. From head to toe, she gleamed in silver. Compared to Perpena and Servilia's white hair, hers was a far deeper shade—silver locks that swept across one eye, concealing it. The single visible eye shone with the same silver hue, and a sword scar marked the skin just beneath it. That signature—hidden eye and scar—along with her booming voice, revealed her headstrong nature at a glance.
Naturally, as a knightess, she was tall and well-proportioned. The order-made armor fitted to her body left ample room at the chest and hips. While not as exaggerated as Nigilia's figure, her well-trained muscles were enough to stir a man's interest.
"Sigrid. We understand your feelings a hundred times over. But with things as they are, what can we do?"
"Access to the mansion has been forbidden since the day of Lord Roman's return. When Nigilia suddenly summoned the knight on duty, this is what happened."
"That's exactly the problem! Roman must have gone mad! How—how could he treat Nigilia, his own mother, so cruelly, even if they share no blood?!"
"We didn't witness it ourselves, only heard the details from the knights who were present…"
"The more we hear, the more pitiful Nigilia seems… How could she suffer such humiliation…"
"So how many times must I repeat myself before you understand?! This is a rebellion Roman has staged! He forced the kind-hearted Nigilia to disgrace herself, humiliated her, and then pinned the blame on her to seize the position of family head! Nothing else makes sense! After everything Nigilia has done for this family!"
"We know, we know, we know already. That's why we all stood with you until yesterday."
"Then—!!"
"Wait. But we all saw it. The vassals who moved first came out smiling. From what we heard, they were supporting Roman with absolute certainty, saying the family would be safe with him in charge."
"The servants are the same. They're united around Perpena and Roman. If the rumors were false, someone would have tipped us off. Instead, they're all on that side. Word is they're even cursing Nigilia, saying this is the natural consequence of her actions."
"That rumor about Nigilia… maybe it's true after all…"
"You people?!"
As Sigrid ground her teeth in fury, a counterargument arose.
"If she were truly innocent, she would have shown herself to us! The fact that she hasn't set foot near this side since that day is only natural. We've been ordered to keep all knights away from the mansion grounds!"
"This 'memory loss' story is suspicious too~! She claims that, yet she was handling business perfectly fine!"
"The vassals' reactions aside, the idea that Roman is the pillar of the family is absurd! Even if that fool has reformed, how much could he possibly have changed?!"
"To begin with! The knights who were on duty that day—they're the real problem, aren't they~?! A true knight should have supported Nigilia to the very end! If the servants had been stopped from rescuing Roman and Perpena and forced to keep interrogating them, none of this would have happened!"
"Exactly! If that man had never returned to the family, Nigilia wouldn't have suffered like this!"
"The moment he was rejected by Princess Servilia, he lost whatever value he had left!!"
Another opposing view rose in response.
"That's reckless talk. Whatever you say, Roman is the head of this family. Moreover, what those knights did deserves praise, not condemnation."
"Nigil ia did act suddenly, after all. There were even rumors that she was responsible for Marcus's death, and the circumstances made suspicion unavoidable."
"You keep shouting about loyalty, but no matter what you claim, Roman is the head of this house. If you truly value loyalty, then capturing Nigilia—who killed Marcus—and cooperating with Roman is the right course."
"Pointing blades at the servants is even more impossible. That would be true madness."
Yet another counter to the counter.
"That's only because you're part of Marcus's faction!"
"The people on your side were so disgusted by Roman's foolishness that they left the family. What right do you have to stay here and torment Nigilia?!"
"The one leading this order is Sigrid! There's no place here for outdated old women!"
"Roman's stupidity shook the family, and Nigilia and Perpena were the ones who held it together!"
"That's right! We should be supporting Nigilia!"
"Without her, who knows what would have happened while Roman was away at the academy?!"
Opposition to the opposition to the opposition to the opposition.
"That is precisely why we should welcome Roman's reformation with open arms."
"We know the two of them worked hard to support the family, but Nigilia also imprisoned Perpena…"
"In the first place, Perpena was the one handling internal affairs."
"Yesterday Perpena herself explained the situation, yet you still act this way."
"Calling her competent is just your bias. In reality, she's a woman who couldn't even keep one count under her command. How can that be called competence?"
"Even if Roman is incompetent, the legitimacy lies with him, and those below follow. That settles the matter."
Opposition to the opposition to the opposition to the opposition to the opposition.
"It's all lies, I tell you! Perpena must be under some kind of spell! The situation is far too strange!"
"Exactly! How long has it been since he was beaten and sent flying by Princess Servilia? Memory loss and sudden reformation?! You think that makes sense?"
"The story is far too suspicious!"
"If he were truly reformed, he wouldn't need to issue such bans!"
"Even if he has changed, how could we follow him?! Succubus Knights? Hah, who knows when that idiotic idea will explode next!"
"You can't claim to have forgotten the naked training, the bikini armor, or the whore lessons, can you?!"
"This order grew so large entirely thanks to Nigilia! Without her orders, we have no intention of leaving or even moving!"
"That's right! That's right! How could such suspicious talk be true?!"
"Most of the knights here know how kind Nigilia is! Everyone except you old hags!"
"Calling your seniors 'old hags' is a bit… Anyway, I believe we should stand by Nigilia."
"Even if she has further crimes, we should at least secure her in a safe place before hearing her out."
Opinions split.
"In the end, we're at an impasse."
"They really won't listen to reason."
That said, the Nigilia faction held nine-tenths of the knights, so those defending Roman were a tiny minority. Yet the fact that they spoke so loudly despite being outnumbered showed they were knights who lived by loyalty. Because of that, the argument ended in words rather than drawn blades, out of mutual respect.
'As expected, we'll have to resort to drugs. If we act openly, we'll definitely end up fighting the seniors. On the day of the uprising, we'll have to force them to sleep.'
'Is this also Lord Marcus's failing? He loved women, but I believed he wouldn't shake the family. Hah, to think one woman could cause all this. I'm curious whether Lord Roman has truly reformed, but considering the expressions of the servants and vassals…'
As the opposing sides diverged, their inner thoughts darkened. Everyone sensed they might soon cross blades with one another.
『…………』
Silence lingered as they all glanced around, wondering when the meeting would finally end.
"…Excuse me."
At that moment, a single knightess peeked her head in from outside the conference room door.
"Um… has everyone finished talking?"
"We have, but…"
"What's the matter?"
"Well… the people you were just discussing… they're currently at the training grounds, so I came to report…"
"…What?!"
Sudden news. An urgent report, one might say. The very person who had warned them to stay away from the mansion grounds—and Nigilia herself—had appeared together. At this report, the first to stand was, of course, Sigrid.
"Is that true?! Roman and Nigilia are really right outside?!"
"Y-yes… I know this might sound bad, but I wasn't interested in the faction stuff… so I went over there to work up a sweat and happened to see them…"
"Nigil ia is there too? Perfect timing! Now we can meet her directly and hear the story ourselves! Hey, wake up the ones who are still asleep! Bring everyone! We're going to rescue Nigilia—no, to meet her right now!"
"Don't be rude! The other party is Lord Roman! Nigilia was captured because she laid hands on Lord Marcus, I've told you this many times—?!"
"We'll decide after we hear the story! If that wretched bastard so much as touches Nigilia, I don't care if he's the head of a ducal house or not!"
"You… are you seriously planning to go against Lord Roman…?!"
"Have you finally gone mad?! We are knights who serve the Cornelius family! We may defend an individual, but overthrowing the family itself—can that ever be forgiven?!"
"Of course it can be forgiven! Nigilia is the rightful head of the family! Hey, everyone—stop these old hags! If we can meet Nigilia directly now, we won't even need to stage the uprising later! Everything will go much more smoothly than planned! Without any bloodshed! Well, except for one person!"
"Uprising? What exactly have you been planning behind our backs~?!"
"What do you mean? We didn't go near the mansion. They came to us. So you seniors should calm down and wait as well."
"You insolent wretch!!"
"Don't do anything foolish! No matter how angry you are, there are things you can and cannot do!"
"Shut up! I'll handle this as quietly as possible, so just wait there! Though that depends on whether Roman can convince us!!"
"Sigrid!"
Blades were pressed to the throats of the knightesses who had defended Marcus and Roman, while the rest of the Nigilia faction poured outside. The training grounds the knightess had pointed to were less than two minutes away from the quarters where they had been arguing.
'She told us not to come out, yet her mind changed in just a day? It must be one of Roman's usual foolish antics. He probably has no idea how dangerous a game he's playing. He talked about reforming, but a fool remains a fool.'
Sigrid too easily concluded the reason for Roman's appearance at the training grounds. Right now, her mind was filled with nothing but Nigilia, Nigilia, and more Nigilia. There was no room for other thoughts.
"Don't lay a hand on my benefactor… you damned boar…!"
She stroked her injured eye, her expression hardening. All the knightesses who followed seemed to understand what Sigrid's words implied, their faces set with the same resolve—until that resolve was mocked by the sudden standing of every hair on their bodies.
『───?!!!』
They arrived at the group training grounds. In the center of the wide dirt field stood a sow, shamelessly exposed under the midday sun.
"Nigil ia…!"
"Ah, Sigrid~♡ Yes~♡ Fighting, fighting~♡ You can do it~♡"
—There she was, stark naked in broad daylight, enthusiastically cheering someone on.