Chapter 2. Kneel! (2)
Chapter 2. Kneel! (2)
While Erna went to fetch her 'members', I searched the entire [Dormitory].
"Why is this the only food left when there should have been plenty?"
"Ah, that, well... the other members said since they all stay at their own families' estates, wouldn't it be fine to take their share..."
"Are you beggars?"
Harsh words spilled from Rosalyn's lips.
Yet the voice was sweet. Inge isn't scared. But the reason I'm using this tone is because I want to hide how angry I am.
The gauge of my rage is about to break the critical point.
But screaming and yelling isn't the proper conduct for a young lady. That's what Rosalyn judged. The angrier I get, the more delicately I must control my tone. That's the only way they won't see me as just some empty-headed brat.
Not like a cat puffing up its fur and hissing, but like a leopard growling low. Yes. I, Rosalyn, judged it so based on my memories of my past life.
"Except for you and Erna, aren't the rest of the Order all young ladies from high-ranking families? And you're saying they took 'their own food'?"
"Th-that is... since the standard ration is set for an 'adult male knight'..."
"So you're saying that people from families as high as a Baron's were eyeing the food meant to feed a single adult male knight for a year? Frida, was there a bad harvest in the Duchy last year?"
"No, Your Grace."
"Then what is this? It's not like we're short on food, so why are nobles taking food that should be in the barracks?"
Inge looked like she had a lot she wanted to say.
Understandable. In the first place, there's no reason for Inge to take the heat for what I'm saying. She didn't steal it herself, and above all, Inge, being a commoner, seemed to be wary of the situation and kept guarding the territory.
Well, I get it.
The maintenance cost for a knight is higher than you'd think. They aren't commoners mobilized only when needed; knights who fight solely for battle consume a lot of energy in training and eat a lot, too.
But still.
Isn't this a bit much? Ah, well, if it were the original Rosalyn, she probably wouldn't have known until the end. Even if she knew they took it, she would have just asked, "So what?" It would have felt like pocket change to Rosalyn.
The problem is my 'memories of my past life'.
The original Rosalyn didn't have a clear sense of hierarchy. She put herself at the center of the world and thought of the rest as 'underlings', and since she judged that to be perfectly natural, no matter what those underlings did, it just looked like worms wriggling. And such a master is easy to handle in her own way. If you just flattered her a bit on the side, Rosalyn would have been fooled. By the time she realized everything, it would have been too late.
Well, maybe that wouldn't have mattered. She ended up accepting the Demon King's magic and 'sacrificing' everyone else anyway. Even the Saintess.
But my memories of my past life know exactly what 'an act of looking down on Rosalyn' is.
Even if, in their minds, it's a 'plausible excuse'.
"Ah, is that so."
As I spoke in a soft voice and brought my face close to Inge's, Inge turned pale.
Did she know what I was going to talk about?
Does she think whatever I say will be something like that?
Well, that was true.
"It just so happens that since Erna became the Knight Commander, a position has opened up. The position of Vice-Commander of the Order is vacant, what do you think?"
"I, I, well..."
"Are you not greedy for it? If a commoner has climbed this far, wouldn't it be good to sit in a high position for once?"
"Th-there are people with bigger vessels than me..."
"No, no."
I smiled brightly and placed my hands on both of Inge's cheeks. Oh, soft. Squishy. Well, for a knight, that is.
"Wouldn't it be appropriate for someone who properly upholds the virtues of a knight to ascend to the position of Vice-Commander? This one was moved. Even when all the other knights deserted, Inge kept her post. Wouldn't it be right for such an Inge to succeed to the position of Vice-Commander?"
I held out my hand to Frida.
I had already given the sword I used previously to Erna. It's a sword with a dark red blade, a luxury item that spared no expense on magic stones. It is of good quality, though.
But that doesn't mean I don't have another sword.
The Duke has no reason to wield a sword personally, but she is, after all, the commander-in-chief of the military within the Duchy. She had the authority to conscript troops from the Counts or Barons under her, and in such situations, the chain of command only remains alive if one sits as a soldier in the highest position.
There was a light ceremonial sword used for such times. Having roughly thought about what I would do here today, I naturally brought that sword along too.
Frida carefully turned the hilt of the sword toward me.
I drew the sword, seureung. It's flashy, as befits a ceremonial one. It's even flashier than the sword I gave Erna, with several red jewels embedded in the hilt.
"I would like you to kneel."
I said, looking at the tip of the blade.
Inge hurriedly knelt on one knee.
"...Your Grace."
I placed the blade on Inge's shoulder.
It's a thin blade.
But that doesn't mean it's not sharp. It's a ceremonial sword, but it's also for self-defense. If necessary, I could cut the carotid artery of the Inge that the blade is pointed at.
Killing a subordinate knight is a troublesome thing even for a Duke, but that's mostly because there's usually a 'family' or a 'knight order' to cover for it.
A life like Inge's is just a fly's life in front of Rosalyn.
"I will give you a choice."
I said, lifting my chin and looking down at Inge.
"If you want, I won't give you the Vice-Commander position. Personally, I would be a little disappointed, though."
Tok. Tok.
I said, tapping Inge's left shoulder rhythmically with the sword.
"I, I..."
It must be burdensome.
With noble daughters from high-ranking families, even those with 'territories', all below her, she must be even more anxious.
But if she refuses—
Rosalyn's personality must be well known. Perhaps because they were two of the only commoners in the Knight Order, they might have had various conversations.
Rosalyn hasn't killed anyone yet, but the Duke is dead, so that shield is gone.
So it might just be a matter of time.
"...I, I will accept."
"Excellent."
Just like that, the position of Vice-Commander of the Blutrosenorden was filled.
*
The number of knights is seven.
I was included originally, so now there are six members, and since I saw two commoners among them, the rest are four.
All four knights are daughters of families with Baronial titles. Naturally, they aren't the eldest daughters, usually in the position of the third or fourth daughter. There are six Barons in the Artena Duchy in total, and four of them are directly below the Duchy, and these four are from three of those families.
Fortunately, there is no one from the Hagen Baron family, Frida's family.
"Y, Your Grace."
Erna said, catching her breath. Her face is pale.
"What is the matter? Where did the other two disappear to?"
When I asked Erna, who had barely managed to bring two Baron's daughters, Erna knelt prostrate before me.
"I, I am sorry. I had to go from one end of the Duchy to the other..."
"I know."
The place where I am sitting is the knights' training ground.
In military terms, it corresponds to the parade ground. A place where soft soil is laid on the floor, and knights roll and hit each other while training.
I had brought a chair to a place where I could see it at a glance, crossed my legs, and was waiting.
"So, did you think that if you brought the other two, today would not be enough?"
I asked in a gentle voice.
"Th, that is correct."
As the polite speech, which was normal until I sent her off, changed like this, Erna trembled even more.
Well, it's night now.
She must have thought it would be troublesome if she made the Duke wait until night.
In the end, this person is also a commoner. If she had been of noble birth, she would have had a little more leeway. She would have tried to negotiate, or issued a command to summon them.
Isn't she the Knight Commander? It was a task she could have entrusted to the soldiers under the Knight Order. The fact that she tried to do it 'personally' is why it's a mess.
"This one will wait."
"Yes?"
"I said I would wait. No matter how much time passes."
I smiled at Erna.
"It doesn't matter if you come tomorrow. Just, bring the Knight Order before me before this one falls asleep. If you are a Knight Commander, you shouldn't be unable to do even that, should you?"
"Ye... Yes!"
"Take this with you."
I said that and handed her the sword I was holding.
"Th, this is...!"
"That is correct. It is the Duke's sword. It means that you are not just a Knight Commander, but this one's proxy. Do you understand that meaning?"
"Huck...!"
"Did I not say I would give Erna a title? Does that look like a joke to you? Did you think I really gave you just the name without anything else?"
"N, no!"
"Then are you trying to smear my name on purpose? Are you trying to insult me by tarnishing the honor of the Duke's direct Knight Order? As a Knight Order that can't even gather its members properly?"
"No!"
"Then what should you do?"
"I will, without fail, gather the members!"
"That is correct. I hope you gather them. I will wait here. However, the more tired I get, the more unpleasant my mood will become."
"Understood!"
"If the horse gets tired, stop by the stables. Just show that sword and say it is the Duke's order."
"Understood! I will depart now!"
Knight Commander Erna said that, and without even wiping the sweat flowing from her forehead, she turned and ran out.
That appearance is not a 'Knight Commander'.
I'll have to teach her what a 'Knight Commander' should be like later.
No—
No.
It's not 'later'.
Now is enough.
I turned my gaze.
The two noble daughters Erna had barely managed to bring were looking at me with slightly worried expressions.
Beautiful faces. Excellent figures. Antique clothes.
They all meet the criteria of a 'young lady', at least.
Well, they don't look like knights, though.
"Let's wait."
I said, looking down at the two.
"Until the assembly is finished. If you are knights, you can do at least that much, right?"
When I spoke in a gentle voice, the two nodded with stiff faces.
Yes, that's how it should be.
Not the eldest daughter, not the second daughter.
If third or fourth daughters, who might not even be useful for marriage, stole something from the Duke's pocket, they should crawl on their own.
Of course, they might have families behind them, but still.
...While I'm at it making the Knight Commander a 'Knight Commander', I should also remodel these women into 'knights'.
I wonder if these noble daughters have heard of the term 'hazing from above'.