Chapter 14

“I remember. But it’s just amnesia, it’s not like Sir Rosaline doesn’t know anything.”

“Don’t say that! How heartbroken that child would be if she heard you!”

Nathan glanced at Raymond, who was talking nonsense. ‘What the hell is this lieutenant saying? Amnesia is called amnesia. What else would you say?’

But Raymond added, “No, don’t say it like this!” Before returning to the main point.

“I already know that Sir Rosaline is an excellent knight, but she still lacks a lot to escort His Highness. After a few more months of training…”

“I was on my way to the commander’s office.”

“…?”

Nathan spoke up out of nowhere. Raymond looked a little dissatisfied, but he listened without interrupting.

“It was so noisy outside.”

“The knights seem to have gotten a little lazy ever since the incident. I will make them train more.”

“That’s a good idea. Anyway, it seemed to be coming from the training grounds. So I went in that direction to see what was going on…”

“Were they doing some special training?”

“Sir Rosaline was beating Sir Nestor like a dog. No, Rosaline is unlikely to beat an animal, so we shouldn’t use a dog as a metaphor.” Nathan changed his words, “She was beating him like a scarecrow full of water lilies.”

Raymond opened his mouth. Who was beating what?

“Is the other person the lesser knight Sir Nestor Sihorge?

“His cheeks were so swollen, so it was hard to tell, but you should be right.”

Raymond knew Nestor well. He was a very low-profile guy who quarreled with Rosaline in every way. As if in support of his rude behavior, his swordsmanship skills were quite good. Rosaline would usually pass by without showing any particular reaction to Nestor. Perhaps because of this, Nestor thought he was better than Rosaline and was rather arrogant. The reason he could not be promoted this time was because a senior knight is not determined by swordsmanship alone.

Even so, if someone objectively asked Raymond which of the two’s swordsmanship is better, he would naturally raise Nestor’s hand. There was such a clear difference. But did that Rosaline beat Nestor like a dog?

“Did Nestor… look like he was drunk? Or was it that someone grabbed and held him in front of Rosaline?”

“…You don’t seem to have much trust in Sir Rosaline compared to how much you care about her.”

Raymond shut his mouth. It was a disrespectful remark to Rosaline, but it was so unbelievable. She was a person who could not even hold a sword properly up until a few weeks ago. He jumped up from his seat.

“I’m off from work!”

“At half-past one? The sun is still in the middle of the sky.”

“I will take an early leave!”

“There’s been a lot of chaos, so I’ll only give you a break. Come back in an hour.”

‘I love you, Deputy Commander!’ Raymond ran out of the deputy commander’s office as soon as he was granted permission.

Raymond had a solid background, and he had good skills and character, but he had a tendency to care too much for his people. Nathan shook his head and began to fill out some of the paperwork he had to submit to give her the escort assignment.

Raymond ran. Had Nathan seen it, he would have frowned and groaned. He soon found Rosaline walking down the hallway. Raymond couldn’t find a single scratch on her. She looked so calm that he couldn’t believe that she just had a match a few minutes ago, and there was no dirt or dust on her uniform. If it weren’t for Nestor, who was being quietly held in her arms, he wouldn’t have believed that they had fought so fiercely.

“… Sir Rosaline.”

“Glory of Idelavhim who parts the black moon.”

Raymond rubbed his eyes hard. Rosaline was holding Nestor with a calm face. It’s like when a knight in a fairy tale carries a princess.

“Glory of Idelavhim who parts the black moon…”

“Glory of Idelavhim who parts the black moon…”

Two familiar, pale faces followed behind her. They were lesser knights Claude and Bastian who always followed Nestor around with their heads held high. However, at the moment, they looked dead, like little puppies that got hit in the ass.

“Glory of Idelavhim who… Sir, that… No, I mean, what happened to Sir Nestor…” Raymond eventually got out.

‘How did he suffer so badly…?’ As if being knocked out by an opponent he usually looked down on wasn’t bad enough, seeing Nestor held in Rosaline’s arms was more than a terrifying sight. They couldn’t know, but if Nestor had been awake, it would’ve been a sight that brought out tears of shame.

“He sparred with me. We’re on our way to the infirmary now.”

What he was curious about was a slightly longer and detailed explanation of the [spar] than what she had answered, but he had eyes to see, so he didn’t have to ask. The four of them headed towards the infirmary. The doctor and the priest who resided in the infirmary took a deep breath as they saw Nestor’s appearance. ‘What’s this? Did he get trampled by a horse?’

“W- What happened? Did a magical beast appear?”

‘Oh, you’re sharp.’ Rosaline inwardly swallowed the words.

Bastian opened his mouth in her stead, “He… sparred…”

“He sparred with someone? Did he have to spar until his face turned like this?”

The doctor looked at his face and was horrified to see the black bruises starting to come up here and there. Claude spoke in a low voice at his question.

“The fight should only have lasted until one side declared surrender first, but everyone was so stunned by the preemptive strike so nobody could say surrender…”

Claude couldn’t finish his speech. He seemed to recall that dreadful sight.

Raymond was well aware of Rosaline’s increased power. And he was also well aware that she had lost all common sense. Nestor would have passed out, and she would have continued to beat Nestor for not speaking words of surrender. If Bastian and Claude, who watched the scene, were terrified and did not declare surrender in his stead, then… Ehm. Just imagining it was scary enough.

Raymond told the doctor to take good care of him. It was a time when there was a shortage of men everywhere, so when Raymond, someone who should’ve been aware of this shortage, asked him to spend more effort to treat one of the ‘manpower down’, the doctor merely sent him a look of disrespect. He didn’t even seem to guess that the black-haired knight next to him must be the one who did this.

Raymond let out a roaring laugh and dragged Rosaline out because he was accused of something he didn’t do. She had unraveled her messy hair caused by the match and combed it roughly with her hands.

“…You don’t have any injuries?”

“No. He’s weak.”

“Can we not talk about that in front of Nestor?”

“Okay.”

“And the next time you fight, if your opponent passes out, you can’t beat them anymore even if they don’t say surrender. Got it?”

“Alright.”

‘Great, she got it. She’s too lazy for paperwork. It’s never going to happen. For the present Rosaline, the escort mission is perfect. Just let her quietly stand by.’ It’d be perfect for her mission to avoid suspicion. The foresight of the deputy commander seemed to shine brightly.

***

Moonstone Castle where the 2nd Prince stayed. In the morning, Ricardis’ office was full. Viscount Golgarten, Count Sihorge, Count Falhas, Duke Brulite, and Marquis Cimmaron. All the vital figures in the 2nd Prince’s force were seated. They were chattering because of the information Duke Brulite brought. The 2nd Prince, Ricardis, sat at the head of the table and drank tea with a calm face. Of course, it was after he checked the color with the silver tableware.

[Viscount Golgarten: Viscount of Golden Garden]

[Count Sihorge: Count of Sea Gorge, Nestor’s father]

[Count Falhas: Count of Autumn Fog]

[Duke Brulite: Duke of Blue Light]

[Marquis Cimmaron: Marquis of Bighorn Goat, Raymond’s father]

“Assassination units from other countries came unnoticed and bypassed the tens of thousands of people guarding the borders. It’s one thing to say that they only launched an attack on the barracks that they found by chance, but only the 2nd Prince’s forces received damage. Is this not impossible? Besides, none of the 1st Prince’s people were among the casualties. This attack is so contrived that even an idiot can notice…”

At his words, Marquis Cimmaron knitted his eyebrows. ‘These wicked bastards. How could a prince of Illavenia join hands with a fanatic band from another country?’ His hands were trembling.

“I think we can conclude that His Highness, the 1st Prince, has joined hands with the Black Moon. Oh, shall I correct it to the Balta Royal family instead?”

“What do you need to differentiate? The Black Moon bastards are seated all the way up to their Royal family.”

Ricardis rubbed his chin in boredom. It was an unconventional method, sure. ‘But, that’s just how my brother is.’ It was just funny how the Emperor’s position could drive people to such madness.

“What about the evidence?”

“We should be able to gather it easily. However, it may be overwritten.”

“Even though it is clear for all to see that my knights and I are the ones who suffered the most damage?”

“They would say it’s just a political show.”

“You’re right, Marquis. That’s the kind of bullshit your brother would say.”

The faces of the men sitting at the table were not very good. Elpidio, the 1st Prince, was currently closer to the crown prince’s seat than Ricardis. But he was not the suitable candidate to lead the vast Empire called Illavenia, which occupied half of the continent. As the 1st Prince, he has studied all kinds of things, including how to rule, but he has not been able to listen to the people around him.

However, the empress (E/N: This is the 1st empress, who is not Ricardis’ mother) behind him, to be precise, Duke Lyonmane of the empress’ family, was powerful beyond words. There were several dukeships in the Empire. The Lyonmanes were one of the few that originated from the Imperial family.

[Duke Lyonmane: Duke of Lion Mane]

The empress and the Emperor are closely related by blood. But for the sake of power, the Imperial family did not hesitate to marry them despite the incest. And that obsession bore fruit in Elpidio. Elpidio was virtually the crown prince of Illavenia, where the eldest son inherited the family except in special circumstances. With a powerful backbone from the empress’ family, Elpidio had a vast political power that was not inferior to the previous emperors.