The First Holy Knight Order and Riel

“Aba!”

“Woah?!”

As soon as I entered the dormitory room, the one who greeted me enthusiastically was none other than Sirr.

Come to think of it, I had promised to play with Sirr before going to study.

Transferring from Lilu’s arms to mine, Sirr tugged at my hair and giggled merrily.

Perhaps because he’s grown a lot, his grip is getting stronger and stronger.

…Right. What value does my hair have when you’re happy?

“Thank you for your hard work, Miss Lilu.”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Miss Lilu says that, but I actually know.

This kid Sirr pulls on Miss Lilu’s hair too whenever he’s bored.

I’ve seen her long blonde hair scattered here and there after being pulled out several times.

“Aba!!”

“Oh… okay… yes.”

“Hehehe!!”

Perhaps unhappy that my attention was elsewhere, Sirr called me with a displeased expression.

Startled, I turned my attention back to him, and he immediately beamed with a big smile.

While keeping my eyes on Sirr, I spoke to Miss Lilu again.

“Did you have any trouble coming here?”

“Trouble?”

“I saw some church knights on the road earlier.”

Since my eyes were on Sirr, I couldn’t see Miss Lilu’s reaction.

But after a moment of silence, I heard her voice.

“About the knights… it might be good to be cautious for now.”

“For now?”

“Yes. According to Alicia, each knight order has its own situation.”

According to what Miss Lilu heard from Priestess Alicia, the Holy Knight Order is the group with the greatest military power within the church.

Therefore, even a cardinal cannot treat a Holy Knight carelessly.

They may have superiors above them and follow orders as subordinates, but if they choose, they can refuse orders with proper justification.

However, this is only possible for powerful organizations like the First Holy Knight Order, which has both formidable military power and achievements.

Other knight orders are busy vacillating between watching out for the Pope and the cardinals.

Well, in the current situation where the Cardinal Faction has seized most of the power, they’re little more than pawns of the Cardinal Faction.

“So, you’re saying it’s better to be cautious until we know exactly who these knights are.”

“Yes. Being careful won’t hurt.”

Though it’s been quiet for the past year, the church might still be after Riel.

…Since I became uneasy after seeing the knights, I’m glad I left Phyllis with Riel.

“Abwa…”

“Oh.”

Before I knew it, I had taken my eyes off Sirr again, so I hurriedly turned back to him in surprise, but I only saw that he had fallen asleep.

I thought he’d been a bit quiet for a while, and it seems he had fallen asleep without me noticing.

He was sleeping soundly, snoring softly while firmly gripping my clothes.

“Haha, at this rate, I won’t be able to go study.”

In the end, that day, I had no choice but to study in my room while holding Sirr.

“Haah…”

In a room prepared in the royal palace for guests of the state.

Commander Alma Brake of the First Holy Knight Order, who had returned to the room prepared for her, sat on the sofa and sighed.

It wasn’t easy.

She had tried to meet with the king to somehow restore relations, but the rift between the two kingdoms had already deepened considerably.

Above all, the incident caused by Archbishop Marconi was too significant.

It was an unprecedented rudeness to openly request the execution of a noble of a country, especially the heir of that noble.

Moreover, that noble’s son was even the target of an assassination attempt around the same time.

Of course, there was no decisive evidence, but the timing was so perfect that it could only be seen as a plot by the church.

In fact, when Alma herself heard the story, the first thing that came to her mind was the church she belonged to, which said it all.

‘…Was it Archbishop Marconi’s doing?’

It’s not impossible.

There are rumors that the church is cultivating an assassination unit for eliminating political opponents, and Archbishop Marconi, who had disgraced himself in the kingdom, might have done this to resolve the situation quickly.

But even if such a unit exists, could Archbishop Marconi move such a unit?

Commander Alma wanted to somehow restore relations with the kingdom.

For Commander Alma, this Palaginya Kingdom was her mother’s homeland.

Leaving things this way with bad relations was uncomfortable for her.

Could she find a breakthrough somehow?

Suddenly, a figure came to Commander Alma’s mind.

The First Priestess who had stood against the Cardinal Faction more fiercely than anyone and was the center of the Papal Faction.

Alicia Melrot.

Her family had long been devoted to the World Tree Church, and as a result, she was well-versed in all the church’s secrets and circumstances.

She would know more about such matters than Alma, who was merely the commander of a powerful military group.

But now, she had distanced herself from the church and disappeared.

Although it had now been lifted with the Pope’s approval, she had been designated a heretic by Cardinal Gerald’s unilateral decision and had disappeared, never returning to the church.

Well, the circumstances were understandable.

Cardinal Gerald had arbitrarily designated her a heretic, so she probably felt threatened by assassination for political elimination.

It was such a shame.

If she could meet Alicia, she would have many questions to ask.

As Commander Alma was lost in thought, she heard a knock on her door.

“Who is it?”

“Oh, as I thought, you were back.”

Hearing that voice, Alma smiled.

“Remia? Come in.”

“Excuse me.”

The one who entered her room was Remia Blanc, the First Priestess and vice commander who always assisted her.

“Judging by your expression, the conversation didn’t go well.”

“That’s right, honestly, our side has done too much.”

“Requesting the punishment of a noble… and that noble happened to be quite influential within the kingdom.”

“An influential noble… I didn’t hear much about that part.”

“I did my own investigation.”

Commander Alma unfolded the paper handed by Priestess Remia and read through it.

“Kyo Wentos… so, the Wentos Count family.”

“A count family that boasts tremendous wealth and military power even within the kingdom. It’s natural for the kingdom to be upset when we tried to interfere with such a family.”

Priestess Remia clicked her tongue.

“Moreover, after the punishment request, he was even threatened with assassination. It’s natural for the church to be suspected.”

“…Haa, about that.”

Commander Alma hesitated for a moment.

Was it right to ask Remia about this?

Honestly, if she asked wrong, Remia might get angry.

But she needed information to understand the current situation.

“Do you remember Alicia Melrot?”

“Alicia?”

Remia’s expression slightly frowned.

I knew it would be like this.

Commander Alma sighed deeply inside.

When Commander Alma was a novice Holy Knight, the two of them became priestesses at the same time.

Alma knew that as they both grew to become First Priestesses, they developed a rivalry.

Moreover, they both became First Priestesses simultaneously.

Their factions were completely different. Well, there’s a saying that Remia joined the Cardinal Faction because Alicia belonged to the Papal Faction.

“…Ah, umm… I was wondering if you knew anything about her whereabouts.”

“No. Whether she soared to heaven or sank into the earth.”

Remia’s sharp response had a slight edge to it.

Seeing that they were still on bad terms, Commander Alma felt a bit disappointed.

“Ah, but.”

Priestess Remia spoke as if she had just remembered something.

“I learned something when collecting information about that Kyo Wentos.”

“Hmm? Why suddenly bring that up…”

“He got engaged about a year ago. His partner is the second daughter of Duke Ignis, Riel Ignis.”

“…That’s a name I’ve heard somewhere.”

“You would have. When there was all that nonsense about a hero, she was pointed out as the ‘priestess’.”

“That’s… the story takes such a funny turn.”

Commander Alma made an incredulous face.

“Well, that doesn’t matter anyway. His engagement was approved by our church… and the priestess who approved it was Alicia.”

“What? A year ago is…”

A year ago was already after Alicia had left the church and disappeared.

That means Alicia approved their engagement after leaving the church.

“So, if we ask them, we might find out where Alicia is, don’t you think?”

“Hmm…”

Indeed, if that’s the case, asking him might be faster.

Conveniently, he’s a student at the academy, so he’s also located here in the capital, Gransen.

But the problem is…

“…Honestly, isn’t it a bit uncomfortable to meet him? Given what our church has done…”

“That’s true. That’s why we need to contact a different person.”

“Riel Ignis?”

Of course, meeting Riel Ignis would also be awkward, but at least it would be better than meeting Kyo Wentos.

…Honestly, if we don’t meet even her, there’s no way to resolve this issue.

“…Let’s try at least. She should also be in the capital.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Yes, thank you, Remia.”

“I’m your assistant, aren’t I? No need to thank me.”

Priestess Remia looked at Commander Alma with a gentle smile.

“By the way, how about offering a prayer to the World Tree together before sleeping?”

“Hmm? Suddenly suggesting prayer?”

“Yes, I’ve tried it a few times since coming here… and I could pray more pleasantly than usual.”

At those words, Commander Alma, after washing up, offered a prayer to the World Tree together with Priestess Remia.

And she could physically experience what Priestess Remia meant.

Though it was a prayer she had been offering regularly since becoming a Holy Knight, Commander Alma thought that if it always felt like this, she wouldn’t tire of doing it every day.

The last day of the graduation exams.

Having completed the comprehensive practical exam quite excellently, Riel left the academy with a light heart.

The professor who had been watching her exam was smiling with satisfaction.

Perhaps she could expect good results from today’s exam?

After the exams, they had agreed to gather at their usual restaurant.

Of course, not just her friends, but also her most precious fiancé and his siblings.

She looked back at the academy.

Emilia was still waiting for her turn.

The comprehensive practical exam was conducted one person at a time and took quite a while, and Emilia’s turn was quite far back.

At this rate, it would take quite a long time, so Emilia had told Riel to go ahead and wait.

…Aria and Feris are also quite late.

She wasn’t sure how their exams were going, but rather than waiting without knowing, it would be better to go to the meeting place first.

With that thought, Riel started walking.

Behind her, a woman quietly followed.

“I’ll accompany you.”

“Phyllis?”

“The young master is worried about you.”

At those words, Riel gave a wry smile.

She thought that her fiancé was really quite the worrier.

But his thoughtfulness felt very precious to her.

“I-I’ll do my best too!”

Luca, her personal maid who was also with Phyllis, clenched her fist and spoke.

Over the past year, Luca had been learning various things diligently from Phyllis.

Perhaps she was in her growth spurt, as she had grown quite tall and had become more capable at her work. She nodded with a determined expression.

As they walked along the main street, Riel noticed Luca repeatedly glancing elsewhere.

Seeing her behavior as if she was concerned about something, Riel stopped in her tracks.

“Luca? What’s wrong?”

“Ah, I’m sorry, miss. It’s just…”

According to Luca, it seemed like someone was watching them.

She kept feeling a gaze, but since it didn’t seem like they were trying to harm them, she had been ignoring it.

However, it bothered her so much that she couldn’t help but keep glancing around.

At those words, Riel looked at Phyllis, and Phyllis also nodded.

“It’s true.”

“I-I see?”

“But Luca, be cautious without being too obvious.”

“Y-yes!!”

Luca’s expression stiffened as she hurriedly responded, and Riel gave a wry smile at the sight.

She’s grown a lot, but she’s still the rookie maid Luca in front of Phyllis.

“You don’t need to worry about gazes that are merely observing us. Rather, worry about gazes like these.”

“Huh?”

“You two over there, please come out.”

Phyllis was speaking toward a different direction than where Luca had been glancing.

At this, Luca was flustered and put her hand inside her clothes, while Riel was surprised and looked in that direction.

“…It seems you have some business, but wouldn’t it be better to come out instead of hiding?”

As soon as Phyllis finished speaking, two women slowly walked out from where Phyllis had been looking.

Both of them appeared to be women in their mid to late twenties.

“…I suppressed my presence to the point where even most magical beasts couldn’t detect it, yet I was discovered.”

One of them, a woman with a very robust build, said.

The modest-looking woman next to her grumbled.

“That’s why I said we should just approach normally and speak to her.”

“But it just felt awkward.”

“Haah… Excuse me, we don’t intend to threaten you, so… could you please put away your weapon?”

Saying that, the modest-looking woman took the sword hanging from the robust woman’s waist and held it out as if to hand it over.

“We’ll disarm like this and hand it over, so we’d appreciate it if you could at least listen to what we have to say.”

“……”

At this, Phyllis carefully approached and took the sword.

She then quietly observed the two people as if examining their entire bodies, and then sighed and said.

“Indeed, there’s no other armament besides this sword. Is that alright, miss?”

“Ah… yes. I’m fine with it.”

At those words, the two women slightly closed the distance to where they could converse with Riel.

“You’re Miss Riel Ignis, right?”

“Yes. What brings you here?”

“I’m a Holy Knight belonging to the church, my name is Alma.”

At the mention of the church, Riel’s expression faltered slightly.

The two maids beside her were also on guard.

Seeing their wariness, a wry smile formed on Alma’s face.

“I’m a priestess of the church, Remia. Please excuse our casual attire today.”

“No, that’s… may I ask what business a Holy Knight and a priestess from the church have with me?”

“Well…”

As Alma was about to say something and looked at Remia, Remia sighed and said.

“Do you know Priestess Alicia Melrot?”

“Yes… what?”

“…So you do know her.”

Seeing Riel’s reaction, Remia wore an expression that seemed to say “as expected.”

This girl knew where Alicia was.

“I was a fellow priestess with Alicia, and I’m curious about how she’s doing.”

“I-I see.”

“Upon investigation, the last official record was her attendance at Lady Riel’s engagement ceremony… so I thought Lady Riel might know. It seems I was right.”

“Yes… yes, Alicia sister is…”

“What? Sister?”

That’s quite a familiar term of address.

When did they build such an intimate relationship, Remia wondered.

However, she couldn’t help but be greatly shocked by what she heard from Riel afterward.