Ch.14Sparring – 1

The Royal Knights Order consists of exactly 100 members.

These 100 members are composed of 90 knights and 10 captains, with the 9 captains from the 10th to the 2nd each commanding 10 knights.

Of course, this division isn’t strictly enforced, and in most cases, they simply maintain the number of 10 knights per captain for appearance’s sake.

This absolutely doesn’t mean that the Royal Knights Order is a ragtag group.

After all, anyone who becomes a member of the Royal Knights Order is skilled enough to demonstrate their abilities perfectly regardless of who they work with, so there was little need to strictly maintain formations.

Moreover, rather than cumbersomely coordinating their actions, just two or three knights attacking simultaneously—even if operating independently—could easily crush an average monster horde.

So they roughly determine which captain’s unit to join on a first-come basis, and no one pays much attention even if the composition changes occasionally.

And above these knights are the even more skilled individuals known as captains.

The position of captain is based strictly on merit, and even regular knights can challenge a captain to a duel to inherit their position if they wish.

Even captains can duel each other to elevate their rank.

There are no particular emotions involved in this process. Anyone who reaches the position of Royal Knight naturally possesses the honor and character befitting a knight.

Victory and defeat are simply viewed as differences in skill. Anyone who would mock such things would have been filtered out by Charlotte long ago.

They respect each other and give their all. They humbly accept their shortcomings, acknowledge their opponents, and don’t hold back on praise.

This series of processes is what constitutes a duel in the Royal Knights Order. Not respecting each other would be equivalent to disrespecting their King.

In that sense, the 1st Captain of the Royal Knights Order could literally be called a monster. It means being number one among the kingdom’s 100 elite.

Moreover, the authority that comes with the position is immense.

The first guaranteed right is complete autonomy over all unit formations.

Basically, since they don’t belong to any specific group, they mostly operate alone, but if desired, they can command the entire Royal Knights Order or even serve under another captain.

A position where one can be anywhere or nowhere—that is the 1st Captain of the Royal Knights Order.

Additionally, the 1st Captain is the commander with the most powerful authority to issue orders, second only to Charlotte.

If they had complaints about Charlotte’s orders, they could even have a private audience with Charlotte without any prior arrangements.

Of course, by that level, their minds would be filled with loyalty to the King, so at least until Serena took the position of 1st Captain, no one had ever done such a thing.

Yes, until Serena took the position of 1st Captain.

Until now, those who had occupied the position of 1st Captain were full of loyalty and honor toward Charlotte, maintaining a mutually respectful relationship with other Royal Knights. The problem was Serena.

The two of them are desperate to kill each other at the mere sight of one another. There was no way they could talk about honor or loyalty.

She openly defies Charlotte, claiming she cannot acknowledge her as her lord, and simply ignores orders unless it’s an extremely urgent matter.

Still, she knows how to separate public and private matters, so she at least pretends to follow important orders, but for trivial matters, she doesn’t even bother to pretend.

Since these incidents happened shortly after Serena joined, it was obvious how she must have behaved during the eight years I was away from the palace. It’s amazing the knights haven’t completely fallen apart.

The strangely tense atmosphere when we crossed wooden swords at the training ground earlier was probably an extension of that conflict.

I had anticipated such conflicts to some extent, and I still chose to have her join the Royal Knights Order despite that.

The reason I had to do this was primarily because Serena was too famous.

In the world, there is information one can obtain because of their reputation, but conversely, there is information one cannot obtain because of their reputation.

And for me, most information requiring reputation could be sufficiently obtained through Charlotte. After all, the first clue about the dragon was obtained through Charlotte.

By the time I found clues about the dragon, Serena’s fame had already risen to the point where people knew who she was just by hearing her name.

Taking someone like Serena to back alleys would yield nothing.

People would either think she came to arrest them, or the very fact that she visited such a shady place would become valuable information for sale.

Leaving Serena to wander alone was too risky given her lack of worldly knowledge, and having her accompany me carried the risk of turning any place into a bloodbath if I were to suffer even a slight insult.

She could endure any insult directed at herself, but as a knight, it wouldn’t be right to tolerate insults against her lord, or so she claimed.

So we needed to be apart for a while, and I chose the Royal Knights Order as a place for Serena to grow during our separation.

There was also the possibility she might learn a technique there that could break my immortality.

Initially, I considered creating a position like Charlotte’s personal guard, but I quietly abandoned the idea, thinking both would hate it.

Though I had given my word, which would prevent them from trying to kill each other, I wanted to avoid a situation where Serena and Charlotte had to face each other all day without me around.

That’s why I had her join the Royal Knights Order and instructed her to rise to the position of 1st Captain, which guaranteed maximum autonomy.

Of course, from the perspective of the other Royal Knights, this must have been like a bolt from the blue.

A talented 14-year-old kid crushes them all, becomes the youngest member ever, and then rises to 1st Captain in less than three months—they must have wondered what all their training had been for.

They might have been able to laugh it off, thinking a remarkably talented junior had joined, but what Serena did afterward couldn’t be laughed off.

“Say that again.”

So, the conclusion is this:

In my absence, Serena would have simply ignored such remarks, but the problem now is that I’m right in front of her.

For Charlotte to talk about “our lord” right in front of me, of all places, was a perfect landmine for Serena.

Serena was emanating an aura that suggested she might snap Alesia’s neck at any moment.

Her entire body was enveloped in mana that was boiling over from emotions she couldn’t control. The amount of mana currently dispersing into the air far exceeded the total mana capacity of most high-ranking adventurers.

Alesia hesitated and took a step back, but then, as if resolving herself, she summoned her own mana, proving that her title as the 7th Captain of the Royal Knights was not just for show.

Serena was in casual clothes holding a wooden sword, while Alesia wore steel armor with a real sword at her side, yet it was Alesia who seemed intimidated by the atmosphere.

“Are you threatening me now? How utterly petty of you, Captain Elizabeth.”

“This isn’t a threat. It’s a declaration. I clearly told you to say that again, Beneviento.”

“Let me be clear as well. I refuse.”

“You were running your mouth so freely earlier, but now that I’ve set the stage, you clam up.”

“You’re quite talkative today yourself, 1st Captain. Usually, you ignore everything like you’re deaf and just do your own thing. Oh, is this insubordination? Well, go ahead and kill me if you want. I’ll gladly offer this one life to you.”

Oh, that’s quite intense.

At first, she seemed to maintain some semblance of courtesy, but after summoning her mana, she’s openly provoking Serena with a sneer.

She seems to know exactly where Serena’s boundaries lie. This isn’t her first time walking this tightrope. You could say she’s showing her true colors.

Of course, this behavior comes from her absolute confidence that Serena won’t kill her.

If a sword fight broke out, Serena would be the one expelled, which would mean disobeying my orders, so naturally, she couldn’t act recklessly.

Now? Now Serena’s gone wild because I’m beside her. If I gave the order, she would kill everyone here without blinking an eye and proudly report back that she’d finished the job.

Not that I would give such an order, nor do I have any reason to.

“As I’ve been saying all along, I really dislike you, Captain Elizabeth. And the other Royal Knights feel the same way. So, what I’m saying is, if sacrificing this one life can get rid of you, it’s worth it. Understand? No, maybe I spoke too much and you couldn’t follow? Shall I summarize it in one sentence? Using simpler words this time.”

Alesia continued to provoke Serena relentlessly. Her words gave me a good idea of what Serena’s usual impression must be like.

“You bitc—”

“Serena.”

Thinking it was time to calm her down, I embraced Serena from behind, and the mana emanating from her body instantly vanished.

From my position, I couldn’t see Serena’s face, but it must be quite a sight.

Indeed, Alesia was clearly confused by Serena’s sudden transformation into a completely different person.

Serena’s body stiffened.

“Don’t answer, just listen. That’s enough. I’ve told you repeatedly that your nominal lord is Charlotte now. Of course, serving Charlotte must be unpleasant for you. I can understand that completely. But let me be clear here. You’ll be able to leave the Royal Knights Order soon, so behave yourself until then.”

Hearing my words, Serena’s eyes widened, and she turned her head sharply to look at me. From Alesia’s perspective, the woman before her must seem completely unhinged.

The Serena that Alesia saw was glaring at her with murderous intent one moment, then suddenly blushing and dispelling her mana, and now turning her head with startled rabbit eyes.

Serena looked like she had a lot to say, but because of my order not to answer and just listen, she couldn’t bring herself to speak first and was just moving her lips.

She wasn’t doubting the truth of my words but probably wanted to ask when exactly “soon” would be.

My statement about taking Serena out of the Royal Knights Order soon was true. Why did Serena have to join the Royal Knights in the first place? Because I had nowhere to leave her while I was searching for the dragon.

Now that it’s been proven that even a dragon can’t kill me, there’s no reason to keep Serena here. Charlotte will be quite displeased, but I can handle that somehow.

“Captain Elizabeth, what on earth…?”

Alesia stared ahead with startled rabbit eyes like Serena’s. Naturally, she was confused about how a situation on the brink of a life-or-death confrontation had suddenly ended.

Alesia, who has no means to detect me, would never understand why Serena was behaving this way, even if she were to die and be reborn.

That’s also why I told her not to answer and just listen.

Suddenly stopping and staring into space is something that can be somewhat rationalized. In fact, Alesia is equally unable to accept this situation, so there’s a good chance she’ll come up with her own explanation, whatever it might be.

But if Serena were to go further and start conversing with empty air, that would be impossible to rationalize.

“Don’t try to explain, just push through. Ask what’s the problem.”

“Is there a problem?”

“…Are you seriously saying that right now?”

“Tell her to say it directly. What’s wrong with what you’re doing.”

“Then say it directly with your own mouth. What exactly is wrong with my behavior right now?”

“Hah…”

As Serena brazenly pushed forward, Alesia seemed at a loss for words and clutched her head.

In my experience, it’s best to just brazenly push through in situations like this.

Neither of them had committed any major wrongdoing; while Serena was the first to emanate killing intent, Alesia was the first to provoke with sneers.

In a situation where persisting would be troublesome for both, it was better not to back down first.

“Fine. The mood is ruined anyway. Whether you’re crazy or I’m crazy, one of us must be. Ha, this is so hard to adapt to. To go from glaring at each other with murderous intent to this suddenly. If this was your plan all along, 1st Captain, I’ll give you credit for being brilliant.”

Alesia waved her hand in the air with a dejected expression. Serena was quietly feeling my warmth against her back.

“Serena.”

Her head nodded slightly up and down, indicating she was listening.

“Throw her the wooden sword and have a sparring match. But go easy on her. Make it seem like she has a chance of winning.”

Following my instruction, Serena threw the wooden sword in her hand, and Alesia, who was turning to head to the training ground, caught it in surprise.

It flew quite fast, and I wondered if she could catch it, but that was an unnecessary concern.

“What are you doing all of a sudden?”

Alesia demanded. I whispered the answer into Serena’s ear. Serena’s body twitched slightly as she heard my whisper in her ear. Alesia’s expression soured once again.

“I’m saying this because there will be lingering resentment if we leave things as they are. Come at me. You won’t have another chance to attack me without any worries.”