Ch.171First Night as a Guard

The court meeting, which had been utter chaos, finally concluded just as dinner time approached.

Normally, this would have been followed by an elaborate and exhausting banquet hosted by the imperial family, but given the circumstances—with both the Emperor and the Fourth Prince dead—no such feast was held.

Thanks to that, I could return to the First Prince’s palace and enjoy a leisurely dinner without having to mind others.

—-

Truly befitting royalty, the dinner served at the prince’s palace was incomparable to the Academy’s meals.

There was a tart topped with bacon, along with an imperial-style salad containing pheasant meat, ham, and eggs.

Duck meat stir-fried with mushrooms and spices released a mouthwatering aroma, while the perfectly roasted lamb ribs were clean of any gamey taste.

Even the cake and sugar-preserved fruits served for dessert were all so delicious they drew involuntary exclamations of delight.

Percival was also busy tearing into the lamb ribs with a smile on his face.

I think it’s the first time I’ve seen that guy smile. He must like lamb.

A wine glass filled to the brim sat next to him, but he showed at least some sense by not touching the alcohol.

Though he did occasionally glance at the wine glass with longing eyes.

That’s a relief. I was ready to say something if a knight on guard duty forgot his place and started drinking.

While Prince Leopold’s official duties might be over for the day, that only applied to the prince himself—it didn’t mean the rest of us could relax.

…I’m not just complaining because I can’t drink while he can. Absolutely not.

‘Never serve alcohol to the Aishan-Gioro Princess.’

That was Leopold’s strict order.

The palace servants followed it faithfully.

As a result, only a water glass sat forlornly next to me instead of a wine glass.

Well, I wasn’t planning to drink anyway, but being so blatantly treated like an alcoholic isn’t exactly pleasant.

What can I do? I’ve caused major incidents before, so I can’t really complain.

“Is it good?”

“What? Yes! It’s delicious. Thank you, Lord Median!”

Percival hurriedly swallowed his meat and saluted with a shout.

Have I been too strict with discipline…?

“What are you thanking me for? It’s not like I’m the one providing the food. If you want to thank someone, it should be His Highness…. Anyway, I thought a knight skilled enough to become a Royal Guard would be used to eating like this. I’m surprised.”

I thought members of the Imperial Guard, the Royal Guard, would typically have both status and skill guaranteed to some degree.

Though they still couldn’t compare to me, of course.

I assumed he would have had plenty of experience with fine dining.

“Well… the senior members do, but it’s different for newcomers like me.”

Percival’s expression darkened a bit.

He put down the rib he had been enthusiastically gnawing on, downed an entire glass of water instead of wine, and let out a deep sigh.

“What is it? Why did you stop talking?”

“Huff… I’m sorry. Remembering it makes me feel a bit… Anyway, since joining the Royal Guard, the only food I’ve been allowed to eat is half-dried rye bread.”

Rye bread?

They feed that tasteless, dry bread to the Empire’s elite knights?

“What? Even common soldiers don’t eat like that, let alone Royal Guards. Even on the battlefield, they wouldn’t eat such things.”

“It’s a… tradition of the Royal Guard. According to the seniors, it’s to teach new knights order, discipline, and self-control.”

…That sounds familiar.

Percival shuddered and broke into a cold sweat.

“Rye bread…! On the day I joined, I had to eat forty of those wretched rye loaves… And after that, every meal was nothing but rye bread. This is the first time in two months I’ve tasted proper meat…!”

“Oh… is that so? Well, eat up then….”

I pushed some of my meat portions toward him.

The way he looked at the meat with tears in his eyes was just too pitiful.

…No wonder he was eating like someone possessed—he’s been living on that stuff. Poor thing.

Percival’s eyes filled with gratitude.

“Thank you! Lord Median!”

“Sure. You know… I’m sorry about denting your armor. It’ll be troublesome to fix it.”

With black iron mixed into the armor, it won’t return to its original shape just by having ordinary blacksmiths or servants hammer at it.

To repair it, it would need to be entrusted to artisans who know how to work with black iron….

Such talented individuals usually have plenty of work lined up, so I’m not sure if they’d readily accept a request to fix a slightly dented armor.

“That’s fine! I have a spare set, so I can wear that. This damage was personally inflicted by Lord Median, so the other knights will actually be envious!”

“Well… if you say so, I have nothing more to say. Alright. I’m going to see His Highness now, so you eat your fill and rest for a while. You’ll need to guard His Highness’s bedchamber, so you should get some rest beforehand.”

“Understood!”

I left the dining hall with Percival’s salute behind me.

—-

“The Royal Guard has such a tradition?”

“You didn’t know?”

Leopold shook his head with his chin resting on his hand.

The knights’ black bread culture seemed shocking to him as well, as his pupils trembled slightly.

“Had I known earlier, I would have corrected it somehow. It benefits neither the morale nor the physical maintenance of new knights.”

“It’s a miracle there hasn’t been an uprising until now.”

They all have such patience.

If it were me, I would have done something long ago,

Like challenging them to a duel, or ambushing a senior when they were alone.

Or maybe secretly stabbing them in the back during combat.

“So, what about Sir Percival?”

“Judging by how he opened up about his unit’s circumstances just because his mood improved a bit… he doesn’t seem to be a person of deep calculation.

In a way, it’s almost like airing his unit’s dirty laundry, and it’s not something he should confide to someone like me who’s essentially an outsider just working alongside him.

With his eyes sparkling at the sight of meat and all, he seems utterly transparent—inside, outside, and mind.

He doesn’t strike me as someone capable of skillful espionage.

Unless he’s such a genius actor that he could fool even me…

But his behavior this morning, picking a fight so openly and tactlessly, makes me doubt that.

If his seemingly naive personality were an act to lower my guard, he would have been docile from the start.

“At least if he causes no problems tonight… I can half-trust him.”

“You still doubt the other half?”

Of course.

“I haven’t yet confirmed who he contacts or what actions he takes when left to his own devices. To find that out, rather than having him on guard duty with me all day like today, Your Highness would need to give him some free time.”

Leopold nodded.

“I see… Then let’s have Sir Percival take the twelve hours from evening until morning, and the Princess take the other twelve hours. Both the Princess and I will always stay here after dinner, so if anything happens, the Princess can come to help immediately.”

“That should work. As long as my room isn’t too far from Your Highness’s bedchamber, there won’t be any problems.”

“But will you be alright? From your perspective, not only are you on guard duty throughout the daylight hours, but until you’re certain Sir Percival is safe, you won’t be able to sleep peacefully at night either.”

For an ordinary person, that would be true.

It’s not a two-shift system but essentially 24-hour duty—even someone with excellent stamina wouldn’t last three days.

It was natural for Leopold to worry about this.

However, for me, it wasn’t actually that difficult.

Not sleeping for three days, and staying alert for attacks even at night.

“It’s not that difficult. I can detect killing intent even in a deep sleep.”

I was capable of that much even in the early days when I hadn’t fully adapted to this body.

I woke up after detecting the killing intent of subordinates who came to ambush me.

They must have been trying their best to conceal their murderous intent.

That’s how sensitive this body is to killing intent.

“Hmm. Hearing that makes me feel I’ve acquired a truly reliable guard. It puts my mind at ease.”

Leopold smiled happily, seemingly reassured.

Didn’t you say earlier that you’d rather trust Isabella?

—-

The bedroom Leopold provided for me was right next to his own.

It was originally used by his younger sister, Eleonora, he said.

Since she had left for Panam in a political marriage, the room was essentially vacant now, so he told me to make myself comfortable.

As befitting a princess’s room, the interior was quite lavish.

“Is it really alright for me to stay in this room?”

“There’s no need to feel burdened. I kept it only for old memories’ sake, and Eleonora has never returned to this room.”

“Hmm… if that’s the case, I’ll gratefully use it. Being right next door makes it easy to respond if anything happens.”

I nodded appropriately.

If something happens later, it’s not my responsibility.

If Eleonora happens to return, she might be angry about someone using her room without permission… but if she gets angry, it would be at her brother.

After Leopold left, I spent the night leisurely enjoying the royal bedroom.

With everything from the bathroom to the bed being top-quality, it was incredibly comfortable.

After lying on the bed for a while, enjoying the soft cushioning… I dozed off.

That night, there were no uninvited visitors, as I didn’t wake up until the next morning.