Ch.44Inauguration Ceremony (4)

“It suits you well. How should I put it… You look exactly like the knight of Yuris I had in mind.”

“Thank you.”

“…Don’t look at me so stiffly. I know my presence here must be burdensome for you, but I still wanted to meet you at least once. I also have something to tell you.”

Though if he knew I’d find his presence burdensome, it would have been best not to come at all.

I sneered inwardly, but outwardly I could only offer an awkward smile, unable to show my true feelings.

The Crown Prince—I never expected to face him like this.

But the Crown Prince I met was quite different from what I knew.

Arrogant and doing everything as he pleased.

Yet warm to the original female lead he loved… that’s the kind of man I thought he was.

As he sipped his tea before me, there was a clear dignity about him.

He possessed the majesty of a Crown Prince, and his attitude toward me—who hadn’t even had my knighting ceremony yet—was mixed with respect and consideration.

However, what was clear was that he was different from the Crown Prince I knew from the original story.

‘Perhaps things might work out much better than I thought.’

He was completely different from the Crown Prince at the beginning of the original story, four years from now.

If it had been that Crown Prince, I wouldn’t have been surprised to find a knife at my throat by now.

The Crown Prince’s attitude was quite docile. Just as I was getting excited at the thought that we might communicate well,

The Crown Prince, who had been staring at me intently, opened his mouth.

“First, let me formally congratulate you on becoming a knight. Probably the youngest in the continent. You’ve likely heard this often, but I too have very high expectations for you.”

“You flatter me.”

“It’s not flattery. Taking down a Troll Lord, especially one tainted by darkness, is no easy feat. Did you know that minstrels are singing songs about you? Oh, great Evan, take up your sword—”

“…I’ve never heard of that.”

Minstrels singing songs about me?

Having been confined to the Duke’s mansion, I had no way of knowing about this, and could only blush.

I didn’t like the idea of someone casually singing such songs in front of the person they were about.

Perhaps he was trying to embarrass me?

But the Crown Prince just grinned after stopping his song, without saying anything more.

“I was actually quite surprised. I never imagined you would personally attend what is merely a knighting ceremony for an ordinary knight.”

When I said this, the Crown Prince shrugged dramatically and looked at me.

“If you’re an ordinary knight, then our Empire’s military strength would be severely reduced. A country with fewer than ten knights? That’s not even funny as a joke. No need for excessive modesty. I think highly of you, and I came here to congratulate you.”

At those words, I gave a bitter smile. No matter how I looked at it, he didn’t seem to have come just to congratulate me.

Didn’t he himself mention earlier that he had something to tell me?

So when I stared at the Crown Prince, he scratched his head and began to speak.

“Alright. I figured you wouldn’t believe I came just to congratulate you. I was planning to get straight to the point… is that okay?”

“It’s fine. Please proceed as you wish, Your Highness.”

When I said this, the Crown Prince hesitated for a moment, then reached into his breast pocket and pulled out an emblem.

When I saw the brilliant golden emblem, with two swords beneath the mouth of a dragon symbolizing the Imperial family,

I couldn’t help but frown and ask.

“Isn’t that the Imperial Knights’ emblem?”

“Since you haven’t had your knighting ceremony yet, you’re not officially a knight of Yuris. Would you consider wearing this on your chest?”

“…How confusing. The Imperial Knights, you say.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. To think that the Crown Prince himself would come to me and ask me to join the Imperial Knights.

Becoming part of the Imperial Knights was no simple matter.

Just belonging to them was considered a lifelong honor, perhaps even for generations.

A knight who belongs to them is promised lifelong glory. Their children gain lifelong honor just from having a parent who was an Imperial Knight.

In the Empire, the Imperial Knights were practically synonymous with guaranteed success.

Although not as prestigious as the Five Great Houses, there were families that maintained their baronial titles solely because one of their ancestors had been an Imperial Knight.

The Imperial Knights. Offering such a position to me was quite extraordinary.

Sixteen years old, not even having had my knighting ceremony yet, being offered a position in the Imperial Knights.

The youngest member was around 30 years old. If I joined, I would be making history.

“But I’m afraid I must decline.”

The Crown Prince’s face filled with surprise. Did he not expect me to refuse?

But from the moment our eyes met, I had anticipated this. Whatever offer he made, I had no intention of joining the Imperial family.

The reason I continued to wield a sword, and insisted on being a knight, was only one.

Aileen.

I insisted on being a knight simply to keep the promise I had made to protect her.

The Imperial Knights… well, joining them would certainly improve my status.

But neither then nor now did I care much about honor.

Playing the piano before, and now serving as Aileen’s knight—I did these things because I wanted to.

Actually, saying this made me feel relieved.

Apart from establishing a good relationship with the Crown Prince, I didn’t particularly want to join the Imperial Knights.

If I were to build a good relationship… it should be between Yuris and the Imperial family. Not between me and the Crown Prince.

When I gently pushed the emblem on the table toward the Crown Prince,

He looked at me with a bitter smile. Having realized my clear rejection and that I wouldn’t accept even if he offered again, he sighed and spoke.

“…I had hoped. It seems your loyalty is even stronger than I thought. Are you sure you won’t regret it?”

“I won’t regret it. It’s what I chose. If I’ve offended you, I apologize—”

“No, no. I’m not offended at all. I’m just a little surprised. You’re probably the first in the Empire’s history to refuse a position in the Imperial Knights. I should tell the historian to record this.”

Waving his hand dismissively and smiling, the Crown Prince looked at me and spoke again.

“…If you hadn’t been there during this dark mage incident, our response would have been quite delayed.”

“There’s Lord Theorad.”

The Captain of the Imperial Knights. The Empire’s only Master and its last bastion.

If he had stepped in, he could have cut down a Troll in an instant.

The realm of coloring the world with mana—the level of Master was on a completely different dimension from my level of merely igniting flames on my body.

However… he probably couldn’t have prevented Yuris’s tragedy.

If I hadn’t found and cut down the dark mage then, Yuris’s destruction would have been almost certain.

The Crown Prince looked at me for a moment, then shook his head.

“Of course Lord Theorad could have stopped it, but in this reality I experienced, it was Lord Evan who defeated the dark mage. Didn’t I say that excessive modesty is a bit much? You can take pride. You protected the Empire’s 307,832,726 subjects.”

“…Do you actually remember that exact number?”

“I am the Crown Prince, after all.”

Having said that, the Crown Prince looked at the Imperial Knights’ emblem with regret, then smiled faintly.

As if he was really okay with it, his relieved smile made me feel somewhat at ease.

Royal talent. If what I saw in Aileen during the last festival was dignity, what I saw in the Crown Prince was inclusiveness.

Though inclusiveness didn’t really suit the Crown Prince I knew, at least that’s how he was now.

How did someone like this become so twisted?

Perhaps things could flow differently from the future I knew. If the Crown Prince’s current demeanor wasn’t just pretense.

“…Your Highness.”

“If you have something to say, feel free. Honestly, I’ve been doing all the talking so far.”

“Now I am a knight of Yuris, and that fact probably won’t change until I die. I may not be able to continue fighting dark mages.”

“Hmm… there was no need to confirm that. I’ve already felt it keenly. As I keep saying, you’re the first person in the Empire’s history to refuse a position in the Imperial Knights.”

“But that’s ‘Lord Evan’s’ story.”

I looked into the Crown Prince’s eyes. Eyes reveal more than one might think.

A person’s thoughts, emotions, even their true nature.

When I looked, the Crown Prince was different from Adel. Adel’s purple eyes.

Those eyes, reminiscent of a requiem, showed emptiness.

Emptiness, but unlike the emptiness the Duke carried, its depths were unfathomable.

I couldn’t tell what he was thinking or what intentions he harbored.

So I was wary. I was even slightly relieved when the Troll pulverized him.

At least during the fight with the Troll, he wouldn’t be able to interfere.

That ominousness hadn’t disappeared, so I had no choice but to be wary of Adel—of all of Roman that harbored Adel.

But the Crown Prince’s eyes at least reflected his emotions. Respect for me, regret at not being able to recruit me,

And the relief he felt after overcoming and shaking off that regret.

Although there was quite a bit of irritation mixed in that he couldn’t express… at least he was still pure.

Perhaps he was hiding his true nature because of my achievements.

But I needed to build a smooth relationship with him now.

Gradually. I didn’t expect much from the beginning.

If this choice could make him hesitate even slightly before raising his blade against Yuris later…

That would be enough.

“Evan Fried, who slew the Troll, will continue to fight dark mages. Of course, that’s if my lady permits it.”

“…Hahaha!”

The Crown Prince laughed at my statement that I would need Aileen’s permission.

After laughing heartily for a while, he nodded and spoke.

“That’s enough for me. The trash in the Imperial Palace alone won’t be enough to deal with dark mages.”

The trash of the Imperial Palace. As the Crown Prince uttered those words, a flash of anger was visible in his eyes.

That was clearly his true nature. He looked down on those he judged as trash.

But his standards didn’t apply to just anyone.

He was clearly referring to the courtiers in the Imperial Palace, especially those who didn’t please him.

It was similar to when he thought of dark mages.

When he talked about dark mages, wasn’t the look in his eyes filled with similar anger?

Looking at the Crown Prince, I nodded.

A choice once made, I don’t regret it.

I just hoped this choice would help Aileen later.

I hoped at least the Crown Prince wouldn’t point his sword at Yuris.

When the original female lead stirred his heart, I hoped he might regain his senses, if only briefly.

#

After the Crown Prince left, Evan turned his gaze toward the back of the corridor.

The presence he had been sensing all along. At first, he thought it was just a passing maid,

But it was quite difficult to control his expression when he sensed that all-too-familiar presence.

He didn’t think she had a habit of eavesdropping, but it was quite amusing that she was listening to the conversation while even hiding her breathing.

“My lady.”

“……”

“I know you’re there.”

Seeing the head that popped out from the end of the corridor, Evan couldn’t help but smile.

Casually, with the usual expressionless face she always showed, Aileen approached Evan.

“You don’t look very happy.”

“I wonder.”

“Are you perhaps displeased that I spoke with His Highness the Crown Prince?”

Aileen’s eyes narrowed. If asked whether she was displeased, that wasn’t it.

Hadn’t she already noticed that the Crown Prince was interested in Evan?

Of course, she was quite surprised when Kaisel pulled out the Imperial Knights’ emblem,

But she knew he would refuse. Or more precisely, she believed he would.

At some point, the word “trust” was directed only at Evan.

If she trusted someone… it was Evan.

Ironically, she found Evan more trustworthy than Rofena or Lord Chris.

Not just because he was her knight, but she realized that she had come to trust him at some point.

Had she ever experienced such trust in her life? She shook her head.

And when she looked into Evan’s eyes again, Aileen felt a tickling sensation in her chest.

Even though he looked no different than usual, why did he feel so different?

And when she saw his attire, she realized that Evan was wearing the clothes she had prepared for him.

“It suits you well.”

His solid build, the contoured lines that had become more defined since she first saw him were noticeable.

The silver uniform—she had worried whether it would suit him well. With the dark cape draped around him, he now looked every bit a proper knight.

When she first met him, his appearance had bothered her so much, but now seeing him naturally brought a smile to her face.

It was an awkward smile, but not as awkward as it might have been, given how much she had practiced.

“…Ah, you mean the clothes?”

Evan looked at his uniform and smiled sheepishly.

Come to think of it, he should have thanked her, but facing her like this, he found it hard to express his gratitude.

He felt somewhat embarrassed. Looking at Aileen like that, he soon noticed her attire and opened his mouth slightly.

It was her usual black dress, but the dress that revealed her collarbone was quite daring.

Anyone would look in that direction.

For a moment, he unconsciously bit his lip, but soon smiled faintly and spoke.

“You look good too, my lady.”

“……”

Aileen’s gaze fell sharply on him.

He had said she looked good, so why was she looking at him like that?

‘…Could it be.’

For a moment, a strange thought crossed his mind, but he deliberately pushed it away.

Surely not. It couldn’t be because a simple compliment like “you look good” wasn’t enough.

As they looked into each other’s eyes for a moment, it was Aileen who broke the silence first.

“I heard you’ll continue fighting dark mages.”

“Yes.”

“You’ve fought dark mages twice so far. And both times you came back injured. Can you confidently say you didn’t cross the line between life and death in those two fights?”

“…Well.”

To be honest, the first fight was easy.

He hadn’t even used all his strength, and had only been hit by one attack he couldn’t avoid.

But when fighting the Troll, he had put everything on the line. The magic sword, his special mana, the awakening of his senses.

If any one of those had been missing, his shattered head might now be scattered somewhere on the mountain.

He understood what part Aileen was worried about.

She didn’t want him to get hurt.

She was projecting “someone” onto him. Evan didn’t know Aileen’s past.

All he knew were the old stories he had heard sporadically from Lord Chris and Rofena in this mansion, and the very brief mentions in the novel.

‘Perhaps… Aileen’s mother.’

He had never heard any stories about the Duchess.

As if talking about her was forbidden,

He had never once heard about Aileen’s mother in this place.

He didn’t know what had happened, but her mother had probably died for some reason.

And that had caused a kind of trauma for Aileen.

But even so, he couldn’t give up the fight.

If he stopped fighting dark mages now, wouldn’t he inevitably become entangled with them anyway?

Even if he stopped fighting them, what awaited him was a predetermined tragedy.

Dark mages, Yuris, and Aileen. Evan was convinced these three were intertwined.

Before it was just speculation, but now it seemed certain.

“Whatever your relationship with the Imperial family becomes is not my concern, but I can’t just allow you to continue fighting dark mages.”

“I won’t get hurt.”

“That’s not something you can guarantee.”

Blue eyes rippled. What was reflected in them was clearly fear. Fear of an unpredictable future, and.

Aileen was inwardly acknowledging that when she looked at Evan, she unconsciously became anxious, recalling old memories.

He was strong, and had the skill to win and return even if he fought dark mages.

But. That didn’t mean she would just watch him get hurt.

She hoped he wouldn’t get hurt if possible.

The best way to achieve that was for him not to fight dark mages at all.

But when she looked into his eyes, she keenly felt that would remain just her wishful thinking.

She remembered the eyes that had turned red. She remembered the darkness that had hung over the mountain peak, covering her sight and bewitching people.

And Evan, collapsed on that snow. She still remembered.

Even now, the memory made her feel suffocated, so how could she allow him to continue fighting?

If he returned in such a state again, she was certain she couldn’t remain composed.

That’s what Aileen thought.

“My lady.”

A gentle voice echoed through the quiet corridor.

It was a voice that always reassured people.

Aileen couldn’t deny that she had been reassured by that voice when she embraced Evan.

“Didn’t you say you trusted me?”

“…That’s different. You could just focus on guarding me.”

“Dealing with dark mages is also for your safety.”

“There’s the Imperial family. Lord Theorad is with the Imperial family.”

She knew it was unreasonable.

Even Evan knew that no matter how prestigious the Five Great Houses were, the Captain of the Imperial Knights couldn’t intervene in matters within their territories.

He understood she was anxious, but he didn’t know how to alleviate that anxiety right away.

So he walked.

The distance was quite far; Evan moved step by step toward Aileen.

Many thoughts crossed his mind. Not fighting dark mages was not an option.

It might be an option for Aileen, but not for him. Then. A way to reassure her.

“I won’t get hurt.”

Their breaths touched. Standing close enough to feel that, Evan raised his hand.

When that hand touched Aileen’s cheek, Evan smiled and spoke.

Aileen’s eyes widened.

When did he? She tried to step back when Evan approached while she was momentarily distracted, but there was a wall behind her.

The touch of his hand on her face tickled. The sound of her pounding heart reached her ears, and heat began to spread across her face.

“The reason I want to fight is all for you, my lady. I can’t give up, and even if you tell me to give up, I’ll fight in secret.”

“……”

She wanted to get angry. She wanted to shout something, to say she didn’t want such things.

But the distance was too close. Her heated mind turned blank, making it difficult to think of anything.

Unfair.

Aileen thought so as she looked at her knight who was looking at her.

He probably wouldn’t give up no matter what she said.

With a bitter smile, Aileen lightly tapped Evan’s chest with her hand.

At that gentle tap, which wouldn’t hurt at all, Evan removed his hand from Aileen’s cheek.

To be honest, he couldn’t think of any other method.

When he did this to his younger sibling, the usually angry child would become docile.

He had tried it on the off chance it might work, and seeing her much softer gaze, he smiled.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t think of any other way.”

“…Keep your promise. Don’t get hurt, and always… carry the handkerchief.”

“I will.”

Though they had created distance between them after saying that, what remained was an awkward silence.

The sensation of warmth that remained on his hand and her cheek made their hearts race.

Perhaps they could hear each other’s heartbeats. With that thought, after maintaining distance for a moment, Evan scratched his head and extended his hand again.

“…Let me escort you. You need to go up to the platform, don’t you?”

He remembered extending his hand during the ball and festival. But he thought the situation then wasn’t as embarrassing as now.

Then and now, the emotions he harbored were different. At least for him.

Thinking this, he extended his hand, but seeing Aileen hesitate, Evan sighed.

“My lady…”

Tap.

At his voice, Aileen placed her hand on Evan’s.

It was no different from the escort during the festival and ball, but the warmth transmitted more nakedly than ever before made her face flush.

Their hands, touching with quite a large area of contact, were more than just a simple escort.

Fidgeting with her fingers, Aileen turned her gaze away from Evan and spoke.

“…Let’s go quickly.”

She didn’t really want to go quickly. Didn’t she sometimes regret letting go of his hand first at the festival?

Why? She didn’t know the reason yet. But at this moment, this time holding hands like this.

She wished it could last a little longer.

That’s what Aileen thought.