episode_0055

‘Adrian von Bayern, a close acquaintance of my father from the maternal side. I once saw a portrait of her and noticed that Victoria resembles her mother Adrian a lot.’

To Antoine’s words mentioning blood relations,

Elizabeth examined Victoria’s face in a bit more detail.

It’s her first time seeing Victoria so closely.

She had mostly seen her from a distance of at least 30 meters.

Victoria’s mother, Adrian von Bayern, is related to Antoine on his mother’s side.

In modern society, such kinship wouldn’t be a concern,

but in a medieval fantasy where marriages between cousins occur, it can be considered a very close relationship depending on how you think about it.

“Of course, I know that, Father. But as you know, I don’t really care much about cousin relationships. So, it didn’t occur to me to become friendly with Victoria.”

However, the talented are often loners wherever they go,

especially since Elizabeth is not only eccentric but also a creature filled only with thoughts of Eugene.

So, even though Victoria is a relative attending the academy together, she wasn’t of much interest to Elizabeth.

If she were dealing with someone else, she would have expressed her inner thoughts directly,

but since her father, Antoine, was present, Elizabeth spoke with some courtesy.

“Haha! That’s right. I just thought of you too much as my youngest daughter, Elizabeth. Elizabeth, you are now a full-fledged mage. If you’re a mage, you might think that way.”

This is because Antoine doesn’t really know how eccentric Elizabeth is in depth.

Therefore, Antoine, not being able to gauge how dry Elizabeth’s attitude truly is,

vaguely thought that her current attitude was just the peculiar nature of mages.

Mages are treated as both scholars and hermits.

‘By the way, Victoria is the youngest Sword Expert ever. So, I knew she was in the swordsman class, but why is she suddenly wearing the armor of the Knights? Why?’

Elizabeth, having given her father a suitable excuse,

looked at Victoria beside her and Antoine with a slightly puzzled look.

In fact, from Elizabeth’s perspective, just knowing of Victoria’s existence is a great deal of interest.

If one were to discuss the reason for even having that much interest,

it’s because Victoria became the youngest official Sword Expert in the Imperium at the age of 18.

Compared to other 18-year-old Sword Experts of the past, Victoria’s birthday was the earliest.

Of course, Charlotte and Elizabeth, who are both exceptionally talented, and Marianne in the past, became Experts at the age of 17.

In addition, Eugene’s father, Ulysses Schneider, also achieved a breakthrough to Sword Expert at the age of 17.

However, in the case of mental-type awakeners such as mages and nuns, breakthroughs are faster than in combat types.

For that reason, it is standard not to group them in the same category.

And Ulysses, after being branded as a Sword Demon, was removed from official records and documents for the crime of tarnishing the name of Sword Master.

As a result, Victoria became the current youngest official Sword Expert of the Elysium Empire.

However, Elizabeth’s mention of the youngest Sword Expert doesn’t seem to be related to the greatness of Victoria’s abilities.

It just seems to be a question arising from her wearing the armor of the Knights.

‘As far as I know, she doesn’t have a particularly bad relationship with her father, Constantine von Bayern.’

The reason is Victoria’s father, Constantine von Bayern.

Constantine, the Sword Master of the Empire, is currently the Crusader, the leader of the Holy Knights of the Holy Light Church.

In other words, Elizabeth thought that Victoria would follow in her father Constantine’s footsteps and take the path of a Holy Knight, so she couldn’t help but be puzzled by her current appearance wearing the Imperial Knights’ armor.

To become a nun or priest, one must be born with divine power mana,

but it’s different for Holy Knights.

Most Holy Knights are from general swordsman backgrounds who have achieved mana awakening.

It is a form created by a general swordsman increasing their faith and developing divine power that exceeds the standard set by the Holy Light Church, and then receiving the Holy Knight baptism.

Therefore, swordsman class students usually choose whether to go to the Holy Knights or the Imperial Knights around the end of their 3rd-year course at the academy.

“In fact, Victoria has been receiving treatment as a formal knight, performing a certain curriculum in the Imperium Imperial Knights with the qualification of the youngest Sword Expert, Elizabeth.”

Antoine also read Elizabeth’s questioning eyes.

Thus, he immediately gave an explanation that would resolve his youngest daughter’s question.

Victoria was already unofficially affiliated with the Imperial Knights to some extent.

It meant that Elizabeth had clearly set the direction of her sword towards the path of the Imperial Knights, not the Holy Knights.

“In the meantime, Victoria has now become a Saber, an executive of the Imperial Knights. So, she was even given a mission. That’s why she came to the main family with us to discuss it.”

After the unofficial activities, as Victoria turned 21, her affiliation with the Knights was officially accelerated.

Promotion to executive,

The general knights of the Imperial Knights are at least Sword Runners.

And the abilities of those who rise to executive among them are at the Sword Expert level, collectively called Sabers.

In the meantime, Victoria is currently the youngest Sword Expert, the best young swordsman in the continent.

Of course, the Imperial Knights also had their eye on her,

and after having her build up an unofficial curriculum from the age of 20, they took steps to officially appoint her to an executive position this time.

‘Is this… is the Imperial Knights giving Victoria a lot of power…?

Elizabeth doesn’t particularly care about political matters,

but because she is so intelligent, she immediately grasped what the movements of the Imperial Knights meant.

‘It’s something that the Imperial Knights are doing, so it can’t be completely separate from the highest authority, Father. I think it’s reasonable to see it as Father’s intention. If that’s the case…’

The Imperial Knights, and the Imperial Knights Commander and Imperial Army Commander-in-Chief, Kaiser,

that is the title of Elizabeth’s father and head of the Oblean family, Antoine.

Therefore, it would be extremely reasonable to view the Imperial Knights’ policy on Victoria as Antoine’s intention.

‘Are you saying that Father sees Victoria, who is connected by blood even if it’s subtle, as your successor?“

Elizabeth’s eyes changed slightly, but clearly, to a serious look.

There are two exceptionally talented people in the Grand Duchy, but both are mental-type awakeners, a mage and a nun.

Due to that influence, Antoine’s succession has been a major topic in the Imperium Empire for over 10 years.

Antoine himself is a person who is sincere about imperial management, so

he didn’t necessarily show it to others, but he must have been quite mindful of it.

Moreover, Duke Antoine is considerably meticulous,

perhaps what Elizabeth is actually thinking is the succession roadmap that Antoine has presented.

‘Our brother clearly declared at the last bazaar that he would challenge for the succession… But even so, you invited Victoria to the main family… Father…’

However, the reason Elizabeth’s eyes changed was not only because Antoine was considering Victoria as his successor.

It is because she also knows about Eugene’s actions at the bazaar.

Of course, Antoine must have heard about it through letters.

If so, to Elizabeth, whose faith, truth, and absolute is the child of darkness Eugene,

the youngest Sword Expert Victoria, chosen by Antoine, can only be seen as an existence that blocks Eugene’s great will.

Furthermore, her father Antoine is also interpreted as having ignored or underestimated Eugene’s will.

A worshiper like Elizabeth, can she tolerate this?

She can’t tolerate it.

‘I don’t think Father is really doing this even though he knows about Brother’s actions. I don’t want to believe that, Father… Right? Right, Father?’

Therefore, Elizabeth’s unusual gaze also extended to her father, Antoine.

If it were the old her, she wouldn’t have gone this far,

but Elizabeth from about 30 minutes ago is not the Elizabeth from before.

A person crazy about religion doesn’t care about their parents or anything else.

“So, the Imperial Knights also have high expectations for Victoria. They evaluate her as almost the only future alternative among the current knight class. Moreover, Elizabeth, aren’t you the future and promising star of the Magic Tower? Perhaps, given the situation facing the Empire, you two must help each other. That’s why this father invited Victoria to the house and is having you greet her directly.”

The number of monsters is increasing, and the individualization of entities is also taking place.

This means that the danger that will come in the future is likely to increase exponentially.

Therefore, until now, combat class awakeners and nuns,

and mages have been immersed in their respective paths,

but if a situation arises where monsters thrive to the level of ancient times or just before the formation of the empire, the story changes.

Perhaps Antoine, the current best swordsman, may become just water under the bridge by then,

so Antoine intended to create the next generation of talents as the core axis of the Imperial security maintenance system in advance.

“The word ‘only’ seems like excessive praise, Grand Duke. Especially when you say it, Grand Duke.”

Victoria, who has a considerable poker face,

silently watched the Oblean father and daughter’s conversation for a long time, befitting her face.

As she heard Antoine’s words that she was the only alternative for the swordsman class, she immediately raised an objection.

“Praise? Rather, I can say such a thing because it’s me. Because I know the situation of the swordsmen better than anyone else. I can say with certainty that you are the only one in the Imperium Empire who has the potential to lead the Imperial Knights after me, Victoria.”

To Victoria’s words, Antoine, who had only shown a dignified and affable expression so far,

immediately took on a firm expression and tone.

Antoine, the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Knights and Sword Master, is like a knife when it comes to ability evaluation.

Therefore, he emphasized his evaluation to Elizabeth without blinking an eye, as if it were not lip service at all.

“Eugene de Cell Oblean, I heard that the Grand Duke’s son declared the path of succession through the path of the sword. Therefore, I am of the position that receiving such an evaluation is not a good phenomenon.”

However, as much as she has an unusual poker face, Victoria seemed to have no hesitation in conveying what she was thinking, even more so than Antoine.

She immediately rebutted,

and also stated the reason why she was thinking that way.

It is the foundation of the incident in which Elizabeth is committing filial impiety to her father.

Eugene’s official debut in aristocratic society,

Victoria was mentioning that.

As Eugene Schneider was mentioned from Victoria’s mouth like that,

‘What, what kind of year is that…?’

Twitch…!

As the name of the inviolable was mentioned from another woman’s mouth,

Elizabeth’s eyebrows twitched for a moment with a chilling sensation.

Meanwhile, Eugene Schneider, the person whose name the highest pinnacle of power and exceptional talents of the Imperium Empire all started to competitively mention,

‘Wow, Jeanne sucking my balls is so fucking sexy!!’

Harrup! Smooch! Tzzub! Tzzub! Tzzub! Tzzpop! Jjupop! Harrup! Chulup!

Squeeze! Squeeze! Squeeze! Knead! Knead! Knead! Squeeze!

Receiving Jeanne’s talent-filled ball sucking and ball fondling after regaining his original pace, he was melting away in awe, overcome with shivers.