Foolish Act

‘So this is how it turned out.’

I glanced back at the knights who had come to follow me starting today. Every single one of their faces was filled with bewilderment, and I was no different. This was a situation I hadn’t anticipated at all.

The Golden Twilight Knights’ structure consisted of one Knight Commander, ten Vice Knight Commanders, and one hundred knights. So, if half of them were to come under me, that meant a large force of exactly fifty-five people.

It seemed I would have to ask Iris or Erica for advice later. There was no way I’d know what I, as a Knight Commander, was supposed to do.

“……Thank you, Delta. You saved me.”

Aurora approached me with a pale face, as if she had skipped nearly ten years. She must have been incredibly tense during that short time; both her expression and actions seemed utterly devoid of strength.

“I merely did what was natural. There’s no need for you, My Lord-nim, to thank me.”

Would I really have opposed the reinstatement of the Silver Dawn Knights there? The moment Kaikilia posed that question, my answer was already decided.

“What’s natural, you say…… Alright. I won’t say anything more. So, what will you do now? Do you have a plan set up?”

Aurora let out a self-deprecating bitter smile, looking back and forth between me and the knights behind me. It seemed she wasn’t trying to put on an act. Aurora was indeed easy to communicate with.

“I don’t know. I haven’t thought of anything specific, so I’ll have to start contemplating it now. I never imagined His Majesty the Emperor would issue such an order.”

“Indeed, to split the Golden Twilight Knights in half and give them to you, who would have dared to imagine such a thing? It’s like the Silver Dawn Knights’ reinstatement case; it’s been full of surprises lately.”

Hearing those words, my gaze naturally drifted over Aurora’s shoulder. All the Knight Commanders were talking with their members, reunited after several years.

The four of them kept glancing over while talking to their members, but it seemed they couldn’t easily interject since Aurora and I were also conversing.

Aurora opened her mouth with a slightly bitter smile.

“You’ll be working at the Imperial Palace too, right?”

“No, I won’t.”

“……Huh?”

Her bitter smile vanished instantly. Her golden eyes widened into perfect circles.

“Have you forgotten what I told His Majesty the Emperor? If I had intended to stay at the Imperial Palace, I wouldn’t have given that answer. Because I wouldn’t be able to face His Majesty the Emperor anymore.”

“Uh…… So, you mean you’ll keep staying in my territory?”

“Am I some wicked lord? Were you perhaps thinking of chasing away all these people? There’s plenty of space in the castle anyway, isn’t there? Don’t be petty and let us stay.”

When I threw out a simple joke, Aurora, having grasped the situation, chuckled.

“Alright. There are plenty of empty rooms, so use them freely. The people who were originally here are leaving anyway, so we have to fill the remaining spots.”

‘Ah, right. The Knight Commanders will be returning to the Imperial Palace. Why did I just assume we’d all live together in the castle?’

I wondered why Aurora had asked if ‘I’ too would be working at the Imperial Palace; so that was why. It seemed I would have to slightly revise my future plans.

Perhaps realizing our gaze was on them, the four asked for understanding and approached us. Aurora stepped back a pace. The Knight Commanders filled that empty space.

“First, I should express my gratitude. Thank you, Delta. I didn’t expect to receive help again. I will definitely repay this favor someday.”

Claudia was the first to speak. She expressed her thanks to me in a rather serious voice.

“As I told My Lord-nim, there’s no need for thanks. Do you think I would have said no there?”

“Wait, are you still using honorifics with us?”

“Huh?”

At my questioning retort, Claudia let out a small laugh.

“You’re clearly a Knight Commander of a knight order now. There’s no need to speak formally to us anymore, so just call me Claudia. Even drop the ‘Knight Commander’ part.”

“If that’s what you want, there’s nothing I can’t do, but……”

I trailed off my words slightly, then scanned Iris, Rije, and Erica one by one before continuing.

“……Anyway, I’ve already been speaking informally with the other three for a while now.”

“What?”

This time, Claudia’s eyes widened.

Rije had immediately told me to speak informally on the very first day I joined the Silver Dawn Knights, saying she liked me, and Erica also ended up speaking informally somewhat vaguely due to Rije’s strong insistence.

I couldn’t remember why I started speaking informally with Iris, but in any case, that was the situation, so in reality, Claudia was the only one I was still using honorifics with.

But Claudia seemed to have not noticed this blind spot at all; her face looked as if she’d been hit hard on the back of the head.

“……Now that I think about it, you’re right? Delta, why have you only been polite to me all this time? I thought that was just natural, but you’ve been speaking informally with the other three for a while?”

“How would I know? I just spoke that way from the beginning.”

“Wow, I feel like I’m the only one who’s been kept at a distance here.”

Iris and Erica pushed the constantly grumbling Claudia aside. Claudia grumbled with her mouth but was pushed aside without a word of complaint.

“I appreciate your goodwill, Delta.”

“The same goes for me. Thank you for your goodwill, Delta-ssi.”

The two who had pushed aside the pink-haired woman greeted me. Iris gave a slight bow, and Erica bowed a little deeper.

“I said there’s no need for thanks. I just did what I had to do.”

“We are also just doing what we have to do. No matter how natural it may be, we cannot simply gloss over it after receiving help.”

“Erica is right. My Lord-nim also gave us much help, but wasn’t your help, Delta, decisive?”

‘……Is that so?’

It was just that I was unexpectedly singled out, but if Aurora had been working behind the scenes to reinstate the Silver Dawn Knights, it would have succeeded, even if it took a little longer.

Of course, that’s assuming Kaikilia doesn’t find fault. Thinking about it that way, it seemed the success rate was infinitely low.

“Congratulations, Delta. You’re a Knight Commander starting today, right?”

As Rije approached me, Iris and Erica quickly made way. A somewhat ambiguous smile played on Rije’s face.

“Well, it just ended up that way. I don’t know if I’ll do well, though.”

“You’ll do well. You’ll do great, Delta.”

“Why do you sound more confident than I am?”

“Of course. What kind of relationship do we have?”

Rije, who had come right up to me, hugged me tightly. Because there was quite a height difference, her face nestled right into my embrace. Rije, burying her face in my chest, rubbed her cheek back and forth.

I hugged Rije back. Although I was conscious of those around us, if I couldn’t show affection just because of something like that, I wouldn’t have accepted it in the first place.

Rije stood on her tiptoes. Her head strained upwards. For a moment, I thought she was going to kiss me, but seeing that her lips were slightly angled, that wasn’t it for now.

Understanding her intention, I lowered my head. Her cherry-red lips, pressed close to my ear, whispered softly.

“Since we won’t be able to see each other for a while starting tomorrow, wanna screw intensely today?”

“…….”

It was a choice of words that made all the emotion that had lingered just moments ago vanish completely. I looked down at Rije with a bewildered expression.

“Do you always have to say things like that?”

Rije cackled with laughter and loosened her grip on me.

“It would be a lie to say I won’t be lonely, but it’s not like we’ll never see each other again, so I don’t want to send you off crying. I have to stay true to myself until the end.”

Her lightly clenched fist gave my chest a light tap. As Rije’s body moved away, the soft sensation of her chest also disappeared.

‘That’s so Rije,’ I thought. It certainly was.

Iris and Erica, with slightly flushed faces, cleared their throats and turned away with words of “see you next time,” while Claudia smirked, nudged me with her elbow, and left.

It must have been a whisper, but it seemed to have been useless to the Knight Commanders. Soon, all of the Silver Dawn Knights disappeared down the Imperial Palace corridor.

Aurora looked at me with a subtle expression for a moment, then left, telling me to take the next step somewhere private. She seemed to have caught on to the atmosphere.

All that remained were the Knight Commander of the Golden Twilight Knights, exuding a murderous aura, the Vice Knight Commanders and knights who didn’t know what to do, and me.

The Knight Commander on the other side was trembling, clenching his fist so hard his gauntlet seemed about to crush. It felt like he would explode if I just poked him lightly.

Even though he was wearing a helmet, it felt like I could clearly see his face inside.

“What are you looking at? Do you have something to say?”

“I have plenty to say. I don’t know how a bastard like you could have risen to the position of Knight Commander, but that infinite glory-“

“What do you mean by ‘bastard’ to someone who’s a Knight Commander just like you starting today? I’m speaking informally to you too, so I won’t tell you to use honorifics, but you should still speak respectfully, shouldn’t you? Don’t you think?”

I cut off the golden-armored man abruptly. I didn’t want to hear any more.

“Shut your mouth!”

“I don’t understand why you’re angry. Did I do something wrong? Everything was ordered by His Majesty the Emperor. Or are you trying to object to His Majesty the Emperor’s decision?”

“Just because you have a mouth……”

“And you, haven’t you heard how the person you colluded with died yet?”

He flinched, stopping his movement. He looked as if to say, “How do I know that?” The fact that he was involved with Aurora’s father would be the utmost secret.

I approached him, placed my hand on his shoulder, and whispered so only the two of us could hear. There was no need for many people to hear what I was about to say.

“That bastard who conspired with you and tore apart the Silver Dawn Knights, he died because he was involved with a demon. His Majesty the Emperor personally dealt with him, too.”

I felt his body stiffen. I continued without stopping.

“You know that according to Imperial law, merely being involved with a demon is punishable by death, right? Think carefully. If I just inform His Majesty the Emperor of that fact, you’re finished.”

It was a lie.

The former lord bastard dying because he was involved with a demon happened long after he colluded with this guy, so there was no reason for this guy to be involved with demons at all.

‘But he doesn’t know that.’

He’ll probably start getting insanely anxious now. Wondering if that bastard had been worshipping demons even before he got involved with him, or if he himself had been influenced by it.

If he really had been influenced, the holy sword would have reacted and cut off his head long ago, but this bastard probably doesn’t have that much knowledge.

It was time to return the emotional suffering the Silver Dawn Knights had endured.