Chapter 78
At that moment, the group huddled far off in the training ground began to slowly approach.
There seemed to be about forty of them.
“This is Princess Roun.”
Dean, a knight of the Bellrum Knights, stepped forward first to introduce Liana.
The knights bowed with disciplined precision.
“Princess….”
“Empress….”
But their words did not match their synchronized bows.
Startled, they tried again to bow loudly.
“Empress….”
“Princess….”
This time, trying to match each other, they misaligned once more. The knights’ faces flushed bright red. Dean, standing beside Liana, looked equally awkward.
“…Pfft.”
Watching the comical scene, Liana failed to suppress a laugh.
“Hmm, sorry. You’ve given your greetings properly, so you may raise your heads now.”
Quickly composing herself after the laugh escaped, Liana helped them stand, still with a hint of amusement on her face.
The knights slowly raised their heads, their faces as if about to burst.
Behind them, the bodyguards were already silently snickering with mischievous expressions.
Part of it was due to the strange closeness formed during the little rivalry, and part of it was just because they looked funny.
‘They look like tomatoes…’
Liana thought for a moment but, fortunately, managed not to laugh this time.
“Since the wedding ceremony hasn’t been held yet, please address me as Princess.”
“Yes, Princess!”
After a simple introduction with the Bellrum Knights, Liana looked around.
In the distance, she saw a resting area that seemed to be for taking breaks.
“May we use that resting area for a while?”
“Eh? Yes! Please, feel free to use it!”
Dean, momentarily caught off guard, answered on behalf of the Bellrum Knights.
Since the commander Kion was absent, as vice-commander, he was responsible for the Bellrum Knights.
“Thank you, Sir Dean.”
Liana gave Dean a slight smile before turning to her bodyguards with a more serious expression and nodded.
“You, come speak with me for a moment.”
At her words, the bodyguards, huddled together and staring only at Liana, showed a mix of emotions. Some looked worried about being scolded, while others appeared indifferent.
In any case, Liana and her bodyguards moved to a new spot.
Fortunately for some, Liana did not get angry.
“I just met with the Chancellor…”
Liana briefly and clearly explained to her bodyguards what she had heard from Bernian.
Although the part about including ten imperial knights and that their selection would happen the day after the ceremony was slightly awkward—even though she had already been informed in Roun—the rest they accepted without issue.
After all, the bodyguards had all sworn their lives in loyalty to Liana; as long as she was their master, other conditions weren’t very important.
“…The annual pay is ten gold?”
“No, monthly salary.”
“Wha—?!”
…Perhaps money was a little important.
Once Liana held her ceremony in four days and began her formal empress training, the bodyguards could officially become her personal guard. They would still need to select ten imperial knights to include in the guard.
In any case, that meant the bodyguards would be recognized as an official knight unit and start receiving a salary.
And that amount was ten gold per month.
“Ten gold…?”
“…If I save for two months, that’s my entire fortune.”
“Let me give you a slap.”
Smack-
“Ah!”
Hearing Liana’s words, the bodyguards murmured in stunned confusion.
“…Master.”
Kyle, watching the scene, approached Liana carefully and called her quietly.
Liana, smiling warmly at her favored knights, turned toward him.
“Yes?”
After a brief pause, Kyle spoke in a low voice so others wouldn’t hear.
“If you’re giving us this salary because we followed you to the Empire….”
His words trailed off, cautious not to offend Liana’s pride.
Among the bodyguards, Kyle and Ail had been Liana’s knights the longest, so they were closer to her than the others.
That also meant they knew Liana a little better.
If it were the Liana Kyle knew, she would want to provide for them even at the risk of herself.
But Liana didn’t need that reason. She couldn’t neglect the bodyguards who trusted and were loyal to her.
She lightly shrugged, smiling.
“Ah, don’t worry about that. The salary will be given by His Majesty from his personal funds.”
“…His Majesty, the Emperor?”
“Yes. I was going to handle it from my own allowance, but His Majesty insisted on giving it. So don’t worry about it.”
“Then that’s a relief…”
Kyle nodded with slight unease, thinking, ‘…Their relationship seems to have improved.’
Liana’s mention of Ianhart made her expression subtly brighter than usual.
While continuing training, the Bellrum Knights kept glancing at the resting area.
The sight of Roun’s princess and her bodyguards, appearing cheerful, naturally drew their attention.
“…Are you not concentrating?”
The vice-commander scolded the knights sharply, yet his own gaze was fixed on Liana.
There was a reason for their attention.
Not only was the mysterious silver-haired princess the beloved of their master, the Emperor, but she was also a rare magic swordsman born with extraordinary talent.
Though the bodyguards had tried to look composed, their backgrounds were diverse, so their usual demeanor was freer.
Since Ianhart didn’t strictly restrain them, it wasn’t surprising that the knights’ personalities hadn’t become rigid.
“…Vice-commander.”
“What, you damn fools.”
“But your gaze is fixed over there too, Vice-commander.”
Ahem!
The vice-commander of Bellrum cleared his throat awkwardly as his gaze was called out.
One knight, watching with sharp eyes, spoke up.
“…Remember what the Chancellor said recently?”
“Ah, about selecting ten people to join under Princess Roun, right?”
A few days ago, Bernian had conveyed Ianhart’s wishes to the Bellrum Knights.
Procedurally, ten imperial knights had to be included in Liana’s personal guard, so volunteers were accepted to serve under her.
Of course, the proposal wasn’t only for the Bellrum Knights.
It was extended to all eight palace knight units.
Applications were free, and selections were entirely based on Liana’s standards.
“I heard that quite a few applied from the other units.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Even the First Knight Unit had several applicants.”
“Oh, I heard that too.”
“Me too. Just from what I heard, over fifty applicants already.”
“Seriously?!”
Fifty was more than half of a palace knight unit.
Considering tomorrow was the last day for applications, that number could increase further. It was highly likely.
Usually, applicants tended to flood in on the first and last days.
“…That’s impressive.”
“Well, Princess Roun isn’t an ordinary person, after all.”
She wasn’t just any princess—three months from now, she would become the Empress.
Of course, that alone wasn’t the sole reason for so many applicants.
Some were likely schemers seeking the opportunity—Dean guessed several applicants from the rear guard units fell into that category—but most were genuinely drawn by the reputation of Liana Robelin.
“Vice-commander.”
“…Yes?”
“Honestly, you want to apply too, don’t you?”
A knight with a mischievous grin poked Dean and asked.
“Yeah, that’s right! The Vice-commander has admired Princess Roun for a long time.”
“But earlier you didn’t even recognize her as Princess Roun.”
“That’s…!”
Dean flared up for a moment.
He hadn’t recognized Liana because he didn’t know her face.
Also, her appearance was completely different from what he had imagined.
So far, he had heard that Liana was a strong swordswoman, swinging a large greatsword like a branch in fierce combat.
But seeing her in person, she was breathtakingly beautiful and delicate.
“Hey, hey, don’t act like you didn’t know. You never even looked at the portrait, citing chivalry. It’s understandable you didn’t recognize her.”
Another knight subtly defended him, unable to explain the awkward truth.
But even this knight wasn’t fully on Dean’s side.
“So, Vice-commander, do you want to apply too?”
The teasing question made Dean sigh.
“I can’t, it’s not up to me. Didn’t you see only regular knights can apply?”
He answered with a slightly annoyed tone.
