Chapter 10
I understood their stunned reaction. I had been shocked too when I first saw Regen.
That didn’t mean I was going to let him become a spectacle, though. To block their gaze from reaching him, I deliberately stood very close in front of him.
“Rosasia greets Princess Lilliana and Princess Sehera.”
“Goodness, you startled me. Could you step back a bit? This is uncomfortable.”
“I was just so happy to see you. Are you on your way back to the main palace?”
“We were out for a walk.”
Behind Lilliana and Sehera stood two knights at attention.
It seemed they had been wandering around the imperial palace to show off the knights they had newly acquired.
I wasn’t as interested in their knights as they were in Regen, but I was still curious. Our interests aligned.
“Shall I introduce my knight?”
“Go ahead.”
Regen stepped forward himself.
“I am Regen. I greet the two Imperial Princesses, masters of the Crimson Bloom Chamber and the Early Summer Chamber.”
The names of the princesses’ residences were akin to titles. It was a flawless greeting. Memorizing palace etiquette and names was probably something Hamel had arranged.
Lilliana spoke in a tone that anyone could tell was meant to assert her pride.
“Hm, now that he’s been cleaned up and dressed properly, he looks fairly decent.”
“You couldn’t take your eyes off him.”
At my words, the beauty mark under Lilliana’s left eye twitched.
“It’s just that his face is too much for a knight, so I looked! Don’t get so full of yourself. With a face like that, he actually looks weak. A knight’s appearance should be like Sir Yulis—perfect.”
At her gesture, the knight stepped forward.
“I greet Her Highness the Silver-Bird Princess. I am Yulis.”
The man with sky-blue, shoulder-length hair had absolutely no expression on his face.
His emotions seemed not just subdued, but completely cut off. There was something unsettling about him.
He felt less like a living being and more like an object.
As I stared into his cold eyes, he quietly returned my gaze with his violet ones.
In that brief moment, I gauged his mana. At least third-tier—a powerful knight.
If he wished, he could probably wipe out an area the size of this imperial palace with ease. Of course, that assumed no opposing knight intervened.
Lilliana puffed up with pride.
“See? You keep looking at my knight too. Want him?”
“What a misunderstanding.”
“Well, if you beg earnestly, I might lend him to you. Not permanently—just two or three days?”
“……”
In the imperial palace, the more displeased you are, the more you must smile like a flower. But this moment made that extremely difficult.
At that moment, Sehera cleared her throat, apparently wanting to join the conversation.
“Jerome, you should greet her too.”
“I greet Her Highness the Silver-Bird Princess. I am Jerome.”
He was a man with ash-gray hair tied long like a tail. His voice was heavy and confident.
But standing near him, I felt an unpleasant, prickling mana.
‘What a crude trick.’
This man named Jerome was picking a fight with Regen through sheer presence. Since Regen’s mana core was damaged and barely detectable, he was clearly acting threatening.
The type who flaunts strength to the weak. I dislike that.
“Princess Hera has excellent taste indeed.”
“Everyone says that. You should’ve chosen better too. Jerome didn’t even need treatment—but Sir Regen doesn’t seem to be healing well?”
Sehera stepped right up to Regen and clicked her tongue at his eyepatch.
“He doesn’t look fit to be a knight.”
“……”
“Isn’t it fatal for a knight to be missing an eye? With only half your vision, you’re only half a knight. Still, it’s fortunate you’re handsome. You can always do something other than being a knight, right?”
“……”
“Hm? Is Sir Regen deaf too? There’s no response.”
At that moment, I felt something Lilliana had stirred snap completely because of Sehera.
“Oh my! Sasha, look at you smiling only with your lips. How scary. Why are your eyes like that? I was just worried about you—don’t tell me you’re angry?”
Ah. So that’s it. I’m angry right now.
I closed my eyes tightly, then opened them again and smiled.
“Princess Hera, you just crossed a line.”
“What?”
“If you realized I was angry, you should have quietly stepped back. Not pointed it out.”
If a princess reveals her emotions, she must naturally exact a price.
“Sir Jerome.”
My voice carried a strong vibration—something beyond the physical. The owner of that name reacted.
“Uh…!”
He made a foolish sound and bent one knee halfway. He tried to stand straight again, but his trembling legs wouldn’t cooperate.
When the gap in dominance is large enough, you can even take another’s knight. Jerome was on the verge of submitting to me instead of Sehera.
“W-what is this? Sir Jerome! What’s wrong with you?”
“……”
“Sasha! What is this? What are you doing?!”
As you can see, I was about to seize her knight with my authority and humiliate him.
‘I’ll show you which one is truly half.’
Jerome wasn’t even half. I could dominate a hundred of him.
At that moment—
“What is all this noisy commotion?”
Princess Orlete appeared.
“Princess Lete.”
“Ah, Sister.”
“…Rosasia greets Princess Orlete.”
What a shame. If she was going to come, she should’ve come earlier—or later.
Reluctantly, I gathered my authority and released Jerome.
Lilliana and Sehera openly welcomed Orlete’s arrival. Since she usually opposed me, they assumed she was on their side.
The scene about to unfold would likely meet their expectations.
“Sasha, you cause trouble wherever you go.”
“They insulted my knight, so I was merely protesting.”
“Is that trivial knight more important than your sisters?”
“A knight’s honor is more important than sibling squabbles. Or is your standard of judgment different, Sister?”
Lilliana and Sehera eagerly egged things on.
“Look at her—so insolent even before her elder sister.”
“We might expect it, but to act like that even toward Sister Lete…”
“It would’ve been nice to wrap this up around here.”
Right then, Orlete narrowed her eyes and took a breath—a habit she had before speaking harshly.
“Did you enjoy your week?”
I couldn’t respond. I didn’t understand what she meant.
“You must not have wanted to come out. It must be a shame. You probably want to go back to your room.”
“Seeing you makes me want to go back, yes.”
“Ah, I see. It must have been quite satisfying. Judging by your knight’s face, I can imagine why.”
As my confusion weakened my stance, the two princesses beside her proudly offered a hint.
“There’s a rumor that you stayed shut in for a week because you were keeping your knight.”
“You take after His Majesty—quite… vigorous.”
…Are they insane?
I couldn’t bring myself to look back at Regen.
“My knight and I are above reproach.”
“Let’s go with that.”
The conversation ended, leaving me feeling like I had lost.
As Lilliana and Sehera left with satisfied smiles, a new figure filled the space—the Empire’s Golden Deer.
Nanaen, with honey-like golden hair braided voluminously, approached me, the end of her braid swaying like a tail.
“Oh my, sisters, hello. It’s a shame I missed something interesting. What were you talking about?”
“We were discussing the rumor that Sasha spent a week with her knight day and night.”
“I was curious too—is it true?”
“We’ve decided it isn’t.”
It was an uncomfortable topic to discuss with Regen right behind me. I needed to shift the focus.
“The audience is gone, so why are you picking a fight? More importantly, Sister Lete—did you meddle with your own knight?”
“Are you insane?”
“You don’t stop men from kneeling at your bedside, do you?”
“That’s different. That’s nothing but coercion by force.”
“That’s a surprisingly proper moral standard for the imperial palace.”
I only wished Lilliana and Sehera would learn even a little from it.
After speaking, both Orlete and I turned to look at Nanaen at the same time.
The Empire’s Golden Deer read the unspoken question—“And you?”—and lifted her chin confidently.
