The Black Lion Knight Order had a busy morning for the first time in a long time.
The knights and squires, who spent most of their days chatting and loitering under the guise of training, were now busy sharpening dulled blades and polishing creaking armor.
The servants, who already had a lot of trouble, were on the verge of going half crazy.
And, the Deputy Knight Commander, Agnes, who was usually overworked and stressed with all sorts of duties, was no exception.
“Why on earth is the training ground in such a bad state? Can't you tidy it up somehow!"
“Well, what can we do about the dented stone floor? We need to call a stonemason to fix this.”
“Haven't you been saying that for the past two months!”
“Uh, has it already been that long?"
As she looked at the administrative officer scratching his head while talking in a frustrating voice, she had to suppress the urge to stab the blade into that shameless face right away.
'Oh God. A person's soul is being tested here today as well. Please… '
With no one to rely on but herself, she muttered a prayer in her head today as well.
She barely managed to maintain this mess of a knight order virtually on her own, and the only thing that improved day by day was not her swordsmanship skill but her patience and faith.
Even though she struggled to maintain her composure by sheer force of will like that.
“Okay. Then let's leave that aside for now, but what about that commander bas… no, the commander?”
“Ah. He is preparing for the handover process in the office. He said to call him when the new commander arrives..."
“Aaaaagh!”
When she heard about the commander's whereabouts from the administrative officer, she eventually exploded.
“Handover process my foot, he's probably just cooped up in the office and lounging around! It's obvious even without looking!"
As Agnes began to scream and make a fuss, the administrative officer's eyes turned to her chest.
— Glance
The administrative officer whistled inwardly as he watched Agnes tearing out her hair. They were so distinctly large that they made the dull design of the uniform look lewd.
Whenever the deputy commander made violent movements, it created a feast for the eyes like this.
'Yes, it's just for this one thing that I keep sticking around with this asshole like knight order."
Couldn't something be done about it? No, it would be a terrible idea. She was a woman who hadn't given in until the end, even though that roughneck commander had been openly targeting her.
So it just being a feast for the eyes was enough. He thought so and spoke calmly, pretending he didn't know anything.
“Shall I call the commander?”
"No, forget it. I’d rather go myself. So that the administrative officer can do his best in his given duties until the end.”
“Ah, you mean organizing the handover data. I understand.”
Agnes swallowed a sigh as she looked at the back of the administrative officer as he disappeared with a swagger.
'You fucker... you think I don't know?'
Even in the midst of this busyness, he sat down and glanced at a woman's chest. When he doesn't even do his job properly.
Originally, he should have replaced it right away, but it seemed that incompetent people had some kind of a connection with each other, as the administrative officer was in cahoots with the commander.
'How is it that their actions are equally disgusting?'
It seemed even coming up with an excuse to run away was a hassle now, as that guy was also preparing for the handover.
Of course, the preparations for the handover had already been completed by Agnes alone. That, too, more than a week ago.
With both the commander, who was supposed to be the head that moves the knight order, and the administrative officer, who was supposed to be the supporting backbone, being so rotten.
As the deputy commander, her suffering could only become more severe.
"Haa..."
However, regardless of Agnes' suffering, there really wasn't much time left anymore.
The only thing that was properly arranged was the splendid title.
Until the arrival of someone unfortunate enough to be newly assigned to this Black Lion Knight Order as its commander, that was.
Agnes roughly ruffled her already frizzy light blue hair once again and shouted in a fit of anger.
“Black Lion Knight Order, all assemble!”
“All assemble!”
Still, seeing her subordinates lined up on the training ground, each bearing a plausible appearance in their own way as if they were all knights, made her feel somewhat relieved.
How long has it been since those pathetic subordinates made such a loud voice?
When that thought suddenly occurred to her, Agnes felt a deep sense of shame as she reflected on her situation where she had to feel moved by such a trivial and obvious thing.
“Black Lions! Are you ready to meet the new commander!”
"Yes! We are!"
“Good. Maintain your formation and stand by."
Agnes put her subordinates on standby and moved to the commander's office.
It was the same flow as the daily life of the Black Lion Knight Order. Whenever something happened, she would somehow manage to handle it alone and then report it to the knight commander.
But even that would end today. No, it had to end.
— Bang bang bang!
Agnes shouted, knocking roughly on the office door. Her clenched fists were filled with more force than usual.
“Preparations for the 13th Black Lion Knight Commander’s resignation ceremony and the 14th Knight Commander’s inauguration ceremony are complete! Only the Commander needs to come out now!”
"Is that so? Well done. I'll be out shortly."
“It's not shortly, you need to come out right now! There's less than 5 minutes left until the new commander arrives!"
Although it was an urgent situation, the door to the office did not open until another 30 seconds or so passed.
“Puhaha, the deputy commander is really attractive when she looks sharp. But was it necessary to keep it up until today?"
The appearance of the Knight Commander who came out of his office was truly a sight to behold.
He was not in uniform, but in disheveled everyday clothes. His face was scruffy due to not shaving. He even had blurry eyes, as if he had been sleeping until now and had just woken up.
Surprisingly, that was a neater appearance than usual. Still, at least he hadn't been drinking.
'He doesn't seem to have completely lost it. If he'd been drinking... '
Agnes bit her lip tightly as she looked at his appearance. She looked like she had a lot she wanted to say, but was barely holding back.
“… At least put on your uniform properly, even if it's just the jacket. The person coming now isn't your subordinate, is he, Commander?”
"Ah, yes. You're right. This... I wonder how great my successor will be."
The fact that he didn't even know who his successor was meant that he left the official document that came down without even reading it.
Until this very moment when he finally stepped down from the position of commander.
With the person at the top looking like this, there was no way the Knight Order could have functioned properly.
Even then, the reason the Black Lion Knight Order had not completely fallen apart until now was solely thanks to Agnes.
“By the way, it's been a while since I've worn the uniform, and it feels so stiff that it's a little difficult to put on. Deputy Commander, could you lend me a hand?"
“…Please stop talking nonsense. Could you at least please show the demeanor befitting the commander of the Black Lion for this last moment?”
When Agnes was glaring at the commander with contempt who was dilly-dallying on purpose while staring at her breasts.
A squire came running hurriedly to the front of the office.
"The carriage is just arriving. It seems the new Knight Commander has arrived!"
At the squire's urgent cry, Agnes hurried downstairs with a stiff look on her face.
Watching such a back of her with sinister eyes, the commander gave a faint smile.
"Shall we go, then? I guess it's finally time to say goodbye to this boring place.”
* * *
Agnes gulped in front of the two-horse carriage that arrived at the guard post.
Over the past few years, she had endured really dreadful days assisting the roughneck who was being protected by his family.
The reason she had persevered while resisting the urge to submit her resignation dozens of times each day was because of her sense of responsibility as the deputy commander of the Black Lion Knight Order, which she had been a part of since she was a squire.
And it was because of the hope that one day the right person would be appointed.
According to what she had heard, the person who would become the new knight commander was a war hero who had made great contributions on the battlefield.
If so, he would at least be better than the current knight commander, who resorted to tricks to secure his position.
With a glimmer of hope, Agnes waited for the carriage door to open.
— Creak!
“Glory to the imperial family! I'm the deputy commander of the Black Lion Knight Order, of the Ihelm Barony… uh…”
And in front of the new Knight Commander, Agnes, very tense as she attempted to introduce herself, momentarily lost her words.
Because the person who got off there was a giant who far exceeded her expectations.
"You're the deputy commander?”
The huge man wearing jet-black armor stood in front of Agnes, her head barely reaching his chest.
A tremendous sense of intimidation engulfed her. Agnes slowly looked up at the man with trembling eyes.
A knight was a superhuman being who transcended human limitations, and Agnes was no different.
Moreover, as the deputy commander of a knight order, she was far superior to the ordinary knights.
“Small.”
However, with one word from the man in front of her, she felt as if she had become prey facing a predator that she could not resist.
Agnes tried with all her might to resist the energy the man was emanating.
— Neeeiiiggghhhh!
“Uh, why are these guys like this all of a sudden? Whoa, whoa!”
The horses pulling the carriage the man was riding in suddenly began running wild as if going crazy, foaming at the mouth. Was it because they felt an instinctive sense of fear at the energy emanating from the man?
The suffocating, brutal atmosphere fortunately did not last very long.
“But you are sharp and well polished. You are an excellent knight.”
The man grinned at the very tense Agnes and patted her on the shoulder.
Then, the ferocious energy disappeared in an instant like a lie, and the horses that were running wild finally quieted down.
“Th-thank you!”
“I'm Wolfgang of the Schwarz County. I'll be counting on you, Deputy Commander.”
Although it was clearly just a light expression of affection, even that simple act contained so much tremendous power that it made her patted shoulders tingle.
'Was it a test after all... '
But regardless of that, the man's one remark began to ring in Agnes' mind again and again.
'You are an excellent knight.'
Since the disaster-like current commander was appointed, the Black Lion Knight Order had fallen so far that the brilliant figure of the past was nowhere to be found.
She had been carrying out her duties while enduring the man's insidious gaze and harassment.
But, this big man.
Although he looked more manly than anyone else, he did not even spare a glance at her chest, which was so cumbersome that she wanted to cut it off, unlike others.
Instead, he tested her skills, which she had quietly cultivated as a knight, and acknowledged them.
The difficult path she walked was acknowledged by such an extraordinary man.
In fact, it might have been nothing more than a simple greeting, but even so, Agnes was nothing but grateful.
How long had she been starving for such a warm word?
Looking at the man's scar-filled face, Agnes felt an unknown emotion welling up inside her.
“Now, where should we go? I want to see the faces of my new subordinates.”
“Ah. They're all gathered at the training grounds. I will guide you there.”
“I’m looking forward to it. I wonder how excellent the new subordinates will be."
However, Agnes couldn't help but feel miserable at the new Knight Commander's expectant reaction.
Certainly, even just from the brief appearance he had shown a moment ago, it was clear that the man was such an incredible person that it would be a shame to even compare him to the current knight commander.
On the other hand, the pitiful appearance of the Black Lion Knight Order, to which she belonged, seemed extremely shabby in comparison.
Of course, the cause of the downfall of the Black Lion Knight Order was close to a force majeure, resulting from a combination of various reasons, including incompetent leadership.
Nevertheless, she felt a strong sense of responsibility for not being able to prevent it.
'Haa...'
If only she had been a little more competent, if only she had come from a magnificent enough family capable of controlling an incompetent commander.
The Black Lion Knight Order would not have fallen this far.
“Is it there?”
"Yes, it is."
However, in a corner of Agnes' mind, hope slowly began to sprout.
This man, who seemed stronger than any other person she had seen.
This huge, dependable man who seemed to put everything under his feet.
Could he restore the glorious image of the Black Lion Knight Order, once called the sharpest blade of the empire?
'Yes, if it is this man. Perhaps...'
At some point, in Agnes's mind, she naturally pictured the majestic image of the newly born Knight Order, created by the man.
She also pictured herself standing beside the male lion, bigger and stronger than anyone else leading the pack of black lions.
As she imagined the future ahead, a faint blush adorned Agnes's face.
If you find something really out place, let me know in the comments.
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