“It’s a black lion.”
Stroking the front paw of the giant lion statue made of black marble, the princess muttered in a tone that seemed somewhat subtle.
“I heard that Sir Wolfgang was recently appointed as the commander of this knight order.”
Her voice rang out beautifully, like the chirping of an oriole.
But compared to that beautiful voice, the content of the conversation that could be heard was not so beautiful.
And it was the same for the deputy commander, the princess's conversation partner.
"Interestingly enough, this lion statue truly resembles Sir Wolfgang's gallant figure. Don’t you think so, Sir Agnes?”
“It does indeed. Although it looks big and scary, it looks as if it has a gentle nature on the inside, much like the commander.”
"...Hmm, is that so? It seems that Sir Wolfgang felt quite the pity for you, who took charge of the knight order that was on the verge of collapse alone."
“Yes, indeed. The commander is the one who cares about me a lot personally, and thankfully he even gave me clothes as gifts yesterday evening.”
“W-what?! Cares personally? Clothes as gifts?”
I didn't know why on earth they had thorns sticking out of every word they said.
And, why was the Deputy Commander talking like that?
I did indeed introduce her to a tailor who made custom-made clothes ahead of schedule, impressed by her dedication of working overtime voluntarily to prepare for the unit visit.
I also did say I would bear the cost, and even gave advice that it would be better for the health and work efficiency to order a more comfortable design than now that meets the uniform standards, if possible.
So technically, it was correct to say 'a personal gift of clothes', but doesn't it sound strange if you say it that way?
—Tingle
Besides, why on earth was the princess looking at me with such dreadful eyes?
Could it be that she still harbored anger from that night?
“As you can see, my physique is a bit unique, so the commander is usually very considerate. Unlike the previous commander, who used to harass me with his eyes, he is a person I really appreciate.”
“Oh, really? It must be really uncomfortable for a knight. It must be very difficult to swing the sword around with that lump.”
“As a woman, it's a blessing, but as a knight, it is as you said, Princess.”
“Then...”
“But thankfully, I was able to be recognized for my skills and dedication by the empire. All of this must be the grace of His Majesty the Emperor.”
Listening to their conversation, I felt ashamed.
It was clearly a conversation between an excellent female knight who rose to the position of deputy commander at a young age and the apple of the eyes of the empire.
But the level of the conversation was similar to that of young children childishly arguing.
“Glory to the Imperial Family, eternal loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor.”
“A-ahem! Let's end this conversation here."
Still, looking at the flow, it seemed like the deputy commander won in the end.
Even though the content was extremely absurd, if you were going to fight in the same childish way, wasn't it better to win than to lose?
Baroness Young Lady, who Subdued the Princess of the Empire. It seemed like a good title for a cheap popular novel.
"Haa…"
Truly, it was really done well.
Seeing that ridiculous sight made my head ache, so I looked up at the sky to catch my breath and thought.
'How on earth did this happen?'
About an hour ago.
Obviously, at first, the princess's inspection of the unit proceeded extremely peacefully and smoothly, despite the entire knight order turning upside down.
Of course, once the schedule for the princess's inspection of the unit was decided, the servants and squires stayed up all night from that moment on.
In the end, even the knights, who were originally supposed to focus only on practicing martial arts and tactics without doing any chores, were mobilized for the beautification activities of the unit.
However, the princess who came to inspect was surprisingly uninterested in the combat power of the Black Lion Knight Order or the facilities they had diligently maintained.
No matter what I showed her, her reactions never deviated from the two frameworks ‘Wow! ‘That’s amazing~’ or ‘Hmm, I see.’ and she just followed me around like a baby bird.
So, rather than visiting to point out the numerous flaws of the Black Lion Knight Order that night's revenge, or to harass me and my subordinates.
I thought she might have come all this way because she just had something to tell me, so I tried to create an opportunity for us to be alone quietly.
But it seemed like the atmosphere started to get a little strange due to the unexpected situation that suddenly arose.
When the princess wanted to talk to me and dismissed the escorts, and I tried to send away the subordinates who had followed along to guide the troops.
'Ah…!'
The deputy commander, who had not been able to leave work for several days and was suffering from overwork while preparing for the unit visit, collapsed with a scream.
Since the deputy commander was already complaining of the tightness in her chest and having a hard time, I thought that the worst situation had come.
'Oh no! Are you okay, Deputy Commander?'
So I hurriedly approached and helped the poor deputy commander up by supporting her body.
Now that I think about it, the princess's expression seemed to have hardened slightly since then.
'Oh my, how tired must he have been... Shouldn't the deputy commander go home now? To push the subordinates this hard, Sir Wolfgang must be a very harsh superior.'
'… No. I have shown a disgraceful appearance due to my own inadequacy. It's all something I wanted to do, so I prepared on my own. The commander never forced me to do anything.'
And the atmosphere between the two became strange in earnest after roughly that kind of conversation.
‘Hmm… I see. I made a slip of the tongue.'
'Slip of the tongue? That's nonsense. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to ask me. I have been staying here since I was a squire.'
At least I was able to clearly notice that it wasn't a conversation filled with good feelings.
Since I had no talent for dueling, which is done with tongues rather than cold weapons, I had no idea that the language of the two women contained a lot of bones.
And now, back to the present.
Practically, we had now toured almost all the major facilities of the unit.
There were only a few places left that were too ambiguous to introduce separately or too trivial to bother to examine closely.
As we moved along the well-paved road without any particular purpose.
On the unique route of unit inspection that involved visiting all facilities sequentially as much as possible.
The journey slowly reached its conclusion, and the three of us naturally returned to the central training ground, which marked the starting point of our journey.
'Phew, I'd rather be out fighting. I almost suffocated to death.'
It was when I was trying to ease my mind a bit, thinking that such a big event was still somehow ending without any major incident.
"Now, this place. The central training ground is the place where Knight Commander Wolfgang's inauguration ceremony was held.”
With just a few words from the deputy commander, the conversation unexpectedly drifted toward reminiscing about events from my inauguration.
“Wow, the inauguration ceremony… Somehow, I don’t think it would have ended normally.”
“Your intuition is at a truly mystical level, Princess. It’s just as you said.”
But, for some reason, the cold atmosphere that lingered between them suddenly became amicable again.
“Ahaha! Really?! He did that?”
“Yes. It was honestly a little funny to see him hurriedly running away, crawling on the ground. Even though Sir Pietro was my former superior, he was honestly not a man worthy of respect."
I couldn't even fathom what the reason was. It was definitely not a very entertaining story.
Honestly, when I thought about it now, it was just a shameful memory from my perspective.
But perhaps there was something funny about it, as the corner of the mouth of the deputy commander, who rarely smiled unless she was alone with me for the regular report, went up.
The princess was also laughing, openly covering her mouth.
As a result, before I knew it, I was left to quietly listen to the conversation in the background, as if I were a sack of barley placed on the side.
The deputy commander had a very cold-hearted and calm personality that did not match her feminine appearance.
Apart from the inevitable gender dynamics, I had treated her no differently than my male subordinates.
“He is truly a manly and respectable man. Knight Commander Wolfgang, I mean.”
“Hmm, does Sir Agnes have such thoughts as expected...”
Seeing her falling into a world that I could not understand with the princess, I wondered if a woman was a woman after all.
The world of women seemed truly complex and subtle.
“Yes. That’s right. I want to remain loyal to the commander for as long as possible by his side.”
"I see. I understand your thoughts well."
But listening to it, I felt quite ashamed by the content of the conversation.
I hadn't done much yet, but the deputy commander was showing such loyalty to me.
Of course, they might just be empty words, but even if they were, I still felt grateful to the deputy commander. To be honest, I was a little touched just now.
'Yes. That's it.'
Also, the emotions I felt just now made me even more certain. She truly seemed like a subordinate that I didn't want to lose.
I had experienced losing my close subordinates countless times during the war, so I deliberately avoided forming attachments, except for a few subordinates whom I led during my early officer days.
But now that the war was over. Wouldn’t it be okay to develop at least one new relationship deeply?
'An excellent subordinate... I must make sure to never let them go again.'
Assuming that the deep loyalty that the deputy commander just showed me was sincere, not empty words.
I would do whatever it took to keep the deputy commander by my side.
So that she never got hurt.
So that she never left without permission.
'Lieutenant, I apologize for being able to stay by your side to the end.'
Although Second Lieutenant Laurent, who followed Lieutenant Schwarz, commander of the 21st Assault Group, couldn't be protected in the end.
Deputy Commander Agnes, who followed Sir Wolfgang, Commander of the Black Lion Knight Order, would never be let go.
Until I lost my strength and judgment as a commander.
Or, until she left my side on her own.
* * *
'It can't go on like this!'
The Empire's princess, Alicia von Diana Solaris, was currently in a great crisis.
“The schedule is almost over now. You've worked hard, Deputy Commander."
“No. It’s all thanks to your reliable support, Commander.”
“Honestly, what have I done? You did all the actual work.”
While Alicia found herself being treated like a completely uninvited guest.
Wolfgang von Schwarz, who was still shaking her heart, was having a friendly conversation with that big female cat with ignorantly large breasts.
Of course, after talking to her, it didn't seem like she was that bad of a female cat. But this subtle emotion she was feeling right now was a completely separate issue from that.
Clearly, Alicia and Wolfgang had no relationship yet.
But, most importantly, it was Alicia who met Wolfgang first.
That night. Didn't she even allow Wolfgang to see her in a shameful state that she could not express in words?
However, that vile man did this and that to Alicia, princess of the empire, without hesitation, and was now playing with another woman without even thinking of taking responsibility for it.
And that too in front of her with her eyes open.
‘After all the trouble I-I went through… '
Alicia felt her eyes welling up with tears at the injustice she felt.
The plan had already fallen apart.
Moreover, things shouldn't have gone like this. If everything just ended without anything happening...
Wouldn't it be as if she, the princess, was defeated?
Alicia held the hem of her dress meaningfully as she looked at the two people ahead of her.
'As expected, is this the only way?'
Current Paid Chapter: Chapter 13 - A blade That is not Dull
If you find something really out place, let me know in the comments.
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