“I am Demian, an Imperial Knight assigned to Her Highness the youngest princess’s palace starting today.”
“So you really came?”
Under normal circumstances, I should have been in the Academy dormitory.
But as expected, Yulia Rosehill was at the palace.
As an Imperial Princess, she was not particularly bound by the Academy’s regulations, so she could alternate between the Imperial Palace and the Academy like this.
“Was that not the promise? Above all, if I were to lie to you, Lady Yulia, even my family would be in danger.”
“Unlike my first impression, you’ve grown quite bold. That’s why I like you more and more.”
Swish.
Her hand touched my face.
“Where did a child like you come from?”
“Pardon?”
“Mm. Just talking to myself, Sir Demian.”
The gist of those words was likely that I had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, as if I had sprouted from the ground—someone who hadn’t existed in the past before the regression.
Well, there was no need to reveal that I was a regressor.
Either way, she and I each held a secret.
—You could call it a draw, in a way.
“First, say hello. You saw her that day, but this is Sir Cecilia Silvesta, my bodyguard.”
“I’m Cecilia Silvesta, Sir Demian. Our positions are quite different from back then, aren’t they?”
“Yes, Senior. I look forward to working with you.”
Despite her youthful appearance, Cecilia Silvesta was a fully-fledged twenty-four-year-old woman.
At a glance, she could be mistaken for a young noblewoman who had just enrolled in the Academy.
“Then I shall wait outside.”
“Do that. I was just about to prepare to leave for the Academy anyway.”
I gave a bow.
After greeting Yulia, I stepped outside.
When I came out, two knights dressed in Imperial Knight uniforms approached me.
“…Is something the matter?”
“You the new bastard assigned here?”
Their tone was incredibly aggressive.
This could only mean—
“You two. …You’re not Imperial Knights.”
Shwick—!
Reading my wariness, the two drew sharp concealed blades from their sleeves and swiftly hurled them at me.
But those blades never reached me.
Srring! Clang!!
Because I drew my sword and deflected them all simultaneously.
“What!?”
“How can a newbie…!?”
Perhaps because they had succeeded in numerous assassinations until now, they were visibly shaken by my swift response.
Even so, they were professionals.
Shhk!
“If you think this ends here, you’re mistaken!”
“Hup!!”
Drawing short daggers, they aimed for my flanks on both sides.
For knights trained in formal swordsmanship, a lethal strike targeting the sides is a fatal weakness against assassins.
After all, one must gradually learn countermeasures through real combat experience.
‘These guys must be the ones who have been killing Imperial Knights all this time.’
Fwoosh.
My crimson aura flared up around my sword.
‘Aura usage is forbidden inside the palace, but if a factor that could threaten the Imperial Family is discovered, it is permitted.’
‘They too are a threat to the Imperial Family by eliminating Imperial Knights, so using aura inside the palace is permissible. And if I capture them alive, I won’t be held accountable for this matter.’
Tap!
I stomped the ground once and surged forward, evading their attacks.
Not stopping there, I turned my head back to confirm their positions—
“There was no word of a knight who had awakened his aura being assigned here!?”
“Damn it…!”
Swoop!
I launched my body straight toward the point where they had gathered.
‘I’ll aim for their legs so they can’t escape.’
Contrary to that thought, I swung my sword as if aiming for their arms.
In combat, variation is essential.
There are countless knights who can read an attack’s trajectory.
That was no different for assassins.
Whoosh!
“Kuk!!”
“Block it!”
Schhk!!
As expected, they took stances to block, and my strike—aimed precisely for that—succeeded in severing the tendons of one leg each with my aura-wreathed sword.
“Kuaaack—!!”
“My leg…!!”
Confirming that, I sheathed my sword and drew out a rope I had kept at my waist.
It was a restraining rope used to capture and bind those who occasionally sneaked into the Imperial Palace.
“What is this commotion?”
“?”
While I was binding them with the rope, a man with the same hair and eye color as Yulia Rosehill appeared.
As if he had been waiting.
Of course, I knew very well who he was.
‘The Third Prince, ‘Maximus Rosehill’…’
Maximus Rosehill.
He was the Third Prince of the Rosehill Empire and one of her enemies who most actively sought to isolate Yulia Rosehill.
He was quite far behind in the line of imperial succession, having fallen into gambling and debauchery and landed himself in the Emperor’s disfavor.
Because of that, he was extremely hostile toward Yulia Rosehill, who enjoyed considerable favor.
Even though she was at the very end of the line of succession.
‘…So it was this bastard’s doing? Removing the Imperial Knights assigned to protect Yulia Rosehill all this time?’
Disguising assassins as Imperial Knights was impossible unless one possessed considerable power.
But if it was a prince?
“…I greet you, Prince Maximus Rosehill.”
“Ho? You know me?”
“I am an Imperial Knight; how could I fail to know the faces and names of the Imperial Family?”
“Quite the capable one. It’s a terrible waste for my sister. Along with the young lady Cecilia.”
He smirked.
Maximus smiled repulsively and extended his hand toward me.
“How about it? Won’t you become my knight? Judging by how you subdued those scoundrels without injury, you seem quite skilled.”
“Whether they are scoundrels or Imperial Knights, how would Your Highness know that? Perhaps I simply picked a fight with them and subdued them.”
“….”
His eyes glinted.
He glared at me in silence.
Creak.
“What is the matter?”
“…I had just subdued some presumed assassins, Your Highness. And at that moment, Prince Maximus arrived.”
“Ah….”
Goodness, what an act.
To think she would appear on the scene playing the role of a naive youngest princess who knew nothing of the world.
It was probably to avoid showing her true self to Prince Maximus.
“I shall temporarily confine these individuals in the palace underground dungeon. I will secure information through interrogation on who sent them.”
“A mere Imperial Knight does not have such authority.”
Prince Maximus interjected.
‘So they really were sent by this bastard.’
“No. The Commander has stated that in cases like this, it is permissible.”
Cecilia Silvesta cut into the prince’s words.
The House of Count Silvesta was a prestigious knight house that wielded strong power in the Empire.
Above all, her talent was unquestionably the best even within the House of Count Silvesta.
That alone was enough for her to intervene in the words of a prince who had fallen out of the Emperor’s favor.
Moreover, with the mention of the Imperial Knight Order’s Commander—who enjoyed the Emperor’s deep favor and was called the Empire’s greatest swordsman—Maximus had no choice but to back down.
“In that case, wouldn’t it be better if I managed them instead? You must lack the knights to handle these people in your palace right now, Yulia.”
“I shall handle that part myself, Prince Maximus. Just as Sir Cecilia guards Your Highness, I intend to protect Her Highness in my own way.”
I could see that bastard’s scheme plainly.
If his name came out of these assassins, it would be disastrous, so he wanted to handle them himself.
But that could not be allowed.
The biggest reason I had accepted Yulia Rosehill’s proposal and insisted on being assigned here was so that she would not become the Bloody Empress.
Therefore, keeping this one in check—who had been the first among the many princes and princesses to launch a preemptive strike—was necessary.
Above all, since he had continuously eliminated Imperial Knights, who were assets of the Imperial Family, he would surely face punishment.
If things went well, I could neatly remove Prince Maximus, that eyesore, right before my eyes.
Thus, handing over the captured assassins was impossible.
“…If there is anything difficult, speak up anytime.”
Swish.
Prince Maximus turned and walked away.
He left quietly because there were many eyes watching, despite his quite angry demeanor.
“Will you come in for a moment, Sir Demian?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
At Yulia Rosehill’s call, I entered her room.
And as the door closed—
“Pfft!”
“Your Highness?”
“Ahaha—! Did you see Maximus’s expression earlier?”
“Hmm….”
“Don’t worry. Even if I mock Maximus here, only Cecilia and I will know. Hehe.”
“He looked extremely angry. I’m a bit worried I might face some retaliation.”
I showed a somewhat worried attitude at Yulia Rosehill’s words.
Because that was how a mere ordinary Imperial Knight should naturally act.
“And yet, you spoke without hesitation? As if a prince’s anger was nothing.”
“Not at all. It was simply because I thought I must remain faithful to my duty. Of course, failing to consider the aftermath was a blunder. Haha….”
“Don’t worry. I will thoroughly protect your safety, as well as your family’s. So just keep acting as you are now. Alright?”
“Understood….”
Somehow, I had gotten through it.
And her protection would be unnecessary.
Because I intended to thoroughly work over those bastards I had just captured alive and secure their testimony.
‘It’s been a while since I used that technique.’
◈
“Have you investigated what I asked you to investigate?”
“Yes, Prince Maximus.”
Rustle.
A knight who was not an Imperial Knight handed a sheet of paper to Prince Maximus.
“Name: Demian. He is the top graduate of the Academy’s Knight Department who newly joined the Imperial Knight Order this year. The information was highly classified, so we failed to ascertain that he was a knight who had awakened his aura.”
“A commoner, then?”
“Yes. However, he is the biological son of that ‘Giant Slayer.’”
“Giant Slayer? Surely you don’t mean that ‘Siegmund’?”
“Yes.”
“So he was the son of a big shot not easily trifled with. Tch.”
“We have confirmed that Siegmund still has friends from his mercenary days around him. It is a situation where even if you wish to make an example by killing his family, it cannot be done.”
Bam!
Prince Maximus slammed his hand down on the desk.
“Damn it…!”
“I shall take responsibility and eliminate them. There will be no chance of your actions reaching the youngest princess’s ears.”
At his anger, the knight spoke words to reassure Prince Maximus.
To this, Maximus glared fiercely at him and replied.
“That is how it must be… Because if not, neither I nor you. And my mother would not be safe either.”
“Yes, sir!!”