CHAPTER 1 KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND
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This was the "Knight King’s Space." On the floor was a carpet
with the story of the gods embroidered on it, framed with golden
ears of grain. Hanging on the ceiling was a wooden chandelier and
on the carpet was a beautiful patina table made of deep evergreen
oak. Out of the same wood were chairs scattered around the room
adorned with carvings on its boards, enough to be considered as
unique art pieces—creating the same pattern would be impossible.
There were three people in this room "today." One of them, a
man with a golden mane resembling that of a lion, rested his feet
on the priceless desk like it was nothing and faced Leti with a wide
grin on his face.
"Your mood is fouler than usual, Queen Leticia. When are you
in right now?"
"You are annoying, aren't you, King Alexander? I am in right
after I was proclaimed to be the next queen and was just refused
by stupid man.”
The man called King Alexander laughed out loud as if Leti’s
predicament was something pleasant, rubbing Leti's nerves the
wrong way.
The silver-haired man sitting on a distant chair inserted a
bookmark into his book before closing it to join the conversation.
“There is no need to be impatient, Queen Leticia. I had the
experience of bowing down fifty-five times to someone until he
agreed to be my knight.”
“I have heard of that story so many times already in my own
time and it has been passed down as your impressive anecdote,
Administrative King Karlheinz. It is now considered as an idiom,
‘fifty-five bows.’ So was it really fifty-five times?”
“I see it was passed down quite accurately. It was a good thing
I kept a diary then.”
“If it were me, I would leave an order to burn all my diaries
when I die since I only rant in there. I might wish to die again even
if I already did if I would be known as the Ranting Queen,”
snorted Leti.
The One-handed man laughed listlessly at Leti's little speech.
“It will be fine since it is, after all, you, Queen Leticia. If it
were me, I will probably be known as the Traitor King or Wrecked
King… no… maybe there won’t even be subjects left to give me
such a title…”
“You are dark as usual, King Oswald. When are you in your
time?”
“I’m on my fifth year of war. I escaped here even though I
know I should not.” One-handed King Oswald’s sigh was heavy.
Given the dark atmosphere, Leti declared that she would be
going back when King Alexander said something to her.
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“Queen Leticia, there is no need for you to follow what that
stupidly serious Karlheinz said. Those who agree because you
bowed down to them only want sincerity.”
“Then what do you suggest I do?”
“Hmmm… if it were me, I would have beaten them to a pulp
and made them swear the Knight’s Oath, but since you are a
woman, the fastest way is to stage a dramatic act, like making him
believe that it is destiny.”
“Destiny?”
“Men are weak against those things, you know? So just follow
what your uncle says.”
“How many “great” shall I skip to trace you? Besides, the
dynasty has changed already after your reign, so I am supposedly
not a direct descendant from your line.
Anyway, I think there is some merit in the advice given by the
Lion King Alexander, who has never lost even one battle during
his reign, so I will give it some thought.”
Leti left, saying her agreement with King Alexander and
thinking about her next step.
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Leti woke up to the chirping birds and warm sunlight in a cool
day. She felt a bit confused from the lack of the wooden
chandelier hanging on the ceiling when she remembered that she
had already gone back to reality.
“I probably go the Knight King’s space a lot recently because I
wanted to escape somewhere.”
Lion King Alexander was there right before a revolution
happened – led by his friend and trusted Prime Minister. For
Administrator King Karlheinz, it was after he was betrayed by his
beloved wife, while One-handed King Oswald was in a dire
situation at war.
All of the kings in the Knight King’s space had one thing in
common whenever they went there: they were at a loss on what
they should do. So for the other kings, they surmised that they
would be seeing Leti frequently during the time after she was
announced to be the heir to the throne.
“Come now Your Highness, the next queen, Queen Leticia, we
have to make our second bow today!” said Leti to herself.
Ever since the present king announced on Leticia’s
seventeenth birthday last month that she would be the next queen,
her maids were strangely spirited for some reason. While her maids
were busily working themselves, Leti was drinking her morning tea
in pure sophistication.
Leti thought that a husband need simply be a decoration
beside her and she would not be giving him any power over the
Kingdom’s politics and government, but it was still an undeniable
fact that selecting her husband was an important part of her job.
“I shall work after this, so no one is allowed to disturb me
until I say so. Bring to my room the portraits and documents
Prince Friedhelm and Prince Guido brought over.”
The maids obediently followed Leti's orders and carried into
her room the portraits of her husband candidates, burying a third
of her spacious room. Leti was nauseated with the number of
portraits, but she still locked her door and prepared to work.
“…Well then, let’s start.”
Leti took off her beautiful dress, released her feet from her
high heels, changed into a fresh new dress, and wore durable
walking boots that she was fond of recently. She removed all of
her accessories and simply tied her hair with a velour ribbon. Leti
looked at herself in the mirror and declared her Princess incognito
outfit complete.
Without any hesitation, Leti leaned forward outside her
window and leapt to the nearby tree. This had been always her
escape route ever since she was a child. The people who see her as
the perfect epitome of a princess would find it hard to believe that
she had been doing this for a long time.
“All right. Perfect score.”
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Leti praised herself as she got out of the castle without anyone
noticing her. She dusted off her skirt and arranged her dress as she
walked.
“The Royal Chivalric Order should be coming around here for
their patrols…”
Leti ordered her servants to investigate the schedule of Duke
Barchet, who had the nerve of refusing her in front of everyone.
Using the information her servants gathered, Leti decided to
ambush Duke while he was on duty.
“Hello there! Today is a good day, isn’t it?”
“Oh Lady Cia, long time no see! Are you out on a date today?”
Leti talked familiarly with a lady that passed by. She had
escaped the castle many times to go and walk around the town
near the castle, pretending to be a daughter of a poor baron.
Unlike her brothers Friedhelm and Guido, the people only knew
Princess Leticia by her name and the description that she was as
beautiful as the late First Queen Consort, so she could easily go
out and wander around town.
“There is someone I would like to be my knight but he refused
me, so I wanted to ambush him and have him say ‘yes’ to me.”
“My, my, so there is someone who would refuse a beautiful
young lady like you…”
“I am sure he has high ambitions and wants to be knight of a
princess from a high ranking family.”
It was normal for a powerful, high ranking family to have
several knights. But for a daughter of a low-ranked family, having a
knight was equal to having a lover. This was where Duke’s refusal,
‘I do not want to be known as the Leftover Princess’ lover,’ came from.
While chatting idly with the lady, Leti scanned the street for a
certain someone. Then a tall man, noticeably a head or two higher
among the crowd, wearing a sour expression on his face caught
her eye.
There you are!
Leti took a step forward, raised her arm and called out to him.
“Duke! I was waiting for you!”
For a moment, Duke wondered who that woman waving at
him was when recognition hit him. He immediately scanned the
area to search for Leti's guards. Leti decided that Duke’s skills as a
knight was tolerable when she saw his instant alertness upon
recognizing her.
“See that tall person? He is the one I wanted to be my knight.”
Leti pointed out Duke, now pushing his way through the
crowd towards her. Before Duke could even reprimand Leti and
ask what she was doing there, she wrapped her arm around his
surprising him with the unexpected act. He tried pulling away his
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arm, but Leti tightened her grip on him while keeping a sweet
smile plastered on her face.
“Oh my! ‘Duke’ is such a regal name, isn’t it? Let me see…
Well, aren’t you a fine young man, Mr. Duke. Why did you refuse a
fine, young woman like Lady Cia?”
“Huh? No… This is…”
“Is it because of a difference in social status? Are you an earl?”
“No, I’m a son of a baron…”
“Then you’re just equals! There isn’t any problem, is there?”
Duke glared at Leti. His look said, why in the world am I being
interrogated by a woman I don’t even know? But Leti kept her poker face
and did not help him in redirecting the woman’s chatter.
A man joined in their conversation. “Or maybe ya wannabe a
member of the Knights of the Round, don’t yah, Mista Duke? Our
next ruler is a queen, after all.”
“Hahaha! But isn’t it impossible for someone like you to be a
Knight of the Round? So why don’t you just give up and be Lady
Cia’s knight!”
The two strangers laughed amusedly while Duke straightened
his back and did his best to keep a smiling countenance.
Being made fun of makes me want to say that the next Queen you’re
talking about had already offered me the first seat to her Knights of the Round
and I flatly rejected her.
“Duke, how about we talk while walking? I know you are still
in patrol duty.”
“I think that’ll be best.” I cannot stay here any longer.
Duke said the required niceties and they took their leave, with
him dragging Leticia by the hand as they were swallowed by the
crowd.
After putting some distance and going to a less crowded place,
Duke released his anger. “Oi! What are you doing here ALONE!?
Where are your guards?”
Leti twirled around, showing Duke her outfit as if saying, ‘Did
you not realize it?’ But his face did not show any understanding.
“I am out traveling incognito, in disguise. I escaped from the
castle.”
“Huh? For someone appointed to be the next queen, you sure
are a carefree person. That’s the reason why you’re called the
Leftover Princess. ”
“Leftover Princess? Let them say what they want to. They gave
me that title as a Princess and not as a Queen,” Leti said flatly,
flipping her hair over her shoulders with her hand.
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“You can call this a job, you know, like information gathering.
Information gets distorted as it gets farther from the source, so I
sometimes go out to gather it directly since most of the
information regarding the town will be so distorted once it reaches
me in the castle and I already find it to highly unreliable.”
“Is that so?”
Duke was on guard with their surroundings as he listened to
Leti's story, since she went to town alone and unescorted and he
would have to protect her if something happened. But for Leti, she
had no need for a guard, for she was strongest when alone and can
move freely.
“I agree that what you’re doing, listening to your people, is a
good thing as their next ruler, but I feel that you are already
familiar with them. Why is that when you were appointed to be the
heir just last month?”
“Indeed, what you said is correct. My succession to the throne
was formally declared last month on my birthday but I already
knew… I already knew I would be queen. I only did not how it
would happen but I was sure that I would be. I did not bother
telling anyone about this because I was sure no one would believe
me.
Anyway, I will be dragging you anywhere and everywhere to
hear the stories around town. Let us start now. We still have a lot
of places to go to.”
“Huh? No, we’re going back to the castle. I’ll send you home
now!”
“I will forgive your casual speech today but speak with me in
that manner again tomorrow and you will find yourself crying
because of treason. Are we clear? Yes? Then let us go over there.”
Leti pointed out an accessory shop across the road and she
went inside to take a look at ribbons. Since Duke could not
possibly say goodbye and leave her, he – in his Knight uniform –
unwillingly followed the princess into the shop. Seeing a knight
approach his shop, the shop owner promptly went out to greet
him and ask if there were anything wrong.
“Uhm… No… I’m just with her…”
“Ah, I see. You’re Lady Cia’s lover, are you not? A beautiful
lady and a courageous knight – what a perfect couple!”
Duke wondered how everyone they met came to that
conclusion. But if he told them that they were not lovers, they
would surely ask him how they were related. Since he did not
know Leti's setting for her disguise, he could not say anything
careless.
“Young man, you know, this is the time when the man pays
for his lady. If you’re not careful about these kinds of things, you
might find yourself abandoned in the near future.”
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Even though Duke thought that he would be rather glad to be
abandoned, he still grudgingly took out his wallet and paid for
Leti's ribbons. He could not fathom why she, the princess of the
kingdom, would have to buy her ribbons in this little shop when
she probably had more than enough ribbons for her to use in a
lifetime.
“Here, have some tea.”
“Why, thank you!”
“Thanks.”
Leti started a conversation with the shop owner as they drank
their tea. Their topic was, of course, the season’s hottest news: the
next queen. The shop owner said that the next queen was
apparently a very beautiful princess, and Leti threw in her
complete agreement. It seemed that Leti did not have the charms
of being shy or modest.
“Have you met her, Lady Cia?”
“No, a poor baron’s daughter cannot possibly have met her,
though I have seen her from afar. How about you, Duke?”
“…From afar… yes…”
“They said that Princess Leticia is a very splendid princess. I
heard that she was the one who suggested and built the hospital in
the west and the orphanage in the south. She was also the first one
to donate for our festival here.”
The two princes competing for the crown, Prince Friedhelm
and Prince Guido, focused on the military and foreign relations.
Leti, on the other hand, was more active in promoting education
and welfare. She had two reasons for doing so: one, to avoid her
brother’s eyes, and two, to get the hearts of the citizens. The good
opinion that people had of her was proof of her hard work
throughout the years.
Leti brought Duke everywhere she went to listen to the stories
and opinions about the next queen. They had the consensus that if
a civil war would be the result of either one of the princes
ascending the throne, then it was a whole lot better if the kindhearted
princess succeeded the crown. Everyone welcomed the
idea of having Princess Leticia as their next ruler.
After walking for a long time, Leti finally decided that it was
time for her to go back to the castle.
“…Your reputation is quite good, huh?”
Duke complimented Leti as they walked towards the castle.
His family was part of the peerage, though barely making the cut,
and he had considered himself to be more affiliated with the Royal
Chivalric Order so he was quite naïve when it came to the world
of the nobles. But even someone like him only knew Princess
Leticia as a kind and delicate princess before she was selected as
the successor to the throne, but this changed to be the meek and
beautiful ‘Leftover Princess.’
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“I know that I am popular among the common people;
however, the nobles and members of the peerage consider me as
unimportant and that irritates me.”
Leti had three objectives for this particular incognito walk.
First was to gather the latest rumors and gossip. Second was to
know more about Duke as person, and third, to show Duke how
good her reputation stood with the citizens.
Based on Duke’s reaction, Leti judged her plan a complete
success. His opinion of her was slowly changing, moving away
from the ‘Leftover Princess.’
Leti thought that this is the perfect chance to attack him. “So,
did you change your mind about being my knight after hearing
how good I am?”
Her first move was to lay down some of her cards on the table
to gain his trust. This kind of game was Leti’s specialty.
“Let me tell you the reason why I selected you.”
Leti turned around and faced Duke. Her eyes were the same
last night, filled with insight that could not possibly be owned by a
woman. Had Leti been a man, Duke would have asked her for a
duel.
“I already knew that I would be queen. I just did not know
when or how, but thinking about it logically, there is a high
possibility that both of my older brothers were already dead so I
never thought of establishing my own chivalric order.”
“You knew?”
Duke convinced himself that it was probably through fortunetelling
or some prophecy, but Leti’s eyes told otherwise. Her eyes
plainly say that she just simply knew.
“I wanted my brothers to be protected by the best of the best,
so I did not mind even if the best knights were recruited to
Seventh Heaven or Valkyrie. I did not want to succeed the throne
because they died. But that did not happen and now, I am in a
predicament of completing my Knights of the Round with the
rejects – those that were not selected by either of my brothers. So
am I supposed to have my knights that could only even be
considered as tolerable? This is unreasonable!”
“There’s no helping it… you started late in the race.”
Duke understood Leti's point. The two princes, Prince
Friedhelm and Prince Guido, both had the abilities and qualities of
a King; it was natural that the talented knights would gather
around them. So all of the knights left for Leti to choose from
were those that were not chosen by either of the princes. Being
grouped among them somehow hurt Duke’s pride, but he would
not think about it for now.
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“So if there is one among the rejects who can fill the First seat
of the Knights of the Round, then that will be you, Duke Barchet,
only you.
Duke thought that indeed, Leti was not just a Leftover
Princess. Seeing her think and analyze about this matter made him
feel that she may have in her the makings of a wise ruler. However,
that alone was not enough for him to be her knight and bow down
to her as his master.
“Princess, Your Highness, I…”
Duke suddenly sensed that something was wrong. He swiftly
pulled Leti near him and covered her with his back. Soon, three
street thugs came out of the shadows.
“Hey lady, we’re a bit short on cash here, why don’t ya lend us
some?”
“You have a knight with you, of course you have some money
there.”
Duke readied his hand on his sword, clicked his tongue and
asked Leti in a whisper, “Your cover’s not yet blown, right? Three
professional assassins will be tough to handle even for me, you
know.”
Duke was well aware how dangerous Leti's position was as the
heir to the throne. She did take away the crown from her two
brothers, regardless of whether she had a part in it or not. If truth
be told, there were probably more people who would want her in
harm’s way rather than protect her. The three men might be
normal thugs, but the worst case was that they were assassins sent
by someone who thought Leti as a big hindrance in their plans.
Duke’s mind was already in a swirl of possibilities for this situation
compared to Leti's calm demeanor and somehow indifferent sigh.
“Are you seriously telling me that?”
“Huh?”
Duke thought that Leti would call him stupid since she looked
like she would, but instead he got a pat on his shoulder.
“The only person I know to be more beautiful than I do is
Prince Guido. Do you not think it is quite natural that a knight
dating someone as beautiful as me will be asked for a duel or two?”
“Don’t call yourself beautiful. Try and be a bit modest, won’t
you?”
“For someone with my beauty, I think being modest simply
sounds sarcastic. … You can handle something like this, can you
not? Do what you have to do and do not mind about your back at
all.”
Duke thought that answering her with the decided “yes, yes,
you are beautiful” or “I don’t think so” was just troublesome and
maybe sincerely complimenting her might give a more refreshing
reaction.
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…though shy and modest women are cuter and more to my liking.
Duke still had a few things to say but decided that it would be
better focus at the task at hand.
“If you back down now, you’ll be leaving without a scratch.
But if you dare lay your hands on her, don’t think that this’ll be
over with a wound or two.” ‘Cause if you do anything to her, the princess
and the next queen of this kingdom, you might regret you did anything. Be
prepared to receive a capital punishment for that.
Duke charged towards the attackers and the battle started.
“His swordsmanship is indeed one of the best I have seen. I
am glad that he is as good as the report says.”
The scene playing in front of Leti was enough to send a
normal princess crying, but Leti was no ordinary princess, and she
watched the fight intently. Duke, despite fighting one against three,
had the upper hand in the battle and he had yet to draw his sword.
He hit them either with the hilt of his sword or his fist. His
fighting style was in no way elegant and fit for a Knight, but this
also meant that he had the confidence to win without even
drawing his weapon.
Leti watched over the fight with a satisfied smile on her face. It
was better than she had expected. Then she felt an additional
presence from behind, drawing her attention from the battle in
front.
“More company? Just when I had the chance to watch Duke in
action…” I guess it cannot be helped then.
Leti turned around to face the new comers and snapped her
finger.
“Oi! Are you ok?”
“Yes, I am fine. It was a complete win against three opponents
without even a single scratch. They were not that strong, but it was
not easy either. You really are fit to be a knight, to be my knight.”
“—Hey!”
Duke found two unconscious men lying on the floor beside
Leti. He asked Leti who they were with his eyes and Leti replied by
looking down at the men as if saying that he noticed it too late.
“Maybe they were planning to get your attention first, then
their other members would attack me, but too bad for them
because I know how to defend myself.”
“Even so! You should have called my attention when you
noticed that there were others! Do you know how dangerous your
situation is!? What would you do if you got hurt!?”
“I was the one who said to you that you need not worry about
your back. I just wanted to keep my word.”
“Huh?”
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“But that is not the whole of it. I also wanted to show you that
I can fend for myself, that I was not just a beautiful princess and to
have you owe me by protecting your back. That was why I finished
them myself, but I guess it had the opposite effect and made you
worry. You are a kinder person than I thought you were.” Leti
smoothly shrugged off Duke’s anger.
Duke felt awkward when Leti pointed out that he was worried
about her. He convinced himself that it was normal for a knight to
worry about the future queen and that his worry was nothing
personal. Yes, I was worried for the next queen and not because I care about
her.
“Senpaaaaaaai!1
Someone reported that a beautiful lady is in
danger!”
An optimistic voice from the sky broke the two’s awkwardness.
They looked up to see where the voice came from when their
vision suddenly turned dark and a human form was going down
straight at them. Even the calm Princess Leti could not hide her
surprise.
“Kyaa!?”
1 Senpai : a Japanese honorific for someone’s senior
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The person who jumped from the roof and landed perfectly on the
ground was Duke’s junior, Astrid Gale. He stood up quickly as if it
were nothing. He looked at Duke and noticed Leti standing beside
him.
Astrid stared at Leti's face, thinking that she somehow looked
familiar. Duke thought that it would be bad if Astrid recognized
her so he quickly went between them to block Astrid’s view, but it
was too late.
“…PRINCESS!?”
Duke grabbed Astrid’s head and dragged him closer.
“She is in disguise right now due to certain circumstances so
keep it low. Do not tell anyone this, got that?” Duke said with his
threatening voice known to make a crying child cry more. Astrid
was overwhelmed with Duke’s presence and nodded accordingly
while repeating Duke’s words, saying that he would not tell this to
anyone.
“Astrid, I’ll be sending this beautiful lady home so can I leave
things here with you?
And another thing, how many times have I already told you
not to run on the roofs? We had already received a complaint that
an elderly woman nearly got a heart attack when she saw you doing
that.”
“Eeeeh… but I cannot run in full speed on the road because
of the people. Besides, I thought that it would be better if I reach
the crime scene as soon as possible, so I decided to use the roofs
as shortcuts.”
Duke sighed, feeling tired with all the things happening. He
wanted to give Astrid a long sermon but lost the energy to do so.
This was one of the reasons why Astrid was known as a tensionremover.
He was a knight with skills enough to go up the top, but
his character was not suited to be one. Duke decided to put off his
sermon for now since ensuring Leti's safety was more important
than disciplining Astrid.
“I’ll listen to your report later at camp. Do you need any help
or reinforcements?”
“There are quite a handful of them, so I will appreciate it if
they could spare some hands.”
“Got it. I’ll have them send some help.”
Duke and Astrid did the necessary exchange for the transfer of
authority. Then, Duke firmly held Leti's shoulder, shielding her
away from Astrid’s sight as they walk away. Leti did not even have
a chance to say a word and was forced to walk without further
discussion. She snuck a look at Astrid Gale and committed his face
to her memory.
“You have a quite pleasant junior, Duke.”
“… I’ve got no complaints on his skills but…”
“His name?”
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“Astrid Gale. He is from a commoner’s family but he does
have the skills enough to be the leader of the Order. It is no
exaggeration that he is the type of person that comes once in a
century.”
Leti only saw Astrid as a young lad with red hair and gentle
green eyes. His presence was more of a baker in training than that
of a knight of the Royal Chivalric Order. But to hear Duke praise
him openly, Leti thought that he was worth being investigated.
Based on Duke’s assessment, he can be one of my Knights, but if he really
was that good, then it is highly probable he is already someone else’s…
“Is he already someone’s honorary knight? Is he already a
member of someone’s private order such as Prince Friedhelm’s
Seventh Heaven or Prince Guido’s Valkyrie?”
The word ‘knight’ in Sommevesle had two meanings.
One was royal knight. This referred to the members of the
Royal Chivalric Order established to protect the peace and order
of the kingdom. To join the Order, one had to study for two years
in the Knight Academy regardless of social status, commoner or
noble. After graduating from the Academy, an entrance exam
would be taken to join the Order, and only those who passed it
became a full-pledged Knight of the Royal Chivalric Order.
The other meaning was honorary knight. Once a person swore
allegiance to a master, he could already be considered as an
honorary knight. Honorary knights come in many types. There
were those who acted as bodyguards to their master, and there
were those were simply knights by name and were selected due to
their cleverness and skills. There were also some who simply
wanted to flaunt their master’s connection and rank.
Seventh Heaven and Valkyrie were the private chivalric orders
established by Leti’s brothers. Members of those two orders were
all talented and superior knights that no one would dare contest.
“He is currently not serving anyone, but I know he is receiving
invitations to join several orders. If you want, I can formally
introduce you to him,” Duke suggested to Leti, hoping that she
would give up on him, but Leti did not give it a second thought.
“No, thank you. I currently have my eye on one knight right
now: you. What was that we were talking about again? Before all of
this commotion happened? ...Right.”
Leti turned around and faced Duke.
“I was able to observe you, albeit a short time. When you
accidentally met me in the street, you kept your composure and
calmly scanned the area to ensure my safety. Your fighting style
was not tied down by aesthetics and your insight is not clouded by
age or social status. Out of all the rejects, you really stand out. Now,
I want you to be my knight even more.”
Leti’s feelings changed from Duke being “the only one” to
being “the one.”
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“Duke Barchet, I order you to be my knight. Gratefully accept
the first seat in my Knights of the Round. Hurry up and bow
down to me!”
Duke rejected Leti's previous invitation with a simple “I refuse,”
but this invitation was different from the last. The words were the
same but the weight behind those words was different. Duke
decided to not run away and replied with the same gravity.
“I felt the sincerity in your words now, so I shall give you an
honest answer in return. I wanted to be Prince Friedhelm’s knight.
And I still feel the same. That’s it. No matter how appealing you
might be as a master, you are not Prince Friedhelm and never will
be.”
Duke and Friedhelm were classmates in the Knight Academy
and they became friends easily. Duke believed that Friedhelm
could be a good king and wanted to support the kingdom together
with him. Friedhelm, too, felt the same way. So after graduating
from the Academy, Friedhelm asked Duke to be his knight, but
due to the structure of the peerage, where Duke’s family was under
Guido, he refused Friedhelm’s offer and decided to stay under
Guido out of duty to his family.
Leti answered nonchalantly to Duke’s obvious refusal. “Until
here is fine. It will be more troublesome if they find us.”
When they reached the castle’s wall, Leti set her foot on the
space in the wall and easily lifted herself up to the top. Duke was
thinking about having that gap filled in to prevent her from going
to any of her incognito walks as he watched the princess climb up the
wall.
“Regarding your answer a while ago…” Leti spoke to Duke
from atop the wall, wearing a confident smile on her beautiful face.
“I take it that you have trusted me enough to reveal your true
feelings to me.”
“Were you even listening to what I said, Your Highness?”
“Yes. Listen I did. But only listen.”
Leti went down the wall after saying that, disappearing from
Duke’s sight..
She really is just as the rumors say, a beautiful princess. But the rumors
are not complete. Because inside, she is the perfect queen. Her high-handed
personality and self-centeredness reminds me of someone…
“But with this, I can say that Sommevesle’s future is safe.”
Duke thought that the Leftover Princess would definitely be a
brilliant queen and that it would be better if she could get excellent
people to support her. But some part of him underestimated her
persistency and thought that if he continued rejecting her offer,
she would come to give up on him eventually.
Astrid, left to clean up the scene, was tying each person lying
on the floor unconscious with a rope. The only thing left for him
32
to do was to wait for the others to come and help him bring the
rogues back to camp for further questioning and write the incident
report.
“One versus five… Duke-senpai is really amazing.”
Astrid walked towards the two unconscious men who had
been lying on the floor beside Leti to confirm if they still had any
weapons hidden in them. Upon inspection, he found that each of
the men had one red straight mark on their nape.
“One hit on the neck rendered them unconscious. It’s already
hard to cause a concussion, and to make it this cleanly—Dukesenpai
really is amazing. He probably did this with the sword’s
sheath.”
Astrid looked at the direction where Duke and Leti walked.
I wish I had the chance to fight these men with Duke-senpai.
But Astrid had no way of knowing that Leti was the one who
rendered these two men unconscious, so it would never cross his
mind to wonder how she defeated them without any weapon on
her to make those red marks, as if from a sword’s sheath.
A nostalgic scent was swept by the wind, calling out one of
Astrid’s buried memories and stopping his movement momentarily
as he inspected the unconscious men.
“Which one of them is him?”
As soon as those words came out of his lips, Astrid – the
speaker himself – wondered about the meaning behind those
words.
Leti had a high reputation as the perfect model princess. That
was true until she was announced as the heir to the throne, and her
reputation dropped down to the leftover princess. This was true,
even to her father, the current king of Sommevesle.
The leftover princess, who suddenly became the successor,
should be groomed and taught about subjects necessary to become
a ruler, including politics, law and history. To do that, the king
assigned the top scholars in the kingdom to be her masters. That
part of the plan was fine until then; Leti also liked to assure her
father that she was giving her time and effort to improve herself,
so she attended her classes diligently. However…
“Princess Leticia, Prince Leonhardt has come.”
“Let him in.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The history master her father assigned to her was none other
than her younger brother, Prince Leonhardt.
Leonhardt Zur Kreutzer was the third prince and the fourth
child of the king. He was known as “The Genius Historian, fourth
child of the king and the third prince”—also known as a weird and
34
eccentric person. Most thought that this reputation, which he also
used as his self-introduction, was the perfect description of him.
Leonhardt greeted Leti cheerfully. He, among all of the king’s
children who were all already known as eccentric, sparkled as the
oddest ball in the lot.
“Good morning, Ane’ue2
! You seem to be in a good… I mean,
not so good mood today! Hahaha… The story, or rather the rumor,
about Baron Barchet’s son rejecting you has spread in the castle
like wild fire, you know? Fufufu…”
If Leonhardt would only groom himself up even just a little, he
would be branded as handsome as his sister. Together with Leti,
they would be known as beautiful siblings, sharing the same
blonde hair and steel blue eyes. But that was all wishful thinking, as
Prince Leonhardt cared not a single cent about his appearance. He
was wearing a shabby white coat as a jacket and a pair of glasses
that strangely reflected light too strongly enough to cloud the
glasses itself. His manner of speaking also maximized his lungs’
capacity to the fullest without caring to whom he was speaking
with. These characteristics wasted his handsome face, and he
enjoyed the people’s disappointment.
“I do not mind if it spreads like wildfire. It should spread
enough to reach the houses of the noble families lest it will be a
problem for me. That way I can ward off those who wanted to
2 Ane’ue: A Japanese honorific for calling one’s older sister. (More formal and
old-fashioned than the normal Onee-san)
have Duke as a knight for their daughters. They would not want to
get Princess Leticia’s favorite knight, would they?”
The reason why Leti dressed up glamorously when she invited
Duke to be her knight despite knowing it was out of place was to
have people talk and gossip about it. If this story had even reached
her brother, who was normally ignorant about these kinds of
things, then her plan was a success.
“I chose Duke Barchet because I thought he was the best one
among the rejects, but he was better than I expected… But
enough about me and my knights. Tell me, what are those papers?
Do not tell me, you have decided to be a teacher for real?”
Leonhardt brought with him a small chalkboard, a stack of
paper, and a single book.
“This is a history book, though its contents are more of
bedtime stories, hahaha. Then, these papers are from Friedhelmani’ue3
. I met him on my way here. Here you go.”
Leti took the history book and placed it on her desk. Then she
took a sheet from the stack of paper and crumpled it into a ball
after glancing at it for a second.
“He really does not know when to give up…!”
“What is it? Lemme see?!”
3 Ani’ue. A Japanese honorific referring to one’s older brother (More formal and
old fashioned than the normal Onii-san)
36
Leonhardt dumped the papers on the desk, then picked up and
straightened the piece of paper Leti had just crumpled. On the
paper was a portrait of a man and his personal information, such
as the name and family lineage. Leonhardt soon understood that
the papers were of a husband candidate for Leti.
“Why, isn’t he a good-looking chap? But you cannot trust
portrait artists to draw exactly how the models look like or they
might lose their profession ahaha! Hey ane’ue, doesn’t he look a bit
like Friedhelm-ani’ue?”
“Are they not related? I mean he is from the Friedhelm
faction.”
Leonhardt continued to press the issue like he was selling
something. He kept on telling Leti the good points of the man, like
his good social status and that he was too good a catch to let go, et
cetera. He spoke like this topic was not wholly connected to his
sister. He was Leti's only full brother, yet he only saw the situation
as amusing and made fun of it.
“Silence. You are the last person I want to talk about marriage;
you are single yourself. Better just use that mouth of yours to talk
about your research. You make more sense when you do.”
“Yes…yes… shall we start our lesson?” Leonhardt declared,
and wrote something on the chalkboard he brought with him. Leti
thought that his eccentric personality was represented clearly by
his peculiar handwriting, which rose upward to the right.
“Our first topic is about Sommevesle’s first king, the Knight
King Christian. It is also not clear whether he really existed or not,
right?”
The founding king of the kingdom felt more like a legend than
an ancestor. Sommevesle’s children were raised hearing King
Christian’s adventures as bedtime stories.
“The world of man was in chaos due to Evil. One god named
Christian descended from the heavens and transformed a part of
god’s power into swords and granted these swords to man. So
Christian with his 12 disciples defeated Evil and founded the
Kingdom of Sommevesle. This kind of legend of origin can easily
be found in any country, right?”
Leonhardt gestured at the board with his pointing stick and
traced the name written on the board.
“I already know that.”
“Ahaha. Of course you do. I forgot about that. If you were
born and raised in Sommevesle, you should have heard about this.
Sorry about that. Ahahaha. But. Hey. Don’t you think the name
given to the swords of the Knight King kind of lame? ‘The
Knight’s Swords’ is not really creative. Or is it just me?”
Leonhardt wrote with his right hand ‘the Knight’s Swords’ on
the board.
38
“I had the same opinion… So? I also happen to know that
already.”
“Ahahaha. Yeah, you’re right. Then the god’s power was
divided into twelve swords known as the ‘Promised Swords’ and
given to the twelve knights who swore loyalty to King Christian.
They held their military meetings over a round table where
everyone is equal and can freely share the opinions. This practice
continued to be passed on until it became a tradition that is
continued on today. This is where “the Knights of the Round” is
believed to be originated. But the stories after that are blurry and
feel more like to be fiction. Why? Because old Knight King’s
Sword was preserved, even though it is old and is stored as a
national treasure, but not even one of the twelve Promised Swords
were left.”
“How many times do I have to say it to you? I already know
that… argh! This is a waste, a total waste of my time. Why must I
take the lectures of my younger brother? Moreover, the lesson is
about a fairy tale told to every child in the kingdom when it is time
to go to bed!” Leti exploded. She could no longer take any more of
the stupid lesson while Leonhardt continued to write on the board,
and laughingly said that there was nothing Leti could do about it.
“Our father, the honorable king, was the one who decided to
select you as his heir to prevent a civil war between the factions of
the first and second princes. So he thought that he had to groom
you in becoming a ruler.
I said that I met our eldest brother a while ago right? I
properly greeted him. I said, ‘How are you doing, Prince-that-willdivide-the-kingdom-into-two?
Are you enjoying your day filled
with thrill knowing the other has sent assassins targeting your life?’”
“As for me, I am enjoying the perfect day. Ever since it was
announced that I will succeed the throne, their competition has
somehow cooled down, giving me a respite from it.”
“Scary!” Leonhardt blurted out as he shrugged his shoulders.
For her brothers who do not consider her as a sister, Leti simply
returned their sentiments and did not think of them as her
brothers either.
“And since we’re at it, let’s talk about this important thing for a
king of this Kingdom.”
Leonhardt wrote Knights of the Round on the board.
“For your information, Father particularly emphasized that this
is the one topic that I should discuss thoroughly with you. But I
know you have already tired of this topic, so I’ll say this quickly.”
“Yes. Please do. At three times your normal speed.”
When Leti was a child, she was told that there was no need for
her to study history, law, political science and the ways of a ruler
because the throne would definitely be succeeded by either of her
elder brothers. But Leti still studied all of these, so these classes
her father asked her to take were really unnecessary. However, in
40
order to appease her father, who thought she needed them, she
had no choice but to come and attend.
“Okay, let’s start with the question, ‘What is a knight?’ Knights
draw their swords only to protect the Kingdom. This is the motto of our
Royal Chivalric Order; their swords are to protect and not to hurt.
But if you look at it from the enemy’s perspective, they are getting
hurt, right? Hahaha. But I think saying that they protect all of
Sommevesle is a bit far-fetched, don’t you think? So, just as there
are kings who dream of world peace and yet simply care for the
safety of his family, the idealistic aim of many knights is to serve
the country, and their realistic goal is to vow loyalty and swear
their allegiance to their chosen master.”
There were several honorary chivalric orders around the
kingdom. Two of the most famous ones were the Seventh Heaven
of Prince Friedhelm and the Valkyrie of Prince Guido. But the
most famous and most prestigious of all chivalric orders was the
Order of the King, the Knights of the Round.
Leonhardt drew a circle around the words Knights of the Round
to emphasize his point.
“Our older brothers Friedhelm and Guido both created their
own private chivalric orders in preparation for their ascension to
the throne, right? They might have even thought to complete all
twelve when they became the King. But they were pleasantly
disappointed!”
Both of the princes had gathered skillful knights to their
Orders, so that making them Knights of the Round would not
bring shame to the name. Leti had been relieved because of this
fact, but with the way things were now, the situation was just
frustrating.
“Then on the coronation ceremony of the King… Oh, right!
When will your coronation ceremony be?”
“The earliest might be in a few years. Father seemed to be
thinking of establishing a stable Queen Leticia administration while
he is still healthy and can still control our two older brothers.”
If Leti happened to ascend the throne because of her father’s
death, there was a high possibility that her two brothers or their
supporters would attack the newly established administration. So
Leti was indeed grateful for the King’s intention of letting her take
over the crown while he could still act as her guardian.
“I see. During that coronation ceremony, each one of your
Knights of the Round will take their stand in front of the pillars in
the throne room when you take your oath as the ruler of the
kingdom. There are twelve pillars, and you should have twelve
knights by that time. Completing the twelve knights is your current
mission, but until that day, will you …”
Leonhardt questioningly looked at Leti – stilling his gaze on
her in the middle of his ramblings made him look a little scary.
“…be able to do it? Ahahaha!”
42
“Of course I can. I will get twelve knights and none of them
will be less than worthy of the title.”
Leti's eyes sparkled, her eyes oozing with determination. In
contrast was Leonhardt, who folded his arms and nodded in
thought.
“But I think this is where you have to compromise, Ane’ue. All
of the good knights are either in Seventh Heaven or in Valkyrie
already.”
“In this kind of situation, I do not care even if I have to steal
them. Or maybe it will be more interesting if I just make our two
older brothers my knights?”
Leti knew that she would inherit the throne. But that was it.
She did not know what kind of a ruler would she be, and that
uncertainty had poked her on the side so much recently that it
already hurt.
Leti's first task as the heir to the crown was to gather twelve
knights to fill in all the seats in her Knights of the Round. She had
decided that she would only get the best of best. A half-hearted
Knights of the Round was only fit for the Leftover Princess and
not the queen she wanted to be.
“I recommend the commoner but talented rookie, Astrid
Ga— waaah!”
Leti threw the history book at the babbling Leonhardt, cutting
him off. Then she graciously grabbed and flipped the hem of her
dress and walked out of the room.
“Ane’ue?”
“I shall go and court again the Leftover Princess’ lover.
Listening to you made me realize that I should hurry up. So for
that point, today’s lecture had meaning.”
Leti left Leonhardt in her room. Three guards then prepared to
follow her as her escorts but she waved them off to leave her alone.
The guards were perplexed for a moment, and Leti used this
opportunity to run away and go to the Royal Chivalric Order’s
Camp.
The knights were startled when they saw Leti walking into
their camp. Some could not even prevent themselves and started
whispering with each other. Leti was not bothered with their
useless gossip and simply continued to walk on towards her target.
“… Why, if it isn’t the next queen, a good day, Your Highness.”
Leti's target was, of course, Duke Barchet. Duke’s expression
clearly showed that Leti was just a pain and he wanted her to give
up on him already. But when he noticed that she did not have any
guards with her, he immediately scanned the surroundings.
“Your Highness, what happened to your guards?”
44
Leti became the heir to throne by overtaking her two older
brothers. It is obvious to everyone that until she became queen—
no, even she had ascended the throne, her life would be in
constant danger. But despite that, Leti was again outside, alone
without any guards, and Duke was alarmed for her.
Oi, oi, oi, what is her guards doing, letting her wander off again alone like
yesterday!?
“…Oh, yes. It is dangerous for me to be alone. I know that,
but I have some business to do in the inner room. What shall I do?”
Leti did not stop in her steps and continued to walk towards
the inner room.
“Don’t move! I’ll get someone to escort you!”
“You are addressing me again in a casual manner. Repeat.
Yesterday is already over.”
“…Please stay where you are, Your Highness. I shall call
someone to accompany you."
But Leti did not lend an ear to Duke’s words and proceeded to
go further into the hall, so Duke was left with no choice but to be
Leti's escort.
Tsk tsk. Darn it. This woman left her guards on purpose to make me
follow her!
Duke scanned the area, hoping to meet someone’s eye, but
every one of the knights in the camp averted his gaze away from
him. If only his junior Astrid—who idolized the princess—were
here, he would have passed this task to him, but unfortunately he
was nowhere in sight.
“Princess! Your Highness!”
“Shhh! This is no longer the Order’s Camp, so will you keep
quiet?”
Duke clicked his tongue one last time and gave in to his fate.
He followed Leti wherever she intended to go, realizing that he
had just fallen perfectly in her trap.
I can’t simply abandon her. It’s not like we’re totally unrelated. I fully
understand that this Leftover Princess has the difficult task of keeping her
neutral stance. I of all people, truly understand that feeling.
Leti continued to walk deeper down the hall, feeling grateful
for Duke’s innate kindness. Then she stopped upon reaching a hall
that stretched for some distance, the Gallery of Kings.
“This is where the portraits of the kings are placed. This is the
first king, the ‘Knight King Christian.’”
Duke saw the portraits of the Kings lined up and arranged on
the walls for the first time. The way the portraits were painted
varied per time period, and he was so amazed by the paintings that
he stared at them quite seriously.
46
“The twelfth king, Lion King Alexander and beside him, the
thirteenth king, Revolution King Julius. King Julius killed his
master, Lion King Alexander, and he never justified what he did.
He had his portrait painted with him holding the crown instead of
wearing it to tell the future people that this crown was never his.”
“Such a story would make one wonder why he started the
revolution in the first place.”
“Who knows? Even the Lion King himself did not know the
reason, so how would I know?”
“You sounded like you’ve asked him directly. Is he your
acquaintance?”
Leti did not reply to Duke’s banter and simply took a few steps
forward, then stopped.
“Lion King Alexander never lost a single battle during his
reign. In contrast to that, the eighteenth king, Administrative King
Karlheinz, never waged a war or started a single battle with other
countries. King Karlheinz, together with his Queen, rebuilt the
country that was turned into rubble because of the war. They
focused on internal reform and diplomacy. He was truly a wise
monarch. The idiom “fifty-five bows” came from him.”
“Was that about him bowing fifty-five times in asking
someone to be his knight?”
“Yes, that is it. How about you? How many more times shall I
bow my head before you agree to become my knight?”
“…Have you ever bowed your head down to me? I don’t
remember seeing you bow down yesterday or even the day before
that.” Duke unwittingly retorted to Leti's statement, and she just
replied, “Is that so?” and continued to walk on. She stopped in
front of an empty space where no portraits adorned the wall.
“My painting will be placed here. I wonder what my title would
be.”
“I pray that it will not be a bad name.”
Leti uttered the same prayer in her heart.
What kind of a ruler will I be? What posthumous title will they give me?
Will I be known as a wise monarch like the past and future reincarnations of
the Knight King? These were Leti's fears, which came from the fact
that she knew herself perfectly – that she could not win against her
two older brothers when it came to having the qualities and
disposition perfect for a king.
“The face of the Lion King Alexander, the abilities of
Administrator King Karlheinz, and the personality of One-handed
King Oswald.”
“Ha?” Duke said, not understanding the meaning behind Leti's
words.
“The traits of my ideal man.”
48
If Leti told this to anyone, many would take it as a joke to
mean that her standards were high that she could not find a man
to like or that she had no need for a husband. Duke was starting to
think that way, but he noticed the true meaning behind her words
upon seeing her stern profile.
“Aah, I see. Your ideal king. But I do not know who the Onehanded
King is.”
Duke noticed the truth behind Leti's joke. As she gazed at the
portraits, he saw envy, jealousy, and self-doubt reflected in her
eyes. He suddenly remembered Leti’s age—she was but a girl who
had turned seventeen the previous month. For a twenty-three year
old man like him, Leti was just a child. Yet the way this princess
confidently stood with her back perfectly straight made one forget
that she, this young lady, carried a heavy responsibility on her
shoulders.
“No, they are my rivals.”
“Yes, yes, rivals…right. Rivals.”
“They really are rivals. You do understand that, do you not?”
Leti was unusually irritated. The reason was probably because
Duke was able to see through her and read her true feelings. She
indignantly turned her back on Duke, who was saying his
condescending agreement, and she walked eight steps deeper into
the room.
“The portrait of One-handed King Oswald will be placed here,
and a little bit further will be the portrait of the Heart-broken King
Ludgar. It seems that he and the succeeding kings are no longer
directly descended from my line.”
“Huh?”
“We are going to the Knight King’s Space. Follow me.”
Leti ignored Duke’s questioning look and continued to walk
deeper into the hallway and stopped on a spot where the walls
continue endlessly.
“This is the Knight King’s Space.”
“…Hmmm, but I only see walls here. Is it something that can
only be seen by the royal family?”
“What do you mean? This is just a wall.”
Leti did not say outright ‘are you stupid?’ but her attitude and
tone says otherwise. Before Duke could even ask his question of
why she was showing him a wall, Leti spoke.
“The Knight King’s Space is a room with no doors. That is
why no one can enter it.”
“You mean like a hidden room?”
“Not really.”
50
The Knight King’s Space did not even serve the purpose of an
emergency shelter. It was simply a structure surrounded by walls
all around. Duke knocked at the wall several times and wondered
what the room was really for.
“Does making a room like that have any meaning?”
“From what I heard, the Knight King Christian had the room
made. Shall I ask him if ever we meet? I would also like to know
the reason.”
“Yes, please do… the interior, I think it is hollow judging from
the sound, but it doesn’t sound like it was filled in by rocks or
stones so I guess it really is a room.”
Duke thought that maybe it had been enclosed by walls
accidentally when it was built when Leti started to speak and
pointed at it.
“Embroidered on the carpet is the story of the gods, framed
with golden ears of grain, and on the ceiling hangs a wooden
chandelier – the kind no longer seen around here. On floor, above
the carpet, is a patina oak table. Chairs created out of the same
wood are scattered around the room. All of the furnishings are
adorned by carvings so beautiful, they could be masterpieces of art.
They are like gems, priceless in their rarity and beauty.”
“…Have you seen the inside of the room?”
“How could I, when there are no existing documents or
paintings depicting it?”
“But your description was rather detailed and…”
“I have always been told that I have a very vivid imagination.”
Leti finished her business in the Gallery of Kings and
proceeded to walk out of the room. Duke followed behind her,
sighing loudly enough for Leti to hear. He wanted to ask
sarcastically if she was done and satisfied, but swallowed back his
words. He decided not to voice them, as he could still remember
Leti's stern face as she looked at the Kings’ portraits.
Leti would be a queen. Not feeling anxious, scared or worried
was far stranger. Going to the Gallery of Kings to sort out her
feelings and thoughts while surrounded by the kings she idolized
so much was just a natural thing for someone like her to do.
“My stroll ends here. I am going back. Come with me and have
some refreshments as thanks for escorting me.”
“I will go with you and send you back to the castle. But I will
pass on the refreshments. Thank you for the offer.”
“Just go inside and drink tea. I do not want any weird rumors
going around saying that I do not treat my visitors well.”
Duke, once again, swallowed back his retort that her offer was
really for herself and not his. He repeated in his mind that he was
52
the adult here and silently followed Leti. Upon seeing Leti return,
her guards hurriedly went to her, followed by her maid.
“Princess! We’re glad you’re safe!”
“Yes, I am. The knight behind me served as my escort. Prepare
tea in the summerhouse.”
Leti gave her orders to the maid and then ordered her guards
to stay outside.
In the summerhouse, the expensive-looking tea set prepared
for them was placed on an elegant table with matching chairs.
Duke was so nervous thinking what he would do if he, a son of a
poor and lowly baron, spilled tea or snacks on the immaculately
white lace tablecloth.
“I would like to say relax and take your time, but my older
brother shall come here in a while. But you can stay if you want to
listen to a siblings’ squabble.”
The maid poured tea into the cup and silently placed it in front
of them. The maid, who was either thoroughly trained by Leti or
knew her master well, left the two of them alone and went out of
the room even without an order from Leti.
“May I ask you something? You are the eldest son of a baron,
right? So why did you enter the Knight Academy and become a
knight in the Royal Chivalric Order? Perhaps you have a dire
financial need?”
“If I say I have?”
“Then I would use that chance to make you owe me. I will pay
your family’s debt and make you bow down your head to me. So
you really need not be troubled about it.”
“Of course I’ll be troubled!” With what you were planning to do!
It was not unusual for nobles to join the Order. Those who
joined were normally the younger sons, who would not inherit the
title, or those who would like to add prestige in their name before
marriage. However, eldest sons like Duke—who would succeed
the title—were rare.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you but we’re not in debt. I am just a
man trying to be the man I wanna be. But I’m sure, Your Highness
will not understand…”
Duke did not expect to see a surprised reaction from Leti. He
thought that she would answer him with one of her witticisms.
“…Hmmm… I see. So what are you planning now?”
“Planning to do what?”
“Planning to do with your future. The competition for the
throne is finished for now, so there is no need for you to stay on
neutral ground. Do you have plans on joining Seventh Heaven?”
54
“The competition indeed has settled for now but the battle for
political power still remains. So in the end, the rivalry between the
Prince Friedhelm and Prince Guido factions is not yet over.”
Leti was chosen to be the heir to the crown, the next queen,
but up until now, the next queen had yet to decide who her king
would be. So it was natural that there were those nobles thinking
of making their sons her husband, and then would control the
Queen Leticia administration as their puppet government.
“I see your head does not only have swords in it. I do not see
my stupid brothers giving up soon. They keep on sending me
portraits for my husband candidates, and I can soon fill a treasure
room with those.”
“That is…quite…something.”
“Would you like to take a look? You can get any that catches
your fancy.”
“I will pass on that. I do not have the hobby of decorating my
room with portraits of men.”
“I see.”
Leti elegantly brought the cup to her lips and took a sip of her
tea without even making a sound. Then she suddenly stood up.
“What’s wro—?”
Before Duke could finish his question, his trained eyes saw
Leti grab a spoon and throw it across to him when he was about to
drink the tea, and with the impact of the spoon, his teacup split
into pieces, spilling the liquid inside it onto the white tablecloth.
Duke was already panicking, thinking of the damage this would
cost him, and shouted at Leti.
“Oi! What do you think you’re do—”
“…Poison. You have not drunk it yet, right?”
“Not yet, but didn’t you already—!?”
“You are speaking casually again. I have immunity against
poisons. All I need is a bit of rest and…”
Duke immediately went to Leti's side, knocking off the chair in
the process. He knelt beside Leti to check on her.
“Just quit talking. I’ll call a doctor.”
“…I…am…really…fine…so…keep…quiet…”
Duke carried Leti, whose face suddenly turned blue and her
breathing became faster.
My first priority is to search for help.
“Oi! Somebody call a doctor! Princess Leticia was poisoned!”
Duke’s voice echoed in Leti's ears. She repeated that she was
just fine, but her words did not leave her lips.
56
“Anything wrong? Your face doesn’t look good.”
“Ah, I see. I lost consciousness. I think I was poisoned.”
Leti went to the Knight King’s Space unconsciously. Lion
King Alexander and Administrative King Karlheinz were present.
“Out of the 12 swords, minus the Knight Sword, never ever
grant to anyone the Earth Sword that heals and the Steel Sword
that protects your body from attacks.” King Alexander gave Leti
this advice with a sluggish smile, as he was feeling irritated himself.
“Did you do that?”
“Oh, yes I did. That is the reason why we, the reincarnations
of Knight King Christian, can leave such amazing achievements
compared to other kings. If you have the Earth Sword, you can
neutralize most poisons, and if you have the Steel Sword, a slash
from a sword will simply be a shallow cut on you.”
“I see. But according to history, you will be soon killed by your
Prime Minister, will you not?”
“Yeah. I wonder how he will kill me…”
King Alexander had already accepted his fated death and even
said he was looking forward to it. Leti looked around the room
with her arms folded across her chest.
The wall was lined with a tapestry of charms for fairies. The
carpet had the story of gods, multiple gods that Leti found it hard
to believe, as their religion now was monotheist – with only one
god. This space, this room, is really different from her time.
“What was Knight King Christian thinking when he created
this room? If he created this room for a place to gather his
reincarnations, then why have we not seen him here even once?”
“…Maybe, maybe he just wanted an escape… just like us?”
Administrator King Karlheinz suggested in response to Leti’s
question.
“I have come to think that maybe he is here, only that we
cannot see him.”
The Knight King’s Space was a place for the kings to think of
the what-ifs in their lives.
What if King Alexander threw away the crown and abandoned
the country? Would his life have been saved? Would he have lived?
What if King Karlheinz threw away the crown and went after
his wife? Would they have had the chance to go back to the way
things were? Would they have a peaceful life together as husband
wife?
58
And what if Leti would not be a good king? Would have it
been better if her brothers, who were more suited to be kings,
were the ones who inherited the crown?
The kings could freely show their weaknesses in this space,
where the only witnesses would be the other reincarnations of the
Knight King, who all lived in different times and would never
cross paths.
“Hmm?”
Leti thought she heard someone calling her and turned around
looking for the voice, but there was no one there because the voice
she heard was not from this space but from her reality.
“I will go now. Someone is calling me.”
That noisy voice is calling me. I guess it is time to wake up.
And Leti left the Knight King’s Space.
“Princess Leticia!”
Leti frowned at the low but noisy voice calling out her name
by her ears. Even a cool, baritone voice could be deadly weapon
for someone not in their top condition.
“’With a sword on my right and a shield on my left, I swear my
allegiance to you until the day I die.’ If you say that, I will get up,”
said Leti to Duke, while she was still lying in bed with her eyes
closed. The words that Leti recited were from the Knight’s Oath.
In other words, she was asking Duke to be her knight in order for
her to wake up.
“I see you’re already fine since you can already say that much. I
shall take my leave now.”
“—now. What time is it now? I see the sun has already set
but…”
“Yes. The sun has set for the third time since you were
poisoned. It has been three days already.”
Leti suddenly stood up upon hearing how long she had passed
out. But the sudden movement and recent lack of it made her
dizzy, and she stumbled back in bed. Judging it impossible to stand
up straight in a spinning world, she gave up and simply sat on her
bed.
“What do you mean three days?”
“Oi, don’t push yourself. Lie down.”
“Too casual.”
“Umm… PLEASE LIE DOWN, YOUR HIGHNESS. You know,
you’ve just crossed the line between life and death yesterday.”
60
“It was a strong poison then. You would have died on the spot
if you were the one who drank it. I am glad I stopped you on time.”
When Leti drank the tea, she felt a shock run through her body
and her tongue go numb. She did know that she would not die
because of poison, but no one said it would not be painful. So this
incident taught her a lesson, and she reflected that she would be
more careful next time.
“So how are things now? Was the perpetrator caught?”
“Prince Leonhardt asked me to be your guard. He is the one
leading the investigation in coordination with the Royal Chivalric
Order…but from what I heard, they could not get any information
from the maid no matter how hard they pressed her. Finding the
real culprit might be difficult.”
Leti sighed in relief upon hearing Duke’s report.
“I see. It is better not to find the real culprit.”
Duke was surprised with this reply. He had prepared himself
for a bashing of the Order’s incompetence, so Leti's unexpected
answer confused him.
“Wouldn’t it better if the culprit was caught? It’d guarantee
your safety.”
“No. Think. Who would be the prime suspects for this case?
Prince Friedhelm and Prince Guido. Now, if decisive evidence
comes up against either one of them, then the political balance I
have created will crumble.”
“Political balance?”
“My two brothers should continue on keeping each other in
check lest I find myself in less favorable situation. If either one of
them gets lost in the picture, then the country would be divided
between myself and the one who remains. The three of us have to
keep this balance until the day we die. Keeping the kingdom’s
peace is more important than catching the culprit. Besides, will this
not be better for you as well? You are Prince Friedhelm’s friend,
after all.”
Duke agreed that what Leti said was true. He would not want
his friend to be the suspect for Leti's attempted murder.
“But…what about your feelings? You might have been killed
by your brother, you know?”
Leti had spoken about prioritizing the kingdom with a calm
face even though she had just woken up. But Duke already knew.
He already knew that Leti was not only just a perfect princess—he
knew that beyond her perfectly calm façade, there were more sides
to her.
“Our warm filial relationship ended when I was nine, and for
the last eight years, all we’ve had is a cold sibling relationship. I do
not wish for us to go back to the time when we were young
children.”
62
Leti's tone suggested that this topic was over and that it was
time to discuss other things.
“Putting that aside, my apologies for dragging you into this. I
am sure it was not a pleasant experience being a suspect.”
“Well, it couldn’t be helped. I was in a position screaming to
be a suspect anyway.”
When Leti collapsed because of the poisoned tea, Leonhardt
suspected Duke right off the bat. Duke was Friedhelm’s friend and
his family was under Guido’s faction. It would have been no
wonder if he had been asked by either to do such a thing.
“You don’t have to worry about me. Worry about yourself.
Are you—?”
“Worried about me? I appreciate the feelings. Could you relay
a message for me? Tell Leon to come here and that if anyone else
comes inside, I will kill him.”
“Brutal now, are we?”
“Not me, them. Anyway, sorry for making you stay as my
bodyguard. I know you also have your own job. I shall give my
thanks formally later.”
Leti closed all discussions and pressed Duke to leave, but he
had one last thing to ask. “It was a spoon, right? The one you
threw at me.”
“Yes. What else did you see it as, a fork?”
Duke was not convinced with her answer, but he was confused
when he was questioned back. He did see Leti throw a spoon, but
it felt like it was something sharper.
“…Will a teacup break because of a spoon hitting it?”
“If the cup already has a crack, then it can be broken even with
bare hands, right?”
Leti waved her hand, dismissing Duke. But Duke hesitated to
leave because of two reasons. One, he wanted to ask further about
the spoon-breaking-teacup incident, and two, he felt it was too
cold to simply leave after literally completing the task given to him
of guarding Leti until she woke up. In the end, he chose to throw
those thoughts aside and left Leti's room.
After walking a few steps, Duke looked back at the closed
door leading to Leti's room. He noticed that there was a part of
him confused on what he should do next.
Where exactly do I stand now?
Duke was supposed to be in the middle, in a neutral ground
where he was Friedhelm’s friend, and his family under Guido’s
faction—though personally, he was pro-Friedhelm. And yet he
was looking at this incident from Leti's perspective. He
immediately worried about her being nearly killed by her brothers
without even having second thoughts about suspecting Friedhelm.
64
A life was just saved right in front of your eyes. Of course it’s natural for
you to feel worried about her. It’s just natural.
Duke rationalized his feelings in his head, convincing himself
that it was still too early for him to recognize the change of heart
budding inside him.
“How is Ane’ue?”
Leonhardt found Duke even before Duke could find him.
Both of them looked dreadful since they both had not had any
decent sleep ever since the incident.
When Leonhardt put on his serious face, it was apparent that
he and Leti were siblings. He normally wore a shabby coat and
highly reflective eyeglasses, and had a mouth that spoke quickly
about his researches and findings. But when his face was stoic and
he had his glasses off, he was obviously a handsome young man.
“Prince Leonhardt, Her Highness has sent me to fetch you and
not to let anyone else inside her room.”
“Is that so~? Well, you may take your leave now as her guard.
Be careful on your way home~!” Once he opened his mouth, he
was back to how he originally was. He took out his handkerchief
and waved it at Duke, dismissing him of his duty.
Duke should have taken his leave when Leonhardt dismissed
him. He had already completed his tasks of acting as Leti's guard
and calling Leonhardt, but his body would not move.
“Oh…oh… are you not going home? But you have to. The
suspicion against you is yet to be cleared, you know.”
Leonhardt looked at Duke with such piercing eyes, Duke felt
like he was penetrating inside him. Then Leonhardt smiled.
“If you want to stay, you better be Ane’ue’s Knight.”
“—I do not have any plans on doing so. Please excuse me.”
Duke made his refusal clear, turned on his heel, and took his leave.
Leonhardt’s face broke into a grin as he watched Duke walk away.
“Hmmm…ahaha… This might not be as hopeless as I thought
it would be.”
Leonhardt had heard stories about Duke Barchet, so he
thought that he would be a lost cause, but that did not seem to be
the case any longer. Leonhardt entered Leti's room while humming
a song.
After listening to Leonhardt’s report and giving him
instructions, Leti went back to sleep once more. When she woke
up suddenly, she heard a knock on the door.
“Who is it?”
It could be a maid checking on her or some other brother or
sister to visit her… or maybe an unwanted visitor. Leti
66
concentrated on her right hand. The person who came in was
indeed an unwanted visitor, but also another sibling.
“Yo! You okay… of course not… but you seem to be fine.”
Leti threw a pillow at his face as soon as he entered the room,
but they had been together for so long that her older brother
Friedhelm did not have any difficulty catching the pillow and
throwing it back at her.
“Where are your manners? It is rude to enter a lady’s room
without permission! Go out and count until two hundred then
come in again!”
“Don’t worry, I won’t feel anything even if I see you in your
negligee—Yes ma’am I will go out and count to two hundred.”
Friedhelm did as Leti said to escape a thick tome being thrown
at him. He entered the room again after counting to two hundred,
and inside he found Leti perfectly dressed and sitting comfortably
on her chair.
“I wouldn’t have minded if you stayed in bed. You haven’t
recovered yet, right?”
“I will be fine as long as I get some sleep. So? What is your
business here?”
Friedhelm lay on his back with his legs outstretched on Leti's
couch like he was the master of the room.
“To visit the sick. What else would I come here for? Leon has
been running around investigating. Of course I’ll worry that
something might be up.”
Prince Friedhelm was a handsome person, though in a
different way from Leti and Guido. He had flaxen hair and green
eyes. He excelled in martial arts and was a generous man. He had
charisma that could charm many people, and knights were not the
only type of people to swear loyalty to him. To add to that, all of
the members of Seventh Heaven were first-rate people.
No matter how anyone looks at him, it is evident that he is much more
suited to be a king than I do. How irritating! Leti snorted as she poured
into the depths of her heart her irrational irritation.
“Visiting the sick is just for show, right? What is your real
purpose? I only have water to offer you.”
Leti poured water into the goblet and offered it to Friedhelm.
He accepted Leti's offer and drank the water as if it was an
expensive wine.
“Well, I heard that you were courting a certain friend of mine.
So I wanted to confirm it with you.”
“The rumors are true. I am currently enticing Duke Barchet to
take the First Seat in my Knights of the Round. And since you are
here, I would also like to ask for around four knights from your
Seventh Heaven. Tell me when you feel like giving them away.
68
Friedhelm found the situation interesting. He placed the water
goblet on the table and stood up, walking towards Leti.
“…How…How did you know?”
“Know what?”
“You used to say ‘I want to be with Onii-sama4
! I will study
with him!’ You were very cute then…”
Bringing up an old story that was a decade old only added to
Leti's irritation. She wondered why her still young twenty-three
year old brother seemed to remember the mundane things and
forget the essential ones as he got older.
“You wanted to study everything, from the ways of the
monarch to history and law, and the masters did teach you when
4 Onii-sama: A formal honorific to call one’s older brother. (Onii mans older
brother and –sama is an honorific to show respect)
70
they felt like it. I only thought that you were a cute little sister
trying to copy her brother, but looking back at it now, it seems like
you already knew you’d be queen way back then.”
Friedhelm cornered Leti in her seat. He placed one of his
hands on the chair’s handle and the other on the backrest. Leti still
had not yet fully recovered and could not move as she pleased, so
she took a deep breath and replied like she was scolding a naughty
child.
“Of course I did not. I had not even thought about it in my
wildest imagination.”
“It’s not only about you studying. You had kept a completely
neutral stand on the competition going on about me and Guido,
saying that you didn’t want to add to the turmoil that might split
the kingdom. In the process, you created a third faction, your
faction, the neutrals, where the majority of the other royal children
belong – even my own full brother and sisters. I couldn’t help but
think you’ve already been creating and strengthening your foothold
on the throne right from the start.”
Everything that Friedhelm said was true. Leti had already
known since she was a child that she would inherit the throne
through the Knight King’s Space. It had taken some time before
she fully accepted the fact, but after that, she did everything within
her power to make the necessary preparations. It was true that she
pretended to be a peace-loving princess that hated conflict and
stayed neutral. This brought her other siblings, except for
Friedhelm and Guido, to her side.
“It is all a coincidence.”
“Really? Why do you seem to be so calm about it? I never saw
you feel lost or confused about the whole thing, suddenly being
proclaimed as the next queen and all.”
“I only seem to be so. One can never know what other people
truly feel inside.”
Leti rebutted in her thoughts, ‘Who in the right mind would show
their weakness to other people?’ Then she remembered that one time in
the Kings’ Gallery where Duke saw through her. Her musings
were cut by Friedhelm’s voice.
“Then don’t you think it is time for you to show what’s inside
your heart?”
“I do not understand what you want from me.”
“Tell me the truth. Tell me, who did you think was better
suited to be a king? Me or Guido? I know you had your reasons
why you had to stay neutral, just like Duke. But not having a
preference is all just a front. Tell me, who it is?”
Leti was not able to read Friedhelm’s intention, so she gave a
safe answer.
72
“Leonhardt. He is my full brother and son of the First Queen,
after all.”
Friedhelm’s face changed from being dead serious to that of a
sulking child, a trickster’s face that many fall for.
“Yeah, you’re right. It was supposed to be Leonhardt, had he
not ended up like that, then…”
There was a reason why Sommevesle’s line of succession to
the throne had become this complicated.
The King of Sommevesle was allowed to take up to three
Queen Consorts to prevent not having any heir. Since a child had
not been born between the current King and the First Queen
Consort for some time, the King decided to take in his Second and
Third Queen Consorts at the same time. Shortly afterward, the
Third Queen Consort conceived the first child, Friedhelm, then
the Second Queen Consort got pregnant with the second child,
Guido, and in all irony, the First Queen Consort gave birth to the
third child, Leticia, and fourth child, Leonhardt.
Should the proper order in succession be followed, the rightful
heir is neither Friedhelm nor Guido but Leonhardt. But with how
Leonhardt turned out, they were not convinced about him being
the king, so from there it was easy for them to see Leticia as a
candidate. That was where things stood now.
“This crown was just a leftover from the three princes, right?
Now that I have answered all of your questions and satisfied your
curiosity, will you bring with you all of those portraits of husband
candidates you had sent to me? I refuse all of them.”
Leti drove Friedhelm out of her room with this request. But
despite her refusals, he just kept sending a new batch every time
she returned the previous one. If Duke were to be asked, the
persistence of these two was good proof that they were siblings.
“I already filtered these, so these are all handsome men who
probably have good personalities. What’s your type, then?”
“The face of Lion King Alexander, the abilities of
Administrative King Karlheinz, and the personality of One-handed
King Oswald. If there is a man like that, I will not mind marrying
him. ”
“…What you said means that you won’t marry, you know?
And who’s King Oswald?” Friedhelm wondered curiously. It was
the first time he heard the name, but he decided to move on.
“Anyway, I shall take my leave now. Your face doesn’t look
fine at all.”
While Friedhelm noticed that Leti had deliberately changed the
topic, he decided to be the one to back off. He removed his hand
from the chair and sarcastically thanked Leti for the water.
“I told you, I am fine.”
74
“How can a face like that be fine? Go and take a look at a
mirror.” Friedhelm said, pointing to her vanity, and he proceeded
to the door.
“—Things get hard once they get complicated, huh?”
“Eh?”
“It was not supposed to be like this. But we always end up
wringing each other’s neck. I know that I should be the one to give
way but… this is just frustratingly hard. See you ‘round.”
As Friedhelm went out of the room, Leti understood the
meaning behind his words, and she held her head heavy with
exhaustion.
“Aaah…jeez.”
Leti never thought that he came because he was really,
truthfully worried about her. She had already given up on their
relationship once, given up on the possibility for them to be on
good terms with each other again.
Friedhelm, Guido and Leti used to play together when they
were young. They always spent their time together with their
mothers watching over them from afar. But as they grew up,
Friedhelm and Guido’s relationship suddenly turned for the worse,
with the competition for the crown turning their every meeting
into heated collisions. The only thing Leti could do was to mediate
between them and to show that she was not taking sides. So she
decided to distance herself from them, and by the time they had
noticed it, they had grown far away from each other. They simply
ended up interrogating the other when they met, always
exchanging stride remarks.
“If that was your intention, I would have properly offered
good tea and some biscuits for you…”
It was just right after the poisoning incident. Friedhelm would
not have done anything rash, and Leti could have been more
welcoming.
“Things become hard when they get complicated…”
I guess you are right.
It was a rare event that the two royal siblings shared the same
opinion on one thing.
CHAPTER 1 KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND
4
This was the "Knight King’s Space." On the floor was a carpet
with the story of the gods embroidered on it, framed with golden
ears of grain. Hanging on the ceiling was a wooden chandelier and
on the carpet was a beautiful patina table made of deep evergreen
oak. Out of the same wood were chairs scattered around the room
adorned with carvings on its boards, enough to be considered as
unique art pieces—creating the same pattern would be impossible.
There were three people in this room "today." One of them, a
man with a golden mane resembling that of a lion, rested his feet
on the priceless desk like it was nothing and faced Leti with a wide
grin on his face.
"Your mood is fouler than usual, Queen Leticia. When are you
in right now?"
"You are annoying, aren't you, King Alexander? I am in right
after I was proclaimed to be the next queen and was just refused
by stupid man.”
The man called King Alexander laughed out loud as if Leti’s
predicament was something pleasant, rubbing Leti's nerves the
wrong way.
The silver-haired man sitting on a distant chair inserted a
bookmark into his book before closing it to join the conversation.
“There is no need to be impatient, Queen Leticia. I had the
experience of bowing down fifty-five times to someone until he
agreed to be my knight.”
“I have heard of that story so many times already in my own
time and it has been passed down as your impressive anecdote,
Administrative King Karlheinz. It is now considered as an idiom,
‘fifty-five bows.’ So was it really fifty-five times?”
“I see it was passed down quite accurately. It was a good thing
I kept a diary then.”
“If it were me, I would leave an order to burn all my diaries
when I die since I only rant in there. I might wish to die again even
if I already did if I would be known as the Ranting Queen,”
snorted Leti.
The One-handed man laughed listlessly at Leti's little speech.
“It will be fine since it is, after all, you, Queen Leticia. If it
were me, I will probably be known as the Traitor King or Wrecked
King… no… maybe there won’t even be subjects left to give me
such a title…”
“You are dark as usual, King Oswald. When are you in your
time?”
“I’m on my fifth year of war. I escaped here even though I
know I should not.” One-handed King Oswald’s sigh was heavy.
Given the dark atmosphere, Leti declared that she would be
going back when King Alexander said something to her.
6
“Queen Leticia, there is no need for you to follow what that
stupidly serious Karlheinz said. Those who agree because you
bowed down to them only want sincerity.”
“Then what do you suggest I do?”
“Hmmm… if it were me, I would have beaten them to a pulp
and made them swear the Knight’s Oath, but since you are a
woman, the fastest way is to stage a dramatic act, like making him
believe that it is destiny.”
“Destiny?”
“Men are weak against those things, you know? So just follow
what your uncle says.”
“How many “great” shall I skip to trace you? Besides, the
dynasty has changed already after your reign, so I am supposedly
not a direct descendant from your line.
Anyway, I think there is some merit in the advice given by the
Lion King Alexander, who has never lost even one battle during
his reign, so I will give it some thought.”
Leti left, saying her agreement with King Alexander and
thinking about her next step.
8
Leti woke up to the chirping birds and warm sunlight in a cool
day. She felt a bit confused from the lack of the wooden
chandelier hanging on the ceiling when she remembered that she
had already gone back to reality.
“I probably go the Knight King’s space a lot recently because I
wanted to escape somewhere.”
Lion King Alexander was there right before a revolution
happened – led by his friend and trusted Prime Minister. For
Administrator King Karlheinz, it was after he was betrayed by his
beloved wife, while One-handed King Oswald was in a dire
situation at war.
All of the kings in the Knight King’s space had one thing in
common whenever they went there: they were at a loss on what
they should do. So for the other kings, they surmised that they
would be seeing Leti frequently during the time after she was
announced to be the heir to the throne.
“Come now Your Highness, the next queen, Queen Leticia, we
have to make our second bow today!” said Leti to herself.
Ever since the present king announced on Leticia’s
seventeenth birthday last month that she would be the next queen,
her maids were strangely spirited for some reason. While her maids
were busily working themselves, Leti was drinking her morning tea
in pure sophistication.
Leti thought that a husband need simply be a decoration
beside her and she would not be giving him any power over the
Kingdom’s politics and government, but it was still an undeniable
fact that selecting her husband was an important part of her job.
“I shall work after this, so no one is allowed to disturb me
until I say so. Bring to my room the portraits and documents
Prince Friedhelm and Prince Guido brought over.”
The maids obediently followed Leti's orders and carried into
her room the portraits of her husband candidates, burying a third
of her spacious room. Leti was nauseated with the number of
portraits, but she still locked her door and prepared to work.
“…Well then, let’s start.”
Leti took off her beautiful dress, released her feet from her
high heels, changed into a fresh new dress, and wore durable
walking boots that she was fond of recently. She removed all of
her accessories and simply tied her hair with a velour ribbon. Leti
looked at herself in the mirror and declared her Princess incognito
outfit complete.
Without any hesitation, Leti leaned forward outside her
window and leapt to the nearby tree. This had been always her
escape route ever since she was a child. The people who see her as
the perfect epitome of a princess would find it hard to believe that
she had been doing this for a long time.
“All right. Perfect score.”
10
Leti praised herself as she got out of the castle without anyone
noticing her. She dusted off her skirt and arranged her dress as she
walked.
“The Royal Chivalric Order should be coming around here for
their patrols…”
Leti ordered her servants to investigate the schedule of Duke
Barchet, who had the nerve of refusing her in front of everyone.
Using the information her servants gathered, Leti decided to
ambush Duke while he was on duty.
“Hello there! Today is a good day, isn’t it?”
“Oh Lady Cia, long time no see! Are you out on a date today?”
Leti talked familiarly with a lady that passed by. She had
escaped the castle many times to go and walk around the town
near the castle, pretending to be a daughter of a poor baron.
Unlike her brothers Friedhelm and Guido, the people only knew
Princess Leticia by her name and the description that she was as
beautiful as the late First Queen Consort, so she could easily go
out and wander around town.
“There is someone I would like to be my knight but he refused
me, so I wanted to ambush him and have him say ‘yes’ to me.”
“My, my, so there is someone who would refuse a beautiful
young lady like you…”
“I am sure he has high ambitions and wants to be knight of a
princess from a high ranking family.”
It was normal for a powerful, high ranking family to have
several knights. But for a daughter of a low-ranked family, having a
knight was equal to having a lover. This was where Duke’s refusal,
‘I do not want to be known as the Leftover Princess’ lover,’ came from.
While chatting idly with the lady, Leti scanned the street for a
certain someone. Then a tall man, noticeably a head or two higher
among the crowd, wearing a sour expression on his face caught
her eye.
There you are!
Leti took a step forward, raised her arm and called out to him.
“Duke! I was waiting for you!”
For a moment, Duke wondered who that woman waving at
him was when recognition hit him. He immediately scanned the
area to search for Leti's guards. Leti decided that Duke’s skills as a
knight was tolerable when she saw his instant alertness upon
recognizing her.
“See that tall person? He is the one I wanted to be my knight.”
Leti pointed out Duke, now pushing his way through the
crowd towards her. Before Duke could even reprimand Leti and
ask what she was doing there, she wrapped her arm around his
surprising him with the unexpected act. He tried pulling away his
12
arm, but Leti tightened her grip on him while keeping a sweet
smile plastered on her face.
“Oh my! ‘Duke’ is such a regal name, isn’t it? Let me see…
Well, aren’t you a fine young man, Mr. Duke. Why did you refuse a
fine, young woman like Lady Cia?”
“Huh? No… This is…”
“Is it because of a difference in social status? Are you an earl?”
“No, I’m a son of a baron…”
“Then you’re just equals! There isn’t any problem, is there?”
Duke glared at Leti. His look said, why in the world am I being
interrogated by a woman I don’t even know? But Leti kept her poker face
and did not help him in redirecting the woman’s chatter.
A man joined in their conversation. “Or maybe ya wannabe a
member of the Knights of the Round, don’t yah, Mista Duke? Our
next ruler is a queen, after all.”
“Hahaha! But isn’t it impossible for someone like you to be a
Knight of the Round? So why don’t you just give up and be Lady
Cia’s knight!”
The two strangers laughed amusedly while Duke straightened
his back and did his best to keep a smiling countenance.
Being made fun of makes me want to say that the next Queen you’re
talking about had already offered me the first seat to her Knights of the Round
and I flatly rejected her.
“Duke, how about we talk while walking? I know you are still
in patrol duty.”
“I think that’ll be best.” I cannot stay here any longer.
Duke said the required niceties and they took their leave, with
him dragging Leticia by the hand as they were swallowed by the
crowd.
After putting some distance and going to a less crowded place,
Duke released his anger. “Oi! What are you doing here ALONE!?
Where are your guards?”
Leti twirled around, showing Duke her outfit as if saying, ‘Did
you not realize it?’ But his face did not show any understanding.
“I am out traveling incognito, in disguise. I escaped from the
castle.”
“Huh? For someone appointed to be the next queen, you sure
are a carefree person. That’s the reason why you’re called the
Leftover Princess. ”
“Leftover Princess? Let them say what they want to. They gave
me that title as a Princess and not as a Queen,” Leti said flatly,
flipping her hair over her shoulders with her hand.
14
“You can call this a job, you know, like information gathering.
Information gets distorted as it gets farther from the source, so I
sometimes go out to gather it directly since most of the
information regarding the town will be so distorted once it reaches
me in the castle and I already find it to highly unreliable.”
“Is that so?”
Duke was on guard with their surroundings as he listened to
Leti's story, since she went to town alone and unescorted and he
would have to protect her if something happened. But for Leti, she
had no need for a guard, for she was strongest when alone and can
move freely.
“I agree that what you’re doing, listening to your people, is a
good thing as their next ruler, but I feel that you are already
familiar with them. Why is that when you were appointed to be the
heir just last month?”
“Indeed, what you said is correct. My succession to the throne
was formally declared last month on my birthday but I already
knew… I already knew I would be queen. I only did not how it
would happen but I was sure that I would be. I did not bother
telling anyone about this because I was sure no one would believe
me.
Anyway, I will be dragging you anywhere and everywhere to
hear the stories around town. Let us start now. We still have a lot
of places to go to.”
“Huh? No, we’re going back to the castle. I’ll send you home
now!”
“I will forgive your casual speech today but speak with me in
that manner again tomorrow and you will find yourself crying
because of treason. Are we clear? Yes? Then let us go over there.”
Leti pointed out an accessory shop across the road and she
went inside to take a look at ribbons. Since Duke could not
possibly say goodbye and leave her, he – in his Knight uniform –
unwillingly followed the princess into the shop. Seeing a knight
approach his shop, the shop owner promptly went out to greet
him and ask if there were anything wrong.
“Uhm… No… I’m just with her…”
“Ah, I see. You’re Lady Cia’s lover, are you not? A beautiful
lady and a courageous knight – what a perfect couple!”
Duke wondered how everyone they met came to that
conclusion. But if he told them that they were not lovers, they
would surely ask him how they were related. Since he did not
know Leti's setting for her disguise, he could not say anything
careless.
“Young man, you know, this is the time when the man pays
for his lady. If you’re not careful about these kinds of things, you
might find yourself abandoned in the near future.”
16
Even though Duke thought that he would be rather glad to be
abandoned, he still grudgingly took out his wallet and paid for
Leti's ribbons. He could not fathom why she, the princess of the
kingdom, would have to buy her ribbons in this little shop when
she probably had more than enough ribbons for her to use in a
lifetime.
“Here, have some tea.”
“Why, thank you!”
“Thanks.”
Leti started a conversation with the shop owner as they drank
their tea. Their topic was, of course, the season’s hottest news: the
next queen. The shop owner said that the next queen was
apparently a very beautiful princess, and Leti threw in her
complete agreement. It seemed that Leti did not have the charms
of being shy or modest.
“Have you met her, Lady Cia?”
“No, a poor baron’s daughter cannot possibly have met her,
though I have seen her from afar. How about you, Duke?”
“…From afar… yes…”
“They said that Princess Leticia is a very splendid princess. I
heard that she was the one who suggested and built the hospital in
the west and the orphanage in the south. She was also the first one
to donate for our festival here.”
The two princes competing for the crown, Prince Friedhelm
and Prince Guido, focused on the military and foreign relations.
Leti, on the other hand, was more active in promoting education
and welfare. She had two reasons for doing so: one, to avoid her
brother’s eyes, and two, to get the hearts of the citizens. The good
opinion that people had of her was proof of her hard work
throughout the years.
Leti brought Duke everywhere she went to listen to the stories
and opinions about the next queen. They had the consensus that if
a civil war would be the result of either one of the princes
ascending the throne, then it was a whole lot better if the kindhearted
princess succeeded the crown. Everyone welcomed the
idea of having Princess Leticia as their next ruler.
After walking for a long time, Leti finally decided that it was
time for her to go back to the castle.
“…Your reputation is quite good, huh?”
Duke complimented Leti as they walked towards the castle.
His family was part of the peerage, though barely making the cut,
and he had considered himself to be more affiliated with the Royal
Chivalric Order so he was quite naïve when it came to the world
of the nobles. But even someone like him only knew Princess
Leticia as a kind and delicate princess before she was selected as
the successor to the throne, but this changed to be the meek and
beautiful ‘Leftover Princess.’
18
“I know that I am popular among the common people;
however, the nobles and members of the peerage consider me as
unimportant and that irritates me.”
Leti had three objectives for this particular incognito walk.
First was to gather the latest rumors and gossip. Second was to
know more about Duke as person, and third, to show Duke how
good her reputation stood with the citizens.
Based on Duke’s reaction, Leti judged her plan a complete
success. His opinion of her was slowly changing, moving away
from the ‘Leftover Princess.’
Leti thought that this is the perfect chance to attack him. “So,
did you change your mind about being my knight after hearing
how good I am?”
Her first move was to lay down some of her cards on the table
to gain his trust. This kind of game was Leti’s specialty.
“Let me tell you the reason why I selected you.”
Leti turned around and faced Duke. Her eyes were the same
last night, filled with insight that could not possibly be owned by a
woman. Had Leti been a man, Duke would have asked her for a
duel.
“I already knew that I would be queen. I just did not know
when or how, but thinking about it logically, there is a high
possibility that both of my older brothers were already dead so I
never thought of establishing my own chivalric order.”
“You knew?”
Duke convinced himself that it was probably through fortunetelling
or some prophecy, but Leti’s eyes told otherwise. Her eyes
plainly say that she just simply knew.
“I wanted my brothers to be protected by the best of the best,
so I did not mind even if the best knights were recruited to
Seventh Heaven or Valkyrie. I did not want to succeed the throne
because they died. But that did not happen and now, I am in a
predicament of completing my Knights of the Round with the
rejects – those that were not selected by either of my brothers. So
am I supposed to have my knights that could only even be
considered as tolerable? This is unreasonable!”
“There’s no helping it… you started late in the race.”
Duke understood Leti's point. The two princes, Prince
Friedhelm and Prince Guido, both had the abilities and qualities of
a King; it was natural that the talented knights would gather
around them. So all of the knights left for Leti to choose from
were those that were not chosen by either of the princes. Being
grouped among them somehow hurt Duke’s pride, but he would
not think about it for now.
20
“So if there is one among the rejects who can fill the First seat
of the Knights of the Round, then that will be you, Duke Barchet,
only you.
Duke thought that indeed, Leti was not just a Leftover
Princess. Seeing her think and analyze about this matter made him
feel that she may have in her the makings of a wise ruler. However,
that alone was not enough for him to be her knight and bow down
to her as his master.
“Princess, Your Highness, I…”
Duke suddenly sensed that something was wrong. He swiftly
pulled Leti near him and covered her with his back. Soon, three
street thugs came out of the shadows.
“Hey lady, we’re a bit short on cash here, why don’t ya lend us
some?”
“You have a knight with you, of course you have some money
there.”
Duke readied his hand on his sword, clicked his tongue and
asked Leti in a whisper, “Your cover’s not yet blown, right? Three
professional assassins will be tough to handle even for me, you
know.”
Duke was well aware how dangerous Leti's position was as the
heir to the throne. She did take away the crown from her two
brothers, regardless of whether she had a part in it or not. If truth
be told, there were probably more people who would want her in
harm’s way rather than protect her. The three men might be
normal thugs, but the worst case was that they were assassins sent
by someone who thought Leti as a big hindrance in their plans.
Duke’s mind was already in a swirl of possibilities for this situation
compared to Leti's calm demeanor and somehow indifferent sigh.
“Are you seriously telling me that?”
“Huh?”
Duke thought that Leti would call him stupid since she looked
like she would, but instead he got a pat on his shoulder.
“The only person I know to be more beautiful than I do is
Prince Guido. Do you not think it is quite natural that a knight
dating someone as beautiful as me will be asked for a duel or two?”
“Don’t call yourself beautiful. Try and be a bit modest, won’t
you?”
“For someone with my beauty, I think being modest simply
sounds sarcastic. … You can handle something like this, can you
not? Do what you have to do and do not mind about your back at
all.”
Duke thought that answering her with the decided “yes, yes,
you are beautiful” or “I don’t think so” was just troublesome and
maybe sincerely complimenting her might give a more refreshing
reaction.
22
…though shy and modest women are cuter and more to my liking.
Duke still had a few things to say but decided that it would be
better focus at the task at hand.
“If you back down now, you’ll be leaving without a scratch.
But if you dare lay your hands on her, don’t think that this’ll be
over with a wound or two.” ‘Cause if you do anything to her, the princess
and the next queen of this kingdom, you might regret you did anything. Be
prepared to receive a capital punishment for that.
Duke charged towards the attackers and the battle started.
“His swordsmanship is indeed one of the best I have seen. I
am glad that he is as good as the report says.”
The scene playing in front of Leti was enough to send a
normal princess crying, but Leti was no ordinary princess, and she
watched the fight intently. Duke, despite fighting one against three,
had the upper hand in the battle and he had yet to draw his sword.
He hit them either with the hilt of his sword or his fist. His
fighting style was in no way elegant and fit for a Knight, but this
also meant that he had the confidence to win without even
drawing his weapon.
Leti watched over the fight with a satisfied smile on her face. It
was better than she had expected. Then she felt an additional
presence from behind, drawing her attention from the battle in
front.
“More company? Just when I had the chance to watch Duke in
action…” I guess it cannot be helped then.
Leti turned around to face the new comers and snapped her
finger.
“Oi! Are you ok?”
“Yes, I am fine. It was a complete win against three opponents
without even a single scratch. They were not that strong, but it was
not easy either. You really are fit to be a knight, to be my knight.”
“—Hey!”
Duke found two unconscious men lying on the floor beside
Leti. He asked Leti who they were with his eyes and Leti replied by
looking down at the men as if saying that he noticed it too late.
“Maybe they were planning to get your attention first, then
their other members would attack me, but too bad for them
because I know how to defend myself.”
“Even so! You should have called my attention when you
noticed that there were others! Do you know how dangerous your
situation is!? What would you do if you got hurt!?”
“I was the one who said to you that you need not worry about
your back. I just wanted to keep my word.”
“Huh?”
24
“But that is not the whole of it. I also wanted to show you that
I can fend for myself, that I was not just a beautiful princess and to
have you owe me by protecting your back. That was why I finished
them myself, but I guess it had the opposite effect and made you
worry. You are a kinder person than I thought you were.” Leti
smoothly shrugged off Duke’s anger.
Duke felt awkward when Leti pointed out that he was worried
about her. He convinced himself that it was normal for a knight to
worry about the future queen and that his worry was nothing
personal. Yes, I was worried for the next queen and not because I care about
her.
“Senpaaaaaaai!1
Someone reported that a beautiful lady is in
danger!”
An optimistic voice from the sky broke the two’s awkwardness.
They looked up to see where the voice came from when their
vision suddenly turned dark and a human form was going down
straight at them. Even the calm Princess Leti could not hide her
surprise.
“Kyaa!?”
1 Senpai : a Japanese honorific for someone’s senior
26
The person who jumped from the roof and landed perfectly on the
ground was Duke’s junior, Astrid Gale. He stood up quickly as if it
were nothing. He looked at Duke and noticed Leti standing beside
him.
Astrid stared at Leti's face, thinking that she somehow looked
familiar. Duke thought that it would be bad if Astrid recognized
her so he quickly went between them to block Astrid’s view, but it
was too late.
“…PRINCESS!?”
Duke grabbed Astrid’s head and dragged him closer.
“She is in disguise right now due to certain circumstances so
keep it low. Do not tell anyone this, got that?” Duke said with his
threatening voice known to make a crying child cry more. Astrid
was overwhelmed with Duke’s presence and nodded accordingly
while repeating Duke’s words, saying that he would not tell this to
anyone.
“Astrid, I’ll be sending this beautiful lady home so can I leave
things here with you?
And another thing, how many times have I already told you
not to run on the roofs? We had already received a complaint that
an elderly woman nearly got a heart attack when she saw you doing
that.”
“Eeeeh… but I cannot run in full speed on the road because
of the people. Besides, I thought that it would be better if I reach
the crime scene as soon as possible, so I decided to use the roofs
as shortcuts.”
Duke sighed, feeling tired with all the things happening. He
wanted to give Astrid a long sermon but lost the energy to do so.
This was one of the reasons why Astrid was known as a tensionremover.
He was a knight with skills enough to go up the top, but
his character was not suited to be one. Duke decided to put off his
sermon for now since ensuring Leti's safety was more important
than disciplining Astrid.
“I’ll listen to your report later at camp. Do you need any help
or reinforcements?”
“There are quite a handful of them, so I will appreciate it if
they could spare some hands.”
“Got it. I’ll have them send some help.”
Duke and Astrid did the necessary exchange for the transfer of
authority. Then, Duke firmly held Leti's shoulder, shielding her
away from Astrid’s sight as they walk away. Leti did not even have
a chance to say a word and was forced to walk without further
discussion. She snuck a look at Astrid Gale and committed his face
to her memory.
“You have a quite pleasant junior, Duke.”
“… I’ve got no complaints on his skills but…”
“His name?”
28
“Astrid Gale. He is from a commoner’s family but he does
have the skills enough to be the leader of the Order. It is no
exaggeration that he is the type of person that comes once in a
century.”
Leti only saw Astrid as a young lad with red hair and gentle
green eyes. His presence was more of a baker in training than that
of a knight of the Royal Chivalric Order. But to hear Duke praise
him openly, Leti thought that he was worth being investigated.
Based on Duke’s assessment, he can be one of my Knights, but if he really
was that good, then it is highly probable he is already someone else’s…
“Is he already someone’s honorary knight? Is he already a
member of someone’s private order such as Prince Friedhelm’s
Seventh Heaven or Prince Guido’s Valkyrie?”
The word ‘knight’ in Sommevesle had two meanings.
One was royal knight. This referred to the members of the
Royal Chivalric Order established to protect the peace and order
of the kingdom. To join the Order, one had to study for two years
in the Knight Academy regardless of social status, commoner or
noble. After graduating from the Academy, an entrance exam
would be taken to join the Order, and only those who passed it
became a full-pledged Knight of the Royal Chivalric Order.
The other meaning was honorary knight. Once a person swore
allegiance to a master, he could already be considered as an
honorary knight. Honorary knights come in many types. There
were those who acted as bodyguards to their master, and there
were those were simply knights by name and were selected due to
their cleverness and skills. There were also some who simply
wanted to flaunt their master’s connection and rank.
Seventh Heaven and Valkyrie were the private chivalric orders
established by Leti’s brothers. Members of those two orders were
all talented and superior knights that no one would dare contest.
“He is currently not serving anyone, but I know he is receiving
invitations to join several orders. If you want, I can formally
introduce you to him,” Duke suggested to Leti, hoping that she
would give up on him, but Leti did not give it a second thought.
“No, thank you. I currently have my eye on one knight right
now: you. What was that we were talking about again? Before all of
this commotion happened? ...Right.”
Leti turned around and faced Duke.
“I was able to observe you, albeit a short time. When you
accidentally met me in the street, you kept your composure and
calmly scanned the area to ensure my safety. Your fighting style
was not tied down by aesthetics and your insight is not clouded by
age or social status. Out of all the rejects, you really stand out. Now,
I want you to be my knight even more.”
Leti’s feelings changed from Duke being “the only one” to
being “the one.”
30
“Duke Barchet, I order you to be my knight. Gratefully accept
the first seat in my Knights of the Round. Hurry up and bow
down to me!”
Duke rejected Leti's previous invitation with a simple “I refuse,”
but this invitation was different from the last. The words were the
same but the weight behind those words was different. Duke
decided to not run away and replied with the same gravity.
“I felt the sincerity in your words now, so I shall give you an
honest answer in return. I wanted to be Prince Friedhelm’s knight.
And I still feel the same. That’s it. No matter how appealing you
might be as a master, you are not Prince Friedhelm and never will
be.”
Duke and Friedhelm were classmates in the Knight Academy
and they became friends easily. Duke believed that Friedhelm
could be a good king and wanted to support the kingdom together
with him. Friedhelm, too, felt the same way. So after graduating
from the Academy, Friedhelm asked Duke to be his knight, but
due to the structure of the peerage, where Duke’s family was under
Guido, he refused Friedhelm’s offer and decided to stay under
Guido out of duty to his family.
Leti answered nonchalantly to Duke’s obvious refusal. “Until
here is fine. It will be more troublesome if they find us.”
When they reached the castle’s wall, Leti set her foot on the
space in the wall and easily lifted herself up to the top. Duke was
thinking about having that gap filled in to prevent her from going
to any of her incognito walks as he watched the princess climb up the
wall.
“Regarding your answer a while ago…” Leti spoke to Duke
from atop the wall, wearing a confident smile on her beautiful face.
“I take it that you have trusted me enough to reveal your true
feelings to me.”
“Were you even listening to what I said, Your Highness?”
“Yes. Listen I did. But only listen.”
Leti went down the wall after saying that, disappearing from
Duke’s sight..
She really is just as the rumors say, a beautiful princess. But the rumors
are not complete. Because inside, she is the perfect queen. Her high-handed
personality and self-centeredness reminds me of someone…
“But with this, I can say that Sommevesle’s future is safe.”
Duke thought that the Leftover Princess would definitely be a
brilliant queen and that it would be better if she could get excellent
people to support her. But some part of him underestimated her
persistency and thought that if he continued rejecting her offer,
she would come to give up on him eventually.
Astrid, left to clean up the scene, was tying each person lying
on the floor unconscious with a rope. The only thing left for him
32
to do was to wait for the others to come and help him bring the
rogues back to camp for further questioning and write the incident
report.
“One versus five… Duke-senpai is really amazing.”
Astrid walked towards the two unconscious men who had
been lying on the floor beside Leti to confirm if they still had any
weapons hidden in them. Upon inspection, he found that each of
the men had one red straight mark on their nape.
“One hit on the neck rendered them unconscious. It’s already
hard to cause a concussion, and to make it this cleanly—Dukesenpai
really is amazing. He probably did this with the sword’s
sheath.”
Astrid looked at the direction where Duke and Leti walked.
I wish I had the chance to fight these men with Duke-senpai.
But Astrid had no way of knowing that Leti was the one who
rendered these two men unconscious, so it would never cross his
mind to wonder how she defeated them without any weapon on
her to make those red marks, as if from a sword’s sheath.
A nostalgic scent was swept by the wind, calling out one of
Astrid’s buried memories and stopping his movement momentarily
as he inspected the unconscious men.
“Which one of them is him?”
As soon as those words came out of his lips, Astrid – the
speaker himself – wondered about the meaning behind those
words.
Leti had a high reputation as the perfect model princess. That
was true until she was announced as the heir to the throne, and her
reputation dropped down to the leftover princess. This was true,
even to her father, the current king of Sommevesle.
The leftover princess, who suddenly became the successor,
should be groomed and taught about subjects necessary to become
a ruler, including politics, law and history. To do that, the king
assigned the top scholars in the kingdom to be her masters. That
part of the plan was fine until then; Leti also liked to assure her
father that she was giving her time and effort to improve herself,
so she attended her classes diligently. However…
“Princess Leticia, Prince Leonhardt has come.”
“Let him in.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The history master her father assigned to her was none other
than her younger brother, Prince Leonhardt.
Leonhardt Zur Kreutzer was the third prince and the fourth
child of the king. He was known as “The Genius Historian, fourth
child of the king and the third prince”—also known as a weird and
34
eccentric person. Most thought that this reputation, which he also
used as his self-introduction, was the perfect description of him.
Leonhardt greeted Leti cheerfully. He, among all of the king’s
children who were all already known as eccentric, sparkled as the
oddest ball in the lot.
“Good morning, Ane’ue2
! You seem to be in a good… I mean,
not so good mood today! Hahaha… The story, or rather the rumor,
about Baron Barchet’s son rejecting you has spread in the castle
like wild fire, you know? Fufufu…”
If Leonhardt would only groom himself up even just a little, he
would be branded as handsome as his sister. Together with Leti,
they would be known as beautiful siblings, sharing the same
blonde hair and steel blue eyes. But that was all wishful thinking, as
Prince Leonhardt cared not a single cent about his appearance. He
was wearing a shabby white coat as a jacket and a pair of glasses
that strangely reflected light too strongly enough to cloud the
glasses itself. His manner of speaking also maximized his lungs’
capacity to the fullest without caring to whom he was speaking
with. These characteristics wasted his handsome face, and he
enjoyed the people’s disappointment.
“I do not mind if it spreads like wildfire. It should spread
enough to reach the houses of the noble families lest it will be a
problem for me. That way I can ward off those who wanted to
2 Ane’ue: A Japanese honorific for calling one’s older sister. (More formal and
old-fashioned than the normal Onee-san)
have Duke as a knight for their daughters. They would not want to
get Princess Leticia’s favorite knight, would they?”
The reason why Leti dressed up glamorously when she invited
Duke to be her knight despite knowing it was out of place was to
have people talk and gossip about it. If this story had even reached
her brother, who was normally ignorant about these kinds of
things, then her plan was a success.
“I chose Duke Barchet because I thought he was the best one
among the rejects, but he was better than I expected… But
enough about me and my knights. Tell me, what are those papers?
Do not tell me, you have decided to be a teacher for real?”
Leonhardt brought with him a small chalkboard, a stack of
paper, and a single book.
“This is a history book, though its contents are more of
bedtime stories, hahaha. Then, these papers are from Friedhelmani’ue3
. I met him on my way here. Here you go.”
Leti took the history book and placed it on her desk. Then she
took a sheet from the stack of paper and crumpled it into a ball
after glancing at it for a second.
“He really does not know when to give up…!”
“What is it? Lemme see?!”
3 Ani’ue. A Japanese honorific referring to one’s older brother (More formal and
old fashioned than the normal Onii-san)
36
Leonhardt dumped the papers on the desk, then picked up and
straightened the piece of paper Leti had just crumpled. On the
paper was a portrait of a man and his personal information, such
as the name and family lineage. Leonhardt soon understood that
the papers were of a husband candidate for Leti.
“Why, isn’t he a good-looking chap? But you cannot trust
portrait artists to draw exactly how the models look like or they
might lose their profession ahaha! Hey ane’ue, doesn’t he look a bit
like Friedhelm-ani’ue?”
“Are they not related? I mean he is from the Friedhelm
faction.”
Leonhardt continued to press the issue like he was selling
something. He kept on telling Leti the good points of the man, like
his good social status and that he was too good a catch to let go, et
cetera. He spoke like this topic was not wholly connected to his
sister. He was Leti's only full brother, yet he only saw the situation
as amusing and made fun of it.
“Silence. You are the last person I want to talk about marriage;
you are single yourself. Better just use that mouth of yours to talk
about your research. You make more sense when you do.”
“Yes…yes… shall we start our lesson?” Leonhardt declared,
and wrote something on the chalkboard he brought with him. Leti
thought that his eccentric personality was represented clearly by
his peculiar handwriting, which rose upward to the right.
“Our first topic is about Sommevesle’s first king, the Knight
King Christian. It is also not clear whether he really existed or not,
right?”
The founding king of the kingdom felt more like a legend than
an ancestor. Sommevesle’s children were raised hearing King
Christian’s adventures as bedtime stories.
“The world of man was in chaos due to Evil. One god named
Christian descended from the heavens and transformed a part of
god’s power into swords and granted these swords to man. So
Christian with his 12 disciples defeated Evil and founded the
Kingdom of Sommevesle. This kind of legend of origin can easily
be found in any country, right?”
Leonhardt gestured at the board with his pointing stick and
traced the name written on the board.
“I already know that.”
“Ahaha. Of course you do. I forgot about that. If you were
born and raised in Sommevesle, you should have heard about this.
Sorry about that. Ahahaha. But. Hey. Don’t you think the name
given to the swords of the Knight King kind of lame? ‘The
Knight’s Swords’ is not really creative. Or is it just me?”
Leonhardt wrote with his right hand ‘the Knight’s Swords’ on
the board.
38
“I had the same opinion… So? I also happen to know that
already.”
“Ahahaha. Yeah, you’re right. Then the god’s power was
divided into twelve swords known as the ‘Promised Swords’ and
given to the twelve knights who swore loyalty to King Christian.
They held their military meetings over a round table where
everyone is equal and can freely share the opinions. This practice
continued to be passed on until it became a tradition that is
continued on today. This is where “the Knights of the Round” is
believed to be originated. But the stories after that are blurry and
feel more like to be fiction. Why? Because old Knight King’s
Sword was preserved, even though it is old and is stored as a
national treasure, but not even one of the twelve Promised Swords
were left.”
“How many times do I have to say it to you? I already know
that… argh! This is a waste, a total waste of my time. Why must I
take the lectures of my younger brother? Moreover, the lesson is
about a fairy tale told to every child in the kingdom when it is time
to go to bed!” Leti exploded. She could no longer take any more of
the stupid lesson while Leonhardt continued to write on the board,
and laughingly said that there was nothing Leti could do about it.
“Our father, the honorable king, was the one who decided to
select you as his heir to prevent a civil war between the factions of
the first and second princes. So he thought that he had to groom
you in becoming a ruler.
I said that I met our eldest brother a while ago right? I
properly greeted him. I said, ‘How are you doing, Prince-that-willdivide-the-kingdom-into-two?
Are you enjoying your day filled
with thrill knowing the other has sent assassins targeting your life?’”
“As for me, I am enjoying the perfect day. Ever since it was
announced that I will succeed the throne, their competition has
somehow cooled down, giving me a respite from it.”
“Scary!” Leonhardt blurted out as he shrugged his shoulders.
For her brothers who do not consider her as a sister, Leti simply
returned their sentiments and did not think of them as her
brothers either.
“And since we’re at it, let’s talk about this important thing for a
king of this Kingdom.”
Leonhardt wrote Knights of the Round on the board.
“For your information, Father particularly emphasized that this
is the one topic that I should discuss thoroughly with you. But I
know you have already tired of this topic, so I’ll say this quickly.”
“Yes. Please do. At three times your normal speed.”
When Leti was a child, she was told that there was no need for
her to study history, law, political science and the ways of a ruler
because the throne would definitely be succeeded by either of her
elder brothers. But Leti still studied all of these, so these classes
her father asked her to take were really unnecessary. However, in
40
order to appease her father, who thought she needed them, she
had no choice but to come and attend.
“Okay, let’s start with the question, ‘What is a knight?’ Knights
draw their swords only to protect the Kingdom. This is the motto of our
Royal Chivalric Order; their swords are to protect and not to hurt.
But if you look at it from the enemy’s perspective, they are getting
hurt, right? Hahaha. But I think saying that they protect all of
Sommevesle is a bit far-fetched, don’t you think? So, just as there
are kings who dream of world peace and yet simply care for the
safety of his family, the idealistic aim of many knights is to serve
the country, and their realistic goal is to vow loyalty and swear
their allegiance to their chosen master.”
There were several honorary chivalric orders around the
kingdom. Two of the most famous ones were the Seventh Heaven
of Prince Friedhelm and the Valkyrie of Prince Guido. But the
most famous and most prestigious of all chivalric orders was the
Order of the King, the Knights of the Round.
Leonhardt drew a circle around the words Knights of the Round
to emphasize his point.
“Our older brothers Friedhelm and Guido both created their
own private chivalric orders in preparation for their ascension to
the throne, right? They might have even thought to complete all
twelve when they became the King. But they were pleasantly
disappointed!”
Both of the princes had gathered skillful knights to their
Orders, so that making them Knights of the Round would not
bring shame to the name. Leti had been relieved because of this
fact, but with the way things were now, the situation was just
frustrating.
“Then on the coronation ceremony of the King… Oh, right!
When will your coronation ceremony be?”
“The earliest might be in a few years. Father seemed to be
thinking of establishing a stable Queen Leticia administration while
he is still healthy and can still control our two older brothers.”
If Leti happened to ascend the throne because of her father’s
death, there was a high possibility that her two brothers or their
supporters would attack the newly established administration. So
Leti was indeed grateful for the King’s intention of letting her take
over the crown while he could still act as her guardian.
“I see. During that coronation ceremony, each one of your
Knights of the Round will take their stand in front of the pillars in
the throne room when you take your oath as the ruler of the
kingdom. There are twelve pillars, and you should have twelve
knights by that time. Completing the twelve knights is your current
mission, but until that day, will you …”
Leonhardt questioningly looked at Leti – stilling his gaze on
her in the middle of his ramblings made him look a little scary.
“…be able to do it? Ahahaha!”
42
“Of course I can. I will get twelve knights and none of them
will be less than worthy of the title.”
Leti's eyes sparkled, her eyes oozing with determination. In
contrast was Leonhardt, who folded his arms and nodded in
thought.
“But I think this is where you have to compromise, Ane’ue. All
of the good knights are either in Seventh Heaven or in Valkyrie
already.”
“In this kind of situation, I do not care even if I have to steal
them. Or maybe it will be more interesting if I just make our two
older brothers my knights?”
Leti knew that she would inherit the throne. But that was it.
She did not know what kind of a ruler would she be, and that
uncertainty had poked her on the side so much recently that it
already hurt.
Leti's first task as the heir to the crown was to gather twelve
knights to fill in all the seats in her Knights of the Round. She had
decided that she would only get the best of best. A half-hearted
Knights of the Round was only fit for the Leftover Princess and
not the queen she wanted to be.
“I recommend the commoner but talented rookie, Astrid
Ga— waaah!”
Leti threw the history book at the babbling Leonhardt, cutting
him off. Then she graciously grabbed and flipped the hem of her
dress and walked out of the room.
“Ane’ue?”
“I shall go and court again the Leftover Princess’ lover.
Listening to you made me realize that I should hurry up. So for
that point, today’s lecture had meaning.”
Leti left Leonhardt in her room. Three guards then prepared to
follow her as her escorts but she waved them off to leave her alone.
The guards were perplexed for a moment, and Leti used this
opportunity to run away and go to the Royal Chivalric Order’s
Camp.
The knights were startled when they saw Leti walking into
their camp. Some could not even prevent themselves and started
whispering with each other. Leti was not bothered with their
useless gossip and simply continued to walk on towards her target.
“… Why, if it isn’t the next queen, a good day, Your Highness.”
Leti's target was, of course, Duke Barchet. Duke’s expression
clearly showed that Leti was just a pain and he wanted her to give
up on him already. But when he noticed that she did not have any
guards with her, he immediately scanned the surroundings.
“Your Highness, what happened to your guards?”
44
Leti became the heir to throne by overtaking her two older
brothers. It is obvious to everyone that until she became queen—
no, even she had ascended the throne, her life would be in
constant danger. But despite that, Leti was again outside, alone
without any guards, and Duke was alarmed for her.
Oi, oi, oi, what is her guards doing, letting her wander off again alone like
yesterday!?
“…Oh, yes. It is dangerous for me to be alone. I know that,
but I have some business to do in the inner room. What shall I do?”
Leti did not stop in her steps and continued to walk towards
the inner room.
“Don’t move! I’ll get someone to escort you!”
“You are addressing me again in a casual manner. Repeat.
Yesterday is already over.”
“…Please stay where you are, Your Highness. I shall call
someone to accompany you."
But Leti did not lend an ear to Duke’s words and proceeded to
go further into the hall, so Duke was left with no choice but to be
Leti's escort.
Tsk tsk. Darn it. This woman left her guards on purpose to make me
follow her!
Duke scanned the area, hoping to meet someone’s eye, but
every one of the knights in the camp averted his gaze away from
him. If only his junior Astrid—who idolized the princess—were
here, he would have passed this task to him, but unfortunately he
was nowhere in sight.
“Princess! Your Highness!”
“Shhh! This is no longer the Order’s Camp, so will you keep
quiet?”
Duke clicked his tongue one last time and gave in to his fate.
He followed Leti wherever she intended to go, realizing that he
had just fallen perfectly in her trap.
I can’t simply abandon her. It’s not like we’re totally unrelated. I fully
understand that this Leftover Princess has the difficult task of keeping her
neutral stance. I of all people, truly understand that feeling.
Leti continued to walk deeper down the hall, feeling grateful
for Duke’s innate kindness. Then she stopped upon reaching a hall
that stretched for some distance, the Gallery of Kings.
“This is where the portraits of the kings are placed. This is the
first king, the ‘Knight King Christian.’”
Duke saw the portraits of the Kings lined up and arranged on
the walls for the first time. The way the portraits were painted
varied per time period, and he was so amazed by the paintings that
he stared at them quite seriously.
46
“The twelfth king, Lion King Alexander and beside him, the
thirteenth king, Revolution King Julius. King Julius killed his
master, Lion King Alexander, and he never justified what he did.
He had his portrait painted with him holding the crown instead of
wearing it to tell the future people that this crown was never his.”
“Such a story would make one wonder why he started the
revolution in the first place.”
“Who knows? Even the Lion King himself did not know the
reason, so how would I know?”
“You sounded like you’ve asked him directly. Is he your
acquaintance?”
Leti did not reply to Duke’s banter and simply took a few steps
forward, then stopped.
“Lion King Alexander never lost a single battle during his
reign. In contrast to that, the eighteenth king, Administrative King
Karlheinz, never waged a war or started a single battle with other
countries. King Karlheinz, together with his Queen, rebuilt the
country that was turned into rubble because of the war. They
focused on internal reform and diplomacy. He was truly a wise
monarch. The idiom “fifty-five bows” came from him.”
“Was that about him bowing fifty-five times in asking
someone to be his knight?”
“Yes, that is it. How about you? How many more times shall I
bow my head before you agree to become my knight?”
“…Have you ever bowed your head down to me? I don’t
remember seeing you bow down yesterday or even the day before
that.” Duke unwittingly retorted to Leti's statement, and she just
replied, “Is that so?” and continued to walk on. She stopped in
front of an empty space where no portraits adorned the wall.
“My painting will be placed here. I wonder what my title would
be.”
“I pray that it will not be a bad name.”
Leti uttered the same prayer in her heart.
What kind of a ruler will I be? What posthumous title will they give me?
Will I be known as a wise monarch like the past and future reincarnations of
the Knight King? These were Leti's fears, which came from the fact
that she knew herself perfectly – that she could not win against her
two older brothers when it came to having the qualities and
disposition perfect for a king.
“The face of the Lion King Alexander, the abilities of
Administrator King Karlheinz, and the personality of One-handed
King Oswald.”
“Ha?” Duke said, not understanding the meaning behind Leti's
words.
“The traits of my ideal man.”
48
If Leti told this to anyone, many would take it as a joke to
mean that her standards were high that she could not find a man
to like or that she had no need for a husband. Duke was starting to
think that way, but he noticed the true meaning behind her words
upon seeing her stern profile.
“Aah, I see. Your ideal king. But I do not know who the Onehanded
King is.”
Duke noticed the truth behind Leti's joke. As she gazed at the
portraits, he saw envy, jealousy, and self-doubt reflected in her
eyes. He suddenly remembered Leti’s age—she was but a girl who
had turned seventeen the previous month. For a twenty-three year
old man like him, Leti was just a child. Yet the way this princess
confidently stood with her back perfectly straight made one forget
that she, this young lady, carried a heavy responsibility on her
shoulders.
“No, they are my rivals.”
“Yes, yes, rivals…right. Rivals.”
“They really are rivals. You do understand that, do you not?”
Leti was unusually irritated. The reason was probably because
Duke was able to see through her and read her true feelings. She
indignantly turned her back on Duke, who was saying his
condescending agreement, and she walked eight steps deeper into
the room.
“The portrait of One-handed King Oswald will be placed here,
and a little bit further will be the portrait of the Heart-broken King
Ludgar. It seems that he and the succeeding kings are no longer
directly descended from my line.”
“Huh?”
“We are going to the Knight King’s Space. Follow me.”
Leti ignored Duke’s questioning look and continued to walk
deeper into the hallway and stopped on a spot where the walls
continue endlessly.
“This is the Knight King’s Space.”
“…Hmmm, but I only see walls here. Is it something that can
only be seen by the royal family?”
“What do you mean? This is just a wall.”
Leti did not say outright ‘are you stupid?’ but her attitude and
tone says otherwise. Before Duke could even ask his question of
why she was showing him a wall, Leti spoke.
“The Knight King’s Space is a room with no doors. That is
why no one can enter it.”
“You mean like a hidden room?”
“Not really.”
50
The Knight King’s Space did not even serve the purpose of an
emergency shelter. It was simply a structure surrounded by walls
all around. Duke knocked at the wall several times and wondered
what the room was really for.
“Does making a room like that have any meaning?”
“From what I heard, the Knight King Christian had the room
made. Shall I ask him if ever we meet? I would also like to know
the reason.”
“Yes, please do… the interior, I think it is hollow judging from
the sound, but it doesn’t sound like it was filled in by rocks or
stones so I guess it really is a room.”
Duke thought that maybe it had been enclosed by walls
accidentally when it was built when Leti started to speak and
pointed at it.
“Embroidered on the carpet is the story of the gods, framed
with golden ears of grain, and on the ceiling hangs a wooden
chandelier – the kind no longer seen around here. On floor, above
the carpet, is a patina oak table. Chairs created out of the same
wood are scattered around the room. All of the furnishings are
adorned by carvings so beautiful, they could be masterpieces of art.
They are like gems, priceless in their rarity and beauty.”
“…Have you seen the inside of the room?”
“How could I, when there are no existing documents or
paintings depicting it?”
“But your description was rather detailed and…”
“I have always been told that I have a very vivid imagination.”
Leti finished her business in the Gallery of Kings and
proceeded to walk out of the room. Duke followed behind her,
sighing loudly enough for Leti to hear. He wanted to ask
sarcastically if she was done and satisfied, but swallowed back his
words. He decided not to voice them, as he could still remember
Leti's stern face as she looked at the Kings’ portraits.
Leti would be a queen. Not feeling anxious, scared or worried
was far stranger. Going to the Gallery of Kings to sort out her
feelings and thoughts while surrounded by the kings she idolized
so much was just a natural thing for someone like her to do.
“My stroll ends here. I am going back. Come with me and have
some refreshments as thanks for escorting me.”
“I will go with you and send you back to the castle. But I will
pass on the refreshments. Thank you for the offer.”
“Just go inside and drink tea. I do not want any weird rumors
going around saying that I do not treat my visitors well.”
Duke, once again, swallowed back his retort that her offer was
really for herself and not his. He repeated in his mind that he was
52
the adult here and silently followed Leti. Upon seeing Leti return,
her guards hurriedly went to her, followed by her maid.
“Princess! We’re glad you’re safe!”
“Yes, I am. The knight behind me served as my escort. Prepare
tea in the summerhouse.”
Leti gave her orders to the maid and then ordered her guards
to stay outside.
In the summerhouse, the expensive-looking tea set prepared
for them was placed on an elegant table with matching chairs.
Duke was so nervous thinking what he would do if he, a son of a
poor and lowly baron, spilled tea or snacks on the immaculately
white lace tablecloth.
“I would like to say relax and take your time, but my older
brother shall come here in a while. But you can stay if you want to
listen to a siblings’ squabble.”
The maid poured tea into the cup and silently placed it in front
of them. The maid, who was either thoroughly trained by Leti or
knew her master well, left the two of them alone and went out of
the room even without an order from Leti.
“May I ask you something? You are the eldest son of a baron,
right? So why did you enter the Knight Academy and become a
knight in the Royal Chivalric Order? Perhaps you have a dire
financial need?”
“If I say I have?”
“Then I would use that chance to make you owe me. I will pay
your family’s debt and make you bow down your head to me. So
you really need not be troubled about it.”
“Of course I’ll be troubled!” With what you were planning to do!
It was not unusual for nobles to join the Order. Those who
joined were normally the younger sons, who would not inherit the
title, or those who would like to add prestige in their name before
marriage. However, eldest sons like Duke—who would succeed
the title—were rare.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you but we’re not in debt. I am just a
man trying to be the man I wanna be. But I’m sure, Your Highness
will not understand…”
Duke did not expect to see a surprised reaction from Leti. He
thought that she would answer him with one of her witticisms.
“…Hmmm… I see. So what are you planning now?”
“Planning to do what?”
“Planning to do with your future. The competition for the
throne is finished for now, so there is no need for you to stay on
neutral ground. Do you have plans on joining Seventh Heaven?”
54
“The competition indeed has settled for now but the battle for
political power still remains. So in the end, the rivalry between the
Prince Friedhelm and Prince Guido factions is not yet over.”
Leti was chosen to be the heir to the crown, the next queen,
but up until now, the next queen had yet to decide who her king
would be. So it was natural that there were those nobles thinking
of making their sons her husband, and then would control the
Queen Leticia administration as their puppet government.
“I see your head does not only have swords in it. I do not see
my stupid brothers giving up soon. They keep on sending me
portraits for my husband candidates, and I can soon fill a treasure
room with those.”
“That is…quite…something.”
“Would you like to take a look? You can get any that catches
your fancy.”
“I will pass on that. I do not have the hobby of decorating my
room with portraits of men.”
“I see.”
Leti elegantly brought the cup to her lips and took a sip of her
tea without even making a sound. Then she suddenly stood up.
“What’s wro—?”
Before Duke could finish his question, his trained eyes saw
Leti grab a spoon and throw it across to him when he was about to
drink the tea, and with the impact of the spoon, his teacup split
into pieces, spilling the liquid inside it onto the white tablecloth.
Duke was already panicking, thinking of the damage this would
cost him, and shouted at Leti.
“Oi! What do you think you’re do—”
“…Poison. You have not drunk it yet, right?”
“Not yet, but didn’t you already—!?”
“You are speaking casually again. I have immunity against
poisons. All I need is a bit of rest and…”
Duke immediately went to Leti's side, knocking off the chair in
the process. He knelt beside Leti to check on her.
“Just quit talking. I’ll call a doctor.”
“…I…am…really…fine…so…keep…quiet…”
Duke carried Leti, whose face suddenly turned blue and her
breathing became faster.
My first priority is to search for help.
“Oi! Somebody call a doctor! Princess Leticia was poisoned!”
Duke’s voice echoed in Leti's ears. She repeated that she was
just fine, but her words did not leave her lips.
56
“Anything wrong? Your face doesn’t look good.”
“Ah, I see. I lost consciousness. I think I was poisoned.”
Leti went to the Knight King’s Space unconsciously. Lion
King Alexander and Administrative King Karlheinz were present.
“Out of the 12 swords, minus the Knight Sword, never ever
grant to anyone the Earth Sword that heals and the Steel Sword
that protects your body from attacks.” King Alexander gave Leti
this advice with a sluggish smile, as he was feeling irritated himself.
“Did you do that?”
“Oh, yes I did. That is the reason why we, the reincarnations
of Knight King Christian, can leave such amazing achievements
compared to other kings. If you have the Earth Sword, you can
neutralize most poisons, and if you have the Steel Sword, a slash
from a sword will simply be a shallow cut on you.”
“I see. But according to history, you will be soon killed by your
Prime Minister, will you not?”
“Yeah. I wonder how he will kill me…”
King Alexander had already accepted his fated death and even
said he was looking forward to it. Leti looked around the room
with her arms folded across her chest.
The wall was lined with a tapestry of charms for fairies. The
carpet had the story of gods, multiple gods that Leti found it hard
to believe, as their religion now was monotheist – with only one
god. This space, this room, is really different from her time.
“What was Knight King Christian thinking when he created
this room? If he created this room for a place to gather his
reincarnations, then why have we not seen him here even once?”
“…Maybe, maybe he just wanted an escape… just like us?”
Administrator King Karlheinz suggested in response to Leti’s
question.
“I have come to think that maybe he is here, only that we
cannot see him.”
The Knight King’s Space was a place for the kings to think of
the what-ifs in their lives.
What if King Alexander threw away the crown and abandoned
the country? Would his life have been saved? Would he have lived?
What if King Karlheinz threw away the crown and went after
his wife? Would they have had the chance to go back to the way
things were? Would they have a peaceful life together as husband
wife?
58
And what if Leti would not be a good king? Would have it
been better if her brothers, who were more suited to be kings,
were the ones who inherited the crown?
The kings could freely show their weaknesses in this space,
where the only witnesses would be the other reincarnations of the
Knight King, who all lived in different times and would never
cross paths.
“Hmm?”
Leti thought she heard someone calling her and turned around
looking for the voice, but there was no one there because the voice
she heard was not from this space but from her reality.
“I will go now. Someone is calling me.”
That noisy voice is calling me. I guess it is time to wake up.
And Leti left the Knight King’s Space.
“Princess Leticia!”
Leti frowned at the low but noisy voice calling out her name
by her ears. Even a cool, baritone voice could be deadly weapon
for someone not in their top condition.
“’With a sword on my right and a shield on my left, I swear my
allegiance to you until the day I die.’ If you say that, I will get up,”
said Leti to Duke, while she was still lying in bed with her eyes
closed. The words that Leti recited were from the Knight’s Oath.
In other words, she was asking Duke to be her knight in order for
her to wake up.
“I see you’re already fine since you can already say that much. I
shall take my leave now.”
“—now. What time is it now? I see the sun has already set
but…”
“Yes. The sun has set for the third time since you were
poisoned. It has been three days already.”
Leti suddenly stood up upon hearing how long she had passed
out. But the sudden movement and recent lack of it made her
dizzy, and she stumbled back in bed. Judging it impossible to stand
up straight in a spinning world, she gave up and simply sat on her
bed.
“What do you mean three days?”
“Oi, don’t push yourself. Lie down.”
“Too casual.”
“Umm… PLEASE LIE DOWN, YOUR HIGHNESS. You know,
you’ve just crossed the line between life and death yesterday.”
60
“It was a strong poison then. You would have died on the spot
if you were the one who drank it. I am glad I stopped you on time.”
When Leti drank the tea, she felt a shock run through her body
and her tongue go numb. She did know that she would not die
because of poison, but no one said it would not be painful. So this
incident taught her a lesson, and she reflected that she would be
more careful next time.
“So how are things now? Was the perpetrator caught?”
“Prince Leonhardt asked me to be your guard. He is the one
leading the investigation in coordination with the Royal Chivalric
Order…but from what I heard, they could not get any information
from the maid no matter how hard they pressed her. Finding the
real culprit might be difficult.”
Leti sighed in relief upon hearing Duke’s report.
“I see. It is better not to find the real culprit.”
Duke was surprised with this reply. He had prepared himself
for a bashing of the Order’s incompetence, so Leti's unexpected
answer confused him.
“Wouldn’t it better if the culprit was caught? It’d guarantee
your safety.”
“No. Think. Who would be the prime suspects for this case?
Prince Friedhelm and Prince Guido. Now, if decisive evidence
comes up against either one of them, then the political balance I
have created will crumble.”
“Political balance?”
“My two brothers should continue on keeping each other in
check lest I find myself in less favorable situation. If either one of
them gets lost in the picture, then the country would be divided
between myself and the one who remains. The three of us have to
keep this balance until the day we die. Keeping the kingdom’s
peace is more important than catching the culprit. Besides, will this
not be better for you as well? You are Prince Friedhelm’s friend,
after all.”
Duke agreed that what Leti said was true. He would not want
his friend to be the suspect for Leti's attempted murder.
“But…what about your feelings? You might have been killed
by your brother, you know?”
Leti had spoken about prioritizing the kingdom with a calm
face even though she had just woken up. But Duke already knew.
He already knew that Leti was not only just a perfect princess—he
knew that beyond her perfectly calm façade, there were more sides
to her.
“Our warm filial relationship ended when I was nine, and for
the last eight years, all we’ve had is a cold sibling relationship. I do
not wish for us to go back to the time when we were young
children.”
62
Leti's tone suggested that this topic was over and that it was
time to discuss other things.
“Putting that aside, my apologies for dragging you into this. I
am sure it was not a pleasant experience being a suspect.”
“Well, it couldn’t be helped. I was in a position screaming to
be a suspect anyway.”
When Leti collapsed because of the poisoned tea, Leonhardt
suspected Duke right off the bat. Duke was Friedhelm’s friend and
his family was under Guido’s faction. It would have been no
wonder if he had been asked by either to do such a thing.
“You don’t have to worry about me. Worry about yourself.
Are you—?”
“Worried about me? I appreciate the feelings. Could you relay
a message for me? Tell Leon to come here and that if anyone else
comes inside, I will kill him.”
“Brutal now, are we?”
“Not me, them. Anyway, sorry for making you stay as my
bodyguard. I know you also have your own job. I shall give my
thanks formally later.”
Leti closed all discussions and pressed Duke to leave, but he
had one last thing to ask. “It was a spoon, right? The one you
threw at me.”
“Yes. What else did you see it as, a fork?”
Duke was not convinced with her answer, but he was confused
when he was questioned back. He did see Leti throw a spoon, but
it felt like it was something sharper.
“…Will a teacup break because of a spoon hitting it?”
“If the cup already has a crack, then it can be broken even with
bare hands, right?”
Leti waved her hand, dismissing Duke. But Duke hesitated to
leave because of two reasons. One, he wanted to ask further about
the spoon-breaking-teacup incident, and two, he felt it was too
cold to simply leave after literally completing the task given to him
of guarding Leti until she woke up. In the end, he chose to throw
those thoughts aside and left Leti's room.
After walking a few steps, Duke looked back at the closed
door leading to Leti's room. He noticed that there was a part of
him confused on what he should do next.
Where exactly do I stand now?
Duke was supposed to be in the middle, in a neutral ground
where he was Friedhelm’s friend, and his family under Guido’s
faction—though personally, he was pro-Friedhelm. And yet he
was looking at this incident from Leti's perspective. He
immediately worried about her being nearly killed by her brothers
without even having second thoughts about suspecting Friedhelm.
64
A life was just saved right in front of your eyes. Of course it’s natural for
you to feel worried about her. It’s just natural.
Duke rationalized his feelings in his head, convincing himself
that it was still too early for him to recognize the change of heart
budding inside him.
“How is Ane’ue?”
Leonhardt found Duke even before Duke could find him.
Both of them looked dreadful since they both had not had any
decent sleep ever since the incident.
When Leonhardt put on his serious face, it was apparent that
he and Leti were siblings. He normally wore a shabby coat and
highly reflective eyeglasses, and had a mouth that spoke quickly
about his researches and findings. But when his face was stoic and
he had his glasses off, he was obviously a handsome young man.
“Prince Leonhardt, Her Highness has sent me to fetch you and
not to let anyone else inside her room.”
“Is that so~? Well, you may take your leave now as her guard.
Be careful on your way home~!” Once he opened his mouth, he
was back to how he originally was. He took out his handkerchief
and waved it at Duke, dismissing him of his duty.
Duke should have taken his leave when Leonhardt dismissed
him. He had already completed his tasks of acting as Leti's guard
and calling Leonhardt, but his body would not move.
“Oh…oh… are you not going home? But you have to. The
suspicion against you is yet to be cleared, you know.”
Leonhardt looked at Duke with such piercing eyes, Duke felt
like he was penetrating inside him. Then Leonhardt smiled.
“If you want to stay, you better be Ane’ue’s Knight.”
“—I do not have any plans on doing so. Please excuse me.”
Duke made his refusal clear, turned on his heel, and took his leave.
Leonhardt’s face broke into a grin as he watched Duke walk away.
“Hmmm…ahaha… This might not be as hopeless as I thought
it would be.”
Leonhardt had heard stories about Duke Barchet, so he
thought that he would be a lost cause, but that did not seem to be
the case any longer. Leonhardt entered Leti's room while humming
a song.
After listening to Leonhardt’s report and giving him
instructions, Leti went back to sleep once more. When she woke
up suddenly, she heard a knock on the door.
“Who is it?”
It could be a maid checking on her or some other brother or
sister to visit her… or maybe an unwanted visitor. Leti
66
concentrated on her right hand. The person who came in was
indeed an unwanted visitor, but also another sibling.
“Yo! You okay… of course not… but you seem to be fine.”
Leti threw a pillow at his face as soon as he entered the room,
but they had been together for so long that her older brother
Friedhelm did not have any difficulty catching the pillow and
throwing it back at her.
“Where are your manners? It is rude to enter a lady’s room
without permission! Go out and count until two hundred then
come in again!”
“Don’t worry, I won’t feel anything even if I see you in your
negligee—Yes ma’am I will go out and count to two hundred.”
Friedhelm did as Leti said to escape a thick tome being thrown
at him. He entered the room again after counting to two hundred,
and inside he found Leti perfectly dressed and sitting comfortably
on her chair.
“I wouldn’t have minded if you stayed in bed. You haven’t
recovered yet, right?”
“I will be fine as long as I get some sleep. So? What is your
business here?”
Friedhelm lay on his back with his legs outstretched on Leti's
couch like he was the master of the room.
“To visit the sick. What else would I come here for? Leon has
been running around investigating. Of course I’ll worry that
something might be up.”
Prince Friedhelm was a handsome person, though in a
different way from Leti and Guido. He had flaxen hair and green
eyes. He excelled in martial arts and was a generous man. He had
charisma that could charm many people, and knights were not the
only type of people to swear loyalty to him. To add to that, all of
the members of Seventh Heaven were first-rate people.
No matter how anyone looks at him, it is evident that he is much more
suited to be a king than I do. How irritating! Leti snorted as she poured
into the depths of her heart her irrational irritation.
“Visiting the sick is just for show, right? What is your real
purpose? I only have water to offer you.”
Leti poured water into the goblet and offered it to Friedhelm.
He accepted Leti's offer and drank the water as if it was an
expensive wine.
“Well, I heard that you were courting a certain friend of mine.
So I wanted to confirm it with you.”
“The rumors are true. I am currently enticing Duke Barchet to
take the First Seat in my Knights of the Round. And since you are
here, I would also like to ask for around four knights from your
Seventh Heaven. Tell me when you feel like giving them away.
68
Friedhelm found the situation interesting. He placed the water
goblet on the table and stood up, walking towards Leti.
“…How…How did you know?”
“Know what?”
“You used to say ‘I want to be with Onii-sama4
! I will study
with him!’ You were very cute then…”
Bringing up an old story that was a decade old only added to
Leti's irritation. She wondered why her still young twenty-three
year old brother seemed to remember the mundane things and
forget the essential ones as he got older.
“You wanted to study everything, from the ways of the
monarch to history and law, and the masters did teach you when
4 Onii-sama: A formal honorific to call one’s older brother. (Onii mans older
brother and –sama is an honorific to show respect)
70
they felt like it. I only thought that you were a cute little sister
trying to copy her brother, but looking back at it now, it seems like
you already knew you’d be queen way back then.”
Friedhelm cornered Leti in her seat. He placed one of his
hands on the chair’s handle and the other on the backrest. Leti still
had not yet fully recovered and could not move as she pleased, so
she took a deep breath and replied like she was scolding a naughty
child.
“Of course I did not. I had not even thought about it in my
wildest imagination.”
“It’s not only about you studying. You had kept a completely
neutral stand on the competition going on about me and Guido,
saying that you didn’t want to add to the turmoil that might split
the kingdom. In the process, you created a third faction, your
faction, the neutrals, where the majority of the other royal children
belong – even my own full brother and sisters. I couldn’t help but
think you’ve already been creating and strengthening your foothold
on the throne right from the start.”
Everything that Friedhelm said was true. Leti had already
known since she was a child that she would inherit the throne
through the Knight King’s Space. It had taken some time before
she fully accepted the fact, but after that, she did everything within
her power to make the necessary preparations. It was true that she
pretended to be a peace-loving princess that hated conflict and
stayed neutral. This brought her other siblings, except for
Friedhelm and Guido, to her side.
“It is all a coincidence.”
“Really? Why do you seem to be so calm about it? I never saw
you feel lost or confused about the whole thing, suddenly being
proclaimed as the next queen and all.”
“I only seem to be so. One can never know what other people
truly feel inside.”
Leti rebutted in her thoughts, ‘Who in the right mind would show
their weakness to other people?’ Then she remembered that one time in
the Kings’ Gallery where Duke saw through her. Her musings
were cut by Friedhelm’s voice.
“Then don’t you think it is time for you to show what’s inside
your heart?”
“I do not understand what you want from me.”
“Tell me the truth. Tell me, who did you think was better
suited to be a king? Me or Guido? I know you had your reasons
why you had to stay neutral, just like Duke. But not having a
preference is all just a front. Tell me, who it is?”
Leti was not able to read Friedhelm’s intention, so she gave a
safe answer.
72
“Leonhardt. He is my full brother and son of the First Queen,
after all.”
Friedhelm’s face changed from being dead serious to that of a
sulking child, a trickster’s face that many fall for.
“Yeah, you’re right. It was supposed to be Leonhardt, had he
not ended up like that, then…”
There was a reason why Sommevesle’s line of succession to
the throne had become this complicated.
The King of Sommevesle was allowed to take up to three
Queen Consorts to prevent not having any heir. Since a child had
not been born between the current King and the First Queen
Consort for some time, the King decided to take in his Second and
Third Queen Consorts at the same time. Shortly afterward, the
Third Queen Consort conceived the first child, Friedhelm, then
the Second Queen Consort got pregnant with the second child,
Guido, and in all irony, the First Queen Consort gave birth to the
third child, Leticia, and fourth child, Leonhardt.
Should the proper order in succession be followed, the rightful
heir is neither Friedhelm nor Guido but Leonhardt. But with how
Leonhardt turned out, they were not convinced about him being
the king, so from there it was easy for them to see Leticia as a
candidate. That was where things stood now.
“This crown was just a leftover from the three princes, right?
Now that I have answered all of your questions and satisfied your
curiosity, will you bring with you all of those portraits of husband
candidates you had sent to me? I refuse all of them.”
Leti drove Friedhelm out of her room with this request. But
despite her refusals, he just kept sending a new batch every time
she returned the previous one. If Duke were to be asked, the
persistence of these two was good proof that they were siblings.
“I already filtered these, so these are all handsome men who
probably have good personalities. What’s your type, then?”
“The face of Lion King Alexander, the abilities of
Administrative King Karlheinz, and the personality of One-handed
King Oswald. If there is a man like that, I will not mind marrying
him. ”
“…What you said means that you won’t marry, you know?
And who’s King Oswald?” Friedhelm wondered curiously. It was
the first time he heard the name, but he decided to move on.
“Anyway, I shall take my leave now. Your face doesn’t look
fine at all.”
While Friedhelm noticed that Leti had deliberately changed the
topic, he decided to be the one to back off. He removed his hand
from the chair and sarcastically thanked Leti for the water.
“I told you, I am fine.”
74
“How can a face like that be fine? Go and take a look at a
mirror.” Friedhelm said, pointing to her vanity, and he proceeded
to the door.
“—Things get hard once they get complicated, huh?”
“Eh?”
“It was not supposed to be like this. But we always end up
wringing each other’s neck. I know that I should be the one to give
way but… this is just frustratingly hard. See you ‘round.”
As Friedhelm went out of the room, Leti understood the
meaning behind his words, and she held her head heavy with
exhaustion.
“Aaah…jeez.”
Leti never thought that he came because he was really,
truthfully worried about her. She had already given up on their
relationship once, given up on the possibility for them to be on
good terms with each other again.
Friedhelm, Guido and Leti used to play together when they
were young. They always spent their time together with their
mothers watching over them from afar. But as they grew up,
Friedhelm and Guido’s relationship suddenly turned for the worse,
with the competition for the crown turning their every meeting
into heated collisions. The only thing Leti could do was to mediate
between them and to show that she was not taking sides. So she
decided to distance herself from them, and by the time they had
noticed it, they had grown far away from each other. They simply
ended up interrogating the other when they met, always
exchanging stride remarks.
“If that was your intention, I would have properly offered
good tea and some biscuits for you…”
It was just right after the poisoning incident. Friedhelm would
not have done anything rash, and Leti could have been more
welcoming.
“Things become hard when they get complicated…”
I guess you are right.
It was a rare event that the two royal siblings shared the same
opinion on one thing.
