‘No way, it must be a lie.’
That was the first thought Evangeline had as she lay collapsed on the floor, drenched in cold sweat, overhearing Whitney’s words.
The emperor she knew was a virtuous ruler.
In fact, even aside from her, most nobles and commoners believed the emperor to be wise and just.
Part of it was because the previous emperor had been so disastrous, but more fundamentally, the current emperor, Lilia Winter Klaus, was competent.
Ever since she seized the throne, the empire had faced numerous crises that could have brought it down, but the emperor defused them all with astonishing skill.
She even managed to successfully stabilize the empire, which many claimed was rotting from within.
Whatever face the emperor showed to high nobles, or the vague rumors circulating among the lesser ones—those things meant little to commoners.
‘There’s no doubt that person is behind it all. It’s suspicious how the irreparable mana circuit was restored. He must be deeply involved in that incident.’
And that suspicion was the same for the two siblings of the fallen House Mistilane, who had no choice but to cling to even a rotten lifeline.
Naturally, when the emperor secretly sent a messenger ordering this mission, the siblings had no choice but to risk their lives and obey.
“T-The one behind the burning of my mana circuit…?”
“……”
“H-How does Master know that…?”
But for some reason, that decision was now becoming a poison that tightened around their necks.
“Runiel, I know more than you think.”
“Ah…”
“I’ve already identified the one responsible for harming my subordinate.”
Even if she had just shown a change in attitude, Runiel was still Runiel.
“So? Even knowing that, will you forgive the two of them?”
There was no way that someone born with an obsession for the sword would forgive the person behind rendering her unable to wield it for life.
“…I will forgive them.”
“Hm?”
Just when they were sure she wouldn’t, the words that slipped from Runiel’s mouth—after a moment of hesitation—were once again completely unexpected by the two siblings.
“I’m sure they just strayed from the right path for a moment. They’re just kids who don’t know how the world works…”
“If anything, it seems like Runiel knows even less of the world.”
“T-That may be… but still…”
Runiel’s eyes grew even more earnest as she stubbornly defended her siblings.
“Well, if you insist that much, I suppose there’s no helping it.”
“…Haah, thank you.”
Watching all this from the side, Evangeline Mistilane’s eyes twisted in frustration.
‘What is this, seriously?’
No matter how she thought about it, there was no reason her former sister should go this far for them.
They hadn’t been particularly close—hardly even shared more than a few words.
If anything, they’d clashed fiercely during training.
‘Why…? Why would she throw away even her pride for us…?’
Unable to understand Runiel’s actions, Evangeline glared ahead with open hostility—right when it happened.
“Ah.”
“Hm.”
She met eyes directly with Whitney, who happened to be facing Runiel.
“…Hiiik.”
A crawling sensation like insects under her skin ran across her body, and Evangeline’s breathing grew ragged once again.
In truth, Whitney’s eyes were always slitted and unreadable, making it unclear if their eyes had truly met.
But for Evangeline, Whitney’s gaze had already turned into a kind of trauma, and she began to sweat again, overwhelmed by the atmosphere.
“Now that I think about it, I’m curious about something.”
And then, just a moment later, Whitney suddenly turned to Runiel and asked her a question.
“Why do you like swords so much, Runiel?”
“That… it’s probably just something I was born with.”
“Still, wasn’t there some kind of turning point?”
Though momentarily flustered by the abrupt question, Runiel quickly began digging through her memories.
“If I had to say, a turning point…”
A faintly bitter smile tugged at her lips.
“I… used to love it.”
And then came a confession—possibly the first of her life.
“When we were children, my younger siblings loved seeing me wield a sword.”
Her eyes, as she spoke of the past, held a strange nostalgia.
“Now, they hate it more than anything.”
“Sometimes I wish I could go back to those days.”
Hearing that, Evangeline’s expression momentarily went blank.
Shake…
Her clenched fists began to tremble.
The once-fierce glare in her eyes faded, her pupils dilated and fixed forward.
And just as tears slowly began to gather in those eyes—
“That would be a problem.”
“…What?”
“Because you are my knight now, aren’t you?”
Suddenly, Whitney’s slightly amused voice rang out.
Clench…
Startled by that voice, Evangeline quickly wiped her tears with her sleeve and then grit her teeth as she saw Whitney resting a hand on Runiel’s shoulder.
“…Yes. I am your knight.”
Her older sister, once unmatched by anyone, was now declaring it so helplessly while bound to a single man.
“As I said earlier, I will take full responsibility.”
“…Responsibility?”
“Anything. I’ll do anything. For example…”
And then, she even lowered her head before him and spoke obediently.
“Even if it’s to be the subject of a physically demanding experiment, or a near-impossible assassination mission, or even mere entertainment—it doesn’t matter.”
“Eh?”
“…P-Please, let it end with me. As long as I can keep my arms to wield a sword, I’ll accept anything.”
Her voice desperate, cold sweat dripping again—Whitney was about to respond sternly.
“So please, I—”
“…S-Stop it!”
Then, Evangeline—trembling all over—suddenly jumped forward and shouted.
“I-I’ll take that responsibility instead!”
“S-Sister… D-Don’t lay a hand on Runiel!”
And then, silence fell.
“N-No! Evangeline!”
Breaking that fragile silence was Richard, who forced himself up despite his injuries.
“Are you insane? Do you even know what you just said?”
“……”
“You’ll never be able to take it back! Why, why would you…?”
But he didn’t get to finish.
Gooooo…
“Gah?”
A terrifying energy suddenly crashed down on him.
“Ugh, h-huff…”
Richard, thinking it was one of Whitney’s tricks, sat down weakly and glared at him with a pale face, but Whitney’s expression remained perfectly calm.
“Oh, could it be that you’re interested in the knight order interview?”
“…What?”
“If so, just sign this contract here. Haha.”
He only tilted his head for a moment, then cheerfully pulled a contract from his chest and handed it to Evangeline.
“If I sign this…”
“Yes, you’ll become one of us right away. What do you think?”
“……”
“Hmm, but what’s holding you back?”
As Evangeline held the contract and started sweating nervously, her eyes widened at the cheerful voice coming from in front of her.
“You were the one who applied for our family’s knight order interview, weren’t you?”
“Ah.”
“I thought you’d sign the moment you received it, without hesitation…”
As Whitney’s smile grew wider, Evangeline bit her lower lip hard and lowered her head.
“I-I’ll sign it.”
“Oh-ho.”
“So… please just let Richard go.”
“…?”
At her determined voice, Whitney, who had been visibly pleased, suddenly turned cold.
“Why?”
“T-That’s…”
“It would be too cruel to reject only one of a pair of siblings who applied together.”
As Whitney turned to look at Richard, who was still sitting on the floor, Evangeline’s voice began to tremble more.
“I-I’m enough, aren’t I? R-Richard’s not even that good at swordsmanship, and he’s not smart either.”
“W-What?”
“Be quiet! Richard!”
Richard, offended, started to mutter something, but Evangeline yelled and cut him off, speaking in a tearful voice.
“Y-You go back to the family. At least one of us needs to stay behind for there to be any chance.”
“B-But…”
“I-I’ll be fine. They said even if you’re bitten by a griffin, you can survive if you stay conscious. So…”
But Evangeline’s voice grew smaller and smaller.
No matter how she thought about it, Whitney, who smiled eerily as he looked down at her, wasn’t on the level of a monster like a griffin.
“Haha, what a bold young lady you are.”
At the very least, it would take someone like the previous Demon King, who once burned down half the world, to match him.
“To think such a daring person is joining our knight order—I’m truly delighted!”
“Hiiik…”
“Aahahahahaha…”
And now, having become the subordinate of such a being, Evangeline could do nothing but cry in despair.
“So… when will you sign?”
“……”
“Do you not want to?”
Still, Evangeline couldn’t bring herself to refuse the contract she held.
“Eva…”
Runiel, who had been looking at her with vacant eyes this entire time, still remained in her gaze.
“…Is this how I do it?”
“Yes, well done.”
And so, the Lindgard Count family’s knight order once again easily recruited a truly outstanding talent.
‘What unexpected fortune is this?’
Even if others viewed the situation with a slightly different lens.
In any case, for Whitney—who had been forced to mediate the rift in House Mistilane—it was a moment of unexpected blessing.
***
“Haah, I wondered when it would finally end.”
“…Ah, Milady.”
Just as I was basking in the joy of successfully recruiting for the knight order, Lady Meredia, who had been quietly observing from the side, spoke up again.
“Making me wait? You know that’s usually unacceptable, right?”
“What is?”
“…The Emperor’s secret.”
“Ah.”
Normally, she would have been angry, but the fact that she wasn’t and simply asked a question showed how curious she was.
Well, anyone would react this way when told of a deadly secret concerning the emperor.
“Alright, Milady. Let me borrow your ear again.”
“…Huh? Again?”
“This information is just so shocking…”
Leaning close to her ear, I whispered in the quietest voice possible, carefully checking my surroundings.
“Listen closely, Milady. The emperor is actually…”
“…Actually?”
It may have seemed like I was exaggerating, but this secret really did carry that level of impact.
“…not of royal blood.”
“What?”
“She’s not a member of the royal family by blood.”
Even though Lady Meredia had recently mellowed a bit, she still usually kept a calm demeanor.
So the fact that her eyes widened like a startled rabbit upon hearing my words showed just how shocking it was.
“To be honest, I really didn’t want to say this, but…”
“Yes?”
“Sometimes… you scare me a little. Is this how other people have always felt when dealing with me?”
Still, I was a little hurt hearing her mutter that, while breaking into a cold sweat.
“Me? Haha.”
“…Don’t smile like that.”
Cliche Novel 