Yuusha-sama no Oshishou-sama

Members of the royal family would only begin to officially a.s.sume their responsibilities when they turned eighteen .

However, as a princess, Cornelia still had the responsibility of entertaining guests, such as foreign dignitaries and prominent n.o.bles .

She had just attended one such event, where she had to silently suffer through pompous flattery from the n.o.bles that had come to see her father . Finally done with it, she rushed through a maze of corridors to her quarters in the inner palace .

The hallways were pointlessly long and wide, which made getting anywhere a slog .

She pa.s.sed by intricately crafted pillars one by one . The finest architects and artists in the land had labored to raise this symbol of the empire’s glory, but to the palace’s inhabitants, it was just their home .

Privately, she wished the people who had built the palace hadn’t made it so vast .

It’s Wynn’s first day and I’ve already kept him waiting!

Seeing her run through the castle halls made the knights and staff frown . But time and time again, whoever tried to stop and scold her would suffer a nasty surprise and find themself attempting to chide a princess . A hurried polite greeting would be issued to mask the faux-pas .

Cornelia’s dress wasn’t typical royal attire and didn’t signal her status . She wore one that was plain and unadorned, comfortable to work in .

Mary’s going to scold me for this, won’t she? Oh, speak of the devil .

A familiar face appeared ahead . It was Mary indeed .

Seeing Cornelia, the girl bowed deeply .

“Excuse my tardiness . Has Wynn arrived yet?”

“Yes, princess . He is here, but… ”

“Is anything amiss?”

Mary recounted her exchange with Raymond .

“I see . Viscount Hoffman… The one who belongs to Marquis Cliffdorf’s faction?”

“He is a newly appointed Court Mage . ”

Could Cliffdorf be aiming to increase his faction’s influence among the Court Mages?

Historically, the Knight Order and the Court Mages did not interact very often .

In contrast to the militaristic knights, the mages prefered to mingle with the bureaucrats, and many of them a.s.sumed bureaucratic jobs in their old age .

That gave the mages a lot of influence .

The Cliffdorfs placing one of their own in the Court Mages’ ranks was a sign that they were trying to have a slice of that pie .

“It is also worth mentioning that Sir Bard did not come in uniform today . ”

“Is that so? I hope you gave him a warning?”

“Yes, Highness . It was done . ”

The two women walked side-by-side towards the inner palace and Cornelia’s private quarters .

Once they got there, the princess saw her friend and cla.s.smate from the Knight Academy . After four long years, he had finally become a knight, even if, officially, he was just a part of the Imperial Guard under Cornelia’s direct command and not a part of any chivalric order…

“Good morning to you, Your Highness . ”

“Good morning, Wynn . You may call me Cornelia when no one else is around . I do consider you an important friend of mine, after all . ”

“Understood, Princess Cornelia . ”

“Dispense with the formalities . I insist . ”

“Umm, okay… uhhh, Cornelia? . ”

Despite some awkwardness, Wynn obediently addressed her normally as he had in the past . Cornelia smiled happily, then appraised his appearance through narrowed eyes .

“I see that your new clothes have not yet arrived … Or did they not fit you, perhaps?”

“The size wasn’t the problem . I’m still a squire though, and your personal Guardian Knight order has not yet been officially established . I felt out of place wearing the uniform . ”

“Is that so? I think it suits you perfectly though!”

Wynn could only reply with a sheepish chuckle .

His Imperial Guard uniform was made of a luxurious white fabric .

And only those of the highest rank wore white .

For official functions, that color was restricted to a select few: royalty, the heads of n.o.ble families given peerage, and ministers sitting in the Cabinet .

Furthermore, the brilliant white of his uniform was accentuated by blue cuffs, a blue collar, and embroidery sewn in gold and silver .

At the moment, it was uniform only Wynn had the honour of wearing .

He was currently the sole Guardian Knight of Cornelia, and she was an unmarried princess . There would likely be resistance to him being that close to her .

Alfred seemed to be busy with laying the necessary groundwork so that the optics of the situation were right before it was announced .

Very few had heard about Cornelia’s new guard order, and those who did knew nothing more than rumours .

“Mary did tell me to wear it regularly though . She said I would get used to it . ”

“If you wear the uniform often, you’ll learn how to project a befitting appearance . ”

Wynn sighed .

“But I did put on the emblem . ”

He pointed to his chest .

Cornelia’s crest, a star-shaped bellflower, gleamed on his chest .

“I guess I have no choice but to get used to it . ”

The princess entered her room with a resigned smile and offered Wynn a seat .

Mary promptly went about preparing tea for the two of them .

“By the way, what do I have to do as a Guardian Knight?”

“Good question… ”

Cornelia contemplated the question for a short while .

“Normally, you would remain by my side as a guard during official functions… But since my presence is not required for any of them at the moment, having tea with me every once in a while will be sufficient . ”

“Hmm . That doesn’t really sound like work . ”

“Also, since I intend to continue attending the Academy, my safety while on the school grounds shall be in your hands . ”

“Oh, yeah, they finally announced that the Knight Academy is opening again . I’m happy that I don’t have to pay another enrollment fee or anything . ”

The Academy that had been closed since the coup was finally opening its doors again .

The school officials had worked frantically to replace all the faculty members who had died during the incident .

There was also pressure to reorganize the knight orders in response to the worsening relations with Petersia .

Therefore, the officials decided to make an exception and allow the students who were enrolled last year to re-enroll .

And so, all the students who had gone through the coup were exempt from the selection examinations and automatically promoted .

Those who had been mere cadets became squires .

Those who had been squires became full-fledged knights .

Due to the personnel shortage, the newly knighted students would have to complete the tasks normally left to their more experienced peers .

Among all the new student-knights, only Wynn became a Guardian Knight .

He hadn’t become a part of the Royal Knight Order or the Imperial Guard like he had hoped, but instead, he became Princess Cornelia Lute Lemmroussel’s Guardian Knight .

However, since Cornelia would only a.s.sume her official duties once she turned eighteen, his new duty would only really begin next year .

And so, Wynn ended up remaining as a student of the Academy .

However, he was exempt from some of the cla.s.swork .

In addition, due to the nature of his new position, he was outside the chain of command of the knight order .

Basically, with his duties as guardian a priority, he would attend cla.s.ses on his own time .

“You’re going back?”

“But of course . You may have become a knight already, but what about me?”

Cornelia giggled playfully .

“There are training grounds within the palace, where Imperial Guards hone their skills . You should have a look when you are free in the future . And maybe practice your sword skills together with me . I would like that . ”

“Sure . I’m looking forward to it . ”

The pair continued enjoying tea and conversation in this manner .

“Hmm, so this is how things are . ”

Wynn brought his beloved dagger close to his face to inspect the blade . It was polished to perfection, to the point that it gleamed in the sunlight . He was sitting on the stone paving of the palace training grounds . There was a barrier within the palace to prevent anyone inside from casting spells . However, places like the laboratories of the court mages and the healers’ clinics were exceptions . This place was another such exception .

The st.u.r.dy bowl-shaped training arena was designed to withstand spells being cast from within . The inner wall was imbued with magic to prevent anything from damaging the outside . There were also several rows of seats beyond the wall so royals and foreign dignitaries could spectate tournaments . Whenever his new liege lady, Cornelia, was not around, Wynn would spend time here . More and more of it . At first he simply polished his equipment while reading the books Leticia got him, but he soon lost to the urge to move his body .

Hmm… There aren’t many people here right now .

The problem was that he attracted attention whenever he trained here .

Naturally, since this was inside the palace, most of the people around him were knights of the Imperial Guard .

And Wynn stood out like a sore thumb among them .

Extending his freshly-polished sword, Wynn a.s.sumed a stance . Cold words of his recent training partners echoed in his head .

“You? A Guardian Knight? Connections sure are convenient . ”

“Could you spar with me for a bit?”

Those spars tended to leave his whole body aching .

Hmm . I’d have more confidence against another student .

Only n.o.bles who were born with an abundance of magic power, and only the best of those, could join the Imperial Guard .

Due to that, Wynn would already struggle in a match of pure skill . When body strengthening magic was added to the equation, it was no contest .

Wynn preferred to fight in a more evasive manner, but the skill of his opponents here forced him to take the blows head on . He ended up overpowered in every bout .

Time after time, he ended up on the stone floor .

I need more training, more experience .

If he were a normal knight, he could gain that on subjugation expeditions .

But the Imperial Guard existed to protect the Emperor and his family .

That was to say nothing of the fact that he was also under Cornelia’s direct supervision . He wouldn’t get a chance to fight as a knight outside .

Becoming a knight…

All throughout his life, that was his dream .

And finally, he made it happen .

But there was no meaning in his knighthood if he couldn’t protect what he needed to protect .

I have to become stronger . Strong enough to protect everyone important to me . And one day…

He swung his sword .

Once, twice . The swings kept coming .

His whole body dripping with sweat, Wynn walked to the well in a corner of the training arena .

The water there was for both drinking and washing off sweat .

He took off his jacket and poured the water over his head .

The feeling of cool liquid flowing down his body was refreshing .

He started wiping off his sweat and putting his clothes back on, only to be interrupted by a voice .

“Hey . ”

Wynn turned around .

“I heard that you would be here . ”

“If it isn’t Viscount Hoffman”

It was Raymond .

“I apologize for the other day . I had just arrived to the Palace and was still finding my way around the place . ”

“It’s fine . My appearance was certainly confusing . ”

Raymond clicked his tongue as he held his hand out . Wynn took it .

“Please call me Raymond . I work here as a Court Mage . Pleased to meet you . ”

“I am Wynn, Princess Cornelia’s Guardian Knight . ”

“Oh, I know . The commoner . People were talking about how a commoner joined the Imperial Guard . It has become a big deal . ”

Wynn could only chuckle sheepishly .

“So what do you need me for, Raymond?”

“As I said, I would like to apologize for what happened yesterday . I was on my way to the archives so I decided to drop by . I hope I did not hamper your training . ”

“No, I was pretty much done . Are you looking to do some research in the archives?”

“Oh? Do you happen to be interested in books too?”

“Well… A bit . ”

“I see, I see . How surprising . I thought all of you knight types only had muscles for brains . I stand corrected . ”

Raymond nodded happily and softly clicked his tongue .

“The archives here boast a great collection of books . I do recommend that you check it out if you are interested . ”

“Can anybody access it?”

“Of course . Even knights like you would find it useful to learn about military history, right?”

“I guess so . What books are you looking for?”

Another click of the tongue . Wynn wondered whether it was a habit .

“Me? I’m looking into the subject of the Demon Lord . My primary research focus is on demons . Well, I have to go now . Good day to you . ”

Raymond walked away .

Demons . Something about Raymond’s face when he said the word made Wynn worry .