Chapter 140

Chapter 138 – Nonsense

‘Well, it came to this.’

I glanced back at the knights who would now follow me. Their faces were all filled with confusion, and I felt the same way. This was a situation I had never imagined.

The Golden Dusk Knights’ structure consisted of 1 Knight Commander, 10 Deputy Knight Commanders, and 100 knights, so having exactly 55 members coming under my command meant quite a large group.

I thought I might need to ask Iris or Erica for some advice later. There’s no way I would know what to do as a Knight Commander.

“……Thank you, Delta. Thanks to you, I survived.”

Aurora approached with a pale face, as if she had skipped nearly 10 years. In such a short time, she looked tense, and her expression and movements lacked any strength.

“It’s just what I was supposed to do. You don’t need to thank me, my lord.”

There was no way I would object to the reinstatement of the Silver Dawn Knights. By the time Kaiquilia asked that question, my answer was already decided.

“Just what you were supposed to do…… I got it. I won’t say more. So, what are you going to do now? Do you have any plans laid out?”

Aurora gazed at me and the knights behind me with a bitter smile. She seemed reluctant to put on any airs. As expected, Aurora was easy to talk to.

“I’m not sure. I don’t have anything in mind, so I’ll have to think about it from now. I never imagined the Empress would issue such orders.”

“True, who would’ve dared to imagine that the Golden Dusk Knights would be split in half and given to you? It’s surprising enough that they’re reinstating the Silver Dawn Knights, it’s just a whirlwind of shocks since last time.”

With that, my gaze naturally shifted past Aurora’s shoulder. The Knight Commanders were all talking with the members they hadn’t seen in years.

The four kept glancing our way while chatting with the knights, but since Aurora and I were in conversation, they seemed unable to interrupt.

Aurora opened her mouth with a slightly bittersweet smile.

“You’ll be working at the Imperial Palace, right?”

“No?”

“……Huh?”

The bittersweet smile vanished instantly. Her golden eyes turned round in surprise.

“Did you forget what I told the Empress? If I planned to stay in the Imperial Palace, I wouldn’t have answered like that. I won’t have a face to see Her Majesty anymore.”

“Uh… So that means you’ll stay in my territory?”

“What? I’m not a wicked lord. Were you planning to chase away so many people? There’s plenty of space in the castle anyway. Don’t be stingy and let me stay.”

As I made a simple joke, Aurora, having grasped the situation, chuckled softly.

“Right. There should be plenty of vacant rooms, so use them as you like. With the original residents likely leaving too, the vacant spots should be filled.”

‘Ah, that’s right. The Knight Commanders will return to the Imperial Palace. Why did I assume they would live together in the castle?’

It made sense now why Aurora had asked me if I too would be working in the Imperial Palace. I figured I would need to slightly adjust the future plans.

Noticing that our gazes were on them, the four approached after asking for permission. Aurora stepped back a pace. The Knight Commanders filled the vacant space next to me.

“First, we have to express our gratitude. Thank you, Delta. I didn’t expect to need your help again. I will certainly repay this kindness someday.”

The first to speak was Claudia. She expressed her thanks to me in a fairly serious tone.

“I told the lord as well, but that should be enough for gratitude. Do you think I would have answered negatively there?”

“Wait, do you still use formal speech with us?”

“Huh?”

Claudia chuckled at my puzzled response.

“You’re a Knight Commander now, aren’t you? You don’t need to be so formal with us; just call me Claudia without the title.”

“Well, if that’s what you want, I can do that…”

I trailed off, glancing at Iris, Lize, and Erica one after another before continuing.

“……I’ve actually been on informal terms with the other three for a while now.”

“What?”

This time, Claudia’s eyes grew wide.

Lize insisted on being informal with me since the day she joined the Silver Dawn Knights, and Erica reluctantly followed suit due to Lize’s strong will.

As for Iris, I couldn’t recall why we were on informal terms, but regardless, that left Claudia as the only one I spoke formally to.

However, it seemed Claudia hadn’t caught on to this oversight, and her face was one of surprise as if she had been hit on the back of her head.

“……Now that you mention it, why have you talked to me so politely until now? I thought it was just how things were, but you’ve been casual with the other three all along?”

“I don’t know. I just spoke that way from the beginning.”

“Wow, I feel like I’ve been distanced from you all this time?”

Iris and Erica pushed Claudia aside, who was mumbling complaints. Claudia grumbled but let herself be pushed away without protest.

“Thank you for your kindness, Delta.”

“I feel the same. Thank you for your kindness, Delta.”

The two with pink hair who had been pushed aside greeted me. Iris gave a light nod, while Erica bowed slightly deeper.

“I said I don’t need praises. I just did what I had to do.”

“We’re just doing what we have to do too. Even if it’s nothing special, we can’t just ignore the help we received.”

“Erica’s right. You may have given us significant help, but you also did a lot for us, my lord.”

‘……Is that so?’

It was surprising to me to be singled out like this; if Aurora had done her behind-the-scenes work well, the Silver Dawn Knights would have eventually been reinstated, albeit with a bit more time.

This, of course, was under the assumption that Kaiquilia wouldn’t stir up trouble. Thinking that made me feel the probability of success drop dramatically.

“Congratulations, Delta. From today, you’re a Knight Commander, right?”

Lize approached me, and Iris and Erica hurriedly stepped aside. Lize wore a smile that seemed ambiguous.

“Well, it just sort of happened. I’m not sure I can do it well.”

“You’ll do just fine. I’m sure you will.”

“Why do you sound more confident than I am?”

“Of course! What kind of relationship do we have?”

Lize came right up to me and pulled me into a tight hug. Due to our noticeable height difference, my face sunk into her embrace. Lize buried her cheeks against my chest and rubbed her face back and forth.

I hugged Lize back. Although I was aware of the gazes surrounding us, if I were to hold back my affection for something like that, I wouldn’t have accepted it in the first place.

Lize stood on her tiptoes. Her head crept up toward mine. For a moment, I wondered if she was going to kiss me, but noticing the angle of her lips was slightly off, it seemed that was not the case.

I understood her intention and lowered my head. Her lips, charcoal-colored and close to my ear, whispered softly.

“Since we won’t be able to see each other for a while starting tomorrow, how about we share a sweet moment today?”

“……”

The choice of words sucked the emotion from moments ago out of the air. I stared down at Lize with a bewildered expression.

“Did you really have to say it like that?”

Lize burst into a laugh as she released the grip of her arms around me.

“It would be a lie if I said I wouldn’t feel lonely, but it’s not like we can’t see each other anymore, so I don’t want to send you off crying. You need to stay true to yourself until the end.”

A light fist gently tapped my chest. As Lize’s body pulled away, the feeling of her soft chest disappeared.

That was so typical of Lize, indeed.

Iris and Erica, with slightly flushed faces, coughed nervously and turned to leave, while Claudia, grinning, elbowed me playfully as she left.

Whatever she had whispered was probably intended to be intimate, but it was likely useless in front of the Knight Commanders. Soon, all the Silver Dawn Knights vanished down the hall of the Imperial Palace.

Aurora glanced at me with a strange expression for a moment and then left me with the advice to proceed in a less crowded area. It seemed she had caught on to the atmosphere.

All that remained was the Golden Dusk Knights’ Knight Commander, radiating a fierce spirit, and the perplexed Deputy Knight Commanders and knights, along with me.

The Knight Commander over there had his gauntleted fists clenched tightly, his body trembling with rage. Tap! Just a gentle touch would likely trigger an explosion.

Even with a helmet on, it felt like I could clearly see the expression on his face.

“What are you staring at? Do you have something to say?”

“If I had something to say, it would be a lot. I don’t know how a guy like you could become a Knight Commander, but such a tremendous honor——”

“Starting today, I’m a Knight Commander just like you. I’m not going to demand formal speech from you since I’m speaking informally to you, but out of courtesy, shouldn’t you speak properly? Don’t you think?”

I cut off the Knight in the golden armor. I didn’t want to hear more.

“Shut your mouth!”

“I don’t understand why you’re angry. Did I do something wrong? These are all orders from Her Majesty the Empress. Are you trying to complain about Her Majesty’s decisions?”

“You’re just a blabbermouth…”

“And you, haven’t you heard how the human you colluded with died?”

The Knight froze for an instant. It seemed he was taken aback by my knowledge. It was likely a closely guarded secret that he was Aurora’s father.

I approached him and placed my hand on his shoulder, whispering softly so only we could hear. There was no need for many ears to hear what I was about to say.

“That guy you partnered with to tear apart the Silver Dawn Knights? He was killed in connection with demons. And the Empress handled it personally.”

I could feel his body stiffen. I kept speaking without stopping.

“You know it’s a death penalty according to imperial law to even be connected with demons, right? Think carefully. If I just inform Her Majesty about that, it’ll be the end for you.”

That was a lie.

The former lord had only died after being connected to demons long after he had colluded with this guy, so this fellow had no grounds for connection with demons at all.

‘But he doesn’t know that.’

He would probably start panicking like crazy from now on. Maybe he was worshipping demons even before he was connected, or perhaps he felt he had been influenced by the others.

If he really was influenced, the Holy Sword would have reacted and taken his head off by now, but this guy probably didn’t possess that level of knowledge.

It was time to return the mental strain the Silver Dawn Knights had endured until now.