Yuusha-sama no Oshishou-sama Chapter 59

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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 was.h.i.+ng off sweat.

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

The feeling of cool liquid flowing down his body was refres.h.i.+ng.

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.

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