Okoborehime to Entaku no Kishi Vol 2 Chapter 1
OKOBORE HIME TO ENTAKU NO KISHI
The Leftover Princess and the Knights of the Round
Book II: A Queen’s Conditions
Story by: Riine Ishida
Art by: Ichiko Okiya
Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi
iii
Characters:
Duke Barchet
Knight of Sixth Rank of the Royal Chivalric Order
Rumored to have the best skills within the Order
The receiving end of Letis high-handed invitation
Leticia
“Leftover Princess”
First Princess of Sommevesle, heir to the throne
Already knew that she would be the next queen
Leonhardt
Letis younger brother
Third Prince of the Kingdom of Sommevesle
An eccentric historian
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Friedhelm
First Prince of the Kingdom of Sommevesle
Letis eldest half brother
A prince of charm and charisma
Astrid Gale
Knight of Tenth Rank of the Royal Chivalric Order
Duke’s junior
Guido
Second Prince of the Kingdom of Sommevesle
Leti’s second oldest half brother
A Prime Minister-type of prince with his detailed
planning and organized executions
Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi
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Brought to you by:
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Credits:
Raws: Icarus Bride
Translation: Crystal Hikari
Proofreading: Scylla
Quality Checking: Mizuouji
Translator’s notes:
The j.a.panese honorifics were kept in the translation of the
dialogues of the characters to show the respect or adoration
shown by the characters. Footnotes were provided upon the
first appearance of the honorific in the chapter to explain it.
Thoughts are signified by italics.
The t.i.tles for this volume are all based on chess terms.
vi
CHAPTER I OPENING
Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi: A Queen’s Conditions
- 7 -
The Knight King Christian, the first king of Sommevesle, and
his knights were said to have always congregated at a round table,
symbolizing equality for all the members. This was pa.s.sed on from
one generation to another and was believed to be the origin of the
Twelve Knights of the Round.
A knight king, Knights of the Round – these were clear
representations of Sommevesle’s particular fascination with
knights. And in a country such as this, a Martial Arts Tournament,
where knights fought against each other under a set of rules, was
not something to be surprised of.
“An invitation to the Martial Arts Tournament?”
“Yes. I know you have never joined it, but at least you do
know about it, do you not?”
Sommevesle’s first princess, Leticia, brashly threw the
invitation at her knight, Duke Barchet, whom she had just recently
succeeded in recruiting after making a scene. Her un-princess-like
action clearly showed her dislike for the invitation.
“To partic.i.p.ate in the tournament, one has to be a knight – not
just a simple knight by name but a knight with a rightful master. In
other words, only honorary knights can take part in it.”
Knight has two meanings in Sommevesle.
- 8 -
One is Royal Knight. This refers to the members of the Royal
Chivalric Order. The Order was established to protect the peace
and order of the kingdom. Duke was one of them.
The other meaning is Honorary Knight. This, on the other hand,
is the t.i.tle given to anyone who has sworn loyalty to their one
chosen master. For this knight, there are several reasons why they
choose to become one. Some choose to be one in order to protect
their master; some are scholars who are knights by name alone and
there are those who simply want to use their master’s name and
connections.
Duke was a Royal Knight and was also Letis Honorary Knight
and the Knight of the First Seat of the future Knights of the
Round. The invitation for the tournament was sent due to the
second position he currently held.
“They say it is for friendly compet.i.tion and a chance for
interaction between the knights, but this is actually nothing but a
place for masters to show off their knights. Men,” punctuated Leti.
“But since I already have you as my knight, we have to
partic.i.p.ate in it. I am certain that you have wide connections
amongst the knights since you graduated from the Knight
Academy but your connections as a n.o.bleman are limited. Better
use this opportunity to expand them.”
“So you’re saying that that is my main goal and not to win?”
- 9 -
“Seventh Heaven and Valkyrie will also be competing in it. I
do not have any intentions of demanding the impossible from you.”
“Demand the impossible, huh.”
True, first prince Friedhelm’s “Seventh Heaven” and second
prince Guido’s “Valkyrie” were composed of the best knights in
the kingdom. So for Leti to ask Duke to win the compet.i.tion was
synonymous to her asking him to be the strongest knight in
Sommevesle.
“Anyway, the real problem for this is that knights are the only
ones allowed within the tournament grounds so there will be no
one there to stand as my guard during your matches. If it were for
me, I do not mind that at all, but I have my position as a princess
to consider.”
Leti was perfectly capable of protecting herself from any form
of danger but since she was known to the world as a defenceless,
sweet princess, it would not be acceptable for her to not have a
knight by her side for the duration of the tournament.
“I was planning to borrow one knight from Father’s Round,
but truthfully, I do not want to show people that I rely on him.
However, that was the only way I could think of without worrying
about the political balance between the factions.”
The political balance had been a long-standing problem for the
current king, Letis father. In order to keep this balance, he
selected his First Queen from the royal family. This action would
- 10 -
serve as a restraint for the Three Grand Marquises. But time
pa.s.sed and they did not have children so he decided to take two
more queen consorts at the same time. The Second Queen was
from Eulenberg and the Third Queen was from Lauenstein, in
order to show that he was impartial. Leti inferred this notion had
been made to keep the balance even before she was chosen as the
crown princess.
“…I think I know someone who can be your temporary
knight for the tournament,” said Duke.
“Someone?”
“Yeah. Someone willing to be your knight and you still get to
keep the political balance.”
Duke knew the perfect person who was unaffiliated and would
be glad to be Letis knight. But Duke himself was not really fond
of the idea of asking that person. Ask him why he felt that way and
he would probably answer with, “I don’t know”.
The Knight King’s s.p.a.ce was where the consciousness of the
reincarnations of Sommevesle’s first king, The Knight King
Christian, could gather together. The room was decorated with a
grand wooden chandelier and the floor was lined with lush carpet
- 11 -
embroidered with tales of the G.o.ds framed in golden ears of grain.
In the middle of the room was a beautiful patina table made of
evergreen oak and around it were ornate chairs made out of the
same wood. The reincarnations of the Knight King come to this
place during their dreams.
Leti had no plans to visit the Knight King’s s.p.a.ce tonight but
she soon found herself seated in one of the chairs. Tonight it was
particularly crowded and she decided to start the conversation with
the other four kings.
“Martial Arts Tournament? Juli prohibited having it during my
time,” said the twelfth king, The Lion King Alexander who was
surprised to hear that the tournament was being held again.
“What did you do that forced King Julius to prohibit it?” asked
Leti.
“I challenged the winner to fight me. Every time. So I guess he
got fed up with me and decided to stop it all together.”
Just as expected of the hot-headed king, Leti thought.
“The tournament is a lively affair in my time. I remember
secretly betting with my knights on who would be the winner.”
“If the historians of the future learned that the celebrated,
incorruptible, and clean Administrative King Karlheinz did such a
thing, I am certain they might be shocked out of their minds.
- 12 -
Please do them a favour and not write it in your diary. Bring it
with you to your grave,” commented Leti.
Leti’s great-grandfather, the seventeenth king, The
Administrative King Karlheinz, smiled gently and told his greatgranddaughter
to overlook the deed. The bet was only over a
bottle of wine.
“…I do not have it in mine…we do not have the time nor the
resources anyway…” said The One-Armed King Oswald, a
reincarnation after Letis time. He was currently in the middle of a
dire war, which in a sense, was like having a tournament every day.
“…Yes, of course…Anyway, try to think about it as
entertainment for the future,” Leti said to cheer him up.
“Is that so? Challenges are already banned in my time. Or
rather the notion of a knight itself is unclear,” said the
Heartbroken King Ludgar.
“Do the Knights of the Round still exist?” asked Leti.
“Well, that is the collective term for the military generals.”
Ludgar was a reincarnation from a later future than Oswald.
He was called the ‘Heartbroken King’ because he was famous for
the number of heartbreaks he had to endure, but he had a proper
t.i.tle and the word did not exist yet in Letis time.
- 13 -
“…A peaceful time, is it not? Queen Leticia’s time,” Oswald
said. He was living in a time of endless war and was probably
envious of Leti’s era.
“Indeed. I sometimes find it strange why a reincarnation of the
Knight King is needed. There is not even a chance to use the
Knight King’s power at all,” agreed Leti.
“No. A day will come when you will have to use it. You will…”
A loud crash cut Oswald’s words. Alexander, who was seated
beside Leti, kicked the table where he had been resting his feet a
while ago.
“Oi, King Oswald! Telling the future to someone who doesn’t
wanna hear it is against the rules! Do you want me to shut your
mouth, huh?”
“But some things will be better if she knew about it…I know.
I wanted to.”
“So you’re saying that’s how it is for others because that’s how
it was for you? You kept on yapping on things like that so your
arm got chopped off by your cousin, stupid king!” called out
Alexander.
The atmosphere had turned dark and intense. Leti stood up to
control the situation.
“Stop that, you two! ‘A slip of the tongue’ exists in both times,
does it not? If this becomes more than a verbal argument, I shall
- 14 -
take things into my own hands and force you both to calm down.
If you think you can win against me who has eleven of the Swords
of Promise, then step up!”
The reincarnations of The Knight King had the “Knight
Sword” and the “Twelve Swords of Promise”, a total of thirteen
swords created to protect the Knight King, sealed inside their
bodies.
Leti recently granted the Sword of White Light, one of the
Twelve Swords of Promise, to save a particular lad so she now
only had a total of twelve swords in her.
“…I will go now. I doubt I can win with only three swords
left,” said Oswald. He probably chose to go either because he
decided he would be the one to leave or because he was truly
offended by what Alexander said.
“I shall go back as well. I cannot stand more of this
atmosphere,” Leti said and left.
Leti woke up in a foul mood due to what had happened in the
Knight King’s s.p.a.ce.
- 15 -
Leti declared before to the other Kings that she had no desire
to know the future. However, The One-Armed King slipped his
tongue some days ago regarding Letis informal t.i.tle,
“Heartbreaker Queen”.
“No. Definitely not. That will absolutely not happen.”
I am only surrounded by knights near my age so I gained such a t.i.tle and
not because I have many lovers. No. Definitely not. I want to believe that of
my future self. Leti convinced herself.
“I have ignored the rumours going around about Duke being
my lover, but maybe it is about time I do something about it…But
if I or Duke deny it, it would just backfire on us making us even
more suspicious.”
Leti continued pondering on how to deal with this particular
problem as her maid helped her get dressed. Afterwards, another
maid came, informing her that Duke had come together with the
temporary knight he had prepared for her for the Martial Arts
Tournament.
“Your highness! I’ll work hard today!” greeted the rookie
knight of the Royal Chivalric Order with his head bowing down to
Leti.
Astrid Gale was considered a top-cla.s.s knight due to his
unusual skills despite being a newbie. He was a commoner but he
was already rumoured to have the potential to be the next
Commander of the Royal Chivalric Order.
- 16 -
“So you were the person Duke had in mind for my temporary
knight. Well, you are indeed unaffiliated,” but wholly unexpected,
finished Leti in her mind.
Further consideration of the idea made Leti realize that he was
indeed a likely candidate and simply became unexpected because
she was the one who consciously removed him from the likely
candidates Duke would have in mind. It seemed like she and
Astrid were strangely connected.
Astrid – one of Duke’s juniors – actually had a dark past
despite his seemingly innocent and harmless face. But this young
man was elated when Duke asked him to be Letis knight and was
jumping with joy when he said, “Yes. Yes sir! I will, I will, I will! I
will give my best to protect her highness!”
Whether his joy was because he could gaze up close to the
beautiful Princess Leticia or because this was the perfect chance
for him to promote himself to be Letis knight, Duke did not
know.
Duke had previously tried covertly asking Astrid who was his
desired master but he skilfully dodged the topic every time,
intentionally or not.
Leti who was the most likely candidate for Astrid’s chosen
master, agreed to have him as her temporary knight.
“You do not have to do much. All you have to do is to stand
behind me all throughout the tournament. Let us go then.”
- 17 -
- 18 -
So Leti, together with Astrid acting as her knight in place of
Duke, went to the Royal Chivalric Order’s training grounds where
the tournament would be held.
There were tents put up to serve as a place for the audience to
stay. An elaborate tent stood out amongst the simple ones and
inside it where three equally elaborate chairs. Friedhelm claimed
one chair on the side and Guido filled up the other one on the
opposite side and the middle seat was open. The two princes
would never sit beside each other on friendly terms. This was their
public stance; this was what was expected of them.
“Well, well, well. A pleasant day to you, your royal highness.”
“Good day.” Leti curtly returned Friedhelm’s sarcastic greeting
with a perfect princess smile.
“Oh, Astrid? Since when did you become Letis knight?”
Friedhelm was surprised to find the baby-faced Astrid standing
behind Leti instead of the tall Duke.
“Duke prepared him as my temporary knight for the
tournament. Duke will be busy with his own matches and he will
also be a.s.sisting the Knights of the Round for the management of
the tournament so he cannot stay by my side at all. You may use
this time to recruit Astrid to your Seventh Heaven,” explained Leti.
“Then I’ll do just that. Hey, Astrid, be my knight!”
- 19 -
“I will think about it, your highness,” replied Astrid. This had
been his usual answer for a while but Friedhelm noticed that his
eyes were now different.
Temporary knight? Those are the eyes of a loyal guard dog already. I let
another good one slip out of my hands, thought Friedhelm. He did not
know when Astrid had come to his decision but he knew that
those eyes would not even look back at him no matter how much
he invited him. Leti took Duke first, and sooner or later, she
would be taking in Astrid.
I guess, just as expected of my sister, mused Friedhelm.
“Knights are weak against beautiful princesses, right?”
Friedhelm asked for agreement from his knights who gave him a
yes, saying that ladies were creatures naturally to be protected.
Friedhelm slouched deeper in his chair, sulking like a child when
he heard them say this.
Leti acted coolly and disregarded Friedhelm’s sarcastic remarks,
but she was truly fuming inside
A knight-charmer has no right to tell me that! Leti fumed.
“Astrid, why don’t we make a bet on who’ll win this
tournament?” Friedhelm asked.
“Bet?” Astrid asked curiously with his head tilted to one side.
- 20 -
“Yeah. Who do you think it will be? If you win, I’ll give you
the best wine in my cellar. If I win, you become my knight. What d’
you say?”
“I’m sorry, your highness, but I don’t drink.”
“Humph. You’re no fun at all. Darn it. I lost because I do not
have any sweet treats to lure a kid.” Friedhelm grumbled in his seat,
complaining at Astrid’s refusal.
Astrid clearly said that he does not drink rather than he cannot
drink. This clearly showed that he did not even want to bet his
knighthood with Friedhelm. And no one knew if Astrid did it
intentionally or if he was just naturally clueless.
While Friedhelm was thinking about Astrid, Astrid himself had
a big question inside him and he finally found the courage to ask it.
“Uhm…Please pardon me, but what is this tournament in the
first place?”
Astrid’s question was truly out of place. Leti unintentionally
slipped out of her facade and Friedhelm unknowingly let out an
exasperated, “Eh?”
It seemed like Duke only told Astrid that he wanted him to be
a temporary knight, nothing more, nothing less.
“The tournament, or officially, the Martial Arts Tournament is
a compet.i.tion between the honorary knights in the kingdom.
Though it is called a tournament, the only prize they will get is
- 21 -
honour and being branded as the strongest knight in Sommevesle,”
explained Leti.
“Are they going to fight?”
“Yes. They will fight as knights – meaning they will be fighting
using the same sword within a time limit as shown by the
hourgla.s.s over there. The judges are the present Knights of the
Round as they are not partic.i.p.ating in the tournament.”
“A fight between knights, using the same sword…then…”
Astrid said glancing at the busy Duke who was helping in the
preparations for the tournament.
“…it shall be Duke-senpai1
.”
Letis reaction was delayed due to her surprise at Astrid’s
answer. Before Leti could even ask Astrid for an explanation,
Friedhelm glared at Astrid.
“A-S-T-R-I-D! You bloke! You said the one thing no one
dared to utter despite knowing it!”
“E-h!? Is that so? Please forgive me,” Astrid apologized
despite not understanding what he did wrong.
1 Senpai – a j.a.panese honorific used in addressing one’s senior
- 22 -
Then Friedhelm smiled at Leti, who was still at a lost on what
Astrid had meant.
“I won’t be recruiting Duke to Seventh Heaven just because
he is my friend. I have my reasons, and of course, he does as well.”
Friedhelm said as he pointed his head towards Guido’s direction.
Leti knew that Guido had recruited Duke before but Duke
never mentioned it to her. The only reason she could think of was
that Guido wanted to prevent Duke, someone from his faction,
from becoming Friedhelm’s knight, but based on Friedhelm’s
words, it was not the only reason.
“Well then, why don’t we take a seat and enjoy the
performance of the future First Seat Knight of the Knights of the
Round.”
And then the tournament commenced.
The matches proceeded one by one. Some were close and
entertaining fights and some finished quickly. Leti kept watching
Duke from the corner of her eye while she was watching the
matches. Looking at him was enough to know he was busy helping
out as a future Knight of the Round and learning from the
inc.u.mbent ones.
After a long wait, it was now Duke’s turn.
- 23 -
“Your highness, please watch carefully. Duke-senpai’s match
will be over in three moves.” Astrid said to Leti, his voice was
oozing with pride for his respected senior.
“Three moves?” asked Leti.
“What? Did he get even better? Unbelievable…” said a
surprised Friedhelm.
“They say that it is the most efficient fighting move for knights
but Senpai is the only one I know who can do it.”
Leti determined before that Duke was weaker than the geniusa.s.sa.s.sin
Astrid, so if this genius was so sure that Duke would win,
maybe he really would.
I have heard that his skills were one of if not the best in the Order but…,
thought Leti.
Leti decided to focus on watching the match of her own
knight and measure his true abilities.
An inc.u.mbent Knight of the Round stood and gave the signal
to start the battle. As soon as the sign was given, Duke quickly
made his move.
The best fighting move for a knight is composed of these three
moves.
One, cross swords with the opponent and charge forcefully to
break the opponent’s stance.
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Two, strongly wield the sword, forcing the opponent to lose
his grip on his own sword, making him defenceless.
And three, thrust the sword and point it towards the
opponent’s neck to signal his defeat and the end of the match with
a lot of sand still left in the hourgla.s.s.
Everyone was in awe with Duke’s skilful, precise, and wellexecuted
three-move attack. Even the referee was rendered
speechless for a moment before he announced Duke’s win.
He is…He really is strong, thought an amazed Leti. That
demonstration alone was enough for her to know that Duke’s
skills were far beyond the skills than that of a regular first-rate
knight.
“So, how was it?” Friedhelm asked with a smug face to Leti
and he gave a detailed commentary about the fight.
“For a knight battle fought fair and square, there are only three
factors to consider: technique, power and speed. And as you’ve
seen, Duke is way above the others for all of those factors. No one
comes close.”
“But I remember someone bragging that he was on par with
Duke during their Academy days. Who was that again?”
“Duke was a flimsy lad at the time and I had more height.”
“So you want to say that he lacked the power before,”
confirmed Leti.
- 25 -
What Leti saw in this tournament was a far more polished
fighting style than the one she witnessed before when Duke
fought some street thugs during one of her incognito walks.
So why does he prefer using that practical fighting style? He is already
strong as it is, wondered Leti. Then she remembered Duke’s
excessively strong junior.
Astrid seemed to be the source of Duke’s complex and he
wanted to prove that he was not only strong as a knight.
Duke always acted as the understanding, mature adult to Leti
but he was a just a childish man when it came to Astrid.
This is why you are just a youngster. You should be more a.s.sertive,
thought Leti. Being strong as a knight was a valuable a.s.set,
especially in this peaceful time. She decided to compliment Duke
later and moved on to ask Astrid.
“But I heard that you and Duke had equal records in the
Order? Why is that?”
Duke himself told Leti before that he and Astrid were equals,
but Friedhelm said a while ago that no one came near to Duke so
Leti wanted an explanation.
“Yes, we do have equal records because I collect points from
other battles. But if it’s a straight swordfight, I hate to admit it, but
it’ll be my complete loss. But if it’s over something else and there
aren’t be any rules, I am certain I can win.”
- 26 -
“Do you also have other battles aside from swords in the
Order?” asked a curious Leti.
“Yes, we do your highness. We may be called knights, but
most of our tasks now are stopping disputes in town or catching
pickpockets. Fighting with swords would be difficult because we
might accidentally wound innocent people in the area so we also
train in different fighting styles,” explained Astrid.
Examples of these different fighting styles were hand-to-hand
combat, knives, and other items that could be considered more
practical. Out of all of those styles being taught in the Order,
Astrid’s favourite was “The correct way to stop a drunkard with a
pitcher ~Pub version~”.
“Senpai’s so great.” Astrid said, as if voicing out Letis
thoughts.
Leti did not openly agree with Astrid but she was forced to
admit to herself that she was elated with Duke’s performance.
Duke, on the other hand, was being praised by his seniors in
the Knights of the Round and was told him to keep this
momentum for the rest of the tournament.
I see. So the rumours about him being the next Commander for the Order
were not rumours at all, realized Leti as she saw how Duke was
surrounded by his colleagues.
- 27 -
A knight with the best swordsmanship, a calm and decisive
att.i.tude, and being fully trusted by the other knights, add to that
his n.o.ble blood, were the conditions for the ideal Commander and
Duke satisfied all of these. Leti took away from the Royal Chivalric
Order their future perfect Commander.
While Leti was feeling a little sorry for the Order for what she
did, something dripped onto her from above. Leti felt something
cold touch her cheek and her surroundings suddenly turned frantic
even before she could react.
“Leticia!” said an alarmed Guido.
“No! Look up!” shouted Friedhelm and Astrid.
Leti followed their words and looked up, and then something
dripped down again, falling onto her hair. She touched it, dirtying
her sleeve in the process – dirtying it with blood.
“What the…Quick! Call the Knights of the Round! This is
gonna get really complicated…” Friedhelm was the first one to
snap out of shock and gave instructions to Seventh Heaven and
then Guido brought Leti to his side. The blood dripping from the
tent’s roof did not look like it would stop at any moment and
everybody just looked up at the b.l.o.o.d.y sight.
“What’s wrong!?” Duke’s voice cut through the heavy
atmosphere and what he saw was his bloodied master – her
beautiful blonde hair and white cheeks were stained scarlet.
- 28 -
Duke was already dreading the worst when Leti calmly shook
her head and told him to look up. “Calm down. This is not mine.
Look up.”
Duke followed what Leti said and saw where the blood was
coming from.
“A lamp…with blood inside?”
The position of the lamp was not unnatural so probably no
one noticed it until blood started leaking out of it.
“I’ll bring it down.” Astrid said. He stood up on the backrest
of Letis chair and used it as a springboard to jump up. He took
the lamp and landed perfectly on his feet.
“Ah! Blood is still leaking out.” Astrid’s hand was smeared
with the blood dripping out of the lamp and when he opened it,
the b.l.o.o.d.y scent filled the training grounds that Leti had to cover
her nose with her clean sleeve.
“…a bird’s corpse? Who’d do something like this?” said Astrid.
Leti thought this was too much for a simple prank.
Sealed inside the lamp was a beheaded bird. The lamp was
hanging from the tent and blood had slowly leaked out of the gaps
in the lamp and dripped down so its existence could be discovered.
Or maybe it was meant to be found.
- 29 -
“Astrid, go and wash your hands. Then bring one wet and one
dry cloth for her highness,” ordered Duke.
“Yes Sir! One wet and one dry!” Astrid confirmed the order
and swiftly moved out.
“Your highness, are you feeling all right? Do you feel dizzy or
nauseated?”
“No. I am all right,” Leti calmly answered Duke’s worried
question.
Leti, fortunately or unfortunately, was not delicate enough to
faint upon the sight and scent of blood. She was rather busy
thinking about who would do such a thing and why.
This was prepared beforehand and not that difficult to do. Is this just a
simple prank or something else…Leti pondered. But sadly, she did not
have the time to think about it calmly. The news about the
incident was already spreading out and people were starting to
gather around their tent. Guido went out to disperse the people
and Friedhelm examined the lamp and the bird.
“Take out the lamp and then the chair and carpet stained with
blood. Leticia, don’t come out yet, it’ll make things worse. Not
until you’ve wiped the blood that can be seen.”
The knights immediately followed Friedhelm’s orders and took
out the lamp, the bloodstained chair, and finally the carpet,
revealing the ground.
- 30 -
“Wait a minute, this is…” murmured Friedhelm.
Everyone inside the tent gasped because beneath the carpet
was a geometrical pattern drawn on the ground where Letis chair
had been.
“Oi! Someone call Leonhardt! Sir Scholar is familiar with this,
isn’t he? I know what this is for, but I don’t know that much,” said
Friedhelm.
The pattern drawn was a pentagram – a five-pointed star that
was a symbol of instability and unknown characters surrounded it.
Anyone who saw it could conclude that it was a magic circle drawn
to curse someone. And then beside the circle was a message Leti
burned into her mind.
“‘I know who you truly are.’” Leti read the message out loud.
This certainly refers to me and is most likely connected to The Knight
King. Leti sighed; foreseeing how much trouble this would be if it
were true. As if on cue, Astrid came back with the two washcloths.
“Your highness! I have returned with the cloth!”
“Thank you.” Leti said and took the wet cloth first to wipe out
the drying blood on her face and hair but the blood on her dress
had stained already and would not be taken off with a normal
washing.
And one of my favourite dresses just got ruined in the rain recently…aah,
this is the worst. Leti decided to leave the rest to her two brothers
- 31 -
and the Knights of the Round. If only she was a man, wiping away
the blood would be enough and she could continue investigating
the incident. But no, she was a princess with a reputation to
protect. It was during these types of situations that Leti found
being a princess inconvenient.
“Duke, we are leaving.”
“Wait.” Guido called out. He took off his coat and then
handed it to a surprised Leti. Leti was suspicious of him so Guido
added a few words.
“Put that on. I can’t just let a lady stained with blood walk
around exposing herself.”
“Thank you, but there is no need. Today is cold. But if you
insist on it, I shall take my knight’s,” refused Leti.
“Treat this as my thanks for taking care of Cornelia’s birthday.
Thank you for doing that in place of Mother.”
Leti had taken over the preparations for Cornelia’s – Guido’s
full younger sister – birthday in place of their mother who had
pa.s.sed away.
“Well then, I shall return it afterwards…and one more thing,
Bishop to G2.”
“Got it.”
- 32 -
After that Leti signalled to Duke with her eyes and went out of
the tent. It had been a long time since Leti had received that kind
of brotherly treatment and she knew not how to react. She was
conscious of the slight warmth lingering in her brother’s jacket.
Outside the tent, knights had already gathered around it,
curiously trying to find out what had happened inside. Leti
thought that the person who pulled off the prank might be around
so she carefully examined the faces of the persons around. Using
the Sword of Gale Wind, she gathered the speaking voices around
her.
The murmurs reached Letis ears and she concentrated on
filtering out any useful information from the swarm of confused
and curious “what happened?”, “how ‘bout the tournament?” and
“looks like it’s cancelled”.
The criminal would likely say something that does not fit into this current
situation, considered Leti.
“…earlier than planned…”
Leti stopped walking upon hearing those words. The utterance
was out of context. She turned to identify the speaker but the
- 33 -
voice itself was already m.u.f.fled and it was impossible to know to
whom it belonged to.
“Your highness?”
“…Let us talk as we walk. First, remember the people who are
here at this moment,” commanded Leti. When they reached a
place with no people, she started explaining her thoughts to Duke.
“I heard a whisper a while ago saying ‘earlier than planned’. I
wonder what happened earlier than planned.”
“The tournament started as planned. There isn’t anything that
happened earlier than planned,” replied Duke.
“I agree, I was thinking the same thing. Maybe the discovery of
that lantern was supposed to happen after the tournament.”
The perpetrator probably did not expect blood to leak out of
the lamp and the magic circle might have planned to be discovered
when the training ground was being cleaned.
“But if I were the one who did it, I’d prefer the blood to leak
out. It’d be more gruesome and convincing than knowing you
were sitting in a cursed chair,” said Duke.
“Yes, I see your point…” whispered Leti.
So did they want to stop the tournament? Or… No. This is not good. I
am going too quickly and searching for a reason for the conclusion. Leti, calm
down and think of it in the right order, Leti scolded herself.
- 34 -
Leti immediately asked her maid to prepare a pen and some
papers as soon as they reached her room. There was something
she had to ask Duke to do before he forgot.
“Write down what I requested of you a while ago.”
Leti asked Duke to write the names of the people that were
around the scene. Duke followed her order and started writing on
the paper.
“…eh? In a sequence? No? …Are you…” murmured Leti.
Duke’s hand smoothly wrote onto the paper the names of the
people in the area, but he was not writing it like a list. He had used
so much paper that some fell down onto the floor.
Leti thought he would be writing the names as he remembered
them, but she soon understood what Duke was doing when he
started drawing lines and marking the paper with landmarks.
“…Did you remember the people who were there and their
respective positions in that short span of time?”
“I learned how to due to the demands of the job. I probably
overlooked someone so don’t trust this too much.”
Duke wrote onto the paper the names of the people who were
there—knights who were helping out for the tournament,
honorary knights who partic.i.p.ated in the battle, and the n.o.bles
- 35 -
who came to watch, and these names were written on where they
had stood at that moment. He wrote landmarks like, where the
tents were to make it easier to visualize. In other words, he
remembered not only who, but also where the people were when
Leti asked him to remember them.
“This is certainly convenient. It would be of great help if I can
have another one of you.”
“Don’t ask for the impossible. Anyway, does this mean the
people here are suspects?”
“Yes. I am not sure what happened earlier than planned but it
will not hurt to consider this as one of the possibilities,” concluded
Leti.
The criminal was still on the loose. There were people in the
Royal Villa and guards were already stationed around it but Duke,
thinking of the worst possible scenario, said, “I’ll bring Astrid here.
Don’t go wandering around anywhere until he has arrived.”
“I understand. Let us have him as my temporary knight for a
while longer. And one more thing Duke…”
Leti stopped Duke who was already hurrying back to the
Order’s Camp to call Astrid.
“I saw your match. You are strong. I heard rumours saying
that you were number one or two within the Order but I did not
believe it was true.”
- 36 -
Astrid’s unbelievable strength somehow overshadowed Duke’s
strength but Duke was also strong enough to be included in the
same category. Leti felt a little frustrated with herself for
underestimating her own knight and not knowing how strong he
was until now.
“As a knight, yes. But if it’s a fight to the death with Astrid, it’ll
be my complete defeat.”
Duke thought that even if he was strong as a knight, it would
be meaningless if he could not protect his master when it came
down to a real fight. But Leti thought otherwise.
“I do not expect and will not ask that kind of strength from
you. If I had to face Astrid, I can kill him instantly,” Leti said
plainly.
“…You won’t tell me how even if I ask, will you?”
Duke did not dare step on Letis secret. He never forced her to
tell him about it. If Leti wanted to tell him, then he was willing to
listen. That was it for Duke.
And you act so mature when it comes to me, Leti sighed in her heart.
Duke’s inferiority complex, in a way, was connected to his
desire to improve himself but too much of it would get to him and
he would end up looking down on himself. This would be bad for
both Leti and Duke so she decided to breach onto his complex.
- 37 -
“Yes, I will not tell you. But look, even if I can kill Astrid, I
cannot win in the tournament as a knight. You can. That is your
value. Next time I shall order you to win. If you remember, I said I
do not have any intentions of demanding the impossible from you.”
“True. That is not impossible for me. Then, I shall do as you
wish.”
Leti, satisfied with Duke’s answer, finished the conversation,
but Duke gave her one final warning.
“Don’t go anywhere until Astrid arrives.”
“I cannot possibly go out even if I wanted to. I still have to
wash myself and change my clothes. You do not have to worry.
Now go.”
Duke took his leave and hurried back to the Order’s Camp,
but on his way back, he glanced back at the Royal Villa where Leti
was.
“…I feel like she has seen right through me,” whispered Duke.
Leti did not give Duke an obvious compliment. She did not
tell him he was amazing or excellent or great. She simply told him
that she would order him to win since she now knew he could do
it.
Duke knew himself well. He knew that if he received any
straight compliments, he would simply be embarra.s.sed and put on
a cold face but what Leti did fit more to his personality – to
- 38 -
demand something from him, something that he could do. This
would probably motivate him more.
“This ability to make people dance to their rhythm is very
similar to Prince Friedhelm. Does it run in the king’s blood?
d.a.m.n it.”
Friedhelm’s and Letis mothers were different so this ability
was most likely from their father. Duke felt defeated and
unconsciously uttered a swear word.
Leti immediately threw away her bloodstained dress and
washed her hair and face with hot water and changed clothes.
After that, the only thing left for her to do was to wait for the
report. With nothing else to do, she sat in front of the chessboard
and moved the white bishop, and then stared seriously at the
board.
“I am certain his next move will be this, so…” Leti murmured
as she tapped on the black rook when she felt a presence in her
room. She looked at the window and…
“Your highness! I’ve come to be your guard in place of Senpai!”
“Haven’t I told you not to enter through the window? Do that
again and I shall kick you out.”
Astrid silently opened the locked window and went inside the
room. If anyone saw him coming in through the window, it would
- 39 -
definitely cause unpleasant rumours to circulate around the castle.
For Leti, it was still too early for her to take the first step in
becoming the Heartbreaker Queen.
“Any progress on the magic circle?” asked Leti.
“None yet, your highness. The Knights of the Round are
currently asking the knights who prepared the area,” reported
Astrid as he jumped into Letis room. Then he felt something was
strange with Leti.
“Hmmm?” Astrid curiously looked at Leti and went close to
her and the strangeness increased as he got closer. Before he could
even think about the reason behind it, his body moved first. He
bent down and brought his face near Letis beautiful, golden locks
and breathed in its scent.
The gesture Astrid did was so dog-like that even Leti forgot to
scold him for getting too close to her.
“What’s this smell…?”
“Blood? But I already washed my hair. Does it still smell?”
“No, it doesn’t smell like blood…it’s more like…a black
scent…” Astrid said. He was feeling frustrated at finding the right
word to describe the strangeness he felt when, his gaze slowly
went down and met Letis gaze, who was looking at him waiting
for his next words.
- 40 -
Aaah…the colour of her highness’s eyes are so beautiful… Astrid
thought as he was drawn in by Letis steel blue eyes reminiscent of
Sommevesle’s winter skies, he moved closer and …
“Ouch!”
“You mongrel!” cried Leti.
Astrid’s head shook and firecrackers exploded in front of his
eyes. He tightly held the back of his head, the spot where Leti
mercilessly hit him with the Knight Sword.
“This is why I am sick of men! You are too materialistic! Do
that again and I will pierce you with my twelve swords! Remember
that!” scolded Leti.
“Huhuhu…Please forgive me…but your highness is so
beautiful and…but I’m serious!”
“No one is asking that! Shall I tell you what it means to be a
guard!? The guard is supposed to protect the master so it will be
meaningless if the guard attacked the master he was supposed to
protect!’
“Ah, that’s right!”
Leti thought of the nickname for Astrid she heard from Duke
and swore, this stupid naïve knight! She said to herself that her hot
cheeks were because of anger and not because she was blushing.
- 41 -
“Anyway, it is done and over. Now go outside and guard there.
Switch with Duke when he arrives,” ordered Leti.
“…Is Duke-Senpai allowed inside your room, your highness?”
“Yes. Duke is not a man but a knight. Now go.” Leti said as she
pointed out the door for Astrid to go out.
Astrid obediently said yes and went out of Letis room.
“Did I make her highness cautious of me? I’d better be careful
next time.”
Now, back to work! Astrid switched back to work mode when he
finally remembered the word he was searching a while ago.
“It’s impurity!”
The Sword of White Light held purification abilities and that
responded to the impurities in Letis hair. She already washed out
the blood but the impurities were still there.
“That small amount should disappear in a few days so I guess
it’s fine but…will her highness allow me to touch her hair if I said I’ll purify
it? Probably not…not after what I tried to do. Astrid sighed dejectedly.
Later in the afternoon, just when Letis anger towards Astrid’s
action had subsided, Leonhardt, who was called to investigate the
magic circle, and Duke came to the Royal Villa.
- 42 -
For reports like this, there was a proper order on how it
should be done. The first person who should give the report was
the leader of the investigation, which in this case was Duke, a
knight from the Royal Chivalric Order who was leading the
investigation, but Leonhardt ignored this protocol and proceeded
to report the information to his older sister Leti.
“First, the magic circle. This is most likely one of those magic
circles drawn in some old book on curses.”
Leonhardt handed a paper with an identical copy of the circle
to Leti. She took a look and agreed that it was, obviously. A star of
instability drawn with blood was so cliché that it lost the ability to
be scary at all.
“There are still books about the lost arts of the past, books on
magic that exist today. But following the procedures religiously does
not guarantee it will give the desired effect. I know, for I’ve been
trying these out day and night.”
Leon believed that there would always be an occult belief that
would persist no matter what era it might be. But Leti, knowing
about the past as the Knight King’s reincarnation, had a different
opinion.
In the past, there existed not a G.o.d but G.o.ds and together with
them were mythical creatures, like spirits and fairies. Magic, a
mysterious power, was persistent throughout the lands. But that
was then. Magic and anything related to it had long since gone that
- 43 -
even the fact that it once existed was forgotten and the only traces
left were fairy tales, myths, and pointless superst.i.tions.
The source of magic, the G.o.ds, had abandoned this world. The final G.o.d
left wanted to be human and so here I am, thought Leti.
Humans were the ones who erased magic from history but
there were still some fragments left. They were not able to get rid
of it completely.
“Next is this one. The characters written round the pentagram
is ‘Archaic h.e.l.las’, or more specifically, a language older than
archaic h.e.l.las, archaic h.e.l.las’ mother language. And the person
who wrote this is most likely not familiar with it.”
Leon pointed out one character written around the pentagram.
“Take, for example, this word. There should be a full stop in
writing this at the upper right section but the writer did not stop
and continued the stroke. This shows that the person who wrote
this did not know it’ll be a different word if the stroke was
continuous and curved. This is what happens when people simply
try to copy what they see.”
Archaic h.e.l.las was a dead language with only the writing
system left intact. This language was sometimes used in old
scriptures and a handful of scholars studied it to use for research.
Leonhardt was one of them.
- 44 -
“‘Severed from the Cycle of Life; forbidden to enter the
Kingdom in Heaven; be nothing but a consciousness wandering
over this land for all eternity’ was probably what this would mean
if it was written correctly. It was probably a curse to make
someone a ghost forever but became meaningless due to the
incorrect strokes. How unfortunate…ahahaha. Anyway, I shall
confirm this with scholars of archaic h.e.l.las and report again,” said
Leonhardt.
“So the criminal does not know archaic h.e.l.las,” Leti sighed,
feeling relieved that the criminal was from present time and not a
ghost energy who would definitely know archaic h.e.l.las for it
existed long ago in the past. But there were still questions left
unanswered.
I know who you truly are.
Leti thought this message pertained to her secret as the Knight
King so the criminal was someone who knew her secret. But how?
And what was the reason behind the curse? Now that she was
certain the criminal was not ghost energy, the answers to these
questions became harder to find.
“So to summarise, based on the current information, we can
say that the criminal is someone who has access to an old book
about magic and curses and is not familiar with archaic h.e.l.las.
Hahaha…There’s too many who can fit this description. Any n.o.ble
can enter and borrow a book from the Royal Library. Knights of
- 45 -
the Order and Scholars can as well as long as they have permission
or it can also be anyone working for a n.o.ble family and was sent
for an errand,” Leonhardt summed up.
It was like saying everyone inside the castle grounds were
suspects. It would be impossible to interview the suspects even if
every Knight in the Order was deployed.
“Anything else?” asked Leti.
“One last thing. I’m curious about this number ‘I’. If it was
written there intentionally, then it means there’d be a number ‘II’
or even ‘III’.”
“So are you saying that there will be another one?”
“Yes. The more it happens, the more clues we’ll get. So for the
sake of catching the criminal, let’s hope there is another one.
Besides, curses cannot kill anyone. Even intricate ones like this.”
Anyone who saw the circle would only feel unpleasant or
uneasy, nothing more, nothing less. So the best course of action
for now was to wait for the enemy’s next move, just as what
Leonhardt had said.
“Do you have any idea who is the target, your highness?”
asked Duke who had not uttered a word since his return.
Any one of the three eldest royal children was a possible target
of the curse. But Leonhardt had a different idea. Maybe the curse
was not for a particular person but a certain group of people.
- 46 -
“How about considering someone who hates the ‘Royal
Family’?”
The term ‘Royal Family’ in Sommevesle refers to the King, his
immediate family, and his relatives – the Dukes and their
respective families. Members of the royal family all have rights to
the throne, regardless of their s.e.x. However, there is no clear order
of succession established within the kingdom.
“If we trace the roots of the current bloodline, we shall arrive
to The Revolution King Julius’ line. It is true that the current line
is not directly connected to the Knight King, but not wholly
unrelated…That is not a bad idea. Let us consider that possibility
as well,” said Leti.
There were foolish n.o.bles who thought their bloodlines were
closer to the Knight King’s than the current line.
Now that they had decided to wait for the next move,
Leonhardt excused himself, saying that he also had to report to the
Order as well.
“Your highness, did something happen with Astrid?”
“What is the matter?”
“He looked dejected.”
Leti was impressed at how observant Duke was.
- 47 -
“He did something stupid so I called him a mongrel. You
should discipline your junior properly. For his first lesson, maybe
you should teach him ‘stay’.”
Leti ended the conversation there and Duke did not ask
anything else.
The conversation about the incident was over but not for Leti
who sneaked out of her room once night came.
Leti secretly dropped one of her earrings at the scene during
the day before she left to change her clothes. With this, the
preparation for her perfect excuse was now complete. If anyone
found her there, she could easily tell them that she went there to
search for the pair of her favourite earring.
Leti, with her night vision thanks to the Sword of Black
Darkness, did not need a lamp. However, it was too unnatural to
walk outside in the dark without it so she simply carried one
without lighting it up. Besides, the light would only call attention.
“…I see it was erased already,” sighed Leti as she reached the
training ground where the circle was drawn. The remains of the
sacrificial bird and the magic circle drawn with blood were already
cleaned up. She wanted to see the message ‘I know who you truly
are’ again personally, but it was no longer possible.
- 48 -
“Well then, let us go home. I feel like Duke will find me here if
I stay any longer,” Leti said as she slowly stood up, feeling a little
bit disappointed. The she saw light coming closer to her direction.
Leti gulped. The person approaching may be someone working in
the castle or a Knight of the Order going on patrol. Whichever it
might be, both meant trouble for her.
“…Leticia!?”
But the person was neither of the two.
“Prince Guido!? Why are you here?” said a surprised Leti.
“I should ask you the same? What you doing here alone at this
time of the night?” said Guido.
“I just noticed I lost my favourite earring so I am in the middle
of searching for it. But the lamp had died so I was already planning
to go back.” Leti smoothly said her prepared excuse.
“You should’ve just asked your maid to do it for you. Go
home now.”
“I cannot possibly ask her to go to the place where a magic
circle drawn in blood was at this time of the night…But how
about you? What are you doing here alone? Did you also lose an
earring?”
“No. ‘Tis because of a different matter. Come, I’ll walk you to
the Royal Villa.” Guido said. He clearly did not have any plans on
sharing.
- 49 -
Leti decided to let it pa.s.s and go back home when,
“Who’s there!” shouted a voice.
Leti and Guido looked at each other when they heard the
sharp voice. They were thinking of the same thing. If someone saw
them, the most likely reason they would come up with was that
Princess Leticia and Prince Guido had something to talk about and
no one should know about it. Now, if this information reached the
Lauensteins, they might think the worse and the world would
simply find the corpses of the two royal children together the next
morning.
“Stay still.” Guido said to Leti as he quickly took off his coat,
used it cover Leti’s head, and then embraced her.
Ah, I see. But if he does this…Leti thought. Bad rumours would
definitely go around about Guido.
“Who’s there? Answer me!” The voice and the sound of
footsteps came closer.
“…P-prince Guido!?” The person calling out was a knight
from the Order who was on patrol and could not hide his surprise
at finding who was there.
Leti, who could not see anything, deduced that there were two
knights based on the footsteps but only one of them had spoken.
“Go! And do not tell anyone about this,” warned Guido.
- 50 -
“Yes, your highness!”
A prince embracing a lady, most likely not his fiancée—what
the knights saw as a clear act of an affair. While Leti was thinking
they were doing injustice to Guido’s fiancée, the other knight
spoke.
“Prince Guido, please pardon me. But would you be so kind as
to escort the young lady back to her home? Please do not let her out of
your sight.”
Leti swallowed her shock.
The voice belonged to Duke and it was a tone lower than his
normal voice. He already knew that Guido’s fake lover was none
other than his master, even though he had not seen her face.
The knights left the prince and his lady and the two separated
once they could no longer hear the footsteps of the knights.
“Looks like Duke noticed.”
“…He is…unnecessarily sharp. I am certain I will get a
scolding tomorrow.” Leti sighed as she was already desperately
thinking of an excuse to tell Duke. He might believe her if she told
him she had something to discuss privately with Guido but that
was not the point. Duke would not scold her for that. He would
be scolding her for going out alone.
“Leticia, are you…” Guido hesitantly called out to Leti who
was still looking down, busy coming up with her excuse. But when
- 51 -
she looked up, Guido decided not to continue what he was about
to say and simply said, “I will walk you home.”
When they reached the Royal Villa, Guido finally spoke and
asked Leti if Leonhardt was home.
“Do you need something from Leon? Wait here. I shall get
him for you,” as thanks for sending me home, finished Leti.
Leti went to get Leonhardt and persuaded him to meet Guido
and pa.s.sed her younger brother to her older brother.
But if he originally meant to meet with Leon, there was no need for him to
pa.s.s through the Order’s Camp. And why would he go alone? Leti
wondered at Guido’s actions.
This only meant that he was going to do something he did not
want even his knights, Valkyrie, to know about.
An affair? No, no, no. That is the most unlikely reason for him.
What about the person who drew the circle?
Maybe he came back again to check the scene… Leti sighed at how
foolish her thoughts were.
“Ane’ue2
, there is no need to prepare for a room. We shall talk
here.”
2 Aneue: A j.a.panese honorific for calling one’s older sister. (More formal and
old-fashioned than the normal Onee-san)
- 52 -
Leti’s thoughts were interrupted by Leonhardt’s obviously
irritated voice.
“Is that so?” asked Leti, looking at Guido for confirmation. He
nodded and Leti left them alone.
As soon as Leti’s footsteps could no longer be heard,
Leonhardt directly asked Guido what his purpose was.
“I came to ask you about the magic circle.”
“Could you not wait for the report from the Order tomorrow?
I’m surprised Valkyrie even allowed you to come here alone.
Ahaha.”
Leonhardt brought out a copy of the report for Guido to read.
Guido scanned the report and asked if they had any particular
suspects.
“Someone who hates the royal family? I mean the three eldest
royal children were targeted so I