Chapter 33

Cecilia’s obsession with the title of Sword Heroine was endearing in itself, but there was a bigger reason behind it.

It was because she was at the very bottom of the “high-ranking knights.”

The list of advantages was endless, but for starters, the workload was overwhelmingly different.

Once you became a Sword Emperor, you could handle most missions alone, leading to many days of solitude.

Especially when new recruits eventually came in, wouldn’t there be a sense of distance if they were on a completely different level?

People tend to be more interested in trees they could climb.

Sword Demons were the perfect targets for new recruits to admire and set their goals toward.

Above all…

“How is a person’s name an elemental symbol?”

White Silver. It means “silver.”

In English, that’s Ag. Yes, it’s the symbol for element 47!

However, the Rianen Kingdom still wasn’t ready to accept Cecilia.

“Hmm… I guess I need to reflect?”

The Queen didn’t seem particularly angry, but she definitely didn’t let it slide.

As a result…

Blank.

Cecilia stood with her hands raised in the knight order’s corridor, her face expressionless.

This was Cecilia’s punishment.

Kneeling and raising her hands!

It might look trivial, but surprisingly, this had become the number one penalty in the Windsor Knight Order’s year-end survey for “Most Undesired Punishment.”

Knights live and die by their honor. For them, kneeling and showing their armpits is viewed as an enormous insult.

But Cecilia stood proud. If it meant keeping her title, she’d kneel until she turned red!

“This time it was just carelessness. I might have overestimated my parking skills.”

This was nothing that could scratch the towering ego of Cecilia.

“Why are you standing like that?”

“I heard she blocked the Queen’s mouth when the medals were being given.”

“Wow.”

Passing knights whispered among themselves. Sometimes, they even openly teased her.

Cecilia’s face turned red with shame. To be honest, it was a little—no, a lot—embarrassing.

“Well, you know, it’s true. Go and ask if you want.”

Just then, Hiter and Rude showed up.

Rude moved closer with his short legs and asked.

“Hey, really, did you block the Queen’s mouth?”

Cecilia slightly nodded while looking at the distant mountains.

Rude, thinking there might be some reason behind it, put on a forced smile.

“Sometimes, Cecilia can be a bit… confusing. Haha.”

“Is it sometimes, though?”

“….”

Rude couldn’t bring himself to cover for Cecilia.

Cecilia sulked.

“Well, at least ending with this level of punishment isn’t so bad. If it were Hiter, it would have been execution!”

“?”

“What are you looking at? If a guy like you touched the Queen’s face, you’d be executed on the spot. Ria can get away with it because she’s cute.”

“Dammit, that’s true, but did you have to say it like that?”

Hiter was greatly offended.

Regardless, Rude smiled brightly and said.

“More importantly, there’s a major announcement today. Ria, do you want to come along?”

“Can I go…?”

“Of course. It’s an important meeting, so what if a high-ranking knight like you skips it?”

Rude reached out his hand.

To Cecilia, Rude looked like an angel.

She hesitated for a moment but then took Rude’s hand and stood up.

“I can receive my punishment after the meeting ends.”

Cecilia desperately hoped today’s meeting would drag on.

**

Not many people were in the meeting room.

Most were absent due to the state of emergency being lifted and missions needing to be undertaken.

Cecilia cautiously seated herself diagonally in front of Kairon.

“Cecilia.”

“Yes…”

“That’s not your seat, is it?”

Creak.

Cecilia stood up and slouched away to kneel in a corner of the meeting room.

And when she raised her hands, the surrounding knights nearly burst out laughing.

“Pfft.”

“Cough, cough.”

Kairon said coldly.

“Do you find this amusing?”

“…Not really.”

The room fell silent again.

“Then, let’s begin the meeting.”

Kairon spoke solemnly.

“Cough, cough.”

In the end, Jerryway couldn’t hold it in. He hurriedly covered his mouth, but it was already too late.

Kairon was glaring at him.

Jerryway’s laughter faded away.

“Rude and the court magician, Beaten, have analyzed the situation for the past week. Read all the documents.”

The deputy, Michael, began handing out papers one by one.

Some knights were still on the verge of laughter, but most took the situation seriously as it wasn’t a common issue.

Particularly, Edward’s pupils were twitching slightly.

“As you can see, recently, the number of people bestowed with the new ‘Blessing’ has been decreasing.”

While Cecilia was away on her mission, the kingdom had been mobilizing all its resources for a multifaceted investigation.

As a result, the number of new Blessings issued during this quarter was noticeably low.

“Additionally, it has been confirmed that the fire’s effect has indeed weakened compared to before. While further investigation is necessary, we decided to take measures based on the premise that the Goddess’s power has diminished. If anyone has dissenting opinions, speak now.”

No one opposed. The extent of the rigorous verification was evidenced by the dark circles under Rude’s eyes.

However, everyone’s gaze was fixed on Edward.

Everyone was aware of the bet between Edward and Kairon.

Edward, with a relaxed smile on his face, said.

“Looks like Cecilia’s guess was spot on. It was a stroke of luck to catch such crucial information in advance.”

And then, with seriousness in his eyes, he added.

“What’s important now is what we do next. If we’re not adequately prepared, we could lose a lot to the Demon Race.”

Instead of focusing on the mere loss of a bet, let’s prioritize something far more important.

Setting aside personal feelings, this statement was one that a vice-captain of the Windsor Knight Order would make.

Yet inside, Edward was burning with resentment.

“Is it happening again, just as you said, Cecilia?”

The bet wasn’t pivotal for Edward.

In fact, he didn’t particularly oppose Cecilia becoming vice-captain in the first place.

Even if he had won the bet, he would have pretended to be generous and put Cecilia in the position anyway.

But…

His pride was wounded.

Both the matter of the Gargantan territory and this incident with the flames—everything seemed to proclaim Cecilia’s superiority over him.

“Captain, how do you plan to prepare?”

“The Windsor Knight Order will from now on search for talent as much as possible. Even if it’s not the same ‘level’ as before, we need to quickly fill our ranks and maximize their skills.”

That was something Cecilia had insisted on all along.

Cecilia’s eyes sparkled.

“I order this with the authority of the Knight Commander. Every high-ranking knight will discover three talented individuals as soon as possible.”

“Understood.”

The knights left, and Kairon sighed softly, scratching his head.

“You should go too. But tonight, make sure to come back early…”

Kairon turned around.

Cecilia was already gone.

Only her cute rabbit-patterned blanket remained.

“…I raised her too pampered.”

Flame ignited in Kairon’s eyes.

This time, he’d correct her behavior no matter what it took.

**

Cecilia walked down the street with a spring in her step.

She was in a great mood.

Her “promotion” might’ve been canceled, but her medal wasn’t taken away.

“I got one more cute accessory.”

Cecilia felt proud.

The silvery shining medal was very pretty, and to be honest, she was quite proud of it.

“Is the punishment lifted?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, so that’s the medal you received this time.”

“Yep.”

Tada—.

Cecilia placed her hands on her waist and proudly showcased her medal.

The knights looked awkwardly at the shining medal on her uniform’s chest.

“You, it really suits you.”

“Yeah. I think so too.”

Then, as Cecilia blocked the way of a few knights to show off her medal a few times, she suddenly remembered something and spotted Jerryway napping under a large old tree.

“What’s up, Cecilia? I’m not playing around here. How am I supposed to find a decent recruit…”

“This.”

Cecilia pulled something out of her pocket and offered it to Jerryway.

Jerryway, pondering how to make a good excuse, froze when he saw the item.

“…Where did you get this?”

“From a demon in the Gargantan territory. Its name is Deceiver Priscilla.”

It was a flower-shaped brooch.

Jerryway carefully accepted the brooch.

It bore signs of some use.

The first and last gift he had given to his sister.

“Priscilla is my sister’s name. Somehow, she started using that name. I guess she thought that name would let me protect her.”

Jerryway’s vision blurred.

He flapped his mouth for a while before finally saying.

“…Thank you. That’s all that comes to my mind right now.”

Cecilia shook her head.

“I was just doing my job.”

“Damn it, I never expected to be comforted by a kid 40 years younger than me.”

Jerryway wiped his eyes. Then, staggering, he knelt on one knee.

“Do you know, Cecilia? I’m a knight who’s never been able to pledge loyalty to anyone. I even refused to pledge my loyalty in front of Her Majesty the Queen.”

That didn’t stem from any noble purpose, but rather the opposite. Jerryway could not accept that someone like him could call himself a knight.

More than anything…

“I am a commoner born in a back alley, and a noble heart to protect anyone doesn’t fit me at all.”

However, at that moment, Jerryway’s values shifted.

“I pledge my eternal loyalty to you, Cecilia. Even if everyone turns their back on you, I will be on your side until I die.”

Cecilia was taken aback.

‘…Is it really that intense?’

But when faced with a knight making such a pledge of loyalty, there were only two choices: accept that loyalty or kill him.

‘Wha-wha-what do I do? I don’t remember the etiquette for this.’

Cecilia grew serious. Being a knight herself, she didn’t remember how to receive such a pledge of loyalty.

‘Right. It was supposed to be a plausible first command. So what should I command?’

After desperately thinking, Cecilia finally spoke.

“There’s an orphanage I’ve supported for a while. If there are unfortunate children from various places, please bring them over. It would also be nice if you could provide swordsmanship or blessing education when you have time.”

“…!”

Jerryway’s eyes widened. Cecilia found it puzzling.

‘What’s the surprise? Why does he look so shocked…?’

“I’m not quite sure of your goal, but I clearly know what you want.”

Jerryway smiled mysteriously.

Cecilia tilted her head.

“I guess I need to prepare a bit. To meet your standards, ordinary talent might not cut it.”

“?”

At this point, Cecilia realized Jerryway was under some kind of misconception.

But correcting it seemed too much trouble, so she just nodded slightly.

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