Chapter 35

“Beatrice Windsor! I’ve been knighted!”

Beatrice shouted loudly while saluting Cecilia.

Watching her in the formal attire of the Windsor Knight Order, Cecilia was swept by a wave of emotion.

‘I thought I wouldn’t see a female newbie for at least another year…’

Memories of the struggles they had endured flashed through her mind.

How many times had she squeezed the royal designers to create that uniform?

And how many hunger strikes had she undertaken to adopt that uniform as the standard?

‘But…’

Beatrice kept fidgeting with the hem of her skirt awkwardly.

Cecilia asked with a pounding heart, “Do you like the uniform?”

“It’s really pretty! It is, but…”

Beatrice cautiously responded while glancing at Cecilia.

“I’ve only worn pants for a while now…”

That was certainly understandable. Aside from Cecilia, no other female knight would do something as foolish as wear a skirt.

It was needless to explain how revealing skin could be fatal in battle.

“Hmm.”

Cecilia raised the corners of her mouth slightly.

Then she poked Beatrice’s cheek playfully.

As Beatrice’s eyes filled with confusion, Cecilia attempted to lift the skirt at an incredible speed.

“C-Cecilia?”

Beatrice hastily grabbed Cecilia’s wrist.

Stepping back, Cecilia said proudly, “Can you feel the difference in reaction speed?”

“…?”

“When I poked your cheek, you didn’t even react. But the moment I went lower, you responded right away.”

Beatrice was dumbfounded.

But Cecilia remained serious.

“See, wearing a skirt gives you a lower body reaction bonus of +15. The pressure of having bare skin makes you pay more attention.”

“……!”

After hearing Cecilia’s explanation, Beatrice began to reconsider her thoughts.

That actually sounded plausible…?

“So, let me explain a bunch of things about the Windsor Knight Order. Have you unpacked yet?”

“Not yet…”

“We need to assign your quarters first. We have a lot of things to do today.”

Cecilia looked exceptionally happy saying that.

**

“Let’s start with the most important thing. The regulations of the Windsor Knight Order. In other words, the code of chivalry unique to Windsor.”

On the way to the knight’s quarters, Beatrice quickly pulled out a notepad.

“First, Windsor strictly adheres to the general code of chivalry. Do you know what chivalry is?”

“Yes! Of course.”

Anyone aspiring to be a knight should be aware of it.

It was the most basic value for knights, and any noble should know it from the get-go.

============

1. Trust in and abide by the teachings of Her Majesty the Queen.

2. Protect Her Majesty the Queen.

3. Respect and protect the weak.

4. Love your homeland.

5. Never retreat in front of an enemy.

6. Fight the unbelievers without mercy and without pause.

7. Do not lie, and earn trust in your pledges.

8. Be merciful and generous to all.

9. Stand as a champion of justice and goodness against evil and injustice, no matter where or when.

============

“Second, Windsor prioritizes point six above all else.”

“Third, to uphold the second point, the first rule can be ignored.”

This meant that if it was to slay a demon, anything could be set aside.

Even the queen’s orders.

Beatrice was greatly surprised to learn that these regulations of the Windsor Knight Order actually existed.

“So if someone hinders the extermination of demons…?”

“The Windsor Knight Order has the unique license to kill.”

“……!”

“Because of this, the process of joining the Windsor Knight Order is somewhat rigid. If someone with a serious character problem joins this order, it could lead to big issues.”

The Windsor Knight Order values ‘mission’ above all else, even more than the strength one possesses.

No matter how skilled you are, if you’re of unknown origin or have even a minor criminal record, you wouldn’t be accepted.

But there were exceptions. If there was a strong hatred towards demons, a candidate could pass even if their background was somewhat problematic.

Such examples included Cecilia and Jerryway. Jerryway had a record for theft, and Cecilia had a somewhat shady origin.

“Beatrice is right on the cut line.”

“Cut line?”

“Yes. The application of the Windsor Knight Order’s rules only applies to Beatrice. After her, different rules will apply to other successful candidates.”

A large-scale recruitment was expected to take place soon.

For that, the Windsor Knight Order decided to lower the threshold.

Of course, as the standards lowered, the once absolute authority would also diminish.

There were complaints about it, but given the scale of recruitment, the vetting process was bound to be loose.

“Uh, Cecilia! Is this the new recruit?”

“Yep.”

At that moment, a knight walking down the hall approached, recognizing them.

Beatrice tried to salute, but Cecilia stopped her.

“There’s no need to salute unless they’re a high-ranking knight.”

“Ah… yes. Ah, hello.”

“Wow, it’s been a while since we had a newbie! Where are you from?”

“I came from the territory of Schwarzpfeffer in the western border.”

“Oh, I came from the south. I’m from the Baron Veron’s household.”

“Wow.”

Beatrice was the daughter of a baron. She was about to pay her respects right away, but Cecilia stopped her again.

“In the Windsor Knight Order, we don’t use titles from the outside. That’s why you were given the Windsor name.”

“Haha! Still in training, huh? Cecilia, can I give her a tour? You must be busy.”

Cecilia glared at the knight with a fierce look.

The knight flinched.

With a very wary gaze, he hid behind Beatrice.

Of course, Cecilia was smaller, so she couldn’t really hide Beatrice.

“Router, if you’re free, should I find you a job? I have a lot of leftover dungeons.”

“I-I’m sorry! I’ll go now!”

The knight hurriedly dashed away.

Cecilia maintained vigilance, watching her surroundings carefully. She was prepared to unleash wind shear if necessary.

The reason for her over-protectiveness was simple.

‘I’m the only one who gets to pamper her.’

Cecilia wanted to fully ‘monopolize’ Beatrice.

**

Beatrice kept recalling earlier events.

‘I always thought she spoke formally, but I guess not.’

When she turned to the side, she saw Cecilia walking quietly.

Since that knight left, Cecilia seemed deep in thought, being unusually quiet.

Right now, she was probably discussing some incredibly important matters.

‘…I want to get closer too.’

The decision to join, which she had half-given up on from the start, was because of Cecilia.

She was impressed by everything Cecilia had accomplished in the ‘Gartan Territory’.

She wanted to stand by Cecilia. She wanted to resemble her just a little.

So, as soon as she returned, she devoted herself to swordsmanship madly, and before long, she had completed her apprenticeship.

“Um…”

“Yes?”

“Um, well…”

But when it came time to speak, embarrassment rushed over her.

Summoning her courage, Beatrice said,

“If you could speak informally to me…”

Cecilia’s eyes went wide, and she took three steps back.

Flustered, Cecilia’s face turned bright red.

Cecilia looked at Beatrice and softly said,

“…Okay.”

‘S-SO CUTE.’

Unruly as it might be, Beatrice thought such thoughts.

Cecilia, an extremely high-ranking superior, was at least looking very cute right now.

“This will be the room you’ll be staying in.”

Cecilia asked cautiously before opening the door.

“And you know… I have one request, can I call you by a nickname?”

A bundle of adorableness!

Cecilia, who said it shyly, showed none of her previous fierce demeanor.

There was no way she wasn’t the mascot of the Windsor Knight Order. Happiness seeped into every corner of Beatrice’s brain.

Even though she had just been knighted for a day, her job satisfaction was sky-high!

“Of course! Would you like to try calling me?”

“B-Beaty.”

“Yes!”

“Beaty.”

“Yes!”

Beatrice smiled contentedly. Cecilia, touched, opened the door.

“I’m glad I prepared in advance.”

‘Could it be a gift just for me?’

Goodness, how could she be so thoughtful?

Beatrice was keen on hugging Cecilia tight but held herself back while scanning the room.

“…?”

But she couldn’t see anything.

A mountain of books blocked her view.

‘What is this?’

“Newbie, I mean, essential reading for novice knights, volume 172. Since Beaty is excellent, you should be able to pick this up in no time, right?”

“…Yes?”

“I’ll give you a month. Of course, if you’re as outstanding as I expect, you’ll finish even sooner.”

Beatrice’s mental state crumbled to bits.

**

“You want to put Beatrice in your squad?”

“Yes.”

Cecilia wiped her tears with a handkerchief embroidered with a rabbit after hearing the news that she was appointed Chief Selection Officer.

After hardship comes spring, as they say, and in recent days, she had only been hearing good news.

“If you’re planning a large-scale recruitment, you’ll need people to work for you. But are you sure about this? She’s still a new recruit who hasn’t even acclimated yet.”

“I believe she’s more than qualified.”

“…Seeing you speak that highly of her, I guess she really made an impression on you.”

“Yes.”

Cecilia answered proudly.

Her first direct subordinate.

She planned to give precious Beaty “focused care.”

As soon as she finished her shift today, she would begin writing a special book just for Beatrice.

“Creating a squad is a right exclusive to high-ranking knights. No matter how much of a knight commander you are, you can’t infringe upon that. But one isn’t enough. Hire a few more. How are you going to handle all those documents?”

“Beaty can handle it.”

“…I’ll lend you a few from my line, so make use of them.”

“Yes!”

Kairon sighed.

Since he didn’t say anything about getting additional hires, he must be quite cautious about it.

‘Too cautious may not be a good thing, though.’

There was less than a year till retirement.

For now, he could help Cecilia while he was still around, but once he retired, his influence in the knight order would drastically decline.

He needed to somehow strengthen Cecilia’s support base, but the main party seemed to have little interest, which worried him.

‘Still, the subordinates selected by Cecilia won’t be able to oppose her.’

“Commander.”

“Do you have an opinion?”

“Is my authority limited to picking new recruits?”

“What do you want to do?”

Kairon asked seriously. Cecilia responded without a moment of hesitation.

“I’d like to make some adjustments.”

“Submit a report. If you make that request as well, there will be some backlash. I’ll use my authority as much as possible to make changes.”

“Yes.”

“Anything else?”

“No.”

“Then go carry out your mission right away. It’s a task that needs to be conducted as soon as possible.”

“Yes!”

Cecilia nodded and exited the commander’s office.

And just as Kairon had said, she quickly set to work.

The first thing she did was post the recruitment announcements all across the country.

“Lord Leonard, is this really true? You’re going to open the tightly shut gates of the Windsor Knight Order.”

Leonard, who was deep in a mission in the south, read the notice at the count’s words.

[If you wish to become a knight of Windsor, come to Teresia immediately.]

The large notice simply stated just that.

“…What a brazen announcement. It’s as if the name of the Windsor Knight Order itself is a mark of honor.”

There were no elaborate phrases or explanations.

And yet, there was a sense of confidence that suggested one line was all that was needed.

“I know who wrote this. The capital is going to be a buzz for a while.”

Leonard chuckled lightly.

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