Sigrid

“But how did you know about such things?”

“What things?”

“Those obsolete clauses. The Imperial Guard does have the right of summary execution, but it’s not being used. The reason they left that clause in place without removing it is simply because their predecessors were the Achtschwietz— the Eight Swords.”

Achtschwietz—

This group, commonly known as the Eight Swords, referred to the eight warriors of Bahanat, the founding emperor of the empire. They were called warriors because these eight weren’t merely swordsmen, but included mages, archers, and others with various martial skills.

They helped Bahanat defeat the magical beast Kalard and establish the Bahanat Empire. Emperor Bahanat called them the Eight Swords, and they wielded unprecedented power. The right of summary execution was one of the Achtschwietz’s powers.

As the empire settled, the Achtschwietz transformed into what is now known as the Imperial Guard under the imperial family, inheriting most of the Achtschwietz’s powers. But this was only in the early days of the empire. As the emperor’s authority gradually weakened and the great noble factions emerged, most of these rights have now become obsolete.

“As a knight, I know all the rights I should have,” Sigrid said, blinking. Marie-Chez asked,

“But that’s not a clause for the Imperial Knight Order, is it?”

“I know the clauses for all knight orders.”

“What?”

“Doesn’t everyone know them?”

“No, we don’t.”

Marie-Chez answered quickly, leaving Sigrid flustered.

“R-Really?”

“Yes.”

Marie-Chez replied emphatically. Lowengrin asked, just in case,

“Which group has the right to shout ‘Long live His Majesty the Emperor’ from the second-floor roof while drunk?”

“The 1st Imperial Guard.”

Sigrid answered without hesitation. Marie-Chez looked at Lowengrin, then at Sigrid, then back at Lowengrin before exclaiming,

“What kind of ridiculous right is that?!”

“It was created 150 years ago, apparently.”

“That’s truly ridiculous.”

“There are many more ridiculous clauses besides this one. But…… you really have memorized them all……”

Lowengrin shook her head, impressed in a way. Marie-Chez turned to Sigrid and said,

“While mistaking slingbacks and mules for sandals! How come you memorize such things?!”

“Well, um. I’ll try hard with fashion too……”

Sigrid said softly. But she still didn’t really understand shoes.

In fact, Sigrid didn’t really understand many other things either. Even so, she was determined to try. At the very least, she didn’t want to incur Marie-Chez’s wrath. Marie-Chez sighed.

“Anyway, alright. I get it. But at least give us a little heads up in advance.”

“Okay. I’ll tell you everything from now on.”

“No, not everything.”

Marie-Chez cut her off. Lowengrin picked up a pastry and asked,

“So, is Sigrid joining the 1st Imperial Guard now?”

“Maybe…?”

This lukewarm response, so unlike Sigrid, made both Marie-Chez and Lowengrin tilt their heads. Marie-Chez said,

“You’re not going?”

“It’s not that, but……”

Sigrid was clearly hesitant about the Imperial Guard.

“If you don’t want to go, don’t. Becoming an Imperial Guard member will make it harder to get married too, you know? Men don’t like women who are too strong.”

Marie-Chez said, blinking her round eyes. Sigrid shook her head.

“That doesn’t really matter to me.”

“Why not?”

“Well, I don’t plan on getting married.”

“The ones who say that often end up getting married first.”

As she said this, Marie-Chez looked at the pastries with regretful eyes. She wanted to eat one more, but her waist, which she had measured this morning after tightening her corset, had expanded by about 5mm. It was forbidden until it returned to normal. Lowengrin said to Sigrid,

“You don’t want to get married?”

“I don’t plan on having children. Childbirth makes it too difficult for women to maintain their position as knights due to the loss of physical strength.”

At those words, Marie-Chez’s mouth fell open.

“You really don’t want to get married?”

“No.”

“To continue being a knight?”

“Yes.”

Marie-Chez opened her mouth, then closed it. Lowengrin teased Marie-Chez, saying,

“Marie is doing knight work to get married.”

“Is that so?”

This time, it was Sigrid who was surprised. Marie-Chez said “Hmph” and continued,

“Why else would I do this difficult job? I could sit around and marry a man chosen by my parents, but I wanted to marry for love. This was the only way.”

“Have you found a good man yet?”

When Lowengrin asked, Marie-Chez sighed and shook her head.

“No, not yet. Oh, Siri, what about Lord Lunatil?”

“Lord Lunatil…?”

“Yes. The captain of the 1st Imperial Guard. His family background is good too. The Lunatil Ducal family. Though he’s not a duke himself. His cousin’s sister is also the Crown Princess.”

At those words, Sigrid muttered, “I didn’t know that,” and thought for a moment before saying,

“Sexual harasser…?”

At that, Lowengrin made a strange “Oh?” sound, and Marie-Chez shouted, “What?!”

“Did he do it to you? Did that man sexually harass you?!”

“Umm, he forcibly opened my shirt… and touched……”

“What?!!”

Marie-Chez shouted in anger, and Lowengrin’s face turned serious.

“That’s not just harassment, it’s sexual assault! You just let that go?!”

“Well, he is my superior……”

“Even if he’s your superior, that’s not okay! Next time something like that happens, say firmly, ‘No! Don’t touch me.’ Understood?”

“Understood.”

Sigrid nodded obediently. Lowengrin also added seriously,

“Make sure to tell us if something like that happens again.”

Marie-Chez, agitated, snapped open her fan and fluttered it.

“Really, there are always men like that. Those who try to break female knights.”

“I never thought Lord Lunatil would be that kind of person.”

Lowengrin shook her head. Beramund’s reputation plummeted in their minds. Lowengrin asked,

“By the way, are you coming to the ball next week, Sigrid?”

“Can I come?”

“Of course you can.”

Lowengrin smiled gently. It was a rare ball being held at the Alsekidna Viscount’s mansion. Though it wasn’t a large event as it was off-season, it attracted more attention for that very reason.

Marie-Chez narrowed her eyes and said,

“But that dress is vetoed.”

Confused, Sigrid looked down at her dress and asked,

“Is it strange?”

“No, but that’s the only dress you have, right? How many times have you worn it now?”

“Well, I don’t have many occasions to wear dresses……”

Sigrid had been wearing only the blue dress she had first gotten fitted. Marie-Chez said sharply,

“Besides, it’s too plain.”

“Is it…?”

“Simple and elegant? That sounds nice. But to be simple yet elegant, you know what? It needs to be expensive. That elegance comes from subtle details. And when the details differ this much,”

Marie-Chez showed a tiny gap between her thumb and forefinger.

“The price differs about tenfold.”

Eek—

Sigrid swallowed hard. This dress was already expensive! A dress ten times more expensive than this!

No matter how she thought about it, that seemed like excessive luxury.

Lowengrin nodded in agreement with Marie-Chez’s words.

“Simple designs rely on the quality of the materials themselves, so the fabric becomes expensive. The patterns need to align perfectly with the seams, right? Even that small difference makes the price astronomical. And if you add embroidery, well, to do it properly and beautifully, that price is also considerable.”

“If you want to go to the ball with us, get a new dress made.”

Marie-Chez ordered simply. Sigrid let out a groan.

‘I want to go to the ball with them… But the dress is so expensive… And I’ve hired maids recently too… I can’t increase my expenses too much…….’

As Sigrid agonized, Lowengrin said,

“Speaking of which, I heard you’re going to live with Mr. Arkana? Seria told me.”

At those words, Sigrid’s face brightened.

“Yes! We became friends!”

Marie-Chez made a strange “Huh?” sound.

“You live together when you become friends?”

“He didn’t have a suitable place to stay. Besides, it’s good for siblings to live together, right?”

“Are you charging rent?”

At Lowengrin’s words, Sigrid looked puzzled.

“What rent between friends?”

Marie-Chez put her hand to her forehead. Lowengrin laughed. Marie-Chez pointed at Sigrid with her finger and said,

“That’s not a friend, that’s being a pushover!”

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‘I got scolded again…….’

Why did she always end up being scolded by Marie-Chez?

With slumped shoulders, Sigrid got out of the carriage. She stood in front of the Violet Clothing Shop but couldn’t muster the courage to go inside.

‘Expensive dress…….’

Sigrid had found pretty dresses before. But after seeing the price tag, she had quietly put them back. Only recently did she realize that the dresses Marie-Chez and Lowengrin wore were at least five times more expensive than her own.

‘But I need occasions to wear dresses.’

Unless she was meeting Marie-Chez or Lowengrin—and even then, only for tea time like today—she didn’t wear them. This was enough as a knight’s attire.

‘Can’t I just wear my knight’s uniform to the ball?’

Will Marie-Chez get angry again?

Filled with worry and hesitation, Sigrid looked at the mannequins before turning away from the clothing shop. She couldn’t muster the courage to spend that much money.

‘Come to think of it, it’s the day after tomorrow, isn’t it? Should I have told them in advance?’

Sigrid headed towards the public carriage stand.

She had incurred two debts to Beramund and was thinking about how to repay them. Sigrid had little interest in external affairs and couldn’t remember most major events. This was especially true after she joined the Imperial Guard. But even she remembered the huge event that was about to happen the day after tomorrow.

The Crown Princess’s death accident.

Sigrid remembered it because the entire empire had flown flags at half-mast, and a state funeral had been held. At the time, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were together when they were attacked by a mysterious group. During the incident, Beramund Lunatil, who was with them, was severely injured, the Crown Princess died, and the Crown Prince was slightly injured—an unprecedented situation. She remembered that later, some mountain bandits nearby were caught as the culprits, concluding the case.

‘I was quite interrogated then.’

Beramund, bedridden, was showered with criticism for failing to protect the Crown Princess and Crown Prince despite being the Captain of the Imperial Guard. She had been one of those who criticized him.

‘But didn’t the Crown Prince defend him? Ah, I can’t remember clearly.’

Anyway, after that, he was demoted to a regular Imperial Guard member but soon rose back to the position of Captain. Sigrid planned to prevent this.

It was part of her duty as an Imperial Knight—a temporary Imperial Guard member—to protect the imperial family’s safety, and she wanted to offset the debt she owed to Beramund.

‘And I’ll return my temporary Imperial Guard status too.’

She didn’t want to leave her friends’ side just yet.

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Beramund carefully scanned his surroundings. He wasn’t dressed as the Captain of the Imperial Guard but in his usual attire. The carriage he was accompanying was also an ordinary one without any special decorations. No, to a suspicious eye, it might look even more suspicious. There were no decorations indicating which family the carriage belonged to. The few soldiers guarding the carriage were also dressed in civilian clothes.

“Do we really have to do this?”

Beramund grumbled, directing his words towards the carriage window. Laughter erupted from inside the carriage. It was a low, resonant voice.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, isn’t it?”

“But I don’t think we need to be this considerate of the other party.”

“Beramund, and Serios. Both of you, please maintain some dignity.”

A woman’s voice followed from inside, sounding exasperated but unable to stop her nagging.

“What’s the big deal? We’re out in disguise anyway.”

Serios—the Crown Prince of the empire—rested his chin on his hand inside the carriage and grinned at his wife. At his words, Erial, the Crown Princess and Beramund’s cousin, furrowed her brow. Serios reached out and pressed her forehead, saying,

“You’ll get wrinkles.”

“Serios!”

“We can’t exactly have Beramund calling me ‘Crown Prince’ and using extremely formal language, can we? That would defeat the purpose of the disguise, wouldn’t it?”

“You two address each other like that normally anyway.”

Erial sighed as she spoke. She sank deeper into her seat and said,

“I never thought Duke Fienscha, the leader of the Western Nobles Alliance, would actually agree to meet with us.”

“Didn’t you send the letter?”

“I expected to be rejected as usual. But a secret meeting in a place like this, I don’t like it.”

“It’s not exactly a private meeting.”

“Why did they ask me to attend too?”

“Since the Duke’s wife is coming too, I think it might be to show that this isn’t a conspiracy.”

After all, when wives are present at what would otherwise be a meeting between men, it tends to prevent the atmosphere from becoming too hostile or reduce the threat of assassination.

The Western Nobles Alliance.

The western part of the empire is a plain bordering the territories of barbarian tribes. While the northern Esolt Mountains might be considered the most challenging terrain in the empire, the west saw the most frequent battles. At one time, the western nobles shed much blood due to the empire’s barbarian subjugation operations. Even now, the western nobles don’t fully trust the imperial family.

Then, tired of endless war, the Ministry of Internal Affairs proposed establishing peaceful relations with the barbarian tribes, and the solution they came up with was a marriage policy.

Marriage with those whose heads they had been trying to cut off just yesterday? It was outrageous, but the imperial order was absolute, and the western nobles reluctantly accepted barbarian women as second wives, or as concubines for those without the rank to have two wives.

This brought peace to the west, and barbarian blood began to flow in the veins of the western nobles. Of course, the central nobles didn’t like this. They looked down on these bloodlines mixed with barbarian blood. As they became increasingly alienated from the center, their internal bonds strengthened, eventually leading to the formation of the Western Nobles Alliance, a group dedicated to protecting their own interests.

Serios wanted to end the long-standing feud with the Western Nobles Alliance.

That’s why he willingly agreed to this secret meeting, despite being the Crown Prince. Continued animosity would never benefit the empire. Understanding Serios’s intentions, Crown Princess Erial had been consistently sending letters of goodwill to the wives of the western nobles. Whether it was due to these efforts or something else, an offer to meet came through the wife of Duke Fienscha, the leader of the Western Nobles Alliance.

If Beramund could have, he would have grabbed Serios by the collar and stopped him from attending such a secretive meeting without proper guards.

“But there are times when we need to be courageous. I think now is the time to show my sincerity, Beramund.”

Seeing his cousin’s husband speak like this, Beramund finally threw up his hands.

He had volunteered to accompany them as a guard, bringing along a few trusted soldiers including himself. In truth, Beramund wanted to bring knights, but this wasn’t possible due to Serios’s opposition.

“I can see the meeting place.”

Beramund said this and raised his hand to stop the carriage. Then he rode ahead on horseback towards the meeting place.

‘To think there was such a place here…..’

Duke Fienscha had chosen the location—it was the imperial hunting ground on the outskirts of the capital. There are three hunting grounds near the capital, each used in rotation every year, and this one was in its resting year. Deep within this hunting ground was a beautiful glass greenhouse that no one knew about.

‘Or rather, it was beautiful.’