Sigrid - 34

‘There must have been something else that happened.’

Unable to recall clearly, Sigrid decided to move on for now.

4. Morris leaves the Knight Order.

5. Aura Core manifests—6th Imperial Guard scouts.

6. Magician Arkana becomes a court magician.

7. His Majesty makes me his personal knight.

After writing number 8, Sigrid stared at that number for a long time. That day truly felt like she had gained the whole world. She had never been happier than that moment.

She thought over and over again about how she would serve him with all her being for the rest of her life.

‘But I failed.’

She slowly drew a line through number 8 with her pen. Once, twice, three times, four times, five times—she kept scratching it out until number 8 was completely obscured.

Lowengrin had said:

—The day will come when you have to choose between His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince.

Sigrid bit her lip.

The thought of ‘wanting to be recognized again and make him regret’ by someone who had discarded her was her own idea alone. In any case, the current Emperor doesn’t know her. Moreover—

‘I can’t think of a way to work any harder than I already have.’

She could confidently say that she had truly given her all, that she couldn’t serve His Majesty with any more loyalty than she already had.

“Huu—”

Sigrid took a deep breath.

8. Rebellion of the Western Nobles Alliance

After writing number 8, Sigrid tapped the paper with her pen. Droplets of ink fell.

‘There are opponents I don’t want to fight twice.’

She muttered that she didn’t want to fight, yet she smiled.

People like to establish hierarchies. But depending on who’s speaking, the rankings get all jumbled up. After all, people tend to side with those from their hometown or knights with impressive war stories.

In such situations, there was no disagreement about the empire’s top three.

Of course, if you were to rank those three, it might really cause a fight.

Black Knight Beramund Lunatil

Berserker Utulu Mihas

Wanderer Kasus Rian

These three names always came up as the empire’s top three. Sigrid quietly wrote her own name below them.

Sigrid Ankertna.

She had met Lord Mihas on the battlefield.

As a knight of the Western Nobles Alliance, he wielded a massive greatsword, and Sigrid thought its weight might be close to her own body weight.

When he swung it like a tree branch with the power of his aura, the soldiers were immediately intimidated.

‘I wish I were taller.’

Sigrid entertained a small wish. It seemed like she had been growing a bit lately, and she hoped she would keep shooting up.

‘If only I could be about two meters tall and weigh around a hundred kilograms… And have a lot more muscle.’

She made a small wish in her heart and looked back at the paper.

9. Slum demolition

‘And Beramund tried to kill me.’

She had become completely alone. But it didn’t matter. Being acknowledged by His Majesty came first and was better anyway.

10. Death of the Crown Prince

After writing that far, Sigrid picked up the paper and held it to the candle. The paper burst into flames instantly. She tugged at her shirt slightly to confirm the presence of her Aura Core.

The pain and emptiness of that time were still vivid. Just thinking about it made her fingertips tremble.

‘It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay, Sigrid.’

After comforting herself internally several times, she abruptly stood up. Pacing around the room, she asked herself:

‘Who could have harmed His Highness the Crown Prince? Was it really this Prince? Or was it really…’

His Majesty?

Sigrid squeezed her eyes shut.

‘If not, he wouldn’t have ordered me to die.’

Sigrid approached the window and looked outside. She could see the garden where rose buds were starting to form. It was hard to believe this was the same garden where she had only removed weeds before.

She had really tried hard to change things until now.

‘But if you ask how much has changed…’

Life had become more abundant and sweet. She learned for the first time that getting along with people could be enjoyable. But it was still not enough.

‘I could go far away.’

Very far, leaving the empire for another small country. Then she would never experience what she had in the past. But she still couldn’t give up on her dream.

And her newly made friends.

‘Besides.’

Sigrid looked at her hand. A faint crimson aura, like flames, sparkled and flowed around her fingers. She clenched her fist.

‘A knight doesn’t run away.’

She was prepared to plunge into the eye of the storm.

‘Still…’

Sigrid opened her desk drawer and took out the hairpin Marie-Chez had given her as a gift.

‘It should be okay to stay with my friends a little longer, right?’

It was a silver-crafted hairpin with a medium-sized black pearl.

‘South Sea black pearl, this size would be too modest for a party. For everyday wear. If used for horseback riding, it would be showing off wealth. Because there’s a high chance of losing it while riding.’

Unconsciously reciting what she had learned from Marie-Chez, Sigrid chuckled. As her skills in the basics of high society (?) grew, Marie-Chez’s skills were improving as well.

Or rather, if she had to say, it was more about physical endurance than skill.

Sigrid had a talent for pushing people to their limits without quite breaking them, and Marie-Chez surprisingly followed along without complaint.

Her basic physical fitness had been so poor that her initial growth was remarkable, and if she taught her a bit more technique, she might be able to withstand one of Sigrid’s strikes.

‘The first strike is usually just to test the waters anyway.’

One doesn’t go for a lethal blow from the first strike.

Thinking this, Sigrid put the hairpin back in the desk drawer. That wasn’t the issue.

‘Marie-Chez and Alkerto are in big trouble.’

Her expectation that their relationship would improve if they faced each other for a whole month had been wrong. Alkerto seemed determined never to forgive Marie-Chez. Despite Marie-Chez trying to speak to him several times, Alkerto consistently ignored her.

His behavior of treating her as if she didn’t exist made even Sigrid fidget uncomfortably. Compared to herself, Morris and Lowengrin seemed too calm, which frustrated Sigrid.

‘No, if even those two had been flustered, I really wouldn’t have been able to bear it.’

Sigrid corrected her thoughts.

‘And…’

Morris.

Over the past month of observing him, Sigrid had developed one question.

‘Why is someone with his skills in the 2nd Imperial Knight Order?’

With his abilities, he could have easily entered the 1st Imperial Knight Order. Moreover, he doesn’t have any particular status restrictions. It means he’s deliberately holding back his skills.

‘I did that because I absolutely didn’t want to show my swordsmanship, but Morris isn’t that kind of person.’

Why could that be?

She thought she should ask Morris about it later. Sigrid stood in front of the mirror and unbuttoned her shirt. Between the revealed undergarments, a deep crimson Aura Core was visible.

Is it because she already had experience?

The speed at which the aura gathered was fast. Sigrid thought she wanted to test various abilities she had been developing. For example, compressing aura and firing it—that was her original technique.

She had been developing a few more techniques before she died…

Sigrid took a deep breath and buttoned up her shirt. This time, she should be able to research more.

She must not die without a plan.

‘And I need to remember why I wanted to become a knight.’

Sigrid crossed her arms with a groan. It must have been something impactful, so why couldn’t she remember?

Like forgetting where you put your wallet and trying hard to remember but failing, her mind was blank white.

If she knew why she became a knight, she felt she might also understand what makes a great knight. She had thought that unconditionally following her lord’s orders made a good knight, but that wasn’t it.

Dog.

Sigrid inhaled. Beramund had called her that.

Had she failed because she chose the wrong master?

‘That’s not it.’

Sigrid shook her head. The Emperor didn’t have just Sigrid as his knight. If she was a card to be discarded, there must have been a reason why she was chosen among so many knights.

The current Sigrid could understand one of those reasons.

‘I have no backing.’

She had thought that for knights, skill was the most important, and family background or connections weren’t necessary. But now she knows it’s not such a simple matter.

To some people, that translates to ‘This person can be treated carelessly.’ It’s sad to think His Majesty thought that way, but surely that was one of the reasons she was chosen.

She habitually caressed her scabbard. Gently stroking the smooth leather scabbard with her fingertips, Sigrid raised her head to look in the mirror.

“Sigrid Ankertna, let’s work harder!”

She spoke energetically to shake off her anxiety. Then she took out a blue cloak from the wardrobe and put it on.

When she went downstairs, Seria, who had been inspecting the candlesticks, quickly came down from the ladder. Sigrid asked:

“Should I take a look? Isn’t it uncomfortable to climb a ladder wearing a skirt?”

“No! It’s fine!”

Although Seria shook her head vigorously, Sigrid still felt uneasy. Just imagining herself climbing a ladder in a dress made her break out in a cold sweat. Pushing aside the protesting Seria, Sigrid climbed the ladder and examined the candlestick.

“Ah, the screw here is a bit loose. Let me—there, it’s fixed now.”

Sigrid dusted off her hands and jumped down from the ladder. Seria looked at Sigrid with sparkling eyes. From the moment she first saw her, Sigrid had been nothing short of a hero to her.

“Um, Miss.”

“Just call me Sigrid. You’re Arkana’s sister, after all.”

Sigrid said with a smile, to which Seria corrected herself, “Then, Sigrid.”

“I’ll work harder.”

“Hmm? I think you’re already working hard and doing well?”

Sigrid asked, puzzled, but Seria shook her head. Working with the other maids, she felt that she wasn’t yet a professional maid.

“And I really want to become a cook.”

At her words, Sigrid tilted her head and said “A cook?” before nodding. Food supplies are important. There’s a saying that being a cook in the army is something to be mocked, but Sigrid knew well that nothing is more important in war than supplies. Food controls morale.

“That’s amazing. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Eh? No, I’m just happy that you listened to me.”

“…?”

Sigrid tilted her head again, then patted Seria’s shoulder lightly, saying “Work hard,” before leaving the mansion. As she put the saddle on Echo, she thought, ‘Should I buy her some books?’

She was willing to actively support whatever Arkana’s sister wanted to do.

Sigrid mounted Echo and lightly kicked its sides. Galloping briskly along the stone path, Sigrid stopped by some shops.

‘They say bringing a gift helps soften people’s hearts.’

Wondering ‘What would be a good gift?’, Sigrid looked around the shops before fixing her gaze on a fruit store. Shiny, colorful fruits were stacked appetizingly. In front of them were a few sample gift baskets of fruit, packaged for gifting.

‘Fruit… that’s good.’

She herself couldn’t even dream of buying fruit in the past. The only time she ate fruit was when she bought bruised, discounted ones. Moreover, fruit spoils quickly, so it felt even more like a luxury.

‘Alkerto lives alone, so he probably doesn’t eat much fruit either.’

She asked about fruits that could be stored for a long time and had the basket composed mainly of those. When she hugged it to her chest, a pleasant sweet fragrance wafted up. After having it beautifully packaged with a large ribbon to match and paying the appropriate price, Sigrid arrived at Alkerto’s house.

She had come to talk about Marie-Chez.

Alkerto might get angry, but she couldn’t not bring up the topic at all. Sigrid gripped the basket tightly and knocked on the door.

Knock knock knock—

Silence.

Just as she was about to raise her hand to knock again after waiting for a moment, the door opened with a click. Alkerto looked surprised to see Sigrid.

“Sig?”

Looking at his golden curly hair spread in all directions, Sigrid greeted him lightly.

“Hello, Alkerto.”

“You, at this time— No, wait a moment.”

He slammed the door shut, and then there was a clattering noise from inside. Sigrid glanced up at the sky. She had come after finishing breakfast and practice?

It wasn’t noon yet, but it was close to that time. She had come a bit earlier because visiting during lunchtime seemed awkward.

While Sigrid waited diligently outside the door, Alkerto cleaned up inside the house. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say he shoved things into hidden corners here and there. After that, he quickly washed his face and ran his damp hands through his hair. After checking himself in the mirror, Alkerto opened the door again.

“Come in.”

“Yeah, sorry for coming without notice.”

“It’s fine.”

Alkerto shrugged. When Sigrid held out the basket, Alkerto took it, asking, “Why did you bring something like this?”

Sigrid made a long “Hmm—” sound before saying:

“I have a favor to ask.”

At those words, Alkerto looked at the basket and burst out laughing. Sigrid was taken aback.

“Why are you laughing?”

“No, I just thought you’ve really changed a lot.”

In the past, she wouldn’t have even thought of ‘buying a gift’ when asking for a favor, right?

“Have I changed a lot?”

When Sigrid asked back, Alkerto nodded deeply. At his words, Sigrid smiled brightly.

“I see, I’ve changed.”

‘That’s a relief,’ Sigrid thought as she glanced around the room. Then she noticed a bottle of alcohol not fully hidden under the bed. She frowned at Alkerto and said:

“Did you drink last night—”

Sigrid suppressed the nagging that was about to burst out. She had just been told she had changed, and here her old habits were trying to surface again.

“Alcohol isn’t good for your physical condition.”

Instead, she stated an objective fact. Alkerto scratched his head awkwardly and pointed to the table.

“Sit down.”

As Sigrid sat at the table with a straight back, Alkerto lit the fireplace and explained:

“It’s been a while since I went to a party, so I drank a little. And when I got home, I had one more drink in that mood.”

While waiting for the water to boil in the kettle, Alkerto opened the tea canister.