Over half of the Royal Guard members are from the Holy Knights, and they also guard Helene’s palace.

Unlike me, who has no connection with them, Helene was very close to them.

‘Still, I didn’t know they would behave like this at such an important summit meeting. It’s disappointing.’

However, this was also proof of how well Helene had treated them.

Despite being from the Quid, she had captivated the hearts of the Royal Guard knights.

In Nix, a country of serious discriminators, it was incredibly remarkable for someone from the Quid to receive support from the knights. So, in fact, I was willing to applaud her.

If only she wasn’t hostile towards me.

‘Then, if I can’t help it, I’ll have to utilize the Imperial Knights.’

However, there was one big problem with this.

It was the fact that the Imperial Knights were a gathering of rascals.

I found out that Valkyrie had a quite high reputation in the past.

If the Royal Guard protects the emperor and the Crusaders guard outside the capital, Valkyrie was loyal to all the imperial family members and protected the capital itself.

Since their scope of duties was different, there was no reason to clash, and they respected each other and were active.

The problem started with the fact that the current emperor was a member of the Crusaders.

‘During the last imperial succession dispute, the Crusaders unanimously sided with Enrique, while Valkyrie sided with the first prince, who was the eldest son and Enrique’s rival.’

When Enrique became the emperor, it was natural for the Holy Knights to gain more honor than the other orders of knights.

As the emperor’s closest aides, who were members of the Crusaders, moved to the Royal Guard en masse upon his accession, the Royal Guard’s honor also rose along with them.

There were changes in Valkyrie as well.

Not in a good way.

‘The existing knight commander was executed under various pretexts along with the first prince, and the deputy commander was stripped of his position and returned to his hometown…’

Therefore, a division occurred within Valkyrie.

Knights from prestigious families requested to be transferred to the Royal Guard, and the request was accepted under the pretext that additional personnel were needed to guard the palace where the saint was staying.

‘In other words, only those who are commoners or nobles without money and power in their families are left in Valkyrie. Naturally, they lack prowess as well.’

As a result, there are now open calls to “abolish the tax-eating Valkyrie.”

‘At first, they probably tried to lay low to survive, avoiding the emperor’s crackdown. But as days and months passed, it must have turned into chronic alcoholism.’

It’s understandable that they fell apart when they felt there was no hope… but isn’t this a bit too much?

The exclusive training ground of Valkyrie.

Since it was broad daylight, there were no knights who should have been diligently training.

Instead, the smell of alcohol pierced my sensitive nose.

I covered my nose with my sleeve and slowly looked around.

“The level is deplorable.”

At my words, Derek let out a low growl.

Since he was also a knight, it wouldn’t be pleasant for him to see a knight order reduced to this state.

I frowned, creasing my pretty forehead, and muttered softly.

“This is troublesome…”

Because of my soul’s constitution, I can’t call the Crusaders anyway. Just the thought of being surrounded by holy knights throughout the banquet made me choke.

I’ll need to stay close to Enrique, too. I’ll be lucky if I don’t faint.

If I lose consciousness, Helene will take over the rest of the banquet as she pleases.

‘I can’t bear to see that happen.’

The Royal Guard acted lukewarm, so I don’t want to use them on my side.

And bringing the private soldiers of the Achillo family is absolutely out of the question.

There was a risk of being accused of planning a rebellion later on.

‘In other words, I have no choice but to make use of these drunkards.’

It’s a good thing I prepared to do laundry for them, just in case.

“Derek. Summon the commander of Valkyrie.”

“Leaving you alone is…”

“I told you to summon him. If he’s not here, bring the deputy commander before me. And give that to me.”

As I held out my hand, Derek handed me ‘that’ with a doubtful expression.

‘Ah, this feel. It’s been a while.’

That was none other than a wooden sword.

It was a slender wooden sword made in the same shape as Lear Pier.

Made of Karum wood, which has good elasticity and is so light that it floats on water, it weighed only slightly more than a silver knife.

‘Usually, wooden swords are made to match the weight of real swords, but I can’t swing something like that.’

I stroked the smooth blade and then plunged the tip into the ground. Then, I stood upright and stared straight ahead.

Thud!

Not long after Derek left to carry out the order, a loud noise came from somewhere in the knights’ quarters connected to the training ground. Startled birds flapped their wings and took off all at once.

‘Ah, what a nice day.’

I looked up at the sky while watching the scene.

‘Being able to bask in the warm sunlight with my whole body.’

For this alone, I was willing to express deep gratitude to that boy.

If that child hadn’t filled my lifespan to the brim, I wouldn’t have been able to stand outside like this.

I fully enjoyed the sunlight touching my skin for the first time in a long while.

“Yawn, I was sleeping well, what on earth is going on… oh my?”

“Is it Her Majesty the Empress…? Am I not fully sober yet?”

“Yawn, since Her Majesty the Empress appeared in my dream, I should buy a lottery ticket… huh?”

That’s when it happened.

A group of knights slowly walked out from the other end of the corridor connecting the quarters and the training ground, and their eyes met mine.

Uncombed hair, crumpled clothes, untied shoelaces.

What a pitiful sight. No matter how you looked at it, they couldn’t be called knights who valued honor.

You might as well call them three stubborn horses.

I jerked my chin towards them.

No matter how reckless they were, they couldn’t ignore the empress’ summons, so the knights cautiously approached.

I stared at them intently, then stretched out my index finger. Then, I immediately drew it down and ordered.

“Bow your heads.”

Thud!

Perhaps their minds were still intact despite being reeking of alcohol, as the knights who had rushed to me upon my command bowed their heads to the ground without a word.

It seemed there was still room for rehabilitation.

‘Huh? What is this familiar feeling?’

‘Why am I receiving a reprimand…? Is this a dream?’

‘No, more importantly… Her Majesty the Empress is giving a reprimand???’

However, the three knights’ minds weren’t properly in place. Their bodies just reacted too naturally.

Although they were mere drunkards now, they had still passed the difficult entrance exam to join Valkyrie in the past.

They had to endure rigorous training for a long time, which still remained in their bodies.

In other words, it was a case of reacting first and thinking later.

They looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

‘Hey, but what Her Majesty the Empress is leaning on right now. It’s not a cane, right?’

‘Does it look like a cane to you? It’s a wooden sword.’

‘Then why is Her Majesty the Empress holding a wooden sword?’

Their names were Chedeff, Jovanni, and Chopin, respectively.

All three were commoners and 27 years old.

Even their heights were similar, and they had the same slender physique.

Now, all three of them were even starting to develop beer bellies. At least that could have been different.

Anyway, since they had so many things in common, they were close friends and could communicate with their eyes.

‘But Her Majesty the Empress seems to have some experience in giving reprimands, doesn’t she?’

‘Yeah, I thought so too. When she told us to bow just now, wasn’t the word “head” omitted in front of it?’

‘Both of you, shut up.’

Still, Chopin was the best at grasping the situation among the three. Chedeff and Jovanni were too emotional and had a giggling personality, so they couldn’t properly recognize the seriousness of the current situation.

‘The empress, who was confined due to her poor health, has come to visit. Why?’

Although it was difficult with the blood rushing to his head, Chopin diligently continued his thoughts.

‘It must be because of the upcoming imperial summit banquet. But if it were for such a matter, she would have contacted the Royal Guard first… Ah! She was rejected!’

The hangover made him feel like throwing up. But Chopin diligently approached the correct answer.

In the meantime, about ten more knights who had strolled out were caught and made to bow their heads together. It was a heartwarming sight.

‘Since her relationship with the emperor is not good, she couldn’t call the Crusaders to order them to guard her. We were the only ones left. It’s a simple process of elimination.’

She must have heard that when she tried to find out if we were of any use, we were just a bunch of trash, laughing and drinking ourselves into a stupor. So she came in person.

With a club… no, a wooden sword!

‘Since Chedeff has the best physique, I should make sure Chedeff gets hit first. By the time she gets tired, she’ll stop beating us.’

Even in this situation, Chopin shrewdly calculated his own benefit.

“Your Majessty the Empressh. Why have you… hiccup! Come here?”

At that moment, the commander of Valkyrie, who was still drunk, was dragged out by the neck, pulled by Derek Noert’s hand.

Behind him, the half-asleep knights were staggering like a flock of baby ducks, following in a line.

Chopin and the knights who had come earlier and were bowing their heads all had the same thought at the same time.

‘Ah, our necks are done for now.’

It didn’t mean that their heads would really be cut off, but that they would all join hands and be expelled from the Imperial Knights.

It was already a well-known fact that the ministers argued day after day that Valkyrie should be disbanded and a new order of knights should be created.

It was a sad thing, but it was a foregone conclusion that it would happen.

With an important diplomatic matter with the desert empire coming up, they were not touching it for now, but Valkyrie would probably disappear into the back alleys of history after this summit.

‘Before disappearing, we’ll also get scolded by Her Majesty the Empress. It’s a very rare experience.’

Chopin laughed wickedly.

He secretly had a lingering attachment that Valkyrie might be able to revive someday.

All the other knights felt the same way.

That’s why they had stubbornly remained here, unable to train properly even once.

It wasn’t that they didn’t train, but that they couldn’t.

That was the important part.

At first, even after the commander was executed and the deputy commander was driven out, they tried to continue training.

However, when they saw the pro-emperor nobles making a fuss, asking if they had harbored treacherous intentions just by coming to the training ground, they couldn’t muster any strength in their hands.

They couldn’t risk being executed, could they?

“Hehe…”

Chopin forced a laugh and then lowered his head.

Misery clawed at his chest.

However, about 10 seconds later, that laughter disappeared.

“Pardon?”

“My, my, it seems everyone’s ears are clogged.”

Her Majesty the Empress clicked her tongue softly.

Then, she uttered words that were truly unbelievable once again.

“Starting tomorrow, I will train with you, so gather here at six in the morning. If you become proper knights, I will call you ‘Sir’ then.”