“?!”

It was the most shocking moment for the Imperial Knights this year.

Not just a superior, but Her Majesty the Empress, who was in an incomparably high position?

The “that” Empress?

‘She said she’s going to train??? Why?’

But Her Majesty the Empress did not provide an explanation.

She just left after dropping the bombshell announcement.

The knights left behind looked at each other with dumbfounded expressions.

“…Hey, this. It’s like that, right?”

“Yeah. It seems like it.”

Her Majesty the Empress was much frailer than ordinary people.

It was widely known that she was so sickly that she couldn’t even take a walk easily and thus couldn’t attend to state affairs.

Therefore, the knights didn’t actually believe that Her Majesty the Empress would really train.

But just the fact that she would show up at the training grounds at six in the morning, a time when even ordinary nobles wouldn’t be awake, was enough to make their spines tingle.

Even if she didn’t come every day, the fear of “not knowing when she might come” was even greater.

‘If we’re caught in this state one more time, our necks are really on the line.’

Until now, they had been holding drinking parties with even the new commander and vice-commander joining in.

Because the current commander was just chosen for being the oldest, and the vice-commander was a guy selected through drawing lots.

Since the current Emperor ascended to the throne, the Valkyries had become a pitiful sight.

Their budget was cut, their honor lowered, and the year-end bonuses they received or the gifts from the Imperial Treasury on their birthdays were far inferior to those received by the Imperial Guard or the Crusaders.

In the end, knights lived on honor alone, so when that disappeared, the meaning of life vanished.

They envied their colleagues from good families who could transfer to the Imperial Guard, and the reality that would not improve was bitter. The saint, who held real power in the palace, had no interest in them. The Emperor was the same.

Both were close to the Imperial Guard or the Crusaders, so it was only natural.

They never had any expectations for Her Majesty the Empress in the first place.

What expectations could they have for someone who was ill?

So all they took in was alcohol and all that grew was their lamentations about life.

“But why do I feel good?”

“Oh, me too. My stomach is queasy… I’m breaking out in a cold sweat… But why do I feel good?”

“His Majesty the Emperor completely ignores us. But Her Majesty the Empress, to us, hmm. Isn’t she trying to give us a chance before kicking us out?”

As Chedev, Jovanni, and Chopin each said a word like that, the other knights soon agreed.

No matter how they thought about it, it seemed like she was trying to give them a chance.

“Yeah, she must be trying to somehow restore us back to how we were, when we were living like trash in despair!”

“Ah, Your Majesty the Empress… To think you had such magnanimity!”

A couple of the emotional guys got excited and even cried.

The country has two masters.

The Emperor and the Empress.

The Imperial Guard is loyal only to the Emperor and obeys only the Emperor’s orders.

For the Crusaders, the absolute being was not the Imperial family, but God.

However, the Imperial Knights were also loyal to Her Majesty the Empress.

‘It seems Her Majesty the Empress is trying to show interest in us.’

The reason didn’t matter to the Imperial Knights.

They just wanted to seize the chance to soar once again if there was one.

Anyway, at this rate, they would be disbanded, so grabbing Her Majesty the Empress’s hand was like their only lifeline.

“It’s not a bit of a waste to give my life for my lord. If only she gives us the chance.”

“Right. If she needs our loyalty…”

The Emperor did not need the Imperial Knights.

It had been that way since he was the Crown Prince.

What need was there for the Valkyries when the Crusaders were on his side?

Moreover, the Crusaders were those who thought they were superior to others because they had divine power.

They were unpleasant and distasteful, so the Valkyries were originally incompatible with the Crusaders.

The reason they sided with the 1st Prince during the previous struggle for the throne was not because they liked the 1st Prince, but because they anticipated the results would turn out like this if they didn’t.

The future they predicted unfolded exactly as expected.

The slight difference was that Her Majesty the Empress reached out to them.

Regardless of the reason, Her Majesty the Empress needed them.

That was enough.

A few knights looked down at their bellies and scratched their heads.

“Ah, look at this fat.”

“I’ll probably die tomorrow……”

Still, they looked forward to tomorrow coming.

It had been a really long time since they felt like that.

[This is the timeline separator]

From the next day, I really went out for early morning training.

Tying up my long, trailing hair into one, wearing an outfit suitable for training.

What I wore looked similar to the Imperial Knights’ uniform on the outside, but this type of uniform was not being used in the current Imperial family.

The pitch-black pants and red jacket that fit snugly to the body were all made of fabric with good mobility, and the boots were high-quality products with leather reinforced to prevent the ankles from bending.

Dressed like that, I arrived at the Valkyries’ training grounds feeling slightly excited.

‘Oh, they all look alive.’

The members of the Empress’s Palace, including Derek, held the backs of their necks at my shocking move.

But if it was really a reckless act that absolutely should not be done, I wouldn’t even have thought of doing it.

Because my life is precious.

‘I’ve roughly fulfilled my lifespan, so what I need now is physical strength.’

It’s different from the past when I would collapse just from being exposed to cold wind.

The high purity yang energy allowed my dying body to move.

‘It just needs to move enough for rehabilitation training. Even that will be painfully difficult though.’

If they think of drinking alcohol when the supposedly sickly Empress is personally doing this, then that’s truly despicable. They should be expelled from the knights.

But if it’s because they’re despairing at the thought of having no future….

‘Then I’ll create a future for them.’

Because I need you guys.

I looked around at the lined-up knights with a grin.

“Everyone.”

“Yes!”

“Good. Looks like you haven’t been drinking.”

Derek had been holding my wooden sword while I was coming here. I held out my hand to Derek, but Derek handed me the wooden sword with an expression that clearly showed he really didn’t want to.

‘Ugh, my wrist hurts.’

It’s not to the point where I would drop it as soon as I picked it up due to the weight, but my weakened wrist muscles were trembling as I held it.

I stuck it into the ground like yesterday and continued speaking.

“Look at what I’m wearing.”

“You look pretty!”

“I already know that.”

One knight flattered me in a loud voice, but when I sharply cut him off, laughter erupted from here and there.

The atmosphere was quite good.

“If you guys lose weight and build up your bodies, I’ll provide you with this uniform. It’s not an official uniform, but I guarantee it’ll be very comfortable. I’ll also gift you top-quality leather boots.”

“Thank you!”

“The summit is not far off. Will you give glory to the Imperial Guard again on that day?”

“No!!!”

I like how refreshing the answer is.

I can see their desires as if I’m holding them in my hand.

The Imperial Knights wanted to be recognized.

Their abilities, their worth.

And as I always say, I took care of what was mine.

“I’ll be honest. This summit banquet is very important to me. Because it’s the first banquet I’m hosting in the name of the Empress.”

Behind the ‘public face’, one must always show the ‘private face’.

That way, they feel a sense of closeness, think their superior has opened up to them, and become more loyal.

I changed my tone of voice a little to pretend to look familiar.

“But the Imperial Guard has no intention of lending me a hand. I can’t call the Crusaders who are dealing with magical beasts all over the country either.”

“……”

“So I need your help.”

A request, not an order. An appeal, not coercion.

Aren’t knights a kind that protects the weak and is loyal to their lord?

Then how will they react to a fragile lord in need of help?

“I don’t want to have what’s mine taken away anymore.”

In the silence, a wind of empathy spread.

They are the same as me.

I found out they were being treated too poorly compared to the other two orders of knights.

“If you stand with me, I’ll speak up so you can receive the best treatment. I can’t give you a definite promise since my position is unstable, but I’ll try my best.”

“We… That’s enough for us.”

The one who said that was the commander of the Valkyries, who seemed to have half-crawled into the liquor jar yesterday. The vice-commander standing next to him also fervently nodded his head.

This much is enough for the emotional time before training.

I shouted briefly with a satisfied face.

“Begin training!”

[This is the timeline separator]

On the first day of training, I fainted after walking and running half of three laps around the training grounds.

But the next day and the day after that, I went out to the training grounds again.

My legs lost strength, a strange taste came from my throat, and my vision was dizzy, but I persevered tenaciously.

Physical strength won’t improve if I don’t do this.

The knights clicked their tongues, calling me a stubborn one as they watched me.

Derek silently stayed by my side as I moved at what was a snail’s pace by his standards, with one of his steps equaling three of mine.

“Huff, hah.”

Like that, more than half a month quickly passed, and finally, news arrived that the procession of the Desert Emperor would reach Nix Imperial Palace tomorrow.

But I announced in advance that I wouldn’t stop early morning training.

Even though I’m panting like this, just training for nearly 2 weeks has made me clearly feel the improvement in my physical strength.

“Hang in there, Your Majesty the Empress!”

“You can do it! Aja aja!”

“Let’s take just one more step!”

At first, the knights who used to just hang around drinking underwent an even greater change than me.

Rumors spread that the Imperial Knights had come to their senses as if struck by lightning and were living in the training grounds all day, and in just 2 weeks, they recovered their previous physique and stamina.

I ended up chuckling at the sight of the knights whizzing past me like the wind and cheering me on.

It’s really hard. My whole body is drenched in sweat, and my thighs were trembling.

While they ran 30 laps, I only managed to run a mere 3 laps, but I was still like this.

‘I’d like to hurry and hold a wooden sword to do sword training… But I shouldn’t be too impatient.’

Eventually, I stopped and did some stretching.

These days, Enrique and Helene don’t pick fights for no reason, so it’s been very peaceful.

From tomorrow, it’ll be war again.

‘But it’s okay since I’m not alone.’

I’ve also become much closer with the palace people now. I memorized and called out the names of the children I saw passing by, and they liked it so much.

And I made sure to praise at least one small thing each time.

There’s no palace person who would feel bad about being praised by the Empress.

‘I’ve also gotten close with the Imperial Knights.’

This much should be enough to fight Helene.

“Everyone, gather.”

“Gather!!!”

At my words, the knights gathered in unison.

I looked at each and every one of them and spat out just one thing.

“I’ll send a tailor today, so get measured for new clothes.”

“Woohoo!”

The same clothes create a sense of belonging.

Those who have the high-quality clothes and boots I gave them will feel an even stronger sense of belonging to me.

‘What I have and Helene doesn’t.’

There are exactly two things.

‘One is overflowing wealth, and the other is the justification of being the legitimate Empress.’

First… Let’s try to compete with money for once, Helene.