"What about our Ashley?"

I replied with a dumbfounded expression.

"What do you mean, what about her?"

"Ashley said she wouldn't marry a man who wasn't stronger than her."

"No, why are you telling me that..."

There are plenty of strong knights besides me.

Whether I said that or not, Rutie continued to press me.

"What are we going to do if you just leave after shaking our Ashley's heart!"

"I'm telling you, why are you yelling at me about that..."

"Take responsibility!"

"...."

Looking at her eyes, it seemed half of it was playful, but the other half was serious. It felt like she was trying to wrap her sincerity in a joke. After the matchmaker Count left, is it this girl's turn now?

I was bewildered. Why was this girl suddenly spouting such nonsense? Was she really doing this for Sir Ashley's sake? Because she thought there would be no more chances? Looking at it this way, she was a doting sister who cherished her younger sibling.

It's a mystery why she tormented Sir Ashley so much if she cherished her that much. Judging by Sir Ashley's reaction, they were half-estranged.

Anyway, the important thing right now was to calm this girl down. I looked at her fellow knights with a gaze that pleaded for them to stop this fanatical sister-lover, but they were just watching with interest, their eyes sparkling. No one tried to step in.

"Tsk."

They say blood is thicker than water. I had no choice but to sigh and speak on Sir Ashley's behalf.

"You seem to be misunderstanding something."

"Misunderstanding?"

"The words that she won't marry a man who isn't stronger than her are likely just an excuse because she wants to focus on the sword. It's obvious that even if you bring a man stronger than her, she'll make up some excuse and refuse. So it would be better to just let her do what she wants."

"...Is that really true?"

"There's a high probability."

"...!"

Sir Rutie's functions came to a halt. She seemed to be quite shocked.

Just as I succeeded in quieting her down... this time, Frost opened his mouth.

"So, when are you coming?"

I replied with a bewildered expression.

"Where?"

"To my mansion."

"Ah."

This blunt man seemed to have come here solely to say this. I showed him my pathetic state of being unable to leave the bed and said.

"I have to recover first before I can go anywhere. I can't say for sure when that will be. I'll have to see how it goes."

"Is that so."

Frost, who had nodded as if he understood, repeated the same question as if he hadn't heard a word I said.

"So, when can you come?"

...He was a more persistent man than I thought.

I frowned and said.

"I'll go on my own when I can move, so just know that. And stop visiting so often. It makes people uncomfortable."

"Understood."

"...."

"If you don't come, I'll come again."

"Ah, I said I'll go on my own."

"If you don't."

"...."

Frost, as if he had really only come to say that, shot up from his seat as soon as he finished speaking and walked to the door without delay.

"Well then. I'll be waiting."

The Knight of Frost, leaving those words behind, left the hospital room. He was a cold man in many ways, not just his sword.

"...."

I stared blankly at Frost's retreating back, and my gaze suddenly fell on the ink-black bracelet on my wrist. Come to think of it, I had to go see him to get Frostblade anyway. In many ways, it was an unavoidable invitation.

As their superior left so abruptly, the remaining knights also began to prepare to leave. The knights seemed to be used to Frost's arbitrary behavior. Seeing as they weren't flustered.

"Well then."

I called out to Van Dyke of the Iron Spear, who was about to leave the hospital room following Frost.

"Sir Van Dyke."

Van Dyke, who was heading for the door, stopped and turned to look at me. Both his arms were wrapped in bandages. It would take a long time for them to recover to their original state.

"Cutting off both your arms was definitely excessive. I didn't do it on purpose."

Van Dyke, upon receiving my apology, stared at me blankly and then asked.

"Was that the sleeping monster?"

I gave a faint smile.

"It's hard to say. It was, but it wasn't the one who scolded the Knight of Frost."

Van Dyke nodded.

"I thought so."

"Is that so?"

"Sir Serkov is not someone who would fall to that extent."

It was a statement filled with infinite trust and respect for Frost.

"Don't worry about it. I was careless, so my arms were cut off. I'm satisfied with not being dead."

This man was also quite a straightforward man. How many people could say this to the person who cut off both their arms? I realized anew that the man I had fought was truly a knightly knight.

Victor, wearing his helmet again, looked at me.

"It was a good fight."

I smiled and replied.

"Yes. Let's fight with swords next time."

I couldn't see his face because of the helmet, but it felt like he had smiled slightly.

"Well then."

The two heavy men, covered in bandages, lumbered towards the door. Come to think of it, it was a case of the sick visiting the sick, which made me laugh.

I watched the retreating backs of the two knights leaving the hospital room with a faint smile. To be honest, I wasn't confident I could win if we fought again. Because they hadn't used their main weapons. To use an analogy, it was as if I had suddenly charged at them with an axe. Even if I had used an axe, I wouldn't have been weak, but it couldn't be compared to holding a sword. It would be the same for them.

In fact, it could be an unfair situation. Because they lost fighting with something other than their main weapon. But their appearance of cleanly admitting defeat without making any excuses was truly impressive. They were true knights who knew honor, something so hard to find in Maia.

Real knights. As of today, I will name the Blake Kingdom the Nation of Knights. I will not accept any objections.

I saw off the men who were stronger than me in many ways with respect.

"Take care, sirs."

After seeing off the real men, I looked at Sir Rutie. She was still in her seat even after all her seniors had left.

"Why aren't you leaving?"

"...."

"Do you have more to say?"

Rutie suddenly stuck her face out and narrowed her eyes, examining both of my eyes alternately.

"Are you really not in a relationship with Ashley?"

I had bluffed when we first met in a deserted alley in Valeria during the festival. At that time, she had dismissed it as a lie, but had she been secretly suspicious in her heart?

I did not avoid her eyes. Of course. I was innocent, and as innocent as I was, I was confident.

"You're more naive than you look."

"I'm not?"

"I said I'm not."

"Hmm."

"What's with the 'hmm'?"

Even after I explained, her suspicious gaze did not disappear. It was obvious she wouldn't believe me even if I explained further, so I decided to change the subject altogether. I had something I was curious about too.

"I'll ask you one thing. Why did you torment Sir Ashley so much?"

"Ah, did Ashley say that?"

"Yes."

"...."

Sir Rutie gave a bitter smile. She seemed to think for a moment, then looked at me with cautious eyes.

"I'll tell you if you make a promise with me."

"What promise?"

"A promise that you won't tell Ashley. If you don't keep it, I'll tell the Black Prince everything too."

"Deal."

I had no such thoughts in the first place, so I readily agreed. Holding each other's secrets could also form a more solid relationship of trust.

And so, after making the promise, Rutie's confession began.

"To be honest, I didn't really want to become a knight. I was forced to hold a sword because my talent was so outstanding."

...The content was unpleasant from the start. Maybe I shouldn't have asked.

"I just wanted to live a normal life. Marry a wonderful man, have cute sons and daughters, spend my time knitting, and tell my children old stories while watching the rainy scenery..."

As she said that, a lonely light flickered in her eyes.

"But I couldn't. The fate that bound me wouldn't leave me alone. So... I just wanted Ashley to be happy. Ashley didn't have much talent for the sword."

I doubted my ears.

"...No talent?"

That? That brilliant Golden Flash?

Rutie nodded.

"It's a strength that blossomed solely through effort. To be honest, I was surprised too. That she would become this strong. She really had a terrible talent as a knight."

Damn geniuses... In their world, Sir Ashley must be considered untalented. By my standards, just being able to feel mana is a talent to be jealous of. If I could have felt even a little bit of mana, my life would have been very different from now. I wouldn't have had to wander around weakly, I wouldn't have lost to a damn brat, and I wouldn't have fallen off a cliff...

But then I wouldn't have met the Heavenly Demon either. Life is truly an unpredictable thing. To think that the misfortune I wanted to shake off so badly would come back as a blessing.

Really, is life worth living?

Anyway, the statement that Sir Ashley had no talent was hard for me to accept. I argued in a displeased tone.

"Saying Sir Ashley has no talent is a bit harsh. The majority of people can't even feel mana."

Rutie had a surprised expression.

"Huh? No way. There are hardly any knights like that."

"That may be the case among the knights here, but it's quite common where I'm from. There are even people with no mana at all in their bodies."

Of course, that was me.

Rutie, thinking I was teasing her, let out a small laugh.

"Come on. There's no way such a pathetic person exists. If they had such a vermin-like talent, they should have given up the sword long ago. Unless they want to die a dog's death by a sword. Not only is their talent meager, but they're also stupid? It's adding insult to injury."

"...."

I'm not hurt. Of course not. I'm really not hurt.

"...Ashuban?"

The sound of the Heavenly Demon's chuckling echoed faintly in my head. Her sharp tongue was as sharp as her sword. It seems the genius among geniuses, Sir Rutie, who resides in a high place, doesn't know what it means to have no real talent. Should I tell her?

But I soon calmed my mind and moved on in a calm tone. The strong are relaxed. There was no need to dwell on the past.

"Continue."

"Ashuban? Your voice is trembling a little. Did I make a mistake?"

"...Get me some water. Maybe it's because I've been talking a lot. I'm thirsty."

"Ah, yes. Here you go."

I wet my throat and then listened to Rutie's continuing story.

"The path of a knight is, in short, dangerous and unhappy. After all, it's a job of continuously killing people. Either you die, or you kill. It's a path stained with blood. It doesn't suit the soft-hearted Ashley."

"Hmm."

"But Ashley wanted to become a knight, following our late mother. Do you know how our mother died?"

I shook my head.

"She died while carrying out a mission. It was a mission that ended in failure."

"...."

"It was a mission to drive out the barbarians who had come down from the north, but that winter was particularly harsh, and more of them came down than expected. She fought bravely, but was eventually captured. To be honest, she wasn't that outstanding of a knight."

The corners of Rutie's mouth went up. It was a smile thick with killing intent.

"Do you know her end? My mother was, of course, a female knight. She was surrounded by barbarians and torn to pieces. It was an indescribably gruesome end. We couldn't even retrieve her body. Can you imagine how my mother died?"

I remained silent for a moment, then asked.

"...Does Sir Ashley know that?"

Rutie shook her head.

"No. She doesn't know the details. She probably only knows that she failed the mission but died fighting bravely to the end."

"...."

"I can't bear to see Ashley meet a miserable end like our mother. That's why I took up the sword. If I meet the family's expectations, Ashley won't have to hold a sword. That's why I became the commander of the knight order and even joined the Royal Knights."

Rutie sighed.

"But Ashley kept trying to hold a sword. So it hurt my heart, but I used some coercive methods. As I said, Ashley is a bit soft-hearted."

They say there's no grave without a story. Rutie had such a story of her own. She had played the villain for Sir Ashley's sake. Was it the right way? If you ask me, I couldn't easily nod my head.

"But... even so, Ashley didn't let go of the sword. Her heart may have bent for a moment, but it didn't break. In the end, she ran away from the family she loved so much and became a knight. A proper knight."

Rutie's gaze wandered in the empty air. It seemed she was reminiscing about the time she had crossed swords with her.

"...A knight strong enough to defeat her older sister now."

She looked at her own shoulder, which was wrapped in bandages. It wasn't a gaze looking at a wound, but a gaze as if looking at a proud medal.

Rutie touched the wound inflicted by Ashley and smiled faintly.

"Ah, really. I didn't expect her to leave the family."

(End of Chapter)