The eventful interviews at Count Ringaarden’s estate had finally, completely ended.
A few hours later—
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
As I stood there contentedly, gazing at the final selected mbers lined up neatly in the garden, Lady redia’s sighing voice reached from beside.
“I’m not trying to interfere with your authority or anything...”
“I don’t really mind if you do, though?”
“...Yeah, thanks a lot.”
The fact that Lady redia was now adding such unnecessary disclairs to her speech — when she would’ve just said things bluntly in the past — made feel oddly nostalgic.
Without realizing, I smiled broadly, and seeing that, the lady sighed again and continued.
“Anyway, don’t you think the number of knights is way too small?”
Just like she said, there were only three people lined up in the garden.
The ones who had passed — Johan, the wolf beastkin Ferris, and Evangeline, Lunelle’s younger sister who had been selected in the later rounds.
“You’re right that choosing only a few highly capable people is efficient, but knight orders sotis need to win by sheer numbers.”
“Hmm...”
“With just three people, there’s only so much you can do. You’re not thinking of hiring rcenaries, are you? Because if you are, I sincerely advise against it.”
Yeah, even if we aid for an elite, small unit, three people was way too few.
And as Lady redia pointed out, hiring rcenaries would be a massive risk — outsourcing the family's military strength and security was sothing we absolutely had to avoid.
“Well, then...”
“Don’t worry! Master already has it all planned!”
Just as I was starting to get lost in thought, Parsha, who had been scribbling on papers for a while now, suddenly stood up from the table, her eyes sparkling.
“Master was choosing three division captains for the knight order! Right?”
“Huh?”
“In fact, just passing the first round — sparring against Lunelle — was already enough qualification to join! The second round was probably just to pick out the exceptional ones among them!”
At Parsha’s probing gaze, I reflexively nodded and muttered.
“See? I’m the only one who truly understands Master!”
“...Haha. Parsha, you really are brilliant.”
“Hehe. With such an abnormal and inefficient interview process, the intent was obvious.”
While I had thought it was a perfectly good plan, hearing her call it “abnormal and inefficient” sohow made my face burn.
“Really...?”
Even Lady redia, standing beside us, was eyeing suspiciously.
I needed to move on before they saw right through .
“Well then, let’s prepare to select from the second-round failures...”
“Oh, I already finished all of that.”
“Huh?”
Just as I was about to hurriedly grab the list of second-round dropouts, Parsha confidently held out the papers she had prepared.
“I’ve been carefully observing the candidates’ behavior patterns and responses all along.”
“Ah...”
“And I’ve also analyzed which division captain each candidate would fit best under. Here you go.”
Today, Parsha looked even more praiseworthy than usual.
No, she was always praiseworthy, but today she felt like a thousand soldiers.
“Well done.”
“Ah, hehe.”
Without thinking, I patted Parsha’s head in praise. She flinched a little at first but then smiled shyly and bowed her head.
Seeing her like this, she looked just like any other girl her age.
Well, sotis she had suspicious expressions, but whatever.
“...Tsk.”
Feeling Lady redia’s sharp gaze on again, I reflexively turned and called out to Sasha.
“Sasha.”
“Yes?”
“Bring the people listed here.”
Even with her timid nature, this should be an easy enough task for the head maid.
“Eh?”
“......?”
“You want to bring them back?”
But Sasha’s reaction wasn’t just timid — she looked genuinely panicked.
“Uh, I... I ordered the maids to start digging holes...”
“Digging holes? Why...?”
“I thought... we were supposed to bury the ones who failed...”
What the hell is she talking about? We're not planting human seeds here — why the hell would we bury valuable human resources?
“What do you even think of ?”
“Hiek. I-I’m sorry...”
“Never mind. Just hurry and bring them back. And fill in the garden properly afterward.”
Realizing there had been so serious misunderstanding, I gave the order to restore the garden.
Sasha, glancing nervously at , quickly bowed and dashed away.
“She’s got potential.”
Watching Sasha run off, Lady redia suddenly chuckled and muttered.
“If you bury them in the garden, you won’t need fertilizer.”
“That’s a joke, right?”
“...Did it sound like one?”
Hearing her whisper that with a sly smile made a cold shiver run down my spine.
Sotis, I seriously didn’t understand why she thought I was scary.
But that just now... that was a joke, right?
“To be honest, you’ve narrowly avoided being buried in my garden several tis yourself.”
“Ahaha...”
***
“Everyone, attention.”
Once Parsha’s sorting was complete, the newly established Ringaarden Knight Order finally started to look respectable.
“Salute your master.”
Lunelle, who had officially been given command, was leading the knight order with a solemn and emotional expression.
“...I’m a division captain?”
“Haa, I had no plans of taking such an important position...”
“......”
The three new division captains, standing at the head of the knight order, all looked either bewildered or were sighing heavily.
“...At this level, we could probably handle a minor territorial war easily.”
Still, for a newly established force, even Lady redia had to admit it was a successful start.
“Really?”
“If you can survive for even one day, the Embergreen Duke’s knights will co storming in — isn’t that obvious?”
“...Ah.”
Though Lady redia had naturally calculated by combining the power of the ducal house, it was still true that this was a remarkable achievent for a house on the brink of collapse.
“If only my parents could see this with their own eyes, they would have been so proud...”
“......”
“Ah, no, it’s nothing.”
Muttering wistfully while gazing at the knight order, Whitney, catching the slight flinch from Lady redia at the ntion of parents, quickly rose from his seat.
“I’ll go take a closer look at the knight order.”
“...Go ahead.”
“Haha. Then, please excuse ...”
Thus, around the interview table that was soon to be dismantled, a short silence fell.
“Hey, you.”
“...Hm?”
“Co here. I want to talk.”
Breaking the silence, Lady redia quietly shifted over to sit beside Parsha.
“Ah, are you going to kidnap because I’m too talented?”
“......”
“Or are you going to secretly eliminate ? That would be a problem...”
Parsha, stiffly smiling, began to chirp out words that could easily provoke Lady redia’s displeasure.
“I’m not like your Master.”
“No! You were actually the ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) most similar to him...”
Lady redia cut her off firmly, but Parsha, not backing down, continued with a serious face.
“Well, not anymore, I suppose.”
“What do you an?”
“There’s no Demon King now. Just a lovestruck teenage girl.”
But unlike before, her montum quickly faded, and she shook her head with a sigh.
“...If you weren’t Whitney’s subordinate, your head would’ve flown off just now.”
“Haha! If it were a few months ago, it really might have.”
Lady redia whispered coldly with a glint of murderous intent in her eyes, but Parsha answered cheerfully, unfazed.
“But not anymore, right?”
“...You really do have similar abilities to mine.”
Sighing, Lady redia forcibly retracted the killing intent in her eyes and muttered.
“You. You eavesdropped when Whitney was whispering about the Emperor’s secret, didn’t you?”
“...How could I, when his voice was as tiny as an ant’s?”
When Lady redia pressed, Parsha averted her gaze slightly and made excuses.
“For soone saying that, your eyes were rolling suspiciously. Did you analyze the movent of his lips through your fingers?”
“......”
“And yet, you didn’t even look surprised.”
When Lady redia sharply pointed it out, Parsha sheepishly turned her gaze back to her.
“You already knew the Emperor’s secret, didn’t you?”
“...Haha.”
“Fine. Then let ask you just one thing.”
And then, Lady redia leaned in, her expression deadly serious, and whispered into Parsha’s ear.
“How much of your Master’s secrets do you know?”
“...Secrets?”
“You already know exactly what I an.”
Parsha put on a face of innocent confusion, but Lady redia persistently continued.
“For example — knowing things that current information networks could never uncover.”
“......”
“Or maybe you have a vague idea of future events. Sothing like that...”
“That’s...”
Just as Parsha, looking quite troubled, was about to open her mouth—
“Curious about my secrets?”
Suddenly, from the opposite side, Whitney whispered into Lady redia’s ear.
“Hik—!”
Startled, Lady redia’s body tensed up and a weak sound escaped her lips.
“I didn’t think you’d be that surprised.”
Whitney scratched his head awkwardly, looking genuinely puzzled.
“But still, who knew even you, Lady, could make such a cute noise...”
“Ugh!”
Trying to joke a little too much, Whitney got a smack on the back of his head from a slightly flushed Lady redia.
***
“Ow, my head...”
“...What are you looking at? You deserved it.”
Having toured the knight order under Lunelle’s command and been smacked for his trouble, Whitney rubbed his still-stinging head and got back to the main topic.
“Anyway, right now, shouldn’t we focus on soone else’s secrets instead of mine?”
“...You an the Emperor. Yeah, but do we even have a thod?”
Lady redia, finally letting down her guard, answered my question with a serious expression.
Judging by her deanor, she was already thinking hard about how to help again.
“I understand that the secret you know about the Emperor is critical. But depending on how we use that information...”
“I already have a plan.”
But this ti, there would be no need for Lady redia to trouble herself.
“I’m going to blackmail her one-on-one.”
“What?”
After all, even without official channels, I knew how to et the Emperor privately.
“We have to eliminate risks before the Shadow eting.”
“...Wait, how...?”
Seeing Lady redia growing increasingly curious, I glanced around and whispered in a low voice.
“I know the Emperor’s secret escape routes.”
“...?”
“And so...”
The more she heard, the stranger Lady redia’s expression beca, but it couldn’t be helped.
“...Tomorrow night, I’m going to buy the Emperor’s one-night freedom.”
If I didn’t do sothing about the Emperor now, I wouldn’t be able to attend the Shadow eting.
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