Chapter 13

Eden, who grasped the situation a beat later, clicked his tongue inside his mouth as he watched Giryu. He took hold of the situation and relieved the tension.

“I didn’t mean to test the dame, I just bought a present for Isepina, but now that I think about it, I gave her a tiara as a gift last time.”

“I see.”

“Why don’t you get a surprise since the gifts overlap? Please think seriously about my position as an escort knight.”

“No, neither side is within my means.”

Upon hearing the prince’s words, Judith spoke more coldly.

“How dare I, a new knight, take responsibility for the life of His Majesty?”

“I welcome you, though?”

“With my inexperienced skills, I don’t have the confidence to properly care for His Majesty.”

It was a sharp rejection.

“I cannot covet the Princess’s gift. Please take it.”

Judith said so, this time bowing her head.

Eden was deeply impressed.

It is a strong rejection that exceeds expectations, even though he may pretend to not win.

She doesn’t even care about wealth, isn’t she a knight among knights?

Then, when Eden saw the shocked Giryu, he clicked his tongue inwardly. Stupid bastard

Judith couldn’t get over her nervousness and gently bit the inside of her mouth.

‘It’s a disappointment.’

From the moment Giryu touched the box, Judith was able to discern that there was nothing of ordinary value in it.

As expected, when the moonlight tiara was revealed, it was brief, but she stopped breathing.

‘Never accept it.’

Judith’s face turned cold.

Favor can never be obtained for free.

Whether consciously or unconsciously, it is always given because something is desired.

The tiara, which came with the proposal of the fourth prince’s escort knight job, was too heavy to put on her head.

Even more so if it was up to princess Isepina.

She didn’t know what they wanted, but she was never accepting it.

‘The dream I had this morning wasn’t a nightmare, it was a warning.’

Judith’s eyes shook wildly.

“I’m sorry.”

She hardened her heart and opened her mouth.

“It’s the same as two swords to me. It’s a burden.”

“……”

Those stubborn words were almost the final blow.

With her resolute words, Giryu did not even think of saying more.

She thought that this would be better than giving a treasured sword to a knight who only had one simple practice sword.

However, the result of rolling his head one way or another was a major failure.1

“…I see. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

“Go back for today. Good job. Don’t be late tomorrow.”

“Thank you. Excuse me.”

Judith greeted the prince and Deschamps once. Then she left the commander’s room without looking back.

As soon as the door was closed, Eden crawled on the sofa and smiled, forgetting to keep his face in check.

On the other hand, Deschamps said indifferently, correcting the typos in the documents he was examining.

“We need to reevaluate it. There will be many places to take it, saying it’s good to be that firm. I think it would be good to hire the personnel needed to collect taxes from the Ministry of Finance at the end of the year. I think the training instructor position will also suit you.”

I want to be alone, so please shut up. (Giryu)

Giryu crumpled up the paperwork instead of holding back his reckless threatening.

The prince, who had been acting calm, finally overcame the pain in his stomach and cried.

“You’re an idiot, right? An idiot!”

“…Eden, you should go now.”

“That’s why nobles are like this! You think they’d like anything you give them?”

“You’re part of the imperial family!”

“Giryu, I told you that I wanted a new quill pen, but why don’t you have it?” (Deschamps)

There were two guys pouring oil into a burning house.

Not having the energy to deal with it, Giryu closed the tiara box.

***

At the same time, Judith, who came out of the commander’s room, was truly relieved.

‘Thank God……’

It was burdensome.

It was a hundred times better to train with the knights.

It was said that there is nothing easy in the world, but from the moment the prince came to the commander’s room, time felt three times slower.

It was fine until Giryu came back from the hunt.

Perhaps because of her tardiness, Lieutenant Deschamps treated her like a postman.

He hurriedly threw a document at Judith.

She was quite busy traveling around the Imperial Palace, going to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

It wasn’t for a knight to do, but it didn’t really matter. It was moderately comfortable for both her body and mind.

Judith wasn’t so commendable that she tried to look good to people who didn’t like her.

A handful of hostility is a handful of hostility.

A handful of goodwill is a handful of goodwill.

That’s how she has always lived.

How easy and convenient it is to return as much as you give.

Yes, it’s just a handful of emotions anyway. It doesn’t cause any ripples in her, nor does it erase the emotional light.

Thank you, I’m sorry, you can finish it in one word and move on.

However, if something like a tiara gets in the way, it becomes a completely different problem.

Jermel was the only one who knew that the princess’s tiara was hidden under the floor of Judith’s room.

Instead of asking how to dispose of the tiara, he called for Judith more often.

Judith packed her bags for missions in the middle of the night as well as on her days off, and had to take that routine for granted.

What used to be a handful of favors became a leash, and further constricted her life.

Even unbearable kindness is terrifying.

She didn’t know that before returning.

Her friends were the only ones who had a real exchange with her, but they all died within three years.

“…It stings.”

Her neck wrapped in a bandage was particularly aching.

Judith stood still with a sore neck.

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The moonlight tiara was so beautiful that she could think of it again when she closed her eyes.

She couldn’t erase the shine in front of her eyes, but she had to erase it from her heart.

She wouldn’t dare to think twice about the princess’s tiara as hers. She shouldn’t be so shameless.

***

“Wow… That’s why you refused at once?”

“Yes.”

“How can you do that?”

Violet shoved a cookie into her mouth and looked at her in amazement.

“Judith, tell me the truth, one day you were suddenly kidnapped by an evil organization and received brainwashing, intimidation, or remodeling surgery?”

“No.”

“Then one day, you met another you and changed you to an alternate personality from thousands of years ago…”2

“That’s not it either.”

“Then how could that be? If it were me, I would have gotten it right away? If it were the Judith I know, it would be more than enough?!”

Violet’s reaction was not unusual.

Her reputation had already fallen to the ground due to the practice swords and the buttons incident.

That person suddenly changed her attitude…

“I’m glad you didn’t take it. As you said, giving you the tiara he was going to present to the princess means that you want that much.”

Calipa spoke calmly.

But, no matter how much she thought about it, Violet still spoke her mind.

“Still, if it were me, I would have gotten it.”

“Violet.”

“Do you know when such an opportunity will come again? People like us simply say thank you when high-ranking people give us expensive things! Tomorrow, the prince will come! How arrogant! Tie her up and hit her hard! What are you going to do if he gives this order?”

“What do you mean, I’ll just get hit.”

The example was so extreme that she couldn’t even imagine it.

Judith took a sip of tea with a slight bit of bitterness.

She had no regrets for rejecting it. However, Violet’s words made sense.

There are many ways to live in the world.

There was also the option to wash your hands thoroughly after receiving it.

But she didn’t want to live like that.

If she lived like that, what was the difference from before?

Judith calmly put the teacup down.

Calipa said cautiously as if she knew her complicated feelings.

“Still, I think you made a good decision. Once you take  it, you can’t give it back.”

“I don’t have to give it back to them for a long time…”

Violet said solemnly as she twirled the teaspoon.

“Even the prince is asking you to take care of him. You turned it down! What if you do it? Rather, if you feel embarrassed after receiving it, you can donate it to the temple……”

“…I didn’t think of that.”

Judith smiled softly and admitted.

Donation.

Judith could say that donation was the most distant word in her life.

It was an idea she hadn’t really thought of.

“I can’t imagine sharing what’s in my hands with others. What’s mine is mine. There’s no reason to share it with anyone.”

“How did you reject a tiara when it was so obvious?”3

Judith poked Violet’s cheek, who looked at her strangely. 

“After all, those in power don’t see us as people. Even if we say that we are an imperial knight, we’re just a convenient tool to use.”

“…why are you speaking so coldly?”

“It’s reality.”

“Judith.”

Violet grabbed Judith’s finger with sad eyes.

Judith felt a new gap between her and her friends that was difficult to fill.

It was not twenty-year-old Judith who was here. It was Judith who survived for 26 years.

To Violet, who regards her as the same 20-year-old, it would be incomprehensible.

But Judith lived four more years after Violet’s death.

Six years as an imperial knight she struggled until twenty-six.

Those years were enough to inform Judith of reality and limitations.

Calipa gently intervened in the more cautious atmosphere.

“If you do that well from the beginning, I’ll have to step back from this side. There’s nothing wrong with being careful.”

“Chii, yes! I like both. I wish I could speak well. I’m the only one who can’t understand. I’m the only one who’s immature!”

Unable to withstand the sinking atmosphere, Violet jumped up from her seat with a sullen face.

She quivered in Judith’s bed like a flying squirrel.

“Calipa doesn’t even get it! That’s right! I’m a snob!”

“Ah… No, I’m sorry Violet. That’s not what I meant…”

Embarrassed, Calipa went to the bed. The hand that tried to soothe Violet somehow was very soft. It was the exact opposite attitude of Judith.

But Judith already knows.

Violet’s behavior like that is to reverse the gloomy atmosphere.

It’s to make herself a joke while making her friend’s mind at ease.

“Violet? If the bed sheets are wrinkled, I’ll exchange them for yours.”

“So unfair!”

The crying Violet was cute.

Judith laughed softly.

Violet is a commoner-born knight like Judith.

However, she grew up in a relatively wealthy family because her father was a semi-baron with no hereditary rank.

Perhaps because of that, she often acted like the youngest child.

‘I must have grown up with a lot of love.’

It is ironic that that love caught Violet’s ankle.

Despite the opposition of her family that it was dangerous, Violet became a knight.

She wanted to be recognized by her family until the end, and she was thirsty for achievements.

Due to the fact that she did not have enough training for actual combat, she continued to fight the demonic beasts, and the end was premature death.

‘…Just two years from now.’

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Judith shut her mouth.

Then Violet approached her secretly and hugged her from behind.

——————

TL notes ( ´ ▿ ` )

(manhwa: chapter 10-11)