CH 19

In the Uranos Principality, they were busy preparing to send Princess Paulina to a neighboring country’s grand ball.

The ball, where nobles from surrounding countries gather, lasts for three days and three nights, and even high-ranking nobles who are not usually seen make their children’s debut here. Naturally, Duke Uranos, who dotes on Paulina, was looking for a good match for her, and Paulina has completely forgotten about Eleni, seeking an opportunity to bask in the spotlight of the glamorous social scene. If there is a need, a message will come from the Styx Kingdom. After all, Eleni is just a formal wife, and there won’t be a flashy wedding, so he thinks.

The knights were clearly losing their motivation amidst the excitement of the Uranos Principality’s upper echelons.

Korya was one of them. He sat in front of the stable with his colleagues, idly polishing his saddle. It was supposed to be the job of a squire, but they had been on leave since three days ago. The Knight Commander instructed them not to show the upper echelons of the castle how excited they were, as it would be bad for their education.

“Something… feels boring.”

“Yeah, it seems like we won’t have any role to play in the neighboring country, and the territory will be guarded as usual.”

“But not Paulina-sama. Her makeup is too flashy, and her sense of style is too rustic. Is that what nobles like? I don’t understand.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Korya couldn’t help but sigh. He didn’t care about Paulina, but he was concerned about Eleni.

In the end, Eleni was not welcomed by anyone and was quickly sent to the Styx Kingdom. It was cold-hearted of the Duke Uranos to give away his daughter to another country as if he was getting rid of a nuisance. As a parent, was that really okay? Korya was also dissatisfied with his lord.

As a knight, he would rather pledge his loyalty to the princess than to a lord who didn’t understand. It wasn’t just Korya’s selfishness; in fact, the Duke did not favor the knights and had little understanding of military affairs. Even when they abandoned the neighboring country of Galanisia ten years ago, despite the knights’ strong fighting spirit, the Duke feared the spread of the conflict and retreated to his own country. Korya couldn’t bring himself to risk his life for such a lord. Even Korya, who didn’t know about that time, had completely lost his loyalty to the Duke after meeting Eleni.

‘This can’t go on like this.’ Korya, who originally had no particular attachment to this country, has lost any desire to stay here. Even if he’s not a knight, he’s starting to consider making a living in another country. What about the Styx Kingdom that Eleni is heading to? He thinks he wants to be near Princess Eleni, who should be protected at all costs.

Suddenly, an urgent report came in.

One of the knights came running. Korya and his colleagues stood up, wondering what was going on. The knight who came running, panting heavily, shouted.

“I can’t take it anymore! I quit! What’s the point of bringing around a bunch of good-looking knights just to look good as a princess’s escort? It’s ridiculous!”

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong? Start from the beginning and explain.”

“It’s Paulina-sama! She wants to have a good-looking knight as her escort to look like a proper princess, so she ordered me to bring around ten good-looking knights! What are you going to do with that many men?! The nobles will just laugh at us. They’re already spreading rumors that our knights take turns every night in her bed!”

Ignoring the crudeness of his words, it’s true that such rumors would likely spread. The snobbish nobles love to spread baseless rumors. And Paulina is furious that such rumors have been started because of them. Anyone could have guessed that much.

Korya and his fellow knights were at a loss.

“I’m quitting too. I’ll go tell the Knight Commander. What about you, Korya?”

Asked immediately, Korya thought of Eleni’s face. He could not be a knight here, and he would only be further away from the princess he was supposed to protect.

Korya made up his mind.

“I’m going too. I can’t keep up with this country anymore.”

“Okay. Let’s invite the others too. But where should we go?”

“That’s the thing. How about the Styx Kingdom? We can pledge our loyalty to Princess Eleni.”

The two knights immediately agreed to Korya’s proposal. The poor princess abandoned by the Duke of Uranos, and the rumors had already spread throughout the knight order.

“I see. Let’s do that. Then we won’t be called traitors.”

And so, a dishonorable mass exodus of the knight order from the Uranos Principality would take place a few days later. Their destination was the Styx Kingdom, with over two hundred knights in tow.