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Everyone in the room was frozen in shock.

Even Arwen Kirgayenne was also frozen. Then, she exhaled in anger.

The court knights also caught their breath and began their complaints.

“Hut!”

“But, Your Highness!”

“You are…”

They looked at me with various expressions.

Disappointment, contempt, anger.

I could feel everyone’s animosity toward me, but the hatred that Arwen Kirgayenne excluded topped them all.

Carls Ulrich stepped forward.

“Your Majesty, oops! Your Highness…”

Even Uncle spoke out.

“I tried not to intervene, but this is…”

I ignored everyone. My only concern was Arwen Kirgayenne.

She opened her mouth. Her voice was as cold as frost.

“Is that what you really want?”

You’re as low as trash; her eyes seemed to be saying.

This seemed to be a good time to end the prank.

I laughed and said her name in a sing-song manner.

“Arwen Kirgayenne.”

The way she looked at me was probably the same look she gave the boy after she had been molested.

She thought I’ll do the same gross thing once more.

But she was wrong.

“Be my knight.”

I watched her icy face shatter in confusion.

“What are you talking about?”

“Literally what I just said. What I want is your pledge.”

Her face still looked beautiful, even embarrassed.

Then, her confused gaze turned to the court knights.

It was a silent question. She didn’t understand why I needed the pledge of an apprentice knight like her, even if I already had the protection of triple-chain knights.

I answered her.

“They are not really my knights.”

The dedication of the court knight is a fleeting thing that comes and goes with the King’s command.

It wasn’t just them. Not every luxury I enjoy is mine. Everything I have can disappear with a word from the King.

What I wanted was to have someone that I own.

“I want a knight whose loyalty belongs to me.”

“With a word from Your Highness, two or three-chain knights will swear allegiance to you.”

She didn’t understand. She didn’t want to understand, obviously. There was only fundamental disgust on her face at the thought of getting involved with me.

“Okay, you’re right. Surely, you’re not capable. You’re just an apprentice knight who couldn’t even beat me.”

She crushed her lips at my insult. Then, she snapped back.

“I think it sounds like a sword-wielding prostitute is what you want.”

My, she did not hold back.

Her face was the face of someone who was prepared to die. She knew what she said was too extreme.

“What I want is neither a sword-wielding prostitute nor a weak apprentice that even I could defeat,” I explained.

“What I want is the potential and the future of the knight called Arwen Kirgayenne.”

It will be worth a lot to me.

□ Arwen Kirgayenne [Female, 19 years old], [Apprentice Knight]

□ Aptitude. [Swordsmanship-A], [Stamina-B] [Mana-B]

□ Characteristics. [Elite Swordsmanship], [Superior Beauty]

There was only one aptitude on her status window that is graded as an A.

But that aptitude had the potential to reach a Master status if only a Master could teach her.

In other words, it meant that she was almost a guaranteed Sword Master caliber.

I couldn’t miss such a big fish in front of me.

“You will continue to grow in the future. And you will become stronger. More than the court knights over there, more than even Uncle himself.”

Her expression didn’t change at first. Then, she seemed uncomfortable to be compared to the court knights. She was trying to hide it, but she soon expressed her feelings.

“I am not the kind of talent that your Majesty expects.”

Her voice was noticeably softened as she lowered her head in humility.

For the first time, I saw through her.

She was shy.

It must have been hard to fight with a woman’s body since knights are infamous for being overly macho groups.

It would have been difficult for a woman to be recognized as a knight in a culture who thought that physical prowess is everything and women should be protected.

She must have been looked down upon by other people. I saw countless talented women who have been disregarded just because of their sex.

What’s more, Arwen Kirgayenne was a beautiful woman.

No matter how great her potential is, even if she gets to be a formal member of the Templar Knights, people will not look at her differently.

They would stay seeing her as a beautiful woman, not a knight.

I looked at her now in a different light. I was willing to give praise to a deer who was thirsty for praise. This time, it was more sincere.

“Arwen Kirgayenne… I want the future Sword Master Arwen Kirgayenne”

I could see that she was shaking. It was proof that I was right.

Nevertheless, she was cautious.

“Your Highness… Please promise me one thing. Then, I will do as Your Highness wants me to do.”

She asked me to treat her as a knight, not a woman.

Of course, it was not a difficult request.

Arwen Kirgayenne was a rare beauty, but her true value is her immense potential, not her appearance.

“Good. I promise.”

Upon my words, she knelt down on one knee.

“The eldest daughter of the Kirgayenne family, Arwen, pledges allegiance to Prince Adrian Leonberger, and dedicates the sword and the rest of her life to the prince.”

“I make you a knight in the name of King Leonberger’s first son, Adrian Leonberger – be brave, polite, and loyal.”

Under my authority as a prince, Arwen Kirgayenne became a full-time knight, not a probationary knight.

Uncle, who had been watching silently, laughed.

“Huh, what a mess.”

It seems that everything I do appear funny to him, from anointing knighthood to training under the rain.

“With the Prince’s power, I can make her a knight. There would be no problems.”

Uncle shook his head as he chuckled.

“Who told you that?”

* * *

Arwen Kirgayenne decided to return to the Templar Knights.

She was anointed, but she does not qualify as a knight yet because she had not completed her training. She would polish her skills there and come back as a real knight. It won’t take too long.

She asked me for patience.

I nodded. “I look forward to your return with a happy heart.”

“Then, please stay strong until the day I see you again.” She bowed.

The extreme courtesy she was showing me was frightening.

But I quickly understood. Regardless if she had been coerced into doing it, one takes the vow sincerely.

On our way back to my room, Carls Ulrich spoke as we walked.

“Your Highness…”

“Why?”

“The words you said earlier.”

“Earlier? What am I… … Ah, that?”

I remembered pointing to the court knights and saying they weren’t mine. “Does that make you sad?” I asked Carls.

However, no matter how sad he is, the truth doesn’t change.

The court knights around me were here because they were appointed here, not because they felt like it.

“But what I said is true,” I explained. “If the king commanded you to go somewhere else now, would you go or not?”

Carls couldn’t answer me.

Then, what he said surprised me.

“If His Majesty does, I will pledge my allegiance to Your Highness.”

I didn’t think Carls would really make a pledge of allegiance to me. The Knights of the Court are only loyal to the owner of the Royal Palace.

I was only a tenant living in the corner of the Royal Palace.

“Would you accept it?” he asked.

It’s true that we have become quite close. I remember him at the beginning, standing straight and not speaking a word.

“No.” I answered mischievously.

Carls asked why.

“Because you’re not that good.”

He laughed.

He thought it was a joke, but I was really serious.

* * *

There were countless men who challenged countless times to break Arwen Kirgayenne’s flower, but it was their hearts that were broken every time.

She was a flower on the cliff, a rose with thorns.

Then, they heard that Arwen swore an oath of allegiance.

To a horny man who harassed and insulted her.

People did not believe it. Knowing how noble she was, they dismissed it as a worthless rumor.

But eventually, they found out that the rumors were true.

Even a knight who had a close relationship with Arwen confirmed the authenticity of the news.

They cursed the horny man.

They thought she was threatened. They swore at the prince, thinking there must have been some magic trick that he used.

She answered them.

“It was a bet. The losing side will give the wish of the winning side.”

That got the people angrier.

“A pledge from a bet?”

The people protested to the leader of the Templar Knights. People didn’t doubt that such a respected leader could save her from the evil spirit that forced her into this situation.

However, Arwen didn’t seem to care.

“I will fulfill my vow.”

The leader of the Templar Knights was concerned. He asked her if there was something that she wasn’t saying, something that she could get in trouble for, but Arwen shook her head.

“I have already vowed to be his sword, and I will live like that.”

With her firm decision, the leader was forced to back down.

After that, the people who insulted the prince suddenly changed their opinions.

They did hear that he was already fit, and he had devoted himself to developing his body and mind.

In this case, the only possibility was that Arwen pledged her allegiance to him because she became infatuated to him.

When Arwen heard the rumors about her, sadness overwhelmed her.

“Even with that effort, I’m still just a woman to them…”

***

I was procrastinating in my bed when the messenger arrived.

“From the Royal Palace?” I asked him.

“Yes, Your Highness,” the messenger said, before adding:

“You are invited to attend the upcoming royal banquet.”