Shadowless Night

Rosaline stepped back and announced the end of the match.

“Ha, haa… Sir Rosaline, if you work too hard before the competition…”

Leticia, who saw Rosaline’s calm face and steady breath, quickly changed her words.

“Nevermind… You didn’t work too hard…”

Leticia sat on the floor and gulped down the water Eberhard handed her. Hessa ran and offered Rosaline a cup of cold tea and sweet cookies. The tray was outfitted perfectly, complete with a pretty tea mat. The knights watching this scene looked at the boy as if he were a madman.

“Sir Rosaline! It’s a hot day today, so I prepared fruit tea with some added lemon!”

“Excellent. Sweet and sour. Delicious.”

“Yes. Sweet and sour.”

Hessa looked up at Rosaline with anticipation, his eyes longing for something. As Rosaline brushed her fingers through Hessa’s hair, the boy shyly smiled in satisfaction. Having Hessa’s soft hair wrapped around her fingers felt good, so she spent more time doing that than expected. Hessa blinked languidly like an animal sleeping in the sun.

“Sir Rosaline, you have to go now.”

“Then let’s move. Sir Leticia, Sir Eberhard.”

The two people’s mouths snapped open. They liked it whenever somebody called them “Sir”, just like Macaron. They had large physiques, but that reaction somehow made them cute. Led by Rosaline, the two lesser knights and one apprentice knight walked to the competition.

The winner of the martial arts competition would receive a large amount of money and acclaim as a reward. Furthermore, they would be titled the strongest person on the continent until next year’s match. So, it was the most important festival for those who knew how to wield a sword and fight.

Mercenaries and commoners made up the majority of the participants. However, there were also a lot of applications from the knights. Personally, it was a test of courage and an expression of confidence. Publicly, it was a means of promotion— elevating the name of the Knight Order they served.

Therefore, many Knights of the White Night participated each year, but this time was different.

Rosaline Radwiell was the only one who competed from the Knights of the White Night this year. 

Knight Commander Starz had recommended several people to participate, but they all gave him a disappointing response.

[No. Is life boring? Why? Why should I participate?] 

Their answers pretty much all sounded the same. The Knights of the White Night knew her power better than anyone else. The winner would be Rosaline. What glory would they gain if she soundly beat them with thousands of people watching?

[Kill them all.] Pardict had said last night as he patted Rosaline on the shoulder, then Deputy Commander Nathan quickly scolded him.

[What are you going to do if she actually kills them?] 

[But Rosaline has grown enough to know not to take those words too seriously. So maybe she’ll know it’s enough to break only a bone or two?]

 Nathan accepted it in the end.

However, some knights outside their order still looked uncertainly at Rosaline. It was hard to discern the truth about her among the inflamed and provocative rumors.

The only fact they knew reliably was that she was a demon, but how could a knight of Illavenia be intimidated by one? Thus, the flames of the martial arts competition burned hotter than ever, and many strong warriors lurked here and there.

Half of those who wanted to test the knight named Rosaline were only half aware of her strength, but they still challenged her with enthusiasm. The big men who filled the waiting room looked at her with sharp eyes. Her laid-back attitude, showing no tension, aroused their eagerness for victory. Is her self-confidence based on her skills, or is it her sense of pride that devours baseless rumors? Since the competition held preliminary rounds privately, her skills were still unknown.

A familiar face entered the spacious waiting room. It was Isserion. Rosaline sat alone among the participants in her white uniform, which was the only white uniform, she was one of the few female contestants, and her hair color was black, so she particularly stood out.

“Sir Rosaline!”

“Ah, Secretary.”

Are you going to participate in the martial arts competition? Like someone who worked his brain in front of a desk daily, Isserion was half the size of the men around him.

But physique doesn’t determine strength.

Rosaline nodded with a sense of solemnity.

“I won’t go easy on you.”

“N-N-No. I am not participating! You can’t just kill a regular person. His Highness has come looking for you!”

Isserion experienced an instant chill run down his spine. 

“Oh? Is that right? What a relief,” Rosaline said as she left the waiting room. 

Isserion felt the words, ‘what a relief,’ applied to him, so he patted his chest.

“Your Highness.”

Ricardis at the bottom of the stairs shone even more today. And it wasn’t just ideologically or abstractly. No, he literally sparkled. His earrings, necklaces, rings, and clothes dripped with metallic gold, silver threads, and expensive jewels. The overall effect was very dazzling to the eye. 

As Founding Day drew near, the Imperial family’s spending increased, and their decorations became more splendid. It showed off the power of the monarch, who had ruled the continent for a long time. It was useless pretentiousness, but there were times when it was crucial to show off.

Ricardis knew it well, too. The time for him to dress up with all kinds of accessories had arrived, even though he usually wore only the royal rings in addition to his already bright face. He couldn’t avoid it, so he just tried to reduce the number of accessories as much as possible.

During the month of Founding Day, it wasn’t unusual to see the maids playing chess with Ricardis in one of the offices of Moonstone Castle. Starting with ten accessories, the maids agreed to remove one if Ricardis won and add one more if the maids won.

It was a cheap trick, but so be it. Did a chess game between a prince famous for his intelligence and some low-ranking aristocratic maids, who had barely received a formal education, make sense? From the get-go, the bet was unbelievably unfair. Therefore, the number of ornaments adorning Ricardis did not deviate significantly from a total of three. And the maids only achieved that meager number by asking Chloe and Isserion for help.

But what kind of luck descended upon the poor maids this year? Ricardis hadn’t even bothered to trick them into playing chess, and he left his body to their mercy. The maids shed tears of happiness and relief and gathered all the power in their souls to adorn him fashionably.

Ricardis’ expression darkened proportionally to the brightening of the maids’ faces. He was starting to get pissed off hearing the nonsense spewed by everyone he met, saying Ricardis was beautiful and his adornments suited people who liked shiny things, but he only felt empty, thinking what madness this all was.

“…You’re beautiful, Your Highness.”

Ricardis had to calm the corners of his lips as they threatened to rise at the look on Rosaline’s face. She looked like she had lost her soul at his beauty. Rosaline exhaled slowly through her slightly parted lips, and her eyes filled with heat. Ricardis cleared his throat and swallowed a gulp of sweet anguish.

“Cough, cough. How are you, Sir Rosaline?”

At the formal question, Rosaline’s eyes completely changed. She was as soft as a cloud and warm as a spring breeze, losing all ferociousness. Thanks to that, even Ricardis was able to calm down.

“I’m in perfect condition.”

Her eyes narrowed. With those words, she seemed to have readied herself for battle. Ricardis chuckled.

“Don’t get hurt. You can’t get hurt in such a meaningless event.”

Rosaline was greatly shocked. But I heard it’s an important event. As if reading her thoughts, Ricardis smiled as he touched his lips.

“The only thing you should worry about is… How would I feel if you win?”

“Ah.”

Rosaline put her hand to her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. She smiled slightly.

“Then it is a crucial event.”

Ricardis momentarily looked as if someone had hit him. His face soon flushed, and he took a few seconds to cover his mouth and calm his red face. Regardless of his attitude, Rosaline was motivated to finish the martial arts competition successfully.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes, Sir Rosaline.”

“I learned from Raymond about the following procedure after winning the final.”

The winner of the martial arts competition would receive the honor of being handed a sword directly from the Emperor. But Rosaline, who had yet to even fight against the 32 competitors, spoke as if that place was naturally hers. There was no awkwardness as if it was a matter of course. Ricardis nodded.

“I wanted to dedicate the honor of winning to you, but Raymond kept telling me to dedicate it to His Majesty…”

Rosaline muttered the following words.

“I’m going to say it’s for His Majesty because he told me to, but do I really have to do that?”

Ricardis understood the gist of Rosaline’s complaint, and he couldn’t hide his laughter. The ceremonial action of kneeling to the Emperor and offering her victory and glory to him bothered her. She was only loyal to Ricardis, the 2nd Prince.

“Do it. Either way, aren’t you still my knight?”

His voice was full of laughter. Ricardis’ eyes curved beautifully. Rosaline nodded hastily.

“Yes.”

“Don’t get hurt.”

“I won’t get hurt.”

“Come back quickly.”

“I will finish soon.”

Isserion expressed his condolences to all participants in the waiting room.