Chapter 48
- What Kind of Melodrama Is This?
As Leon led the way, waving a flag emblazoned with the Academy's emblem, numerous children followed, their faces filled with excitement as they looked around.
Interspersed among them were teachers and the dispirited mascot performers.
"I was told a servant would come, but it seems Yellow Knights are inside the mascot costumes."
"Oh, really? Even with them here, why is Leon here too? Oh, is it because he's the Director's son?"
"I guess so. Well, either way, it's wonderful. Doesn't the world seem brighter around Leon? Hoho."
"Oh, you're stating the obvious. If I were just a bit younger... Hoho! Teacher Emily, you did well to dress up today!"
The gossipy teachers spoke loudly enough for Emily, who was wearing a large hat, to hear.
"...Yes."
However, Emily, the Sparrow class teacher, glanced at Leon as if she had committed a sin.
'Ugh, why did he show up again? It's obvious he came because of Lucia's daughter. From the entrance ceremony to the children's picnic. Isn't that obsessive?'
Everyone knew that the person he liked was Lucia.
That meant that wherever he was, Lucia was sure to be there as well.
So, it was inevitable that she would be dissatisfied, regardless of his looks.
'Damn it, I should have said I was sick and not come. Why did I get so excited about the Imperial Palace...!'
She could have avoided it by taking a vacation.
However, despite being the daughter of a Count, her family had fallen, and she had not been able to attend the debutante ball held at the Imperial Palace, so she couldn't miss this opportunity to see it properly.
Looking distressed, she pulled her hat down even further as a last resort.
And so, the flock of chicks arrived at the First Gate.
The guide, Leon, stopped and pointed to the ornate gate.
"This gate is painted in gold, representing the First Wall. Now, a question. Does anyone know how this capital, enclosed by this wall, is structured?"
A child who appeared to be in the graduating class raised their hand.
"Me! I heard that the capital is based on a fortified city surrounded by walls!"
Compared to the lowerclassmen, who looked clueless, the graduating class student answered clearly.
"That's right. Very good. This capital is surrounded by three sturdy walls and has a large standing army, boasting a very, very safe and strong city. Then, what is inside the First Wall?"
This time, Princess Charlotte raised her hand.
"The Imperial Palace!"
"Yes, Your Highness. Very astute. Now, as we enter this gate, we will pass a building with the eagle of valor emblazoned on it. That is where the knights conduct their administrative duties."
At that moment, the eagle mascot pointed at itself and flapped its wings.
As the children started to cry again, Leon had no choice but to use his light to scold the meddling Yellow Knight.
As the reassured children passed by, looking around, someone gathered at the window of the building housing the Knights' quarters and waved enthusiastically.
Marien, an administrative knight, was waving her hand particularly vigorously, as if soliciting customers.
"Cezar!! Here! It's your mom! Here!"
Cezar, startled by the attention, lowered his head.
However, as she continued to call out, he reluctantly raised his hand slightly before putting it down, causing the other administrative knights to burst into laughter.
Cezar's ears turned red with embarrassment.
"That must be Cezar's mother. Nia, then who is your mother among them?"
Princess Charlotte assumed that Nia's mother was also an administrative knight.
However, Nia's face was not good.
She had already searched among the many faces for her mother, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Just as she was hesitating to answer, Leon spoke.
"Now, from here, we will go to the Training Grounds of each knight division. The knights have prepared performances as a sign of welcome, so I hope everyone will follow along well."
"Yes!"
The Training Grounds of the Knights!
At his words, Nia's eyes sparkled with renewed hope.
As Leon, who had become the leader of the guides, gestured, the divided mascot performers began to move the children by grade.
Leon naturally led the first-graders, which included the Sparrow class, and the first place they arrived at was the Black Training Grounds, exclusive to the Black Knights.
Taking advantage of their large numbers, they performed a precise military dance.
At the Yellow Knights' Training Grounds, they demonstrated unique spearmanship with the golden spears passed down only to the Royal Guard.
And at the White Wizard Division's Training Grounds, they displayed colorful light magic that could be seen even on a clear day.
Perhaps thanks to the Emperor's strict orders, each knight division put on performances so intense that they competed with each other to leave a lasting impression on the children's memories.
In particular, the first-grade children, who had just finished watching the White Wizard Division's performance, were in a frenzy of excitement.
Their chubby cheeks were flushed, and they shared their joyful feelings, imitating the sound of exploding light with their wide, sparkling eyes.
The Sparrow class, which included the Princess, was no different.
"Oh, not bad. I didn't know there was a place like this in the Imperial Palace."
Even Princess Charlotte, for whom this was home, was amazed, and the children, heading to the next Training Grounds together, began to chatter even more excitedly.
"The Imperial Palace is great! It's so much fun! Now, only Gilli Auntie and Nia's mom's place are left! I wonder what they've prepared!?"
Ivanne boasted about her strong aunt, further amplifying the children's expectations.
And Nia, who was watching the scene from the side, clasped her hands together with anticipation, just like the other children.
It wasn't the same expectation, but she always secretly watched her wonderful mother's performance at the Training Grounds attached to the dormitory.
Seeing that performance with her friends and boasting that she was the daughter of that wonderful mother was another kind of thrill.
After walking for a while, Leon stopped and waved the flag in his hand.
"Now, this is the last Training Grounds, the Black Knights' Training Grounds."
'...Mom!'
At Leon's introduction, Nia's small heart began to beat even faster.
And they entered the Black Training Grounds.
It was silent.
And starting with the majestic sound of a horn,
-Dududududu...!
Black horses and black cavalrymen rushed out with tremendous force from the two open gates at the edge.
Divided into two teams, they began to cross each other, holding long lances.
Even without seeing their faces, there was no mistaking that they were members of the Black Knights, and the sound of metal clashing as the lances met.
Even the rough breathing of the excited horses.
Unlike the performances they had enjoyed until now, the children's hands were sweaty at the sight of the passionate scene, like a real battlefield.
And soon, someone appeared in the middle, where the two teams had split.
The black armor, wrapped in a mysterious shimmer like smooth obsidian, had a red jewel-studded armband that sparkled, unlike the other knights.
And as if to finish this match, the protagonist, who had jumped off the horse, stabbed the Training Grounds floor with a sharp red light, and soon a small vibration, along with dust, resonated through the children's feet.
Then, the children, realizing the power, cheered, filling the Training Grounds.
"Waaaaaa!"
After the Black Knight's performance ended, the first-graders left.
Among them, the black-haired child's head kept turning back.
At the sight of those reluctant steps, which could not be ignored, Gilli and Vernon quickly took off their helmets and waved.
The child's face brightened for a moment, but soon she began to look for someone again.
However, she still looked dejected, as if the person she was desperately looking for was nowhere to be seen.
The aces, who had watched that poignant scene until the end, eventually covered their faces with their hands in despair.
"Ugh...! What kind of melodrama is this? Isn't it? Captain?"
"Kuh, it's sad. Why do I feel like I've committed a sin? Commander? Anyway, they're gone now, so let's take off our helmets. You endured it well."
But there was no response from the Commander.
In an instant, Gilli and Vernon's faces hardened.
"No way...!"
When they took off the helmet of the armor with the red jewel, which was still in its ending pose,
"......!!!"
"......!!!"
Heath's face blinked slowly like a cat.
Gilli and Vernon, startled, grabbed his collar and shouted, without knowing who was first.
"What, what are you? I definitely saw the Commander's Sword Aura?! I definitely saw it?!"
"I saw it too! The sword was imbued with red light!"
Heath indifferently shook a Magic Tool that looked like a sword without an edge in front of them.
Then, the sword glowed red like a cheering stick.
That's right.
Heath would do anything Lucia ordered, no matter what anyone said.
Seeing that, Gilli and Vernon, horrified, shouted at Berl, who was lost in satisfaction.
"It's a disaster! The Captain is gone!"
"It's a disaster! The Commander is gone!"
*
Near the Imperial Palace's Secret Garden.
While the children were touring the greenhouse attached to the garden with Leon, the mascot performers had lunch first.
It was a fancy meal, but the mascot performers grimaced as they received plates filled like dog food.
"It seems like this has a lot of emotion in it."
"It's clear I've fallen out of favor with His Highness. Damn it, my career is over! It's over!"
The despairing Owl and Lion violently tore off their own heads and threw them away.
Then, the detailed fur expression, so detailed that even flies would be attracted, the glittering eyeballs, and the sharp teeth.
The new Yellow Knight, disgusted by the sight of blood seeming to flow from the detached heads, turned away.
"Ugh, if it weren't for the Commander's inspection, things wouldn't have turned out this way..."
"Haa, I know. I didn't know he was such a rigid person. My mother was so happy that I became a Royal Guard..."
These rookies had bravely protested after seeing the completed mascot costumes.
However, the Yellow Knight Commander was the ultimate conservative.
How dare they express the animal symbolizing the Empire in a cute way.
The rookies barely managed to stop him from almost tearing off animal hides at the last minute, saying it was absurd.
"But why is Jason so late? We'll have to leave again soon."
"Ah, did he fall into the bathroom after making such a fuss, even shaking his wings?"
"Hahaha, you're joking. Oh? He's coming. This is bad. He won't be able to eat."
"Will he even be able to get it down after seeing this?"
"That's true. Hey, Jason!"
The Eagle was somehow wavering.
As if finding his way at the sound of his colleague's voice, he was finally walking leisurely.
"Jason, look at this. You can't eat it either, right?"
"......"
When his colleague held out the dog food plate, the Eagle was silent for a long time before shaking his wings instead of answering.
"Please don't shake those wings. Are you going to make the kids cry again and try to purify them?"
Then, the wings slowly lowered.
"Was I too harsh? Sorry. Anyway, let's not do that. Now, let's go. To where the children are."
The Lion, who had been annoyed by the Eagle's sullen appearance, put his arm around his shoulder and comforted him.
However, at that moment, a sudden cold energy was felt from the Eagle.
Startled by the coldness, the Lion whispered to the Owl.
"That killing intent just now! It's no joke, you felt it too, right?"
"I don't know, I didn't feel anything? More than that, how did he manage to do his business in the bathroom? It must have been hard to take off."
"Ah, so that's why he's so angry. Ah, I should have helped him..."
The two sympathized with the Eagle's somehow cold appearance and swallowed their sad tears.
*
"Wow, Your Highness! Is this the Imperial Palace Garden?"
Cezar, surprised, asked Princess Charlotte, his partner for the day.
"Yes. It's different than you expected, right?"
"Yes, I didn't know the Secret Garden would be a greenhouse."
That's right. The Secret Garden, which only the Imperial Family could enter, was outwardly hidden by maze-like shrub walls, but inside was a warm greenhouse filled with exotic plants.
Cezar closed his eyes at the warm air and birdsong around him.
Princess Charlotte looked at Cezar and thought he was the most normal child among the group she associated with.
That was because,
"Waaa! What's that over there? Something weird is hanging!"
"I know that! It's a foreign fruit, a banana! I saw it when they made dessert! It's really sweet!"
Roy and Ivanne, without fear, started running, intending to climb the rough tree.
Of course, they were caught by the Imperial Palace servants who were watching.
Princess Charlotte, who had been looking at the children with disdain, turned around and was startled.
Nia was there with a very depressed face.
But Princess Charlotte understood immediately.
She also had memories of having a hard time because of her mother.
"Nia, cheer up. Your mother must be busy. My mother won't come either."
"Uung... I'm okay."
Nia pretended to be okay, but she couldn't hide her disappointment.
Then, Ivanne suddenly approached.
"Yeah! There are so many delicious things here, let's cheer up!"
"That's right, I secretly picked this. I'll give it to you. Ah!"
Roy lifted a fruit that looked like a bomb with all his might, but it was too heavy and he dropped it.
The fruit broke on the floor, and Roy, startled, picked it up, smearing his clothes with pieces of ripe fruit like cream.
"...Smells like my dad's feet."
Ivanne covered her nostrils with her fingers at the foul smell coming from the tropical fruit, and the children slowly began to avoid Roy.
Fortunately, a servant who was watching took the fruit away in surprise, but the smell remained on his clothes, and Roy was about to burst into tears.
It was then.
"Her Majesty Empress Robina has arrived!"
A glamorous woman appeared at the entrance of the greenhouse.
Princess Charlotte, who had been covering her nose, dropped her handkerchief in surprise at the sight.
"What? Mother...?"
"Princess Charlotte!"
The Empress lifted Princess Charlotte into her arms in front of everyone.
