TMHLBQ_RASUBOSS_ARCHIVE_INTERMISSION CHAPTER 19: INTERLUDE: KNIGHTS, KNIGHTS, KNIGHTS

Interlude: The Knights, the Knights, and the Knights.

"Ah~... Lady Pryde was as beautiful as ever..."

"You're drinking too much because you're nervous, Alan. I told you to take it easy."

"Captain Alan, would you like me to lend you my shoulder? I'm heading back to the training grounds with the others as well."

Alan, the knight captain, along with Calum and the knight Eric, was walking down the main street after attending Chancellor Gilbert’s party. Roderick, the knight commander, and Arthur had split off earlier to head home, leaving the three knights alone in the now-deserted street at midnight.

"Lady Pryde... I wonder if she remembers my name..."

"Your voice is way too high-pitched. Even if you leave an impression, your name will never stick with that tone," Calum said, brushing aside Alan's words with no mercy. But Alan, seemingly not hearing him, muttered, "Well, I’m really glad I won the invitation to the party today."

"Haha, I thought the same. When Captain Alan suggested a hand-to-hand tournament, I really wondered what would happen," Eric said, his soft, brown hair swaying as he helped support Alan’s arm.

"Yeah, it’s crazy that you made it through that tournament, Alan," Calum remarked, but Eric shook his head modestly.

"No, it was just pure luck... If it had been a mix of swordsmanship and sniping, I would’ve had more confidence," Eric laughed lightly.

"Then, I guess it would have been impossible for me to win the invitation for the captain's seat. Unlike the exceptional Eric and Calum, I only have my strength."

"So that’s it. Forcing a favorable match like that is hardly knightly," Calum teased.

Alan shot a glare at Calum. Calum, being the elite with much more experience than Alan, but both having joined the knight corps at the same time, showed no restraint in his comments. With a sigh, Calum flicked his reddish-brown bangs aside, intentionally making sure Alan could hear.

"Hey, but you’re the one who desperately fought for that invitation today. You were practically drooling over Lady Pryde the entire time at the party."

"What?! Don’t twist my words! I just couldn’t take my eyes off her..."

"But thanks to my suggestion, you got to meet Lady Pryde, didn’t you?"

Flustered, Calum muttered, "Well..."

"Hey, Eric, why do you admire Lady Pryde so much?"

Perhaps due to the alcohol, the conversation turned to trivial matters. Eric, who had been asked the question, gasped, "Eh?!" and hesitated, waiting for Alan and Calum to look at him expectantly. With a sigh, he began speaking.

"Well... back then, I was just a new recruit. If Lady Pryde hadn’t been there during the incident with the cliff two years ago, I would’ve definitely been buried under the rubble. I owe her my life, and I am forever grateful to her... And..."

Eric seemed to recall the event as he spoke, his voice softer now.

I still remember it clearly.

Back then, we were all new recruits... no, even now, recruits and knights alike look up to Commander Roderick. When the massive rock fell, I was right next to the commander. But in that moment, I couldn’t think quickly enough—I was only able to protect myself. By the time I realized, the commander had been trapped under the rock, unable to move. No one blamed me, but I couldn't shake the feeling that if I had acted faster, the commander wouldn’t have been in such a dangerous situation.

After that, it felt like hell.

“Don’t report it to headquarters. Just hold out until the forward unit arrives. If worse comes to worst, leave me behind.” Hearing those words made the blood drain from my face.

We had to leave the commander behind, and I, as a new recruit, had to retreat, knowing I was abandoning him.

As soon as the landslide started, I felt completely hopeless. None of us, not even the new recruits, could speak in the face of the collapsing cliff. When the landslide finally stopped and the main unit of the knight corps arrived, I volunteered to guide them to where the commander had been.

"I could only save myself from the rock while I left Commander in that landslide."

I’ll never forget that feeling of helplessness.

When the commander reappeared alive, I collapsed in shock. I can't express the relief I felt knowing the commander was safe. I could only protect myself from the boulder, yet Lady Pryde risked her own life to rescue the commander.

That’s why, when Deputy Commander Clark thanked her in the meeting afterward, I immediately followed his lead. All the feelings of gratitude and admiration that had built up in me came pouring out, and I said it all to Lady Pryde.

“Thanks to Her Royal Highness, the First Princess, we were saved. Our lack of experience almost cost us the commander, but we didn’t lose him. Thank you so much!”

Ever since then, my admiration for Lady Pryde has never ceased. I kept striving, hoping to one day be like her. Eventually, I passed the main corps exam in the following year.

"Lady Pryde is someone I deeply respect... and... she’s also quite cute."

As Eric spoke, he couldn’t help but smile, and both Alan and Calum turned to him with sudden intensity.

"Here it comes! What is this shared belief of the new recruits and the knights who came to support during the incident?!"

"Lady Pryde is indeed beautiful, but if we’re talking about who fits the definition of cute, wouldn’t it be her younger sister, Tiara?"

Alan’s outburst was met by Calum, who raised his voice in response. But Eric, still smiling, said, "No, she’s cute. I know it might be rude to say about a princess, but..."

Only the knights and new recruits who were present at the scene knew the story of when Lady Pryde, still a young child, was carried by Commander Roderick after the landslide and, seeing the dress ride up, blushed and panicked.

"Ahhh... if only I had gone out to help instead of staying at headquarters..."

"If you had, you would’ve never gotten to see the legendary way Lady Pryde handled herself."

"That would be a tragedy!!"

Calum immediately responded to Alan’s statement.

"Ah, Alan, you’ve seen Lady Pryde’s legendary poise, right? So that’s why you admire her?"

Eric asked, and Alan nodded forcefully.

"Of course! How old do you think Lady Pryde was back then?! Only eleven! And yet, look at how she carried herself! I was barely getting by with training to join the knight corps at that age!"

I was amazed when Lady Pryde first picked up a sword. At first, I thought she was just a princess with no real understanding of knights or combat. But when she appeared on the battlefield, that small body of hers overwhelmed the attacking men. She was skilled at sniping, swordsmanship, and even hand-to-hand combat. How could I not respect her as a knight? If I had been the same age, I wouldn’t have been able to act that way. I would have been scared and frozen. Yet, an eleven-year-old princess fought without fear, solely to save the commander. And what impressed me most was her fierce and graceful fighting style. It made me realize the beauty of women, something I had never cared for before.

Later, when Lady Pryde came to return Commander Roderick’s armor, I couldn’t contain my feelings and introduced myself, something I had never done with any woman before.

"Lady Pryde, my name is Alan..."

I wanted to be seen by her, even if just for a moment.

Soon after, Calum yelled at me for being too bold, but I was completely smitten by Lady Pryde and didn’t care about the decorum anymore.

"She's strong, beautiful, and graceful!! I don’t care about any other women but Lady Pryde!"

Alan spread his arms wide and looked up to the sky, shouting. He almost fell backward from Eric’s release of his arm, but Eric quickly grabbed him and steadied him.

"Tch... You’re really just all about training, huh."

"Calum! What about you? You hated the royal family before you started admiring Lady Pryde..."

"I didn’t hate them!! I just had no interest! What would you do if someone heard that?!"

"You want me punished for lèse-majesté or something!" Calum shouted as he slapped Alan on the head. Alan laughed, apologizing, but Calum just sighed in disbelief.

"...It’s not uncommon for knights like me."

Not every knight becomes a royal supremacist. Knights swear allegiance to the royal family, but their reasons for choosing this path vary. Some want to fight for the royal family, some want to serve the country or its people, some long for honor, titles, wealth, or lifestyle, and some, like Alan, admire the sword and way of life of knights. Everyone has their own reasons for choosing the knight’s path.

...For me, being a knight was my only pride.

 I didn’t care about the royal family’s approval. I simply focused on honing myself to rise to the top as a knight. Even at Tiara's birthday banquet, where the knights reevaluated their attitudes toward Lady Pryde, I felt no emotion. When we hosted Lady Pryde and Stayle in the absence of the knight commander, I had no true respect for them. No matter how much understanding they had of knights, I just couldn’t respect them for it. In the end, they were just employers. They didn’t see each of us individually, only as part of a larger unit.

That was until I saw Lady Pryde’s bravery.

She risked her life to protect us and, with the help of Stayle, saved Commander Roderick. Then came that meeting, where she declared every knight’s worth and shouted that no one’s death would be in vain.

She recognized each of us knights as important.

I had heard many speeches from queens, consorts, regents, and chancellors to inspire morale, but Lady Pryde’s words that day were the first to truly stir my heart. I would gladly offer my life as a knight for someone like her. From that moment, I swore my loyalty to Her Royal Highness, the First Princess.

"Lady Pryde is someone I truly respect... and she is also worthy of my loyalty as a knight," Calum answered awkwardly.

Alan muttered, "Not so unusual."

Eric, with a wry smile, said, "It’s not uncommon for all of us knights to respect Lady Pryde for the same reasons."

They all nodded in agreement.

Lady Pryde is admired by every knight in the corps. That’s a well-known fact. The reasons vary, but most of us admire her for similar reasons.

"Well, Commander Roderick and Arthur are in a class of their own, though."

"Yeah... well, Commander Roderick is one thing, but Arthur..."

"Because it’s Arthur."

At Calum’s words, both Alan and Eric agreed. Eric was still smiling with a hint of laughter.

Of course, Commander Roderick is in a class of his own. Everyone who witnessed that meeting understands it.

And then there’s Arthur.

The youngest, who joined as a recruit at fourteen and, in the following year, entered the main corps at an exceptional speed and with undeniable skill. He had planned to become a farmer, but now, he is a knight everyone acknowledges as the youngest of the main corps. And the reason for all the excitement is none other than Lady Pryde.

"Arthur, unlike us, had his whole life changed."

"Must be nice. Having someone like Lady Pryde to change your life."

"Honestly, he’s an entirely different person from the weak kid he was two years ago."

"Ah, Calum, you’ve spoken with Arthur before, haven’t you?"

Eric suddenly asked, recalling something, and Alan immediately added, "Yeah, that’s right."

"Not really a big deal. Arthur probably doesn’t even remember me. There’s no need for him to."

It was a small connection, really. After the landslide, Arthur believed that his father had disappeared, so I guided so I guided him outside. I didn’t want him to see his family’s remains. After confirming the commander was alive, I took him back to the strategy room. That’s all there was to it.

"I’ll never forget Arthur’s eyes, so dead when he thought he had lost his father. But when he found out the commander was alive, the relief that flooded him—I’ll never forget it."

At that moment, I understood what it meant to offer a hand to someone in need—why knights exist.

"I never imagined that kid would be part of the main corps in just two years."

Calum sighed, but Alan and Eric seemed oddly happy.

"Plus, he’s close with Stayle, Lady Pryde’s brother."

Trying to change the subject, Calum continued, and Alan and Eric laughed.

"Is Arthur hiding it? "Is Arthur hiding the fact that he has been training with Stayle?"

Eric laughed, "We all know, don’t we?" as he recalled seeing it.

"Yeah, we’ve all seen it since he was invited to train by Stayle."

"He’s probably still training in secret during his downtime," Calum added.

They all nodded.

"So, I think Arthur’s been meeting Lady Pryde and Tiara regularly since two years ago. Isn’t that unfair?" Alan said, his face flushed from the alcohol.

Eric chuckled softly, "Well, Arthur does tend to get a little... emotional after drinking."

Alan, Calum, and Eric all enjoyed the moment, but little did they know that when they arrived at the training grounds, they’d be bombarded with questions by the knights who had been excluded from the tournament.

********

EUN: I love chapters like this. We get to see the POV of a character who's not considered as part of the game and we get to see the effect or influence that Pryde caused. Hope we'd get to see more of Alan, Calum and Eric!! 

Thanks for reading!!!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY~^^~

PAYPAL

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