042 - Calm Before The Storm (6)

10 minutes ago...

Faerie sulked, her fluffy cream-colored dress neatly adhering to her little frame. She couldn't help but be upset that she had to lift the hem of her dress so she could run without fear of stepping on the enthusiastic clothes she was wearing right now.

"What was Leslie thinking when she made me wear a dress and get dressed up like this?"

"Does Leslie expect me to meet her brother and fall in love at first sight, as in cliché romance stories?"

Faerie wished to knock Leslie over the head with a hammer to make her know that reality is not as simple as she had assumed. She canceled it, though, because Leslie reminded her of one of her former students.

"Fyuuuhhh… Stay calm. Faerie eased down when she came to a halt.

It was because she had arrived at a really vast and open building.

Especially if it wasn't the building where the strongest knight squad after the Imperial squad trained.

The Moel Empire has 6 different Knight squads.

Griffin's main squad. The special Knight squad exists solely to protect the Emperor.

The next squad, Phoenix, which is also its headquarters is headquartered in the Imperial palace and is frequently referred to as the Imperial Knights because it is in charge of defending and ensuring the safety of members of the Imperial family.

The Shade is a squad that operates in the shadows of night and completes covert missions for the Emperor.

Following that, the Empire of Moel has Magic Squad Knight, the Golden Dawn. This is a place for magicians who are willing to swear loyalty to the imperial family and be dominated by them. Magicians that want honor and don't want to be a part of the mysterious magic tower typically enroll here.

Then, even if it wasn't deemed a troop unit to keep an eye on and respect, there were other family troops from the capital's noble families whose strength wasn't too powerful but also wasn't too weak. Nonetheless, their presence greatly aided in making the Imperial capital's security faultless, with no flaws.

Continue to the main topic. There were the final two Knight squads outside the capital, both very famous and regarded as the strongest, vying for the strongest first place outside the capital.

Blue Rose.

Blue Rose was a Knights squadron founded by a group of nobles who assembled in the north and swore loyalty to the Emperor, hence its headquarters were clearly in the northern border region.

This Knight Squad is a crucial troop unit because, in addition to patrolling the northern border, it also keeps the Duke Rosent family, who is in charge of the association of nobles in the empire's northern sector, in close contact with the Theocratic Kingdom at the northernmost point of the Graham continent.

"Ah, there's also a character close to the main character... I'll think about it later."

The Black Lion is the last one.

It was a squad of Knights from Marquess Berdandy's household who had successfully guarded the western border, which foreign Kingdoms could readily approach at any time.

Considering how frequently outside Kingdoms from the West would come and go as if they were tourists in the Moel Empire's western border region. These Kingdoms frequently attempted ridiculous things such as attacking and attempting to take over the area of the Moel Empire's Western border, both from within and without the Western border region.

But these schemes invariably fail terribly.

It was because of the Black Lion squad. Since its inception, three sword masters have joined the squad and succeeded in making the western boundary stronghold stronger and more dreaded by the enemy.

Until now, the descendants of the three sword masters have remained loyal to joining the Black Lion squad to preserve and uphold their predecessors' good name, together with the squad leader and the head of the family Marquess Berdandy, who is also a powerful sword master.

Faerie squinted her eyes at the building's unusual design, which included a dome-shaped and hollow ceiling with multiple pillars large enough to sustain the open structure.

'Hm… It appears that this training area was purposefully created in this style to allow more air to enter and keep the building cool.'

In addition, several enormous carvings form a black lion's head and are mounted to the building's ceiling.

Anyone who sees it will realize that it is the main command center for the Black Lion troop unit. It is an open structure that resembles a distinctive gazebo designed in the manner of classical Greece and Rome.

"That's pretty good." laud Faerie.

For some reason, she has grown fond of ancient classic architecture since moving to this trashy novel world. Princess Faerie may always have fairly high standards for art.

"Pardon me, Lady..." A young man appeared from the open building, wearing iron armor and a black lion on his chest. He stood tall in front of Faerie.

Faerie, who had to lift her head due to her height, smiled wryly. "Hello, Sir Knight."

The young man whom Faerie addressed as 'Knight' approached Faerie and bowed respectfully in the manner of a knight.

"Why would a noble lady need to be in such a sweat-filled environment?"

When she heard him address her as 'Lady', Faerie lifted an eyebrow.

'Does he think I'm Leslie academy's friend?' Faerie pondered as she gazed at her lovely dress, which was fancy. Anyone who saw Faerie's current appearance would have assumed she was from a noble family.

'Yeah, why did a gorgeous lady like myself come to the place—'

"If you're seeking for young master Liam, just enter the main castle," replied the Knight, pointing to a building, "Young master Liam went straight to his study after arriving here to take care of crucial affairs during the inspection."

"Huh?" Faerie blinked her eyes open and let out a shocked yell. "W-What?"

"Ahem-ahem."

The knight who was speaking with Faerie, as well as the other Knights, faked to cough so that the atmosphere would not be unpleasant. But they couldn't hide the flush that was plastered on their cheeks, which added to the weird mood.

"…"

'Did my ears mishear? What did this knight just say? I? Looking for Liam?' Faerie felt as if her emotional veins had been severed after hearing such gibberish.

'Hah! I'd rather flee than encounter someone as scary as the main character!'

Faerie folded her arms and tilted her head, her eyes filled with displeasure. "No. I'm looking for a Knight."

The knight was perplexed. "Yes? W-What?"

"Why are you looking---"

Faerie soon cut the knight off. "Could you ask the Knights who came along for the inspection if they picked up anything important on the trip?"

"Uh..."

"Please, I need your help, Sir Knight!" Faerie put on a sorrowful face, which anyone who saw it couldn't resist because of the gorgeous angelic appeal and helpless soft charm that exuded from Princess Faerie's face.

"O-Okay! Lady, please have a seat while I question them all!"

"Thanks." Faerie nodded with a smile. She sat on a park bench for five minutes, admiring the beauty of the Berdandy Castle's garden, only to receive an unpleasant answer.

"None?" Faerie's eyes widened as she realized the facts she had received did not match her expectations.

Lowe, the knight, nodded guiltily. "The knights won't have time to wander around aimlessly, let alone pick up something, because there is a knight formation that must be followed during the inspection."

Lowe kept talking. "I've asked them all twice if you still don't believe me, Lady."

Faerie bit her bottom lip. She remembered a craftsman she met in Sunset City telling her that her brooch had been taken by one of the Berdandy Knights.

'Aakkhhh! When I first saw the two Knights, I should have used the <Mind's eye> ability to identify them!'

'My precious guarantee! Where are you really? Huweeeeeee! You stupid Faerie!' Faerie was busy cursing her negligence at the time.

Then Lowe spoke up again, making Faerie's gray eyes gleam with hope again.

"Perhaps it would be a different story if the Captain and Vice-Captain—"

"Where are they?!!" exclaimed Faerie.

"They're at the Eastern Castle, taking care of things—"

"Thank you very much!" Faerie ran towards the east, as Lowe had indicated, without even glancing back.

Lowe, who saw a jet-black-haired noble lady with the most beautiful face of any noble lady he had met thus far, was running like a lunatic, and could only scratch his head in perplexity.

"What's up, Lowe?" Another Knight approached Lowe, who stood tall in front of the door.

"Ah, no," Lowe said, hesitating, "is east that way?"

The knight mockingly laughed. "That's not east. You foolish path, that is the north."

"Oh." Again, Lowe was scratching his head. "...It appears that I've caused some trouble."

The reason for this is that the structure in the north is a magnificent main castle where the next family's heir lives and goes about his daily business.

"Well, there can't be much of a problem. She is only a noble lady with a beautiful face. Young Master will be delighted rather than furious."