Although the king’s judgment had already been delivered, until he announced the adjournment, nothing was set in stone.
It was just like when the king selectively ignored how to deal with Rita at first, and Lilia suddenly stepped forward—as long as someone else stood up to refute things now, there was still room for this decision to change.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Rita was merely a pretext in this matter; how to deal with Rita was important, but the king’s true aim seemed to be observing the princesses through this incident.
Otherwise, there was no need to make such a grand show and have so many people attend the meeting.
As for the king’s response to Lilia’s rudeness, he’d only shouted at her to shut up… Since the king himself acquiesced, it was naturally not the place of ministers or knights to overstep their bounds.
After all, those who had served their monarch for so long surely knew whether he was a complete fool or not.
Yet, after this incident, Lilia—who had publicly refuted the past—now had an image in everyone’s mind that had plummeted to rock bottom, though it was never good to begin with.
It was only a pity that, in their eyes, Rita had already become a sacrificial lamb.
“You all have no objections?” the king asked again.
Think, you have to think of something to say to protect yourself at this moment.
Rita could feel a nauseating churning roiling in her stomach, but there were more urgent matters to deal with now; it wasn’t time to let her physical discomfort overwhelm her.
“Hmm?” The king lifted his chin, thick with flesh.
“Your Majesty.
“Father.”
Rita and Cecilia’s voices sounded out almost at the same time.
“Hehehe.” For some reason, seeing this, the king actually laughed. “Rita, do you have something to say?”
Rita straightened her back, faced the king head-on, and answered loudly, “I have already sworn to protect Lady Cecilia. If Your Majesty wishes to reclaim my Golden Blood, I have no regrets, but if that means I can no longer serve by Lady Cecilia’s side and thus break my vow, then forgive me—I cannot obey.”
This “I agree to let you cut my flesh, but you must not let a drop of blood flow while doing so” line of argument was nothing but willful, but Rita felt she had to give it a try.
Yet the king had no intention of letting Rita continue.
“Don’t worry, what I can reward you with is far more than you would gain by becoming a Holy Knight. No, let’s put it this way: I’ll still grant you the position of Holy Knight, and besides that, you’ll receive rewards enough to last a lifetime. If you don’t want to be a Holy Knight, I’ll grant you a title of nobility too. You will not be mistreated.”
Putting aside the possibility of Rita’s succubus identity being exposed, or the danger it might bring her—this was precisely Rita’s initial goal months ago when she’d wanted to take the Holy Knight trials: to live a well-paid, easy life in the royal capital.
This wasn’t just a well-paid, easy life—this was getting paid without having to do any work, someone else taking care of her until old age.
However, Rita’s ambitions had already grown beyond that.
“Your Majesty, as I’ve already said, I cannot accept such terms. What I desire is not money or a title, but to serve at Lady Cecilia’s side.”
“Rita, I am not bargaining with you. That’s enough. Wait aside for judgment.” The king’s squinting eyes flashed with impatience as he patted the armrest of the Golden Tree Throne, signaling Rita to desist for now.
Then, the king addressed Cecilia in a consultative tone.
“Cecilia, my daughter, you had your reasons, but without a doubt, this was a wrong decision. I won’t repay kindness with murder, and I’ll pardon all her previous offenses. This is already a display of my love for you. Now, give her up.”
“No, Father, I cannot.” Cecilia spoke with resolute finality.
“Daughter, if you wish for an exclusive knight, I will select a more suitable candidate for you from this trial.” As the king spoke, he glanced at Promi standing by Rosalia’s side.
“Ah, the Silver-Fanged sister—her performance was outstanding as well, and according to your report, she scored even higher than Rita. She is clearly capable of becoming an Emblem Knight, and would protect you even better.”
“Father, I want only Rita. I don’t want anyone else!” Cecilia insisted stubbornly.
“Daughter! You are no longer a child—you should know that this is impossible!”
“Father, precisely because I am no longer a child, I believe my choice is right. If I were to choose a knight to be my exclusive knight, I would never pick rashly—Rita is the result of my careful selection!” Cecilia shook her head even more stubbornly.
“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have brought her to you immediately upon returning to the capital. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have allowed her to travel with me all the way here. Otherwise… Otherwise, I wouldn’t insist on going against your wishes for her sake—Rita is the one I’ve chosen, the most suitable person to be my exclusive knight!”
“Cecilia, don’t forget the premise on which I am being so lenient to both of you.” The king’s tone turned cold, as though threatening.
Cecilia’s shoulders trembled slightly; under her father’s oppressive presence, even she felt a trace of fear. Even so, she raised her voice to a pitch she almost never used and answered.
“Father, I have made my decision—it must be Rita. I have never asked you for anything since I was young. I beg you, let Rita stay by my side as my exclusive knight!”
“She could barely take one of my sword strikes. Whether she can pass the Holy Knight’s trial is still uncertain,” Brownie muttered in a low voice toward Promi.
In such a silent hall, Brownie’s words carried clearly to everyone’s ears.
“Hmm?” the king hummed in confusion. “Silver Fang, what did you say?”
Brownie lowered her head. “Your Majesty, forgive my offense, I was only muttering to myself.”
“Say it again—speak clearly.”
“Your Majesty, when Hand of Bedrock and I were tracking Dorothy, we detected abnormal activity underground and nearly offended the Fourth Princess. It was Rita who stood before Her Highness and barely managed to take my attack, breaking her sword in the process. I judge that her strength is seriously lacking—she is still a ways off from becoming a Holy Knight. I fear the Fourth Princess may not get her wish,” Brownie replied.
The king turned to Fran nearby. “Hand of Bedrock, is this true?”
“It is. I remember it well—she sprang right in front of the Fourth Princess, and I think her sword was made from the Night Sovereign’s carapace, wasn’t it? Not especially strong, but rare for ordinary folk. A pity it broke so easily. Silver Fang even promised to compensate her with a fine sword at the time,” Fran answered.
“Hand of Bedrock, everyone here values their time—there’s no need to bring up unrelated matters,” Brownie stopped Fran before she could say more.
No sooner had Brownie and Fran fallen silent than a voice unfamiliar to most rang out in the hall.
“Your Majesty, I beseech you to allow me to speak.”
The king glanced down at the silver-haired girl beneath the throne, puzzled. “Silver Fang’s sister, what’s your name?”
“Promi, Your Majesty.”
“And what do you have to say?”
“My life was saved by Rita. If Your Majesty holds my abilities in any regard, then I can swear by my family name: Rita’s strength is unquestionable, and she is equally qualified to be an Emblem Knight. Brownie… no, my sister, misjudged her strength.”
“Mm, go on. How did she save you?”
Promi recounted everything she’d experienced—delving deep into the Swarm, fighting side by side, being saved by Rita, bringing back information, how Rita later brought back the Night Sovereign’s carapace…
Most people only knew the rough outline of what happened in Solus City, but they knew well enough what kind of enemy the Night Sovereign was, and how hard it was to return from the Swarm alive.
It was undeniably a mission from which few returned, yet Rita not only accepted it, she completed it admirably, even saving Promi’s life. Based on this alone, the others had already formed their own judgment about Rita’s capabilities.
Before facing Dorothy, Rita had not even possessed an Emblem.
“Thus, if Her Highness the Fourth Princess harbored other intentions, she would never have allowed Rita to save me, to save the younger sister of the exclusive knight serving the Second Princess…”
“That’s enough, Promi, I have heard enough.” The king nodded gravely, cutting off Promi’s obviously Rita-favoring account, and fell into silence once more.
Lilia had the thought, “Maybe you’re conspiring together,” but she didn’t dare voice it.
She and Cecilia were both daughters of the king; her father would not scold her, and the Holy Knights and ministers would never contradict her before their king, so she could brazenly target her rival here.
She dared offend the powerless Cecilia, but would never dare offend her elder sister Rosalia.
The overall situation was already decided.
“Aylter!”
After a long while, the king suddenly called out.
“Your Majesty.” Aylter stepped forward again.
“Cecilia has never asked anything of me, and this request is truly excessive—utterly against protocol! You are the one I trust most. Tell me, what should be done?”
“To allow her to continue the trial as an Emblem-bearer is unfair to the other candidates and a slight to royal law. It cannot be permitted,” Aylter replied.
Why is this woman always targeting me?
Rita tried her best to control her expression. Ever since this began, she’d been the center of attention and could say nothing—she was going crazy. Not just Rita—even Cecilia’s face had grown grave; what Aylter said was clearly a great disadvantage for her, and Promi’s expression was equally bleak.
Only Lilia now wore a relieved smile.
“Hmm—” The king drew out the sound, continuing to listen. “So what do you think should be done?”
“Rules are dead, but people are alive. Holy Knights have always been loyal to the royal house—this candidate has shown great courage. Why not let the royal family decide?” Aylter suggested.
“I object.” Upon hearing Aylter’s words, Lilia was the first to refute, “She nearly killed me! How could someone like her be made a knight?”
“She has yet to become a knight and already possesses an Emblem. While she has helped her younger sister in the past, this breaks protocol—I still think it’s inappropriate,” the First Princess Emilia said, lashes lowered.
“I don’t even know her that well, so I’ll agree with my sisters and object too, okay?” Illya giggled, then added.
The only one to hold a differing opinion was Rosalia: “I have no comment to make on this.”
Even if she agreed, it would likely change nothing, so Cecilia pursed her lips and said no more.
“This is such a hassle. I said, don’t bring your sisterly squabbles here!” The king slapped the armrest. “Enough—this goes on endlessly. Emblem Knights, you were all chosen from among thousands and granted Golden Blood; you are the elite. I’ll leave this matter to your decision.”
“Your Majesty, we know little about Rita,” Brownie answered.
“Then go find out! Your duty is to ease the royal family’s worries! Now is the time! Don’t let her make my daughters argue any longer! Go! Go now!”
The king was growing increasingly impatient.
“I’ll leave this Rita to you. You have one month. If a majority of the Emblem Knights recognize her, she will become my daughter’s exclusive knight. If not, she must surrender her Golden Blood and may do as she wishes!”
With the king’s impatient bellow, this long-running farce finally drew to a close.