“Colleague, what are you talking about?” Rita hurriedly asked.
“The Master has already instructed us that when we next see Miss Rita, we must treat her with the same courtesy as any other Holy Knight.” The butler replied.
“Oh.” Rita nodded.
Although she still didn’t understand the reason, after yesterday, whether it was the soldiers, the maids, or even the Ministers who governed state affairs, everyone had become much more polite to her. And the butler’s attitude today only confirmed one thing.
Her current status, if not entirely equal to an ordinary Holy Knight, was at least close.
After returning to the palace, Rita confirmed this from Cecilia herself.
“This is for you. It proves your identity as a Holy Knight. Remember to keep it on you.” Cecilia pushed a piece of Golden Tree Leaf sealed in Amber across the table.
“Everyone still has some doubts about whether your strength is enough to become an Emblem Knight, but being a regular Holy Knight is not a problem. With this, many things will become much more convenient.”
Rita held the Amber up to the sunlight. The entire Amber looked almost completely flat, yet even encased within the Amber, the pale Golden Tree Leaf sealed inside was still clearly visible. The golden veins running through the leaf, like blood vessels, made Rita feel as if it was still flowing with life.
So this is the Holy Knight’s identification? It really is interesting.
The title of Emblem Knight still required everyone to have a meeting and discuss it, but the proof of a Holy Knight was given to her just like that. It was clear that the status difference between the two was vast.
But regardless of the gap, as long as she had it, things would be much easier for Rita in the royal capital.
Rita placed the Amber back on the table and casually asked, “Lady Cecilia, why didn’t you give it to me earlier?”
“You went out early in the morning. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t find you.” Cecilia replied, then rubbed Rita’s chin like she was petting a puppy. “But, this is all so you can become my exclusive knight sooner. You’ve worked hard. You deserve praise.”
Rita squinted her eyes and let Cecilia rub her for a while, then asked, “By the way, Lady Cecilia, I have something else to ask you…”
Rita’s task was to gain the recognition of the other Emblem Knights, but to do that, she first had to find them.
But aside from the King himself, probably no one else could summon all the Emblem Knights together at once.
Those who might know about the other Emblem Knights’ whereabouts—either the Ministers eager to curry favor with her, or the several princesses.
The only one Rita could trust and talk to was Cecilia.
Although this mission was meant to test her, asking Cecilia for help shouldn’t be a problem.
After hearing Rita’s question, Cecilia slowly replied, “Don’t worry. I’ve already written down their general information. Take a look here, and destroy it when you’re done.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Is the information about Emblem Knights something you can spread around at will?”
Cecilia was still confined, so it was impossible for her to accompany Rita. Rita could only rely on the information she memorized from Cecilia and visit the Emblem Knights in the city one by one.
However, nothing seemed to go right for Rita today. She went to several places in a row, but didn’t meet a single Emblem Knight.
After all, everyone had work to do—if not out on a mission, then accompanying the royal family somewhere, or even if they were resting, they probably wouldn’t stay at home.
Sigh.
Closed.
After wandering around, noon came in the blink of an eye, and Rita had to temporarily give up.
Maybe she should try to visit the exclusive knights of the other princesses?
Not so easy.
Other than Brownie, none of the princesses supported her. Even if she went knocking, even if she wasn’t turned away at the door, she probably wouldn’t get what she wanted.
Forget it, she might as well get something to eat and reward herself, and maybe bring something back for Cecilia, who was still under confinement.
With that thought, Rita casually walked into a spacious dessert shop.
Judging by the huge sign, the broad storefront, and the crowd coming and going, Rita felt that this dessert shop couldn’t be bad.
Of course, the prices wouldn’t be cheap either. Seeing the price list displayed behind the counter made Rita a bit nervous.
So this is the price of things in the royal capital. Truly frightening!
But she did have some money on hand, and it was worth it to make Cecilia happy.
Rita stood at the end of the line and queued up.
The line grew longer and longer. Rita could only inch forward slowly with the queue, and after quite some time, she finally squeezed to the front of the counter.
Before Rita could even order, the dessert shop’s door was flung open with a bang. The wooden door groaned in protest, then slammed shut with a loud thud.
Rita turned her head, thinking someone was causing trouble, but it was just two people coming in.
A man in lavish armor had his arm around a beautiful young woman. They seemed very close.
How noisy, Rita thought, turning back to pick out her cake.
But the man in armor continued striding forward, pushing aside the people waiting in line and squeezing to the front.
“Hello, may I—” a staff member approached and whispered.
But the man cut her off directly. “I’m here to buy some desserts. I’m in a hurry, can you let us go first?”
“I’m afraid that—”
“Hmm?” The man lifted his hand, showing the Amber with the sealed Golden Tree Leaf hanging from his waist. The staff member immediately fell silent.
“Right, I serve the royal family. Let’s hurry it up.” The man squeezed forward with the young woman, and seeing the symbol of status, the surrounding people all made way.
The man came directly behind Rita, looked down at her as she picked out her sweets, cleared his throat, then spoke.
“Miss, could you let me pick first?”
Rita glanced at the man, then at the Amber on his waist, and shook her head. “Sorry, I’ll be done soon.”
“Uh.” The man hadn’t expected Rita to refuse. Looking at the girl in his arms, who seemed slightly annoyed, he tried to explain, “As you can see, I serve the royal family, and I’m here on official business. Please let us go first.”
Who would believe that? Clearly, it’s the girl in your arms who wants dessert.
Besides, it’s not impossible to make an exception sometimes, and Rita wasn’t here to cause trouble, but at least the request should be made politely.
If you speak in such an arrogant tone, there’s no way I’ll yield.
“I’ll be done in a moment,” Rita repeated, but this time, the polite tone was gone.
It was only because Rita’s clothes didn’t make her look like some poor, uncouth commoner—and because she was known to be beautiful—that this Holy Knight was even willing to speak twice.
But now, having been embarrassed twice and sensing the displeasure radiating from the girl at his side, the man couldn’t save face.
As a Holy Knight, he knew there were many people in the capital that couldn’t be offended, but he kept a mental list, and Rita wasn’t on it.
When he’d first revealed his status and demanded she yield, she hadn’t stated her own, but simply refused and ignored him. No one with her had come forward to explain, either, so he assumed she had no background.
“Are you really going to do this? Defying a Holy Knight isn’t a good idea,” the man threatened.
“With all this back-and-forth, I’ve already finished.” This time, Rita didn’t even bother to turn around.
The people around couldn’t help but gasp. To refuse a Holy Knight’s request so bluntly—did she not value her life?
The man frowned, let go of the young woman, and reached out to grab Rita, intending to teach her a lesson.
But before he could touch Rita, she had already caught his wrist.
The man tried to break free, but Rita’s hand was like an iron clamp—no matter how he struggled, she didn’t budge an inch. In fact, his futile struggle was clearly witnessed by the onlookers.
The girl beside him now looked openly displeased.
This was the young lady he’d gone to great lengths to woo. It was their first date, and now he was made to look so foolish?
He could no longer afford to be gentle. He raised his other hand, aiming to restrain Rita, but she pressed it down first. The whole scene looked as harmless as someone stopping another from paying the bill.
Rita found causing a scene a bit fun, but her situation wasn’t exactly great right now. It was best not to escalate things, which was why she acted gently—otherwise, she’d have kicked him away already.
Now that he’d seen the gap in strength, surely he’d realize she wasn’t ordinary?
Worried he hadn’t caught on, Rita tried to reason with him.
“This is a dessert shop. Can we not fight here, Sir Holy Knight?”
“You know I’m a Holy Knight, and you still dare provoke me! Are you disregarding the dignity of the royal family?”
Hey? Isn’t that enough? If Lilia wants to lecture me, fine, but why are you bringing up this nonsense too?
But Rita still kept her cool. “No, no, of course not. Isn’t it better for everyone to just buy their cake peacefully? Like I said, if we didn’t argue, we’d all be done by now.”
The man fell silent, his hand resting on his sword hilt.
“Wait!” Rita shouted, “There are so many people here, it’s best not to draw your sword!”
He’d been humiliated so much. Now, seeing her start to plead as soon as he reached for his sword—
Too late!
A fierce light flashed in the man’s eyes. He gripped the hilt and tried to draw his sword.
At that moment, everyone saw his knees suddenly buckle. With a thud, he fell to the ground, his ornate armor clanging loudly.
His pupils shrank. He collapsed to the floor, clutching his unmoving legs and crying out in pain.
Looking at his pitiful state, Rita couldn’t help but sigh.
Didn’t I say not to cause a scene? Was it worth making a fool of yourself just to show off?
I’m not even that patient—a person who gets his legs broken should at least behave himself now, right?
After all, I’ve got the same Holy Knight proof in my hand as he does. If he’s allowed to draw his sword at me, why can’t I break his legs?
Besides, did anyone see me break his legs?
Anyone?
No, right?