The day of the social gathering.
As is usually the case with most social gatherings, it started in the evening. Sir Sein, who arrived at work leisurely with the speed of a snail, was immediately dragged by me to the venue.
The venue of the social gathering was located on the outskirts of the city. The temple where the social gathering was held had a long glorious history. However, the temple was the sacred place where the ancient gods were worshipped. Therefore, it had long been abandoned and currently not functioning as a temple.
The temple consisted of a large prayer hall, which is a place often used for events like today. I had been there once for a similar reason as today.
It seemed that since the temple was open on all sides, the architectural aesthetic of the place was done keeping the artistic value in mind. Depending on which way sunlight shone inside, the light and shadow created a spectacular sight. However, there was nothing more noteworthy to the place except for that. It was truly a shitty place to guard.
Didn’t the organizer think even once that it was open on all sides? There were too many variables to consider because there were so many intrusion routes.
“Shouldn’t the high-ranking officials enact a law prohibiting holding events at the Pelona Temple?”
When I got off my horse and couldn’t help but let out a joking remark, Sir Sein answered seriously.
“But aside from the palace, is there any other building in Melshas City that can hold a social gathering as large as this scale? Rather, holding a social gathering out in the open is more troublesome to guard.”
“…Thank you for your rational answer.”
I just wanted to complain, but even that seemed impossible for my subordinate who is serious in rare times.
It was 4pm by the time we arrived at the venue. The social gathering would be starting at 6 PM, however, since many high-ranking officials would be present at the gathering, the authority stationed the knights to prepare in advance.
As I entered the temple, knights standing inside and outside with their knight attire and stoic faces came into view. Although not as much as the Diamond Knights, the Sapphire Knights were also a place where promising talents gathered, recommended and groomed by the higher-ups. The reputation they held was not only for empty boast. The faint aura of their Spirits was also felt quite strongly.
‘The Sapphire Knights could have covered it with their own personnel… how hilarious for them to call us.’
“Where is the Vice Captain?”
As I asked one of the knights, he showed me the way, telling me that the Vice Captain was residing in the inner room of the temple which was being used as a temporary office.
“Please check the venue with the other knights. I’ll meet with the Vice Captain of the Sapphire Knights.”
“…Should I go instead?”
Sir Sein whispered lowly so that only I could hear. At the sudden and unexpected offer, I blinked in surprise. Perhaps noticing my bewildered state, he added.
“Administrator Lionel… was very worried.”
“What did Lionel say to Sir Sein?”
Hmm, they weren’t alone together to discuss the matter, so how did he know?
“I heard from the Administrator that you and the Vice Captain of the Sapphire Knights were in the same group during your knighthood training. And you two had a bit of unsavoury relationship… I thought you wouldn’t want to meet him face to face.”
“That guy…”
Sir Sein never showed affection toward any of us, but now he was behaving like a parent sending his child on their first errand. Although he pretended not to care, he was secretly worried for me, just like Lionel.
“Don’t worry, Sir Sein. I can handle it.”
“Hmm. If you’re fine with that, then I don’t mind either….”
“Yes. Thank you for worrying about me.”
At my sincere gratitude, Sir Sein showed a hesitant expression before backing away with a simple ‘Well, I’ll be going then’. He was indeed the only introverted person in our knighthood.
‘Whew… Then let’s go.’
I took a deep breath before heading toward the inner room pointed by the knight. After reaching the designated place, I knocked on the door.
“Please come in.”
At the sound of Gustav’s heavy voice, a frown momentarily appeared on my face. It had been a long while since I heard his voice, so I quickly fixed my expression.
From now on, it’s a war without guns. I must never do anything foolish that might put me in a dangerous position.
Slowly opening the door, I entered the threshold. A familiar brown-haired young man raised his head upon my entering. Without changing my expression, I greeted him lightly.
“It’s been a long time, Vice Captain Gustav.”
“Clara! It’s been a really long time. I haven’t heard from you at all. I feel a bit sad.”
“….”
Regardless of whether he was the kind of person who would be upset about not hearing from me for a long while, his behavior toward me as if we were the best of friends of the century was praiseworthy.
His eyes curved like a crescent in a lovely smile. The upturned lips along with his facial features that seemed to be made to attract people’s favor was truly noteworthy.
Gustav’s image and attitude combined made it feel like nothing had happened between us. As if everything was a delusion of my own perception.
‘…No, don’t fall for that guy’s innocent face again.’
Sitting down on the sofa across from him, I cut him off dryly.
“I came here as the Captain of the Ruby Knights. I hope we can respect each other, Vice Captain Gustav.”
“But I suppose we don’t particularly have to be polite to each other, right? Is there anyone who would object if we were to treat each other comfortably as colleagues?”
“However, we must set an example to our subordinates in our cooperative work. Therefore, please refrain from doing so.”
“Hmm….”
At my dry words, Gustav made a sullen puppy-like face. His expression seemed to say he was offended for being rejected like this when he was glad to meet me for the first time in a long time.
“Understood. If Sir Clara wishes so, I have no objection.”
“Yes. For now, I’ve sent my subordinate knight to check the venue with the other knights. Could you explain what exactly our task is and what we have to check?”
“Yes, as Sir Clara wishes.”
“….”
Fortunately, after my heartless rejection to his overly friendly attitude, Gustav only discussed work related to the cooperation. Before coming here, I was worried that it must be some sort of trap to accuse me of something I didn’t do. However, after learning about the actual work, it seemed there wasn’t much of a trouble.
Many aristocratic ladies would also be attending this gathering, therefore, they were in need of a female knight to guard the ladies’ privacy and the female private lounge.
The problem was that the Sapphire Knights had no female knights among their veterans, so they were somewhat worried.
That was why they made a request to our knights’ order, which had an experienced (how hilarious…) female knight.
“However, I was the only female knight in our knight order…. What would have you done if I hadn’t arrived?”
In the letter of the request to the cooperation, my name hadn’t been mentioned specifically, so I asked curiously. Gustav only laughed at my curious inquiry, narrowing his eyes like a fox.
“Well, since I requested for two people from your order, how could it be that Sir Clara wouldn’t come?”
“….”
At the answer which felt more like a mocking remark, I felt a bit defeated. It seemed even he knew about the dire situation of our knight order whilst the higher-ups were blatantly ignoring us.
After receiving the job explanation, I stood up.
“Oh, Sir Clara.”
“Yes?”
“No. I guess we don’t have enough time right now. Let’s have a chat before you leave.”
“….”
I didn’t have the slightest desire to chat with this foxy person. Without answering, I greeted him swiftly and headed for the door.
‘Meeting someone I have no desire to meet really puts me in a foul mood.’
The feeling was similar to the unpleasant memories from the past which I desperately wanted to disappear but they kept poking their heads every once in a while.
Shaking away those thoughts, I continued walking.
***
With that, time flowed by and the time for the starting of the gathering approached.
Carriages with heavy decorations arrived one after another, and elegantly dressed noblemen and women appeared from those lavish vehicles one by one.
As we had arranged in advance, I decided to first act as a guard at the entrance with the other knights before transferring my position to the female lounge after the gathering started. Since I was the only female knight present, I decided to guard the outside of the female lounge in earnest.
My eyes wandered at the people arriving one by one, and a wide variety of expensive dresses came in view. From a glance, I could tell what the current trends were and what kind of design the ladies mostly liked. It seemed that the trend these days was to wear dresses with an unnecessary amount of ruffles and ribbons to the point of being childish. I felt slackened at the cuteness of the young ladies’ outfits.
‘Well, someone like me will never get to wear them in my entire life.’
If I hadn’t regained my memories of my past life and had stayed at Rudelman’s house, I might have been able to have the opportunity to dress myself with such lavish dresses. However, just imagining the future was terrifying to me.
Even though I had been reincarnated into the world of a romance novel, what could I possibly do since I was not the main character?
Either the plot or the expensive dresses, I wasn’t interested in them. I was more interested in having a sword and guarding the venue like a knight should.
‘I wonder if the main characters of the romance novel, especially the female protagonist of this world, would be coming to the gathering today?’
Our female protagonist, who was the object of the polite but sweet male protagonist’s obsession, was nothing but a maid. It would be possible if she attended while assisting the male protagonist, the Second Prince. However, the Second Prince was hardly heard of appearing to the public eyes these days.
I might get to see the juicy plot from afar someday, but perhaps not today.
Although such unnecessary thoughts had been wandering in my mind, I didn’t neglect to be completely vigilant about my surroundings. There was absolutely no suspicious atmosphere, not that I felt.
Suddenly, a small cheering sound erupted amidst the crowd at that time.
I turned my head toward the noise, wondering what made the commotion.
It was Ludger Kassen.
His overwhelmingly tall stature and rare but glistening silver hair color were enough to catch people’s attention. And his perfectly sculptured handsome face was so mesmerising that people couldn’t help but react instinctively.
As he started walking slowly, the sight of people parting in front of him like the tide was receding, was a sight to behold. Even though he hadn’t specifically asked them to move, the people around moved on their own as if they were hypnotized.
The moment he walked to the entrance of the building was getting closer to where I was,
Our eyes met.
