Ten days later, the results of the Knights entrance exam were announced.
I tentatively looked at the pass/fail board, and when I saw my number, I let out a deep sigh of relief.
The day after the exam, I belatedly remembered that the third exam would be judged not on whether or not you won, but on how you fought.
I was worried that my fighting style might be seen as cowardly depending on how you looked at it, and that I would fail if I strayed from the code of chivalry.
As someone who had a lot of experience in actual combat in my previous life, survival was everything to me and I had never thought about how to win, but I vowed to give it some more consideration in the future.
In the first place, since I was the one who enchanted the sword and magic stone, I had thought of the sword's power as my own, but thinking about it calmly, I had won the third exam solely on the effectiveness of the sword, and my skill had nothing to do with it...
Letting a dry laugh escape my lips, I stopped in front of the group allocation table.
Along with the results, the placements were also announced, but unfortunately, all the knight applicants were tall, making them a great obstruction. It was impossible to see the actual announcement.
I had no choice but to move aside to wait until there were fewer people around, when someone called out to me.
"Hello"
Looking back, I saw a handsome silver-haired man who had been in the same group F during the Knights' exam.
"If you came to see the group allocation chart, does that mean you passed too?"
Saying that, he smiled brightly and held out his right hand.
Wow, everything is sparkling, he looks like a prince.
"May I introduce myself? I am Fabian, the eldest son of the Marquis Weiner family, 17 years old." (Fabian)
"……ha?" (Fia)
...Did you say Marquis family?
He was talking about the high-ranking nobles, of which there were only about 10 in this country, right?
Moreover, he said he was the eldest son. Wait, did that mean he's the next marquis?
"...Eh? Isn't the Marquis just an urban legend? Does he really exist?" (Fia)
In my previous life, I was a princess, but I either stayed shut up in the castle or went out to hunt monsters, so I didn't meet many nobles, and in this life, the gap in their social status was so great that I didn't have many opportunities to meet them.
He burst out laughing at the words he'd blurted out in surprise.
"My father is actually the marquis, but I can guarantee that he is not a ghost or a demon." (Fabian)
"Eh, ah, no, that's not what I meant. I'm Fia, the second daughter of the Ruud knight family, 15 years old." (Fia)
"Well, there was only one woman who passed whose name began with F, so I thought you might be Fia. Can I call you Fia. I'd prefer it if you call me Fab." (Fabian)
"Huh? Um..." (Fia)
"I wanted to thank you, Fia, so I was looking for you. Thank you for picking up my sword during the third exam. The truth is, I hurted my arm during the exam, but when I grabbed the sword you gave me, the pain went away like magic." (Fabian)
"Hah……" (Fia)
Fabian slowly took my stiff right hand into both his hands and looked at me with a serious expression.
…Yeah, it seemed he didn't notice I used healing magic on him, right?
That's true. It's not that easy to come across a saint. And in the first place, there's no way she'd be in the Knights Order. He thought the pain just subsided by chance, right...?
I looked at his gripping right arm... and was shocked.
What?! Your broken arm is completely healed in just 10 days!
"Um... you said you were injured, but have you healed yet?" (Fia)
"Yeah, it wouldn't look good for a new recruit to join the club with a broken arm. So, I gulped down a bunch of healing potions, writhed in pain, and then had a saint cast a healing spell on me as a finishing touch." (Fabian)
I'd heard that it's difficult for people outside the Knights to borrow the Saint's power.
While thinking that the Marquis family really did have some power, I wondered why he'd gotten injured in the first place.
Apparently sensing my doubts from my expression, Fabian explained with a wry smile.
"My cat jumped from our fourth-floor balcony into a tree and got stuck. I climbed the tree to try and save him, but I lost my balance and fell out of the tree, breaking my arm." (Fabian)
"Haa..." (Fia)
I thought he was a perfect, sparkling prince, but he's actually pretty stupid...
"That was on the day of the entrance exam for the knight training academy graduation quota. I gave up on taking the exam that day and took the exam again in the general quota. At the time I thought it was unlucky, but in the end I was lucky because I got to meet Fia." (Fabian)
"Hii..." (Fia)
Oh no, oh no. He's a womanizer, like many aristocrats.
My face was twisted, and I started to back away little by little, but Fabian grabbed my arm tightly and, with a smile, dropped a bombshell.
"Fia, you were assigned to the First Knight Order. Same for me." (Fabian)
"………………………hah?" (Fia)
First Knight Order?
That couldn't be true.
There are 20 Knight Orders in total, but the First Knight Order was a super elite group, and it was not the kind of department that a newbie would be assigned to.
"The First Knight Order, who guard the royal family, and the Second Knights, who guard the royal castle, are usually only assigned to knights who have served for over 10 years. As far as records go, this is the first time that newcomers have been assigned to them. It seems that there are only two of us this time as well." (Fabian)
I froze in place as Fabian explained with a bright smile.
"The Third Sorcerer Knights, which are staffed by magicians, and the Fourth Monster Knights, which are staffed by monster users, are special forces, so they are exceptions. Apart from us, it seems that all the other Knights, including the Fifth Knights, which are guarding the capital, the Sixth to Tenth Knight Order, which are for monster extermination, and the Eleventh to Twentieth Order, which are for border patrol, have been assigned new recruits aside from us." (Fabian)
"..." (Fia)
At this point, I no longer had the time to respond, and just kept thinking the same thing over and over in my head.
Being royal must meant that you're a descendant of one of the three brothers who left me to die in my previous life...
Uaaaah, I have to protect that with all my might...
I wondered if I could do it. I wondered if I'd get fed up and just left to die.
"...... Fia?" (Fabian)
"Well, well, I was wondering who the royal family is..." (Fia)
I made up some excuse to cover it up, but Fabian carefully explained it to me.
"Currently, there are only two members of the royal family. His Majesty the King and His Highness the King's Younger Brother. I will tell you this because His Majesty himself has said so publicly, but it seems that the King is unable to love women. Therefore, he has publicly stated that the next heir to the throne is His Highness the King's Younger Brother." (Fabian)
"Uh, huh..." (Fia)
This unexpected story came out and left me dumbfounded.
"So, I'm sure you know this, but His Highness the King's younger brother is a knight who leads 20 orders of knights." (Fabian)
"The Commander!!" (Fia)
"...It seems you didn't know, huh?" (Fabian)
No, of course. I had heard many rumors about the commander, who had become something of a living legend, like how he had singlehandedly beaten an entire captain half to death, but I had no idea he was a member of royalty.
"I haven't set foot outside my rural territory in the 15 years since I was born, so before I knew it, I'd become a complete information nerd..." (Fia)
Seeing me muttered dejectedly, Fabian tilted his head slightly in confusion and added some more information.
"He will be making a speech at the knight induction ceremony tomorrow, so you should take the time to meet him. This is a clear example of the saying 'seeing is believing...' Now, let's go get our knight uniforms. The collar insignia differs depending on the affiliation, so we must be careful not to get the wrong one. Also, we should go to bed early tonight and prepare for tomorrow." (Fabian)
Fabian slowly dragged me to the uniform distribution center, and as I was talking about which brigade I would be joining, I realized that I hadn't checked the brigade allocation list for my assignment.
…Ah, what? Am I really okay with being a member of the First Knights?
I was starting to think it's highly likely that Fabian misread the situation.
Huaaaaaaah. I would hate to show up at my assigned workplace only to be turned away because I belong to a different organization!
Author's Note
Thank you for reading.