Vol 1 Chapter 1 (1/2)

CHAPTER 1 KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND

4

This was the ”Knight King’s space” On the floor was a carpet

with the story of the Gods eolden

ears of grain Hanging on the ceiling was a wooden chandelier and

on the carpet was a beautiful patina table reen

oak Out of the same ere chairs scattered around the room

adorned with carvings on its boards, enough to be considered as

unique art pieces—creating the same pattern would be impossible

There were three people in this room ”today” One of them, a

that of a lion, rested his feet

on the priceless desk like it was nothing and faced Leti with a wide

grin on his face

”Your mood is fouler than usual, Queen Leticia When are you

in right now?”

”You are annoying, aren't you, King Alexander? I aht

after I was proclaimed to be the next queen and was just refused

by stupid man”

The hed out loud as if Leti’s

predica Leti's nerves the

wrong way

The silver-hairedon a distant chair inserted a

book it to join the conversation

“There is no need to be impatient, Queen Leticia I had the

experience of bowing down fifty-five times to someone until he

agreed to be ht”

“I have heard of that story so many times already in my own

time and it has been passed down as your impressive anecdote,

Ad Karlheinz It is now considered as an idiom,

‘fifty-five bows’ So was it really fifty-five times?”

“I see it was passed down quite accurately It was a good thing

I kept a diary then”

“If it were me, I would leave an order to burn all my diaries

when I die since I only rant in there I ain even

if I already did if I would be known as the Ranting Queen,”

snorted Leti

The One-handed hed listlessly at Leti's little speech

“It will be fine since it is, after all, you, Queen Leticia If it

wereor Wrecked

King… no… ive me

such a title…”

“You are dark as usual, King Oswald When are you in your

time?”

“I’h I

know I should not” One-handed King Oswald’s sigh was heavy

Given the dark atmosphere, Leti declared that she would be

going back when King Alexander said so to her

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“Queen Leticia, there is no need for you to follohat that

stupidly serious Karlheinz said Those who agree because you

bowed down to them only want sincerity”

“Then what do you suggest I do?”

“Hmmm… if it were me, I would have beaten them to a pulp

and ht’s Oath, but since you are a

wo him

believe that it is destiny”

“Destiny?”

“Men are weak against those things, you know? So just follow

what your uncle says”

“How reat” shall I skip to trace you? Besides, the

dynasty has changed already after your reign, so I am supposedly

not a direct descendant from your line

Anyway, I think there is soiven by the

Lion King Alexander, who has never lost even one battle during

his reign, so I will give it soht”

Leti left, saying her agree Alexander and

thinking about her next step



8

Leti woke up to the chirping birds and warht in a cool

day She felt a bit confused from the lack of the wooden

chandelier hanging on the ceiling when she remembered that she

had already gone back to reality

“I probably go the Knight King’s space a lot recently because I

wanted to escape somewhere”

Lion King Alexander was there right before a revolution

happened – led by his friend and trusted Prime Minister For

Ad Karlheinz, it was after he was betrayed by his

beloved wife, while One-handed King Osas in a dire

situation at war

All of the kings in the Knight King’s space had one thing in

common whenever they went there: they were at a loss on what

they should do So for the other kings, they surmised that they

would be seeing Leti frequently during the time after she was

announced to be the heir to the throne

“Cohness, the next queen, Queen Leticia, we

have to make our second bow today!” said Leti to herself

Ever since the present king announced on Leticia’s

seventeenth birthday last month that she would be the next queen,

her ely spirited for some reason While her maids

were busily working the tea

in pure sophistication

Leti thought that a husband need simply be a decoration

beside her and she would not be giving him any power over the

Kingdoovernment, but it was still an undeniable

fact that selecting her husband was an important part of her job

“I shall work after this, so no one is allowed to disturb me

until I say so Bring to my room the portraits and documents

Prince Friedhelht over”

The maids obediently followed Leti's orders and carried into

her roo a third

of her spacious room Leti was nauseated with the number of

portraits, but she still locked her door and prepared to work

“…Well then, let’s start”

Leti took off her beautiful dress, released her feet from her

high heels, changed into a fresh new dress, and wore durable

walking boots that she was fond of recently She removed all of

her accessories and simply tied her hair with a velour ribbon Leti

looked at herself in the nito

outfit complete

Without any hesitation, Leti leaned forward outside her

and leapt to the nearby tree This had been always her

escape route ever since she was a child The people who see her as

the perfect epitome of a princess would find it hard to believe that

she had been doing this for a long time

“All right Perfect score”

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Leti praised herself as she got out of the castle without anyone

noticing her She dusted off her skirt and arranged her dress as she

walked

“The Royal Chivalric Order should be co around here for

their patrols…”

Leti ordered her servants to investigate the schedule of Duke

Barchet, who had the nerve of refusing her in front of everyone

Using the inforathered, Leti decided to

ambush Duke while he was on duty

“hello there! Today is a good day, isn’t it?”

“Oh Lady Cia, long time no see! Are you out on a date today?”

Leti talked familiarly with a lady that passed by She had

escaped the castle o and walk around the town

near the castle, pretending to be a daughter of a poor baron

Unlike her brothers Friedhelm and Guido, the people only knew

Princess Leticia by her name and the description that she was as

beautiful as the late First Queen Consort, so she could easily go

out and wander around town

“There is soht but he refused

me, so I wanted to ambush him and have him say ‘yes’ to me”

“My, my, so there is someone ould refuse a beautiful

young lady like you…”

“I aht of a

princess fro family”

It was nor family to have

several knights But for a daughter of a low-ranked fa a

knight was equal to having a lover This here Duke’s refusal,

‘I do not want to be known as the Leftover Princess’ lover,’ came from

While chatting idly with the lady, Leti scanned the street for a

certain soher

aht

her eye

There you are!

Leti took a step forward, raised her arm and called out to him

“Duke! I aiting for you!”

For aat

hinition hit him He immediately scanned the

area to search for Leti's guards Leti decided that Duke’s skills as a

knight was tolerable when she saw his instant alertness upon

recognizing her

“See that tall person? He is the one I wanted to be ht”

Leti pointed out Duke, now pushi+ng his way through the

croards her Before Duke could even reprimand Leti and

ask what she was doing there, she wrapped her arm around his

surprising hi away his

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ar a sweet

smile plastered on her face

“Oh al name, isn’t it? Let me see…

Well, aren’t you a fine young man, Mr Duke Why did you refuse a

fine, young woman like Lady Cia?”

“Huh? No… This is…”

“Is it because of a difference in social status? Are you an earl?”

“No, I’m a son of a baron…”

“Then you’re just equals! There isn’t any problem, is there?”

Duke glared at Leti His look said, why in the world a

interrogated by a woman I don’t even know? But Leti kept her poker face

and did not help hi the woman’s chatter

A man joined in their conversation “Or maybe ya wannabe a

hts of the Round, don’t yah, Mista Duke? Our

next ruler is a queen, after all”

“Hahaha! But isn’t it impossible for someone like you to be a

Knight of the Round? So why don’t you just give up and be Lady

Cia’s knight!”

The two strangers laughed ahtened

his back and did his best to keep a s countenance

Being made fun of makes me want to say that the next Queen you’re

talking about had already offered hts of the Round

and I flatly rejected her

“Duke, how about we talk while walking? I know you are still

in patrol duty”

“I think that’ll be best” I cannot stay here any longer

Duke said the required niceties and they took their leave, with

hi Leticia by the hand as they were sed by the

crowd

After putting so to a less crowded place,

Duke released his anger “Oi! What are you doing here ALONE!?

Where are your guards?”

Leti twirled around, showing Duke her outfit as if saying, ‘Did

you not realize it?’ But his face did not show any understanding

“I auise I escaped from the

castle”

“Huh? For someone appointed to be the next queen, you sure

are a carefree person That’s the reason why you’re called the

Leftover Princess ”

“Leftover Princess? Let theave

me that title as a Princess and not as a Queen,” Leti said flatly,

flipping her hair over her shoulders with her hand

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“You can call this a job, you know, like infor

Inforets farther from the source, so I

soather it directly since most of the

infor the toill be so distorted once it reaches

hly unreliable”

“Is that so?”

Duke was on guard with their surroundings as he listened to

Leti's story, since she went to town alone and unescorted and he

would have to protect her if so happened But for Leti, she

had no need for a guard, for she was strongest when alone and can

move freely

“I agree that what you’re doing, listening to your people, is a

good thing as their next ruler, but I feel that you are already

familiar with them Why is that when you were appointed to be the

heir just last month?”

“Indeed, what you said is correct My succession to the throne

was formally declared last month on my birthday but I already

knew… I already kneould be queen I only did not how it

would happen but I was sure that I would be I did not bother

telling anyone about this because I was sure no one would believe

me

Anyway, I will be dragging you anywhere and everywhere to

hear the stories around town Let us start now We still have a lot

of places to go to”

“Huh? No, we’re going back to the castle I’ll send you home

now!”

“I will forgive your casual speech today but speak with me in

that

because of treason Are we clear? Yes? Then let us go over there”

Leti pointed out an accessory shop across the road and she

went inside to take a look at ribbons Since Duke could not

possibly say goodbye and leave her, he – in his Knight uniform –

unwillingly followed the princess into the shop Seeing a knight

approach his shop, the shop owner proreet

hi

“Uhm… No… I’m just with her…”

“Ah, I see You’re Lady Cia’s lover, are you not? A beautiful

lady and a courageous knight – what a perfect couple!”

Duke wondered how everyone they met came to that

conclusion But if he told them that they were not lovers, they

would surely ask him how they were related Since he did not

know Leti's setting for her disguise, he could not say anything

careless

“Young man, you know, this is the time when the man pays

for his lady If you’re not careful about these kinds of things, you

ht find yourself abandoned in the near future”

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Even though Duke thought that he would be rather glad to be

abandoned, he still grudgingly took out his wallet and paid for

Leti's ribbons He could not fathom why she, the princess of the

kingdom, would have to buy her ribbons in this little shop when

she probably had h ribbons for her to use in a

lifetime

“Here, have some tea”

“Why, thank you!”

“Thanks”

Leti started a conversation with the shop owner as they drank

their tea Their topic was, of course, the season’s hottest news: the

next queen The shop owner said that the next queen was

apparently a very beautiful princess, and Leti threw in her

coreement It seemed that Leti did not have the charms

of being shy or modest

“Have you met her, Lady Cia?”

“No, a poor baron’s daughter cannot possibly have met her,

though I have seen her from afar How about you, Duke?”

“…From afar… yes…”

“They said that Princess Leticia is a very splendid princess I

heard that she was the one who suggested and built the hospital in

the west and the orphanage in the south She was also the first one

to donate for our festival here”

The two princes co for the crown, Prince Friedhelm

and Prince Guido, focused on the n relations

Leti, on the other hand, waseducation

and welfare She had two reasons for doing so: one, to avoid her

brother’s eyes, and two, to get the hearts of the citizens The good

opinion that people had of her was proof of her hard work

throughout the years

Leti brought Duke everywhere she went to listen to the stories

and opinions about the next queen They had the consensus that if

a civil ould be the result of either one of the princes

ascending the throne, then it was a whole lot better if the kindhearted

princess succeeded the crown Everyone welcomed the

idea of having Princess Leticia as their next ruler

After walking for a long time, Leti finally decided that it was

tio back to the castle

“…Your reputation is quite good, huh?”

Duke complimented Leti as they walked towards the castle

His fa the cut,

and he had considered himself to be more affiliated with the Royal

Chivalric Order so he was quite naïve when it came to the world

of the nobles But even someone like him only knew Princess

Leticia as a kind and delicate princess before she was selected as

the successor to the throne, but this changed to be the meek and

beautiful ‘Leftover Princess’

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“I know that I a the common people;

however, the nobles and e consider me as

unimportant and that irritates me”

Leti had three objectives for this particular incognito walk

First was to gather the latest ruossip Second was to

know more about Duke as person, and third, to show Duke how

good her reputation stood with the citizens

Based on Duke’s reaction, Leti judged her plan a complete

success His opinion of her was slowly changing,away

from the ‘Leftover Princess’

Leti thought that this is the perfect chance to attack him “So,

did you change your

how good I am?”

Her first move was to lay down some of her cards on the table

to gain his trust This kind of game was Leti’s specialty

“Let me tell you the reason why I selected you”

Leti turned around and faced Duke Her eyes were the same

last night, filled with insight that could not possibly be owned by a

woman Had Leti been a man, Duke would have asked her for a

duel

“I already knew that I would be queen I just did not know

when or how, but thinking about it logically, there is a high

possibility that both of my older brothers were already dead so I

never thought of establishi+ng my own chivalric order”

“You knew?”

Duke convinced hi

or some prophecy, but Leti’s eyes told otherwise Her eyes

plainly say that she just simply knew

“I wanted my brothers to be protected by the best of the best,

so I did not hts were recruited to

Seventh Heaven or Valkyrie I did not want to succeed the throne

because they died But that did not happen and now, I am in a

predicahts of the Round with the

rejects – those that were not selected by either of my brothers So

ahts that could only even be

considered as tolerable? This is unreasonable!”

“There’s no helping it… you started late in the race”

Duke understood Leti's point The two princes, Prince

Friedhelm and Prince Guido, both had the abilities and qualities of

a King; it was natural that the talented knights would gather

around thehts left for Leti to choose from

were those that were not chosen by either of the princes Being

grouped a them somehow hurt Duke’s pride, but he would

not think about it for now

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“So if there is one a the rejects who can fill the First seat

of the Knights of the Round, then that will be you, Duke Barchet,

only you

Duke thought that indeed, Leti was not just a Leftover

Princess Seeing her think and analyze about this matter made him

feel that she s of a wise ruler However,

that alone was not enough for hiht and bon

to her as his master

“Princess, Your Highness, I…”

Duke suddenly sensed that so He swiftly

pulled Leti near him and covered her with his back Soon, three

street thugs came out of the shadows

“Hey lady, we’re a bit short on cash here, why don’t ya lend us

some?”

“You have a knight with you, of course you have some money

there”

Duke readied his hand on his sword, clicked his tongue and

asked Leti in a whisper, “Your cover’s not yet blown, right? Three

professional assassins will be tough to handle even for me, you

know”

Duke ell aware how dangerous Leti's position was as the

heir to the throne She did take away the crown from her two

brothers, regardless of whether she had a part in it or not If truth

be told, there were probably more people ould want her in

harht be

nors, but the worst case was that they were assassins sent

by so hindrance in their plans

Duke’s mind was already in a swirl of possibilities for this situation

coh

“Are you seriously telling me that?”

“Huh?”

Duke thought that Leti would call him stupid since she looked

like she would, but instead he got a pat on his shoulder

“The only person I know to be more beautiful than I do is

Prince Guido Do you not think it is quite natural that a knight

dating someone as beautiful as me will be asked for a duel or two?”

“Don’t call yourself beautiful Try and be a bit modest, won’t

you?”

“For so modest simply

sounds sarcastic … You can handle so like this, can you

not? Do what you have to do and do not mind about your back at

all”

Duke thought that answering her with the decided “yes, yes,

you are beautiful” or “I don’t think so” was just troublesome and

ive a

reaction

22

…though shy and

Duke still had a few things to say but decided that it would be

better focus at the task at hand

“If you back do, you’ll be leaving without a scratch

But if you dare lay your hands on her, don’t think that this’ll be

over with a wound or two” ‘Cause if you do anything to her, the princess

and the next queen of this kingdo Be

prepared to receive a capital punishment for that

Duke charged towards the attackers and the battle started

“His swordsmanshi+p is indeed one of the best I have seen I

aood as the report says”

The scene playing in front of Leti was enough to send a

nor, but Leti was no ordinary princess, and she

watched the fight intently Duke, despite fighting one against three,

had the upper hand in the battle and he had yet to draw his sword

He hit them either with the hilt of his sword or his fist His

fighting style was in no way elegant and fit for a Knight, but this

also meant that he had the confidence to ithout even

drawing his weapon

Leti watched over the fight with a satisfied smile on her face It

was better than she had expected Then she felt an additional

presence fro her attention from the battle in

front

“More company? Just when I had the chance to watch Duke in

action…” I guess it cannot be helped then

Leti turned around to face the new comers and snapped her

finger

“Oi! Are you ok?”

“Yes, I aainst three opponents

without even a single scratch They were not that strong, but it was

not easy either You really are fit to be a knight, to be ht”

“—Hey!”

Duke found two unconsciouson the floor beside

Leti He asked Leti who they ith his eyes and Leti replied by

looking down at thethat he noticed it too late

“Maybe they were planning to get your attention first, then

their other members would attack me, but too bad for them

because I kno to defend myself”

“Even so! You should have called my attention when you

noticed that there were others! Do you kno dangerous your

situation is!? What would you do if you got hurt!?”

“I was the one who said to you that you need not worry about

your back I just wanted to keep my word”

“Huh?”

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“But that is not the whole of it I also wanted to show you that

I can fend for myself, that I was not just a beautiful princess and to

have you oweyour back That hy I finished

theuess it had the opposite effect and made you

worry You are a kinder person than I thought you were” Leti

ser

Duke felt ahen Leti pointed out that he orried

about her He convinced hiht to

worry about the future queen and that his worry was nothing

personal Yes, I orried for the next queen and not because I care about

her

“Senpaaaaaaai!1

Someone reported that a beautiful lady is in

danger!”

An optimistic voice from the sky broke the two’s aardness

They looked up to see where the voice came from when their

vision suddenly turned dark and a hu down

straight at them Even the calm Princess Leti could not hide her

surprise

“Kyaa!?”

1 Senpai : a japanese honorific for someone’s senior

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The person who jumped from the roof and landed perfectly on the

ground was Duke’s junior, Astrid Gale He stood up quickly as if it

were nothing He looked at Duke and noticed Leti standing beside

him

Astrid stared at Leti's face, thinking that she somehow looked

fanized

her so he quickly went between them to block Astrid’s view, but it

was too late

“…PRINCESS!?”

Duke grabbed Astrid’s head and dragged him closer

“She is in disguise right now due to certain circumstances so

keep it low Do not tell anyone this, got that?” Duke said with his

threatening voice known tochild cry more Astrid

was overwhelly

while repeating Duke’s words, saying that he would not tell this to

anyone

“Astrid, I’ll be sending this beautiful lady home so can I leave

things here with you?

And another thing, how many times have I already told you

not to run on the roofs? We had already received a complaint that

an elderly wo

that”

“Eeeeh… but I cannot run in full speed on the road because

of the people Besides, I thought that it would be better if I reach

the crime scene as soon as possible, so I decided to use the roofs

as shortcuts”

Duke sighed, feeling tired with all the things happening He

wanted to give Astrid a long sery to do so

This was one of the reasons why Astrid was known as a tensionremover

He was a knight with skills enough to go up the top, but

his character was not suited to be one Duke decided to put off his

ser Leti's safety was more important

than disciplining Astrid

“I’ll listen to your report later at camp Do you need any help

or reinforcements?”

“There are quite a handful of them, so I will appreciate it if

they could spare some hands”

“Got it I’ll have them send some help”

Duke and Astrid did the necessary exchange for the transfer of

authority Then, Duke fir her

away froht as they walk away Leti did not even have

a chance to say a word and was forced to ithout further

discussion She snuck a look at Astrid Gale and committed his face

to her memory

“You have a quite pleasant junior, Duke”

“… I’ve got no complaints on his skills but…”

“His name?”

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“Astrid Gale He is from a commoner’s family but he does

have the skills enough to be the leader of the Order It is no

exaggeration that he is the type of person that comes once in a

century”

Leti only saw Astrid as a young lad with red hair and gentle

green eyes His presence wasthan that

of a knight of the Royal Chivalric Order But to hear Duke praise

hiated

Based on Duke’s assesshts, but if he really

was that good, then it is highly probable he is already someone else’s…

“Is he already soht? Is he already a

member of someone’s private order such as Prince Friedhelm’s

Seventh Heaven or Prince Guido’s Valkyrie?”

The word ‘knight’ in Sos