Vol 1 Chapter 2 (1/2)

CHAPTER II THE PRINCESS’ TEA PARTY

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The atte of Princess Leticia was not made

known to the public and was simply declared as a case of colds

Fabricated stateht fever,” or “The

princess was already on her way to recovery,” were intentionally

leaked out to complete the story Duke did not have the means to

find out how Leti fared after he had left her, and he often found

hi while unconsciously

looking east, where the Royal Palace was

“Senpai1

, has your father recovered from his cold?”

“His cold… Ah, yeah, yeah, he’s healthy now I doubt he’ll be

leaving us any time soon”

During the three days that Leti was on the brink of life and

death, Duke told a lie that he was asked to go home for a while

because his father, Lord Barchet, was sick, in order to cover up for

his absence while he stood as Leti's bodyguard

‘That was close, I nearly forgot the story I made up as my excuse’

“Ah, I heard that the Princess was sick as well”

“So I heard, though she doesn’t seem to be one defeated by a

e of hope, wishi+ng

that Leti was truly well Duke orried about her, enough for

1 Senpai – a japanese honorific used in addressing one’s senior

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

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him to think that he would endure Leti's relentless invitations to be

her knight if only it would make her feel better

“Hmm… Then I won’t really knohich of them is…” Death

would have proven they were

thought and Duke did not catch what he said

“What was that?”

“Eh? Did I say anything?”

Duke was puzzled with Astrid’s reaction, so he thought it was

just the wind After disht, his heart went back to

Leti, and he even thought of asking Prince Friedhelm directly to

inquire about her condition

Just as Duke was thinking of how to get information on Leti, it

cah

Leti herself

“…Ah …Good day, I’lad you’re fine now”

“Thank you”

Duke had returned to the ca called to clean up a

squabble in town Upon his return, he saw Princess Leticia in the

carandeur like she owned the place

The other knights were staring at her fro

of how beautiful and elegant she hile Duke wanted to shout

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“Don’t be fooled by her looks!” at them because he knew that

beyond her pretty face was a wouts than any

knight in the Order

“Unfortunately, I a”

“I understand May I know your business then, Your

Highness?”

“I caive an invitation”

Leti took out from her purse a white envelope sealed with red

wax and gave it to Duke The envelope was so high class that

Duke knew he’d be chastised if he tore it open with his bare hands

“Ah, Senpai, I’ll get you a paper knife!”

Duke took the expensive-looking antique paper knife Astrid

brought and carefully opened the envelope

“Thanks”

Duke returned the paper knife to Astrid, opened the invitation

and read its contents

“Tea party?

“Yes, as thanks for the other day”

Duke remembered that Leti did say she’d thank him He

appreciated Leti’s sincerity, but wearily thought that she could’ve

thanked him in a different manner A tea party hosted by the next

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

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queen couldn’t possibly be anything but grand, and he – the son of

a poor baron – would definitely be a fish out of water He could

already iine hoard he’d be in there

“…I’m very honored by your invitation, but please allow me to

decline it Such a gathering is too much for someone like me who

has yet to even inherit the barony”

“I was expecting you would refuse, so I just made it a small,

intimate party with only my close family in attendance It is a

simple event I wished to host in order to show them that I have

fully recovered I did not want the too much”

Duke once again took a look at the elegant invitation Strictly

speaking, Duke was part of the nobility – though barely

the cut But even if he came from a baron’s family, he was not

fa to the theater

or tea parties

“If you have a fiancée or a lover, you can take her with you

Once I becos will be busier, so it is best if you

introduce her to me, your future master, early on”

“Wait, wait, wait In a broad sense you will be my master but

specifically speaking you won’t be…”

He really could not let his guard down around Leti, who kept

on talking as if he really would be her knight in the near future On

the other hand, he wouldn’tto the tea party if it really

was just a shly likely that even

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if he refused the invitation, Leti would find some way or another

to drag him to it on the day itself He decided the safest reply

would be, “I’ll think about it,” since he’d have to leave if anything

came up with the Order

Duke escorted Leti until the caates, and soon after she

was gone, he let out a deep, deep sigh of exhaustion and relief

“A fiancée, huh… Guess it won’t be rude even if I came

without a partner It’s not an evening ball anyway”

Duke thought of asking a friend familiar with the customs of

high society when realization suddenly hit him

“Wait a second, her close fa…”

It had slipped past him, but he just realized now that the family

members of PRINCESS Leticia meant the Royal Family Her small,

inti meant only the Royal Family would be in

attendance because if it were soer, then there’d be

other peers and nobles to attend

“…all the more I won’t fit in!”

Leti had known that and deliberately used those words to

make Duke think otherwise He was such an idiot, to be tricked by

Leti with such a simple play on words Now that she was back on

her feet, she i troublesome

He chided that part of hiratulate

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

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Leti on her recovery and decided he’d better bring a companion

with him to the party

“Astrid, are you free on the day after tomorrow? Yes, you’re

free so cohness’ tea

party”

Of course, Duke’s primary choice for companion was his

bubbly junior in the Order, Astrid, as quite a fan of the

beautiful princess Needless to say, Astrid immediately accepted

the offer

“But is it fine for me to come? I’m just a commoner”

“That’s exactly why I chose you You’re a commoner and you

can be my conversation partner I doubt I’d have anyone to talk to

there We’ll go ho a cup of tea”

Astrid dreained a world he could not even fathom,

and the only clear ie was the beautiful Princess Leticia

“Ah! Should we bring presents? Are there rules on what to

bring or not? There’s a bakeshop in town I highly recommend”

“…When I’m with you, I feel like I’m stupid sometimes”

It would be good if Duke could just innocently enjoy the

upco event, but he was a serious man by nature and he could

not help but worry about things

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“Wear your foret your cape and white

gloves And polish your boots Don’t bring any speck of dust with

you”

“Yes sir! Is the cape the grey one ore during the

Induction Ceremony?”

“Yeah, that one Is it still grey? If it’s too dirty, borrow one

from the others”

“…Yes …I think?”

The Royal Chivalric Order had ten ranks and their ranks were

shown by the color of their capes and the lines on it So the

neophytes, including Astrid, were Knights of the Tenth Rank and

they had grey capes with no lines The Commander of the Order

was a knight of the First Rank and his cape was black with lines

The color got darker the higher the rank, so one could easily know

it

“They should reverse the color-coding The younger ones have

a higher tendency to dirty their capes,the color closer to

that of the Commander’s”

So here were two knights going to the same tea party: the

junior with a cape nearing the color black, drea of the

upcos ended up

happening this way and deciding to review and reflect on the

events that lead to it

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

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“It is an honor to be here today, Your Highness”

Duke preparing for the obligatory greeting for such an

occasion, but since he lacked practice in saying such words, his

words were monotonous and lifeless After the customary

acknowledgements, he took Leti's fair and slender hand and

respectfully brought it to his lips

“It is my pleasure to have you here Please enjoy yourselves”

Leti welcomed him with her perfected smile, just as an ideal

princess would, and looked at the lad behind Duke

“My naht of the Tenth Rank of the

Royal Chivalric Order I hu me

join this occasion”

“I have heard things about you froer brother, such

as your exceptional skills as a swordse

Do share some of your stories with me later,” Leti said and flashed

a smile at Astrid

Duke, watching the exchange, thought that he would keep in

the deepest parts of his

face, as if he had seen a Goddess brought to life fro

He had long given up on warning Astrid against Leti’s beauty,

knowing that his efforts would only fall on deaf ears

“This way”

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As Leti showed thearden, they saw Friedhelm

playing with the children, carrying a child on each of his arm

When he saho the newcomers were, he slowly lowered the

children and waved his hand to greet Duke

“Is that Astrid Gale behind you? This is a good chance to

invite him to Seventh Heaven2

”

Friedhelreeted Duke briefly and went on to pat Astrid on

the shoulder While Friedhel his passionate

invitations to Astrid, Leti coldly called out Duke’s attention

“I re your fiancée or lover, but…

anyway, I a master and I will not

be saying anything about your preferences as long as you do your

job well”

Duke understood thebehind Leti's words and

decided to clear up anyinside her

head

“One, I do not have a fiancée or a lover And two, I brought

Astrid here as my companion to have someone to talk to ‘cause

I’m quite sure there’d be no place for me in a tea party for the

Royal Family”

“Oh, I see”

The relief on Leti's face only added to his vexation

2 Seventh Heaven: Friedhelm’s own chivalric order

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

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“You need not to worry since I have everything arranged You

shall be at the adult’s table Think of this as a way to train your

junior”

Duke’s table, as Leti promised, was composed of the older

guests in the party The youngest was sixteen and the oldest was

three-and-twenty However, with a table composed of Friedhelm,

Leonhardt, Duke, and Astrid, finding a common topic for

conversation was impossible

“Duke-senpai! The tea is a! This is the first time I’ve

drank a tea this fragrant and smooth”

“…Good for you”

… … … …

“Let’s just say this is better than having Guido-ani’ue3 here as

well”

Leonhardt’s words were indeed true, for if Guido were to join

theer pass as aard – it would

autoo home

“Well, I’ll just go and have a heart-to-heart talk with my

younger brothers”

3 Ani’ue: A japanese honorific used to address one’s older brother More oldfashi+oned

than the common Onii-san

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Leonhardt escaped the aard atmosphere and moved to a

different table, carrying his teacup and some snacks At least now,

the group could have small talk Duke threw Friedhelm a topic

“…Your highness, are you in good terms with Princess

Leticia?”

“Of course not She just invited y to what

she did a while back”

“Apology?”

“For serving oblet of water when I visited her”

“Aaaah…”

Duke co with a

wry soblet of

water talking with the younger guests at a different table

“All of thes?”

“No There are so us as

siblings despite being one just sho much of a bad older

brother I ae on this one”

Duke could not hide his surprise at Friedhelm’s words He

sounded like he was giving Leti credit and recognizing her for it

Friedhel it was the truth

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

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“It’s not like I only think of myself, you know? The country is

dom and start a

war”

Friedhelm still could not completely rid himself of the pride he

held as the first-born prince He grew up being told that he would

be the one succeeding the throne – of course he could not accept

it if Guido took the crown, but he was ready to convince himself

for Leti But he had a condition: Leti would be a good ruler, or

else he would bring her down That was Friedhelm’s condition, his

point of compromise

“I think Your Highness will also be a good ruler”

“‘Also,’ huh? Wonder who the other one is… Anyway, I

gratefully accept your compliment”

Hearing the conversation over at the men’s table, Leti turned

around and pointed in their direction Holding the hand of a small,

young lady, Leti approached their table

“Astrid, could you act as her practice partner for

introductions?”

“Me-me-me…me?”

Astrid was surprised at the sudden request

“The best partner is someone she does not know The

nervousness that comes with it is nearly the same as the real one

Well then…”

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“Uhmm… It is a pleasure to meet you I am Misty Fal Edelle”

Misty gathered her skirts to the side, raised it a bit, and bent

her knees in a curtsy

“I aht of the Tenth Rank of the Royal

Chivalric Order It is an honor to meet you”

Astrid took Misty’s hand to kiss it, but it ard due to

the difference in their height

“Astrid, you’ve got to kneel down and meet her eyes,”

Friedhelm said

“Oh, right Pardon me”

Following Friedhelm’s advice, Astrid knelt down, then chastely

placed a kiss on Misty’s dainty hand Misty looked up at Leti with

sparkling eyes, waiting for her approval that she had done it well

“You were excellent”

Misty’s face glowed upon hearing Leti’s praise and having her

head patted Even Duke could not help it but smile at such a

heartwar scene

“Friedhelm-onii-sama4

, carry me!”

4 Onii-sah person

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

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In an instant, their table was surrounded by the royal children

pulling Friedhel him to play with them Friedhelm

gave in to their requests and stood up

“We’re gonna take turns, line up! Remember, your cool

brother is no longer that young, so don’t push me too hard Astrid,

come and help me”

“Yes, sir!”

Friedhel the children in the

spacious garden Leti, freed fro after the

young ones, took a seat beside Duke

“Was it fine to invite Prince Friedhelm alone? Weren’t you

going to keep the balance?”

“I will invite Prince Guido next tih I know not if he

will come”

“Next tiht this tea party was to celebrate your

recovery?”

“Well, it is, partly – but this party is really a regular event I host

once a s how to comport

themselves If they learn and acquire the necessary manners

needed early on, they will develop these as habits and will no

longer be eo out into society

You are welcome to join us”

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Duke could not reconcile this kind and caring older sister Leti

with the high-handed queen he encountered on a regular basis But

this kind older sister was the reason why the neutral faction held

the majority of the royal children

“…No, this one tih I feel so out of place here”

“You should get used to these kind of events You cannot

keep on saying that when you becoht”

“How many times do I have to I tell you? I have no intention

of becoht”

Duke always corrected Leti whenever she snuck that

suggestion in With those state more and

more frequent, he remembered someone who sounded just like

her Yes, Leti was very much like her older brother Friedhelm,

as currently playing with his younger siblings

“The two of you really are brother and sister Especially that

independent attitude you both have, and your tendency not to

listen to what others are saying”

“I get that quite a lot That I look a lot like Prince Guido

outside, but inside I am similar with Prince Friedhelm But I am

really connected to them only by half… I think I should wrap this

up This is no longer study but play time”

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

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Leti gathered everyone and said that it was tio home

She led each child back to either their nurses or governesses,

leaving only the adult group behind

The tea party started and ended peacefully without any

proble It

was a carefully calculated plan that was executed to meet certain

objectives: one – to teach her younger siblings, two – to deepen

her friendshi+p with Duke, and three – a chance to repair her

relationshi+p with her older brother Now that the tea party was

over, she concluded this plan as a success and started to give her

closing greetings

“Thank you verytoday I hope…”

The leaves on the tree rustled behind Leti, and then everything

else happened in a flash

Friedhelm pulled Leti closer to him, Duke stood in front to

protect them, and Astrid took out his sword

Leti was surprised with the sudden turn of events, but she

remained calm, surprised but not scared, and she peered at Astrid

through the space between Friedhelm’s arms

“Senpai! Cover for me please”

Astrid walked along the sides of the table and grabbed an

e for the part where

the branches were still shaking But the cup hit a branch and broke

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into pieces Then, to everyone’s surprise, they heard a high-pitched

cry and a black lump of mass fell on Astrid

“Uah!”

Astrid caught the soft, black fur ball It had large circular eyes

and a long tail The only word to describe the fallen creature

was…

“This… looks… like… a cat”

“Let’s still check Astrid, climb up”

“Ah, roger! Please hold the cat”

Astrid deftly climbed up the tree and confirmed that there was

nothing else on top He juround and

landed perfectly on his feet

“Glad it’s just a cat, right? I was utterly surprised Both with

the cat and how good your cooperation was! Why don’t the three

of you just be Ane'ue’s5

knights? Ahahaha!”

Leonhardt’s words, poking fun at theht the three men

back to their senses Friedhelo of Leti and distanced

hi in his arms, and Duke

aardly moved his hand up and down the handle of the sword

he was holding in battle stance

5 Ane'ue: A japanese honorific used to address one’s older sister More oldfashi+oned

than the common Onee-san

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

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“This is just ht’s instinct at work, you see…”

“Oh, I see…” Leti said

“And I just move on instinct You see, Guido has been

targeting me for a while and…”

“Oh, yes, I see…” Leti agreed with Friedhelm

“I’

the cup!”

“That’s fine Thank you for saving me”

Duke and Friedhel that they were

idiots If they just acted the way Astrid did and honestly told Leti

that they were glad she was safe, then that would’ve been the end

of it But no, they had to let their egos get in the way and make

ridiculous excuses

“Aaah, I get it Gio find someplace I can

leave it The tea and snacks were delicious See ya!” Friedhelm said

as he took the cat by its nape and walked away Then they heard

Friedhelm shout, likely because the cat scratched his face It

looked like both of the honest with themselves

Putting aside the older brother whose relationshi+p with Leti

still needed to be patched up, Leti looked at the men left Leti saw

Leonhardt busy helping Astrid take off the cat fur stuck on

Astrid’s knight uniform, and then she faced Duke

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“Duke, thank you”

Duke did not kno to respond to Leti's unexpected word

of thanks He could not retort with “be grateful” since he already

said a while back that it was all his knight’s instinct at work

“That… That was nothing”

“Better accept ratitude while you still can, because I do

not have any intention of thanking you once you become my

knight”

“Why do you keep on saying that?”

Duke pressed his te inside,

wondering why in the world Leti could not understand him

“Hey, didn’t you see Astrid a while ago? He’s a good knight,

isn’t he? He is a co, but his

skills are top-notch within the Order And based on what I see,

he’s pretty willing to be your knight So why don’t you just give up

on me and take Astrid instead?”

“Astrid Gale… Indeed, he is a good knight, but…”

Astrid was a good knight, and even Leonhardt recommended

hiated, and she came

up with a conclusion based on that information

“I do not have the confidence to control him He is no

ordinary knight and it ht become troublesome”

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

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“…Oi”

“I was incessantly told by reat uncle to

trainpeople, so I am quite confident with it

– that is why I chose you”

Leti did not say anything else; her silence declared that this

conversation was over Duke, on the other hand was secretly

astonished at how perceptive Leti was He had also thought that

Astrid Gale was no ordinary commoner Astrid had not said a

word about it, but having seen hiht – kill

without flinching, Duke had thought Astrid ht have worked as

a mercenary before And Leti had noticed that immediately

Indeed, Duke could no longer see Leti as a sheltered princess

Leti nonchalantly walked towards the tree Astrid climbed,

looking up its height She stepped forward to the tree and her

heelsthat the other men

did not notice, but Leti did, because of the fact she was the only

one who underwent the rigorous training of being a perfect lady

‘If he can kill the sound of his footsteps at such a height…I can only

conclude not so good things about him’

One of the things required of an accomplished lady was to be

able to gracefully dance the waltz Evening balls would have

dancing, and dancing included waltzing, so not being able to do it

was unacceptable for any lady of good breeding Moreover, to

clailide and move

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like a fairy – gracefully and silently A dancer with noisy feet was

found to be vulgar and barbaric

“…I guess he is someone to be wary of”

The tea party Leti hosted as training for her younger siblings,

as a way to deepen her relationshi+p with Duke, and as an

opportunity to repair her relationshi+p with her brother ended up

leaving uneasiness and worry upon its conclusion

One clear and fine day, a cheery Leonhardt came to visit Leti's

rooht

overcoat Leti had a bad feeling about where this was going, so she

asked Leonhardt what this was all about before putting it on

“Well, we’re currently airing the scrolls of the artifact inventory

and you, Ane'ue, are most welcome to join us”

“Is that related, in any way, to my lessons?”

“Ehhh… uhmm… ah! I’ll explain which are owned by our

family and so on… plus, plus we also have in there one of our

national treasures! The original manuscript of the book on the

Knight King’s legends! You know, the one about hi

Evil?”

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

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“You are the only one ould get excited about that

Anyway, I understand I shall lend you a hand”

Leti reluctantly wore the coat and gloves and helped in taking

out the ancient scrolls Doing such work made Leti asked why

copies of it weren’t made, but they answered that it would be a

probleic in it,

agreed as she dusted off a sheet and laid it neatly on the wooden

stand

“Don’t you find it interesting that the Knight King’s sword

and the phantom twelve Promise Swords are included in the list?”

“Well, is it?”

“Think about this: putting aside the question if they are real or

not, we have the age-old, rusted and worn out Knight Sword

owned by the Knight King Christian himself, but the twelve

Prohts are

nowhere to be found So here’s the interesting part, at least for a

historian Why did Ad Karlheinz include the

Promise Swords in his inventory? Was it just for the sake of an

idea, an impossible dream? Or was it because those swords indeed

existed during that tiht?

Ahahaha!”

Leonhardt showed Leti the sheet containing the swords

Indeed, the Knight King’s sword and the Proiven to

his twelve knights ritten in the inventory

- 26 -

“Your beloved King Karlheinz was the one who compiled this

inventory, you know? I’m sure this took a lot of his time to do this,

but we are really grateful for his efforts”

“Well, he seems to be the type of person ould like these

kind of meticulous tasks”

Leti was quite certain that the ones who did the actual job were

his servants following his orders, but someone ould even

co Karlheinz as

meticulous She wanted to know the reason why he kept such a list,

but she had yet to meet him in his later years, so she hadn’t had

the chance to ask him directly in that place

“I haven’t heard that in a while,” Leonhardt said as he opened

the book he was holding and brushed off a dead insect’s body

“Heard what?”

“You speak as if you’re friends with some historical

personalities Don’t you reht me history that

way?”

“…Really…”

Leonhardt’s body hen he was small, so their