Vol 1 Chapter 2 (2/2)

mother stayed with him while Leti was left alone most of the time

To overco’s

space and talked with the his other reincarnations, and when she

woke up, she shared the stories they talked about with Leonhardt

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

- 27 -

“Your stories were like vivid dramas written by a wonderful

historical playwright so I remember them well I became a

historian because I was attracted to those behind-the-scene stories

you told me In other words, it was you who made me become like

this Ahahaha!”

“Do not put the blame on me”

Leti took another volues,

and her eyes stopped on a particular article

“Is this book worthy to be included in this list?”

“The original copy, yes The one available in the Archive is just

a replica”

The article that caught Leti’s attention was a book – a

collection of stories on what happened to Lion King Alexander

after his dethronement

According to history, King Alexander’s most trusted friend

and Pri him in

the process However, one of his loyal knights brought his corpse

outside the kingdom and continued to lament for him, so the body

of the Lion King was not in the Royal Tomb Since there was no

body and particular location of death, some theories came out

saying that he was not dead Then, during the time of

Ad those stories

ritten, and the original copy made its way into the Royal

Inventory

- 28 -

“Is the original one an academic book? I have only read the

idiotic book containing unbelievable after-death theories on King

Alexander”

“Exactly as you say, they were all unbelievable stories Though

I find the one saying King Alexander did not die, but continued to

live and become a pirate in the Southern Seas and conquered a

country, ”

Hearing Leonhardt say the theories were fictitious stunned Leti

Upon finishi+ng arranging a batch of the inventory, Leti took off

the coat and gloves and told hi them

Leti started to walk faster towards the Royal Villa She wanted

clean herself since she was still feeling dust all over her despite

wearing an overcoat, and she kept brushi+ng it off her dress She

chose to take the route less traveled and passed by people to

prevent seeing her in such a disheveled state However, despite her

efforts, a palace guard came out of a corner and bowed his head to

her She continued to walk on, i how nice a bath would

be, when she stopped sensing anyone around her She silenced her

footsteps and quietly moved toward the presence she felt

“Isn’t it ‘bout time? The race to the throne is finished Make

up your mind and join Seventh Heaven already Your seat has yet

to be taken”

Leti heard the voice of her older brother, and he was probably

talking with his best friend She came to the conclusion that the

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

- 29 -

only thing they would talk about in a deserted place such as this

would be their true feelings

“You’re wasting your ti

an unaffiliated knight”

“If, as you say, the race for the crown is over, then all the more

I should stay under Prince Guido’s faction out of duty My family

may be at the tail end, but we’re still part of the nobility, and that is

a complicated world”

Duke wanted to end the conversation there, but Friedhelm still

had so to say

“I’ up Guido’s name in this

conversation I was sure it would be Leticia's”

“That is more unbelievable”

Duke, feeling as if his defenses were being stripped down,

turned his back on Friedhel of how

pointless the conversation was But Friedhelm was not yet done

with him

“Do you knohat it ht?”

Friedhelm wrapped his left hand around Duke’s neck

“If you were ordered to, you’ve got to kill me like this Can

you really do it?”

- 30 -

Friedhelm’s action tested Duke’s friendshi+p with him – and he

was testing whether or not Duke orthy to be Leti's knight

Leti, on the other hand, let out a silent sigh as she watched the two

men’s competition of stubbornness from afar

‘Duke never considered anyone else but you You are a fool to doubt that’

Leti wanted to wait for theo their separate ways, but

since their glaring contest seemed like it would last forever, she

decided to end it herself

“Would you please stop harassing ht?”

“…Leticia”

“I am not one to intentionally wound other people If I wanted

you dead, I would not ask Duke to do it for me; I would do it

myself Just like this”

Friedhelainst the small

of his back He could acutely feel the shuddering cool of the metal

but his clothes and skin were still intact Leti was pressing some

kind of blade against hi only his

clothes as his shi+eld One wrong move and he was sure that Leti's

weapon would cut into him

“At least make your hands shake a little You really ain’t

adorable at all”

“Shall I make my hands tremble next time?”

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

- 31 -

Friedhelm raised his hands in surrender, and Leti finally

stepped away from him He turned around to see what her weapon

was but she had already hidden it

“…Well, I guess it is better for you to have a knife to protect

yourself We are supposedly targeting your life, after all”

“Yes, that is about it So would youahead and

leaving ht in private?”

“Yes, yes See ya ‘round Duke!”

Friedhelhten up the

ly said to Duke that their friendshi+p was quite

disturbing She was also starting to hate that part of herself that

was always trying to calht

years found a way to ingrain such an attitude in her

“Where are your guards?”

“I left them inside the treasure room with Leonhardt, who is in

heaven right now Besides, I do not think anyone would be stupid

enough to attack ht”

“But still… oh, forget it I understand perfectly that you’ll

listen and literally listen only to what I have to say Moving on,

where exactly did you hide that knife? A girl with a hidden knife is

just as disturbing, in my humble opinion”

Duke was thankful for Leti's kindness in lightening up the

ed the topic He examined Leti's appearance from

- 32 -

head to toe and did not find anything amiss from her usual perfect

stance But just when he was convinced, Leti reached out for the

ribbon on her back

“Hiding a knife in a dress is impossible That was a spoon”

“…Huh?”

“It need not be a real blade; anything that can produce the

same cold metallic feel when pressed on one’s back can be

mistaken as one Besides, I cannot kill anyone with a spoon no

ainst someone”

Let took out from her ribbon a silver spoon and showed it to

Duke He was dumbfounded by the fact that she really had one,

but Leti just shrugged her shoulders at him and returned it to her

ribbon

“You can’t protect yourself with a mere spoon, you know?”

“I know… besides, I do not need a knight; I can protect

myself The only reason why I need one is to fill up all of the posts

for the Knights of the Round So I a my head

and begging you to take the first seat”

“I’ve told you my answer already And I haven’t seen you bow

your head to me,” Duke instantly retorted, but restrained himself

fro else that could lead the conversation astray

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

- 33 -

“I’ent you are, but you

should also know that sometimes those qualities alone are not

enough to deal with the situation”

“Are you worried about me?’

“…Yes If anything happens to the kingdom’s future queen,

it’ll be a huge catastrophe”

Duke’s reply was still unsure and not honest with himself, but

Leti said that such a reply would do for now She walked away and

left Duke alone

“Thes complicated”

Leti was not deht in the truest

sense of the word – a knight that would swear his life and loyalty

to his

else but a true knight

“Lion King Alexander and Revolution King Julius were best

friends, too King Julius betrayed King Alexander, but King

Alexander never found it in his heart to hate his friend That

proves how strong their bond was, and I am sure that what Duke

and Onii-sama has is the same”

Leti's feet stopped, wondering whether or not she really had

what it took to break into that bond

‘If only I had the qualities Friedhelm Onii-sama has, qualities suited to

be the king, then…’

- 34 -

Leti shook her head, driving away the negative thoughts, and

told herself that there wasn’t anything good in wishi+ng for

soive her best efforts

to be her ideal self

“I will not give up on you, Duke Not until you are the one

that will coht I will

not stop”

Duke ht have shouted, “Give me a break!” if he heard

Leti's encouragement for herself

Duke, conorant of Leti's newfound determination,

went back to camp to take his meal The food from the camp’s

cafeteria was quite decent in taste and generous with the servings

Upon taking his seat, he fiddled with the unused spoon and fork

with his fingers

“Senpai?”

Duke pressed the spoon on Astrid’s back, befuddling his

junior by his actions

“Astrid, what is this I’ on your back?”

“Eh…? A spoon? A fork? A spoon”

“How did you know?”

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

- 35 -

“It would be pricklier if it were a fork”

Duke removed the spoon from Astrid, then took the fork in

his hands He agreed with Astrid’s answer and asked another

question

“Then you wouldn’t mistake a spoon for a knife?”

“That’s a bit hard to identify I mean both have round tips…”

“Round? I don’tknife, I mean a weapon, like a

short blade”

Astrid thought of what Duke said

“I don’t think I’d make a mistake on that But maybe the

presence, the ie it”

“Right…”

Noas Duke’s turn to think Leti said it was a spoon, but

was it really a spoon? She also said the sa before, that it

was a spoon that broke his cup6

, but he was not really convinced

“This is the second ti different

about her I can no longer convincewas my

iination”

Duke felt that Leti was hiding so

was definitely not a spoon

6 See Chapter I

- 36 -



“An art inventory? That sounds like a very tireso to

do”

Leti asked the young Administrative Karlheinz she met in the

Knight King’s space today about the inventory list, but the young

King still hadn’t thought about it

“But I can think of several reasons why I would do such a

thing One of theies that

sometimes pose as art pieces I may have come up with that idea

to help the next reincarnation of the Knight King, as sometimes

the interval between one is long”

“Ghost Energy?” Leti and Heart-broken King Ludgar asked in

unison

King Ludgar was a reincarnation of the Knight King after

Leti's tireat accomplishments in his

name, and he had a proper posthumous title worthy of those But

the countless number of times his heart was broken left a mark in

history, earning hi, to

which he was more known for – or so Leti had heard from later

kings after him

“Ghost Energies are artifacts fro Christian’s

ti

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

- 37 -

Christian granted to his knights – in other words, weapons created

by his eneies have a

flaw, so they were later known as cursed items”

“What is their flaw? Do they suck life?”

“Yes Ghost Energy can give its user the strongest power they

desire by converting the user’s life force Thus, these items are

branded as cursed by those who knew nothing Most people die in

half a year after harnessing its power”

Karlheintz story provided the source of the cursed articles

co out in stories Leti nodded as she knew another of

history’s secrets

“Ghost Energies no longer exist in our time, don’t they?

Creepy,” Heart-broken King Ludgar said, shrugging his shoulders

“I believe

Alexander’s and ht have been one or two

left in your time, Queen Leticia”

“How shall I deal with it?”

“Well, you…”



“…Intruder!”

Leti jolted up, took the short blade hidden under her pillow,

and looked around She only had to stall the intruder until her

- 38 -

guards came, and besides, she could protect herself even if they

came in late

“Someone, come here quickly!” Leti cried out in the dark to

her guards, ere supposed to be right outside her room

Suddenly, she felt a strong, murderous intent She lifted the

darkness with so unseen, and then a shrill sound came,

followed by knives – but neither touched Leti, for she was

surrounded by so

them on the floor

“Don’t tell me you’re…” The assassin murmured in the

darkness Leti felt as if she had seen the sharp, piercing green eyes

of the assassin His voice sounded familiar as well She frantically

searched her ether

“I am what?”

“You’re the kni…”

“Your Highness! Are you safe!?”

The assassin chose to retreat when he heard the voices of the

guards He quietly climbed down the here he seemed to

have entered from

“Your Highness!”

The guards ca into the dark room, but Leti

answered calmly that she was fine

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

- 39 -

“The intruder ran away through theStation a guard

by it and then contact the Order Tell theo after him,

though I doubt they can catch him”

Leti gave her orders one after the other and drove her guards

out of her roo the

assassin’s knives, and she scattered those on top of the sheets to

make it look like she used them as her shi+eld She wouldn’t want

people to wonder how she was able to evade all of the knives in

the dark

“Argh! And ere in theabout Ghost

Energy”

Leti still didn’t knohat kinds of things were considered as

Ghost Energy or how to destroy one But since she hadn’t heard

any news pertaining to cursed ite

Karlheinz again about this topic on a later date

“Your Highness, we have come to clean your room Shall we

prepare a different room for you to rest?”

“No, thank you It is a bit early, but I shall continue on with

my day Could you prepare tea for me?”

“Yes, Your Highness”

If she were being honest, Leti wanted to lie down and sleep

again, but decided against it After all, today was an important day

for her

- 40 -

“But to think I a to start this day like this…”

Leti’s day started with al killed She didn’t feel

good about it, but decided to put it on the side so as not to ruin

the rest of her day Today was the day she was given permission to

attend, or rather to observe, frodom’s

politics She was allowed to join thesessions to show her

how the Kingdom was run Her two older brothers had attended

several sessions already, but she was never given the chance to join,

since they thought that she would be given to some other country

or a powerful e as a bride, and there would

be no use even if she did join the s

A king’s day was nors in the

audience with his subjects

in the afternoon As of this day, Leti would be taking part in some

of these responsibilities Her s would be spent in the main

castle more, and her afternoons would be slowly filled with visits

around the kingdo’s representative It was also

highly possible that she would play a bigger role in foreign affairs

by going on diplodom

“But diploement is best suited

for Prince Friedhelm”

One, he was handsome He was such a beautiful lad, and his

amicability and friendliness radiate from his face Two, he was

open-minded and had the charisma to attract people around him

Leti thought it’d be better to leave foreign affairs with him He

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

- 41 -

probably did not realize it since it was so natural for him, but he

had this part of him that could make people feel safe and believe

that everything would be fine if they left it to him This was

so innate in him, and no amount of effort could make one

attain it

“Prince Guido is ideal for internal administration; he is just the

perfect Prime Minister type”

Compared with First Prince Friedhelm, as suited for

foreign affairs, Second Prince Guido would be better working on

the internal affairs of the Kingdo and

the needed drive to execute the plan flawlessly He’d fare better

withthe instructions

for cereh the unpredictable

tides of foreign affairs These tasks required flexibility and

versatility in dealing the situation He could siain the trust of

the people as he worked along the way, co one task after

the other

Leti could easily think of reasons why her two older brothers

could be the better kings, but she did not envy them, rather…

“…If the three of us can just cooperate and rule the kingdom

together, Sommevesle will be stable…”

If the three of the the

kingdos” posthumous

title Leti gathered the he as she

thought of the i for

- 42 -

“That is for all today Session adjourned”

Leti wondered how many names she had taken down in her

the session Around half of the cabinet

The s off the point, and then the

otheropinions If

the sessions were always like this, then Leti was sure she’d really be

known as the Rant Queen She hid behind her papers her

twitching, forced s creases in

between her eyebrows

‘Seniority is… plain troublesome The worst part is that I cannot do

anything about the stupid ones that only have high statuses… Well, I really

cannot dostupid members, either’

Despite all that, Leti are of her own shortcos Her

plate was already full just by quietly attending the

to read in between the lines and planning what to do for the future

“Princess Leticia!”

“How htkreutz?”

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

- 43 -

“If it pleases you, would you like to join me for luncheon after

this? We …”

Leti answered that she’d be glad to join him and placed her

hand on the young earl’s offered left ar the fact

that her complaints in her diary would increase She just convinced

herself that htkreutz, a

young ht prove to be useful in

the future

“I see I cannot be a Lion King or an Ad…”

“Pardon me?”

Leti's soft whisper did not reach the earl’s ear and she replied

with a s

‘I cannot be like Lion King Alexander, who can gallantly round up

Karlheinz, as able to

continue to execute internal refor

his wife, as his partner in life’

Leti ht of herself as a half-baked queen in

coht

King She could only be a queen whose sole talents were to

skillfully manipulate people of talent to work for her and return

whatever trust is given to her

- 44 -

Duke wanted to say it was all a coincidence It really was He

was just out in town for patrol duties when he saw a golden-haired

lady Even he didn’t want to believe that the said blonde lass he

saas Her Highness, Princess Leticia, roa around town and,

of course, without her guards Duke knew at once that she was out

for her incognito walk He wanted to scold her right at once, but

they were not in the right place and nor was he in the position to,

so he had second thoughts on calling out to her

“Is she headed to the North Ce someone

there?”

The North Cemetery here the Royal family was laid to

rest, and no outsiders were allowed to go there At the deepest part

of the ces of the past lay

One day, Leti, too, would be placed there for her eternal rest It

wouldn’t be peculiar to find her there; no one would scold her if

they saw her there Besides, it was a no trespassing area, but there

weren’t real guards stationed, so it had becoround for

children who did not knohat treason meant yet

Duke couldn’t decide whether he should call her or not, but by

the ti

and the sun was beginning to set He had lingered on his decision

for far too long

“Lady Cia! I wouldn’t

as you want to if you have your guards with you But if you are

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

- 45 -

alone, I think it’d be better for you to go home nohile there is

still light”

Leti, having spaced out, was surprised when she saw Duke by

her side, their long shadows standing close to each other She,

unusually, agreed silently and started walking after giving a slight

bow to pay her respects to the grave

“I did not plan to stay long, but look at the time”

Leti seemed tired, for her steps lacked their usual spirit Duke

normally did not have to adjust his pace for Leti, but today, he had

to walk a bit slowly

‘Her Highness just turned seventeen last ’

Those her age normally felt lost or confused and had a lot of

things going on inside their heads Of course it was natural to feel

those things, especially for so

such big responsibilities

“Are you worried about so?” Duke made sure that his

question sounded nonchalant

Leti replied with a sigh, “I was just disappointed with myself,

that’s all So disappointed that I was nearly able to convince myself

why I am called the Leftover Princess”

“Those who stand on top have great responsibilities to bear

That is also the reason why they have to complain sometimes, to

have so to be the wind

- 46 -

now, you know?” Duke’s kind and understanding voice said those

words as if he were an older brother persuading his younger sister

to tell him her fears Leti faltered for a moment because of that,

but it only lasted for a th came back quickly in

her eyes Her eyes sparked, showing Duke that there was no need

for his help

“That stubbornness you’ve got there inside you does not suite

a beautiful young lady… but that is exactly what a ruler needs I

areat queen”

Duke’s casual words touched Leti’s heart

‘You keep on refusing ht and yet you know and

tell me the words I desire to hear the most…I hate this situation It just

ht even more!’

Releasing her sentiments made Leti feel a little bit better, and

her steps naturally got lighter Duke was relieved to see the usual

spirit back in Leti’s steps And just as she was co back to her

normal self, Duke walked quickly and stood in front of her Three

ues, waved at him

“Why should it be him!?”

If they had just been norhts, then he could

easily tell them that he was an escort to Princess Leticia But

unfortunately, some of them were under Guido’s faction If they

found out about Leti going out of the castle alone… He could only

think of o her

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

- 47 -

“Duke! Hitting on girls while on duty, are we?”

“Of course not!”

Duke covered Leti with his back and wished for his colleagues

to go away Leti, on the other hand, was preparing for the worst If

the need arose, she would voluntarily reveal her identity and admit

that she was out on a date with Duke to cover up her incognito

walks

“…Hey, just play along and don’t move,” Duke whispered in

Leti’s ears

Leti turned around to face Duke when he slorapped his

left arht hand on her neck Before

Leti could ask hi, Duke leaned in closer and

covered her face with his Duke’s fellow knights yelled at him with

jest – exactly how Duke expected them to react

“Sorry guys, but as you can see, I’m in the middle of a date So

don’t interrupt us”

Duke, with all his ht, buried Leti’s face into his chest,

shi+elding her face froht With this, the only information

they’d have on the lady was her golden locks None would be the

wiser that the lady was Princess Leticia

“Wow! Being showy, aren’t we?”

“We get it, Duke Take all the time you need”

- 48 -

People liked to snoop their noses if so kept

a secret, but flaunt it and they’d be the ones to back out Duke

finally relaxed when his colleagues were in a distance far enough

for them not to notice Leti’s face

“Oi, we’re coht happen

again, so you’d better stop going out of the castle alone” Duke

warned Leti, who he was still holding in his arms

Leti looked up at hiht, punched him in

the sto for breath

as he struggled to identify what, exactly, hit him

“What…the…heck…are you doing?”

“This is not about what I a This is about what you

did!”

His thoughts hadn’t even cleared yet when he felt a stinging

pain on his cheeks The punch was followed by a slap delivered by

Leti’s delicate hand The only thing Duke could do was to clench

his teeth He, teary-eyed from the pain, looked up at Leti – her

face was flushed and her body was shaking in anger

“…It was just an act! Pretend!” Duke answered in his defense

when he understood what all of this was for

“You were too close!”

“Getting that close was not a big deal You are seventeen I

won’t believe you if you say you haven’t had any experience with

Okobore Hime to Entaku no Kishi+

- 49 -

this sort of thing Prince Friedhel to his heart’s

content at your age”

“Don’t underestimate a sheltered maiden’s inexperience! And

don’t you ever group ain with my stupid brother!”

Duk