Vol 1 Chapter 59 (1/2)
Published
at 31st of March 2019 10:57:51 AM
Chapter 59
Chapter 59 – First day (Part 2)
Members of the royal family would only begin to officially a.s.sume their responsibilities when they turned eighteen .
However, as a princess, Cornelia still had the responsibility of entertaining guests, such as foreign dignitaries and prominent n.o.bles .
She had just attended one such event, where she had to silently suffer through pompous flattery from the n.o.bles that had come to see her father . Finally done with it, she rushed through a maze of corridors to her quarters in the inner palace .
The hallways were pointlessly long and wide, which made getting anywhere a slog .
She pa.s.sed by intricately crafted pillars one by one . The finest architects and artists in the land had labored to raise this symbol of the empire’s glory, but to the palace’s inhabitants, it was just their home .
Privately, she wished the people who had built the palace hadn’t made it so vast .
It’s Wynn’s first day and I’ve already kept him waiting!
Seeing her run through the castle halls made the knights and staff frown . But time and time again, whoever tried to stop and scold her would suffer a nasty surprise and find themself attempting to chide a princess . A hurried polite greeting would be issued to mask the faux-pas .
Cornelia’s dress wasn’t typical royal attire and didn’t signal her status . She wore one that was plain and unadorned, comfortable to work in .
Mary’s going to scold me for this, won’t she? Oh, speak of the devil .
A familiar face appeared ahead . It was Mary indeed .
Seeing Cornelia, the girl bowed deeply .
“Excuse my tardiness . Has Wynn arrived yet?”
“Yes, princess . He is here, but… ”
“Is anything amiss?”
Mary recounted her exchange with Raymond .
“I see . Viscount Hoffman… The one who belongs to Marquis Cliffdorf’s faction?”
“He is a newly appointed Court Mage . ”
Could Cliffdorf be aiming to increase his faction’s influence among the Court Mages?
Historically, the Knight Order and the Court Mages did not interact very often .
In contrast to the militaristic knights, the mages prefered to mingle with the bureaucrats, and many of them a.s.sumed bureaucratic jobs in their old age .
That gave the mages a lot of influence .
The Cliffdorfs placing one of their own in the Court Mages’ ranks was a sign that they were trying to have a slice of that pie .
“It is also worth mentioning that Sir Bard did not come in uniform today . ”
“Is that so? I hope you gave him a warning?”
“Yes, Highness . It was done . ”
The two women walked side-by-side towards the inner palace and Cornelia’s private quarters .
Once they got there, the princess saw her friend and cla.s.smate from the Knight Academy . After four long years, he had finally become a knight, even if, officially, he was just a part of the Imperial Guard under Cornelia’s direct command and not a part of any chivalric order…
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“Good morning to you, Your Highness . ”
“Good morning, Wynn . You may call me Cornelia when no one else is around . I do consider you an important friend of mine, after all . ”
“Understood, Princess Cornelia . ”
“Dispense with the formalities . I insist . ”
“Umm, okay… uhhh, Cornelia? . ”
Despite some awkwardness, Wynn obediently addressed her normally as he had in the past . Cornelia smiled happily, then appraised his appearance through narrowed eyes .
“I see that your new clothes have not yet arrived … Or did they not fit you, perhaps?”
“The size wasn’t the problem . I’m still a squire though, and your personal Guardian Knight order has not yet been officially established . I felt out of place wearing the uniform . ”
“Is that so? I think it suits you perfectly though!”
Wynn could only reply with a sheepish chuckle .
His Imperial Guard uniform was made of a luxurious white fabric .
And only those of the highest rank wore white .
For official functions, that color was restricted to a select few: royalty, the heads of n.o.ble families given peerage, and ministers sitting in the Cabinet .
Furthermore, the brilliant white of his uniform was accentuated by blue cuffs, a blue collar, and embroidery sewn in gold and silver .
At the moment, it was uniform only Wynn had the honour of wearing .
He was currently the sole Guardian Knight of Cornelia, and she was an unmarried princess . There would likely be resistance to him being that close to her .
Alfred seemed to be busy with laying the necessary groundwork so that the optics of the situation were right before it was announced .
Very few had heard about Cornelia’s new guard order, and those who did knew nothing more than rumours .
“Mary did tell me to wear it regularly though . She said I would get used to it . ”
“If you wear the uniform often, you’ll learn how to project a befitting appearance . ”
Wynn sighed .
“But I did put on the emblem . ”
He pointed to his chest .
Cornelia’s crest, a star-shaped bellflower, gleamed on his chest .
“I guess I have no choice but to get used to it . ”
The princess entered her room with a resigned smile and offered Wynn a seat .
Mary promptly went about preparing tea for the two of them .
“By the way, what do I have to do as a Guardian Knight?”
“Good question… ”
Cornelia contemplated the question for a short while .
“Normally, you would remain by my side as a guard during official functions… But since my presence is not required for any of them at the moment, having tea with me every once in a while will be sufficient . ”
“Hmm . That doesn’t really sound like work . ”
“Also, since I intend to continue attending the Academy, my safety while on the school grounds shall be in your hands . ”
“Oh, yeah, they finally announced that the Knight Academy is opening again . I’m happy that I don’t have to pay another enrollment fee or anything . ”
The Academy that had been closed since the coup was finally opening its doors again .
The school officials had worked frantically to replace all the faculty members who had died during the incident .
There was also pressure to reorganize the knight orders in response to the worsening relations with Petersia .
Therefore, the officials decided to make an exception and allow the students who were enrolled last year to re-enroll .
And so, all the students who had gone through the coup were exempt from the selection examinations and automatically promoted .
Those who had been mere cadets became squires .
Those who had been squires became full-fledged knights .