Chapter 20: I Became a Swordsman in the Middle Ages

Stray Cat

"You even failed the mission? Utter incompetence!"

If you had to summarize the entire meeting in one sentence, that would be it.

Still, Windsor’s strategy officers were competent enough to systematically lay out—based on previous data—why the Windsor Knight Order must operate independently.

The nobles' responses?

“There’s no country in the world that allows such an overpowered force to act autonomously!”

“What if these superhuman individuals decided to rebel? What will you do then?”

“For the sake of Her Majesty the Queen, this unlawful force must be dismantled!”

Yep. In short: Hopeless.

After four straight hours of being chewed out, Cecilia was finally released.

“Still, it’s a bit easier having someone else to suffer through it with.”

“…”

“Don’t look at me like that. You have to make a good impression in advance to become Vice-Commander someday, so I can’t help it.”

Even Kairon seemed slightly guilty this time. He couldn’t quite look Cecilia in the eye.

“But we’re in a bit of a bind now.”

Back in the carriage, Kairon appeared deep in thought. Cecilia, on the other hand, just wanted to wrap this up quickly and run off to find Beatrice.

“Cecilia, let’s hear your thoughts.”

Of course, Cecilia wasn’t blind to the situation.

If things kept going this way, the Windsor Knight Order would be disbanded.

The nobles only had one goal: to tear the Order apart and divide its limbs between themselves. Whoever controls the strongest knights gets the greatest power.

And that was a problem.

The Windsor Knight Order was supposed to serve as a shield for future newbies—an anchor in the storm.

“In simple terms, we could accomplish a feat they couldn’t ignore, but…”

But Cecilia wanted something faster and more certain.

“Even if we do, they won’t acknowledge it.”

“…Surely they wouldn’t go that far.”

“If the powerful refuse to acknowledge it, the truth becomes meaningless. No matter what it is.”

Kairon was momentarily speechless.

Cecilia might seem like an airhead with flowers in her brain most of the time, but now and then she’d reveal just how sharp she really was.

“This complicates things.”

Kairon’s expression slightly hardened.

“I was planning to order Edward to subjugate a Special-Rank Dungeon.”

‘…Isn't that just telling him to go die?’

Special-Rank Dungeons—those that received an “irregular classification.”

Cecilia realized anew how much Kairon disliked Edward.

Even for Cecilia, clearing one cleanly would require unleashing her Secret Arts.

‘If I use my real Secret Art, it’ll definitely get exposed.’

That would immediately earn her a suspicious moniker, not to mention force her to reveal her true name—a major risk in itself.

Cecilia shook her head fervently.

“We need to understand the root of this incident.”

“The root?”

“Even if we can’t help but let the Demon Duke getting involved, a high-ranking knight returning after failing a mission was devastating.”

Cecilia spoke firmly.

“We need to erase that failure from existence.”

“…And how do you plan to do that?”

“We expose the mole. That way, the disgrace of failure will naturally shift to them.”

Then the nobles would lose all justification.

Rather than merely earning credit, if you eliminate the cause entirely through an investigation, it becomes harder to refute.

And even if they try, all you have to say is, “Are you a demon too?” and it’s game over.

“Excellent.”

“It’s nothing, really.”

Cecilia immediately puffed up with pride.

And that would become her worst decision of the year.

“Then go to the vice-commander and tell him to proceed with the investigation according to this plan—”

“You do it.”

“…”

Cecilia fell silent for a moment before speaking again.

“The vice-commander’s status as royalty would be very helpful in this case. Plus, his skills are…”

“You do it.”

“…”

Cecilia expressed a strong protest to the commander, who completely ignored her meticulously reasoned strategy.

“Vice Commander Edward is better suited for this than I am.”

That wasn’t a lie.

If Edward were converted into stats, it would be: Insight A+, Power A+.

For comparision, Kairon is: Insight B+, Power S+.

While Kairon was a power-focused character, Edward was a versatile all-rounder with no fatal flaws.

These kinds of missions were perfect for a well-rounded type.

“I strongly object.”

“You do it.”

“…”

But Cecilia’s Authority C- was brutally crushed by Kairon’s Authority SSS+.

“…Fine.”

Only then did Kairon nod in satisfaction.

Cecilia felt nothing but resentment toward him.

Once she’d accepted the mission, she had no choice but to give her all—as the perfect Sword Princess she was.

Cecilia pulled out an artifact from her bosom, which she had just in case something like this happened.

“Detective Cecilia, reporting for duty.”

“I don’t know what a ‘detective’ is, but that monocle doesn’t suit you at all.”

Cecilia was visibly shocked.

***

Still, Cecilia was a righteous knight who wouldn’t fold under pressure.

“Cecilia. I hesitate to even ask… but what’s with the monocle…?”

“Please refer to me as Detective Cecilia.”

“Damn it. She’s picked up another weird obsession again.”

Jerriway wasn’t exactly surprised by the sight.

Once or twice a year, she’d pull off something like this.

And in the Windsor Knight Order, it was an unspoken rule to humor her during such phases.

Even the gambling addict Jerriway upheld that rule.

— What, Cecilia, don’t you know that? Dragons are dead.

Once, he made Cecilia cry when she was 7. He was almost literally beaten to death by Kairon for it.

“It was a dungeon in the form of ancient ruins. Like an old city.”

Jerriway began his story, and Cecilia listened intently.

“We tried to map the area from outside detection range first. But… we got ambushed. They were lying in wait, plain as day.”

“Hmm.”

“I judged we couldn’t proceed further, so I ordered a retreat. I volunteered to buy time myself.”

“That’s why you suspected there was a mole.”

“Yeah. Even after going over everything, I can’t find a single mistake on our end.”

Jerriway was, admittedly, a wreck of a human being—a drunk, a gambling addict, and overall unreliable.

But he was also the Sword Emperor (劍帝).

And to top it off, his class was Rogue, making him an expert in dungeon expeditions, especially in ancient ruins.

Even if ambushed, for someone like him to fall was highly suspicious.

“Was the enemy a named target?”

“No, not a named one. But... they clearly knew our movements. It was as if they already had our retreat route mapped out. I got hurt trying to cover the escape.”

Cecilia thought to herself.

‘Then one of the ten who entered the dungeon must be the traitor.’

Naturally, Jerriway was on that suspect list, too.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

Cecilia gave a polite nod, hiding her thoughts. Just as she turned to leave—

“...Cecilia.”

“Yes?”

“This is... really just my personal opinion.”

“Go ahead.”

“First of all, it’s pretty certain the traitor is one of the ten who went in. Keep that in mind.”

Jerriway had hesitated to say this all along.

Honestly, if it had been anyone else investigating, he might’ve stayed silent.

But Cecilia was different. Even if he voiced his thoughts, she wouldn’t let it bias her judgment.

“It’s about Vice Commander Edward. Before the mission, he said something to me.”

“What was it?”

“He told me, if things got dangerous… abandon the others. At first, I felt bad. Did he not trust my skills? But now that the situation has become like this, I think…”

Jerriway’s eyes trembled slightly. His voice, however, carried a different weight now.

He looked up at Cecilia—not accusingly, but as if begging her to prove him wrong.

“Why would Edward say that to me?”

Cecilia’s gaze turned cold.

***

“I hope he isn’t involved.”

Cecilia sat on the rooftop of the headquarters, watching Edward leave after work.

Her silver eyes gleamed unusually bright in the moonlight.

‘I have no ill feelings toward the Vice Commander.’

Down below, Edward was smiling, cheerfully greeting his subordinates as he boarded his carriage.

The carriage rolled off into the night.

Cecilia, who had been sitting for a while, slowly rose from her spot, turning around.

‘But if—'

After Jerriway's testimony, a possibility had started to form in her mind.

The Royal Knight Commander, who had raised objections as if waiting for the chance.

The web of aristocratic interests that followed.

The conveniently timed mission failure.

Even the assignment she’d been given—had it been anyone but her, it likely would’ve ended in failure.

‘If you're using the Windsor Knights for political purposes...’

Two dungeons. Coincidentally, both were first discovered by the same person—Edward Windsor.

And yet, Cecilia hadn’t seriously suspected him. Because, there was no reason to.

Edward was already next in line to be the commander. Why would someone like him go so far as to sabotage the very order he was set to inherit?

But then, a thought occurred to her.

What if Edward Windsor, or rather, Prince Edward, had infiltrated the Knights from the start, aiming to disband them before they could ever become an obstacle in the future?

What if he’d deliberately leaked information to the demons for that very purpose?

‘If he’s that kind of foolish man...’

Inside Edward’s office, Cecilia silently opened the drawer.

‘You’ll only disappoint me.’

[Classified Level 1 — Dungeon Management Records]

As she flipped through the files, she stopped at one point.

====================

[Tomb of the Skilled]

Difficulty: Moderate

====================

====================

[Ancient King’s Ruins]

Difficulty: Very Hard

====================

2 dugeons that are grouped together.

Cecilia first reviewed Tomb of the Skilled.

Nothing seemed too unusual—except for one thing.

Guide Requirement: Sword Emperor or higher

※ Caution: This is a high level Special-Rank dungeon. If the guide’s level is inadequate, the mortality rate exceeds 90%. Extremely lethal.

But in the mission order she had received, the required guide rank had only been Sword Demon.

Edward had forged the mission document.

“Woah, illegal camping. Busted,” she muttered.

Her head tilted more and more.

‘That’s going to be a problem.’

Next, she checked the file on The Ancient King’s Ruins—the dungeon Jerryway had explored.

‘The Ancient King’s Ruins’: Solo Dungeon. Only Sword Emperor or higher may enter alone.

※ Caution: The more people present, the greater the difficulty multiplier.

“......”

Cecilia silently removed those two documents and returned the rest.

Just as she tucked the files safely into her cloak and turned to leave—

Step. Step.

She heard footsteps in the hallway.

Immediately, she knew it was Edward.

‘How? I shouldn't have left any traces…’

Cecilia scanned her surroundings. There was nowhere to hide.

In a hurry, she slid under the desk.

Creak—

The door opened. The sound of someone approaching grew louder.

Cecilia covered her mouth to silence her breathing, suppressing her presence to the extreme.

“I could’ve sworn I closed the window properly…”

At that moment, Cecilia immediately drew her sword upward held it above. Simultaneously, Edward’s sword strike plunged down toward her head.

Crash!

The desk exploded as their swords collided midair.

“So a stray cat decided to wander in.”

Edward grinned as if he were about to devour her whole.

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