Chapter 10: I Became a Swordsman in the Middle Ages

The Royal Assembly

It hadn't been long since the demon disappeared when the Windsor Knights gathered.

Kairon was the first to arrive.

He and Cecilia exchanged just two lines:

“Status?”

“At least Demon King-class. We lost him.”

“Where to?”

“The front gate.”

Kairon immediately led a squad of knights to pursue.

Cecilia didn’t stop him.

Cain’s presence had already vanished. Even the lingering traces of his magic were gone.

All signs pointed to him possessing space-type authority.

Pursuing him would be impossible.

Several knights passed by, casting worried glances at Cecilia.

They sighed in relief upon realizing there were no casualties, but their expressions remained grim.

They had already allowed an intrusion twice.

The fact that there were no victims was nothing but pure luck.

“I’ll ask you plainly, Cecilia Windsor.”

Edward wasn’t smiling his usual fake smile.

Oddly, Cecilia found that more comfortable.

“Yes.”

“Was that your doing?”

He gestured toward the shattered wall and Heiter, who was just now managing to rise to his feet.

“Yes.”

Cecilia replied calmly.

“I don’t need to hear the circumstances. I assume... you were trying to save him.”

“It was a dangerous situation.”

“Was it?”

Edward looked her straight in the eye.

“If we had gathered all forces in the capital, we could have eliminated the threat. Didn’t that thought occur to you? With your Secret Art, it should’ve been possible.”

“I deployed my barrier, but it was beyond me.”

FWAP—

Suddenly, Edward grabbed her by the collar.

“Then you should’ve captured him, even at the cost of your life.”

His eyes blazed with fury.

His teeth clenched so tightly that his entire expression twisted with rage.

After taking a moment to breathe, he roughly let go of her.

“Forget it. I knew it. I can’t ever get along with you. I’ll report to the royal court. They’ll decide your punishment.”

***

Around 4 AM.

Most of the kingdom slept, but the Lumière Palace of Lianen was abuzz.

The maids, freshly awakened, lined up in haste.

The Royal Knights stood guard with unyielding vigilance.

A royal emergency meeting had been called.

“I assume you all know why we’ve gathered. Three hours ago, a demon—believed to be a Duke of the Demon Realm—appeared before the Sacred Flame...”

Everyone had assembled—

All but one: the Sword Saint Ertherion, the Queen’s personal knight and strongest in the kingdom, who was absent due to unavoidable circumstances.

“What in the world has the Windsor Knights been doing!?”

Before the briefing had even ended, Draven, the Commander of the Royal Knights, exploded with rage.

“A demon roaming freely inside the palace grounds—how disgraceful!”

Bang!

Unable to contain his anger, he slammed the table and stood up.

“And not just once—but twice! Why do you even exist!?”

His roar filled the chamber.

"In the first place—"

Draven’s finger pointed straight at Cecilia.

“Isn’t this exactly what happens when you bring in someone with unclear origins?!”

“Mind your words.”

Kairon’s heavy voice settled across the chamber like a weight.

Draven flinched slightly.

“Are you interfering with the rules of Windsor now?”

“…Fine. Let’s assume, for argument’s sake, that the demon incursion couldn’t be helped. Even then, explain this to me.”

Draven left his seat and strode right up to Cecilia.

“You claim to have faced a demon duke... yet you don’t have a single scratch on you.”

Cecilia averted her eyes ever so subtly.

She rolled her tongue inside her mouth, feeling the small, round orb resting against her cheek.

‘...Now?’

“Did you flee out of fear? Is that it?”

‘Now it is.’

Drip.

A trail of crimson ran down from the corner of her lips.

“……!”

Cecilia bowed her head quietly.

“...Forgive me.”

Her silver hair fell in soft waves, casting a sorrowful silhouette.

The once-furious Draven fell into silence.

Now that he really looked at her, her face was far more worn and pale than usual.

Dark circles shadowed her eyes, and her normally neat hair looked messy and disheveled.

“Ahem.”

Draven sat back down, suddenly reminded of his daughter—about Cecilia’s age—probably snoring peacefully at home right now.

“Cecilia.”

But Kairon’s breath was slightly rough.

Cecilia felt alarm bells go off in her mind.

‘Did he catch on? Even though it’s just tomato sauce...’

“Did you really force your body to that extent just to deploy your domain?”

“……”

“I told you, never use it against someone clearly stronger than you. Especially in that kind of situation—your priority should’ve been evasion and buying time.”

“But...”

Cecilia subtly added a trembling effect to her voice using wind magic.

“There were... people.”

She finished her line and quickly covered her mouth with her sleeve, coughing.

Her white uniform was now stained red.

“……”

A heavy silence settled over the chamber.

The one who broke it was Draven.

“The Windsor Knights should be disbanded. That’s my conclusion regarding this incident.”

‘That can’t happen.’

Cecilia wanted to speak—but it wasn’t the right time.

It wouldn’t look good.

“Am I wrong? A demon duke invades, and we only hear about it now, in this meeting?”

Draven’s face flushed red.

“Even when abnormalities appeared in the flame, the Windsor Knights acted alone without reporting anything. Do you think that’s acceptable?”

“When facing demons, if you wait for political clearance, it's already too late.”

“But this time, there was enough time!”

“It was the best decision at the time.”

“If that was the best, then we wouldn’t have had a demon breach the capital in the first place! Disband your unit, or fall in line like the other knight orders and follow protocol!”

‘This is bad. There’s already been talk, and this incident will only escalate it further.’

The Windsor Knights were, without a doubt, an unorthodox group.

Formed solely to combat demons, their independent actions were permitted—even expected.

Even the Queen’s orders could be disregarded if the knights judged them illogical.

From a rational standpoint, an organization like this shouldn’t exist.

There was no other place in the world that would tolerate such a structure.

‘I hope Kairon wins this. If they take away even one of Windsor’s authorities, preparing for the official launch will become a nightmare.’

As Cecilia anxiously watched the ongoing clash between Kairon and Draven—

“Would you like one?”

A maid appeared beside her, holding a tray of refreshments.

It was the worst possible timing. Cecilia was supposed to be playing the role of a broken-down, guilt-ridden knight.

Obviously, she was going to decline—

But then she looked at the maid’s face and flinched.

“…Your Majesty?”

“……!”

Everyone turned toward her.

Then froze like stone.

“Mm.”

The maid popped a cookie into her mouth and began chewing contentedly.

Then she spoke again, looking at Cecilia.

“Nope. You’re mistaken.”

“I... see.”

Cecilia, who had started to rise to kneel, awkwardly sat back down mid-motion.

Everyone stared at her like they’d just seen a ghost.

Which was understandable.

Because that maid, in the maid uniform, was undeniably the Queen.

So obvious that it was strange no one had noticed sooner.

“But really, are you not going to try one? They’re quite good.”

But no one could call it out.

This was still a monarchy in Middle Ages, after all—

And in a monarchy, the word of the monarch is law.

And Cecilia wasn’t ready to die just yet.

“Too bad. They’re delicious.”

‘What are you doing?’

‘EAT THE COOKIE!’

‘Do you want to get executed?!’

Everyone around her screamed with their eyes.

“…Just one, then.”

Cecilia meekly picked up a cookie and took a bite.

…It was ridiculously good.

“Oh my, why is everyone just staring at me? Please, continue your discussion.”

“Ahem! S-So, where were we?”

“We, uh... we were saying that given the urgency of the situation, we should all work together—”

Everyone was sweating bullets as they scrambled to speak.

They desperately avoided looking directly at the Queen, but it was impossible not to notice her.

“Mmhmm.”

Meanwhile, the Queen simply sat there cheerfully munching her cookies.

Bang!

Suddenly, the door burst open.

A man stumbled in, breathing heavily.

It was the Sword Saint, Ertherion—the Queen’s personal knight.

He scanned the room once, quickly grasping the situation, then twitched his lips and made his way to the Queen.

“Your Majesty... You really must stop sneaking out like this. What would foreign dignitaries think?”

“A king must stay close to the people to understand them, don’t you think?”

“This is too close.”

“Eek! A maid is being kidnapped by a knight!”

The Queen was hoisted over Ertherion’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes, kicking and flailing.

With a sigh so deep it could have sunk the continent, the Sword Saint exited the chamber with her.

“Kids! No fighting, okay?!”

“Please... Your Majesty—you're damaging the royal image!”

Click.

The door closed behind them.

A heavy silence settled over the meeting room once again.

“…She hasn’t changed at all.”

Cecilia found herself recalling an old, lingering question:

‘Is this country... really going to be okay?’

But as carefree as the Queen acted, she had earned the respect of many.

After all, she had led the kingdom safely for over 300 years.

“Let’s collect ourselves and begin the actual meeting. This isn’t the time to be fooling around.”

Marquis Viaton spoke with a pleasant smile, but there was steel behind his words.

“The Demon Duke’s power far exceeded expectations.”

“According to calculations from our Magic Tower of Truth, the one who invaded earlier... was at Demon King level.”

“Further investigation is needed, but frankly, even if the entire city’s forces had fought together, we’re not sure we could have killed him.”

At last, a constructive discussion was taking place.

The shocking assessment from the royal mage widened Draven’s eyes.

“Is that... true?”

“Preparation is necessary. The problem is... there’s nothing to prepare with. All we can rely on is the Sacred Flame.”

“Damn it.”

Despite his temper, Draven genuinely cared for the kingdom.

The paper in his clenched fist crumpled violently.

“First, we need to understand why someone of Demon Duke level came all the way to the royal capital in the first place. Sir Cecilia, you faced him directly—what do you think his motive was?”

“…He said he came to see if the Goddess’s power had weakened.”

“As expected.”

Marquis Viaton exhaled deeply.

It was the worst-case scenario.

“But.”

Cecilia narrowed her eyes.

If Draven returned the topic to disbanding Windsor, it would derail everything.

‘I need to shut that down before it starts again.’

“Even so, it’s strange, isn’t it? He revealed everything about his purpose, and then left without killing a single person?”

“That’s—”

Gulp.

Everyone in the chamber held their breath, listening intently to Cecilia’s response.

This answer might determine the fate of the kingdom.

“...Maybe it’s because I’m cute?”

Everyone in the chamber slumped back, defeated.

***

“Edward. You still mad?”

Heiter scratched the back of his head as he approached.

Edward, standing outside the palace under the moonlight, looked up briefly before replying.

“How’s your body, Heiter?”

“Mm... Fine. Physically, anyway. It’s my pride that’s bruised.”

“You were blindsided by someone you trusted. That’s normal. Don’t let it weigh on you too much.”

Heiter let out a sigh and turned to Edward.

“I’ll be honest with you, Vice-Commander.”

Calling someone by rank meant this was going to be serious.

Edward turned to face him.

“I don’t resent Cecilia.”

“No one’s telling you to resent her. But in this case, showing anger isn’t wrong. It proves how much she’s taken you for granted.”

“No, I’m not going to be angry either.”

“...Why not?”

“Because the moment she raised her sword, I felt it.”

A bitter expression crept onto Heiter’s face.

“Death.”

“……”

“A future where I died instantly, without the slightest resistance. That’s how strong she was. Even thinking back on it now... I can’t see any other outcome.”

“Still—”

Edward’s voice sharpened.

“We are the Windsor Knights. We stake everything on even the slimmest chance to fight demons. That’s who we are.”

“I don’t know. Honestly, I think doing nothing, keeping quiet and not provoking the demon... that was the best choice.”

“Heiter!”

Edward’s eyes flared with anger, but Heiter only gave a faint smile.

“Edward. Don’t come down so hard on Cecilia. I saw her face, right before you arrived. Man... I never knew our sweet little Cecilia could make a face like that.”

Heiter chuckled softly.

But the image was burned into his mind—undiluted.

“In all my life, I’ve never felt killing intent like that. To be honest, it wouldn’t surprise me if that demon ran away off out of fear.”

Next Chapter