Hedly Empire, inside a count's mansion in the city of Atre.
Ryan stood in front of a room door within the mansion, still somewhat dazed for a moment.
Because not long ago, he was still at the border, serving as the commander of the knight corps, fighting against the invading demon army.
In the blink of an eye, he found himself back in the count's mansion, about to take on the role of a private steward to care for the count's daughter.
The stark contrast between the two identities left Lain struggling to adapt for a long time.
After taking a deep breath, Ryan lifted his head and knocked on the door.
"Knock knock knock..."
After the knock, the door was slowly opened.
As the door to the boudoir was opened, a faint floral scent drifted out from the crack.
Then, a little girl peeked her head out from behind the door and looked up at Ryan.
Nenali Ashi, the only daughter of Count Hollis Ashi of the Hedly Empire, was nine years old.
Ryan looked down and noticed that Nenali largely took after her beautiful mother, with delicate features and eyes as blue as gemstones.
Nenali's hair was golden, falling just to her back on her petite frame, looking very soft and fluffy. She wore a clean princess dress, with little white socks on her feet that touched the ground, looking like a doll in her cuteness.
The eye contact between the two, large and small, symbolized the beginning of all fate.
This is the story of a knight steward wearing a smiling mask and a lonely and fragile noble young lady.
♤ ♡ ♢ ♧
The story goes back two days earlier.
Outside the Hedly Empire, in the land of the demons, the year 1404 by human calendar, September, autumn.
In a space created by demon mages, a man in black armor sat with his sword amidst mountains of corpses.
An Invisible coercion was released, making it impossible for the demon warriors below to advance even a single step.
The man's dark armor was stained with indelible bloodstains, making him look at first glance like a dark knight of the demons.
But the gleaming Hedly Empire emblem on the left side of his breastplate indicated that this man was actually a knight of the Hedly Empire.
Behind this man, there was also a group of knights wearing similarly black armor, except their breastplates did not bear the golden emblem.
The demon warriors could not figure out for the life of them why the Hedly human empire, which prided itself on sanctity and nobility, would create such a group of monstrous knights in black armor.
The dark red sky, meant to suppress the combat power of human knights, seemed to serve as a backdrop for this man, causing the demon generals and soldiers below to shudder in fear.
At this moment, the man slowly lifted his head, and the grating sound of his helmet rubbing against his breastplate caused the demon warriors below to step back in unison.
"It's time to end this..." a voice of seeming reflection came through the helmet.
Although the man's face was not visible through the helmet, just listening to this voice gave the impression that this man... was harmless?
It gave a sense of youthfulness, lacking any sense of majesty—if he weren't sitting atop a mountain of corpses at the moment.
Just as the demon warriors were puzzled about what this man meant, a long, drawn-out horn sounded from the demon city behind them.
Retreat!
Upon hearing this horn, the demon warriors were relieved as if granted a pardon, quickly retreating like a tide.
Watching the retreating demons, the man did not choose to pursue but instead slowly stood up and jumped down from the mountain of corpses.
Looking at the group of knights standing at attention before him, the man slight said, "Return to the city."
"Yes!"
The vice-captain next to him punched his fist, speaking fiercely.
Ryan glanced at the vice-captain out of the corner of his eye: "If the Demon King comes out, are you going to fight?"
Upon hearing this, the vice-captain immediately wilted, laughing awkwardly: "That's what you're here for!"
"Get out of here!"
Ryan kicked the vice-captain, causing him to roll several times along with his armor.
Looking at the vice-captain's nearly white beard, Lain shook his head:
"Just don't think too much about it, the demons have retreated, our duty is done, just go back home and... enjoy the good life, because when the demons attack again next time, it won't have anything to do with us."
Just then, another messenger came running over: "Captain Lain, there's a letter for you!"
"My letter?"
Ryan took the envelope with a puzzled look, read the contents of the letter, and fell silent.
"Captain, what's wrong?"
One of the knights couldn't help but ask.
Ryan silently put away the envelope and slowly began: "My foster father, he's on his deathbed."
"Captain, please...condolences?"
Watching Lain's slightly upturned lips, the knights felt something was off.
Putting away his smile, Lain stood up: "Help me take off my armor."
The vice-captain stepped forward to remove Ryan's armor, and a member of the team also brought over a horse.
Watching Lain mount the horse lightly, the vice-captain said solemnly: "Captain, have a safe journey!""Please tell the king for me, I'll head back first..." After giving instructions to the vice-captain, Lain waved goodbye to the knights and then snapped the reins -
"Snap!"
"Off to the feast!"
Watching Lain gallop away and quickly disappear, the vice-captain stood stunned for a long while before slowly coming to his senses:
"Feast... what does that mean?"
♤ ♡ ♢ ♧
Atre City, located next to the capital of the Hedly Empire, is even more prosperous than the capital itself.
After a two-day journey, Lain, riding a thin horse, finally arrived at this city.
Wandering slowly through the bustling streets, watching the vibrant scene, Lain felt for a moment as if he were in another world.
The empire was developing at lightning speed, and after a decade as a knight, Lain felt somewhat out of place in the current world.
Unfortunately, the memory of the bustling metropolis, with its skyscrapers and endless traffic, was still far, far away.
Ryan is not a time traveler, or rather, Lain almost became a time traveler.
The reason for this is that when Lain was still a child in an orphanage, a mysterious consciousness rushed into his mind, trying to take over his body.
Then... that consciousness failed and was absorbed by him, giving him a bunch of strange memories.
Although his body is still controlled by the main consciousness, Lain's daily behavior is always influenced by those strange memories.
For example, he often blurts out some odd words...