The Knights of the Black Lion had a very busy morning for the first time in a long time.
The knights and servants who spent most of their days chatting and loitering under the pretense of training were busy sharpening their dull blades and creaking armor.
The servants who had already worked hard were half-mad.
And the vice-commander of the knights, Agnes, who was overworked and stressed out from all the work she had to do.
"Why is the training ground like this? Can't you make it a little cleaner somehow?" "What can I do about the dents in the stone floor? We need to call a mason to fix that." "Didn't you say that two months ago?" "Oh, it's already like that?"
Looking at the administrator who was scratching his head while making a fuss, he had to suppress the urge to stab that shameless face right away.
'God. Today, one soul is being tested here again. Please…'
She, who has no one to rely on but herself, mumbles a prayer in her head today as well.
She barely managed to maintain this mess of an order on her own, and what she was increasing every day was not her swordsmanship, but her patience and faith.
She was barely maintaining her composure, but.
"Okay. Well, that aside, what about the captain… no, the captain?"
"Ah. He's preparing for the handover in the office. When the new captain comes, call him then…"
"Ahhhhh!"
When she heard the captain's whereabouts from the administrator, she ended up exploding.
"A handover, what the hell. He's probably just locked up in the office and loitering around! I can tell without even looking!"
As Agnes screamed and started causing a scene, the administrator's gaze turned to her chest.
—Glance
The administrator whistled inwardly as he looked at Agnes, who was pulling out her hair. The distinct size made the plain uniform look obscene.
Whenever the vice-captain made a violent move, there was something to look at.
'Yeah, that's why I'm still stuck with this stupid knight order.'
How can I do something about it? No, it's impossible. She's a woman who doesn't fall for that rascal captain's blatant pursuit.
So it's enough to just show off. He thought so and continued to act calmly, pretending not to know anything.
"Should I call the captain?" "
No, that's fine. I'll go myself. So that the administrator can do his best until the end."
"Ah, organizing the handover data. Okay."
Agnes sighed as she watched the administrator's back as he sauntered away.
'Even though he's a brat... Do you think I don't know?'
Even in this busy time, he sat there glancing at the chest of the woman who was doing her job. She wasn't even doing her job properly.
Originally, she should have replaced him right away, but there was something in common between these incompetent guys, and the administrator was in cahoots with the captain.
'How can their actions be so disgusting?'
Now, he didn't even bother to come up with an excuse to run away, so he was preparing for the handover.
Of course, Agnes had already finished preparing for the handover a long time ago. It was over a week ago.
The captain, who was supposed to be the head of the Knights, and the administrator, who was supposed to be the spine, were both so rotten.
Her suffering as the vice captain could only get worse.
"Haa..."
However, apart from Agnes' suffering, there really wasn't much time left.
The only thing that was right was the fancy name.
Until the unfortunate one who would become the new leader of the Black Lion Knights arrived.
Agnes roughly grabbed her tangled, sky-blue hair once more and shouted in frustration.
"Black Lion Knights, all gathered!" "All gathered!"
Still, seeing her subordinates lined up in the training grounds, each of them looking like knights, gave her a sense of relief.
How long has it been since those pitiful subordinates have raised their voices so loudly?
Suddenly, as that thought occurred to her, Agnes felt a deep sense of guilt as she reflected on her own situation of having to feel moved by such trivial and obvious things.
"Black Lions! Are you ready to welcome the new leader?" "Yes! That's right!" "Good. Just stay in formation and wait."
Agnes left her subordinates on standby and headed to the leader's office.
It was the same routine as the Black Lion Knights. If something happened, she would somehow handle it on her own and report it to the Knight Commander.
But that would end today. No, it had to end.
—Bam, bang, bang!
Agnes roughly knocked on the office door and shouted. Her clenched fists were even stronger than usual.
"The 13th Black Lion Knights' Inauguration Ceremony and the 14th Knight Commander's Inauguration Ceremony are ready! Now, you just need to come out, Commander!"
"Really? You worked hard. I'll leave right away."
"Not right away, you have to come out right away! There's less than 5 minutes left until the new Commander arrives!"
Even though time was of the essence, the office door opened about 30 seconds later.
"Phehe, the Vice Commander is really charming when he's angry. But why did you have to do this until today?"
The appearance of the Knight Commander who came out of the office was truly a sight to behold.
Not only was he not wearing his uniform, but he was also wearing plain clothes that were disheveled. His face was messy because he hadn't shaved his beard. His eyes were hazy, as if he had just woken up from a long sleep.
Surprisingly, he looked more neat than usual. At least he hadn't drunk alcohol.
'It seems he hasn't gone completely crazy. If he had even drunk alcohol…'
Agnes bit her lips tightly as she watched him. It seemed as if she had a lot to say, but was barely holding back.
"…At least put on your uniform properly. The person you're coming with now isn't even your subordinate, Commander."
"Oh, right. That's right. This is right. I wonder how great my successor will be."
Not knowing who his successor is meant that he had neglected the official document that had been handed down.
Until this moment, when he finally stepped down from his position as Commander.
With the highest ranking person like this, there was no way the knights could run properly.
The only reason the Black Lion Knights had not completely fallen apart was thanks to Agnes.
"But, the uniform I'm wearing after such a long time is so stiff that it's a bit hard to wear. Could you help me, Vice-Captain?"
"...Please stop talking nonsense. Could you please show us your true colors as the leader of the Black Lions at least for the last moment?"
As Agnes stared at her chest and glared at the commander who was deliberately sullen,
A servant came running in front of the office.
"The carriage is just coming in. It seems that the new knight commander has arrived!"
At the servant's urgent shout, Agnes hurried downstairs with a stiff expression.
The commander looked at her back with a sinister gaze and smiled faintly.
"Then let's go. Finally, goodbye to this boring place."
Agnes gulped as she stood in front of the two-wheeled carriage that arrived at the guard post.
For the past few years. How horrible have my days been, supporting a rascal who acts however he wants under the protection of his family.
The reason why I held back the urge to submit my resignation dozens of times a day and held on was because of my sense of responsibility as the vice-captain of the Black Lion Knights, a position I've held since my days as a squire.
And the hope that a proper person would take over someday.
From what she had heard, the new knight commander was a war hero who had distinguished himself on the battlefield.
In that case, he would at least be a better person than the current knight commander who had used tricks to stay in the rear.
With a glimmer of hope, Agnes waited for the carriage door to open.
—Bam!
"Glory to the Imperial Family! The main building is the Vice-Captain of the Black Lion Knights, Baron Ihelm… Uh…"
And then, Agnes, who was about to introduce herself in front of the new Knight Commander, was at a loss for words.
That was because the person who got off there was a giant who far exceeded her expectations.
"You're the Vice-Captain?"
A huge man wearing pitch-black armor stood in front of Agnes, and the top of her head barely touched the man's chest.
A tremendous sense of pressure. Agnes slowly looked up at the man with trembling eyes.
A knight is a superhuman being who has surpassed human limitations, and Agnes was no different.
In addition, as the Vice-Captain of a knight order, she was far superior to ordinary knights.
"Small."
However, at the words of the man standing in front of her, she felt like she was the prey facing an unstoppable predator.
Agnes tried with all her might to resist the momentum the man was giving off.
—Poohihihihing!
"Hey, why are you guys acting like this all of a sudden? Whoa, whoa!"
The horses pulling the carriage the man was riding in suddenly started foaming at the mouth and running wildly. Was it because they felt an instinctive fear at the momentum emanating from the man?
Fortunately, the suffocating atmosphere did not last long.
"But they are sharp and well-polished. You are a great knight."
The man grinned at Agnes, who was tense, and patted her shoulder.
Then, the fierce momentum disappeared in an instant as if it were a lie, and the horses that had been making a fuss finally became calm.
"Go, thank you!" "I'm Wolfgang of the Schwarz family. Please take care of me from now on, Vice-Captain."
It was clearly just a simple gesture of friendship, but even that simple act was filled with such incredible force that her battered shoulders felt numb.
'I guess it was a test... '
However, apart from that, the man's words continued to linger in Agnes' mind.
'You are a great knight.'
Since the current captain, who was like a disaster, took office, the Black Lion Knights had fallen to the point where their former glory was nowhere to be found.
She had been carrying out her mission while enduring the men's sinister gazes and teasing.
However, this large man.
He had a more manly appearance than anyone else, but unlike others, he didn't even pay attention to his own chest, which was so cumbersome that he wanted to cut it off.
He tested her skills that she had quietly cultivated as a knight, and acknowledged it.
The path she had walked so hard was acknowledged by such an extraordinary man.
In fact, it may have been nothing more than a trivial greeting, but even if it was, Agnes was grateful.
How much had she been starving for such a warm word?
As she looked at the man's face full of scars, Agnes felt an inexplicable emotion rise within her.
"Where should we go now? I want to see the faces of my new subordinates."
"Ah. They are all gathered at the training grounds. I will guide you there."
"I look forward to it. I can only imagine how great my new subordinates will be."
However, Agnes could not help but feel miserable at the new knight commander's expected response.
Clearly, even from the brief appearance he had shown just a moment ago, the man was a great person who was too great to even compare to the current Knight Commander.
On the other hand, the pitiful state of the Black Lion Knights she belonged to looked so shabby in comparison.
Of course, the cause of the Black Lion Knights' downfall was close to an unavoidable force, including the incompetent leadership.
Nevertheless, she felt a strong sense of responsibility for not being able to stop it.
'Haa…'
If only she had been a little more capable, if only she had come from a family so powerful that she could control her incompetent superior.
The Black Lion Knights wouldn't have fallen into such ruin.
"Is that you?" "Yes, that's right."
However, a hope slowly began to sprout in a corner of Agnes' heart.
This man seemed stronger than anyone she had ever seen.
This huge, trustworthy man who seemed to have everything at his feet.
Wouldn't it be possible to restore the glorious image of the Black Lion Knights, once called the sharpest blade of the empire?
'Yes, this person. Perhaps...'
At some point, Agnes's mind naturally pictured the majestic image of the knights who were reborn because of the man.
She also pictured herself standing next to a male lion who was bigger and stronger than anyone else leading the Black Lions.
A faint blush came over Agnes' face as she imagined the future that would come.