37-117

EP.117 War Preparations (3) 

When Yuno entered his room, he found Viscount Leberkin waiting in the spacious reception area with Yuno’s party. 

“Ah! Viscount Leberkin! Perfect. I have something I’d like your help with. Please come with me.” 

Yuno asked Leberkin to guide him to the food storage. When Leberkin asked why, Yuno just said he’d understand when they got there, and, taking Isabella, Marie, Kurimu, and Miruku, left the room. 

“Your Highness, what about me and Eliza…?” 

“Count Lichtenauer, please test the level of the knights together with Eliza.” 

“Yes, Your Highness. I will obey.” 

Once Yuno’s group left, Count Lichtenauer licked his lips, saying he’d like to see what the eastern knights were like, while Eliza, frustrated at not being able to go with Yuno, kept grumbling at him. 

“Tch, I wanted to go with Yuno… Aaaah!! Master!! My ear’s going to fall off!!!” 

Even though some time had passed since Eliza became a master, since Lichtenauer was not only her teacher but had also been like a father to her in Yuno’s previous life, Eliza still couldn’t stand up to him. 

In the end, Eliza was dragged by her ear all the way to the knights’ headquarters. 

“Hah! Captain Lichtenauer! Welcome! We heard you arrived with the Third Prince!” 

“Mm~ Long time no see, Sir Dalton. So you’re here. Good to see you… By the way, are you the senior knight here?” 

Dalton, who had served as a royal guard under Lichtenauer but retired ten years ago due to his mother’s illness and now led a count’s knight order in the east, immediately recognized Lichtenauer. 

“Yes! That’s right, Captain! I’m currently the only senior knight left and command the knight order. Of course, if you wish, at any time… Captain?” 

Dalton stopped mid-sentence when Lichtenauer pushed a girl he was holding by the ear in front of him. 

“Owwww, my ear’s going to be stretched! If Yuno doesn’t like me because my ear gets long, I’ll blame you, Master!” 

“Captain… who is this?” 

“Eliza, stop whining and introduce yourself. This is Sir Dalton, a former royal guard under me. He’s skilled and always worked with integrity, so I always trusted him with important duties.” 

“Hee~ Hello, Sir Dalton. I’m Eliza Sinclair de Leonhart. I was the third princess of the Leon Kingdom, now the Third Prince Yuno’s fiancée and his first knight.” 

“A… a pleasure to meet you, Princess Eliza! I’m Truss Dalton. I may be lacking, but I serve as the knight commander in Earl Ralkros’s domain. Please take care of me!” 

Hearing Eliza’s name, Dalton finally recalled the rumors that the Leon princess, who had become a master under Lichtenauer’s guidance, had become engaged to the Third Prince and naturalized into the empire, and he tensed up. 

‘To think such a beautiful princess is Master’s disciple and a master knight…’ 

Staring at Eliza with awe, Dalton was then even more shocked to see Lichtenauer, despite her status, giving Eliza a playful flick to the head. 

Bonk!! 

“With that level of skill, how can you call yourself the first knight? You still can’t even land a single hit on me.” 

“Ugh!! That’s not fair, coming to our territory and swearing loyalty to Yuno… Someday I’ll surpass you and take the first knight’s spot, so what’s wrong with calling myself that a bit early? Anyway, why did you bring me here?” 

“If you’re going to lead knights, you need to cross swords with them first, right? Sir Dalton, gather all the knights in the training yard.” 

“Yes, Captain… but there’s a slight problem…” 

Dalton hesitated, knowing Lichtenauer would be furious and disappointed with the current state of the knights. 

‘Sigh~ The decent Windrage knights were sent to escort the prince and have returned to the front… My Ralkros knights are all out on missions… What should I do…’ 

“Hmm? Is there a problem?” 

“N-no, Captain. I’ll call them right away as you ordered!” 

“And I’m no longer the royal guard captain. No need to call me that.” 

“No, Captain. Even if you left the guard, you’ll always be my captain.” 

“Well… call me whatever you want. Just hurry and gather the knights. But don’t tell them I’m here just say there’s a new commander, Eliza. Don’t reveal her identity either.” 

Though puzzled by the instruction not to reveal their identities, Dalton followed orders and, excluding the Ralkros knights on missions, gathered all remaining knights in the training yard. 

“Sir Dalton, why did you call us?” 

“I was having fun at the brothel and you drag me out come on!” 

“If there’s no real reason, I’m leaving.” 

Even though Dalton was their senior, the knights acted as they pleased. Seeing this lack of discipline, both Lichtenauer and Eliza were exasperated. 

Dalton addressed them. 

“I called you here to introduce your new commander. Please come forward…” 

As Dalton finished, Eliza stepped up. 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Eliza, your new commander. I learned swordsmanship in Adria, and I was knighted just over a year ago. I look forward to working with you.” 

The knights were stunned for a moment, then, seeing how young Eliza looked and her revealing outfit, their faces twisted into sneers. 

“What, you became a commander after just a year as a knight? How many times did you put out for that?” 

“Hah~ If the commander’s job was up for grabs, I’d have offered my ass too.” 

“Heh, who’d want your dirty ass? Anyway, Commander, we can cooperate, but first, we need to sample what you’re offering.” 

“Puhahaha!” 

Outside noble circles, few knew that Eliza of Leon had become a master, and “Eliza” was a common name. It was unheard of for a noblewoman from Balkan to be appointed as a knight commander, so the knights just assumed she was another pretty girl promoted through connections, and continued their crude harassment. 

“If you try my cock, Commander, you’ll be satisfied. Hehe.” 

“If you let us fuck you every time you give an order, we’ll obey anything. That’s a win-win, right?” 

“Hahaha, now I can save money on the brothel.” 

Seeing these knights, who had thrown away all chivalry and discipline, Dalton and Lichtenauer could only sigh. 

But Eliza just smiled, and the knights, thinking she agreed, even started to drop their pants. 

“How about it, Commander? My ‘Black Sea Serpent’ was famous back home. With this, you’ll Kuhh!!” 

“Hm~ Only a fifth the size of my husband’s. More like a black earthworm than a sea serpent, huh?” 

Eliza kicked the knight who exposed himself, then stomped on his groin as he foamed at the mouth. 

“Gaaah!!” 

“What, you’re just going to stand there while your comrade goes down? All of you, come at me! If anyone beats me, I’ll give you what you want. If you win, that is. Hohohoho.” 

“This bitch! What are you waiting for?! Get her!” 

Provoked, the knights drew their swords and rushed her. 

“Uwaaah!!” 

“Guhh!!” 

But Eliza, without even drawing her sword, took them all down in a single blow each, and soon all forty knights were defeated. 

Leaving the fallen knights to Dalton, Eliza ran to Lichtenauer. 

“This is what you wanted, right? They needed a beating. Only two are mid-level knights, the rest are all low or lowest tier… And they can’t even do combination techniques like Cordelia.” 

“Now that you’re their commander, handle them as you see fit. Put them through hellish training, teach them combination techniques at least make sure they can block a capital knight’s sword. By the way, where’d you learn those martial arts moves? Don’t tell me from Catherine?” 

“No, not from Catherine. I just picked up a few moves from sparring with Yuno.” 

“Ugh… that’s Catherine’s martial art, isn’t it? My disciple, learning martial arts… Oh, my…” 

“Oh, come on! I’ve been a master for a while now, give it a rest!” 

“Hah! You’ve gotten cheeky. Want to spar?” 

“Sure! I’ll show you I’m not the old Eliza!” 

The two drew their swords, creating a chilling aura. 

“Wait… is that Count Lichtenauer? Why is he here…?” 

“Wasn’t he retired? And the new commander is a master too?” 

“That young woman’s a master? Is she really the Third Prince’s fiancée?” 

Finally, the knights realized Eliza’s identity and were relieved they hadn’t lost their tongues for their earlier comments. 

Regardless, Eliza and Lichtenauer’s master-disciple duel sent shockwaves through the knights, showing them what a true master was. 

“Hah! You really have improved! Your sword is much heavier now.” 

“Haha, soon I’ll surpass you, Master!” 

Eliza, who had improved greatly through repeated sparring with Yuno, combined Lichtenauer’s unique sword angles with Yuno’s footwork, making her attacks even sharper. 

“Hmph! You’ve improved, but that’s not enough!!” 

“Ugh!!” 

Her best moves, which had even surprised Yuno, were easily countered by the experienced Lichtenauer. As their swords clashed, Eliza’s strength waned, and though she desperately blocked his strike at her wrist, her sword was knocked away and she lost. 

“Whew~ I lost. Ugh!! I really wanted to win today!!!” 

“You’ll need a few more years of training, my disciple.” 

Though Lichtenauer acted relaxed, Eliza’s best moves had actually surprised him, making him think Yuno and Eliza would soon surpass him. He smiled with satisfaction at the thought of his former and current disciples overtaking him. 

“Why is he suddenly laughing like that? It’s annoying to lose…” 

Eliza, stewing over her defeat, decided to take it out on the knights. 

“From now on, none of you are allowed anywhere except the barracks and training grounds. You know why, so don’t ask.” 

“Yes, Commander!” 

With a deadly aura, Eliza ordered, and the knights responded like raw recruits. 

“Good! From now on, I’ll rebuild your rotten bodies and minds. If you pass my training in a month, you’ll be much improved. If not…” 

With a sinister smile, she had their full attention. 

“I’ll give you one-on-one lessons until you’re fixed, so don’t worry. Got it?” 

“Yes, Commander!!” 

Eliza began putting the knights through the same training she and Yuno had done. 

Though it was harsh, pushing their bodies and minds to the limit, the threat of special training from Eliza and Lichtenauer kept the knights going, tears in their eyes.