The Frost Flower Knight

Chapter 7

And so, the tumultuous knighting ceremony came to a close. To nobody’s surprise, Leonard was greatly disturbed that Yulia had flat-out rejected him, and Empress Roanna had to console him.

“Dear Leonard, do not worry too much. Although it wasn’t meant to be today, we can always create another opportunity for you to obtain her loyalty.”

“I’m fine, Your Majesty. I am sorry for worrying you unnecessarily,” Leonard said.

“I am so glad to hear that you are all right. I just hope you won’t take it to heart,” Roanna said, smiling warmly.

“I assure you I won’t. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Yes, you may go.”

Leonard stared intently at the door Yulia had walked out of before he turned around. He hadn’t expected her to reject him. How daring of her!

“I’m impressed.”

Leonard’s lips curled up into a smirk. He had intended to make her his own regardless of her hideous looks. Then she showed up today, suddenly looking impossibly beautiful. Rumors really weren’t to be trusted. Now that he had witnessed her goddess-like presence, he just had to have her. He would have her, no matter what it took. He was determined to make that happen.

“Yeah… It’s no fun if it’s too easy. After all, there is a greater sense of accomplishment and success after enduring difficulties to achieve a goal.”

His glum expression disappeared, and he was smiling again.

“Yulia von Rosenthal… I will make you mine at all costs.”

***

After stepping out of the imperial palace, Yulia got on the carriage when she shuddered from a sudden chill. The chill running down her back was unusual.

“Why is it so cold all of a sudden?” she said.

“Come on now, get in quickly,” the duke urged her from inside the carriage.

“Yes, Father,” Yulia answered obediently and got in.

Considering the ruckus she had caused earlier, she had to be a good daughter now. She then noticed that her father had a curious expression on his face.

“Do you realize what you’ve done today?” he asked in a somber tone.

“I am sorry, Father. But I didn’t want to pledge my allegiance so halfheartedly. It just wouldn’t be right.”

The crown prince was set to become the next emperor. As he had done with the current emperor, her father had fully expected Yulia to swear loyalty to Leonard, the next emperor. It was a given. But to his dismay, she had refused at the knighting ceremony, of all places.

“Father. I wish to be the sword that protects the whole empire, not just one person. Please try to understand,” Yulia added solemnly.

“Protecting His Majesty, the Emperor, is the same as protecting the empire,” the duke responded firmly.

“And I want to protect all the people living in our lands,” Yulia countered.

How arrogant. He wondered if she knew how difficult that would be.

“Do you know how arrogant it is to say such a thing?”

“I am aware,” she calmly replied. “I also know it is exceedingly difficult to keep my word. But that is the path I wish to travel, Father. I want to become a knight who protects not only the imperial house but the whole empire.”

The duke quietly heaved a sigh.

“It seems that you are indeed all grown up now.”

Normally, Yulia would have listened to him and followed his orders. Today, however, she was being quite assertive with her opinions. On one hand, he was glad she had grown up to be a fine adult. On the other, he was saddened to know she would eventually leave the nest.

“You must have put a lot of thought into your answer. I will respect your wishes, then,” the duke added in resignation.

“Thank you, Father.”

And so, the duke chose to respect the wishes of his daughter. At that moment, rather than being upset by his daughter’s disobedience, he was a proud father.

First Day on the Job

The Crowne Empire had a total of five orders of knights. They consisted of the Griffin Guard, which was solely loyal to the emperor and acted as his private guards, the Black Lion Guard and Winter Guard, who fought on the front lines to defend the empire, the Shadow Guard, who conducted secret operations, and lastly, the Imperial Guard, who protected the imperial palace.

The Imperial Guard took orders from anyone in the emperor’s direct family, so they naturally had more members. The others, known as the Four Guards, only took orders from the emperor himself. And Yulia had been made captain of the Winter Guard by the emperor.

“Congratulations. Now that you are the captain of the Winter Guard, you will have many more responsibilities,” the duke said.

However, Yulia wasn’t too pleased even as her father congratulated her because she was still a bit too young to be a captain of an order, not to mention she didn’t want all the pressure right now.

“You look a little troubled,” the duke remarked.

“A little.”

“But there is nothing you can do. This happened because you refused to pledge loyalty to the crown prince. You will have to keep your word, especially since you said you wanted to be the sword that protects the whole empire.”

“And that is what I shall do, Father.”

***

Upon hearing the news of the appointment of a new captain, the mood of the Winter Guard was malcontent.

“Did you hear, Vice Captain? We’re getting some young girl as our captain.”

“Watch your mouth. She is a lady of House Rosenthal.”

“But still! It’s way too unfair. How is it that she gets the position purely because of her house when we have a great vice-captain who is more than up to the task?!”

The Winter Guard, along with the Black Lion Guard, was an order of the most elite knights who fought on the front lines. They had recently lost their captain, so Chris, the vice-captain, assumed he would be appointed to that position. His hopes were crushed when he heard that a Rosenthal lady was taking it. It was pure injustice.

Chris looked around at his knights. Their faces clearly showed that they felt the same way he did.

“Regardless, she is a lady of the House of Rosenthal. Be on your best behavior.”

Although he said that to his men, he knew they wouldn’t remain polite. He could tell by looking at their disgruntled faces.

“Anyway, do you think she’s really a monster?”

“Who knows? Rumors have it that she is extremely ugly, that’s all I know.”

According to rumors, she had a stocky build, thick muscles, and a face like an orc. The only positive thing he had heard about her was that her swordsmanship was incredible.

“Who knew we’d get an orc as our captain?”

They weren’t looking forward to the immediate future of their order.

“Heh, the Winter Guard, captained by an orc… It’ll be a sight to behold, eh?”

“No! I don’t even want to think about it… It’s horrible. All the other orders are going to have a field day making fun of us.”

The Winter Guard was a group of elite knights who battled on the front lines. Along with the Black Lion Guard, they were symbols of the empire’s strength. It was unthinkable that their prestige would be tainted by an orc captain.

“I know that she’s a Rosenthal, but this is too much.”

“Stop complaining, everyone. This is the emperor’s decision. Accept it.”

“But, Vice Captain! Don’t you feel you’ve been robbed?” one of the knights shouted.

“What I feel won’t change anything,” Chris answered with a straight face.

He wasn’t so keen on having a young orc woman as his direct superior—it was a travesty.

However, what they didn’t know was that Yulia had become a swordmaster, and her curse was no more. Although the knighting ceremony was a formal event, no one except for the emperor’s direct family, Duke Rosenthal, and Yulia had been in attendance, so they had no idea. Right now, they were just very dissatisfied with Yulia coming in as their captain. They were men of honor, so naturally, their pride was hurt.

At that moment, the door to the conference room where they were gathered opened. Everyone nervously looked in that direction. In walked a woman so beautiful that she was almost blinding. Her modestly tied silver hair shone under the sunlight and waved with each step she took. She wore the pure-white uniform that was the symbol of the Winter Guard, and it accentuated her slender, feminine figure. Her snowy visage was perfected by the flawless shape of her eyes, nose, and lips.

“My gosh… that is…”

What shocked the knights even more was the silver badge in the shape of a crescent moon that she wore on her left chest. This was the emblem of the Winter Guard, only worn by its members. They all stared at her, mouths agape. It was impossible to take their eyes off of her.

This ridiculously beautiful woman was Yulia, their new captain. She was a little puzzled when she saw all the men staring at her stupidly. What’s wrong with them? Ignoring all the eyes on her, she introduced herself.

“It is nice to meet you all. I am Yulia von Rosenthal, and starting today, I will be serving as the captain of the Winter Guard. I look forward to serving with you.”

When they heard her name, they collectively cried out in shock.

“D-do you mean that you are our captain?”

“Yes. I am your superior, Yulia von Rosenthal.”

Their jaws dropped. They had heard the rumors about her orc-like appearance, so it didn’t make any sense that she was a blinding beauty like this. Yulia found it all very odd how these people were just staring at her face, completely dumbfounded.

“Do you have any questions for me?”

“Uhh, well…”

None of them could find the words.

At that moment, Chris spoke up.

“You are quite different from what the rumors say.”

“And is that a problem?”

“Not at all,” he answered quickly, looking around at the knights. “Everyone, collect yourselves and mind your manners.”

Only then did the knights finally snap out of it. However, Chris still didn’t get up from his chair or even bow to her.

“I am Vice Captain Chris.”

“I see. It’s nice to meet you. I hope we can work well together.”

Yulia extended her hand for a handshake, but Chris refused.

“I’m sorry, but I cannot acknowledge you as my captain. All the knights here feel the same way.”

He shot a sharp look toward them as he said this, and many of them cleared their throats and nodded in agreement.

“Reason being?”

“We, the Winter Guard, are all about the individual’s strength. If you wish to be our leader, you must subdue us with your skills.”

The knights in the Winter Guard were all sword experts. Sword experts were a tier below swordmasters and were very skilled with their usage of mana. With a group of sword experts behind him, Chris didn’t think Yulia could defeat all of them, no matter how good she was. Besides, all these knights thought he was the right man for the job.

“Is everyone of the same opinion?”

“Yes, ma’am,” answered the knights in near unison.

“I see. All right, then.”

Yulia drew her sword, Yverre, which now had a golden embroidery thread tied at the pommel, and pointed its bluish blade at each of the knights in turn. Chris gritted his teeth as he stared at the golden thread, the captain’s insignia. His, on the other hand, was silver, meaning he was a vice-captain. The lower-ranked knights had blue threads. These embroidery threads signified a knight’s rank.

I’ve worked so hard for that golden thread…

Chris was an opportunist and had gotten here through hard work. In their last mission, their captain had sacrificed himself to save the others. It was a shame, but Chris saw this as an opportunity. But just when he thought he would get his promotion, this young lady showed up out of nowhere and snatched it from his hands.

So, a knight with humble beginnings should be satisfied with vice-captaincy? Is that it?

Chris came from a family with the title of baron. That was in name only, and they didn’t even have a fief or much money. The family itself was not very harmonious, either. His father was an alcoholic and a gambling addict who mistreated his mother and had even brought in a concubine. He was the filth of the world.

And so, Chris decided to achieve success at all costs. Fortunately, he had some talent in swordsmanship, so he was able to become a knight and eventually rose through the ranks to become a vice-captain. Becoming a captain would have granted him nobility, so he was thinking of bringing his mother to the capital and providing her with a comfortable life—and a Rosenthal lady had come from nowhere and stolen his opportunity.

The captaincy is supposed to be mine…!