Episode 40
Kallen was the first to help me into the Knights’ ceremonial uniform.
Then, she slowly approached with a silver-plated armor in her hands.
It was the one she had worn during the Knights’ departure ceremony at the imperial palace.
“Are you nervous?”
My breathing was a little uneven, and my fingertips were trembling.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. It’s my first time at an event like this.”
I forced a smile as I answered.
“You’ve never attended similar events back in your home country? Royals usually do, don’t they?”
I didn’t respond. There was no need to explain that, unlike my father or Joanna, I wasn’t fluent in foreign languages, and so had rarely been brought to official functions.
“It’s a bit big on you, Lady Josephine. But don’t worry, it’s not so awkward that you look like a kid in adult armor.”
Kallen carefully placed the silver chestplate onto me.
As the cold metal enclosed my torso, I involuntarily held my breath. It felt like a heavy boulder had been placed on me, probably due to the pressure.
“Why do I have to be fully armed? It’s not like I’m going into battle.”
“Well, we’re knights. It’s good to look strong at official events, right?”
“There are plenty of people here who look stronger than me. Actually, everyone here is stronger than me.”
Kallen waved her hand dismissively.
“Ah, the others? Their speech is too rough. One of them even drank the hand-washing water in front of the young duke yesterday and embarrassed us all. If they babble like usual in front of the press, we’re in for a disaster.”
…So I’m the only one in the order who can speak in a refined manner.
I began to understand.
“Antonio is a prince, so his reputation must remain untarnished.”
“He doesn’t seem to have much of a reputation here anyway. Just speak honestly about what happened. It’d be unfair if people criticized you for not killing the hippogriff.”
Kallen said this as she tightened the buckles on the back of the chestplate.
She then secured the shoulder guards onto my shoulders. It felt like having two massive bears perched on me.
Lastly, she handed me a pair of silver gloves.
I put them on myself, one by one.
Kallen then took me to Antonio’s chambers. She knocked, and when a response came, she didn’t follow me in.
I was once again left alone with Antonio.
He chuckled when he saw my hesitant steps.
“If you’re armored, you should walk with more confidence.”
“Antonio. I don’t think I’m worthy of representing the Knights yet.”
I laid bare my true thoughts.
Antonio stood in silence for a moment after hearing me. His eyes turned to the window, gazing as if seeing far into the distance.
Then he slowly turned back to me.
His eyes looked cold at a glance, but within them glowed a quiet warmth.
“There is a way to make sure no one dares treat you lightly.”
He approached and gently placed a hand on my shoulder. His firm grip brought an odd sense of reassurance.
“Make a name for yourself. By being strong.”
“Make a name… by being strong?”
“Show them you’re powerful enough to tame a beast like the hippogriff. Then no one will care about your past or the labels attached to you.”
I bit my lower lip.
My presence wasn’t widely known yet. Only whispers circulated within the imperial palace — about a princess taken hostage. A life pawned away by my father in hopes of halting an invasion.
But I was still a princess. The members of Scorpio still seemed uneasy around me. I couldn’t shed the label of royalty — not yet. We hadn’t fought side by side, after all.
I wasn’t sure. Could wearing the name of the Knights free me from the bonds that had held me all my life?
Antonio smiled as if he could see straight into my conflicted mind.
“From today, you are no longer the hostage princess of Iote.”
“You are Josephine of the Scorpio Knights.”
I slowly raised my head at his words.
I had never once in my life thought of myself as strong.
But Antonio — he called me strong.
A faint sense of resolve began to grow in my heart.
Maybe… just maybe, I really can become strong. Even if it’s just a fleeting, hopeful illusion.
“…Alright.”
I gave in far too easily.
It still felt surreal to be receiving Antonio’s full trust after the hippogriff incident.
“Good. Maybe one day, people will address you as ‘Dame Josephine.’”
He leaned in and whispered, placing something in my hand.
A hard object touched my palm.
It was a summoning stone — the one he had retrieved from beneath the hippogriff’s nest.
“It’s your decision when to activate this.”
The press conference was about to begin.
The grand ballroom of the Cassia Mansion was packed with reporters, assistants, and portrait artists. The journalists clutched parchment and moved their quills frantically, preparing their questions.
Josephine stepped onto the platform one step at a time. Her silver armor caught the sunlight streaming in and gleamed faintly.
Artists began sketching her figure rapidly onto their canvases.
Antonio watched her from the shadows behind a pillar, an invisibility charm masking his presence.
“I am Josephine, of the Scorpio Knights.”
She calmly explained how the hippogriff had returned to its forest nest and would no longer appear in human territories. That part had been scripted.
A journalist in the front row shot up his hand.
“Why didn’t you kill the hippogriff? It’s attacked civilians in the commercial district before — why spare such a dangerous creature?”
The first question came laced with suspicion and blame.
Josephine took a moment to steady her breath before responding.
“The hippogriff didn’t attack out of savagery. Humans intruded into its territory and stole its eggs.”
The room fell silent. Reporters whispered among themselves, some scribbling quickly into their notebooks.
“And how do you know that? Isn’t that just speculation?”
Another reporter challenged her.
Josephine raised her head and met his eyes firmly.
“I possess an ability to communicate with certain magical beasts.”
Gasps and murmurs filled the hall again.
“You… talk to magical creatures?”
“Yes.”
She nodded, continuing with clarity.
“As long as their territory is respected, hippogriffs don’t attack humans. The recent attacks were because the egg thieves had taken refuge in the commercial district. We captured those merchants and confiscated the stolen egg, which they intended to auction off illegally.”
“Merchants?”
Reporters exchanged shocked glances.
“We returned the egg to the hippogriff and negotiated a truce. We also cast protective wards to keep people from entering their territory again. In return, the hippogriff promised not to attack humans.”
“And you expect us to believe that? That some beast just… agreed?”
“Yes. Because the reason for its aggression has been removed.”
Josephine swallowed hard. It was time to shift the focus.
As the questions kept coming, she slowly raised her hand and took something from her belt — a dark, obsidian-like object. It pulsed faintly with a reddish glow, like a living thing.
“Do you know what this is?”
She held it high for everyone to see.
All eyes locked onto the object in her hand.
“What is that?”
“A summoning stone.”
She held it even higher.
“Used in the Eastern Continent to summon creatures from other realms. And…”
She paused for effect.
“This was found beneath the hippogriff’s nest. It means the hippogriff wasn’t a natural creature — it was summoned here, deliberately.”
The room exploded with noise.
Journalists leapt to their feet, whispering urgently, writing, shouting questions.
But Josephine didn’t wait for them to calm down.
“The Scorpio Knights will investigate. There may be others, summoned in the same way.”
“Do you have any leads on who’s behind it?”
She shook her head.
“Not yet. But we will find them. Whoever they are — whatever their purpose — they will be held accountable.”
The room buzzed with tension once more.
As she stepped off the podium, her firm steps drew every eye.
From the back, Antonio watched with a grin tugging at his lips.
“…She’s bolder than I thought.”
