Chapter 25…
After making their splendid vows, word arrived that dinner was ready.
Just like when they had come to the room earlier, they were escorted—this time, to the dining hall.
Unlike the drawing room where they had tea, the dining hall was enormous.
In the center stood a table so large that fifty people could easily sit at it all at once.
“Wow! It’s huge!”
“There’s a table just as big in the palace banquet hall, Your Highness. Actually, it’s even larger. Over two hundred people can dine there at once,” said Madam Laval gently.
“But you don’t eat there every day, right?”
Princess Ellia usually spent most of her time in her room. She either dined with the king and queen or ate alone with Madam Laval.
Since she had become Ellie, she did have more guests at meals—but even then, at most five people.
Yet here, Cleas ate every day at a table this grand?
“The Duke of Bernd’s household has a tradition of eating every meal with the knights. The order is practically part of the family.”
“Then today?”
Only Ellie, Madam Laval, Marquis Simon, and Cleas were in the dining hall.
Rilcia had declined to eat in order to focus on guarding.
So, at the huge table, only four people sat. Not a single knight was in sight.
“Even though it’s my own home, I wasn’t granted permission to dine with Your Highness. They’ll eat later.”
“I’ll give permission!”
There were plenty of seats—why wait and eat separately?
“It’s tastier when everyone eats together!”
Ellie remembered the late-night snacks she’d shared with servants and guards back at the palace.
Having lived alone with her brother for so long, she loved being around people. Being with others made her feel like her brother’s absence hurt a little less.
“Pardon? But… is that truly allowed?”
To dine with royalty was a tremendous honor—something to boast of for generations.
Could such permission really be granted so easily?
Cleas was taken aback.
“Yup! It’s fine!”
Ellie gave a bright and decisive nod.
Neither Marquis Simon nor Madam Laval seemed surprised—they were clearly used to her spontaneity.
With permission granted, it would be rude to delay further.
Cleas instructed the butler to summon the knights.
At the butler’s call, the order arrived quickly in an orderly rush.
“It’s an honor, Your Highness,” said the knight commander, bowing deeply on behalf of his men.
Ellie grinned. “Yup! Let’s all eat together and enjoy!”
“…”
Even as he bowed again, the commander was slightly bewildered.
It was a feeling not unlike the one Cleas had when he first met Ellie.
Cleas wasn’t the only one who’d burned with anger over the late duke’s absurd death.
The knights, his loyal subordinates, had shared that rage.
It had been deep in the night when the late duke dismissed his escort commander, insisting he and the duchess must move “discreetly.”
Then came the riding accident.
It happened, of all times, during a torrential downpour—a day when accidents were bound to happen.
But the late duke and duchess had been such skilled riders that they could practically ride in their sleep. For those who could fight and shoot arrows on horseback, such ability was basic.
And yet, both died from a simultaneous riding accident.
Something was off.
They suspected foul play—but there was no evidence. In the end, it was ruled an accident.
Still, no one in the House of Bernd truly believed it.
They thought it had been a trap.
But with only suspicion and no proof, what could they do?
It must’ve been the royal family…
Yet they couldn’t call a seven-year-old princess the culprit.
Nor could they treat a child who had also lost her parents in a sudden accident as an enemy.
“Wow! This one’s my favorite!”
How could anyone resent such an innocent princess, who lit up just by seeing her favorite dishes?
Suppressing his feelings, the commander looked to Cleas.
“Please enjoy your meal, Your Highness.”
“Okay!”
“Shall I cut your steak for you?”
“Duke Bernd, can you cut steak?”
“Everyone from House Bernd can handle a blade as if it were part of their body.”
He was still just a boy…
Cleas was fidgeting in excitement, eager to show off his knife skills to Ellie.
The commander quietly turned to his own plate. The other knights followed suit.
There were many people, yet the meal was strangely quiet.
Aside from the two children, everyone ate in silence.
With nearly fifty people eating at once, even the clinking of silverware filled the room with noise.
And yet, not long after sitting down, the knights were already finishing their meals.
“Wow, you eat so fast!”
Ellie exclaimed, waving at the commander.
He replied awkwardly, “That’s how knights are, Your Highness. We must eat even during battle—there’s no time to enjoy a leisurely feast.”
“Ohhh!”
A world completely different from that of mages.
Ellie’s eyes widened in fascination at this first taste of a knight’s life beyond what she’d read in books.
“So you just slurp down food in the middle of a fight, then go right back to fighting?”
“If necessary, yes. We’re trained for that.”
“Wow…”
Ah, so that’s why Duke Bernd always acted so proud.
Ellie’s pure amazement made even the commander puff up a little. Who knew fast eating could be a source of pride?
“Rilcia, can you eat fast too?”
Ellie turned to Rilcia.
When they’d eaten together before, Rilcia had matched Ellie’s slow pace, taking small, delicate bites.
But she was a knight too—surely she could?
Ellie’s innocent hope was simple: she wanted the people close to her to be impressive as well.
“I can eat even faster,” Rilcia growled playfully.
The commander narrowed his eyes. “Not faster than me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve never beaten me at anything.”
“I beat you in strength! And height! And weight!”
Rilcia gave him a pitying look.
“Damn it!”
He even lost the staring contest.
Rilcia chuckled softly in victory. “Eat fast, grow strong, Dulsen.”
“…We’re returning to the training grounds!”
Just as she’d said, the commander’s name was Dulsen.
Apparently stung by defeat, Dulsen rose abruptly and marched out.
Ellie blinked in surprise. “Are you and Rilcia close?”
“We’re not.”
“But you spoke casually to each other.”
“We’ve just known each other for a long time.”
Rilcia denied any closeness to the end.
But Ellie’s curiosity only deepened.
“How did you know each other?”
“People who wield swords start training young, and word spreads about anyone skilled. Those of us with talent tend to know each other.”
“Wow, I see!”
It sounded like knights had a world of their own—a path only the naturally gifted could walk.
It was… cool.
Rilcia, catching Ellie’s admiring gaze, couldn’t help puffing up a little. Even Cleas seemed intrigued.
“The usual path,” Rilcia explained, “is to start at a local sword school. Once you’re skilled enough, you apply to the knight order of your choice. If you pass, you begin training as a full knight. Some start even younger—working as a squire in the order they aim to join.”
“What about you, Rilcia?”
“Me? I was always number one locally, then passed the royal guard exam at the top of my class and entered the Royal Guard right away.”
Rilcia’s nose and shoulders lifted so high they nearly brushed the ceiling.
No one hates bragging—it’s just that few have the chance.
And when the person they serve listens with genuine delight? Why hold back?
“The Royal Guard is the dream of everyone who wields a sword,” she said proudly.
“Wow, really! Then will Duke Bernd join the Guard too?”
The topic suddenly turned to Cleas.
Caught off guard, he froze. “Ah, I—”
“Your Highness,” Rilcia interjected quickly, “the House of Bernd is… a bit special.”
Marquis Simon and Madam Laval also looked uneasy.
The Bernd knights were a truly exceptional case.
Most knight orders were filled with those who’d failed the royal guard exam—but the Bernd Order recruited children, training them from youth under its own rigorous system.
They were as strong as the Royal Guard—sometimes stronger.
And their pride was immense.
Comparing the two was something people never did.
Everyone in Nerendis knew that—except Ellie.
And now, she had just made that forbidden comparison right in front of Duke Bernd himself.
