TSKSML 22

Chapter 22

Jaina stood staring up at the towering Lepia Palace.

Today was her first day officially working as a knight of the imperial family.

But something felt off.

Typically, imperial knights began their service at the training facility. However, the assignment location printed on her imperial access pass wasn’t the training center—it was the main building where the imperial family resided.

‘…Why?’

No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t understand why a low-ranking rookie knight like her had been assigned to the main palace.

Jaina even began entertaining absurd thoughts—like the possibility that the access pass was forged, or that she was the victim of some elaborate scam.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be a scam.

When she presented her pass to the gate soldiers, a palace attendant promptly appeared.

Jaina followed the attendant and finally stepped into the main building of the imperial palace.

Even the hallways were lavish, decorated with white marble and gold. The presence of guards throughout emphasized that this was indeed where the imperial family lived.

After passing the audience chamber on the second floor, they arrived at the third floor, where the royal residences were located.

Surely she wasn’t here to meet the Emperor himself…?

Jaina felt so nervous she thought she might faint on the spot.

When the door opened, she saw a long red carpet stretching toward an elegant desk crafted from fine hardwood.

In the golden-winged armchair sat a man in a lazy, arrogant posture.

He had platinum hair and red eyes, with chiseled, almost statue-like features. He looked to be about Jaina’s age.

The white and gold uniform he wore, which only members of the imperial family of the Herssen Empire could don, made Jaina hurriedly drop to one knee.

She had never met him before, but anyone born in the empire would recognize the young man before her instantly.

“C-Crown Prince, Your Highness…”

“Hello.”

Jaina’s trembling emerald eyes reflected the brightly smiling boy’s face.

“Give a proper knight’s greeting,” said a stern voice beside her. It was Andre, standing nearby, looking as strict as ever.

Jaina immediately remembered him—he was the head of the knight order and one of the judges during her knight examination.

This time, Jaina offered a formal knight’s salute—not the elegant curtsy of a noble lady, but kneeling fully on one knee, one hand over her heart, in the manner of one who pledges their life in service.

“Your Highness, Crown Prince. I am Jaina Emeldia, reporting for duty.”

The Crown Prince’s red eyes glittered with greed as he looked at the formally greeting Jaina.

‘That splendid knight is my personal guard now!’

Like most royals, Ruihart had an intense sense of material desire.

He owned treasure-filled vaults scattered across the empire and held countless estates.

This was largely due to inheriting the full fortune of his mother, the late Empress, who had come from an immensely wealthy ducal family.

If he liked a piece of clothing or a pair of shoes, he would buy them in every color. Whenever he had time, he participated in rare gemstone and art auctions.

He kept cute dogs, cats, monkeys and elephants gifted by foreign envoys—even peacocks that roamed freely in his garden.

Since he could have anything he wanted, his desire to possess never diminished.

“Jaina Emeldia, as of today, you are hereby appointed as the Crown Prince’s personal knight of the proud Herssen Empire,” Andre declared clearly, as if reading from a document.

Only then did the situation begin to make sense to Jaina.

She had been assigned to be the Crown Prince’s personal guard. She still didn’t know why, though.

“O-Of course! It is an honor!” she stammered.

“I’ve informed His Highness’s aide of your schedule going forward. Confirm details with him.”

“Understood!”

“Any other questions?”

Jaina hesitated.

Since she first heard she was to be the Crown Prince’s personal guard, one question had been circling in her mind.

It was improper for a lowly knight to question a superior, but she felt that if she didn’t ask now, she might never get the chance again.

“If… if it isn’t too rude to ask, may I know why I was chosen as Your Highness’s guard?”

Andre didn’t know how to respond.

As he searched for an official-sounding explanation befitting a commander, the Crown Prince beat him to it.

“Because I like you.”

More than the words themselves, it was the ease with which the Crown Prince said them that made Jaina understand the situation.

After the Empress died, the Emperor had supposedly changed—indulging himself in parties, constantly surrounded by dancing courtesans.

The Crown Prince seemed to have inherited that trait.

It was obvious now: just as one might casually select a dancer or a pet, the Crown Prince had chosen her as his guard on a whim.

“…Th-Thank you.”

Jaina bowed without feeling.

She didn’t particularly like his answer, but decided to think of it positively.

A guard was still a knight, and protecting the royal family was part of a knight’s duty.

If she could gain recognition by serving close to the Crown Prince, it might help her in the future.

“How old are you?” Ruihart asked.

He already knew Jaina’s age but didn’t want to admit how much he’d researched her. He wanted to hear it from her own lips.

“I’m seventeen.”

“I’m eighteen.”

Jaina already knew Ruihart was eighteen.

Every citizen of Herssen Empire was expected to know the age of their future emperor.

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ruihart didn’t like her curt reply.

He had been excited all day about finally meeting her, but Jaina clearly wasn’t interested in talking.

He knew it was foolish to expect affection from a wild wolf the way one would from a lapdog—but he still didn’t like it.

“You don’t talk much, do you?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Her repeated apologies felt like confirmation.

Jaina wasn’t interested in him and didn’t want to grow closer. He could feel it.

“You’re not just my guard. You’re my companion. Try to keep me entertained.”

With that, Ruihart began walking.

At an absurdly fast pace, as if he had no concern for whether anyone could keep up.

“Y-Yes, sir!”

Jaina hurried after him.

She had answered affirmatively—but she wasn’t confident.

The Emeldia sisters were not talkative people.

And the idea of making conversation to please a superior? That left Jaina’s mind completely blank.

It didn’t seem like her life as the Crown Prince’s guard would be easy.

A week passed since Jaina became the Crown Prince’s guard.

Each day flew by, but Jaina had already learned quite a bit about Ruihart.

He was the world’s most carefree playboy—he did whatever he wanted.

From morning, he would read violent, vulgar novels that were popular in the capital. During lunch, he rode horses nonstop.

In the evenings, he either sparred with his noble friends or played chess and cards.

He attended politics and imperial studies classes in the afternoon—but usually fell asleep or was clearly distracted.

Still, Jaina kept watch over him at all times.

Once, he winked at her, making her flinch in surprise.

He was immediately scolded by his tutor and stopped—but still.

He was only a year older than her, yet his behavior was like that of a mischievous neighborhood boy.

One thing puzzled Jaina, however.

Alongside political science and imperial studies, swordsmanship was a required skill for an emperor.

The founding emperor, the previous emperor, the current one, and even Grand Duke Zieghardt were all renowned swordmasters.

But Ruihart never picked up a sword.

Perhaps he was simply bad at it—but he wouldn’t even go near one. That, Jaina found strange.

“He’s tired of them?” Jaina asked, surprised when a maid told her that all the paintings in the Crown Prince’s room had to be changed out.

“Yes, His Highness gets bored easily. Not just with artwork—animals, and even people too,” said the maid, Della.

Della didn’t like Jaina, the new personal guard.

So her comment about replacing the paintings was meant as a warning—Jaina was just another object that could be discarded at any time.

Jaina understood the message immediately.

She may have become a guard because the Crown Prince liked her, but if he grew bored of her, she’d be tossed aside.

She was a stiff, blunt guard with no conversational charm.

Now she realized—perhaps to Ruihart, she wasn’t even a pet. She was more like a piece of decorative art.

“What about that one…?”

Among all the paintings being removed, there was one they hadn’t touched.

It depicted a beautiful young girl with platinum hair and golden eyes.

“That’s a portrait of Her Majesty the Empress, back when she was still a maiden. Naturally, that one’s an exception.”

Jaina looked at it again.

The girl in the painting looked so young and innocent, more like a sweet neighbor girl than a royal.

Standing in a golden field in a white dress, the girl looked modest, yet noble. Her platinum hair, golden moon-like eyes, and sunlit smile made her appear like a wildflower raised under gentle sunshine.

With a loving emperor, a gentle empress, and a mischievous crown prince—the imperial family had once seemed perfect.

That was… before that incident.

Jaina had been young at the time, but she remembered the tragic event vividly.

She looked at the portrait of the late Empress and silently paid her respects.