Chapter 3: Who the Hell is This Guy!?

With every breath I took, the taste of blood filled my mouth.

"Lady Rishali!?"

"Your Highness!?"

"What happened!?"

The moment I burst into the training ground coughing up blood, the knights’ expressions changed completely as they rushed toward me.

Then they all gathered around me, panicking as I lay collapsed in a pool of blood.

"Could it be an attack!?"

"Impossible! The palace defenses are airtight!"

"No, I mean…"

Their panic was understandable. Their VIP had just come stumbling in, hacking up blood.

If anything happened to me, every single one of them here would be beheaded.

"Medical team! Get the medics!"

"I'm… fine… really…"

Nearby, an old recovery mage had already started preparing an ultra-high-grade healing spell, his face pale.

Wasn’t that the spell you’re only allowed to use a few times a year because it’s so ridiculously powerful?

No, no, that’s not it—I’m not injured. I just went full sprint, that’s all.

"I’ll pour in the rest of my life energy if I must…!!"

"Wait, hang on—! That’s really not necessary!"

Everyone else was in a frenzy, and so was I.

There’s no way I could let them burn someone’s life expectancy over something like this.

"I just… ran a bit… and now I’m out of breath…"

“…Huh?”

---

Before long…

"Whew—much better now."

After getting checked out, it was confirmed that I was perfectly healthy.

The diagnosis? Lack of exercise. I got a lot of side-eye for that one as I sipped some water and caught my breath.

"Please don’t scare us like that again, Lady Rishali."

"O-ho-ho-ho-ho. Well, you see, there were circumstances."

Finally released from the crowd, I glanced around the room.

There he was—Takeru, the overpowered knight candidate—staring at me like he’d seen a ghost.

"Oh my my my. That dashing young man over there—isn’t he this year’s applicant for the Royal Knights?"

"…Huh?"

"Yes, you over there. A pleasure to meet you."

I walked right up to Takeru, smiled sweetly, and took his hand.

Maybe because he was getting an up-close look at my pretty girl face, his eyes started darting all over the place.

"…You’re that, um… gardener lady, right?"

"I don’t know what you’re talking about. O-ho-ho-ho-ho."

He was about to say something unnecessary, so I glared straight into his soul.

"No one’s allowed to just wander into the royal palace. Even royalty might sometimes appear… less than formal."

"…"

"And if you’ve seen something you shouldn’t have…?"

Takeru’s face slowly turned pale.

He was probably terrified, being personally warned by a royal princess.

"Fufu. Just kidding ♪"

"Uh… huh?"

I gave him a gentle wink, just to ease the tension a little.

Then I turned to face the noble examiner again.

"Um, Lady Rishali, that man is not an applicant, he’s—"

"Oh? He’s not?"

"He’s a commoner who dared to speak rudely to me, and I was just about to have him arrested—"

"Hmm."

Maybe because I’d spoken to Takeru in such a friendly tone, the examiner noble looked visibly flustered as he scrambled to explain.

But—

"Given the circumstances, wouldn’t anyone have shouted something harsh?"

"…!!"

With an icy tone, I shut down the examiner’s excuses.

After all, I’d seen the whole thing just now with my own eyes.

---

"Haaa… wheeze… huuuh…"

The moment I reached the training ground, I was already hyperventilating.

I was wheezing so hard I couldn’t even speak properly.

This was the price of skipping exercise just because I wasn’t physically inclined.

"I… I must catch my breath first…"

If I barged in like this, it would be a disgrace to my royal dignity.

A member of the royal family must always be graceful. I couldn’t let anyone see me drenched in sweat, panting like a dog.

That’s why I was hiding by the entrance, waiting for my breathing to calm down.

"…Wha—whaaa!?"

And yet, Takeru was suddenly being slapped with some outrageous accusation and nearly arrested.

So I jumped in, trying to disguise my wheezing with dramatic laughter…

But I failed and ended up coughing blood. That’s what really happened.

---

"You mean this kind of thing happens every year during the Royal Knights entrance exams?"

"N-no! But still, that man’s a commoner!"

What I’d just witnessed was absolutely inexcusable.

Takeru hadn’t done anything wrong—it was practically entrapment.

Raising my voice, I pressed the noble examiner.

"Even if he’s a commoner, didn’t he win the martial arts tournament and thus earn the right to take the exam?"

"Winning doesn’t change what he is. He’s still just a commoner."

"And what does his birth have to do with his ability!?"

"Lady Rishali… why would you defend a commoner of unknown background?"

The man showed not a shred of guilt.

"Insects like him are hardly worth more than toilet paper, wouldn’t you say?"

If anything, he looked troubled—as if I were the one saying something outrageous.

He wore a confused expression that seemed to say, “What’s the princess going on about?”

"I’m not defending him because he’s a commoner."

"Then why—"

"Did you know it was my father who decreed that the winner of the martial arts tournament should be granted the right to take the Royal Knights' exam?"

My anger grew with his every smug word.

It was my father—King of Saripa himself—who believed in empowering talented commoners to enrich the nation.

"And what, are you planning to oppose His Majesty’s will?"

"But… there’s never been a case of a commoner joining the Royal Knights before…"

"Isn’t that exactly why the new system was created? Are you saying you failed to understand His Majesty’s intentions?"

"N-no, I didn’t mean that—"

"That’s a massive failure!"

"Urgh…"

The Kingdom of Saripa was a tiny, fragile nation, at the mercy of its massive neighbor, the Deken Empire.

If we didn’t start recruiting talent regardless of status, our kingdom would be doomed.

"And besides—"

That’s why letting morons like this hold power was a danger to the nation itself.

Time to give him a little lesson.

"From what I can see, Takeru looks far stronger than you."

"…!"

Provoked, the noble examiner turned red with fury.

It wasn’t just that a commoner had challenged him—he was now being called weak by a royal.

That carried a completely different weight.

"Even coming from you, Lady Rishali, those words are unacceptable."

"Oh? And what will you do about it?"

"Retract them at once."

He glared at me, sharp and intense.

In response, I smiled softly and said:

"Then prove me wrong. Have a mock battle with Takeru."

"…What did you say?"

"If I was mistaken, I’ll apologize right here and now. I’ll even overlook all your misconduct today."

Then I turned to Takeru with a sly grin.

"As a princess, I command it. Both of you will fight at full strength, using only your skill."

"Lady Rishali…"

"You can do this, right, Takeru?"

Now then—I’ve set the stage.

If my instincts are right, Takeru’s an absurdly powerful warrior.

He’ll probably flatten this dumb noble in seconds.

And then—happy ending! I’ll score myself an elite bodyguard.

"Ahaha! Ahahaha! I see now, I see! As expected of Lady Rishali!"

But—

The noble burst into laughter, clearly delighted by my suggestion.

"So this is how Your Highness plans to cover for my lapse in judgment. How gracious of you."

"Uh… what?"

"I understand completely. I’ll gratefully accept your mercy—and slaughter this commoner in return!"

As I stood there dumbfounded, the pompous noble began stomping his way to the center of the training ground.

Takeru simply stared at the man with a grim expression.

…Wait. Why does Takeru look tense while that idiot looks completely at ease?

"L-Lady Rishali… isn’t that a bit too cruel?"

"Huh?"

"That skinny kid has no chance against the Knight Commander!"

…Huh?

"Wait—he’s that strong?"

"He’s the strongest knight in the kingdom…"

"He earned the title of Knight Commander purely by merit."

At their words, cold sweat began pouring down my forehead.

Wait, seriously? That guy’s actually strong? The strongest knight in the kingdom?

No way. That can’t be true, right?

"He’s just going to get tortured until he’s dead…"

"Poor guy…"

…That smug, nasty jerk is the strongest knight in our entire kingdom!?

---

And so, just like that, the match suddenly began—staged before none other than me, Princess Rishali.

To the east: the country bumpkin swordsman who just arrived in the capital—our boy Takeru.

For a commoner, his equipment was pretty high-grade. It looked more focused on durability than sharpness—practical and easy to handle.

"Are you ready, commoner?"

"…"

And to the west: the pride of our kingdom, the strongest man we’ve got—Knight Commander Paulick Don Greedy.

A veteran of countless battles, he once took down a monster twice his size. In his hands was the treasured sword Gildebald.

He won the national martial arts tournament ten years in a row, and for that, he was awarded the national treasure Gildebald.

He’s now in the hall of fame and no longer allowed to compete in the tournament.

On top of that, he’s also proficient in magic—one of only ten people in the country with an A-rank mana rating. Basically, he’s a cheat-tier old man.

"Both sides, take your stances."

"…"

Apparently, just being killed by Knight Commander Paulick is considered the highest possible honor.

No matter how strong Takeru is, they say there’s no way he can win in a straight fight.

"Ready…"

No, hold on. This… this wasn’t what I had in mind.

How was I supposed to know that guy was the Knight Commander!?

His behavior reeked of a low-level goon, not a legend!

I mean, seriously—has anyone even seen that guy before!? I haven’t!

"The Knight Commander is finally going all out…"

"The legendary knight who’s guarded the royal audience chamber all this time."

Ah, the royal chamber. Daddy’s room.

No wonder I’ve never seen him—I’m banned from going in there!

They’ve kept a ton of stuff from me, since I’m supposed to marry into another country!

"Ahaha… ahahahahaha…"

"Princess Rishali is laughing…?"

Wait. Now that I think about it…

This is the Royal Knights’ entrance exam.

Of course the Knight Commander would be the examiner!

I should’ve realized it sooner—if all the other royal knights were obeying him without question, that should’ve tipped me off that he was the Knight Commander!

"Lady Rishali, do you have a cruel streak after all?"

"She looks so delicate, though..."

"Poor commoner kid. He doesn’t stand a chance."

What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?

Everyone’s looking at me like I’m the villain here, but honestly, I don’t care about that.

What really matters is—if Takeru ends up dying because of this, I’ll never be able to forgive myself.

……

…If it looks like he’s about to be killed, I’ll jump in and stop it.

Then I’ll use my royal authority to beg for his life and protect him, no matter what it takes.

People will call me the stupid princess after this. So be it.

I’m the one who stirred things up. I have to take responsibility.

……

Takeru was staring straight at me.

His eyes—were they filled with fear? Or disappointment?

“…Win.”

Before I even realized I’d noticed his gaze, the words were already out of my mouth.

I leaned forward right where I was and shouted with all my strength.

“You don’t have to be bound by things like being a commoner or a noble!”

【The match… begins!!】

“Show them your strength and prove that you were right all along!”

Yes. That’s what I shouted.

────The match was over in an instant.

“…Huh?”

“Wha—”

I didn’t see a thing.

All I caught was the moment Takeru’s body blurred and vanished the very instant the match began.

Then came a deafening blast, and a plume of dust shot straight up into the air.

A few seconds later, there was the sound of something collapsing—accompanied by a filthy, ragged scream.

“Eh? Wha?”

“What just happened?”

A moment after that, the shockwave and cloud of dust rushed toward me.

Squinting through the haze, I opened my eyes.

The arena was overflowing with an impossible amount of magical energy, so dense the air itself rippled like a mirage.

────!

And then, everyone turned their gaze to the same spot.

There, in the wall of the training grounds—fortified with layers upon layers of reinforcement magic—was a massive crack.

“The Knight… Commander?”

“No… way!?”

And there he was.

Our nation’s overpowered cheat uncle, Knight Commander Paulik Don Greedy…

“Referee, what’s the verdict?”

“Uh, r-right…”

…lay unconscious at the edge of the cracked wall, his prized sword snapped clean in two, his armor shattered into pieces, bloodied and collapsed on the ground.

……

It had all happened in less than the blink of an eye.

“…Victory goes to Takeru.”

The shock was so overwhelming, my mind just blanked.

“…Huh?”

I couldn’t move for a while.