The Genius Knight of a Fallen Race - Chapter 46

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

◈ The Genius Knight of a Fallen Race ◈

Chapter 46: I Do Not Wish to Discuss This Topic Further

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Just as Princess Serin had expected, Princes Conrad and Elvin tried to avoid sending out capable knights, even in a situation like this.

As a result, shouting matches broke out in court every day, and sometimes even swords were drawn.

Their conflict had reached such extremes that Roden did not even need to gather information through the Brotherhood. Even people on the streets knew all about it.

Fortunately, the royal family had not completely washed its hands of the matter.

Once written orders issued in the king’s name reached the lords near the capital, knights soon began pouring in.

The relatively poor wandering knights brought only their squires and a few hired mercenaries, but some lords arrived with dozens of household troops, bringing what was practically a proper army.

The inns of Hasra City could not possibly house them all. Nobles and knights stayed at the estates of acquaintances, while ordinary soldiers pitched tents outside the city.

A week after news of the monsters’ massive offensive spread, Shan received an invitation from the royal family and visited the palace.

“Sir Shan of House Barendil and his squire Roden. Your identities have been confirmed.”

A low-ranking royal official bowed politely and let Shan inside.

As Shan entered the palace for the first time, he realized that the lights within were not ordinary candles, but magic devices.

It was as though every magic device excavated from the Demon Realm over the past several centuries had been brought there. The palace corridors were filled with glowing magic devices that brightly illuminated the surroundings.

The strange white light, unlike the pale yellow glow of candles, shone across the bluish marble halls and created a magnificent sight.

Compared to this, even Count Sedil’s true reception room was nothing.

The splendor reached its peak in the banquet hall deep within the palace.

The three-story hall was open in the middle, allowing people on the second and third floors to look down upon the first.

Glowing magic devices hung from the black-painted ceiling like the moon and stars in the night sky. Finely carved jeweled lamps scattered their light, creating the illusion of shooting stars in every color falling from above.

Banners bearing the shield emblem of the Hasra Royal Family hung from the walls, with several suits of decorative armor standing beneath them.

On the first floor of the lavish banquet hall, nobles and knights exchanged greetings and strengthened their connections.

This banquet was a send-off ceremony for everyone in the ogre expedition who held the rank of knight or higher.

“Is that him? The green-eyed knight?”

“That’s him.”

“They gave a knighthood to an Alto? What on earth was that witch thinking...?”

Naturally, the nobles did not look favorably upon Shan.

He openly defied Pendia’s long-standing unwritten rule against granting knighthoods to the Altos. The western nobles, many of whom followed the Old Faith, reacted especially negatively.

Still, not everyone was hostile.

“Oh, look who it is! Sir Shan!”

“It’s been a while, Sir Asel.”

“To think we would meet again like this. Then again, a warrior like you would never run from some ogre!”

Unlike the nobles who gave him dark looks, the knights welcomed Shan without hesitation, especially those who had grown close to him through Kalion.

A few even dragged over the nobles they served to introduce Shan.

“Come over here, my lord. This fellow is truly remarkable...”

“All right, all right! Stop dragging me around!”

After chatting for a while and seeing the others off, Shan quietly whispered to Roden.

“Honestly, I don’t understand why we have to do this.”

Even if they could not gather their forces and rush in to attack at once, an ogre was still rampaging across the east with an army of monsters, yet they were holding a banquet with all kinds of food laid out.

If the ogre had been moving alone rather than leading a monster horde, Shan would have gone to fight it himself instead of wasting time like this.

Roden nodded with a bitter smile, as though he agreed.

“I feel the same way, but given the timing, it can’t be helped.”

With the king in poor health, the two princes had to polish their own images however they could.

This banquet was merely another step toward that goal.

No matter how much the people suffered, those in power always put their own survival first.

As Roden finished explaining, a loud gong rang from the top of a staircase at one side of the hall.

It was a signal announcing the arrival of honored guests.

“The heirs of the Hasra Royal Family, shields who protect the Kingdom of Pendia and mankind in the goddess’s name, are entering!”

“Show proper respect!”

Before long, four royal children appeared on the central staircase with guard knights at their side.

They were King Gizelle’s four children, born to three wives.

Shan’s eyes met Serin’s, who walked at the very back.

Unlike her usual appearance, with her hair tightly tied back and amethyst glasses resting on her face, she wore a dark violet dress and glittering jewelry. She looked impossibly elegant.

Because the whites of her eyes were so pale they almost seemed bluish, her reddish-brown irises looked blood-red at a glance.

Ahead of Serin stood a beautiful woman with curly platinum-blond hair, lake-blue eyes, and a slender figure.

Kasia Gizelle Lana Hasra.

Serin’s half-sister, whose engagement to a prince of the Ajun Kingdom had been broken off because of what Shan had done in the Demon Realm a few months ago.

She wore a dress as white as snow. With Serin dressed in dark clothing directly behind her, the contrast between black and white stood out even more sharply.

Her slightly drooping, gentle eyes and soft smile were the complete opposite of Serin’s.

“Ha, Lady Kasia is beautiful as ever.”

“She is called Pendia’s jewel for a reason.”

“With that witch behind her, Lady Kasia looks even better by comparison.”

When Shan stared in their direction, the noble who had spoken mockingly cleared their throat and looked away, as though stung.

In truth, Shan himself was partly responsible for the nobles’ contempt toward Serin.

Her decision to knight an Alto had displeased even those who had not thought badly of her before.

Shan’s gaze returned to the royal family.

Ahead of the princesses, the two half-brothers fiercely competing for the throne walked shoulder to shoulder.

Even from the way neither allowed the other to step ahead or fall behind, their rivalry was clear.

Although Conrad was still in his mid-twenties, his slightly thinning hair made him look five or six years older.

His large nose and narrow eyes gave him a stern, dignified impression. He was not particularly tall, but his broad shoulders and confident build stood out.

Other than his distinctive platinum-blond hair, he looked nothing like Kasia, his only full sibling. In a royal family known for strongly taking after the maternal side, people said he was the one who resembled the king most.

Elvin, two years younger than Conrad, was a handsome man with a tall, slender build and neat features.

He looked like a prince straight out of a fairy tale.

His hair, combed back from his face, was reddish-brown from his mother’s Luman blood. The light freckles across his nose gave him the look of a mischievous boy.

‘And...’

Shan’s eyes settled on the knight escorting Conrad.

Marquis Abel, the Lord Protector and commander of the Royal Guard.

In youth, Marquis Abel had swept every martial competition hosted by the royal family. During several past rebellions, Marquis Abel had personally cut down more than a dozen knights.

For that reason, Pendia’s gossipmongers often said:

‘The strongest knight in the Arman Alliance is Marquis Abel.’

Watching the Marquis walk, Shan could somewhat agree.

‘As expected...’

Ever since he had become old enough to think for himself, Shan had believed that everyone in the world moved inefficiently and ridiculously.

Like puppets moved by strings tied to the joints of their arms and legs.

Marquis Abel’s steps, unlike those of ordinary people, possessed a remarkable economy of motion.

Force flowed smoothly from the toes to the heels, through the ankles, knees, and hips, then up to the waist and shoulders.

Though the Marquis was not at Shan’s level, Shan had never seen someone who could perform even an ordinary action like walking with such precision.

How would that person fight? How did that person see the world?

As Shan stood there lost in thought, Marquis Abel seemed to feel his gaze and looked back at him.

While the two warriors locked eyes, the princes looked at each other before the nobles attending the banquet.

After a brief contest of glances, Conrad, the eldest, spoke first.

“Warriors who answered the royal summons! I, Conrad, offer my respect for your devotion in my royal father’s stead!”

The nobles who followed Conrad erupted into cheers, while the faces of Prince Elvin’s supporters twisted.

Conrad’s choice of words, implying that he spoke in the king’s place, had made them uncomfortable.

Elvin then shouted.

“This time, the royal family will bear every expense incurred in battle against the monsters!”

“Waaaaah!”

“Long live His Majesty the King!”

Oddly enough, cheers poured out for the king, who could not even attend in person.

Considering that the rewards would all come from the royal treasury, they were not entirely misplaced.

The two princes continued competing to stress how important this expedition was and how enormous the rewards would be if it succeeded.

* * *

After the princes’ competing declarations ended, the banquet became more relaxed and informal.

While the nobles clinked glasses filled with expensive wine and talked, the knights greedily devoured food.

Shan, who strictly followed the dining etiquette Roden had taught him, stood out among them.

Others could get away with it because they were brave knights, but Shan could not.

People would undoubtedly say that the ignorant, lowborn Alto had terrible table manners as well.

Shan had just shoved a piece of food into his mouth while glaring at Marquis Abel beside Prince Conrad when he turned to Roden.

“I shouldn’t talk to the princess right now, right?”

“Of course not. Even if you acknowledge her, keep it to the level of someone you’re grateful to for granting you a knighthood. Nothing more.”

Shan nodded at the answer, though he let out a small sigh.

Political games like this were exhausting enough to be irritating.

Then a huge shadow suddenly fell over him.

It belonged to the tallest person in the entire banquet hall, the towering Sir Lugh.

“It’s good to see you again, Sir Shan! May I join you?”

“Yes. But is it all right for you to be here? I thought you came as the prince’s guard...”

Lugh had entered with Prince Elvin when the four royals arrived earlier, as one of Elvin’s knights.

Even now, Conrad and Elvin’s knights were guarding their respective lords, so why had Lugh alone come over to where the wandering knights sat?

Lugh chuckled at Shan’s question.

“I’m going too!”

“To hunt the ogre?”

“Yes!”

That was truly unexpected.

With Lugh’s skill, Shan had assumed he would naturally be kept in the capital. Why had Elvin allowed him to go?

When Shan glanced at Roden, he merely shrugged as though he did not know either.

In any case, it was good news for Shan.

The more capable companions they had for the coming hunt, the better.

Lugh excitedly babbled about how they could coordinate to face the ogre.

He grew so worked up that he swung his long arms around and spilled wine, causing a nearby knight to frown and rise from the table.

“So, if you jump off my hand, Sir Shan, and put more strength into it...”

“That sounds like an interesting conversation. Mind if I join in?”

The owner of the sudden voice was Prince Elvin, who had been passionately speaking alongside his half-brother only moments earlier.

Startled by his lord’s arrival, Lugh quickly rose and dropped to one knee.

“My lord!”

Despite having served Elvin as a knight for months already, he remained as stiff as a new recruit who had just joined a mercenary band.

Elvin looked at Lugh awkwardly and waved his hand.

“I told you not to act like that. Get up. Ah, you’re Sir Shan Barendil, correct?”

“Yes, Your Highness. I pledge my loyalty to the Royal Family.”

Shan rose from his seat and gave a light bow instead of kneeling like Lugh.

“Yes, that’s just right. I’ve wanted to see you in person for some time.”

Despite what he said, Prince Elvin had not tried to contact Shan since sending someone to ask whether Shan would consider becoming his knight.

Shan only gave the customary reply that he was sorry he had not come to pay his respects sooner.

“No, no. I wasn’t looking for an apology. You still haven’t changed your mind?”

“No.”

Elvin narrowed his eyes at Shan’s firm refusal.

For a moment, the face that had seemed like that of a cheerful young prince showed a faint trace of cruelty and malice.

Amusingly, it resembled Serin, his half-sister, quite a bit.

“You knights can’t be stopped once you start chasing honor! Think it over again after this ogre expedition. My embrace isn’t only open to pretty young ladies.”

His manner of speech was frivolous and lacking in dignity for a prince, but Elvin had a talent for making it seem approachable.

That was one of the areas where he outmatched Prince Conrad.

Unlike Conrad, whom people judged stubborn and inflexible, Elvin often won over young nobles and knights with his natural sociability.

The problem was that he used that talent even when sneaking into the bedrooms of unmarried noble daughters and married noblewomen.

“Your Highness already has a skilled man like Sir Lugh here.”

“Hm? Ah, that’s true. Come to think of it, you two competed for first place in the jousting tournament, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Second place is good, but first place is better, after all. Well, if Sir Lugh can learn more this time, that’ll be good in its own way.”

Shan sensed something strange in Elvin’s tone.

He was not especially quick-witted in this kind of matter, so he could not be certain...

Perhaps Elvin did not value Lugh as highly as Shan had thought.

That might be why he had allowed Lugh to join the ogre expedition.

Just as Shan reached that thought, Elvin suddenly put on a sly smile.

“More importantly, be honest. Do you have feelings for my sister?”

“Pardon?”

Shan asked before he could stop himself, then quietly added, “Forgive me.”

The question had been that sudden and absurd.

“What do you mean, feelings?”

“The natural affection young men and women feel. Otherwise, why would she suddenly knight an Alto boy she had never even met?”

Rumors like that had already begun circulating in secret.

The reason Princess Serin had knighted Shan was simply so puzzling.

Naturally, the rumor had not gained much support because Shan had not sworn loyalty to the princess and had no public connection to her at all.

Elvin had learned through some channel that Shan and Roden had visited the villa where the princess was staying one night, so he was probing Shan this way.

Of course, openly raising the subject where everyone could hear was not normal behavior.

After a brief moment of confusion, Shan mechanically recited the response Roden had drilled into him.

“I received the knighthood through a chance opportunity, and I would never dare hold such personal feelings.”

“Not even a little?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Elvin stared at Shan’s firm answer, let out a quiet hum, and frowned.

“That’s strange. My instincts are usually right. Serin isn’t bad-looking, you know? She looks a little loose, but I think her figure is better than Kasia’s. She’s filled out better in all the right places, too.”

At the astonishingly shameless and vulgar words he spoke about his two half-sisters, Roden nearly failed to keep his expression under control.

The nobles and knights nearby, who had turned their attention toward Elvin’s arrival, repeatedly cleared their throats as well.

Pendia was relatively more sexually open than Old Faith countries such as Libert and Ajun, but even so, a conversation at this level was considered indecent.

Only in the Kingdom of Luman, where noble banquets were criticized as little more than brothels, would people giggle while discussing such a topic.

“I’m sorry, but I do not wish to discuss this topic further.”

Shan spoke with quiet anger.

He was somewhat slow in matters like this and did not fully understand what Elvin meant, but he could at least tell from the mood that Elvin was trying to insult Serin.

Though Shan had phrased it rather indirectly, an ordinary knight had effectively told a prince to shut up.

Silence fell over the nearby tables.

A moment later, Elvin clapped his hands with an exaggerated laugh.

“Ahahaha! It was a joke, a joke! You’re getting angry, so it almost seems like it was true. Relax, my friend!”

He spoke as if he were amused, but irritation showed through his slightly twisted expression.

After muttering a little more, Elvin stood up.

The knights who followed Elvin glared at Shan before leaving with their prince.

Shan looked at Lugh, who remained behind.

“Don’t you need to go with him, Sir Lugh?”

“Huh? Ah, well... He didn’t tell me to come along.”

Even Shan, who was fairly dull in social matters, could be somewhat certain from Lugh’s dejected expression.

Lugh was an outsider among Prince Elvin’s knights.