Succeeding as a Knight in a Gender-Reversal Game

11 – To the Imperial Knight Academy

“Anyway… “The non-aggression pact with the Holy Kingdom will not be a smooth journey.”

“There are many people who want to increase chaos both in the Empire and in the Holy Kingdom. How do you plan to see the goddess after death? hahahaha… “

“……”

Angela Burtion, the third princess of the Burtion Empire.

Iden Bjor, the saint of the Holy Kingdom of Bjor.

Although both of them did not hold real power because they did not have special backgrounds, their abilities were good and their status was noble and high no matter where they went on the continent.

In the place where the two men and women were gathered, there was Lana Sartien, who was unfamiliar with this place because she was once a knight but was now a commoner.

‘I want to avoid any more work related to the saint… I took the wrong time to leave. Whoa… ‘

If it weren’t for the grace of praying for the souls of his dying comrades on the northern front of the empire, and the fact that he was lost alone in the forest and in danger, there was no way he would have helped him this far.

At this point, all of her past favors have been repaid, so if she receives just the right compensation from the princess and returns, this journey could have ended with a story of a pleasant trip…

“Lord Sartien. If you don’t mind, would it be okay if I ask for a little help?”

As for Lana, the princess and her saint, who were seeing her for the first time, seemed to have no intention of letting her go.

“I am just a retired knight, princess. “As a subject of the empire, she only accompanied the saint with whom she had a relationship in the past for a short time to repay his favor, so she is not capable of being of help to the princess.”

Lana tried to turn her horse around to try to avoid this spot as much as possible, but

“That can’t be right. “Even though I didn’t recognize him due to my short experience, our maid did recognize him.”

That maid… He seemed to recognize me somehow. Did we have a relationship in the past?

To Lana, who sighed inwardly, Princess Angela continued to say what she wanted to say.

“I don’t think that Gyeong, the ‘Knight of Dawn and Sunset’ who dyes the blood of monsters and barbarians red on the Northern Front day or night, and who presents a blood-red glow to enemies even at dawn, lacks ability.”

“…It’s just a false name from the past, princess. “I don’t think there is any need for the princess to be close to an old man who has already been retired for nearly 20 years.”

“The word Heo Myeong is not very suitable for a knight whose name has been remembered for nearly 20 years. And, I hope you know that I need help so badly that I need the help of that retired driver.”

As the strength of the specification becomes stronger, the strength of the recommendation also becomes stronger.

Lana Sartien, who thought her position would never end, revealed her past without anything to hide.

“If I stay by the princess’s side, one of the dukes will definitely turn against the princess. I have had a bad relationship with the second daughter of the Duke of Freibach in the past. “If you get my cooperation, you will be on a par with the richest ducal family in the empire.”

“The Duke of Freibach. That’s good. After all, it is a place to support her older sister, the 2nd princess. It’s a place where it’s hard for relationships to get any worse. The Duke of Marhen, the center of the military, would have been a little worried, but it doesn’t matter at all. Rather, I can be of help to you.”

“…What if you say it’s help?”

“I will not ask you to come under my command at all. Because it involves a lot of risk. However, if you can grant me a few requests, I will help you restore your lost honor. “Apart from the compensation for this Saint’s escorting incident.”

The knight’s honor and desire for success, which she thought she had forgotten, stimulated Lana Sartien’s inner self again.

The fierce knightly instinct that I put to sleep for a while while raising children like my daughter and son.

Revenge against those who forced him to retire in disgrace from the Northern Front, leaving behind his comrades who were like family.

Various thoughts related to the past mix in her brain, creating unfamiliar emotions.

And Angela Bourtion was not so foolish as to not notice the swirl in Lana Sartien’s eyes.

“How are you, Sir Sartien? You can choose what is under my command later. If you can just do me a few favors, I promise to restore your lost honor and knighthood. Since there is a saint here, it would be enough for him to become a notary.”

Isn’t it too late? Even now, isn’t it too late to dream of revenge, my honor, and success?

If it weren’t too late… If it really wasn’t too late…

At the moment when emotions are about to burn, the faces of two people more precious than one’s honor, greed, and life come to mind.

“…I’m sorry. “It seems like it would be difficult.”

“…Why, Lord Sartien? Are you really saying that you no longer have any desire to become a knight? “I don’t think the look in Sartien’s eyes that I just saw was anything like that.”

“If I were a single person, I might have done that. However, I am not single now. “I have two children to take responsibility for.”

“So, it’s okay if the problem is resolved, right? Pamilla! “Please bring me the two letters of recommendation and one letter of appointment we discussed earlier, right now.”

“Yes, princess.”

“…A letter of recommendation?”

Angela kindly continued to explain to Lana, who did not understand the word ‘recommendation’ that suddenly appeared.

“Starting this year, we will now be able to have two people recommended by the royal family take the entrance exam for the Imperial Knight Academy. Of course, the royal family will have to bear the cost, but it is possible.”

“Princess. If you don’t mind, would you mind if this old man added half of it? If it’s about supporting Yohan and Lena, I don’t think it would be worth the money. “They are also the people who saved me.”

“Let’s discuss this in more detail when we return to the Imperial Capital, saint.”

“Now, wait a minute! Are you really okay? “The money it takes to train a driver shouldn’t be that small!!”

It is a separate story because he himself made a name for himself as a mercenary from a young age and was ordained by an extinct noble family, but there is a story he heard from his colleagues about how difficult it is to enter the academy and how much money it costs. Know.

Even if I were to receive compensation for escorting the saint this time, it would be difficult to include one of her children…

“Think of it as an advance payment for a contract with Sir Sartien. Although I am not rich enough to give Lord Sartien a fiefdom, I am capable of repaying this much to those who have been indebted to me.”

“…If you have any intention of using this matter to take our children under your control, I will refuse you.”

The royal family’s succession war is fierce.

In her past, when she was a new knight, she was active in the battle related to the succession to the throne, so Johan and Lena want to avoid being involved in this, Lana Sartian.

Angela Bourtion, who realized her intention, swallowed her inner bitter feelings and tried to clear up her misunderstanding.

“This support is in return for the saint’s protection. In the first place, I cannot exercise exclusive influence when the saint also supports me. “I only make a few contacts as a sponsor, and I promise that there will be no coercion of any kind to the Lord’s children.”

“I tell you clearly that this will not happen even in the Holy Kingdom. In the first place, I wonder if I will be able to come to the Imperial Knight Academy after this incident… hahahaha… “If I live a little longer, I don’t know.”

I have political ambitions, but I am not a person who will lie.

Lana judged Angela like that.

“In that case, I will ask the children’s wishes and make the final decision.”

“Good idea, Sir Sartian!! In that case, let’s call in Yohan and Miss Lena first. Pamilla!! “Bring these two people to this barracks!!”

“Yes, princess.”

I waited for Johan and Lena with complicated, yet slightly excited feelings.

* * *

“Do you both want to become students at the Imperial Knight Academy and officially train to become knights?”

Suddenly the path to the Knight Academy opens up like this?

“Imperial Knight Academy… “Then, princess, will we become part of the imperial family after completing the academy?”

“That’s not true. Of course, it would be a different story if you were willing to achieve excellent grades and dedicate yourself to the imperial family. Basically, the Imperial Knight Academy is run based on subsidies from various nobles of the empire. Of course, the imperial family plays the biggest role.”

Angela’s words answering Lena’s question didn’t make any sense to me because I already knew the content.

The judgment I need at this moment is

“……”

The connection between this situation and Aunt Lana, who looks uncomfortable.

Knight Academy itself is such a good story that it’s not a problem at all for me. Rather, I just want to beg to be allowed in.

The problem is Aunt Lana’s bad expression.

Since there is no war at this point, Angela does not have many supporters in the military yet, so she would definitely try her hand at recruiting talent like Aunt Lana.

If Aunt Lana has to sacrifice herself to enter our academy…

“Is it okay if we discuss it with Aunt Lana for a while and then decide?”

“…John?”

“Uh… Well, of course, John. “For now, let’s discuss it with the family and then make a decision.”

There is absolutely no need for such an opportunity.

“Wait a minute, both of you, follow me.”

“Yo, Johan?!”

“So, So-on… “

I grabbed the two people’s thin wrists and walked slightly away from the tent where Saint and Angela were.

After reaching a place where there is no one for a while,

“Aunt Lana.”

“Uh, uhm, Yohan… ?”

“Did Princess Angela threaten Aunt Lana or anything related to her past?”

She could talk about things that related to her.

“Tongue, what a threat! John, that never happened. “There may have been a deal, but it was never a threat.”

“Mom… Could it be that the princess is really… “

“No, Lena! It’s really not true! Ugh, he suddenly brought me here and looked at me with scary eyes, so I wondered what was going on… “

Luckily, it doesn’t seem like it was a trick or something like that.

Angela, who had a lot of criticism for her talent, was worried that she might try to intimidate the lady and put her under her command, but I guess that wasn’t the case.

Then why…? ?

“Then why did you look so bad right then and there? “Are you a little worried about us becoming knights or something like that?”

“It’s not like that. I know your skills very well. You guys are at a level where you won’t be defeated at all even when dealing with new knights who have completed the academy. “Even if I’m a little worried about my life inside, I’m not worried about my skills or anything like that.”

“Then I don’t understand why her mother’s expression wasn’t good like Yohan said? For what reason? ?”

In response to Lena’s question, Aunt Lana took a deep breath and began to reveal what was inside her.

“Actually… The princess said she would ask me several favors in the future. “If you do that, she will allow you to return to being a knight.”

“Are you saying that she used that as bait to lure her aunt to her side?”

“First of all, since it was a business relationship, there didn’t seem to be any problems. Rather… “I felt so sorry that I felt like I was taking advantage of you guys.”

“…What strange sound is that, Mom?”

Lena and I, who heard her aunt’s inner thoughts, were dumbfounded by the unexpected answer.

What is it used for? I would have lived if I had taken advantage of Lana and her aunt, but her aunt had no intention of taking advantage of me.

“It’s okay for me to write articles again now that I’m older…” I was worried that I might be using you for that purpose. “Being involved with the princess will definitely not have a smooth effect on your future life as a knight.”

“I decide all those things anyway! “We are a family, so why do we have to make it so complicated, Mom?”

“But, I feel like I, who should be caring for my family, only thinks about my own greed and doesn’t allow you to make choices… “

What came to mind while listening to Lena and Aunt Lana’s story?

“Aunt Lana.”

“Hey… hahahahahah..?!”

“Johanahaa?!”

-Wow!!

Even if a person is nice, he or she is too nice.

As I held Aunt Lana and Lena in my arms at the same time, I thought about my past days in this world.

A world that I only know half-heartedly, and strangers.

The lustful gazes encountered in a situation where men and women are reversed for the first time.

That one-sided gaze that seeks to put someone down and crush them was never welcome.

But these two people, or rather these two families, served as a breakwater that allowed me to endure such a world.

Because

“Madam, no, mom.”

“Uh, uhuhuh, uhm…” Mind… ?!”

“Yo, Yohan?!?!!”

Although I was a little embarrassed, I tried to express that I thought of them as family.

Just as there can be people who are not family even if you are related by blood, there can be people who are like family even if you are not related by blood.

And the time I’ve lived with them so far has been so enjoyable that I can consider them family.

“We are family. You can express it to that extent. No, I think it would be even sadder if Lana’s mother said she couldn’t do what she wanted to do because of me.”

“Hey, John… Hmm… !”

-Kwoouk… !

There doesn’t seem to be much of an age difference between me and Lena, but I feel a little embarrassed when they call me mom…

Feeling embarrassed, I try to put a little more strength into the arms holding them.

“I hope you don’t sound upset and just do whatever you want. Going to the Imperial Knight Academy is something I’ve always wanted to do. Of course, I’m definitely not saying that I didn’t have enough time to train with Lana’s mom.”

“Hey, John. I understand, so… “

“So please don’t ever feel such strange guilt towards us. “Okay?”

“Ah, I understand, John! I will never do that again!! “I promise hehehe!!”

I was slightly startled by the sudden scream and lowered my head.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

Aunt Lana buried her head on her chest and tried to hide her face somehow, her face completely red.

“……”

Even as Lena blushed, she looked back and forth between me and Aunt Lana with a somewhat complicated expression on her face.

Don’t worry, Lena. I will never steal your mother away or anything like that, so you don’t have to make that weird face.

Then… Now it’s finished. Lana and her aunt are fine too.

Imperial Knight Academy.

A place of opportunity where I can stand tall in this world.

-Cow wow…!!!

Strengthening the arms holding the mother and daughter, I promise once again that I will not miss this opportunity.

I will definitely succeed as a knight and stand taller than anyone else.

Definitely in this life.