My Childhood Friend Told Me to Go Marry the Most Beautiful Woman in the Kingdom, So I Seriously Started Improving Myself—and Somehow Ended Up Making Women Fall Hard - Chapter 05: The Knight Commander’s Errand Boy

Chapter 05: The Knight Commander’s Errand Boy

There had been some trouble along the way, but in the end, I managed to arrive safely at the knight-in-training dormitory in the royal capital.

The kingdom had four knight orders.

–The Royal Guard Knights, who protected the royal family.
–The First Knight Order, who defended the royal castle.
–The Second Knight Order, who guarded the walls of the royal capital.
–The Third Knight Order, who protected the outside of the capital and the commoner districts.

These four major knight orders existed, each with its own hierarchy.

And among all kingdom knights, there was one rank everyone aimed for.

It wasn’t the rank of Field Marshal.

It was said that this rank held power equal to an entire army—by themselves.

The Crown Knights.

The highest rank a knight could achieve, standing above even the commanders of each knight order and holding authority equal to the Field Marshal himself.
A one-of-a-kind title.

Anyone who became a kingdom knight dreamed of reaching that place—but I never thought I could actually reach such a lofty position.

The Crown Knights were monsters among monsters.

Not only combat strength, but knowledge, education, and even one’s manners were all judged.

“Whew… I can finally relax a bit.”

This time, I had been assigned to the Second Knight Order.

I had sent my luggage ahead of time, so I went straight into my room.

A desk and a bed.

A simple room, with nothing more than a closet to store my belongings and clothes.

Still, as a starting point for a knight-in-training working hard to become a man worthy of the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, it was more than enough.

As a man aiming to stand beside the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, my ultimate goal was the Crown Knights—but that was only a goal.

I suddenly remembered the words my sister had said to me before I left home.

“Going to the training grounds, right?”

At the breakfast table, my sister had asked that while sipping her tea.

“Yeah. I’ve earned my knight-in-training qualification. And I want to rebuild myself by working in the royal capital.”

“You look better already. Having a proper goal is a good thing. Do your best.”

My sister was always on my side.

“But,”

“Hm?”

“Looking for a beauty is fine, but don’t get caught by some weird woman!”

“Weird woman… that’s a pretty harsh prejudice.”

“Women understand women. A woman’s greatest enemy is another woman, you know.”

My sister said it casually.

I could only give a wry smile as I brought some bread to my mouth.

I still didn’t have an answer to who the most beautiful woman in the kingdom was.

That high-ranking noble lady I’d seen in the carriage certainly had beauty worthy of the title.

But I didn’t know if she truly was the most beautiful woman in the kingdom.

That was why, when I finally met the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, I wanted to be someone I could be proud of.

♢

The Second Knight Order’s dormitory was located on the outer edge of the royal castle.

Tall stone walls. A wide training ground. A riding field. Spear targets. Archery targets. White lines painted on the ground for formation drills.

This was a place meant to raise future knights, and the atmosphere was naturally different.

Even casual chatter felt stiff.

There was laughter, but it never lasted long.

I submitted my documents at reception, received my issued gear, left my luggage in my room, and then lined up in the formation I was assigned to.

Around me were men and women about my age.

There were clearly more men—maybe a seven-to-three ratio.

Second and third sons of nobles.

Sons of one-generation knight barons.

Fierce-looking fighters who had risen up from commoner backgrounds.

Their faces were all different, but their eyes were the same.

They were all aiming for the Crown Knights.

You could feel that determination in the air.

At the beginning, everyone dreamed that they would be the knight who reached the very top.

There were a few women here too… but could they really survive in a place like this?

No—no, that was the wrong thought.

This wasn’t the time to worry about others.

I had to focus on myself and work hard too.

My job. The most beautiful woman in the kingdom.
Titles. Strength. Status.

I didn’t have a single thing among those that I could be proud of yet.

Once the formation was fully set, a bell rang.

The air of the training grounds dropped several degrees colder.

“Line up!”

The vice-commander of the Second Knight Order, Sir Bind, barked the order.

A towering giant over two meters tall, with a shaved head—his sheer presence overwhelmed the newcomers.

I straightened my back and fixed my gaze on the front of the training grounds.

A single woman appeared at the top of the stone steps.

She was tall, with vivid red hair flowing all the way down to her waist.

A peerless beauty. No—she was so beautiful that the phrase itself felt cheap.

She stood there wearing armor close to silver-white.

Her eyes, red and sharp like blades reflecting sunlight, looked straight at us.

Her uniform jacket was properly buttoned up, yet her boldly pronounced chest completely stole the trainees’ attention.

Big.

I snapped my gaze back up on reflex.

…What am I even looking at? No, no. That’s not it.

I was looking for a beautiful woman.

I mean, I was—but throwing this at me right away was bad for my heart.

The woman descended the stone steps.

That alone was enough to silence everyone on the training grounds.

“I am the commander of the Second Knight Order. Adelheid von Graetz.”

Her voice was low and carried clearly.

It was a voice filled with the killing intent of a true commander.

Some of the trainees actually fainted from the pressure.

“From today onward, you will belong to the Second Knight Order as knight trainees. This is not a gentle place. Noble or commoner, it makes no difference on the battlefield.”

Straight words. Her gaze pierced through us—pure killing intent.

—I will kill you. That was the kind of pressure it carried.

Even so, I kept looking straight at her.

For just an instant, our eyes met—

And I felt like she smiled.

“Those who remain here will become comrades worthy of entrusting your lives to. Those who fall here cannot become the kingdom’s shield. Give up on becoming a knight.”

Commander Adelheid paused for a beat, then smiled with only her lips.

“…If you don’t want to die, then train like you’re going to die.”

That was not something you said with a smile.

And yet, in that moment, I could tell—about half the men on the training grounds had their eyes light up.

She was good at stirring people up.

That was dangerous. This woman was definitely popular.

She might even be a candidate for the most beautiful woman in the kingdom.

Inside my head, the very top of my list rewrote itself on its own.

Not some princess I’d never seen.

Not a saintess everyone admired from afar.

Right here, right now—

The person standing in front of me felt like she was the one people would call “the best in the kingdom.”

“You.”

The commander’s eyes traced along the line.

And for some reason—

They stopped on me.

…Huh? My back stiffened.

She was looking straight at me.

No escape.

“State your name.”

It came out of nowhere.

I reacted a beat too late.

“H-Hort! Hort Rubel!”

“Hort. How were your sword skills at the academy?”

“Upper ranks… but not first place.”

No exaggeration.

The commander gave a small nod.

“Honest. Good.”

Just those words made something warm flare up in my chest.

I’d been praised.

“Knight trainee Hort, step forward.”

The guy next to me made a what? face.

Honestly, so did I. But I stepped out.

I had no other choice. One step forward from the line.

The stares stabbed into me.

I swallowed and stood before the commander.

She was close. Too close.

Commander—this distance was—

Uh—

Where am I supposed to look…?

“You.”

The commander leaned in, peering straight into my face as she spoke.

“…You’ve got good eyes.”

My gaze kept threatening to drop to her chest—but if I did that now, I’d get cut down on the spot.

The commander kept radiating killing intent, so I desperately endured the pressure of her stare.

The men on the training grounds started murmuring.

I could feel my face heating up.

“T-Thank you…!”

“Hm.”

The commander cut the exchange short, completely unfazed.

“From today on, you will handle my miscellaneous duties.”

“…Hah?”

The sound slipped out.

The instant it did, the vice-commander’s eyes flashed.

My spine snapped straight on reflex.

“Y-Yes! M-My apologies! Understood!”

“Good.”

The commander forgave me as if it were nothing.

“I need one trainee to observe my training up close. You didn’t avert your eyes even when I released killing intent. You pass. You have eyes that don’t run away.”

Eyes that don’t run away.

No, I just didn’t look at your chest because I didn’t want to get executed.

No—actually, I do want to run. I want to run right now.

But the commander’s face already said she’d made up her mind.

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“N-No! I look forward to working with you!”

There was no way I could say I was unhappy.

The commander gave me one final line.

“Follow me, Hort. I’ll show you hell first.”

Cold sweat ran down my back.

Hell.

I had no idea what awaited me—and that uncertainty crashed down hard.