Virgin Knight Who Is the Frontier Lord in the Gender Switched World - Chapter 138

One thing was unequivocally clear: the baker’s daughter had been falsifying her social standing.

Indeed, superhumans can arise from commoner backgrounds.

They do exist, yet even among superhumans, there are distinctions of rank.

The two monstrous superhumans I am aware of, Lord Reckenber and Lord Polydoro, are not of commoner origin.

Though one is a knight of the clergy and the other a lordly knight, both are undeniably of noble lineage.

Lineage equates to power.

The blood diligently woven by ancestors across generations endows its descendant with strength.

The likelihood that The Shadowed One truly descends from the royal line is considerable.

“What madness is this?”

Was Duchess Temeraire’s goal to legitimize her conquest of even the western islands as the Empress of the Holy Gusten Empire, at the conclusion of her ludicrous dream, or did she simply desire to control a powerful superhuman known as ‘The Shadowed One’?

That remains unclear, yet it is certainly appalling.

“Don’t you agree, esteemed aide to Duchess Temeraire?”

“Well, that is precisely the sort of person Her Grace, Duchess Temeraire, is.”

Before reaching Duchess Temeraire, the last guardian, a member of the “Mad Boars Knights,” the sixth superhuman, muttered.

Her face was anxious, the only one among the superhumans I’ve encountered that I recognized, as she had been serving closely beside Duchess Temeraire.

“I am the vice-captain of the ‘Mad Boars Knights,’ the ‘Loyalist.’ Firstly, I must extend my apologies to Lord Polydoro for everything that has transpired.”

The incident began when Lord Polydoro was insulted and plucked the nose of a beautiful youth, the spouse of one of Duchess Temeraire’s retainers.

“As you may already know, it was all my failing. I apologize. Ordinarily, I would have to die to atone, but it is no longer a matter of that nature.”

“Yes, indeed.”

Lord Polydoro responded succinctly.

In this tale, Lord Polydoro was insulted by the ‘Loyalist’s’ husband.

Lord Polydoro retaliated by plucking the nose.

It could have concluded with a death, but owing to Lord Polydoro’s ignorance of noble customs, the saga continued, necessitating an apology from Duchess Temeraire.

Instead of apologizing, another Duchess, Lord Inotsuki, insulted Lord Polydoro.

Now, they were left with no alternative but to fight to the death.

Well, various events occurred, but succinctly, that was all.

The duel had already escalated to a point of no return.

“Nonetheless, I apologize for the compounded disrespect. However, there’s something else I must convey.”

“What is it?”

Lord Polydoro answered with a gentle tone.

The Loyalist, mustering her courage, began to speak.

“I wish for you to splendidly defeat my lord, Charlotte Le Temeraire, of course, without killing her.”

She was suggesting that I defeat her own lord.

How peculiar.

“Do you dislike Duchess Temeraire?”

My query was quickly articulated by Lord Polydoro.

“Not at all. I have never borne any ill will towards Duchess Temeraire. You have defeated the other five members of our ‘Mad Boars Knights’ to arrive here. Although I am called the vice-captain, in terms of strength, ‘The Shadowed One’ is far superior. Even if we fought, I would stand no chance against you, Lord Polydoro, so I am making this request first.”

The Shadowed One may rely excessively on her robust physique, somewhat lacking in finesse.

Despite pointing out such a flaw, the Loyalist’s words flowed without pause.

“In this fortress, including Lord Temeraire, there are seven of us. Lord Temeraire has assembled over thirty superhumans. They are foreigners, with varying skin colors and backgrounds, from descendants of dynasties to children of beggars. But most are resolved to die if it would prevent Lord Temeraire’s death.”

A superhuman legion.

While ideally a fantastical force, it seemed like a fairy tale.

Yet, Duchess Temeraire had indeed accomplished it.

That much could be acknowledged.

“Well, great violence is overcome by even greater violence. We, the ‘Mad Boars Knights,’ were spectacularly managed by just Lord Reckenber.”

Lord Reckenber is indeed notorious for her indiscriminate ferocity—capable, on her own, of overwhelming an entire legion of superhumans. It is astonishing that Lord Polydoro was able to defeat her.

Through the slit of his helmet, a subtle movement of Lord Polydoro’s lips was visible.

“Did you just ask me to defeat Duchess Temeraire?”

“Yes, I did. Though, I understand it might be troublesome to hear this from someone like me, your adversary.”

There are reasons behind it.

The Loyalist murmured softly.

“My lord, Duchess Temeraire, has completely changed. She was not like this in the past.”

Perhaps she is ill.

Her vision has narrowed, and her character has shrunk to that of the pettiest of women. Her mentality, which values life over honor, is unbecoming of a noble.

My lord, Lady Anastasia, may wander the graveyards every night with a vacant gaze, digging up corpses and gnawing at dead flesh, yet she remains a person of character and a splendid noble.

And I deeply respect Lady Anastasia.

“She wasn’t like this before?”

Lord Polydoro inquired with interest.

Could there be some circumstances affecting Duchess Temeraire?

“From her youth, she was narrow-minded and arrogant, a petty woman among petty women. She truly believed there was no one of greater worth than herself, and being born a wealthy and powerful lord knight only exacerbated this belief. At 28 years old, she is unable to apologize to anyone. Her self-love has morphed into something grotesque. It’s not merely that he dislikes being insulted; she cannot tolerate being contradicted at all.”

This is hopeless.

The Loyalist continued, finding no redeeming qualities in Duchess Temeraire.

And did she just refer to her as garbage?

“Lord Polydoro, having fought with five superhumans so far, upon hearing their backgrounds and current situations, what do you think?”

“Hmm.”

After a moment, Lord Polydoro responded straightforwardly.

“They were all admirable warriors.”

“Really? Didn’t you feel even a little pity for them?”

The implication was deeper.

Lord Polydoro appeared troubled.

Tragic backgrounds are common in the world, and everyone has their circumstances.

But as the kind-hearted Lord Polydoro, surely he had his thoughts.

“You are a kind person. Yet, there are some people even your kindness cannot save. Duchess Temeraire does not feel a shred of pity for them. There are those in the world who will only follow such a person. Do you understand why Duchess Temeraire saved them?”

“…I’ve heard how they view Duchess Temeraire. But as for the woman herself…”

Honestly, even Alexandra is puzzled.

What is Duchess Temeraire thinking?

It likely isn’t calculated.

“The conclusion is, Duchess Temeraire isn’t thinking at all.”

The Loyalist replied with a laugh.

“She picked up a disinherited one who should have been dead but somehow survived. She was irritated by a samurai’s indecisiveness, so she encouraged her to kill a slave trader. The Cologne knight is crazier than Duchess Temeraire herself. She didn’t like the dead look in a loser’s eyes, so she encouraged them depending on her mood at the time. The Shadowed One was annoying her by trying to commit suicide, even though dying would mean losing. She forcibly dragged her along.”

“Indeed, she hasn’t thought it through at all.”

“Of course, there was the intention to create a legion of superhumans, which is why she recruited them.”

“It’s not that I’m trying to win them over to make them my subordinates.”

“From the start, it should be natural for them to come to me anyway.”

That’s how she thinks.

After rattling on, she said:

“Well, she must be foolish.”

With a tone of pity, yet gently, the loyalist muttered.

It was a clear insult.

At the same time, the loyalist’s words were filled with a voice that expressed undying loyalty.

“Oh, I’ve been talking about trivial things. It doesn’t really matter. What’s important is what happened after Lord Reckenber was defeated. Even after being nearly killed five times, she did not change.”

That was fine.

As long as we, her close aides, assist her, there’s no problem with the management of her territory.

After all, not a single person in her domain thinks she’s fit to be the Empress.

She will probably die childless and remain a powerful lord until her death.

That was still alright.

Yet, the loyalist continues to talk.

“Everything went wrong after you killed Lord Reckenber.”

The self-absorbed fool began to withdraw into the shadows.

She started spouting nonsense.

There were days when she mocked Reckenber’s death as if she died indulging in her desires.

Other days, she would scream that Reckenber must still be alive.

She would shout that Reckenber is plotting against her, that she is being tested.

Repeatedly murmuring, occasionally lamenting, “What should I do?”

Those days continued.

The loyalist, with sad eyes, whispered:

“Perhaps Duchess Temeraire was slowly going mad.”

“Of course, I tried to calm Her Grace and get her to accept the reality—but it was no use. We don’t know the cause.”

“The cause isn’t known?”

“The cause was exactly what you mentioned just now.”

Lord Polydoro echoed my thoughts precisely.

“Duchess Temeraire might have always acknowledged Reckenber as a formidable opponent whom she actually respected, unable to admit her defeat when she lost in an unknown manner. She’s confused.”

Ultimately, Duchess Temeraire was human after all.

There was no other reason.

“That might be true. But, it doesn’t explain why she became like that.”

The loyalist quietly denied it.

Even though we can hear the words, we can’t grasp how mad Duchess Temeraire has become.

Originally, she was a woman of unsound mind, so it’s hard to understand her condition.

“She was never someone who would suddenly shout or cry. She wasn’t someone who would suddenly become cheerful or depressed. She truly has become a ‘Mad Boar.'”

It seems she couldn’t bear the responsibilities of nobility and was crushed, never to rise again.

If she could end her life quietly in a monastery, that would rather be a blessing.

It seems like she’s suffering from some sort of mental illness.

“Even if she was foolish, she never spoke with such hatred in her eyes towards anyone, even if it was only towards me, her closest aide, claiming she would kill both the Empress and the Pope.”

The atmosphere was strange.

Duchess Temeraire was originally of unsound mind, and perhaps she truly became ill.

But from the loyalist’s perspective, it wasn’t just that.

“Why do you say such things? Please tell me the circumstances. I’d rather die of shame than fail to serve as the sword for the woman who has promoted me from my youth.”

The loyalist muttered in a sad voice, softly:

“After hearing all the information, will you betray me too?”

Her voice was as if it could slice through the soul.

The loyalist’s face was filled with anguish.

“It is absolutely impossible for Her Grace to doubt her direct subordinates. She may be foolish, but because of that, she wouldn’t do such a thing. She’s foolish because she can’t betray her own people. For such a person to speak of such things, there must be some reason.”

Ah, she sighed.

A sigh that seemed filled with love, as if something precious had been lost.

A voice close to a gasp, the loyalist spoke.

“Everything has been strange since Lord Reckenber died. The best way to help Her Grace was to usurp the imperial throne as she wished, but now I no longer think Duchess Temeraire can win against Lord Polydoro.”

If she is to lose.

If she is going to lose anyway.

“I won’t ask Lord Polydoro to offer comforting words to Her Grace. You are not a jester who serves the Queen, but the Knight of Wrath who destroys everything. However, if that’s the case, please destroy everything. Not only Her Grace’s status and inflated self-love but all the hidden agonies.”

Destroy everything and reveal what Her Grace is hiding.

Why she has become like this.

Defeat Duchess Temeraire and clarify everything.

With that plea, the loyalist drew her sword.

The clash of swords began, and thunderous sounds echoed.

The duel concluded in the fifth round.

A thunderous noise shattered the loyalist’s body, and Lord Polydoro ended everything.

—Only Duchess Temeraire remains.