Vol 1 Chapter 19 – My Very Own Knight【Vol 1 – Spoiled Princess Arc】

Debora fixed a long, cold stare on Erik and Miriam.

Miriam was still inside a dangerous dungeon, yet she slept with an utterly peaceful expression, using Erik’s thigh as her pillow.

Erik, for his part, watched her with a gentle, beaming smile.

(…Why do I feel so left out?)

Who, exactly, had brought down that powerful Ogre?

Erik had sacrificed himself to protect them, yes, but it was Debora’s explosion that delivered the finishing blow.

Whose adventure was this, anyway?

Debora was the one who’d drawn up the plan and brought Erik and Miriam along.

So why did it suddenly feel like a two-against-one?

“Ow!?”

Irritated, Debora smacked Erik’s arm.

For a heartbeat his face went blissfully blank, then snapped back to normal.

“What’s wrong, Princess Debora?”

“Hm? Nothing at all.”

“O-oww…”

Debora ignored his question and pinched his arm.

Tears welled in the corners of Erik’s eyes, but inside he was exultant.

Random, unprovoked violence… pure reward.

“Hey, Hero. Do you always go on adventures like this?”

“Huh?”

Erik tilted his head, mulling over Debora’s question.

“My Papa keeps tossing you some pretty tough quests, right? Haven’t any of them ever been this dangerous?”

“Well, yes. King Rei certainly blesses me with difficult tasks, but he always makes sure I’m properly compensated.”

Erik flashed a sunny smile.

But Debora had heard the rumors—his so-called compensation was barely more than a commoner’s monthly wage.

“Liar. Word is you get paid about the same as an average laborer.”

Erik scratched his cheek with a wry grin.

“In my case, the reward isn’t money. The king grants my hometown tax breaks and improves our infrastructure. That sort of thing.”

“I see…”

While listening, Debora recalled something.

The Altruistic Charity Hero—that was Erik’s epithet.

A hero who flung aside every thought of himself to help others.

Maybe that was understandable for the child of a noble or knight, raised to serve. But Erik was a simple farmer’s son—how could he give so completely?

Debora couldn’t grasp it.

She’d blown up anyone who annoyed her, literally blasted others for simply getting on her nerves—understanding altruism was hardly her forte.

“Hey, Hero, I’m tired too. Let me sleep.”

“Of course. I’ll keep watch.”

Erik gave a soft laugh.

Barely an hour ago he’d been half-dead, yet being assigned lookout duty thrilled his masochistic side.

“Wrong answer. She gets a lap pillow while I sleep on the floor? Punishable by death, don’t you think?””

“Ugh… but my lap is…”

Erik grinned at the merciless decree, yet Debora had no intention of taking a lap pillow.

Miriam was clinging to him and hogging most of the available thigh space.

Besides, Debora would sooner die than nestle her head next to that impudent girl’s.

Erik kept hemming and hawing, unable to figure out what she wanted, until Debora lost patience and yanked him onto his back.

“Here, stretch out your arm.”

“Uh, sure?”

He had no idea what she was after, but the dutiful masochist obeyed.

Debora eased her head onto the arm sprawled on the ground.

“Ohhh, I get it.”

Finally understanding, Erik smiled.

If Miriam had the lap pillow, Debora would take the arm pillow.

Her well-groomed, fluffy hair tickled his skin delightfully.

“How is my arm?”

“Hmm… kind of hard. Not that comfy. My pillow’s way better.”

“I seeee.”

She was the one who asked, yet here she was complaining—Erik practically quivered with joy.

Grumbling, Debora wriggled around to find a good spot, then looked up at Erik’s face from close range and smiled.

“Well, I do feel a little safer.”

“…You know I’m weak, right?”

“I’m aware. The Ogre pounded you to a pulp.”

Erik had no idea why she felt safe.

Then again, lending an arm to the infamous Spoiled Princess carried a delicious tension—she could blow him up at any moment.

“Tell me, Hero—if that girl were in trouble, would you help her?”

“That girl… you mean Miriam?”

“Yeah, that one.”

Debora shot Miriam a withering glare.

Erik, thinking their compatibility was the absolute worst, gave a strained chuckle.

“Of course I’d help. She looks after me all the time.”

“Really? I feel like she only drags you down.”

For a second Erik thought Miriam’s body twitched—but he blamed his imagination.

“That’s absolutely not true.”

He cut Debora’s words down without hesitation.

“Without her, I doubt I’d even be here. She’s the reason I can carry out King Rei’s orders.”

Erik stroked Miriam’s hair as he spoke.

If not for her healing magic—excruciatingly painful though it was—their journey would have been far colder.

At the very least, it wouldn’t have satisfied his masochistic tastes nearly this much.

“I’m glad she’s beside me.”

“…Hmph.”

Still not amused.

Erik’s gentle smile, Miriam’s bright-red ears—both annoyed Debora.

Yet somewhere inside, a small hope bloomed.

Maybe Erik would…

“…What about me?”

“Eh?”

“If I were in trouble, Hero, would you help me?”

Debora peeked into Erik’s face as she asked.

He looked genuinely surprised.

No one expected the brazen Spoiled Princess to say something like that—least of all Erik.

Even Debora didn’t know why she was asking.

But once spoken, she couldn’t take it back.

Well, technically she could blast Erik and the eavesdropping Miriam to ash and bury the whole thing, but for some reason she had zero urge to blow Erik up right now.

Miriam? She could explode her any time.

People feared Debora for good reason.

Let her emotions flare and everything around her might go boom; even servants avoided her.

Only family—King Rei and Prince Orace—treated her normally.

If Erik nodded…

It would be her very first…

With anxious, hopeful eyes fixed on him, she awaited his answer…

“Of course I would.”

“—!”

Erik’s nod filled Debora up inside.

For the first time ever, someone outside her family had accepted her.

The Spoiled Princess was still just a kid, and the joy was immense.

(It went without saying that Erik’s impure thought was If I stick close to the princess, maybe she’ll blow something up again.)

Expecting Erik to read a girl’s feelings was asking for the moon.

“If you’re ever in trouble, call for me. I’ll be there to help.”

Erik smiled warmly at Debora, still resting on his arm.

She found herself staring at that smile and…

“S-s-sure!!”

She shot upright, turning her back to hide her burning face.

(My heart’s pounding like crazy…)

Pressing a hand to her flat chest, she took deep breaths.

Calm down. Losing composure in front of Miriam would be giving the enemy a weakness to exploit.

After several breaths, she faced Erik again.

“Then take this.”

She held out a ring set with a shimmering gem.

“This is… a ring?”

“Not just any ring. It’s called a Ring of Fealty.”

In the Kingdom of Vilemse, a Ring of Fealty was bestowed by royalty upon a retainer they trusted from the bottom of their heart.

For the retainer, it was the highest honor and a pledge to serve their liege for life.

There was no magical compulsion, but most who received one considered it the greatest joy imaginable—like King Rei’s chancellor or Prince Orace’s retainer, Walter.

No one had ever given Debora one.

Partly because she frightened people, mostly because she’d never truly trusted anyone around her.

Now, for the first time, Debora wanted to create her own—her very own—knight.

“Hero… no, Erik. Will you become my knight alone?”

Standing, ring in hand, she asked the question.

With her faint smile and natural charm, she hardly looked like the dreaded Spoiled Princess.

Erik stared for a moment, then gently laid Miriam’s head off his lap and knelt before Debora.

“Of course, Princess Debora. I—Erik—will devote myself to you, body and soul.”

“~~~~~!!”

Seeing him kneel, Debora was overcome with indescribable joy.

She’d envied her Papa and Aniue for their loyal knights—now she finally had one of her own.

Cheeks blazing, she beamed.

“Yeah! Let’s do our best together, my knight!”

Debora’s bright grin earned an answering smile from Erik.

He foresaw a wonderfully kink-filled future and couldn’t stop grinning.

“W-well then, the ring…”

Trembling slightly, Debora reached to slip the ring onto Erik’s finger—specifically, his left ring finger.

That was the last straw for Miriam.

“Ow!?”

Debora’s arm was slapped away.

She yelped and jerked back from the surprisingly strong blow.

Erik hadn’t noticed, but Miriam—who’d been playing possum—was the culprit.

“…What do you think you’re doing, dead weight?”

Moments ago Debora had been floating on bliss; now she glared at Miriam with ice-cold fury.

Slapping a princess’s arm was rank disrespect, and worse, Miriam had interrupted Debora’s first knightly ceremony. She was fifty percent angrier than usual.

“Sorry, Princess Debora. There was a bug.”

Normally timid, Miriam gained super-powered courage when Erik was involved.

Not even Debora’s fearsome explosion skill made her back down.

The blatant lie made Debora’s brow twitch.

“A bug? I didn’t see any.”

“Really? Looked to me like a pest buzzing around Erik…”

“…………”

Shiiiin—absolute silence filled the ‘Beginner-Killer’s Little Room.’

No one would’ve expected a lovers’ quarrel to break out here.

The air was so frigid you wanted to bolt, but the masochistic Erik just kept smiling. Drag me into it, please.

While he was thinking that, the silence finally shattered.

“I swear I’ll kill you, you filthy hag! You piss me off!”