Chapter 88

“Compete in pairs. Come out one team at a time from the right.”

The new knight commander immediately gave orders to the knights gathered at the training ground to spar against each other. The knights made disapproving faces at the order. They were still tired from training in the early morning, so what kind of lightning strike was this all of a sudden?

The knights let out a deep sigh and set the order of the sparring. They showed signs of not wanting to do it, but they couldn’t openly say they didn’t want it. They didn’t like it, but first of all, it was the knight commander’s orders. Those who were lower in rank had no choice but to silently follow his orders.

One two. Paired knights began sparring. The sound of swords clashing echoed under the blue sky. And the knight commander watched closely with his arms crossed.

“Next.”

“Next.”

The move from team to team was very short. Even if it was sparring, it was only about five minutes. Looking at the knights with a hawk’s eye, when the commander judged that he had seen enough of the match, he stopped the match without hesitation and passed it to the next team.

It was a light sparring like scratching the surface of a watermelon. However, thanks to that, he was able to observe all of the sparring of close to fifty knights in a very short time.

“Everyone must have heard that the performance of the soldiers dispatched to Brimdel is not good.”

After the sparring time, the new knight commander gathered the knights together. Then he spoke to the knights, who wondered why he was taking all this time.

“In the next two days, I will head to Brimdel with reinforcements.”

“!”

“The knights who will go to Brimdel with me this time are Lionelli Bahat and Theodore Armstrong. These two.”

The knights were stirred up once again by his sudden declaration of war.

As soon as he took office, he went out. No. Rather than that, is it okay to arbitrarily choose the knights to go to war without consulting the superior?

“Excuse me, Lord. Withdraw that order.”

Unable to bear it any longer, one of the knights took a step forward and said:

“It seems that you don’t know much yet because you took office without following the proper procedures. But it is the authority of the superiors to select the knights to be appointed. It is not something the Lord can decide alone.”

“Are you the superior?”

The knight commander asked.

“It is me who heads to the battlefield, not them. Standing on the front line and fighting against the enemy is also my job, not theirs. So shouldn’t it be my authority to choose the people to go there with me, not theirs?”

“Ideals and reality are different, Lord. It has been that way since the beginning.”

The knight crumpled his face.

“And to be honest, I’m not even sure why the Lord chose Dame Lionelli.”

Lionelli’s face stiffened when her name was suddenly mentioned in this serious atmosphere. Glance, glance. She could feel the eyes of her colleagues looking at her. Many emotions were mixed on their faces. Lionel’s face turned red.

“You don’t know?”

Answering the knight’s words, the knight commander raised an eyebrow. The knight shook his head.

“Yes. When it comes to supporting the Lord by his side, there are many better-suited people than Dame Lionelli. Sir Byers and Sir Lian, for example, have been in the Order for much longer than Dame Lionelli. In the case of Sir Pierce, his family.”

“Stop.”

As the knight began to give out names one after another, the knight commander raised his hand and cut off the knight’s words. He only frowned slightly, but his languid face changed to a cold one in an instant.

“I told you quietly, but you must have misunderstood something. I’m not asking for Sir’s permission right now. I am informing you of the decision I made as superior.”

The cold eyes turned to the knight. The knight, who had been talking well, clamped his mouth shut without even realizing it. It felt like his tongue was tied by a string. An indescribable sense of coercion emanated from the knight commander.

“The reason I picked those two was purely based on their performance. Any other details are irrelevant.”

“Bu, but Lord! In terms of skill alone, I am no less than Dame Lionelli!”

“Sir does?”

The knight commander asked while looking at the knight that was protesting. He didn’t seem angry, but he didn’t seem impressed either. The knight swallowed a gulp. In the suffocating silence, he couldn’t understand why he felt like a rabbit standing in front of a bird of prey when he was only receiving the gaze of that beautiful knight commander.

After a while, the knight commander’s eyes were strangely curved. He smiled briefly.

“Dame Lionelli.”

“Yes, Lord.”

Lionelli, who had been standing there blankly watching the scene, hurriedly responded when her name was called. His deep blue eyes turned to her. Tingles, like electric currents, ran down her spine.

“What do you think, Dame?”

The knight commander raised his head slightly and asked. Like the king of beasts waking up from a nap and growling. His appearance is suffocatingly indolent and dangerous.

What do you think? Lionelli was momentarily shocked. It was difficult to understand the meaning because he cut off the explanation and asked the question directly.

“I …….”

Lionelli, who was about to spit out a rough answer, paused. Then, conscious of the stares pouring down on her, she looked around.

All of her colleagues were staring at Lionelli. Most of them seemed quite surprised by the unexpected development. But among them, there were also people who looked at her mockingly and people who seemed uncomfortable with her. Her eyes met with those who had been cutting her down while talking about her family and gender.

At that moment, Lionelli realized. That this knight commander wasn’t really asking because he was curious about her thoughts. He was giving her a chance to show her worth in front of everyone.

I chose you, so now you have to prove in front of everyone that you are worthy of it.

Her heart was pounding. Her breathing quickened slightly due to the unknown tension and joy.

“He is no match for me.”

Lionelli replied with strength, one word at a time. Then she slowly brought her hand to the sword at her waist. If anyone dares to claim that she was wrong, she will not tolerate it any longer.

It was Lionelli’s final warning to those who doubted her worth.

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