The Knight Commander of the Second Male Lead [Novel] Chapter 6

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 6

Chapter Title: Joining the Ebony Knight Order

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Adrian had left for the knight order, and Nina scraped together every last coin he had given her to prepare her ransom.

The kitchen maids saw her off, praying for her safety.

Her next action was to volunteer for the Ebony Knight Order.

It was a knight order plagued by so many deaths that even riffraff could join without issue.

Though they would likely be carried out as corpses the next day.

Joining the knight order actually came with pay.

Ten small gold coins were the price of her life. They showed some conscience by trying to refuse a young girl like her, but Nina revealed her wrist.

The symbol of a spirit contractor.

Upon seeing the spirit pattern wrapped around her wrist like a band, they stamped her approved.

Though it was called a knight order, she underwent soldier training rather than knight training for six months. Nina showed considerable talent, and the instructor regretted it.

He secretly offered to pay to get her out, but Nina politely refused.

Everyone thought she was a boy, and Nina saw no need to correct them.

Six months later, Nina officially joined the Ebony Knight Order. In the meantime, she heard every rumor there was about the Violet Forest.

A forest shrouded entirely in purple hues.

The rumors about it went something like this.

In the Violet Forest, where the sight of it could make your eyes go strange, there stands a pure white cube-shaped building.

Each face is embedded with a gem, each one a spirit relic.

No one knows who built it or when, but the building itself is a barrier.

According to ancient tales, when the god entrusted the world to the great spirits and crossed the Glass Sea, one of the spirit lords rebelled against the great spirit.

The rebellion was quelled by the other spirit lords, and the fallen spirit lord shattered into pieces that rained down upon the earth.

From then on, Belak—corrupted earthly lifeforms—were born.

The white building was a barrier proving that this was no mere legend.

A fragment of the fallen spirit lord lay within the barrier, and the reason the forest was dyed purple was due to contamination by the poison seeping from the fallen spirit lord.

Some scoffed arrogantly, claiming no such purple forest existed, but Nina knew.

Every bit of that story was true.

To Meet Once Again

Setting aside the fact that the book's title had nothing to do with its contents, the book she had read confirmed it as fact.

That was why she believed in the spirits and formed a contract with them.

The only requirement for contracting with spirits was faith.

Faith in their existence, and faith that they would lend their power.

The problem was how difficult that faith was to muster.

Who would leap off a cliff, believing in the wind spirits and that they would answer the call?

Because of this, spirit mages were exceedingly rare.

It was only after her older sister and brother died that Nina realized this world shared the same setting as To Meet Once Again, and though late, she managed to contract with spirits.

'North Wind' and 'Frost' were her spirits. Adrian, meanwhile, had contracted with 'Shadow and Darkness'.

Like a flock of sheep herded by a shepherd, the new Ebony Knight Order recruits arrived at the Violet Forest.

Facing the purple forest head-on, fear and murmurs spread among the rookies.

The veteran members chuckled as they placed bets on how many would die.

In the midst of the chaos, the new recruits lined up.

When the young captain ascended the platform, the rookies buzzed loudly once more.

But upon recognizing the young captain's face, Nina shot her hand up high.

"Young Master!"

Adrian's face at that moment.

Shattering Adrian's smiling face was no easy feat, but Nina took pride in possessing records of every such instance.

This moment ranked among the top.

'Why are you here?'

Adrian stared at Nina with a dumbfounded expression.

Vice-Captain Lui, standing beside him, barely managed to salvage the situation, and Nina was promptly dragged off to the captain's office.

It was the first time she had seen Adrian so furious. Yet Nina stood tall. If not her, then who?

Seeing Nina grin cheekily, Adrian dragged his hands down his face.

"So, no intention of going back, huh?"

"That's right."

"You want to stay by my side?"

"Of course."

"You said it yourself."

"Yes."

"No take-backs even if you regret it."

"No regrets."

Standing with her shoulders proudly squared, Adrian gazed at her with a complicated expression.

After a long moment, he let out a sigh and finally reverted to his usual self.

"Nina."

He called her name affectionately, and tears welled up in Nina's eyes.

"I missed you."

Her voice trembled as it escaped, and Adrian replied, "Me too," with a hollow laugh.

From that point on, the Ebony Knight Order began to change rapidly.

Adrian restructured the entire organization. Nina bustled about, striving to unite the knight order as one.

There wouldn't be any major incidents for a while, but it was best to do everything they could.

Of course, as the kitchen ladies had said, most of the Ebony Knight Order's members weren't entirely right in the head.

Still, Nina's sincerity reached them, and Adrian's strategies proved effective.

The most important thing was to make it a place where people could live.

'Even I'd wish for death tomorrow living in a dump like this.'

Filthy bedding and the worst possible meals.

A place and people devoid of any hope.

This had to change.

It bore the name Violet Forest, but not every part of it was purple.

The central area with the barrier was a deep, near-black purple, lightening toward the edges—so in truth, most of it was an ordinary forest.

If not for the hordes of Belak.

For starters, Nina and Adrian agreed that cleanliness and order were paramount.

Wash everything thoroughly, scrub it clean, establish rules, and enforce them.

"Delicious food is key."

Nina would say this while preparing hot meals.

The ducal family supplied only low-grade rations, but the forest was a treasure trove of food.

Stew made from hunted deer and rabbits was delicious and hugely popular.

Tasty food brought simple happiness to people, and a sense of fullness granted them leisure.

No training, no dinner.

Once this rule took hold, people grumbled but moved for the sake of that delicious evening meal.

The rules Adrian established were reasonable and free of excess.

Thanks to his efforts, the Ebony Knight Order grew remarkably over the next two years.

The death rate dropped to single digits, and a proper system was in place.

Those like Nina who joined by paying a ransom could leave once it was paid off. It was more akin to mercenaries than knights, by anyone's measure. Most departed the moment their debt was cleared, though a very few chose to stay.

It was a thoroughly satisfying and happy time.

Above all, she could now converse freely with Adrian.

No more hiding.

Facing each other, casually, anytime—how blissful that was.

Sometimes they played in the forest depths like children their age, sneaking away just the two of them. Naturally, it was Nina who grabbed his hand and led him out.

She even built a secret treehouse base, only for a Belak to demolish it, leaving her deeply disappointed.

With her boyish speech and demeanor, everyone naturally assumed she was a boy knight.

Later, when the Ebony Knight Order members learned Nina was a girl, they were floored, then alternated glances between her and Adrian with 'Ah, no wonder' expressions.

Nina pouted and shot back, 'It's just friendship. No misunderstandings!' but they merely smirked.

The knights respected Adrian, while Nina loved him.

If days like these continued forever, she might even confess peacefully before the Glass Sea.

It was at such a time that Gerald's obituary arrived.