The Knight Commander of the Second Male Lead [Novel] Chapter 69

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

Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 69

Chapter Title: Belak Incident at the Green Hall

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

Something had happened.

If she described it as contracting with spirits and opening a channel to communicate with them, it felt like static noise was leaking through that channel.

Like an unwanted frequency being picked up on this end.

At that moment, the rat detached from the soldier and latched onto a knight.

"Are we just going to let it continue?"

Jin's voice was rough.

Adrian answered.

"We're unarmed, and jurisdiction here belongs to the Imperial Knights. Can you fight Belak barehanded?"

"That's..."

Jin trailed off, grinding his teeth. Nina spoke up.

"Jin, it just means not barehanded."

"What?"

"Maybe the fallen soldier will lend us his sword?"

Jin's face lit up at Nina's words. As he charged forward, Sharo and Kel glanced at Nina.

"Handle it."

At her command, the two swiftly followed behind Jin. Adrian spoke in a low, drawling voice.

"That wasn't permission from me."

"Our knights couldn't stand by and watch any longer, so they stepped in with righteous indignation. We're sorry for the clumsy knight order, Your Grace."

Adrian turned to look at Nina at her words. She tilted her head at his frank gaze, and he found himself chuckling despite himself.

She could read his mind as if peering right into it, handling everything without him needing to say a word.

Rulers disliked those who saw through their intentions, and historically, people who knew a powerholder's mind too well often met with death.

But to Adrian, Nina was always the exception.

He relished this state where they didn't need to probe each other's intentions—they simply understood and moved in sync naturally.

"Why are you like that, Your Grace?"

When Nina asked, Adrian averted his gaze and said,

"Don't you know?"

"I want to hear it anyway."

Nina smiled as she said it, then looked toward Sharo and Kel.

"Ordinary iron doesn't work well on Belak, as expected."

The kingdom of Lengxi wouldn't issue steel swords to regular soldiers, so the borrowed blades were all plain iron.

Switching from famed steel to common iron swords, they visibly hesitated for a moment.

But their training's blood, sweat, and tears weren't for nothing. Having been drilled in every manner on the training grounds, they adapted in an instant and dispatched the rats one by one.

'Even so, if they lose to C-ranks, they'll get an earful from me.'

Nina wore a satisfied expression.

Once the Lily Knight Order snapped to attention and joined in, the situation wrapped up in the blink of an eye.

Sharo scampered back nimbly, and Nina almost reached out to pat her head on reflex but held back.

Not in front of everyone—nope.

Instead, she gave her shoulder a couple of appreciative taps.

Adrian said,

"Leave the cleanup to the Lily Knights. We should head back."

His words implied it'd get messy if they stuck around, so the group roughly dropped the swords on the floor—considering that a return—and quickly exited the Green Hall.

The entrance was chaotic with people still shouting about Belak emerging, but Jin bulldozed a path through with his bulk, clearing the way instantly.

Without relying on attendants, the knights fetched the carriage and one-horned horses themselves, allowing the Rubaenu Duke's entourage to leave the imperial castle faster than anyone.

'At least it's a relief they didn't come at me.'

She'd worried they might lunge at her, but fortunately(?), the guards took the hits.

'Attacking only the guards, though. Can they control Belak?'

Nina tilted her head, wondering if the book mentioned anything like that.

There were tales of heretics creating gaps in barriers to summon Belak or releasing captured ones. But controlling them? That was new.

'It sure looked controlled, though. And what was that weird presence?'

And why target the guards?

Events not in the original kept cropping up, leaving Nina puzzled. But she accepted it soon enough.

This was reality.

How many changes had she already wrought? Expecting everything to flow identically was just greed.

'For now, hope we get home safe today. And tomorrow's the duel.'

Oddly excited, Nina suppressed a grin.

"What? The Green Hall was attacked? Why were Belak there?"

Prince Paradiv shouted despite himself.

With his Evensel imperial family's signature aquamarine hair and water-blue eyes, he looked every bit the exhausted salesman at a glance.

"I haven't grasped the full details yet."

Naph, his closest retainer and sworn brother—the youngest—bowed his head.

"You haven't grasped it? What do you mean? Did the Lily Knight Order handle it? What kind of Belak? What rank? Casualties?"

"A few soldiers were injured, but nothing serious. No casualties among the nobles from Belak. A handful of minor injuries from them shoving and tripping each other."

"And?"

"The Belak were judged C-rank. Rat-form Belak, seventeen in total. The Lily Knights were on site, but witnesses say Ebony Knight Order members subdued them swiftly."

"Ebony Knight Order? Why were they there?"

"The Rubaenu Duke attended the Green Hall ball tonight."

"Son of a—!"

Prince Paradiv yanked off his jacket and flung it to the floor.

"While I was buttering up the fat count? The Rubaenu Duke went to the Green Hall? Don't tell me Viarentil was there too."

"Since the Rubaenu Duke arrived in the capital today, no one expected attendance at the ball on the same day... My apologies. Princess Viarentil visited the Clancy Count family today."

"That's a relief, at least."

Paradiv slumped onto the sofa with hollow eyes, running both hands through his hair.

"This sales uniform is suffocating."

He roughly tugged at his cravat. It took an hour to tie it just so, but untying was instant.

"Sales uniform?"

"Minus selling myself, I'm no different from a fountain-pen peddler."

He spat it self-mockingly, like a salesman returning empty-handed.

"The fat count doesn't seem like he'll budge."

"Maybe because you call him that behind his back."

At Naph's point, Paradiv made a deeply displeased face.

"They call me the mad prince too. Compared to that, 'fatty' is polite."

They sneered at him as a debauched drunkard and womanizer while fawning "Your Highness" to his face. Ridiculous.

Of course, he was ridiculous too, laughing it off outwardly as "Haha, Count" while calling him fatty behind his back.

"The Rubaenu Duke... I want to meet him... Wonder if he'll see me? What kind of person is he?"

"The opposite of the rumors, they say. Novel attire but impeccable, polite, aristocratic... Rave reviews all around."

"Like a debutante blooming as the flower of high society."

Ignoring Paradiv's quip, Naph continued smoothly.

"And there's one more related bit of news."

"What?"

"They say Viscountess Nina la Del, captain of the Ebony Knight Order, declared herself the empire's greatest swordswoman and challenged anyone irked to come at her."