46. Appointment

At the Welzley ducal domain.

“N-No way!? Kait lost!?”

Duke Ride Welzley reeled back upon receiving the report from the Eastern Knight Order commander, as though his knees might buckle beneath him.

“I sincerely apologize…”

“Curse it…”

The Platoon Leader Appointment Exam was unforgiving—a single loss meant elimination.

All was lost.

No matter how much power the knight commander wielded, there was no way to overturn this situation.

Kait’s advancement was now impossible.

If this is how it stands… then no matter what, I must prevent Reet from winning the exam…

The Duke was now driven purely by spite.

Once, he had been a man who schemed and maneuvered his way to the position of Duke, but with the previous king’s death, his power base had crumbled in an instant.

That was why he had needed to elevate Kait swiftly through the knight order’s ranks, but those plans were now falling apart.

“…But my lord, if poison is no longer an option, we have no recourse…”

“No, there is still one path.”

“…You mean to say what, exactly?”

That soft-hearted hypocrite has shown his weakness. We shall exploit it.

A perfect scenario began to take shape in Duke Ride Welzley’s mind.

“Knight commander—this is our last chance—”

†

Two weeks after the second match of the Platoon Leader exam, within the royal palace.

Reet and Charlotte were summoned to the palace guard knight’s office.

“You two, I have something that will delight you,” Commander Ursu said with a smile.

“Just today, notification came from the Central Knight Order’s personnel bureau. Charlotte is to be accepted as a full-fledged knight.”

“Really!?” Both Charlotte and Reet exclaimed in unison, their voices ringing with astonishment.

“Would I lie to you?”

Charlotte covered her mouth with her small hand and bowed her head.

“Thank you so much…”

Tears streamed down her face, and she could not even wipe them away. She simply stood there, putting all her strength into her legs to remain upright.

My life up until now had been filled with hardship.

But at last, she was recognized.

“While the exam is still ongoing, the content of the first and second matches was commendable. Your combat ability was judged to be that of a knight,” the commander continued, offering more details about how this had come to pass.

A certain Company Commander from the Central Knight Order had previously ordered Rand to give Charlotte a chance as an apprentice. Witnessing her performance in the matches, he had submitted a recommendation to the personnel bureau. That recommendation had been the deciding factor.

“Starting next month, you’ll be a knight of the Central Knight Order. Unfortunately, you can’t become a palace guard knight right away, so I can’t put you under Reet’s command immediately, but…”

Reet, of course, felt a pang of loneliness at this news, yet he was genuinely happy that her dream had come true, as if it were his own.

“That’s wonderful, Charlotte.”

Reet gently patted her shoulder.

“Thank you so much, mentor…! Truly… thank you so much!”