If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight

I could understand their dazed reactions. Because I was also shocked when I first saw Regen. That being said, I had no intention of allowing him to be treated as mere eye candy. To block the gazes of the two, I deliberately stood close to him.

“Rosasia greets Sister Lilliana and Sister Sehera.”

“You startled me. Why don’t you step back a little? You’re making me uncomfortable.”

“I was just excited to see you. Are you returning from the main palace?”

“We were taking a walk.”

Behind Lilliana and Sehera, two knights stood in formation. It seemed they had been walking around the imperial palace, eager to show off the knights they had just acquired. Though I wasn’t as interested in their knights as my sisters were in Regen, I was still curious about them. It worked out well for both sides.

“Shall I introduce my knight to you?”

“Go ahead.”

Regen stepped forward himself. “My name is Regen. It’s an honor to meet Your Highnesses, the owner of Red Safflower Room and Early Summer Room.”

The names of the princesses’ residences were akin to honorary titles. His greeting was flawless. It was likely Hamel had prepared him for imperial etiquette and memorizing names.

Lilliana spoke with an air that made it clear she wanted to assert her pride. “Hmph, now that you’ve been washed and dressed properly, you look somewhat presentable.”

“You couldn’t take your eyes off him, though.”

At my words, the corner of Lilliana’s left eye, where a tear mole rested, twitched slightly.

“I only looked because his face is too excessive for a knight! Don’t get cocky. With that kind of appearance, he just looks weak instead. A knight should have a face like Sir Yulis—now that’s perfect.”

At her signal, a knight stepped forward.

“Greetings to Princess of Silver Bird. My name is Yulis.”

The man’s sky-blue, medium-length hair barely grazed his shoulders. His face was completely devoid of expression. There was a strange sense of discord. His emotions were not just subdued—they seemed erased entirely. He looked less like a living being and more like an object. As I stared into his cold, unfeeling eyes, he returned the gaze with his purple ones.

In that brief moment, I assessed Yulis’ magical power. At the very least, he was a powerful third-rank knight. If he wanted to, he could likely wipe out the area of the imperial palace where we were standing. Of course, that was assuming there were no opposing knights.

Lilliana smirked with satisfaction. “See? You’re staring at my knight too. Want him?”

“That’s a misunderstanding.”

“Well, if you beg earnestly, I might let you borrow him. Not permanently, but maybe for two or three days?”

“…”

In the imperial palace, one must smile like a flower the more one’s patience is tested. But at this moment, that felt truly difficult.

Just then, Sehera seemed eager to join the conversation and cleared her throat to shift the mood. “Jerom, introduce yourself as well.”

“Greetings to Princess of Silver Bird. My name is Jerom.”

The man had ash-gray hair tied into a long tail like a horse’s. His voice was deep and confident. Standing near him, I felt an unpleasant tingling sensation—a sign of his magic.

How pathetic. This Jerom person was trying to exert dominance over Regen. Since Regen’s mana core was broken and his magic was nearly imperceptible, Jerom must have assumed he could intimidate him. The kind of person who flaunts their strength before the weak—I did not favor such people.

“As expected, Sister Hera’s eye for knights is remarkable.”

“Everyone says so. You should’ve chosen better too. Jerom didn’t even need any treatment, but Sir Regen seems to be struggling with recovery, right?” Sehera approached Regen, her gaze fixed on his eye patch. She then clicked her tongue. “A knight who can’t perform his duties.”

“…”

“Isn’t it fatal for a knight to lose one eye? If he only has half his vision, that makes him half a knight. But at least he’s handsome. He can do something else instead of being a knight, right?”

“…”

“Huh? Sir Regen, are you deaf as well? You’re not responding.”

At that moment, I felt something snap, something Lilliana had shaken loose, now entirely broken by Sehera.

“Oh my! Look at Sasha’s smile—it’s just her mouth that’s smiling, not her eyes too. How scary. Why are you looking at me like that? I was only speaking out of concern for you as your older sister. Are you actually angry?”

Ah, I see. I was angry. I closed my eyes briefly and then reopened them with a composed smile. “Sister Hera, you just crossed the line.”

“What?”

“If you realized I was angry, you should’ve quietly stepped back. Not poked at it further.”

When a princess expresses emotion, it is only right to demand compensation for it.

“Sir Jerom.”

My voice carried a deep resonance, something beyond the physical. The owner of the name reacted immediately.

“Uh…!” He let out a foolish sound as one of his knees buckled halfway. He tried to straighten up, but his trembling legs refused to obey.

When the gap in dominance is significant, it’s possible to even seize another’s knight. Jerom was now on the verge of submitting to me instead of Sehera.

“W-What’s happening? Sir Jerom! What are you doing?”

“…”

“Sasha! What is this? What are you doing to him.”

As you can see, I was stripping her knight of his dignity through sheer authority. Let me show you who the real ‘half’ knight is. Jerom wasn’t even a half-knight—he was nothing. I could have taken control of a hundred men like him.

It was then.

“What is all this commotion?” Sister Orlette entered the scene.

“Sister Lette.”

“Ah, Sister.”

“…Rosasia greets Sister Orlette.”

What a shame. If she was going to come, she should have come earlier or not at all. With no choice, I reined in my power and released Jerom.

Lilliana and Sehera openly welcomed Orlette’s arrival. Since she usually opposed me, they likely saw her as their ally. The upcoming scene would certainly meet their expectations.

“Sasha, you cause trouble wherever you go.”

“I was merely protesting the insult to my knight.”

“Is a mere knight more important than your own sisters?”

“A knight’s honor is more important than petty siblings’ squabbles. Or does Sister Lette have a different set of standards?”

Lilliana and Sehera gleefully fueled the fire.

“See? She’s so arrogant, even to her older sister. It’s one thing with us, but even to Sister Lette? How could you.”

Saying that when she also defended her knight so brazenly…

I wish we could wrap this up soon. Just then, Sister Orlette narrowed her eyes and took a measured breath—a habit before speaking sharply.

“Have you enjoyed the past week?”

I couldn’t respond. I had no idea what she meant by that.

“You must be disappointed to leave. Would you like to go back to your room?’

“Seeing you, Sister, makes me want to return.”

“Ah, I see. You must have been satisfied. Seeing your knight’s face, I can understand why.”

As I remained silent, failing to grasp the context, the two princesses beside her, emboldened, offered a hint.

“There’s a rumor going around that you stayed locked up for a week because you were busy keeping your knight in your bed.”

“Just like His Majesty, you’re quite vigorous.”

…Are they insane?

I couldn’t even turn to look at Regen’s face.

“My knight and I are innocent.”

“Let’s leave it at that.”

With an odd sense of defeat, the conversation ended.

As Lilliana and Sehera left, a new figure filled the space—the Golden Deer of the Empire. With voluminous, honey-colored hair braided elegantly, Nanaen approached me, swaying her hair like a tail.

“Oh my, Sisters! It seems I missed an entertaining scene. What were you all talking about?”

“We were talking about the rumor that Sasha spent a week with her knight, day and night.”

“I was curious about that too. Is it true?”

“We’ve decided it isn’t.”

It was an awkward topic to discuss with Regen behind us. I needed to shift the focus of the conversation.

“The audience is all gone, so why are you picking a fight? Or is it you, Sister Lette, who messed with your personal knight?”

“Are you insane?”

“You don’t stop men from kneeling in front of your bed, though.”

“That’s completely different. That would be nothing but coercion based on hierarchy.”

“You have a surprisingly upright sense of morality for someone in the imperial palace.”

I hoped that Lilliana and Sehera would learn from her, even just a little.

After finishing my words, Sister Orlette and I turned to Nanaen. Reading the unspoken question, ‘And you?’ the imperial golden deer confidently lifted her chin.