Anastasia Hoshin and Wood Hoshin—just hearing these two names was enough to make the connection.
That's right, Anastasia Hoshin was Wood's sister, although not by blood. Anastasia came from the lowest class of Kararagi, essentially the slums, and that was where she first met Wood.
When they were young, both Anastasia and Wood grew up in the slums, suffering hardship after hardship. Anastasia, due to a congenital defect, was unable to use magic and was nearly sold into slavery. It was then, when they were both still children, that Wood rescued her from a nobleman, wielding his sword to free her. After that, the two began wandering together.
During their travels, Anastasia displayed extraordinary business acumen, which led her to gradually make a name for herself. Upon returning to Kararagi, Anastasia bought out the Lucica Trading Company and renamed it. In honor of the legendary hero "Hoshin of the Wasteland," whom she admired, she adopted his name for both the company and herself.
Having experienced a life of deprivation, Anastasia had developed an insatiable greed, wanting to seize everything for herself. To her, there were only three things that mattered—wealth, power, and her brother.
The first two stemmed from her inherent greed, while the last came from their shared childhood struggles. Anastasia saw her brother as the most precious thing in the world. Her possessiveness toward Wood was intense, seeing him as her exclusive treasure. She loved him dearly, yet her desire to protect him bordered on obsessive.
When Wood grew older, he became increasingly resentful of Anastasia's excessive protectiveness and her greed. So, one day, he quietly left the city-state of Kararagi.
Now, Anastasia had become the president of the largest trading company in Kararagi, yet her ambitions didn't end there. She wanted to lead the largest trading company in the world. For that reason, she sought to compete for the throne of the Kingdom of Lugnica.
A merchant's career had its limits. To expand her business and achieve greater power, it was essential to gain a certain status.
Unlike Anastasia's aspirations, Wood had always dreamed, even as a child, of becoming an honorable knight and protecting the weak. This was why his body bore the blessing known as "Knight's Honor."
It also explained why, when he first met Emilia and her companions, Wood could easily pull out large gold coins—the highest denomination—from his pocket. As the young master of Kararagi's largest trading company, carrying a few gold coins was completely natural.
Seeing an unexpected figure among the candidates made Wood uneasy. He began to subtly move behind Reinhard and the others, hoping to avoid being noticed by a certain someone.
The five "Dragon Priestesses" had arrived, and the next part of the ceremony involved each of them stepping forward to make a speech, to see if the Dragonstone would acknowledge them.
The first to step up was Crusch Karsten, who was the candidate with the most support and highest approval. The Karsten family had always been a prominent noble house of Lugnica, serving the royal family loyally for generations, and Crusch herself was highly capable.
Yet, to everyone's surprise, after the standard introduction, Crusch went on to challenge Lugnica's relationship with the Dragon, declaring that if she ascended the throne, she intended to sever ties with the Dragon.
Even more surprising was that the Dragonstone acknowledged her as a "Dragon Priestess," despite such a radical statement.
After Crusch received the Dragonstone's recognition, Marcos, maintaining order, loudly announced, "Next, will the knight sworn to loyalty please step forward."
Each "Dragon Priestess" was expected to have a knight sworn to them—if no knight would swear loyalty, it indicated a lack of worthiness as a candidate.
Crusch's knight was Felix, and the two shared a strong bond, having grown up together.
Following Crusch was the petite Felt. The nobles had initially intended to support Crusch, the most popular candidate, but her radical remarks had shocked them. After all, they were part of the "Dragon Kingdom," and now someone was suggesting severing ties with the Dragon—it was outrageous.
If they had to shift their support, Felt seemed like a natural choice, given that she had a direct connection to the royal bloodline as the daughter of the late king's younger brother.
However, just as the nobles were beginning to shift their support to Felt, hoping she would be more conventional, her declaration left them seething. She boldly proclaimed that, if crowned, she would rid the kingdom of corrupt nobles. The Dragonstone acknowledged her as well, and many nobles glared at the young girl in fury.
Some even shouted angrily at Reinhard, "Is this how the Astrea family instructs those of royal blood left in the outside world?"
"No, I have serious doubts that this brat from the slums is even of royal descent. She might just be a fraud."
How many nobles were truly innocent? Felt's vow, and the Dragonstone's recognition of her, made them fear that her reign would spell the end for the nobility.
"Do you question the Astrea family values, or my own judgment as Reinhard van Astrea? Felt is unquestionably of royal blood, and the Dragonstone recognizing her is proof enough. I, Reinhard van Astrea, will adhere to my family creed and become Lady Felt's sworn knight. Anyone seeking to harm her must first step over my corpse."
Reinhard stepped forward and knelt before Felt, swearing his loyalty. With the strongest Sword Saint pledging himself to her, no one among the gathered nobles dared say another word. Reinhard was simply unbeatable—no one in the kingdom could match his strength.
"Reinhard, remember that the Astrea family is also a noble lineage. You are, by definition, one of us," one of the nobles argued, hoping to remind Reinhard that his family was also part of the nobility and would be subject to scrutiny.
Reinhard responded with a hearty laugh, "Lady Felt's will is my will. If the Astrea family is found guilty of corruption, then naturally, we too must be judged."
The Astrea family had never been numerous, and they were devoted to the path of the sword, uninterested in anything else. Reinhard had no fear of an investigation—and even if there were issues within the Astrea family, his rigorous and honest character meant he would not hesitate to see justice done.
The strongest contenders, Crusch of the Karsten Ducal House and Felt of royal descent, had both disappointed the nobles. Now, they could only hope that the remaining "Dragon Priestesses" were more reasonable.
But the remaining candidates proved just as eccentric.
Priscilla, also known as the "Crimson Bride," had a reputation that preceded her. When she stepped up, she was arrogant, proclaiming that the throne was hers by default, for the entire world revolved around her.
Next came Anastasia. The gathered nobles, truth be told, did not think much of her. To them, she was nothing more than a commoner from the slums, crass and unworthy of being Lugnica's new ruler.
Anastasia's knight was Julius, a skilled knight with a sharp mind for governance. Unlike most of the nobles, Julius recognized the economic difficulties facing the Dragon Kingdom due to corruption and the lack of a monarch.
A kingdom's prosperity hinged on its economy, and Julius believed Anastasia's talents could revive Lugnica's struggling economy.
Once Julius stepped forward to swear loyalty to Anastasia, all those standing in front of Wood were gone, leaving him fully exposed to the crowd.
"Wood! I can't believe you're here!"
Julius and Anastasia's relationship was more of a partnership than that of a knight and his lady. Anastasia's interest in the throne was primarily to help her expand her business. She had little emotional attachment to Julius's oath of loyalty.
However, when she spotted Wood in the grand hall, Anastasia couldn't stay put. She immediately descended from the platform, ran over, and threw her arms around Wood, oblivious to all else.
"Anna, I told you already, stop hugging me like this! I'm not a child anymore," Wood sighed. He'd called her "Anna" since they were young. Though he seemed exasperated, his expression was helpless as Anastasia clung to him tightly.
To Anastasia, Wood was like her most valuable treasure—and her desire to protect him was borderline obsessive, one of the reasons why Wood had run away from the Hoshin Trading Company.
Wood's addressing Anastasia so casually shocked everyone in the room, especially Julius, who was momentarily at a loss for words after pledging loyalty to Anastasia. He certainly hadn't expected Wood to be Anastasia's brother.
But, as expected of the "Finest Knight," Julius quickly recovered, wearing his usual elegant smile. If Wood was Anastasia's brother, that could only be a good thing for their camp.
Given Wood's immense strength, Julius believed that if there was anyone in the kingdom who could match Reinhard, it would be Wood. Having Wood's support would significantly increase Anastasia's chances of winning the Royal Selection, and that meant Julius's own goals could be achieved sooner.
After this commotion, the Selection ceremony resumed, and the final Dragon Priestess, Emilia, stepped forward nervously to share her ideals.
However, due to her half-elf lineage, Emilia's speech was met with boos and jeers. The young girl, standing on stage, endured the verbal abuse with trembling shoulders, tears welling in her eyes.
Natsuki Subaru, seeing this, tried to step forward, only to be dismissed for not being a knight. When he persisted, Julius even took it upon himself to put Subaru in his place.
Seeing the young girl on stage, trembling but refusing to cry, and hearing the nobles' insults and jeers, Wood silently sighed. He slowly stepped forward from the formation.
"I am Wood Hoshin, and I am willing to serve as Lady Emilia's knight, to assist her in her bid for the throne."
Wood's calm voice echoed throughout the hall, leaving the previously noisy nobles stunned.
Puck, standing by Emilia, and Subaru, who was pinned to the ground, smiled. Emilia, still on stage, widened her eyes in disbelief as she looked at Wood.
Priscilla hid her face behind her folding fan, her smile full of intrigue.
Anastasia, meanwhile, glared at Emilia, her young face filled with jealousy and resentment.
"This is absurd! Even if there are knights willing to disgrace themselves by swearing loyalty to a half-elf, allowing her to compete for the throne is utterly preposterous!" someone finally shouted, breaking the stunned silence, questioning Emilia's right to participate.
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