Chapter 3 - The Black Lion Knights
The Black Lion Knights were greeted with an unusually bustling morning.
Knights and squires, who typically spent their days gossiping under the guise of training or idling about, were frantically sharpening dulled blades and polishing creaky armor.
The already overworked servants were on the verge of losing their minds.
And Agnes, the deputy commander who was perpetually burdened with all manner of tasks and plagued by overwork and stress—
"Why is the training ground in such a state? Can't you make it look *decent*?!"
"Well, the stone floor's all pitted—there's nothing we can do about that. We'd need a stonemason to fix it."
"Haven't you been saying that for two months already?!"
"Huh, has it been that long?"
Agnes stared at the administrator scratching his head while spouting infuriating excuses, barely suppressing the urge to drive a sword into his shameless face.
*Dear God, yet another soul is being tested today. Please…*
With no one to rely on but herself, she recited a prayer under her breath, as she did every day.
The only things growing in her as she single-handedly kept this chaotic knight order from collapsing were not her swordsmanship but her patience and faith.
She was barely maintaining her composure when—
"Fine, let's say that's excusable. Where's that damn… I mean, where's the commander?"
"Oh, he's in his office preparing for the handover. He said to call him when the new commander arrives…"
"Argh!"
Hearing the commander's whereabouts from the administrator, Agnes finally snapped.
"Handover, my foot! He's probably holed up in his office slacking off, as usual!"
As Agnes began screaming and causing a scene, the administrator's gaze drifted to her chest.
*Glance.*
He mentally whistled, watching her clutch her head in frustration. Her ample figure made the plain, utilitarian uniform look almost scandalous.
*That's right. This is the only reason I stick around in this pathetic knight order.*
Could he make a move? No, probably not. Even the lecherous commander couldn't break her resolve, despite openly pursuing her.
So, the eye candy was enough. Pretending to be oblivious, he casually continued, "Shall I fetch the commander?"
"No, forget it. I'll go myself. You just focus on finishing your tasks properly."
"Oh, you mean the handover documents? Got it."
Agnes swallowed a sigh as she watched the administrator saunter off.
*Thinks he's some kind of man, huh? Does he think I don't notice?*
Even in this chaos, he had the gall to ogle her chest. And he couldn't even do his job properly.
Normally, she'd have replaced him on the spot, but he and the commander were thick as thieves, sharing some inexplicable camaraderie among the incompetent.
*How do they manage to be so equally repulsive?*
Now, he was even making excuses about preparing for the handover.
Of course, Agnes had already completed the handover preparations herself—over a week ago.
With the commander, who should be the brains of the operation, and the administrator, who should be its backbone, both utterly useless, her burdens as deputy commander were inevitably crushing.
"Haa…"
But regardless of her suffering, time was running out.
The Black Lion Knights, with nothing to their name but a grandiose title, were about to welcome the unfortunate soul who would become their new commander.
Agnes grabbed her disheveled sky-blue hair once more, shouting with pent-up frustration, "Black Lion Knights, assemble!"
"Assemble!"
Despite everything, they were knights, and seeing her subordinates lined up in the training ground, looking somewhat presentable, brought her a sliver of relief.
When was the last time these pathetic underlings had shouted with such vigor?
The thought made her reflect bitterly on her situation, feeling humiliated that she was moved by something so trivial and expected.
"Black Lions! Are you ready to welcome your new leader?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good. Maintain formation and stand by."
Agnes left her subordinates on standby and headed to the commander's office.
It was the usual routine of the Black Lion Knights. Whenever something happened, she cleaned up the mess alone and reported to the commander.
But that would end today. It *had* to end.
*Bang, bang, bang!*
Agnes pounded on the office door and shouted, her clenched fists trembling with more force than usual. "Preparations for the 13th Black Lion Commander's resignation and the 14th Commander's inauguration are complete! All that's left is for you to come out, Commander!"
"Oh? Good work. I'll be out shortly."
"Not shortly—*now*! The new commander will arrive in less than five minutes!"
Despite the urgency, the office door didn't open until another thirty seconds had passed.
"Pfft, you're quite charming when you're all fired up, Deputy. But do you have to be like this until my last day?"
The commander's appearance as he emerged was a sight to behold.
Not in his uniform but in disheveled casual clothes, with an unshaven, scruffy face and bleary eyes, as if he'd just woken up.
Shockingly, this was tidier than his usual state. At least he hadn't been drinking.
*He hasn't completely lost it, then. If he'd been drunk too…*
Agnes bit her lip, clearly holding back a torrent of words she wanted to unleash.
"At least put on your uniform properly. The person arriving isn't your subordinate, is he?"
"Right, right. Gotta do that. I'm curious about this successor of mine, though."
Not even knowing who his successor was meant he hadn't bothered to read the official orders.
Even now, on the verge of stepping down, he was utterly negligent.
With a leader like this, it was no wonder the knight order was in shambles.
The only reason the Black Lion Knights hadn't completely collapsed was thanks to Agnes.
"By the way, this uniform's so stiff after not wearing it for a while—it's tough to put on. Care to help, Deputy?"
"…Please stop with the nonsense. Can't you at least act like the head of the Black Lions for your final moments?"
As Agnes glared contemptuously at the commander, who was deliberately dawdling while staring at her chest, a squire came running to the office.
"The carriage is pulling in! The new commander has arrived!"
At the squire's urgent cry, Agnes rushed downstairs with a tense expression.
The commander, watching her retreating figure with a lecherous smirk, muttered, "Guess it's time to go. Finally free from this boring post."
---
At the guard post, Agnes swallowed hard as she stood before the double-horse carriage.
For years, she'd endured serving a reckless fool propped up by his family's influence, suffering through hellish days.
The only things keeping her from submitting her resignation a dozen times a day were her sense of duty as the deputy commander of the Black Lion Knights, where she'd served since her days as a squire, and the faint hope that a competent leader would eventually take over.
From what she'd heard, the new commander was a war hero who'd achieved great feats on the battlefield.
Surely, they'd be far better than the current commander, who'd schemed his way into a cushy rear post.
Clinging to that slim hope, Agnes waited for the carriage door to open.
*Click!*
"Glory to the Empire! I am Agnes of the Ihelm Barony, deputy commander of the Black Lion Knights… Uh…"
As she began introducing herself, brimming with nervous anticipation, Agnes fell silent.
The man who stepped out was a giant beyond her wildest expectations.
"You're the deputy commander?"
Clad in pitch-black armor, the towering man stood before her, the top of her head barely reaching his chest.
An overwhelming presence. Agnes looked up at him with trembling eyes.
Knights were superhuman beings who transcended human limits, and Agnes was no exception.
As the deputy commander of a knight order, she was far superior to ordinary knights.
"Small."
But a single word from the man made her feel like prey facing an unstoppable predator.
Agnes tried with all her might to resist the aura he exuded.
*Neigh!*
"Whoa, what's gotten into them? Easy, easy!"
The horses pulling the carriage suddenly began frothing and thrashing wildly, perhaps out of instinctive fear of the man's presence.
Fortunately, the suffocating atmosphere didn't last long.
"But well-honed. You're an excellent knight."
The man grinned at the tense Agnes, patting her shoulder.
His menacing aura vanished as if it had never been, and the horses calmed down.
"T-thank you!"
"I'm Wolfgang of the Schwartz Count family. I look forward to working with you, Deputy."
It was likely meant as a friendly gesture, but the sheer strength in that simple pat left her shoulder stinging.
*So it was a test…*
But more than that, his words kept echoing in her mind.
*"You're an excellent knight."*
Since the disastrous current commander took over, the Black Lion Knights had fallen from their former glory.
Agnes had endured lecherous gazes and harassment from men, steadfastly carrying out her duties.
But this towering man—
Despite his rugged, masculine appearance, unlike the others, he didn't spare a glance at her cumbersome chest, which she often wished she could be rid of.
He tested her skill as a knight and acknowledged it.
Her arduous path had been recognized by this extraordinary man.
It might have been mere pleasantries, but even so, Agnes was grateful.
How she'd yearned for such warm words.
Looking at his scar-covered face, she felt an unfamiliar emotion stirring within her.
"Where to now? I'd like to meet my new subordinates."
"They're all assembled at the training ground. I'll guide you."
"I'm looking forward to it. I wonder how capable my new subordinates are."
But his eager response filled Agnes with a sense of dread.
Based on the brief glimpse she'd seen, this man was undoubtedly a remarkable figure, far beyond comparison to the current commander.
In contrast, the pitiful state of the Black Lion Knights seemed utterly pathetic.
The order's decline was due to a combination of factors, including an incompetent leadership, but it was largely unavoidable.
Still, Agnes felt a deep sense of responsibility for failing to prevent it.
*Haa…*
If only she'd been more capable, or from a prestigious enough family to rein in her useless superior, the Black Lion Knights wouldn't have fallen this far.
"Is that the place?"
"Yes, sir."
Yet, a faint hope began to sprout in a corner of her heart.
This man, who seemed stronger than anyone she'd ever met—
This imposing, reliable giant, who seemed capable of bending anything to his will—
Could he restore the Black Lion Knights, once called the empire's sharpest blade, to their former glory?
*Yes, if it's him… maybe…*
Before she knew it, Agnes's mind was filled with visions of a revitalized knight order under his leadership.
And standing beside this great, powerful lion leading the Black Lions, she saw herself.
Imagining the future, a faint flush spread across her face.