Vote for Your Knight! - Chapter 3
‘The people curse him, calling him a bloodthirsty demon hungry for wealth and glory.’
But as a princess, I found him neither wealthy nor glorious. He had no accumulated wealth, dedicating himself solely to his duties as a knight.
‘After all, it was Dmitry who opened the palace gates during the revolution.’
Of course, many criticized him for joining us after the tide turned in our favor, likening him to a bat[1].
I tugged on Dmitry’s sleeve.
“Come on, let’s go. I’m in a hurry.”
If we delayed any longer, Dmitry might hear even harsher curses.
“You’re not going to let that crazy bastard traitor enter the competition, are you?”
…And there it was.
I glanced at Dmitry. His jewel-like red eyes gleamed casually against skin as white and cold as a snow-covered land of silence.
It was easy to imagine what the rest of his face looked like, even as it was hidden by the cowl of his robe. Silver hair like a frosty river. The sculpted high bridge of his nose. Indeed. He may have been the empire’s scapegoat, but it was difficult to take your eyes off him.
With looks like his, he probably didn’t mind being scorned.
“Did you bring me here to be humiliated and repent?”
—I guess I was wrong.
I shrugged. “It’s not like you have anything to repent for.”
“I don’t regret my decision, so you can go ahead and…”
“Sir Dmitry. I didn’t bring you here as my escort because I think you’re remorseful or that you’re secretly a good man.”
Dmitry’s eyes widened at my words.
I grinned and continued, “I brought you here because you’re the best fighter in the palace. It’s the same reason why I insisted on sparing you from execution when the revolution succeeded.”
“…”
“If you understand, stop talking nonsense and start protecting me.”
“…Very well.”
Dmitry bowed his head. I watched him carefully.
‘Just lowering his eyes reveals his sadness.’
I caught a glimpse of him when he was practicing, and he looked sad even when he swung his sword.
In terms of romance novels, he was a character who would never fall below the level of a wounded male protagonist, or at least, a sub-male character 1. If only Dmitry would enter the knight competition, I’m sure he’d be very popular.
‘Of course, his popularity might skyrocket for different reasons.’
During my time as PD, I would have appreciated the amount of ‘aggro’[2] he would have generated, but I had to be careful right now about navigating public sentiment.
I swallowed my disappointment.
“Let’s hurry. The Lord of Pius is about to lose his head waiting for us.”
Pius was a territory to the south known for its harbor. Its lord was a young nobleman who had taken an active part in the revolution. For his efforts, he was made Lord of Pius.
‘He fought quite well against the tyrant’s soldiers back then.’
Nothing remarkable, but he was a decent fighter.
‘They say it’s a contest of character, but in the end, skill comes first.’
The problem was that since his appointment as Lord of Pius, he hadn’t come to the imperial capital to present himself to the Emperor.
‘He didn’t show up for this meeting either, claiming that he had to take down a pirate.’
Why do those damn pirates only appear when our father calls for him?
‘It can’t be helped. A poor man has no choice but to dig his own well.’
I mounted my horse with Dmitry and rode to Pius. They were fast, sturdy steeds, nourished by the energy of the spirit stone.
“It’s amazing. Normally, they would be tired by now when running this distance.”
Dmitry, who had been silent for a while, spoke up.
“Didn’t you use alchemy to make their water troughs, Princess?”
“Yes, well, something like that.”
I boasted, a bit smug as I nonchalantly shrugged my shoulders.
Dmitry nodded, looking at the approaching walls of Pius.
“I suppose someone like you needs to use alchemy to make anything.”
“…”
Hey, aren’t you supposed to be giving me a compliment in this situation?
‘Maybe he’s hated not because he’s a traitor but just because he’s rude.’
I grumbled inwardly as I arrived at the entrance of Pius’s castle. Thanks to our swift horses, we covered the distance that would normally take two days in just half a day.
Showing the imperial seal, we quickly passed through the entrance. The problem arose when we arrived at the lord’s castle.
“No lord?”
He was away.
“I clearly sent a letter stating my visit. Didn’t he receive it?”
I asked the steward. The steward replied without a hint of apology, “He received it, but he had to leave suddenly due to urgent external affairs.”
“External affairs?”
“He needs to execute those who colluded with pirates.”
The steward spoke with a stern face, as if trying to make himself intimidating.
“Pius is a harbor town, so the punishment for pirates and their collaborators is severe. They tie the criminals to a large wheel, break their limbs with a hammer, and then throw them into the sea. It’s too gruesome for a delicate princess like you to witness…”
“Then, if I go to the execution grounds, can I meet your lord? Take me there.”
“No, Princess! Oh, no! That’s not allowed!”
I looked at the flustered and stammering steward and grinned.
¹ From Aesop’s fable, The Birds, the Beasts, and the Bat. When the birds and the beasts were at war, the bat would ally themselves with whichever side was winning. Basically, the people are calling Dmitry an opportunist.↩
² Aggro in the context of Korean show-running primarily means overwhelming (often negative) publicity. A contestant gets aggressively hyped up or is constantly talked about because they are a lightning rod for attention for one reason or another.↩
