Vote for Your Knight! - Chapter 9
David pondered on her words.
“I’m curious. With such a vast empire, how do you plan to get all the people to watch?”
“There’s a way to do that!”
The princess spoke as if she had been waiting. David, who had expected this to be a difficult question, was taken aback.
“We’ll broadcast Cartamen to the people from all over the country.”
“Broad…cast? What do you mean?”
“Do you know about using mage stones to create projecting orbs?”
Projection orbs consisted of two mage stones, with one capturing the video and the other broadcasting it.
“Do you mean to provide projection orbs in every home? It would require a tremendous amount of money.”
“That won’t be possible. Instead, we’ll modify these mage stones to establish transmission towers in each region.”
“Transmission towers?”
“Yes. The towers will show Cartamen on a huge screen, so big that even a crowd of people can see it.”
Like a theater screen.
David’s eyes narrowed in surprise.
“Who would make such drastic modifications to mage stones?”
The princess spoke as if she had never heard such a ridiculous question before.
“I did.”
“!”
“I’ve already made most of them.”
Come to think of it, this girl was a genius who contributed to the revolution with her alchemical abilities. Cartamen would have the backing of a genius alchemist.
‘And an excellent participant like me,’ thought David.
With these three elements, Cartamen was destined for success. Having heard this much, David couldn’t delay his response any longer.
“Very well then.”
“Does that mean you’ll participate?”
“On one condition.”
David rose from his seat. He picked up the sword he had been polishing to a shine.
“This is the sword of my late brother.”
He daringly pointed the sword, not towards the Princess, but towards the mysterious knight standing behind her.
Swish!
With a light swing, the robe covering Dmitry’s face fell off.
“If you let me strike down the cowardly knight who kneeled to the tyrant, I will participate.”
Upon hearing this, the Princess quickly stood up. David continued without paying much attention.
“You are aware that my brother was dragged into the tyrant Beauvoir’s blood duel. Though he became the final victor, he refused to become Beauvoir’s lap dog and chose to end his own life. Is it not to test me that you have brought this man before me?”
“That wasn’t my intention at all.”
He had expected the Princess to squirm, but instead she spoke calmly as if she had been anticipating this.
“I can explain about Sir Dmitry Cassel.”
“This is a matter of knightly honor, and if you try to cover for this traitor, I will revoke my agreement to participate in the Cartamen.”
“….”
If David Bertier refused to participate in Cartamen, then it would mean that he officially rejected even the princess’s proposal. Once word of that gets out, the show is doomed from the start. She would have no idea how to salvage it, or rather, if it could even be salvaged.
Edith spoke as if she had made up her mind.
“Fine.”
“….”
“Let’s forget about it.”
“!”
“Put away your sword, Sir David.”
When David stood still, utterly stunned, Edith approached and forcefully lowered his hand.
“Princess!”
“Hush, Sir Dmitry.”
There was authority in Edith’s voice as she interrupted Dmitri. She lifted her cold, stern eyes to stare at David.
“I do not intend to get what I want at the expense of my knight,” she said.
“If it became known that I refused, it would be a death sentence to Cartamen.”
“That’s a risk I’ll have to bear. Goodbye, then.”
Edith turned and walked out of the parlor. Dmitry followed suit.
David, left alone, stood there, dumbfounded. His eyes widened as he considered what he had just heard.
He never expected it to turn out like this. Since the royal family were using the Cartamen to secure their power, he thought she would easily discard one of her own men if it came down to it. Especially if that person was a convenient sacrificial lamb like Dmitry Cassel, a public enemy of the empire.
‘But the Princess genuinely protected even such a knight.’
Perhaps even the Princess wasn’t aware of just how close she was to hosting the “real Cartamen.”
David hurried after the queen. As soon as he reached her, he knelt before her.
“Sir David?”
Startled, Edith stopped in her tracks. David lowered his head even further.
“Please forgive my impertinence earlier. It’s just an excuse, but because of my brother, I couldn’t be sure if your Cartamen would be any different from the tyrant’s bloodbath. However, seeing you protect your own knight, I am convinced that what you are preparing is not mere bloodshed but a true ‘Cartamen.'”
“So you were testing me?”
“I will willingly accept the consequences of my sins.”
“The price will be participating in Cartamen.”
David looked up in surprise.
“But I’m going to use you as a ‘symbol’ to my heart’s content, so be prepared.”
Though the words felt ominous, considering the sins he had committed, David politely replied.
“Very well.”
“Get up, I’m going to see how well you can chant the slogan first.”
“The…slogans?”
Edith beamed and exclaimed, “Empire’s Knight Commander, please choose your knights!”[1]
¹ This is similar to other idol survival show slogans which depict the audience as a producer who helps select, build, and train a group. In this case, the audience takes on the role of “Knight Commander”.↩
