“Did you enjoy yourself enough?”
Kairon smiled warmly as he saw Cecilia positively nod her head.
At times like this, she was nothing less than a girl of her age.
If she hadn’t become a knight, she would have lived a life not much different from the laughing and joking young ladies there.
“Betty, let’s play the kn*fe-throwing game. Place an apple on your head and stand against that wall.”
“…”
Will she even survive…?
Kairon had some serious doubts.
“Throwing a fork is inappropriate, let alone throwing it towards a person. Beatrice, don’t be swayed too much by Cecilia.”
“Yes, indeed!”
Beatrice, who was about to dash off with an apple, stopped and sighed in relief.
Cecilia, however, countered with dissatisfaction.
“I’m confident.”
“…Your confidence is admirable.”
“Hmph.”
Looking at Cecilia’s proud manner, one finds it difficult to dislike her.
…Still, if someone were to throw a fork at an apple someone else is holding, they would be scolded.
“So, did you feel anything today?”
“The noble young ladies were very cute. They were very kind to me.”
Kairon slowly nodded as he surveyed the sight in the banquet hall.
“That is because you have worked hard to protect people until now.”
Kairon, the knight commander known for being curt.
However, he actually enjoyed banquets.
Of course, he didn’t often participate in the revelry. The weight of being the head of the knight order made it impossible for him to act freely. While he wasn’t particularly fond of loud environments by nature, that was not the main reason.
The reason he enjoyed banquets was simple.
“Take a good look. This is our purpose. We fight to protect this peace.”
The nobles, gathered under the warm light, were dancing.
Although they weren’t present here, the commoners enjoying their daily lives.
This was the reason Kairon wielded his sword, and also Cecilia’s hope.
“Be joyful. The happiness of the people here today is largely due to the ceasefire agreement you have brought.”
The atmosphere intensified.
A soft cello melody spread and the nobles began to pair up for a dance.
Cecilia smiled.
She turned to Kairon and crossed her arms behind her.
“Could you possibly honor me with a dance, Commander?”
Kairon chuckled at the absurdity.
“That’s something an ordinary man would say.”
“But Kairon is my father.”
“Indeed.”
Kairon took Cecilia’s hand and stepped onto the dance floor.
“Look there. Sir Kairon and Lady Cecilia.”
“What a fine father-daughter pair.”
“I wonder how skilled Lady Cecilia is in dance.”
“Being a knight, she cannot be inept at something that also involves physical movement.”
The nobles chatted and watched. Meanwhile, something unexpected happened elsewhere in the same hall.
“E, E, E, Sir Edward?”
“Would it be permissible to request the first dance of honor with you, Lady?”
Edward stood with his charming smile extended.
And Bianca was blushing.
Cecilia watched with a pleased expression as she danced with Kairon.
Today was Cupid Cecilia mode. The arrow seems to have hit its mark.
However, there was someone who couldn’t smile.
“Sh, Shirley, are you alright?”
“Such… a fortunate development.”
Despite her words, Shirley’s expression was rather stiff.
“The debut dance of Lady Bianca has gone well.”
The surrounding ladies following Shirley were at a loss.
It was because, although Shirley was kind to everyone, she wasn’t at her kindest this very moment.
‘Anyway, Deputy Commander Edward probably didn’t have the intention to dance in the first place, so it’s fine.’
Most importantly, today’s star was Bianca.
Cecilia smiled as she looked at Bianca.
Bianca followed Edward’s lead with her face flushed.
Indeed, being of royal bl**d, she seemed accustomed to leading dances.
More than anything, the happiness hidden behind Bianca’s embarrassment warmed Cecilia’s heart.
Thus, everything seemed to have a happy ending…
“…Cecilia. I’ll arrange a dance instructor for you when we return.”
“!”
Cecilia was struck by a great shock.
The day after Bianca’s debut dance.
Windsor Knight Order Headquarters.
Cecilia’s face was radiant after receiving grooming from the ladies.
“Oh, you look exceptionally good today.”
“Yes. You too, Betty.”
“You seem to have grown taller somehow.”
Beatrix held her hand over Cecilia’s head.
“That’s not grown by even 0.1cm.”
“Ah.”
Unfortunately, Cecilia was already fully grown.
Still, she didn’t have much complaint, not being ridiculously short and just slightly smaller for a knight.
“Come to think of it, when viewed up close, Cecilia seems small, but not so much from afar. Strange, isn’t it? Is it due to your good proportions? How tall are you?”
“The measurement of trust and proof stands at 162cm.”
“…Why exactly is 162 associated with trust and proof?”
Well, it’s the qualifying score for idol group members, after all.
It was a benchmark for beautiful young ladies.
“But you’re taller than expected… I thought around 158.”
“I’m busy today.”
Cecilia quickly walked away.
“? ”
Beatrix looked around and then hurriedly followed after her.
“Let’s go!”
Upon entering the headquarters, knights were gathered around a bulletin board.
Hiter stood at the center.
Cecilia curiously asked.
“What’s going on?”
“A m*rder case occurred yesterday on the royal road. They were in the middle of deducing the culprit. Would you like to participate, Cecilia? It’s 10 gold for guessing correctly.”
“Hmm. I’ll pass. I’m too busy.”
“Busy? But it’s during a ceasefire.”
True, the Windsor Knight Order was experiencing an unprecedented hiatus.
With the ceasefire with the Demon Race, the knights stationed on the battlefield had returned in large numbers, making manpower abundant.
Unless it was for some bizarre reason like needing ‘preparation for opening’, there wasn’t really much to be busy with.
That’s why, normally unnoticed, the Windsor knights had taken an interest in the m*rder case.
“I’m not as well-off with time as Hiter.”
“…That’s an extremely rude statement, but it’s frustrating because I can’t argue with it.”
Hiter was an honest knight.
Cecilia, overwhelmed by a sudden urge to touch Hiter’s beard, turned to Beatrix and said.
“You can do everything else, but don’t end up like Hiter, Betty.”
“Don’t teach strange things to the rookies!”
‘Fun, hahaha.’
Cecilia found it amusing to tease Hiter.
There was no particular reason.
“Come on, Betty.”
“Understood. But, Lady Cecilia.”
Beatrix innocently asked out of curiosity.
“Shouldn’t m*rder cases be handled by the Royal Knight Order?”
“That’s right. Any murders, arson, terrorism, and other human-related incidents occurring on the royal road are handled by the Royal Road Knight Order.”
The Windsor and Royal Knight Orders, representing Tereza, had clearly divided roles.
The Royal Knight Order handled human-related matters.
The Windsor Knight Order handled Demon Race-related matters.
“But why is the Windsor Knight Order handling a m*rder case…”
However, just because the Royal Knight Order couldn’t handle cases involving demons or because the Windsor Knight Order couldn’t handle human-related incidents wasn’t necessarily true.
“Windsor also has investigative rights.”
“Eh? I thought it was only permitted for demon-related matters.”
“Your statement isn’t wrong, but think carefully.”
Cecilia smirked as she asked.
“How do you distinguish between them?”
“…!”
“Because highly evolved evildoers are indistinguishable from demons.”
“Truthfully, looking at it from another perspective, humans are sometimes far crueler.”
With 10 years of knight experience, Cecilia had seen her fair share of the world’s horrors.
There were cannibals, and noble who coldly laughed after killing their daughters.
All of them became decent in front of Cecilia’s sword.
The Windsor Knight Order receives a mission and completes it. However, even without receiving a mission, they often self-assigned tasks and resolved them.
“You’ll understand that as you carry out your missions, Betty. What the Windsor Knights need to do.”
Windsors are knights.
In accordance with the code of chivalry, action was necessary.
Naturally, they had investigative rights, and if needed, authority to execute was present.
Only, they prioritized killing demons over anything else.
“Still, it’s better not to get involved in incidents that occur on the royal road. It gets very troublesome.”
“Becomes troublesome…?”
“Yes. The Royal Knights will throw a fit.”
Already, the Royal Knights had teeth gnashing just at the mention of the word ‘Windsor’.
And if they intruded on their territory? They wouldn’t tolerate it.
Certainly, even Cecilia didn’t unnecessarily take over their duties. Even if it was an evildoer, Cecilia still somewhat hesitated at taking the life of another human—
Besides, Cecilia, somewhat surprisingly (?), respected the Royal Knights.
Dundundun.
Cecilia and Beatrix, chatting away, reached the highest floor.
The Windsor Knight Order headquarters were quite large, consisting of three wings and four stories. It was practically the size of a castle.
Beatrix curiously asked.
“Where are we going?”
“My office.”
“!”
Beatrix was highly surprised.
“Did Lady Cecilia not have an office?”
“Of course I do. I’m a high-ranking knight.”
“…I didn’t know because you’ve never shown it.”
“I’m going to see it for the first time too.”
“I see.”
After a while, Beatrix inquired.
“Huh?”
“According to Commander, this is it.”
Cecilia looked around. She found her office soon after and smiled brightly.
“Found it.”
-Cecilia Windsor
An office with an elegant font. Cecilia pulled out something prepared.
“It’s a cute sign.”
Watching Cecilia hang a bunny-shaped sign, Beatrix stood on tiptoe and felt content.
Sometimes, Cecilia provided supreme job satisfaction, and such moments were like these.
-Cash Fine for Unauthorized Entry
“…”
Though the content of the sign wasn’t particularly cute.
“Should be good enough, right?”
Cecilia opened the door and went inside. But Beatrix stayed outside, unwilling to enter. It was out of self-preservation.
“It’s fine for you, Betty. It’s mine and my squad’s domain, so you can freely enter.”
“Th, thank you.”
‘Then, are other people really killed upon entry…’
Beatrix was scared because Cecilia might actually do that.
“Hmm, smells like an old man. I need to decorate this place a bit.”
Cecilia tilted her head as she looked around the office interior.
The first visit, yet the design was so bad it deserved a failing grade.
“Let’s make this Betty’s spot.”
“…Lady Cecilia.”
“Yes?”
“Isn’t this supposed to be Lady Cecilia’s seat?”
The office had four desks. The one Cecilia pointed at was the largest, the commander’s seat.
Beatrix looked at Cecilia with growing unease.
Cecilia was still smirking.
“…Lady Cecilia…?”
As Beatrix started turning blue…
Cecilia stretched out her hand into the air.
Whoosh—.
Thud.
She placed an overwhelming volume of documents on the table.
“This is for today.”
By the way, this pile was all the work she had been delaying.
Beatrix trembled uncontrollably at the sight of the staggering amount likely to crush her.
‘Training this cute Betty to perfection was all for today.’
The reason Cecilia dragged Beatrix along for all her missions?
Cecilia had a plan.
“Alright, let’s do it!”
Cecilia gave a small fist pump. Sensing impending doom, Beatrix fully activated her Light’s Blessing.
Flash!
Unfortunately, Beatrix didn’t have a space-related blessing like Kairon to grab Cecilia away!
Like the wind, Cecilia disappeared.
Only the slightly open window testified that she wouldn’t be coming back.
“It’s too much!”
Beatrix, slumped on the floor, broke down in tears.
On the other hand, while Beatrix was writing reports and sobbing,
Cecilia happily strolled down the royal road.
‘I should go befriend Bianca!’
It was on the way to meet her new friend, though Bianca herself wasn’t yet aware of the status.
And Cecilia was about to witness an unexpected and interesting scene.
“Bianca Eisenberg. I hereby arrest you as a prime suspect in the abduction case of Lady Charlotte Anastasia de Bellemond.”
‘It’s finally the moment to use this.’
Cecilia proudly placed a red ribbon in her hair.
It was time for Ace Detective Cecilia to step in…!
