Chapter 46: The Princess’s Challenge and the Arrogant Holy Knight

Whether it was her distaste for Walter’s arrogant demeanor or her indignation at his insult to the Saintess who saved the world, Vinya charged to the forefront.

Drawing her sword, she stood poised, truly prepared to engage this Holy Knight I had never met before.

I wasn’t sure of the extent of Angela’s training with her. To take her to Blue Lake Forest for training implied a certain level of skill, but the opponent was a Holy Knight. Would it truly be alright?

She was still wearing her helmet; surely, that man wouldn’t recognize her as the princess. If a fight truly broke out, with Angela present, there was no need for me to fret needlessly.

“……”

However, Angela remained utterly still, her sheathed sword clutched in one hand, her gaze fixed on Vinya’s movements.

Was she intending for Vinya to challenge him as part of her training? Or did she believe Vinya possessed enough strength to teach that arrogant Holy Knight a lesson?

I couldn’t tell, nor did I think Angela would permit Vinya to engage in a full-blown fight merely because someone insulted me.

I could have seized this moment to leave and return to Nina’s side, yet I stopped as well, curious to see what would unfold.

It wasn’t that I was angry. Few people in this world truly understood me; not even my mother or Vinya had seen the person I had become after embarking on my journey.

Therefore, the Holy Knight was simply ignorant. There was no need to lose my temper at an ignorant man; I wasn’t that volatile. Besides, his words weren’t entirely baseless.

What kept me there was Vinya. I still cared deeply about my younger sister’s affairs, though I hardly had the right to say so, having been missing for over a decade without a single visit.

“My lady, are you speaking to me?”

The Holy Knight paused, addressing Vinya. Indeed, he hadn’t recognized her.

Shouldn’t Holy Knights have met the Queen and Princess? Shouldn’t he recognize her voice? Or perhaps the echo within her helmet obscured Vinya’s tone?

“Yes, sir. Or rather, Holy Knight Walter.”

“…Hmph, hahahaha!” Upon seeing Vinya’s righteous stance, Walter actually burst into laughter. “My lady, you must be an adventurer, correct?”

“I am.”

“Then, are you unaware of who I am?”

“The Twelfth Holy Knight of the Farl Kingdom, Walter Moore.”

“Since you know, do you still intend to challenge me? Could it be that you are a mysterious Luminstone-rank adventurer?”

“No, I am merely an ordinary Silver-rank adventurer.”

Silver? Wasn’t that quite formidable? Two ranks above Black Iron… Wait, did Vinya also need to register with the Adventurers’ Guild? Royalty shouldn’t, right? Was she simply making it up?

Perhaps she intended to defeat the Holy Knight from a seemingly humble position, thereby humiliating him publicly. I couldn’t be certain.

“It seems you possess some self-awareness. Do you truly believe that I, a Holy Knight, could be defeated by an adventurer such as yourself?”

“How will we know without trying?”

“No, my lady, you cannot defeat me. I can sense that you lack sufficient magical power. Whether through martial arts or magic, you cannot overcome me.

This is not arrogance; rather, my strength must live up to the name of a Holy Knight, sworn to protect the royal family and the nation.”

Upon hearing this, most of the surrounding common folk nodded in agreement.

After all, his words held some truth; Holy Knights were powerful guardians, and from a purely strength-based perspective, they couldn’t easily show humility to ordinary adventurers.

“No, this has nothing to do with strength,” Vinya retorted, offering a different perspective. “As a Holy Knight, you insult the hero who saved the world with such an attitude. I cannot accept it.”

“Ah, so you are displeased with my attitude? Such matters hardly require violence to resolve, do they? Furthermore, I do not believe my attitude is inappropriate.

At least, no one here has claimed to have personally witnessed the Saintess defeat the Demon King, nor is there any evidence to prove that this Saintess truly exists. Otherwise, why would countless adventurers have searched for her for so many years without finding a trace?”

‘Because that Saintess is a man!’ I desperately wanted to go up and retort to his face.

However, his words did hold merit. No one could 100% confirm my existence. At this point, only the House of Lothas and the Demon King Bella knew the true identity of the Saintess who saved the world.

I couldn’t simply step forward to prove my identity.

Being spoken to like this by that man truly was infuriating.

“…More words are useless. Draw your sword!”

Faced with Walter’s remarks, Vinya had no rebuttal and could only respond in this manner.

“My lady, you must think carefully. I will not show mercy just because you are a woman or an adventurer weaker than I. If you…”

“Don’t make me repeat myself a third time! Draw your sword, you arrogant Holy Knight!”

“…Very well then.”

Walter’s smiling face suddenly turned serious, and the magical power emanating from him reached me. That intimidating presence was indeed formidable.

He was a Holy Knight, after all. Judging by his attitude, I had thought him a mere figurehead, but it seemed he did possess genuine strength.

“……”

I glanced at Angela, who remained motionless. I couldn’t discern her expression at the moment.

“My lady, you are also a warrior. You must possess a warrior’s fundamental dignity, correct? If you lose, you must accept whatever comes, be it death or punishment. Do you understand?”

“……”

After creating distance and taking his stance, Walter emphasized his point. Vinya, however, did not reply. Instead, she raised her sword, holding it vertically before her chest.

It seemed a battle was unavoidable. The surrounding people began to move away from them.

However, I always wanted to say, if they were going to fight, why couldn’t they just say less and start the battle? As someone who preferred quick engagements, I disliked declaring my resolve or purpose before a fight.

“No, everyone, you don’t need to stay too far. There will be no danger. I only need one move to defeat her. The reason I’ve created distance is simply to give her an opportunity to attack, to allow me to observe her strength. So, please, watch at ease.”

“To have such an arrogant fellow among you is truly a disgrace to the Holy Knights.”

“At least my strength is genuine! I will prove to everyone that as a Holy Knight, I possess ample ability to protect them! I shall use you to prove it now!”

“Come at me if you dare!”

Vinya initiated the attack first, her steps swift, advancing like a gust of wind toward Walter.

“My lady, such a simple attack is useless against me…”

‘Is useless!’ He probably intended to say that. But before he could finish, he saw countless blades thrusting towards him—the very technique Angela had used on me earlier, Hundred-Blade Slash.

I hadn’t expected her to have mastered it already. No wonder she possessed such confidence. Walter seemed startled by the move, momentarily frozen.

If he didn’t react, his body would be riddled with holes the next second… No, this technique was Angela’s original martial art. If Vinya used it, wouldn’t her identity be exposed?

Perhaps the common folk around, unfamiliar with combat, wouldn’t realize, but Walter, as a Holy Knight, should know this, right? Could it be that he had recognized Vinya’s identity and thus dared not act rashly?

However, in the very next second, my conjecture was proven wrong.

“——!”

The sword stopped just before Walter’s nose. More accurately, Vinya’s entire arm was covered in a thick layer of frost, frozen all the way to her collarbone, including a portion of her breastplate.

Her arm was completely immobilized, and the martial art was naturally dispelled.

In that instant, Walter raised his hand, palm upward, unleashing ice and snow at Vinya’s attacking sword and arm. He successfully counterattacked, simultaneously freezing Vinya’s legs, rendering her immobile.

Such a spell required chanting, but his chanting speed—wasn’t it too fast? He had been speaking just a second ago.

He must have mastered the auxiliary ability ‘Rapid Chant.’ More advanced mages indeed possessed such a skill. His lips had been moving earlier, though I’d thought he was trembling in shock.

Did Vinya know this and still attack? Was she overestimating her own strength? While she could use Angela’s martial art to startle an opponent, her foe was still a Holy Knight with undoubtedly more combat experience.

Perhaps she had been momentarily hot-headed, completely failing to assess the disparity in their strengths, merely wanting to vent her inner dissatisfaction?

“You are too naive, Adventurer Miss.” He walked over to Vinya, gripping her frozen arm, and stared at her.

“Indeed, you have mastered His Majesty’s martial art, and your strength is commendable, but your combat experience is still lacking. Your timing was too early, wasn’t it? And now I’ve caught you.”

“……”

Vinya did not respond, nor did she turn to look at Walter. Her entire body was still, but I believed she must be feeling immense frustration now.

In any case, she had lost. Now, it remained to be seen how Walter would deal with her.

“You conceded earlier that you wouldn’t regret it, correct? Then, as a consequence of your defeat, I shall take this arm of yours.”

“——!” Vinya’s head trembled.

He was quite ruthless, I had to admit. It seemed he truly hadn’t discerned Vinya’s identity, then?

However, Vinya herself hadn’t said “no,” so this was her own responsibility.

Still, was it really alright? Should I intervene? She was a princess, after all?

“……”

Yet, Angela beside me remained motionless, continuing to observe.

Given that, perhaps it was fine? Nothing bad would happen?

“However…” Just then, Walter seemed to change his mind. He reached out towards Vinya’s helmet. “First, let me see your face. If I am pleased, I might change my mind and ask you to court me.”

Walter’s smile became meaningful; it seemed he genuinely had such an intention.

To court him? Vinya would undoubtedly refuse, but given her pride, she would likely grit her teeth and accept any punishment.

However, if he removed her helmet and realized she was the princess, would he still have such audacity? Once the princess revealed her true face, everyone would have to kneel, wouldn’t they?

Furthermore, a princess losing to a Holy Knight in public… that felt like a very serious problem.

But before any of that, I heard a faint, slow metallic scrape of a sword being drawn beside me, and I secretly opened the armor on the back of my left hand…

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