The Red Knight Seeks No Reward

Chapter 10

“My apologies, sir,” Judith said.

“I’m not asking for an apology. I’m asking for an explanation,” Kaillou replied. It was true that tardiness wasn’t permissible, but at this rate, Desian was liable to sink his teeth into her like a dog with a bone. He decided to mediate the situation by demanding an answer.

Judith hesitated for a moment, but finally she complied. “The uniform…”

“The uniform?”

“I was so moved to be holding the uniform of the Order of the Red Knights that I couldn’t stop admiring it. That is why I was late. My deepest apologies, sir.”

Both Kaillou and Desian stared at her, unblinkingly. She bowed her head, expecting to be penalized.

It was an entirely unexpected answer. Kaillou had anticipated some obvious excuse, like oversleeping or mistaking the time of their meeting. He was momentarily at a loss for words. In the awkward silence, Kaillou and Desian exchanged glances, communicating their thoughts with their eyes.

“Isn’t that reason completely adorable?” Kaillou signaled to his adjutant.

“Have you lost your mind entirely?” said Desian’s narrowed eyes.

Unaware that her two authority figures were locked in an intense, muted conflict, Judith apologized repeatedly to fill the embarrassing silence. “Again, I am so sorry.”

“Don’t be late next time. Eyes to the front.” The silent war ended with Kaillou’s victory, as his higher rank meant he could let his subordinate’s tardiness pass as a mistake.

Meanwhile, Desian was so annoyed that he refused to make eye contact with her. Looks like I landed on his bad side from day one, Judith thought in dismay.

The captain clicked his tongue. “Let’s take a quick walk. Follow me.” He led the way out of his office. Judith stole a glance at Desian’s disgruntled face and followed. As soon as they were out of the office, Kaillou said, “That one’s got a bit of a temper. Don’t take it personally.”

“I won’t, sir. It was my fault.”

What a textbook response! Kaillou laughed inwardly. They were both pale and used oddly formal speech, but Desian and Judith’s similarities ran only surface deep. They were quite different at their cores. Although I’m not sure the extent of their differences, the captain thought. He glanced at the young knight and took note of the bandage around her neck, tucked under her uniform. “How’s the wound faring?”

“It’s healing nicely.”

“That’s good to hear. Let me know if it’s too painful.”

Knights in their rookie years had to balance training with assigned duties. However, Judith’s neck still hadn’t completely healed from the consequences of their duel. Given the intensity of training and missions, it was bound to tear if she participated. Kaillou had exercised the full extent of his authority to assign her to the captain’s office, removing her from such strenuous activities. This perk was the least he could do for her, given his guilt over the matter.

“Well, let’s walk, shall we? Now, square your shoulders. Chin up,” the captain ordered as he strode off.

Eh? Why? Judith didn’t understand why she was being told how to walk, but she soon realized. As Kaillou walked down the hallway from his office, nearly every knight bowed and greeted him.

“Captain!”

“Good morning, sir!”

“Hello, sir!”

“Keep up the good work, knights,” Kaillou replied. Judith wondered if it was normal for a captain to get this much attention.

“Your red hair looks dashing as always, sir!”

“I told you not to say things like that. Also, it’s always my hair. Try some new flattery, at least.”

Judith, who was only familiar with Jeromell as a captain, was mildly perplexed. Then she realized something. Kaillou had responded to almost every greeting he had received. A captain receiving such friendly greetings, and then replying? That was unheard of in the Order of Black Knights. Here, not a single person seemed uncomfortable as their superior strolled past them. She was rather in awe.

Several of the people who had greeted Kaillou glanced at Judith, intrigued by the new face.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Hailey Matthys.”

“I’m Judith, a new red knight. It’s nice to make your acquaintance.” Judith mustered up the courage to greet the few who spoke to her amicably, but it was difficult to relax her face as it had hardened over time. As they exited the building, she asked Kaillou, “Do you always accept greetings as you did today?”

“Of course. I can’t ignore them, can I?” The captain laughed. “When someone acts too proud, others naturally wish to knock them down a peg. Greetings are indeed important. We don’t get to see much of each other once we’re on a mission, anyway.” He smiled charmingly, adding that this was as good a time as any to exchange pleasantries.

Judith felt strange. She had also followed her superior around the imperial palace when she joined the Order of Black Knights, but it hadn’t been as lively and friendly as she had just experienced. She had heard that each order had a different culture, but she didn’t realize how distinct they would be.

“Many will recognize your face if you greet them properly,” Kaillou said.

Why wouldn’t I? Half the battle for a novice in achieving good standing in the order was to make proper first greetings. Judith replied with determination, “I will do my best, sir.”

Kaillou and Judith walked around the imperial palace for a while, visiting the dormitory, the cafeteria, the pathways along the walls, and even the secret shortcuts to the palaces of the imperial princess and princes. They wouldn’t go inside the main palace building since it was meant to be a quick stroll. Judith was thankful for that since she had already met so many people and had lost count of the number of times she had introduced herself. She thought she had never said “Hello, I am Judith,” so many times in her life.

She did see a few familiar faces during their walk, such as the master blacksmith of the imperial palace.

“Orion, I’ve come to spy on you! How’s my sword coming along?”

“Captain Kaillou…?” said a lad with a dark complexion, sweat dripping down his face. “Oh, h-hold on a minute. I’ll be done in a jiffy!”

“Take your time, I’ll wait,” said the captain.

The young man laughed bashfully. His hammering continued for a while as Kaillou stood nearby, observing him work. The blacksmith never showed any sign of fatigue as he hammered away with all his might.

After a long wait, Orion came over, taking off the bandana tied across his forehead. “What brings you here at this hour?”

“I’ve come to snoop. I want to see how my sword is coming along.”

The blacksmith smiled bitterly. “Oh, don’t even get me started. I heard someone sold off all the practice swords. My master was furious, baffled that someone was crazy enough to pull such a stunt.”

For a moment, Judith wished she was invisible.

“I’m dying here because of all the extra work,” he continued. “It seems we get busier every day.”

“It is a bit much to have the chief craftsman toiling over practice swords. But my sword is to be the best, got it?”

“Captain Kaillou, you have a perfectly good sword. Why do you insist on a new one?”

“Greed knows no bounds.”

Orion was groaning, feigning distress, when he met eyes with Judith’s. I guess I failed at being invisible, she thought in dismay.

“And this is…?”

“Our newest knight. And she’s already gotten on my adjutant’s naughty list. I rescued her from Desian’s wrath.”

“I see. Nice to meet you. I’m Orion.”

“I’m Judith. A pleasure to meet you.” She offered her hand to the blacksmith to shake.

Kaillou looked at her in surprise. So far that day, Judith had offered verbal greetings only, but now she seemed oddly eager to meet Orion. If he wasn’t mistaken, she even seemed to be happy to see him.

Does she know him? The captain’s gaze lingered on Judith until she vigorously shook Orion’s hand. I’m sure I’m mistaken. She probably knows she has nothing to lose by being recognized by the chief blacksmith, he tentatively concluded.

Of course, he wasn’t wrong. Judith let go of Orion’s hand to calm her excitement. Orion… The blacksmith who forged the Dragon Slayer! Before traveling back in time, she had followed his career because he was the empire’s best blacksmith. He had forged a sword that could penetrate even the scales of a dragon.

Judith had been lucky enough to wield one of his swords once when she had borrowed Jeromell’s weapon. Some claimed that it was talent, not tools, that made the difference—but that was utter nonsense. Judith had only held that particular sword once, but from then on, she had done everything in her power to get her hands on one of his swords.

However, trying to buy one of Orion’s swords was essentially a pipe dream. Once it became known that a sword he forged had slayed a dragon, everyone from the emperor to the princes and then finally the captains of the knights’ orders had snatched them up. Judith had never gotten her hands on one. Such was the case before, but now she was meeting the man himself.

She said to Kaillou with sparkling eyes, “You two look close.”

“Of course. I’m sure you’ll be back to the forge often after you try out a sword made by Orion,” the captain answered with a smile.

The young blacksmith’s face flushed at the compliment. “You flatter me, Captain. I just happen to be good at what I do.”

“Flattery, you say. It won’t be long before there’s a lineup of people winding all the way around the imperial city, everyone just waiting for you to look at their swords.”

“A commoner like me couldn’t possibly—”

“Status doesn’t beat skill. Talent always rises to the top.” Kaillou pointed to Judith. “Dame Judith here is a commoner too, but she is an aether master. It won’t be long before she’s at the top as well.”

“An aether master, you say?!” Orion exclaimed, mouth agape. “Is that true?”

Does that mean I look like a mediocre knight? Judith thought.

Her expression hardened slightly, and Orion panicked like he was caught red-handed. “I’m not doubting you! I’m sorry!”

“Have you not gotten over your habit of judging a knight by their sword?” Kaillou remarked.

“Oh dear… I really am sorry…”

“No, it’s all right.” Judith relaxed her face.

As Kaillou spoke, he looked at her waist, where only a single sword hung. “I see you only brought the basic sword given to new imperial knights. You don’t have another one?”

“I do not, sir. Swords have a tendency to wear out quickly, and I’m too heavy-handed to handle an expensive sword with the delicacy it requires.”

“But I see you keep your sword in good shape,” Orion said, taking a glance at it.

“Neglecting sword maintenance will cost that much more to fix,” Judith explained as she drew the sword. It was only a beat later that she realized she had slipped into talking about money again. Luckily, it seemed she was the only one who cared about it, since both Kaillou and Orion were lamenting about her sword.

“Still, why don’t you carry another one?” the captain suggested. “Aether masters in particular are liable to break their swords when they’re wielding intense aether, you know. I suppose you haven’t experienced that yet.”

“No, not yet.”

“Well, you never know what will happen. In a dire moment, it could become a matter of life and death. You should consider it.”

“Too true. The capabilities of a supplied basic sword are limited.”

Hearing that from Orion, who made swords that not even money could buy, was somewhat intriguing for Judith. She said with a smile, “Good manners dictate that I say I’ll consider it… but a good sword is as expensive as it is well-crafted. I can’t afford such a thing.”

A sword was an asset that depreciated over time. She couldn’t afford to fork over a month’s salary for an item that wouldn’t retain even half its resale value. Besides, she was an aether master. She could wrap aether around a fork and wield it if she really wanted to, so there was no need to insist on a quality sword. If she had the money for such things, Judith would rather pay off her debts.

“Wanting something beyond your budget is a sure way to get yourself into trouble. But thank you for the advice. It is appreciated.” It was such a candid answer that neither of the men could argue. Judith smiled calmly, but almost immediately after she spoke the sincere words, her smiling face turned cold.