If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight

✦

The imperial palace banquet was anything but ordinary. It was not a social gathering but a battlefield—a competition, a tournament, an arena. And the proof of that became evident the moment I stepped inside.

“Your Highness Princess Rosasia Trinite Magnarod, the sixth in the line to the throne, is entering with her personal knight.”

Even though it was considered rude to publicly call out the name of an imperial, the servant in the banquet hall announced my name loudly. It was no different from announcing a contestant entering a match or a gladiator stepping into the arena.

“By the way, the ranking just now is based on birth order—it doesn’t mean much.”

“I heard Your Highness is actually third in terms of favor.”

“Yes, that’s in terms of favor.”

The moment I stepped into the hall, someone was already waiting for me. It was a man with dull blond hair tied back neatly. The snake-like man, Marquis Zaken Osbond.

“Please take it, Your Highness.” He handed me a small velvet pouch. Inside were five coin-sized metal tokens resembling commemorative medallions.

Looking around, I noticed that other guests already inside the hall had similar pouches tied to their belts, the tips of their fans, or their pinky fingers.

Marquis Osbond did not explain the purpose of the tokens. He merely offered a simple suggestion. “Please enjoy the banquet freely. It would be wise if you could introduce your personal knight attractively to the nobles.”

That alone was enough for me to grasp the rules.

The mad emperor was nowhere to be seen. As always, he would arrive a few hours later, once the banquet was in full swing—because that was when the real contest would begin.

Ignoring Marquis Osbond, I proceeded forward. The nobles on either side bowed in greeting as I walked down the central carpet. Stealing a glance at Regen, I asked. “Are you nervous?”

“I’m fine.”

Of course he was. As expected from the beloved prince and a war hero who once commanded the battlefield. Even in a banquet hall of this scale, he remained composed.

Then, the murmurs began.

“Did you see that? Unbelievable. That face.”

“Forget skills—he’s the most handsome among all the direct knights.”

“Now I understand why Princess Silver Bird never accepted Sir Dominic. Her standards are too high!”

“Truly, the finest ornament.”

The nobles made no effort to lower their voices. Though they would never dare to judge a princess’s appearance, they openly discussed the knight who belonged to them as if they were telling us to listen.

I had seen enough. Shifting the direction of my steps, I blended into the crowd enjoying the banquet. Immediately, nobles swarmed around Regen.

“The moment I saw you enter, I was utterly captivated.”

“I never realized Your Highness had such a keen eye for beauty.”

“Your knight’s name is… Ah, Sir Regen?”

“Oh my, even your voice is as refined as your face.”

Not all attention was flattering though.

“If you’re a knight, you must have many achievements. Sir Regen, what would you say is your greatest accomplishment?”

“Come on. Don’t joke around!”

“Oh, right, I forgot—Sir Regen was a prisoner of war, wasn’t he? Hahaha!”

“Hahahaha! My friend here can be a bit mischievous. It was just a joke, Your Highness. Please don’t take it to heart.”

I smiled coldly. “Then, what about you two lords? What would you say is the greatest achievement of your life?”

“Pardon?”

“With those delicate hands of yours, I doubt you’ve ever held a sword, so of course, I assume you wouldn’t have any accomplishments. As the third and fourth sons of your families, you’ve probably lived leisurely like idlers, contributing little to your families. Is the courage to insult me to my face the only badge of honor you can boast among your peers?”

“Y-Your Highness. What are you saying by insult! How could you say that.”

“Ah, another insult. The honor of my knight is my honor too. Do I look so foolish as to take your remarks about Sir Regen’s background as a compliment?”

“…”

The two young nobles paled. I had been willing to let it end with a simple apology. But then—

“What else would you call a war prisoner if not a war prisoner?”

A beautiful woman adorned in an extravagant dress and countless jewels interjected. It was the fifth princess of the imperial family, Sehera. She arrogantly tilted her chin upward, pretending to brush back her dark green hair.

“Calling something white when it’s black doesn’t make it any less black, does it? I can’t stand people who try to hide the truth for the sake of saving face. If that’s not hypocrisy, then what is it?”

Naturally, a robust knight with ash-gray hair stood by Sehera’s side.

‘Prisoner of war’ wasn’t just an attack on Regen. It applied to Jerom as well. But whether Jerom’s lips twitched in a servile smile or not, Shere spoke without filter.

“Sister Hera, are you here to defend those two lords?”

“Defend them? Why would I? I’m just simply saying what’s right is right, and what’s wrong is wrong.”

“…Ah, I see.”

“Anyone here thinks I’m wrong?”

“…”

“See? No one. Because everyone despises hypocrisy.”

I deliberately chose not to respond. The more childish the remarks, the more it only tarnishes one reputation. Let’s see how far this goes.

Unfortunately, my patience was short-lived. Because Sehera’s gaze turned to Regen.

“Sasha, your knight seems pretty calm about it. I guess he doesn’t care about being called a war prisoner? Just look at that face.”

“…”

“That face… seriously.”

“…”

“…He’s really ridiculously handsome.”

Sehera, who had somehow walked toward Regen as if entranced, snapped out of it only after seeing Regen’s polite bow. It seemed she really had been momentarily captivated. And realizing that seemed to hurt her pride as she quickly put on a displeased expression over her now flushed face.

“Sir Regen, was it? Your face is still as flawless as ever.”

“Greetings to Your Highness the Fifth Princess. You flatter me.”

“Though, I find something suspicious.”

“What do you mean, Your Highness?”

“That right eye of yours—is it really injured? Or are you wearing an eyepatch just to look mysterious?” Sehera’s hand reached for his eyepatch.

“Sister Sehera.”

“…”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t touch him.”

At my warning, Sehera hesitated. Then, she hurried to justify herself. “I mean, it’s not like I want to touch him or anything. I was just thinking, what if someone doubts whether he’s really hurt? Wouldn’t it be better if we all confirmed it together?”

“…”

I didn’t even bother responding. Like most people who talk too much, Sehera couldn’t handle silence. Frustrated, she snapped.

“Must you humiliate your own older sister over something so trivial? This is an insult, you know. Are you trying to provoke me into a duel just because there are knights here?”

“A duel?”

“Yes!”

At her provocative suggestion, the spectators gasped in excitement. It was obvious who had inflated Sehera’s confidence. Probably Jerom, bragging a week ago about how easily he could defeat Regen. But the Regen of a week ago was not the Regen of today. Jerom must have sensed that which made his nervous action toward Sehera’s confident provocation all the more amusing.

“Hera, Sasha. It’s a day of competition. Don’t waste your energy causing unnecessary trouble.”

As always, Sister Orlette arrived at an ambiguous timing—neither too early nor too late—to mediate. Using this as an excuse, Sehera graciously pretended to let it slide and walked away. Sister Orlette followed shortly after, clicking her tongue loudly in my direction on purpose before walking.

I walked in the opposite direction—but we met again, leaning against a pillar in another part of the hall. Pretending to look elsewhere, we sipped our drinks and exchanged words.

“Couldn’t you have taken a sedative or something before coming?’

“…Stop nagging me.”

“Take a breather. You can’t afford to make enemies at today’s banquet.”

Even Sister Orlette had roughly guessed the rules of the competition.

“Greetings… to, Your Highness…”

A timid voice came from beside Sister Orlette. It was a knight with soft, chocolate-milk-colored brown hair and gentle green eyes. Sister Orlette took care of him.

“Aah, right. I should introduce you. She’s my sixth sister, the owner of Silver Bird room. And despite how she looks, she doesn’t harm others.”