Please Vote for Your Knight! Chapter 10

“There are… parts of it I regret.”

That’s right! Good!

Edith finally looked at Dimitri with pride as he gave the textbook answer.

Just keep going like that, Dimitri!

“But even if I could go back, I think I would make the same choice.”

…….

The arena was instantly drowned in a tidal wave of jeers.

Edith wanted to pass out.

A short while later, Dimitri’s grade was announced.

The contestants thought they already knew what it would be.

As frustrating as it was, he obviously had to be First Grade.

His performance had been practically flawless.

But—

“Contestant Number 100, Second Grade.”

Edith’s announcement made everyone freeze in surprise.

There was no way Dimitri deserved Second Grade based on skill alone.

As if answering their confusion, Amont continued.

“Sir Dimitri’s performance was excellent. But I’m sure you all understand that the virtues of a knight are not judged by martial skill alone.”

There was only one thing that meant.

The one thing Dimitri lacked.

He was the Empire’s traitor.

“I will work harder to become a knight worthy of the ideals of knightly virtue.”

Dimitri gave the correct answer this time and humbly took his place in the Second-Grade section.

Soon, quiet voices filled the contestants’ section—some relieved, others bordering on ridicule.

“Of course. No matter how well he performed, did anyone really think that bastard would get First Grade?”

“At least he has enough shame not to complain.”

Dimitri was the very man they had mocked and hated.

Those who had worried that he might receive the highest evaluation readily accepted the result.

If anything, they seemed pleased that Dimitri had received a lower grade than his skills warranted.

Perhaps because of that, there was no significant backlash against Dimitri’s participation in Cartamen itself.

The people watching the competition will probably feel the same way.

Edith’s mouth tasted bitter.

She thought over the truth that only she knew.

I’ll wait until he’s ready to reveal the truth himself.

Until he’s ready to be honest.

Edith wrote Dimitri’s evaluation into her notebook.

Name: Dimitri Cassel
Aliases: The Empire’s Traitor, The Man Who Deceives Himself
Grade: 2nd Grade
Physical Combat: B
Weapon Skills: A (Archery)
Magic: —
Knightly Virtue: D
Intelligence: B
Trait: Currently under penalty for deception

 

***

 

The entrance evaluation was over.

Ten contestants had received First Grade.

Twenty-one had received Second Grade.

Nineteen had received Third Grade.

And twenty-five each had received Fourth and Fifth Grade.

Kusto stared at Dimitri as he took his seat in the Second-Grade section.

All he had done was sit in an empty seat, yet the contestants around him openly wore expressions of disgust.

He seemed to be even more ostracized than Kusto, despite Kusto being a former slave.

Why does that bother me?

Perhaps Kusto’s thoughts had somehow reached Dimitri.

Dimitri suddenly looked at him.

Kusto flustered and quickly averted his gaze, but in the brief moment their eyes met, he saw it.

What the hell? Why does he have such an unnecessarily wistful look in his eyes?

Kusto found himself paying even more attention to Dimitri.

Completely unaware that there was someone in the First-Grade section who kept looking down at him because Kusto had caught his attention.

Once Dimitri had taken his seat, Edith rose from her chair.

“Contestants, you’ve all worked hard. With this, the entrance evaluation is officially over.”

“Wooooo!”

“Thank you for your hard work, Your Highness!”

The contestants erupted into cheers.

Apparently, watching everyone else perform had been excruciatingly boring.

The first evaluation had been nerve-racking enough, but watching it ninety-nine times was torture.

Now was the perfect time to whip their scattered discipline back into shape.

“Since you’ve all worked so hard, we’ve prepared different benefits according to your grades.”

“Benefits?”

“What are we getting? I hope it’s something good!”

Excitement and curiosity began to spread among the contestants, clearly caught off guard by the announcement.

Then five armored figures appeared, walking up the stairs from below.

The contestants had already seen armor in every design imaginable.

But when they saw what these five were wearing, they fell completely silent.

It was because of the five-colored emblems engraved over their left chests.

A sword piercing through a heart.

The symbol of the di Equites—a vow to pledge one’s life in absolute loyalty to the Empire.

Beside each emblem was a number corresponding to their grade.

Moreover, the armor itself made the difference between the ranks painfully obvious, even without looking at the emblems or their colors.

It was immediately clear which armor belonged to the higher ranks and which belonged to the lower ones.

Edith pointed that out to the participants, who had been captivated by the emblems.

“Participants, don’t just look at the emblems. Take a good look at the quality of the armor, too. The armor with the gold emblem for Rank 1 is sturdier than several layers of ordinary shields stacked together. And yet, it’s lightweight and easy to move in. In other words, it gives you an advantage during evaluations. The Rank 5 armor, on the other hand, is basically just for show.”

In other words, wearing it or not made little difference.

The participants’ expressions varied depending on their ranks.

Edith smiled sweetly again.

“Don’t worry. That’s why the Valkyria Knights have prepared special training for each rank.”

The mention of special training caused another stir.

“During the special training, you’ll learn a new sword technique developed by the Valkyria Knights.”

The participants’ eyes widened.

Among the knight orders that remained, the Valkyria Knights were unquestionably the strongest.

Naturally, the techniques they practiced and taught were just as exceptional.

However, those techniques could only be learned by joining the Valkyria Knights.

“To think we’ll get to learn something like this while we’re still alive…!”

“Even if you were reborn, you might not get the chance to learn it.”

Excited voices rose from all around.

Perhaps satisfied by the increasingly heated atmosphere, Amont curled up one corner of her lips and stepped forward.

“First, I’ll demonstrate the sword technique briefly. During the special training, you’ll have to practice until you’re sick of it, even on horseback, so watch carefully and memorize as much as you can.”

It was a demonstration by the commander of the Valkyria Knights.

The participants held their breath.

But their anticipation soon turned into despair.

The opening movements were graceful and unmistakably swordsmanship.

What followed, however, was unbelievably complicated.

Amont demonstrated every movement at incredible speed, without a single unnecessary motion.

Even those from renowned schools of swordsmanship and those trained as heirs to noble families were left gaping.

Kusto, who had never properly learned anything resembling formal swordsmanship, was especially dumbfounded.

‘What is this? Are they telling us to fail and offer up our heads?’

Honestly, he felt more threatened than he ever had standing on an execution block.

That was when his eyes happened to fall on Dimitri.

Dimitri was standing far away from everyone else, attempting to imitate Amont’s movements, little by little.

Compared to Amont’s movements, his were painfully clumsy.

But considering he had only seen them once, it was still astonishing.

As Kusto’s eyes alternated between Amont and Dimitri, the sword demonstration came to an end.

“Ha……”

“Wow……”

“Holy shit……”

The participants had long since run out of words.

Kusto’s mouth had gone completely dry as well.

‘Should I go ask that loner for help?’

For someone in his position, the more people he could learn from, the better.

‘Besides, it’s not like anyone else is going to approach him.’

Unlike the Valkyria Knights, who would each be responsible for a different rank, Dimitri could potentially be all his.

Just then, Edith spoke up, clapping enthusiastically with an excited expression.

“You all watched closely, right? Aren’t your hearts already pounding at the thought of learning it?”

Well, their hearts were certainly pounding, though for a very different reason.

“Oh, right. And depending on your attitude during the special training and the results you achieve, the rank you received today may change.”

The participants sitting in the lower-ranked sections, who had already been in despair, were thrown into confusion.

Their hard-earned ranks could actually change?

“So the rank reassessment really was true.”

“Doesn’t that mean we’ll have to perform the next evaluation wearing the armor we received this time?”

“If I drop any lower from Rank 4, I’ll hit rock bottom.”

“Luckily, I’m Rank 5. There’s nowhere lower for me to fall.”

Watching their reactions, Amont raised one corner of her mouth and spoke.

“We Valkyria will help make sure our trainees don’t end up crawling on the floor. Of course……”

The participants held their breath and stared at Amont.

“If you train like idiots, your rank will change. If we decide you’re beyond saving, we’ll change your rank before the reassessment. So make sure you take your training seriously.”

Amont’s voice was so cold that it practically carried a murderous edge.

Overwhelmed, the participants were unable to say a word.

The judges, meanwhile, paid them no mind and casually left the arena.

Edith looked down at the murmuring participants and smiled brightly.

“Well then, with this, the entrance evaluation for Cartamen is officially over!”

With Edith’s declaration, the first evaluation came to an end.