Chapter 109
There were quite a few pairs of men and women exquisitely dancing with their hands on each other’s shoulders on the big stage dedicated to dancing in the middle of the banquet hall.
However, the entire banquet hall was currently enveloped in a profound hush. Those who were dancing weren’t even focused on their partners anymore as they couldn’t take their gazes away from a certain man and a woman approaching the stage. Even those deep into their cups couldn’t tear their gaze away from the couple ascending the platform.
Finally, the pair arrived on the stage and started dancing.
“They look so lovely together…” Senna blushed without realizing it. She had been staring at the pair from a corner of the banquet hall. The pair danced with poise, which made them look even more lovely in the eyes of the crowd.
Every move was like art brought to life, drawing the audience’s enraptured gaze as if they were magnets. The enthralled Senna was captivated by the pair’s dance, and everyone felt the same as her.
However, the problem was that Joshua and Charles were having a conversation that had nothing to do with their surrounding or their dance.
'How is he so good at leading?’?Charles thought, bewildered. Joshua’s lead astonished her, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Do they teach knights how to dance?”
“...?” Joshua paused at Charles’ question.
“Is there anything I can’t do?” Joshua answered after a brief moment.
“You really haven’t changed.”
Joshua smiled kindly and said, “And the Lady is still the same as always.”
“This is all according to your plan, right?” asked Charles.
Joshua looked at her as if he was asking her what she meant.
Charles blushed and explained, “You knew His First Highness will stop bothering me if I chose you to be my partner, right? His reputation is more valuable than a mere dance partner, after all.”
“You overestimate me.” Joshua chuckled, surprised.
Charles paused for a moment before asking, “Why did you save me? Young Master—no, Lord Joshua, what you have done was tantamount to courting trouble.”
“Well…” Joshua smirked before saying, “Let’s just say that I felt bad that I wasn’t able to fulfill a promise.”
“...!” Charles' eyes widened.
‘I didn’t expect to hear that—not at all. Does he still remember it?’
Charles stared at Joshua for a while.
Their dance would soon come to an end, so Charles made a decision and asked, “I have a question—”
“I can’t help you this time.”
“...!” Charles’ eyes widened so much it looked like her eyes would pop out of their sockets.
Joshua continued with an explanation, “I'm still a member of the Imperial Knights Order.”
“...” Charles’ eyes started to fill with disappointment. She turned her head to the side as if she didn’t want Joshua to see her expression and retorted, “I am not sure what you mean. I was merely curious about how you got so tall in such a short period of time.”
At that, the music finally ended.
Charles curtseyed and hurriedly moved away from Joshua.
“Thank you.”
“No worries.”
At that, Charles spun and walked away. Joshua grinned at Charles’ disappearing back. He could still hear the way her heels clacked behind her.
“Her temperament is still the same…” Joshua muttered when a voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
“Excuse me!”
Joshua quickly turned his head to the voice coming from the sidelines. It seemed as if the speaker had been waiting for the dance to conclude before speaking.
“Princess Serciarin.” Joshua groaned.
She was the daughter of His Majesty the Emperor, the Princess of the Avalon Empire. Despite her title and noble blood, however, she had suffered the most above everyone else.
Princess Serciarin started walking toward the frozen Joshua.
***
The Holy Empire Hubalt.
It was a large empire regarded as one of the three major powers on the continent, along with the Avalon Empire in the center and the Swallow Empire in the north. There was a massive temple in the midst of the imperial city. It was only natural because Hubalt claimed to be a sacred empire in the service of the gods.
The Hermes Temple was a temple dedicated to the god Hermes. It was also the permanent residence of His Holiness, and thousands of holy knights and priests were protecting it. After all, His Holiness the Pope was one of the two rulers of the Hubalt Empire.
The Hermes Temple was built with old marble columns that restricted not even a single ray of sunlight. However, the Hermes Temple’s solemn ambiance was marred by a furious debate taking place in one corner of the temple.
“I will never understand His Majesty the Emperor's views. Is he planning to send Sir Christian to the Reinhardt Masters’ Battle?” The first man to speak was undeniably a holy knight. The surcoat of his immaculate white armor had a pair of golden wings emblazoned on its chest area.
“His Holiness agreed to it,” said High Priest Herald.
A young priest dressed in the pure white uniform of the priests was furious upon hearing High Priest Herald’s words. “That makes it even more perplexing, High Priest! Sir Christian’s cover has never been blown before, so why should he be revealed now?”
“One key fact appears to have escaped Sir Modrian's notice.”
“What key fact are you referring to?” Holy Knight Modrian tilted his head. He was also annoyed by the topic.
At that, High Priest Herald continued. “Since His Holiness has agreed to it, doesn’t that mean that the man you admire so much has agreed to it as well?”
“...!” Modrian's eyes widened for a brief moment.
He was a holy knight who had every holy knight of Hubalt under his command. Naturally, the three hundred members of the White Justice Knight Order of the Hubalt Empire were included among them even though they were the most divine and powerful of all holy knights. The White Justice Knights served no one but God, and they were the only superhumans with such extreme devotion to their faith.
Modrian muttered with a light sigh, “The Knight Commander of the White Justice Knight Order and the Knight of God, Sir Chrysler Jean Sebastian.”
“Sir Christian is his best disciple, and he couldn’t have possibly joined the Reinhardt Masters' Battle without Sir Chrysler’s permission,” High Priest Herald remarked. “By human standards, Sir Christian had long become a Master. Of course, he has been our empire’s secret weapon,”
At that, another holy knight wearing the same armor and surcoat as Modrian spoke, “Before anything else, we are God’s knight. I am not sure why people tend to look for fame, but from what I've heard, there are two reasons behind Sir Christian’s participation.”
“Two reasons?” Modrian asked.
The holy knight wearing the same armor and surcoat as Modrian nodded and explained, “One of the two reasons is that Duke Altsma will participate in this year’s Reinhardt Masters’ Battle.”
“Duke Altsma of the Swallow? He’s the one who got disqualified, right? Could it be that…”
“Yes….” High Priest Herald stepped forward and stared Modrian in the eyes. “His Highness Ulabis of Thran acted similar to that lunatic Emperor Marcus and voiced his desire to take part in the Reinhardt Masters’ Battle. Duke Altsma's decision to join the battle once again isn't just about restoring his dignity, it's also about vengeance.”
“Then…”
Not every A-Class Knight would become a Master just by becoming an A-Class Knight. Those praised by people as Masters enjoyed transnational privileges tailored to their needs. As a result, one’s abilities had to be acknowledged by the people of the continent.
It was the reason why the Reinhardt Masters’ Battle was also a festival for people all over the continent.
High Priest Herald continued. “It's an elimination battle, so they could get lucky and be able to fight each other early into the tournament because of its unique structure. Duke Altsma isn’t really concerned about his Master title because he could quickly recover it by receiving the recognition of the Masters from other nations.”
“Anyway, what’s the other reason behind Sir Christian’s participation?”
At that, the holy knight took a deep breath and said, “Do you still remember that Rising Star of the Reinhardt Martial Arts Competition five years ago?”
“...” Modrian’s eyes widened upon realizing it.
The holy knight lowered his voice and said, "The monster who defeated everyone else at the time was apparently only ten years old. I didn’t watch the fight, but I believed it didn't take him more than ten moves for each round. It's already unbelievable that he was a C-Class Knight at that age, but the performance he displayed then clearly indicated that he was beyond C-Class.”
High Priest Herald nodded in agreement and said, "His Holiness the Pope was unconcerned, but His Majesty the Emperor was different. No, the Imperial Palace was thrown into disarray. After all, every battle at Reinhardt, whether they are at the Masters level or not, is inextricably linked to politics. The monster of a child back then is apparently going to participate in this year’s Reinhardt Masters’ Battle.”
Modrian was stupefied.
High Priest Herald continued. “As such, our empire decided to dispatch Sir Christian because he has the potential to be well-renowned throughout the continent. He is the most talented of our unofficial A-Class Knights.”
“Isn’t that excessive? A fifteen-year-old at the Reinhardt Masters’ Battle?” Modrian exclaimed.
However, High Priest Herald shook his head. It had been a long time since he became the High Priest of the Hermes Temple, so he had seen many things in this world. As such, he knew that humans referred to as monsters could never be understood with common sense.
“Baron Joshua Sanders…”High Priest Herald was silent for a moment before saying with a sigh. “He’s a very capable kid.”
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