Chapter 12
The moment the knights saluted the commander and vice commander, their eyes immediately turned to Aileen. Dozens of colorful eyes focused on her, and though she was caught off guard for a second, she quickly straightened her shoulders and stood tall.
Clap, clap. Siran clapped twice, loudly and clearly. The sharp gazes aimed at Aileen shifted to him.
“Alright. As I mentioned earlier, this is your new comrade. Her name is Aileen Revart. She served in the Sel Order a few years ago and has now joined the Khan Order. Get along with her.”
As soon as the vice commander finished speaking, the knights’ expressions grew even more pointed. Now it was Aileen’s turn to introduce herself. Feeling their intense scrutiny, she stepped forward.
She had initially wanted to keep her tone light and friendly, but seeing the atmosphere now, that clearly wouldn’t work. She decided to present herself with the full formality of a knight.
Expressionless, she spoke in a firm, steady voice.
“I’m Aileen Revart. I look forward to working with you.”
Some of the knights frowned, clearly unimpressed by the short and formal introduction. Still, Aileen held their stares without flinching.
“I’m not going to have all of you introduce yourselves one by one, so let’s start with the usual three. You three—step up.”
Whether he was aware of the tension or simply unbothered by it, Siran snapped his fingers. Three knights who had been glaring at Aileen more than the others quickly stepped forward.
All three were large men, but the one in the center was especially massive—easily twice Aileen’s size. Of the three, he looked the most disgruntled.
He twisted his lips into a sneer and introduced himself boldly.
“Vendy Vaught.”
With short green hair, bronze-toned skin, and a long scar cutting across his right cheek, Vendy stood out. Judging by how he carried himself, he was likely the highest-ranking knight after the commander and vice commander.
He seemed determined to put Aileen in her place, maybe feeling that as the representative of the group, he had to assert dominance over the newcomer. Or perhaps he saw her as a threat—someone who might outshine him if she turned out to be truly skilled.
After briefly glancing at Cylas and Siran and deciding he wouldn’t be stopped, he provoked her directly.
“You’re coming in mid-way, so no one knows how good you really are. That’s a bit of a problem, don’t you think? Not sure if the vice commander told you, but the Khan Order takes discipline pretty seriously.”
He couldn’t have been knighted before her. She had never seen his face before, which meant he likely received his knighthood later than she did. And yet, here he was, talking down to her without a shred of respect.
Aileen barely held back a sigh.
Surely, there were still some knights here who had served during her active years. But judging by the hostility in the room, they either believed her skills had declined over her absence, or these younger, hot-blooded knights simply didn’t care about experience.
Letting go of any attempt to be overly polite, Aileen answered calmly. Her words might have sounded arrogant, but they were honest.
“Sorry to cause you concern. But if you ever want proof, just say the word. I’m always ready.”
It wasn’t an excuse to dodge the moment. It was a genuine offer.
Though she had stepped away from formal duty, Aileen had continued training. Her family disapproved, but since it didn’t endanger her life, they couldn’t stop her.
She trained regularly with the Revart Knights and maintained her sharpness through frequent sparring sessions with Carlisle.
The Revart Knights were among the top knight orders in the Empire, and Carlisle was the strongest knight in the Empire. With that level of training, there was no way her skills could have dulled. Though she’d taken a brief break in recent weeks because of what happened with Carlisle, it wasn’t anything she couldn’t recover from.
Despite her words, the knights barely reacted. They whispered among themselves, and it wasn’t hard to guess they were calling her arrogant already.
“Hoo…”
Aileen sighed softly. She didn’t think she’d get treated like this, even after her time away.
She could understand their unease, but this was going too far. Eventually, Siran, who had been silently watching, stepped forward.
“Looks like some of you don’t know who Aileen is, since many of you are new. Let me properly introduce her again. She graduated second in her class from Serial Academy and was recruited straight into the Sel Order.”
The murmuring quieted.
“She may have a gap in service, but she’s still more capable than most of you. And even though she joined the Khan Order later, she was knighted long before most of you. So adjust your attitudes accordingly.”
The room fell completely silent. Aileen silently cursed. That kind of vague warning wouldn’t help.
The truth was, her position was a little awkward. Though she’d been knighted early, she had entered this order later—and not through formal procedures, but by the Emperor’s decree.
She held the same rank as the others, but unspoken hierarchies surely existed. As the “outsider,” she would have to carve out her own place. And Siran had just set her up to do that in the toughest way possible.
The next day, Aileen dressed in full uniform and headed for the Khan Order’s training grounds. With Cylas and Siran both away on official business, she faced the other knights alone. As she walked, she recalled how the morning had started.
“So, Aileen. How was it, going back after all this time? Annoying, right? Didn’t they make you want to quit on the spot?”
Ashite grinned and teased her as she took a bite of toast spread with jam. He had just finished his own meal and was clearly enjoying himself.
“They’re all rude—must be because they take after Siran. My guys aren’t like that, you know. But if you moved to the Lil Order, people would just start gossiping about how House Revart is trying to take it over. So that’s not an option.”
“……”
“Looks like quitting is your only choice.”
Aileen glanced around the dining room. The Duke and Duchess were pretending not to hear, focusing on their meal. She let out a soft sigh and stood up from her seat. Then she said plainly,
“You’re right about everything—except one thing. The others are still better than you.”
“What? Hey—!”
Ashite’s face turned red as he followed her out, but she managed to shake him off by the time she arrived. She’d only snapped back because he kept trying to make her give up. Still, Aileen couldn’t deny that Ashite had a point.
These people really did have awful personalities.
She stared straight at Vendy and his group, who were sneering at her like they wanted her to see it.
“Guess the good days are gone. Now, as long as you’ve got the right connections, any mutt can get in.”
“At this rate, the next entrance exam will be full of weaklings. They’ll think they actually stand a chance.”
“Those Lil Order guys already get on my nerves—this’ll just make them act up even more.”
Anyone could tell the remarks were aimed directly at her. The jerks made no effort to lower their voices, and the other knights nearby cast awkward side-glances toward Aileen.
“Haa…”
She let out a breath. Though their words annoyed her, she wasn’t exactly crushed. In a way, she understood why they were upset.
But acting like this? Petty, underhanded, childish—she couldn’t tolerate that.
They were knights of the Imperial Order, the most elite in the Empire. Yet instead of proving themselves with skill, they chose to flap their lips and mock someone behind her back.
That wasn’t just disgraceful—it was pathetic. It even made her feel like she was being dragged down to their level.
After a moment of thought, Aileen decided to ignore them. She hadn’t even been in the Order for a full week yet. Causing trouble now would only make things worse. At the very least, she’d hold off until Siran returned. She could endure this.
But of course, things didn’t go as smoothly as she hoped.
“Hey, rookie!”
The loud, echoing voice belonged to Vendy. When she turned her head toward him, her violet eyes met his sharp brown gaze, and the air between them crackled with tension.
Aileen didn’t reply. She simply raised one eyebrow.
“Don’t forget you’ve got cleanup duty after training.”
Classic hazing. Aileen sighed quietly.
So much for discipline. The moment her superiors weren’t watching, they completely ignored the vice commander’s warning. It was pathetic. Still, just this once—she’d go along with it. It was her first time, after all.
She nodded silently, her small face calm but slightly weary, then turned and walked away.
As she moved off, Vendy’s lips twisted with frustration.
“That little…”
He cursed under his breath and clenched his fists.
Yeah, fine. She was pretty—he could admit that. Actually, she was even more stunning than the rumors made her out to be.
Her soft pink hair looked like it had been touched by spring itself. Her clear, luminous violet eyes, high nose, and rose-colored lips were all strikingly defined, somehow fitting on that delicate, small face. The upward tilt of her eyes gave her an unexpectedly knightly air.
And that’s what irritated him even more.
Could someone with that kind of face even hold a sword properly? And if she could, could she actually fight in real battle?
But what annoyed him the most wasn’t her looks—it was the way her presence had ruined the atmosphere of the whole Order.
Vendy had already decided, even before sparring began: he was going to make her suffer.
Dragging it out slowly was always more satisfying than ending it in one blow. The longer the shame lasted, the sweeter it would feel.
