Chapter 45
‘Ah.’
I was a little taken aback.
That Giscard would express his gratitude to me so honestly—
I hadn’t even imagined it.
And—
‘I had no idea.’
That Giscard also feels fear whenever he faces the monsters.
Maybe that’s why.
“To be honest… I was scared this time too.”
The truth slipped from my lips.
“I really thought I was going to die here, you know?”
I found myself whining a little without realizing it.
Normally, the usual Giscard would have scolded me for acting so childishly.
“I understand.”
But the Giscard before me now only gave a quiet nod.
Seeing that calm reaction somehow put my mind at ease.
‘But still—’
I lit up with determination.
Right?
I couldn’t just break down pitifully like this on my own.
“Even so…”
I clenched my fists tightly.
“I don’t want to lose to those monsters.”
“…Administrative Officer Astrid?”
“You, Commander, and the other knights have been fighting those monsters all this time.”
I lifted my head proudly.
“I may not have any power, but I’m a member of the Azure Dawn Knights too.”
I spoke clearly, with conviction.
“I didn’t come all the way down here just to crumble in fear.”
Yes, that was right.
I had come down to support the Azure Dawn Knights.
Not to act spoiled in front of people who were already leading such a hard life defending the Empire.
“So—”
After taking a deep breath, I reached out my hand to Giscard for a handshake.
“I’ll be counting on you from now on too.”
“……”
Giscard looked down at my hand with a curious expression in his eyes.
And then—
“I’ll be counting on you as well, Administrative Officer Astrid.”
Giscard gripped my hand firmly.
I felt a tingling sensation deep in my chest.
‘It’s really touching…’
To be honest, up until now, I hadn’t completely blended into the Azure Dawn Knights.
No matter how hard I tried, I still felt a bit like an outsider.
But just this moment.
‘I really feel like I’ve become a fellow knight.’
Ah, so this is what they call being “comrades”…?!
A warm atmosphere settled between me and Giscard.
After shaking hands with Giscard up and down in a big motion, I let go of his hand.
And then—
“Still, I think we’ll need medical support,”
I declared with a serious expression.
Until now, I had been putting on airs, saying things like, “Ah, I’m a knight too, you know? I won’t flinch in front of demonic monsters.”
But in truth, psychological trauma isn’t something to be taken lightly.
You need to receive proper treatment for it.
Isn’t that right?
Even our knights, while they may look fine on the outside, might be rotting away inside!
Meanwhile, Giscart looked at me with a dumbfounded expression, then gave a hollow laugh.
“Seriously, Administrative Officer, you really are something…”
What on earth is the meaning of that satisfied smile?
It’s like a father who has a troublemaker of a child thinking, ‘Oh dear, what’s gotten into that rascal, saying something so commendable for once?’…?!
While I was facing Giscard with that subtly complex expression—
‘Wait a minute.’
I suddenly widened my eyes at the sense of incongruity that brushed through my mind.
“Um, Commander?”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Even after returning to the quarters, you still haven’t taken the purification elixirs, right?”
“No, I haven’t.”
As soon as the purification elixirs were brought up, Giscard also looked puzzled.
“Has your physical condition been alright? Any signs of going berserk, even later on?”
“As I said before, I’m perfectly fine.”
Giscard replied like that, narrowing his brow as he muttered.
“I think it’s a little strange too. My condition is just too good.”
It’s clearly far too different from how it was described in the original story.
Even after Giscard took down eight demonic monsters on his own, he’s still in such a stable state without even a hint of side effects from using aura.
‘What could have caused this?’
As I was pondering, I suddenly stiffened my shoulders.
‘Hold on.’
The crucial difference between the original and the present.
That would be…
‘It’s me?!’
In the original, Cassia dies at the hands of the monsters.
But I survived to the end, and was by Giscard’s side the entire time as he dealt with the monsters.
What’s more, the monsters…
‘They left Giscard alone and relentlessly chased only after me.’
In that moment, my gaze sank deeply.
‘I need to look into this more closely.’
* * *
A short while later.
Giscard escorted me to my bedroom.
Fortunately, since it was still late at night, I didn’t run into any other knights.
Standing in front of the door, he whispered softly.
“Sweet dreams, Administrative Officer Astrid.”
Oh, this feeling… like we’ve truly become comrades—it’s seriously thrilling?!
I gave Giscard a bright smile.
“You too, Commander. Sweet dreams.”
“…”
For a moment, Giscard froze.
‘Huh?’
I tilted my head.
“Commander?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Shaking his head, Giscard urged me again.
“Please, go inside.”
What was that?
I felt a bit puzzled, but since Giscard didn’t seem particularly upset, I figured—
‘Well, it’s probably nothing.’
I shrugged and stepped into my room.
And then—
‘I should probably look into this matter a bit more, shouldn’t I?’
I sank into deep thought.
The monsters that only ever chased after me.
Giscard, who used aura yet didn’t need any purification elixirs.
But later, I heard that the other knights of the Azure Dawn relied on purification elixirs to use their aura.
The difference between them was…
‘It seems like it depends on whether I’m near the aura knight or not.’
I narrowed my eyes.
‘Should I pay a visit to the Imperial Supernatural Abilities Research Institute?’
The problem was, the Imperial Research Institute of Supernatural Abilities was considered one of the most secure facilities in the Empire.
Even as a princess, it wouldn’t be easy to just drop by.
‘First, should I find a powerful noble family that can connect me to the Institute?’
As I got that far in my thoughts, I let out a long yawn without realizing it.
“Yaaawn.”
It was such a big yawn that tears welled up slightly at the corners of my eyes.
Swept away by the overwhelming fatigue, all my previous thoughts faded like a receding tide.
‘I feel like I’m going to die from exhaustion…’
My entire body, worn out from the day’s ordeals, screamed in protest.
‘Okay, sleep first.’
Staggering over, I flopped face-first onto the bed.
Maybe because I had that talk with Giscard—
I wasn’t as scared as I had been earlier.
‘Hmm, at the very least, I don’t think I’ll have any nightmares?’
With a satisfied smile, I gently closed my eyes.
Sleep soon took me.
* * *
Cassia Sortiz del Astrid.
The troublesome imperial princess who played a part in dragging Giscard’s life into the gutter.
But recently, Giscard’s opinion of Cassia had changed significantly.
‘Administrative Officer Astrid.’
To be honest, at first he expected her to run away quickly, unable to endure the harsh conditions of the Azure Dawn Knights.
But Cassia had held on firmly.
Now, the title ‘administrative officer’ felt far more familiar than ‘princess’.
Was that all?
Since Cassia joined, the treatment of the knights had clearly improved.
It went beyond simply supplying purification elixirs, providing abundant resources, or tidying up the barracks.
Cassia’s presence was, in other words…
‘Hope.’
During joint training, when the Azure Dawn Knights tasted their first victory — the brightness on their faces.
The joy of overturning the unjust treatment they had endured from the Northern Command in one swift blow.
And the exhilarating relief of cornering the 4th Knight Order over the recent barrier stone incident.
To the Azure Dawn Knights, Cassia was a kind of hope.
A hope that the future would become much better.
“Still, I think we’ll need medical support.”
Cassia’s clear, firm voice still seemed to echo in his ears.
Giscard’s expression became complicated.
To see her think of the knights’ well-being the moment she recovered from the shock of facing a demonic monster for the first time — it was remarkably reassuring.
How should he put it? Having someone to rely on…
It was more comforting than he’d expected.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t had any nightmares lately.’
Giscard’s very old nightmare.
It was a nightmare of watching his knights die right before his eyes.
The problem was, in the nightmare, the knights didn’t die fighting demonic monsters.
In the dream, the knights died from going berserk due to not receiving purification elixirs.
And every time, Giscard would wake up drenched in cold sweat.
But now—
‘Not once have I had that nightmare since the administrative officer joined.’
Giscard clenched his fist for no reason.
He could still feel the sensation from earlier when he shook hands with Cassia.
Her hand, once soft as silk, was now marked with hardened calluses.
It was the hand of an administrative officer who had gripped a pen for a long time.
“You too, Commander. Sweet dreams.”
Cassia’s brightly smiling face, which she showed as he escorted her to her bedroom, kept lingering strangely in his mind.
