Chapter 5: PBDK

My parents generally guaranteed me the freedom to do only what I wanted to do, and not do what I didn’t want to do.

That was how I came to learn swordsmanship directly from the Captain of the Royal Guard.

Even if I wasn’t particularly fond of studying, I was still a princess. That meant it was my responsibility to plan and allocate the yearly budget for my palace.

Thanks to that experience, I could immediately tell that the knights’ winter supplies budget was absurdly insufficient and needed additional funding, and that the training camp schedule had to be arranged quickly.

“On top of that, I even have to submit monthly reports?”

At a glance, it was clearly not something a single person—especially someone like Elias—could handle alone.

“We need a vice captain. Absolutely.”

If there was no suitable person around Elias, there was another option.

The first was to reappoint the former vice captain of the Knight Commander.

“That would be the most stable option.”

As Sir Hugo had said, Elias would not remain in the 10th Knight Order for long.

If he was going to be promoted and leave soon anyway, the former vice captain—someone already familiar with internal affairs—would be a solid choice.

Of course, that was only true if they were competent enough.

“But this person isn’t a capable vice captain.”

I flipped through the loosely organized handover documents as I thought.

Elias had only just become the Knight Commander.

He was undoubtedly an excellent knight on the battlefield, but administrative work was entirely different from combat.

He needed a capable aide who could support him with precision and care.

So the first option wasn’t ideal.

“The second option is to recommend someone from my brother’s side.”

Elias was clearly a close aide of my older brother, Estian, the Crown Prince Crown Prince Estian.

He had earned great merit by repelling repeated border incursions from the neighboring Kingdom of Karsas, but his rapid rise—despite having no background—was itself proof of my brother’s trust in him.

However, the favor of those in power always invites jealousy.

If my brother’s influence extended even to choosing Elias’s vice captain, it would not help Elias establish himself as Knight Commander.

Still, my brother—who had known Elias longer than I had—could not have failed to anticipate the difficulties Elias would face.

“If my brother chose someone, they’d probably be highly competent.”

Personally, the second option seemed better. However, I decided not to give advice until Elias himself realized he needed a vice captain.

“I’ll nudge him about it when he starts drowning in work later.”

That was because I didn’t particularly like Elias’s changed personality over the past few years.

Besides, he himself said he didn’t need help.

The Next Day

Because I had stayed up late helping Elias, I was even more tired than usual.

“Hey! Focus properly!”

Sir Rupert, a senior knight supervising the trainee knights assigned to the 10th Order, barked orders.

The trainees, who had already run out of stamina and were only going through the motions, stiffened.

Sir Rupert scanned them with sharp eyes and then called my name.

“Chloe Evergreen!”

“Y-yes!”

Startled, I responded while still swinging my sword vertically at a wooden dummy like I was massaging it.

“You lot! If you don’t finish within 15 minutes after this one, you’ll get night special training!”

The trainees shot me desperate looks, silently begging me to go slower.

“If you keep slacking like this, you’ll be the one doing extra training too.”

Sir Rupert stepped closer as if to keep watch.

“Tch.”

I quickly straightened my focus and concentrated on training properly.

Before long, I could no longer hear the exhausted breathing of my fellow trainees.

There was only the sword, myself, and the wooden dummy target.

After finishing 4,000 vertical slashes—the morning training quota—soaked in sweat, I collapsed onto the ground.

Once my breathing calmed, pointless thoughts began to surface.

Yesterday it was 2,000 horizontal slashes, today 4,000 vertical slashes… does that mean tomorrow it’ll be 8,000 diagonal slashes?

It was understandable to enforce basic training to break bad habits, but 8,000 diagonal slashes was a bit much…

Just imagining it made me shudder.

As I was grimacing, the other trainees finished their sets and collapsed one by one to rest.

While enjoying a brief break until the last trainee finished, a familiar face appeared in the corridor beside the training yard.

“Why is Camilla here?”

It was an unmistakable face.

Camilla was my friend—and also my personal bodyguard knight Camilla.

Perhaps she felt my gaze, because she—who had been walking straight ahead—turned her head toward me.

Uh-oh.

I tried to look away too late; our eyes had already met.

Considering the surroundings, Camilla simply blinked slowly once, then continued walking.

“That’s the direction of the Knight Commander’s office…”

I followed her with my eyes for a moment, but it was brief.

The last trainee finished his slashes, and the short break ended.

Afternoon

After finishing all afternoon training, I headed to the Knight Commander’s office as punishment for helping Elias.

Because Elias had only been appointed two days ago, people already labeled him as “young but intimidating and hard to approach,” so sympathetic glances followed me as I walked away.

I deliberately made my expression more gloomy and entered the office.

The first thing I saw inside wasn’t Elias—but Camilla.

“Your Highness!”

Camilla smiled brightly and hugged me.

“Camilla!”

My heart jumped. I quickly checked my bracelet—it was still blue.

Camilla grinned mischievously like a child who had successfully pulled off a prank.

“I met His Highness the Crown Prince before coming here. He said the rules of the coming-of-age ceremony don’t apply to people who already know each other.”

“You should’ve told me that in advance.”

I pouted in relief.

“I’m sorry.”

Seeing how startled I’d been, she apologized with a slight twitch of her nose.

“No, it’s fine.”

Since I had learned useful information, I decided to let it go.

“So my father and brother sent Elias to the 10th Order on purpose… as a kind of favor to help me through the ceremony?”

If so, then maybe I should reduce my training workload by half.

I smiled happily at the thought of my promising future, then asked Camilla:

“So you came here just to tell me that?”

Camilla tilted her head slightly.

“That too.”

But her smile slowly faded.

Then she straightened her posture as if delivering a formal report.

“I have been ordered to serve as acting vice captain of the 10th Knight Order during Princess Violeta’s absence!”

Princess Violeta Princess Violeta—my alternate identity in official matters.

So Camilla was now acting vice captain.

As expected, she was a perfect choice for Elias.

Camilla, daughter of the House of Baltarion, was my friend and skilled in administrative work. She also knew the inner workings of the palace well.

Moreover, being a direct knight of the imperial family placed her in a position even more influential than a typical vice captain.

Others might even see it as a demotion, considering she was assigned while I would be absent for a year.

She was a bit too cheerful and energetic, which might clash with Elias’s serious personality, but otherwise she was perfect.

I smiled at Camilla and silently confirmed who had come up with the idea.

“If I run into them later, I should compliment them.”

“Was it my brother? Or my sister?”

“It was His Highness the Crown Prince.”

The answer came easily.

I nodded and silently thanked my brother.

“But where is Elias?”

Now it was time to act on my plan of cutting training time in half.

I scanned the office like a cat looking for prey.

Camilla answered calmly.

“His Highness the Crown Prince called him away.”

“Why now of all times…”

I grumbled, disappointed that I couldn’t leave early after finishing a proper talk with Elias.

But it was my brother who had called him, not Camilla.

“Well, I guess I’ll wait.”

I slumped onto the sofa in the office.

“Camilla, you sit too.”

I intended to chat with her until Elias returned.

But Camilla, who would normally have sat down immediately, looked troubled.

“Elias will be back soon. If I’m caught sitting casually, it’ll be awkward…”

Why would it be awkward if we’re just sitting here?

I only half-understood what she meant.

She was basically saying to act like I was just “Chloe Evergreen” and not the princess, since Elias might return at any moment.

But why?

“Elias knows I’m the princess, though.”

Camilla scratched her chin and began explaining the flaw in my logic.