I said it with a broad smile.
Just like the wet nurse had said, I was the Emperor’s precious little darling, the only legitimate Imperial grandchild. Surely I was allowed to be a little greedy?
If I threw a tantrum in the middle of the Imperial Palace, right in front of the senior ministers, telling Grandfather that Ar was quite handsome and that I found the idea of having a commoner-born knight as my personal guard fascinating, wouldn't that be the easiest way to get what I wanted with the least amount of trouble?
Besides, in my previous life, the guards Grandfather had personally selected and assigned to me were all highly skilled and respected knights.
But since they had spent many years working for the Imperial Family and had already been thoroughly vetted, they were all middle-aged men with enormous beards.
In other words, they were boring and rigid.
So I decided that, just like Grandfather and my aunt, I would insist on choosing my own personal guard.
I would even act spoiled and complain that the bearded knights Grandfather personally selected for me were boring.
Perhaps everyone would simply dismiss it as the childish behavior of a little girl who wanted to imitate the adults around her.
To do that, however, I absolutely had to make it happen before I became old enough to start acting sensibly.
This was the sort of thing I could only get away with at my current age.
I nodded solemnly.
But after spending several days preparing for the occasion, my plan encountered an unexpected obstacle.
“I refuse.”
The person in question, Ar, had flatly rejected this incredible offer.
Did I hear him correctly?
Why on earth would he refuse such an amazing offer?
If you turn this down, you might spend the rest of your life—forever!—working three shifts in rotation guarding the walls near some deserted auxiliary palace in a forgotten corner of the Imperial Palace!
I wasn't exaggerating.
That was exactly what he had done in his previous life before becoming my personal guard.
“Why?”
“A promotion without merit, beyond what my abilities warrant, would be unfair.”
As he said that, his voice trailed off.
When I stared at him incredulously, he subtly avoided my gaze.
My mood sank strangely as well, and I turned my head away for a moment.
Without realizing it, my eyes drifted toward the box where I had hidden the documents.
Then I realized something strange.
“You…… if you were going to reject me because it was unfair, shouldn't you have avoided having your records falsified like that? Your file was suspiciously clean, almost as though someone powerful was backing you.”
“……”
“Should I conduct an investigation into corruption in the selection of trainee knights, just like you want?”
I threatened him with something I had no intention of actually doing, secretly hoping he would simply become as obedient as a tongue in my mouth.
But there was one thing I had overlooked.
Ar's uncompromising character, which refused to bend before power.
“As far as I know, Your Highness does not have the authority to order an audit of the Imperial Knights.”
“Huh?”
Your Highness?
Hearing him call me “Your Highness” sounded so familiar that for a moment I almost missed what he had actually said.
But I quickly shook my head.
His words had come so quickly that I decided I must have misheard him.
Forget whatever debt he owed me in my previous life.
He doesn't even know about it!
“Then did you enter the palace hand in hand with some noble who had the authority to falsify your records?!”
I shouted at him.
He covered his ears with both hands, then slowly lowered them.
“You seem quite angry. Then should I assume the offer to become your personal guard has been withdrawn? Surely you don't intend to employ someone as insolent as me as your personal guard?”
He rose with a perfectly straight posture, gave me a formal and flawless bow, and promptly left.
My goal had changed.
Rather than bringing him in as my personal guard and repaying the favor he had done me in my previous life……
I would teach him a lesson he would never forget!
After Ar left, the wet nurse and Jeanne entered.
“What on earth did you discuss after sending everyone else out?”
Instead of answering, I simply puffed out my cheeks sulkily.
The wet nurse patted me on the back.
“Your Highness. A person’s heart cannot be won that easily.”
“I know.”
“You didn't suddenly tell him, ‘You, become my personal guard!’ or something like that, did you?”
Gulp!
“I didn't say anything like that!”
“Heehee~ So that's how it is? All right. Hehe.”
The wet nurse was definitely enjoying teasing me.
Even after living my life all over again, there was still no winning against her.
And then I realized something important from what she had said.
I hadn't actually met Ar properly in this life yet.
Should I have met him more naturally, just as I had in my previous life?
Just as I was falling deeper into that train of thought, the wet nurse brought me back to reality.
“By the way, have you thought about what His Majesty the Emperor mentioned?”
“Ah! Right.”
Once my aunt had established a certain foundation for herself as Crown Princess, Grandfather began the process of formally adopting me as her daughter.
It was so that I could regain my position as Crown Imperial Heir.
And once that process was completed, it was only natural that an appropriate celebration would be held to announce the news throughout the Empire.
Grandfather had asked me whether there was any kind of festival I wanted to hold.
“No. More importantly, should I ask him to choose my personal guard?”
“So you really did offer him the position of personal guard and get rejected.”
“I told you that's not what happened!”
“All right. I understand.”
The wet nurse was clearly having far too much fun teasing me.
She sat down across from me with a bright smile.
“Why don't you ask His Majesty to hold a swordsmanship tournament through the Imperial Knights instead?”
“A swordsmanship tournament? Why?”
As I questioned her, Jeanne, who was clearing the teacups from the table, answered.
“The fact that someone from a commoner background entered the Imperial Knights at such a young age already proves that he possesses exceptional talent and ability. He will undoubtedly stand out.”
“Oh! That's a good idea.”
“Now that you have a legitimate reason, it will be much easier to accomplish what you want.”
“Good! Let's go see Grandfather!”
When I reached Grandfather's study, I ran straight into his arms.
Step one. First, act as cute and spoiled as possible with a childish voice.
“Habamama! Habamama!”
“Oh, oh! Our Meli is here?”
Step two. Smile with my eyes.
I gently curved the corners of my eyes as I looked up at Grandfather.
I sparkled my eyes as much as possible and spoke in the most adorable voice I could manage.
“Meli has a wish. Hehe!”
“Hmm? A wish? Tell me. Your grandfather will grant our little one's every wish.”
Step three. Make a wish as though praying to the moon.
“When we have the festival, there's something I really want to see. I want to see knights! So Meli wants to choose her own personal guard.”
I currently had only three personal guards.
Three older men who took turns protecting me.
Once I became Crown Imperial Heir, I would need more guards anyway.
“So please hold a tournament to choose knights.”
“Of course. Naturally. I was planning to do that anyway.”
“Some trainee knights too. The older men scare Meli.”
“Uh…… trainee knights might be a little……”
“Eeeh. Meli's going to be upset.”
I lowered my head, looking utterly dejected, and spoke in a trembling voice as though I were about to cry.
Grandfather immediately began fidgeting nervously.
“It's not that I won't hold the tournament. It's just that those youngsters who haven't even been formally knighted yet……”
At that moment, the wet nurse cautiously spoke up.
“Your Majesty. I apologize for speaking out of turn, but I believe Your Highness wishes to have the trainee knight who rescued her during the hunting tournament as her personal guard.”
“Is that so? Do you know who he is? If so, I can certainly reward him.”
I firmly shook my head and puffed out my cheeks.
“Per-son-al. Guard!”
“All right. As you wish. I'll hold a swordsmanship tournament during the festival and give you a legitimate reason to choose one. However, if you fail to provide a proper justification even after I give you the opportunity, I will cancel it.”
And so, I got what I wanted.
Then I headed toward the Knights' building.
The building housing the Imperial Knights was larger than any other building in the Imperial Palace.
The knights' living quarters were large enough, but the training grounds occupied an enormous amount of space.
There were training grounds everywhere.
I saw several knights along the way who looked at me and immediately bowed respectfully, but no one stopped me.
I went straight to the training facility for trainee knights who had not yet been formally knighted.
The moment I entered, I heard powerful shouts echoing through the room, and pale dust filled the air.
I found a suitable place where I could sit and perched myself down.
Then I rolled my eyes around, searching for Ar.
Just then, I made eye contact with the knight in charge of training.
“Everyone, stop!”
“Yes!”
“Attention! Turn around!”
The knights moved with such precision that I instinctively began clapping like a seal.
“Her Highness Princess Amelia Platina Chermut, Crown Imperial Granddaughter, is present! Salute! Glory to the Chermut Empire!”
“Glory to the Empire!”
The trainee knights simultaneously dropped to one knee before me and bowed their heads.
It was such a majestic sight that I couldn't stop staring in awe.
After I remained like that for quite some time, Jeanne whispered into my ear.
“Your Highness. This is when you should order them to rise.”
“Oh! Get up. Continue what you were doing.”
But perhaps because I had arrived, an unscheduled break began.
While the trainee knights lined up in front of the water dispensers and drank water, the knight in charge of training approached me and bowed respectfully.
“May I ask why Your Highness has come?”
I quietly studied his face before asking his name.
After confirming his family background as well, I discovered that he came from a vassal family of my maternal grandfather, Marquis Serphis.
Only then did I feel reassured enough to speak.
“I’m going to choose a personal guard.”
“Are you looking for one among the trainees?”
I nodded.
“I saw someone catch a wyvern during the hunting tournament.”
The knight looked over the trainees before asking,
“Which one? Do you remember him? Since you came all the way to this somewhat obscure training facility among all the trainee knight training grounds, I assume you've already identified him.”
“Ar.”
I raised my finger and pointed toward Ar.
Although he hadn't looked at me even once, he somehow noticed my gesture and flinched.
“I will make sure he is properly prepared so there will be no obstacles to employing him as your guard.”
Did he really think he could escape an Imperial Family member's recruitment offer?
I smiled triumphantly, then leisurely left the training grounds and returned to my palace.
The Crown Imperial Granddaughter had visited during the day.
And that evening, Ar was summoned quietly to the Commander of the Knights' office.
This is driving me crazy.
He had no idea what he had done.
He hadn't done anything.
With the power he possessed, he could barely survive from day to day within the Knights, let alone change the past.
What on earth had he done for the future to change this dramatically?
Ar took a deep breath before entering the commander's office.
“You summoned me?”
The commander looked him up and down before asking in a slightly excited voice, though he carefully kept it low enough that no sound would escape the room.
“Hey, did you really kill a wyvern?”
“Ah, well, that was…… yes……”
“Oho! Look at you. Not bad!”
The commander picked up a thick stack of papers from his desk and flipped through them.
“They say you're the best among the trainees, and you even killed a wyvern? Hmm. Your admission papers are suspiciously incomplete. Are you from the Imperial Shadow Knights?”
The Imperial Shadow Knights.
A secretive organization directly under the Emperor's command.
It was so closed off and shrouded in mystery that more people were unaware of its very existence than knew about it.
The Emperor was supposedly the only person who knew its true nature.
Other knights might dismiss the organization as nothing more than a conspiracy theory, but someone at the level of Knight Commander would probably have heard enough rumors to know that it actually existed.
So Ar simply confirmed it.
“Yes.”
“They say they take children in and train them from a very young age. So it's true. Ah, if I say something like this too carelessly, will they assassinate me?”
“It isn't that serious, so you don't need to worry.”
“Really? Anyway, His Majesty must have had some purpose in pulling you out of there and assigning you here. But according to what Her Highness said, it seems His Majesty has given his approval to some extent as well.”
Ar suddenly remembered the Crown Imperial Granddaughter's visit earlier that day.
And being summoned by her.
One thing after another.
His head began to ache.
He still hadn't found that dolphin-shaped dagger.
If he became the Crown Imperial Granddaughter's personal guard, he wouldn't have a single moment of free time left.
“Her Highness's personal guard?”
“Huh? You already knew? That makes things easier. You need to start preparing to become Her Highness the Crown Imperial Granddaughter's personal guard. Even if the Shadow Knights order you not to do it, you'd better at least pretend to prepare.”
There was no choice available to him anyway.
If the people above him ordered him to do something, he had to do it.
If they ordered him not to, he had to refrain.
It wasn't something he needed to think about.
In fact, it wasn't even something he had the authority to think about.
But he couldn't help feeling uneasy.
Reluctantly, he answered,
“Understood.”
