Chapter 3: PBDK

“You’re not even from a knight academy!”

“You never even served as a squire under a proper knight!”

“Those are just conditions for taking the entrance exam, not for becoming a knight, aren’t they?”

No matter how long you served as a squire under a famous knight, if you didn’t have the skill, you couldn’t become a knight.

When I pointed that out, they had no real comeback and just fumed in frustration.

Among them, the one with gray hair who seemed slightly more intelligent spat out through clenched teeth.

“Then prove it yourself!”

Swoosh.

Even if they were trainees, they were still knights.

The gray-haired guy drew the sword he was wearing.

“Harrison! Put that arrogant brat in his place!”

“With your skills, he won’t last ten exchanges!”

The other two seemed to trust Harrison as the strongest in both skill and judgment.

They cheered him on, eyes gleaming.

They were probably banking on his slightly higher ranking in the entrance exam than mine.

I also drew my sword, and Harrison motioned for us to go outside quietly.

Knights were the only people in the imperial palace—aside from the royal family—allowed to carry swords. Using force without permission carried severe punishment.

‘But people who use swords never hold back when it comes to testing strength.’

And I was one of those people.

Excited by the rare chance for real combat practice, I happily headed toward the empty lot behind the knight order’s dormitory.

As I walked quickly, the glass bead bracelet on my wrist clicked softly, making a clear sound.

When the training ground was closed or crowded, people sometimes used this open lot for personal practice, so there were wooden swords and practice dummies scattered around.

But neither Harrison nor I paid them any attention.

Harrison struck first.

For someone his size, he used a surprisingly light sword—he must have specialized in speed.

As if probing me, he launched a rapid series of attacks.

I deflected and redirected them casually.

After exchanging several blows—

“Haaaah!”

As if deciding it wasn’t enough, Harrison shouted and brought his sword down with full weight behind it.

It came down like it meant to split me in half.

I raised my sword and blocked it head-on.

Force met force.

Confident in his physical strength advantage over me, Harrison’s attack failed to push through, and he looked flustered.

Yeah. Bloodline advantage.

I smirked with just one corner of my mouth.

Then I used the rebound of his strength to counterattack.

Harrison couldn’t withstand it and was pushed back two steps.

The dirt ground of the courtyard caved in slightly under his feet.

Startled, Harrison glanced at his companions cheering him on, then said with forced bravado,

“You’re… not bad.”

He was rubbing his wrist, clearly numb, and his expression was tense, but it didn’t seem very convincing.

“Don’t hold back, Harrison!”

Unfortunately for them, Harrison hadn’t been holding back at all.

If anything, I was the one going easy.

But encouraged by his friends, Harrison attacked again.

After a brief pause, our swords clashed once more.

Perhaps realizing I was much stronger than expected, his attacks gradually became more desperate.

Yeah. I’ll just block them all.

I smiled lightly, deflecting every single strike with ease.

Harrison now looked visibly frustrated.

Even the precision of his attacks was falling apart.

I toyed with him for a few more exchanges.

Once I decided I had had enough, I met his next swing head-on and struck back with full force.

Bang!

Harrison, unprepared for the stronger-than-expected recoil, lost his grip on his sword.

Whoosh—clang!

The sword flew through the air and stuck into the ground behind him.

“Still think I’m not qualified?”

I asked with the smile of a victor.

All three of them were frozen in shock, unable to even breathe properly.

“So you do know shame after all.”

I shrugged, looking at their beet-red faces.

I hadn’t expected an answer anyway.

Well, at least now they wouldn’t openly pick fights with me anymore.

That alone was worth losing a bit of my precious sleep.

Hah.

I blew my bangs off my forehead and turned away dramatically.

My muscles, stiff from a full day of training, had been loosened nicely by the sparring.

My slightly heated body cooled pleasantly in the evening air.

All I had to do now was go back, shower, and sleep.

But my bedtime was delayed once again.

“Hey, you there!”

When I turned around, I was startled by a pair of yellow eyes.

‘That’s Knight Catherine.’

An encounter at this moment was the worst possible outcome.

Especially considering what I had just done.

Knight Catherine, who supervised trainee knights, was notorious for being strict.

My previously light and satisfied expression instantly hardened.

I hesitantly sheathed my sword.

She looked at me with a disappointed expression, then called all four of us over.

“You lot. Come with me!”

The four of us were scolded like troublesome children.

Catherine didn’t seem to care that we were all grown adults, physically above the average imperial citizen.

‘She used to be a swordsmanship instructor at the academy.’

Maybe that’s why she already seemed familiar with the other three.

“You think you’re still academy trainees? Want me to send you back?”

“No, ma’am!”

The three shouted stiffly in unison.

Since I wasn’t from the academy, I just kept quiet and shrank into myself.

But I was just as tense.

‘Using live blades without permission inside the palace could be treated as treason.’

Of course I probably wouldn’t be punished that severely, but if things escalated, my coming-of-age evaluation would be ruined.

‘I should’ve just used wooden swords.’

There were plenty lying around out there.

Regret surged up, but it was too late.

My wrist bracelet now felt like a chain.

Even though my identity hadn’t been exposed yet, I kept glancing at it, worried the beads had turned red.

‘Still blue.’

Relief.

Watching Catherine scold the grown men like children gave me a small sense of hope.

‘Maybe she’ll just lecture us and let it go?’

But that hope was crushed almost immediately.

“Normally, you’d all be expelled from the knight order on the spot.”

As important as keeping my identity hidden was, so was performing well in my assigned role for one year.

I could practically see my coming-of-age score dropping in real time.

If I got expelled, I wouldn’t pass the coming-of-age trial.

And if I didn’t pass it, my “existence” would be erased.

It wasn’t a confirmed fact since no one had failed before, but historians speculated that “erased existence” meant either death or being forgotten by everyone.

Either way, it was unacceptable.

‘Mom… Dad… Sister… Brother…’

Their faces floated in my mind.

The version of me who had hoped to live one year as someone other than the empire’s youngest princess no longer existed.

Somewhere along the way, I found myself praying desperately.

Just this once… I’ll do better. I promise. Please.

Even the three who had barely passed the knight entrance exam looked just as pale as I did.

Fortunately, the merciful gods seemed to hear my half-hearted prayer.

“Fights between hot-blooded new recruits trying to establish hierarchy happen every year. Since there are no injuries, I’ll let it go this once.”

Relieved sighs spread everywhere.

But that didn’t mean we were off the hook.

Catherine added in a strict voice,

“However, all of you will receive the lowest possible evaluation score for your probation period. And your supervising knights will be informed of this fight.”

Their futures as knights would likely be affected, but that wasn’t my concern.

‘In a year, I’ll be gone anyway.’

I struggled to keep my relief from showing too much.

Catherine lectured us a bit more before waving her hand dismissively, telling us to go back and sleep.

The three left her office looking completely drained, dragging their feet.

None of them even had the energy to look back at me.

Which was fortunate for me—I didn’t have the energy to respond to their provocations either.

It was already 3 a.m.

I needed at least a few hours of sleep to survive tomorrow’s harsh training.

I trudged back to my room like the others.

Since no knights wanted to share a room with me—thanks to a certain knight commander’s arrangements—I had a room all to myself.

‘Even better.’

I quickly washed up and jumped into bed.

I closed my eyes… and opened them.

Morning had already come.

I thought yesterday’s, or rather today’s incident would be buried.

But Catherine’s punishment wasn’t over yet.