Volume 1 Chapter 69 Genderbend Female Knight, Being Appreciated
"This battle win, under command of Acting Knight of Kamitafira. You did good, attacking and beating that big country."
"Yes. It was my job."
Eleonora said this and knelt in front of King Ashreach. She bowed her head.
But inside, she was thinking it was a pain. She just wanted it done fast.
(I shouldn't even be at this kind of thing.)
One week ago, the Kingdom of Ashreach had attacked and crushed Loriengita. After that, they made all of the Tyria Peninsula one land—mountains, sea village Virasua, everything.
So now, they had to do a win party. The king would give praise to the marshal who led the army.
But the problem was—the king was sick in bed...
"The Holy Maiden healed him, so now it's fine."
"I just ask... why not heal him sooner?"
"Because there was checking and some stuff with my brother..."
"Priority."
Prince Arlecchino laughed a little and kept talking.
"As prize for marshal's big win, the royal family give a full metal armor. Full plate."
Getting armor from royals is a big deal. It's something to pass to your kids and grandkids.
Most warrior families would cry happy tears, but Eleonora looked kind of quiet.
(Armor costs too much... I gotta clean and oil it or it goes bad.)
Armor gets blood, sweat, and sea salt on it. That makes it rust. Rich families hire people just to clean armor every day, but country knights don't have that.
In Eleonora's head, she saw that armor sitting in her house, slowly turning brown.
"And also, gold coins..."
"I'll use that to manage my land."
The money—real money—was the best gift. No matter how much you get, gold is never enough.
"Also, the marshal must say something at the prize ceremony."
Prince Arlecchino saw Eleonora's annoyed look, but he just ignored it and kept talking about how the ceremony would go.
After he explained it all, Eleonora asked something.
"What about the Holy Maiden?"
"Well, she will be busy at the party. If timing is good, she will get forgiveness."
"And His Highness the Crown Prince?"
"My big brother... he did bad stuff, but not enough to kill him. So, maybe he loses Crown Prince name and gets locked away somewhere."
"Going to be a court noble? If all he wanted was a side woman, no big deal."
"Yeah, but he made the Grand Duke look bad. Now, no noble wants to marry into his family. If someone rich but not noble marries in, maybe in the grandkids' time, people accept it."
"Maybe not going to parties is a good thing."
Eleonora said that, and Prince Arlecchino nodded.
"Anyway, after your speech, there will be a big feast. We got top cooks."
"Haha. I just want black bread and salty soup."
Eleonora said this, and even Prince Arlecchino frowned.
"Marshal, like it or not, you have a title now. Me too. I used to write scripture. Not anymore."
Eleonora sat up straight and spoke firm.
"I get it. But I must show I don't fight inheritance. I'm just a stand-in. If that calms things down, then it's fine."
She meant—she didn't want people thinking it's okay for women or second sons to take top spots just because they were good at it.
If that old rule of firstborns got changed, people might try to kill her.
"I'll do my best until my little brother grows up."
"...That's good."
So, the ceremony day came. That day, he (the king) stepped down and gave the marshal job back. Eleonora was just knight proxy again.
The gift she got was one thousand gold coins—that's thirty years of tax money from Kamitafira.
Also, a full suit of armor. So on paper, even more.
But with the new land added, it was fair enough.
The new lands were given to second sons and younger sons of noble families, and they made new branches.
So, why didn't the parents and older brothers keep the land? Because of who did the job—Eleonora.
"You Kamitafira knight led the army and won, and you didn't even graduate yet."
"I want my boy to learn from you."
"It's just acting. My brother will take the name when he's old enough."
She kept saying that. But even so, people didn't fully stop being careful around her.
They accepted it. But then, of course, the next idea came: What will become of Eleonora?
"I'll become a regular person. Don't worry."
"A commoner? After helping the kingdom this much? No way!"
"Yes, yes. But what if... my son now became a baron in a branch family, and you..."
Put simply—it was a sneaky plan. He wanted his kids to marry into her family. Maybe his grandkids would have good talent.
All these people talking made Eleonora tired. So she found a corner in the party room and flopped onto a chair.
"Are you having fun, Marshal?"
"I quit, Baron."
"Got it," said Baron Poniète, showing her a painting he had under his arm.
"I painted this while you were talking with the king."
"You won't get in trouble?"
"No one stopped me. I said I was painting His Majesty the King."
In the painting, Eleonora was kneeling in the middle. The king was on the right. All the nobles around were clapping.
"Better if His Majesty the King was in the middle."
"I only put you there."
That meant—she was the star.
"It's always boring, you know. I like painting and poems and writing. But nothing cool ever happens."
The baron looked at his fingernails.
"This was fun. Is a hero's story really like this?"
"You praise me too much."
"No, you don't see your worth."
Baron sighed and walked to the door.
"But one day, the world will need you. It must."
Eleonora spoke quietly to his back.
"Sigh. Being expected like that... it's the worst."
* * *
That night, a man came to a tavern.
It was Simon, the old archbishop from the Maro Papal States.
The tavern was normally closed—oil too costly—but tonight, it was open. Everyone was drinking all night.
"To our hero!"
"To the empire killer!"
Wood cups smashed together, people drank like crazy.
"Man, I should've gone too (the war)! That poor neighbor old guy came back with a sack of gold!"
"Yeah. And he's opening his old shop again! But he don't got much time left."
They kept whining, but it wasn't deep.
They were just scared before. When they didn't die, they were happy—but missed the chance to do something big.
If you want life-changing gold, you gotta risk your life. These two didn't. So now, they stay poor forever.
"Hey, you'll get bad drunk with only booze."
Simon said this, ordered some meat, and sat near the two men.
"What now, old guy?"
"You lose all the time, right? I lose too."
"Hey, if you're going to beg, don't beg for us──"
He turned over his pouch. Gold coins fell out.
"Why don't you tell me your name?"
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