Guardian Knight

Time flew like an arrow; the days and months passed swiftly. In the blink of an eye, another spring had gone and autumn had come.

Ever since my fifth birthday, my life had become busy. Sword practice, magic training, reading, writing, arithmetic—my dance and etiquette lessons had not stopped either.

Despite such intense academic pressure, I kindly made time to teach Isolte magic. Recently, she seemed to have opened up more. I used to be the one to take the initiative, but now whenever we cast magic, she would voluntarily hold out a hand for me to take while we researched mana together.

What a thoughtful child.

There was another change as well. I now brought Doris with me to class. Oh! No, she was called Lilith now.

The excuse I gave others was that I could put her to better use. The real reason was that I was afraid Darius might take a liking to her if she stayed at home. Also, while I studied, she could learn alongside me. That would make it easier for her to support herself in the future.

Yes, that was all.

When I first asked whether she could read and write, I had been careless. It turned out she could only write 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. She could not even write 6, 7, 8, or 9.

I must have been too tired at the time. I should have realized that even if a four-year-old had learned to write, they would not know many characters.

After all, no child was like me, deliberately learning to read from the moment they were born.

I should not have applied my own template to normal people. I was truly stupid.

Still, it was not too late to start now. The teacher would teach literacy during reading and writing lessons anyway. Lilith could simply learn alongside me.

Lilith's fifth birthday was approaching as well. For some reason, on her birthday, I found an excuse to give every maid a piece of cake.

Of course, every maid received some. I could not let anyone discover that I had prepared it specifically for one of them. That would have been too deliberate.

I had thought it over. Deep down, I might have felt sorry for Lilith. Although her parents had sold her, perhaps it had been because my grandfather had a taste for such things. Even if her parents had done it willingly, they had only considered selling her because scum like my grandfather existed.

More importantly, I viewed this matter with the mindset of a modern person. In the twenty-first century, even parents abandoning an infant was a crime, let alone buying and selling children. A child had human rights the moment they were born. Yet because of my perverted grandfather, she had been stripped of those rights. I could not bear it.

I had considered whether I should integrate into this world and view things from the perspective of an Asura noble.

But I could not do it.

As someone whose soul had crossed over, my original body was already gone. All I had left were the knowledge and moral values from my previous life.

If I abandoned those, then the me from my previous life would truly be dead. I could not accept that. The moral values of my previous life were my bottom line.

In the sixth winter since I came to this world, on the day of my sixth birthday, I received an invitation. It invited me to attend a ball at the royal palace the following day.

That was unusual. When I first saw the invitation, I thought it was congratulating me on turning six. However, this world had no custom of celebrating birthdays other than the fifth, tenth, and fifteenth.

It was an ordinary birthday invitation, inviting me to a birthday ball held at the royal palace the next day.

Was it a prince's or princess's birthday? The strangest part was that the invitation had been sent to me by the king.

The current King of Asura, Leonard Alec Asura, had no connection to me whatsoever. Due to his health, I had heard that he had not presided over state affairs for a long time. Why would he personally invite me to a court ball? I could not make sense of it.

Still, since this ball was an invitation from the king, I had no right to refuse.

My grandfather happened to be away, so I did not need to report it to him either.

The next day, right on time, I took a carriage to the palace banquet.

Normally, a child as young as six would attend a ball accompanied by family.

But my parents were not by my side, and my grandfather was away. So I could only take the carriage to the ball alone.

After arriving at the Silver Palace, I got out of the carriage and continued on foot. There were many attendees, and as a little child, I stood out especially among the crowd.

Many adults looked at me strangely. Although my expression remained perfectly natural, I was very uneasy inside.

I did not like being at the center of attention. I preferred to keep a low profile.

After entering the venue, I found a corner and used my small stature to make myself as inconspicuous as possible.

From the conversations of nobles gathered in small groups, I learned who the star of today's ball was.

The five-year-old Second Princess of Asura, Ariel Anemoi Asura.

I remembered her vividly. She was a woman of great ambition and scheming, a formidable person who would eventually defeat her brother, ascend the throne of Asura, and become a queen.

According to the other timelines mentioned by the Dragon God, her fate of ascending the throne had always been exceptionally strong. That showed she herself was an extraordinarily talented person.

No matter what she was like in this world, it would be safest to stay far away from her.

Another half hour passed. When nearly everyone had arrived, I spotted someone familiar in the venue: my grandfather, Darius. He seemed exceptionally popular. The moment he arrived, he was surrounded so completely by people currying favor with him that not even water could pass through.

I pretended not to see him. I was trying to have as little contact with him as possible. I was afraid he would lead me astray.

After the banquet began, the king delivered a congratulatory speech as the opening address.

This king was the complete opposite of my grandfather. I had heard they had been childhood friends. That was truly hard to imagine.

My grandfather was like a plump watermelon. The ground seemed to tremble when he walked, and his face was so fat it looked as if oil could burst from it.

The king was like a bamboo pole in the wind, so light that he seemed as though a gust could blow him away. His skin was shriveled, and even his hair and beard were snowy white.

Yet they shared one similarity: their words were full of authority, giving people the feeling that they could not be disobeyed.

After finishing the usual opening remarks, the king led out a somewhat familiar little golden-haired girl by the hand.

Oh, right. She was the one who had danced with me at my birthday banquet.

Although a year had passed, and although she wore a different formal dress, there was no mistaking that breathtakingly beautiful face.

Back then, I had told Isolte in the little garden that she looked best in swordsmanship clothes, but that was because they suited her temperament best. If we were judging by looks alone, this girl was unquestionably the most stunning female present.

After the king introduced his little princess to everyone and wished her a happy birthday, he presented her with a pile of gifts.

They were wrapped in gift boxes, so I could not see what they were.

Finally, the kingdom would select two Guardian Knights for the princess, who would protect her safety at all times.

I remembered this part. Luke should have been one of them, and the other should have been Sylphie. But should Sylphie not still have been in Buena Village, getting mud thrown at her?

"Luke Notos Greyrat, step forward. Are you willing to offer your life and use the sword in your hand to protect the princess, become her Guardian Knight, and spend the rest of your life fulfilling the duty of defending her?"

"My sword is here. Until I fall, it shall protect you, my princess; my loyalty is armor, and I shall bleed every drop of blood for you."

How romantic. Was this brat already so good at deceiving little girls at such a young age? I thought.

Then Ariel lightly tapped Luke on both shoulders with a very light sword. The ceremony was quite simple. It was much simpler than the knighting ceremonies I had seen on television in my previous life.

Then the authoritative voice rang out again. "Dolin Prodia Greyrat, are you willing to offer your life and use the sword in your hand to protect the princess, become her Guardian Knight, and spend the rest of your life fulfilling the duty of defending her?"

My first thought was, Who was this lucky fellow? Was he handsome?

My second thought was, Why is everyone looking at me?

My third thought was, I seem to be Dolin Prodia Greyrat.

What was going on? Should not something like this have been decided in advance, with this merely being a formality? Why had I received no notice at all?

There was no time to think. I staggered forward.

At that moment, my facial muscles had no chance to adjust. Wearing a confused expression, I looked toward my grandfather.

He seemed to know something, but he did not speak or show any reaction.

He merely looked at me with his usual expression.

The distance of more than ten meters was quickly crossed. With my body stiff, I followed Luke's earlier posture and knelt on one knee, looking toward my grandfather.

He nodded helplessly. Things were what they were, and I had no time to consider it.

"I am willing," I answered.

There was no stirring speech like Luke's. Only three short words.

The king looked as though he had expected as much. Without saying much more, he tapped my shoulders three times with the sword as well.

After the ball began, the princess and the king performed the opening dance together. But I paid no attention to such details.

I barely paid attention to the rest of the ball. I felt as though I had been drawn into a massive whirlpool of traps. Amid countless tangled threads, I had no idea what had caused all this.

After the banquet ended, I returned home with my grandfather.

He had waited to leave with me. In the carriage home, he explained the beginning and end of today's events.

King Leonard Alec Asura apparently adored his daughter, Ariel Anemoi Asura. Moreover, she was the only bloodline of the Queen of Asura. In other words, the current First Prince Gravel Zaphen Asura and Second Prince Halphas Zaphen Asura were both born of concubines. If Ariel had not been a girl, then by law, neither of them would have possessed the right of succession.

Therefore, the kingdom hoped to find enough powerful forces to protect Ariel's safety. Luke Notos Greyrat had been selected long ago as a piece to win over the Notos Family and thereby protect Ariel. The king hoped that I would become Ariel's Escort Knight as well, ensuring that the Prodia Family would not harm Ariel after the king's death.

After all, an Escort Knight and the person they protected rose and fell together. If anything happened to Ariel, Luke and I would both need to die in apology. For my safety, Darius would then be unable to make a move against Ariel. The two greatest noble families of the Asura Kingdom would become Ariel's shields. The king had truly made a fine calculation.

However, my grandfather had tactfully refused the king. He suggested replacing me with an illegitimate son of the Prodia Family. After all, Luke was not the first in line to inherit either.

The king had not refused, but neither had he agreed on the spot.

Then, at today's ball, he had forcibly pushed the matter through. With all those nobles watching, I had no way to refuse the king.

"It is my fault too. I should have told you in advance and had you pretend to be sick so you would not attend this ball. But it is fine. I have discussed this with Gravel. He does not see his little sister as a threat. In the future, by staying beside the princess, you can influence her indirectly and ensure she has no thoughts of competing for the throne. This is a good thing."

I did not reply. My mind was full of thoughts. Only after we reached the estate did I wish my grandfather good night, then return to my room on my own.

Lying in the warm bathtub, I quietly began to think.

First, supporting Ariel's ascent to empress was a necessary course. That way, she should not die before the coup, and my own safety would be assured as well.

Besides, I would not allow the first prince to rule. Otherwise, would Darius not grow even more powerful? Would I not become a sinner in history?

Second, Ariel becoming empress had enormous historical momentum behind it. Whether Rudeus or I had reincarnated into this world or not, she would most likely become queen. Only in the life recorded in Rudeus's diary had she failed.

Ariel herself certainly wanted to become queen. Otherwise, she would not have traveled far from home to Ranoa University of Magic, worked hard to gather connections, and never given up on fighting for the throne.

Furthermore, there should not have been a Guardian Knight like me in history. As long as I became an invisible Guardian Knight, that would be enough. It really was an easy job.

(Note: The protagonist had read the web version of Mushoku Tensei. In the web version, there was no Derrick Redbat. But the timeline the novel's protagonist was in was not the web version's timeline. Got it?)