Chapter 173: Audience With The Emperor

Some might say he was pretending, but having observed Mayer all this time, the emperor knew that he was truly not interested. In any case, the man wasn’t exactly a good person to hold a long, private conversation with. Guessing that he wouldn’t be able to get many words out of him, the emperor shifted his gaze, and his wizened eyes fell on me, standing a step away from my captain. “Come to think of it, there is a new face among you. Are you the rumored vice-captain said to have joined recently?”

The attention of everyone in the audience room, including the guards, focused on me at the emperor’s question. Apparently, the rumors had already spread in the capital too. Thinking about it, even Tragula had caught wind of my appointment from the distant border areas. It was impossible to not know about me in the capital, which was a nest of gossip. Not responding wasn’t an option since the emperor had pointed me out, so I got to my feet slowly. At that moment, the elite members of our corps shot worried looks at me.

‘Did the vice-captain ever learn etiquette? I don’t think she did?’

‘Where would she have had the time for that when she was living in dungeons?’

‘It’ll be fine as long as she doesn’t make a big mistake. His Excellency should be able to cover for her to some extent.’

I could feel their anxious thoughts. What needless worry. Still, it didn’t feel bad to have them worrying for me instead of being watched in mocking anticipation that I would slip up.

I offered a textbook bow to the emperor, elegant but not overdone. “I am Jun Karentia, a support mage and the vice-captain of the Dark Knights. All hail Your Imperial Majesty, the descendant of the Champion and wise sun of the empire.” It was a greeting that wasn’t far off from etiquette, and there was probably little fault to be found.

Support mages were often criticized even for trivial matters. When I didn’t know such etiquette in the first playthrough, I was pointed at for being a bumpkin that didn’t even know manners. After that episode, I begged a member of the Fabian Corps who was of aristocratic descent to teach me the ways of nobility. I didn’t want to be ignored even in the second playthrough, after all. And I did childishly think that when I later became one of the seven heroes, it would be more impressive to know of etiquette than to be ignorant.

Perhaps thanks to my past efforts, my manners weren’t much different from that of a noble. The people who had been worrying for me turned wide-eyed in shock. Even the emperor looked surprised as he asked quietly, “Are you of noble birth? I did not recognize you as I have no memory of the surname Karentia.”

“No, Your Imperial Majesty. I was but a peasant child of a small rural village,” I answered calmly. I didn’t go on in detail as I didn’t want to have any connection with those parents of mine.

“The child of a peasant… You do not appear as one at all. Grand Duke Knox. I am aware you are a perfectionist, but did you not train your vice-captain too harshly? The schedule of the corps alone must have been busy, yet to add etiquette lessons on top? I had thought she was a daughter of nobility at first glance.”

The emperor clicked his tongue in disbelief. Mayer, who knew that I was familiar with aristocratic etiquette, answered naturally, “She was perfectly ready to become the vice-captain of the Dark Knights. She will be showing her face around often in the future, so I hope you will see her in a good light.”

“Did Grand Duke Knox just ask a favor of me? Haha! What a day to live to see.”

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