Chapter 9 : Second Defeated Heroine

“The Holy Knight Bryden’s Sacred Sword Did Not Shine!”

That one remark from someone attending the appointment ceremony quickly spread among the attendees, and within days, the rumor had reached the entire world.

The Andras Empire attempted to quell public opinion by stating, “This has happened from time to time in the past, and whether or not the sacred sword shines is not a measure of a holy knight’s qualifications or abilities.”

However, they could not completely prevent the rumors from spreading.

After carefully comforting and sending the visibly shaken Bryden away, the Empire hastily convened a meeting to discuss how to handle the situation.

But this meeting was held in the utmost secrecy, involving only the emperor’s most trusted confidants.

In the hidden chamber, Emperor Aurelius paced back and forth, visibly on edge.

Unable to contain his anger, he slammed his hand down on the table.

His closest aides flinched in surprise but remained silent, not daring to speak first.

After pacing and sighing for a long time, Aurelius finally spoke in a low, subdued voice.

“This is unprecedented.”

Although they had publicly announced that similar incidents had occurred before, it was, of course, a lie.

Never before in the history of the Empire had the sacred sword failed to shine during a holy knight’s appointment ceremony.

The moment the emperor witnessed it, he had felt a dizzying sensation, as if he might faint.

“Has the goddess’s power flowed elsewhere?”

“According to our investigation, that is highly likely.”

“The recipient?”

“We have not yet identified them. We are currently searching not only throughout the Empire but beyond as well. We expect to receive news soon, Your Majesty.”

“Ensure that any doubts about this holy knight’s legitimacy are silenced immediately. Assign him missions where he can achieve great accomplishments and build his reputation. If the legitimacy of the holy knight is questioned and word spreads that the goddess’s power has been bestowed upon someone else, it would be a grave threat to our authority and rule. You all understand what I mean, don’t you?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After giving out several orders, Aurelius bit his lip, his face contorting with frustration.

“Someone out there has the goddess’s light. I must find them…!”

I tied up the bandits and extinguished the glow of my lightsaber.

The sword, which had expanded beyond its original size with a radiant glow, returned to its worn, ordinary form as soon as its brilliance faded.

The bandits stood dumbfounded, watching the scene in silent disbelief.

“H-Holy Knight, please… have mercy on our lives…!”

“If you keep making noise, I might change my mind about just throwing you into Carrot Principality’s prison.”

“…!”

The bandits immediately shut their mouths, and I moved to the cargo hold to wake up Ravi.

This cargo hold was now meant for the bandits, while Ravi and I would be using the more comfortable carriage interior.

“Hey, Ravi. Sorry to wake you up, but can you get up for a moment…?”

I stopped mid-sentence, my eyes widening.

Ravi, whom I had assumed was asleep, was staring at me with her eyes wide open.

“You were awake?”

“Yes.”

“Since when?”

“Since you stepped down from the cargo hold, Alvis.”

“What? So you’ve been awake almost the whole time? Why were you just lying there?”

“Well…”

Ravi hesitated, unsure how to answer Alvis’s question.

Had she missed the right moment to come out?

No, that wasn’t it.

Was she scared?

Definitely not.

Those bandits were weaklings—she could have dealt with them all in under ten seconds if she wanted to.

Did she already believe that Alvis could handle it?

That wasn’t quite it either.

Though Alvis had properly graduated from the academy, and she knew he wasn’t a complete fool, they weren’t close enough for her to be certain of his exact skills.

So why hadn’t she stepped forward?

Ravi thought for a moment before quickly finding the answer.

“We’ll kill you, sell your friend off after humiliating her?”

Those bandits had seen Bunnyfolk as nothing more than a profitable commodity for human trafficking.

Just before Alvis entered the fight, he had said:

“You tried to kill us and rob us. On top of that, you thought of humiliating my friend and insulting the Bunnyfolk I care about. Did you really think I would just let that slide?”

Hearing those words, Ravi had paused, hesitating to step down from the cargo hold.

She knew she should help.

But deep down, she wanted to hear what Alvis truly thought about her and the Bunnyfolk.

Anyone could say, “I like the Bunnyfolk,” or “I don’t understand discrimination,” in front of her.

But Ravi wanted to hear him say the same thing when she wasn’t there.

She didn’t know why she felt the need to confirm it.

And then, when the entire forest lit up with a blinding glow and the battle ended almost instantly,

Alvis reaffirmed his stance, standing tall against the defeated bandits.

He wasn’t pretending.

He truly respected the Bunnyfolk and saw them as equals.

He genuinely considered her a friend.

Thump-thump.

As that realization hit, Ravi’s heart began to race.

Only one other person had ever shown her this kind of sincerity before—Bryden.

I had always thought of him as an empty-headed fool who did nothing but spout nonsense and flirt.

But the day after I got my heart broken, he noticed my feelings and came to comfort me.

He never looked at me with the slightest hint of prejudice against the Bunnyfolk and called me his friend without hesitation.

Bryden had treated me the same way, but in the end, he abandoned me and chose Celine.

Alvis, on the other hand…

“Gasp!”

Ravi was startled by her own thoughts and quickly shook her head.

“No matter how heartbroken I am, how can my feelings for Bryden change so quickly in just a few days? Even I think that’s way too fickle! Am I… am I that kind of woman?”

Watching Ravi stammer, unable to answer, I simply shrugged.

“Well, I don’t really care why you were just lying there. It didn’t make a difference in sorting out the situation. Anyway, we should move to a better spot. We’ll throw this trash into the cargo hold, and we’ll take the cozy seats inside the carriage. At least for the next two days, we should travel comfortably.”

“Huh? Oh… okay.”

Ravi seemed noticeably flustered.

I wasn’t sure why… Was she shocked after watching me fight and realizing how strong I was?

But those bandits were weak enough that she could’ve handled them herself.

There was nothing impressive about me dealing with them.

After locking the bandits away, Ravi took the reins of the carriage, and we made our way smoothly to Carrot Principality.

Unlike the bustling city where the academy was located, Carrot Principality had the distinct atmosphere of a rural backwater.

Most of what I could see were vast fields stretching out in every direction, the air was thick with the smell of fertilizer, and Bunnyfolk farmers were working the land everywhere.

Because of its widespread reputation as an underdeveloped region, Ravi blushed in embarrassment upon arriving. She lowered her head and spoke much less than usual.

“S-Sorry… There’s not much to see here… But since you helped secure these supplies, even though it’s nothing special, we’ll do our best to treat you well.”

It seemed that a long history of discrimination had ingrained a sense of inferiority in her.

“Ravi, I’ve noticed that you tend to talk down about your country and your people. You don’t need to do that with me. I’d rather you just speak freely.”

“Oh… It’s a habit. Not everyone is like you, Alvis. Since childhood, we were taught to introduce ourselves humbly when speaking to outsiders…”

“Tch.”

I clicked my tongue in irritation at the world that had forced such a mindset on them.

As we passed the farmland and approached the more urban parts of the principality, Bunnyfolk citizens began to recognize Ravi.

They waved and cheered at her return.

“It’s Lady Ravi!”

“You’re back already?”

“Wait… There’s a human in the carriage!”

“Is he an envoy? But I didn’t hear anything about another envoy coming today.”

“No way. She went to the dungeon alone, so there’s no reason she’d be traveling with a human. Then… who is he?”

“Ugh… If we gather around too much and make a fuss, he might get annoyed and start causing trouble. Let’s move away for now.”

As soon as they realized I was there, most of the Bunnyfolk quietly backed away.

Ravi was visibly flustered by their reaction, but I just smirked.

“You’re pretty popular, Ravi.”

“Ugh… I’m sorry. Our people have dealt with so many awful humans that we naturally try to avoid them. Please don’t take it personally.”

“It’s fine. Honestly, I’d probably feel the same way in your position.”

Even in Loveholic, the original novel, there were occasional mentions of how humans had caused trouble in Carrot Principality.

And in Holy Knight Bryden NX, the discrimination was even more blatantly depicted.

Considering how bad things had been, their reaction was understandable.

The carriage continued towards the principality’s castle, and when the guards saw Ravi, they stepped aside and saluted before opening the gates.

“Princess Ravi has returned!”

Shortly after, a man emerged from the castle to greet her—Duke Liev, Ravi’s father.

“Ravi! You’re back so soon!”

“Dad!”

Ravi leaped out of the carriage in a single bound, landing right beside her father.

They greeted each other by pressing their noses to each other’s cheeks a few times—an affectionate gesture characteristic of rabbits.

Both of them hopped lightly in place as they greeted each other, a clear reflection of their Bunnyfolk heritage.

“Were you safe? You’re not hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine! How’s Mom? Nothing happened while I was gone?”

In most noble families, children were expected to show extreme deference to their parents. But since they were Bunnyfolk, they didn’t seem to adhere to such formalities.

This casual closeness was one of the reasons humans looked down on Bunnyfolk, but to me, it just seemed like a warm and loving family dynamic.

“There weren’t any major incidents, but… some things did happen.”

Duke Liev then turned his eyes toward me, his expression darkening with wariness.

“Who is this human you brought with you?”

“Oh, he’s my academy classmate. We ran into each other in the dungeon. I’ll explain everything inside.”

“Hmm… This is a bit troublesome. Because of what happened in the Empire recently, an envoy from Arbonesse is already here. We’re a bit short on hospitality right now.”

“Something happened in the Empire? And an envoy from Arbonesse? Why are the elves here? What’s going on?”

“It would be quicker if I explained myself.”

At that moment, a tall, blonde elf stepped forward, her ponytail swaying as she moved.

Her emerald-green eyes scanned me briefly before turning to Ravi.

“But first… why is he with you? I thought I’d never have to see him again.”

“Elphin!”

So this was the envoy from Arbonesse.

Elphin, the granddaughter of the Elven Elder and another defeated heroine from Loveholic, had entered the stage.

To be continued…