Chapter 47

I apologize for the delay! The delay was due to other tasks and my health condition.

Starting from May, as mentioned in the activity report, I will strive to update every Wednesday, so I kindly ask for your continued support.

After speaking to the Crown Prince that "I am not a trophy to compete with Sir Percival," the tea party, led by the Queen, became a pleasant one.

Here, it is not necessary to follow the rule that the senior person speaks first. Although it is impolite to interrupt others, I gently asked during the occasional silence.

"By the way, I heard that Sir Percival is going to participate in a martial arts tournament... Is that correct? He seems to be training even more than usual. What do you get if you win?"

All I got in response were smiles and evasions, and in the end, I only learned about the consolation prize from the maid, not the grand prize.

Since the Crown Prince is also participating, and it is an event hosted by the royal family, the Queen must know. The Earl's family, however, seemed to have been sworn to secrecy by Sir Percival and did not tell me anything. Still, I felt it was about time I should know.

The Queen seemed to be asking her mother-in-law if it was okay to talk about it.

Her mother-in-law smiled in response, as if to say, "It's about time."

"Hmm, I can understand the desire to keep it a secret, but... It seems Sir Percival has misjudged Miss Mimosa's courage, so it might be alright to tell her."

"Mother!"

The Crown Prince interrupted, frowning and trying to stop her, but the Queen shrugged in exasperation.

"Have you already forgotten what Miss Mimosa demonstrated? No matter how strong her opponent, who they are, or where she is, she speaks up about what she believes is right, without fear of embarrassment. She even speaks her mind to strangers... and, in my opinion, her ethical standards are generally correct."

"Yes, I told the Queen, but... When I deliberately stained a handmade tablecloth... No, even though I am a fan of Alex Cheryl, I was surprised by what she said to someone who would defile Alex Cheryl-related items."

The "I am loved by Mimosa-chan" incident had apparently reached the Queen's ears.

When I receive such an evaluation, I feel as if I am being seen as rash and shameless. I wanted to hide my face and run away, but it would be too rude to run away after asking the question myself.

I tried to shrink back as much as possible to hide my red face and kept my mouth tightly closed, almost apologizing.

The Crown Prince properly apologized to me, listened to what I wanted to say... even though my words were clumsy and long... and gave me a response. It would be wrong to trample on that.

"Well, it's not a matter that requires such tension. Although they are all called knights, the Captain of the Royal Guard is the commander of the Royal Guard. My son, as a knight, is in the same position as Sir Percival... roughly, he commands a squad of about ten knights. Our country is currently at peace, with no signs of war, but as it stands, we can only assign about ten knights as the Crown Prince's guard, and it would be impossible to give him command. Therefore, we are having him participate in a tournament to determine the ranks within the Royal Guard, which is directly under the King's command."

Since I only have fictional knowledge about the military, the words spoken by the Queen carried weight and vividness.

"The grand prize for the winner of the Royal Guard's martial arts tournament is a promotion of two ranks. -- Well, it's difficult to immediately command a large unit, so the winner will be an apprentice for a year, but if Sir Percival or my son wins, they will reach the rank of commanding a company... about 200 knights and soldiers. A common soldier can be promoted to a knight and then to an officer in one go. The runner-up gets a promotion of one rank. That's still significant... but you can think of it as a way for Sir Percival to advance."

I was amazed to learn about this system, but at the same time, I felt the blood drain from my face.

"As a consolation prize, the winner can go on a one-month vacation to any place in the royal family's direct jurisdiction. This is also a reward before the more rigorous training and instruction that will follow the promotion, as they will no longer be able to take long vacations. A promotion of two ranks is not something that can be handled immediately, regardless of the rank."

Even now, Sir Percival collapses into bed every night, and after a month of vacation, he will have to undergo even more intense training and studies, I thought, gripping my dress tightly under the table.

However, since I was already decided to marry into the earl's family, which has a lineage of Royal Guard captains, I cannot suddenly dislike it.

I straightened my back and encouraged myself. I will do everything I can to support and help him. I want to firmly support him wherever I can.

"I... am Sir Percival's wife. I apologize in front of the Crown Prince, but... I believe he will win."

"Haha, that's right. Sir Percival is still training, but what about my son?"

The Queen laughed and looked at the Crown Prince with interest.

The Crown Prince, who had finished his warm tea in one gulp, said, "I will go to the training ground," and left.

Seeing the determination in his back, the Queen laughed.

"Miss Mimosa, you are wonderful. My son is not very good at direct confrontation and is more skilled at indirect tactics... but you have successfully ignited his motivation."

"No, not at all. Thank you for hosting this tea party amidst your busy schedule... I think Sir Percival is very concerned about the Crown Prince and considers him a remarkable person."

"Yes, Percy is the opposite of the Crown Prince and is very straightforward... I think it would be wonderful if the two of them become closer and recognize each other."

Is Sir Percival straightforward? I momentarily doubted it, but if his current stoicism has been with him since childhood, then it is indeed straightforward.

"Good young men are growing up. Such things are eventually realized by the individuals themselves, and they become close without anyone noticing."

"That would be wonderful."

Although I had no chance to interject amidst the conversation between the Queen and her mother-in-law, who still looked young, my support for Sir Percival remained unchanged. While vaguely thinking about what I could do, I returned my attention to the tea party, which had moved on to a new topic.