“Don’t Let Them Get Up Again”

Every high ranking nobles have their own office in the imperial palace.

So, Cedrick bought Eleanora to his office first to avoid the other people’s gaze.

But seeing the pile of papers on his desk, Eleanora sighed and Cedrick looked away as he got caught.

‘So this is what he meant by not busy at all...’

“I will look around the rest by myself. Do your works first.”

Eleanora suggested and Cedrick couldn’t deny either. He doesn’t know why but he feels that the emperor has targeted him for some reasons.

Like the emperor would stare at him for some moment and the smirk for no reason.

Then he would sent more works to him, making him work overtime.

‘...The emperor doesn’t like me, right?’

.....

Cedrick shakes his head to drop all the weird thoughts away from his mind and brings out a box from his drawer.

“...The training ground should be empty by now. I practice there everyday. So, How about you go there and wait for me?”

Cedrick spoke as he handed her cookies from a famous bakery.

“What’s this?”

Eleanora asked curiously.

“Congratulations on being promoted, Ele.”

Eleanora smilled as she received the cookies. She liked Cedrick’s gift most then the other expensive gifts she received.

“Thank you, Rick.”

Seeing Eleanora smile so brightly just because of some cookies, Cedrick felt a stinging pain on his heart and turned around immediately to start working.

“Go now... Don’t distract me into roaming around with you again instead of working.”

“Huh, am going!”

Eleanora spoke as she followed Cedricks’s instructions and headed to the training ground while enjoying the chocolate chip cookies.

Where Cedrick sat on his seat and closed his eyes.

‘This is for the better. She isn’t for me...’

...

The training ground was empty as the other knights had a little break after eating.

historical

Which made Eleanora sigh in relief as no one was watching her now anymore.

Eleanora drew her sword.

A long, heavy sword was dancing as lightly as a butterfly moving.

Sometimes it felt weightless, but at other times it came down heavier than a great mountain.

Eleanora moved, breaking the silence that surrounded her.

It was the basic sword technique of the empire.

She drew her sword slowly as she pinpointed each movement of hers because using her mana would be a waste now.

She is just doing it because she is bored.

It was slow enough to make anyone feel uncomfortable, but her maneuvers were perfect.

Eleanora’s shiny silver hair in a high ponytail swayed under the sunlight.

She unconsciously smiled slightly.

The cool breeze felt good.

An impurity, which had been moving for a while, entered Eleanora’s senses.

It was the gritty gaze she had been feeling all along since coming to the Imperial Palace.

Eleanora continued her swordsmanship practice and found the source of that gaze.

In the distance, several tall men were watching her.

From the shape of the epaulets they were wearing, one could tell that they were lesser knights.

They looked at Eleanora and then put their mouths together to say something about her.

They then snickered and laughed.

Eleanora looked at them coldly as she knew that the formula of ‘Laugh when you feel good’ doesn’t hold there.

Those men were pouring out their nasty feelings towards Eleanora without even trying to hide it.

They wanted to make a dent in her, and they were looking forward to the moment when that dent finally snapped.

Nobles of the same empire, wearing the same clothes, and working together to protect the same empire, were hovering around Eleanora, hoping to bring her down somehow.

Her nerves started to go wild.

Eleanora’s movements were still slow but became terribly sharp.

The lesser knights who had been watching from afar as she practiced basic swordsmanship approached with heavy steps.

Honestly, it looked dignified.

Since they were not far away, they quickly arrived in front of Eleanora in the center of the arena.

Eleanora felt they were coming, and she had to stop without finishing her practice.

All of them put their fists on top of their hearts and saluted.

A young blond man who was smiling while his mouth twisted to one side opened his mouth.

“I greet the future moon of our empire. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, Dame Dalton.”

“Please, stand up.”

The young man raised his head as he he got permission as well the other’s who didn’t spoke anything else except greeting.

“Congratulations on being promoted to a senior knight.”

“Thank you.”

Eleanora’s cold and unbothered attitude got on the nerves of the young man, thinking she was looking down at her.

[Well, she doesn’t even look up at the emperor, not to mention side chicks like him...]

“Would you mind giving me some pointers? You see, when I think of the time we were in the same group before... Well... It was unimaginable for you to get really promoted so fast, so I didn’t even think of sending a congratulatory gift.”

Eleanora was a very soft person on the inside despite her outer appearance.

She was such a person who did not even think of reporting to her superiors even if lower-ranking knights said something she didn’t like.

Even if they played strange jokes or argued with her in the past life, she would just keep silent.

It was said that although she was already the empress, her attitude was still like this.

She didn’t seem to have any intention of bearing down on others using her rank.

Instead, she would only stare at them when they made remarks that would have resulted in immediate punishment from other senior knights.

Her sharp eyes looked a bit menacing, but the man knew.

Originally, Eleanora was still a person like that, but she isn’t someone who would stay quite now.

The blonde man was Victor Sihorge, the second son of Earl Sihorge.

He became an apprentice knight of the Knights of the First squadron around the same time as Eleanora went to the war.

As an apprentice knight, Victor couldn’t attend the war back then and only got promoted as a official knight a few months ago.

So, in the eyes of Victor, Eleanora was a typical knight who filled her lacking swordsmanship with her status.

One can use a great tactician if lacking in tactical skills, so the most important thing for a knight is their swordsmanship skills.

Victor increased his self-esteem by comparing himself to Eleanora in every aspect.

Victor was promoted to a lesser knight as he passed his tests and took his knight oath a few months ago.

But by that time, Eleanora who returned from the war was directly promoted to a senior knight and then the plan of making her the third squadron leader; his pride was crushed.

It was unacceptable for him to see a girl who didn’t even take the oath to be his superior.

.....

It was a moment when he questioned the eyes of the emperor, whom he admired for being so sensible at a young age.

‘This bitch must have seduced the emperor!’

A fire erupted inside of him as just like the other nobles, he also ignored the benefits of commoners coming becaus of the emperor’s decision.

The illiteracy rate in the empire lessened by half just in four years and most of the family are now stable as women’s are allowed to work now.

No children stays hungry anymore as well, they all can read and write now, making it easier for them to find a job in the future.

The imperial army also got more manpower because of the creation of the third squadron and also a little helpful as there are some incidents where female knight’s are needed.

Like guarding the empress.

There is no way that the emperor would allow any male’s around her.

But this is something that the nobles, who not only got no benefit from it but also suffer lose as the children’s the used to use as slaves was no longer available.

The child labour was banned by the new emperor.

These past one or two days, Victor had been scoffing at the low-ranking knights who had a crush on Eleanora and admired every little thing she did.

In contrast, as Victor looked at her, he only thought that she was getting more and more ridiculous.

‘Couldn’t she just stay at home and learn embroidery like other nobles ladies?’

Eleanora continued to repeat the basic swordsmanship that children of the knight families did when they were eight years old.

Her movement was also many times slower than the original moves because she was being careful to not use her mana accidentally which could hurt people.

But the people around her didn’t got that, she was an Dalton, who had high ice magic powers to freeze the whole training ground after all.

‘How shabby!’

‘One should laugh at such ability.’

‘How could she get promoted to a senior knight with only that level of skill?’

Victor laughed.

There was no such thing as superior knights losing to the lower-ranked knights.

All of the senior knights were veterans of hundreds of battles, and there were no women within their ranks.

It was not a place for a woman with a fancy haircut to enter.

Victor must make her realize the gap himself.

And so he made up his mind.

“We will had each other’s backs, so would you please teach us a few things, Dame Dalton?”

One could see the lesser knights standing behind Victor barely swallowing their laughter.

Eleanora had been watching them this whole time suddenly remembered Ain’s words during their training time.

‘Sometimes there are people who do not know their places because they are blinded by jealousy.’

‘In this case...’

‘They will count on your weakness in physique to make you fall.’

These were the words that came out of Ain’s mouth after their fifth battle.

Ain was breathing heavily while on his knees on the floor of the training ground, near a mountain where people seldom passed by.

The field was surrounded with green grass and tall trees, making the scenario around them lively.

On the nape of the left-side of his neck, Eleanora’s sword shone coldly as she breathed heaviy.

Ain let out a few playful chuckles before giving her a mischievous look.

‘You may challenge or fight them, do whatever you want.’

Eleanora become a little stunned as she remember that the emperor was Ain, on whose neck she had pointed her sword at.

But then she recalled a few keywords.

‘Do whatever you want...And what else did he say?’

‘Crush them under your feet where they truly belongs and don’t let them get up again... My empress.’