Julian's Cavalry and Scott's Calvary are now approaching the center of the arena.

As this was the final match, I congratulated both contestants on the skills they had shown in the previous matches, and then signalled for the match to begin.

The two glared at each other, the tips of their long swords facing each other.

As the tension in the arena grew, the spectators held their breath as they watched the two Cavalries.

Then...

"Sophia-sama!"

A maid appears out of nowhere, whispering something to Sophia before handing her a document.

Sophia looked at the document.

"Phew!"

Sophia covers her mouth with her black bushy fan and grins.

Lately I've come to understand that when she makes a face like that, it means she's thinking something that's not good.

"Your Highness, please look at this."

Sophia then called out to me, and she handed me the document that she had received.

The document showed that there was an invasion coming from the Black Forest, which is next to the Slough Frontier Margrave's territory. It also said that it was estimated to have started a year ago.

An invasion is when a miasma overflows for some reason, causing a massive outbreak of monsters.

It had already been a year since I started.

I grinned through my teeth as I imagined the hardships the frontier margraves had endured.

"What did the inspection team do?"

Sophia took out her notebook and began to flip through it.

"Thanks to the Margrave's deployment of a large barrier around the Black Forest, there has been no damage to the territory yet, and they have determined that the decline in the Slough territory's army is still manageable."

Sophia stopped her explanation and looked at the two cavalries still glaring at each other in the centre of the arena.

"It looks like Captain Scott is planning something."

"What do you mean?"

"It seems Captain Scott adores beastmen, and it looks like he wants to have the Slough family's eldest daughter."

Hmmm? What is Sophia talking about? I've already met the Margrave of Slough, and he was human.

Sophia must have read my expression because, after looking at my face, she flipped through her notebook and she continued her explanation

"The eldest daughter of the Slough family is an adopted daughter. Before the current Margrave inherited his household, he seems to have found her while exploring the Black Forest, so he's taken care of her."

When Sophia said that I remember the Margrave of Slough's face.

Contrary to his position, he's the kind of man who always has a gentle smile on his face, giving the impression of being a kind and gentle person.

Though he himself said that he wasn't that good at martial arts, his ability to command his troops and use his magic was so great that even General Grecia and Chief Court Mage Listero praised his skills.

"So? What does the Margrave of Slough's eldest daughter have anything to do with this?"

"Apparently, Captain Scott wants to make a secret deal with the Margrave. It seems that he wants the hand of the eldest daughter in marriage in exchange for sending the Third Knight Order from the royal capital to the Margrave's territory."

"Isn't that treason? I see, that's why Julian is trying so hard to become a knight; he wants to save his brother and sister."

"Ah! No, that's not it, Your Highness..."

It looked like Sophia was about to say something, but my anger made me rise from my seat and place my hands on the railing.

"Julian, don't lose!"

As if those words were a signal, Julian's cavalry began to move.

Turning the body of his Cavalry, Julian unleashed a flurry of attacks with his twin blades towards the shield used by Scott's Cavalry.

Julian's Cavalry became faster by the second, looking like a tornado of blades.

"This is amazing. I can't believe a Cavalry can move like that".

Julian, who is making all these movements, should still be unfamiliar with piloting a Cavalry, but right now, in front of my eyes, it's really happening.

When I remembered all the hard work and effort he put into his training, I felt like crying.

Don't lose, Julian.

Before I knew it, I was gripping the railing with all my might.

Scott's Cavalry somehow tried to attack Julian's Cavalry, but due to the flurry of attacks that Julian was unleashing, Scott's Cavalry couldn't reach Julian's Cavalry.

When Scott's Cavalry tried to attack Julian again.

Julian intercepted it using his dagger, deflecting Scott's sword, throwing his Cavalry off balance.

Julian's cavalry then moved to Scott's flank.

After charging, he turned vertically and kicked Scott's shield upwards.

"That guy did a backflip with his cavalry! Go, Julian!"

As Julian landed, he kicked the ground and used the momentum to accelerate towards Scott's cavalry, then he leapt towards the head of Scott's cavalry and attacked him with his dual blades.

With a thunderous sound, Scott's cavalry fell backwards as its head fell to the ground.

"Alright!"

I clenched my fist and cheered Julian's victory.

But...

[How is this possible?]

Scott's voice echoed through the cheering crowd, and suddenly the Cavalry was ripped open from the inside, and a Knight emerged from within.

It has a conical body with a round head, short legs, and unusually long arms. The Knight of the Burke family is

"That guy!"

Before the others could stop him, Scott's Knight picked up the long sword with its long hand, then he slashed at Julian's head, causing Julian's cavalry to fall.

[Why don't you understand, Julia? Even though I love you so much. There's no way I would hurt you, right? That promise is no longer valid! It's invalid! I won't accept such a promise! ]

I look at Sophia as Scott screams at the top of his lungs.

"This guy, what is he talking about?"

"It looks like there was some kind of agreement between the two of them."

No, that's not what I mean.

"Who's Julia?"

"That's Julian's real name. Women aren't allowed to join a Knight Order, so she lied about her name and gender."

"You mean the woman that Scott is talking about?"

"That's right, it's Julian."

"But no matter how you look at him, he's human, isn't he? He had no ears and no tail."

"It seems that Julia was taught magic from an early age by her older brother, the Margrave of Slough Territory.

Transformation magic, eh?

"I guess she thought that if the knight order found out that she was a beastman, she wouldn't be able to join them."

"There's no such rule, right?"

"That's because there aren't any Beastmen nobles, so a lot of people perceive it as such."

So it's like that, huh?

That guy, Julian no rather Julia, even though she's a woman, in order to save her brother and their territory, she disguised herself as a man and joined the knight order "Hell's Watchdogs." that even some men would ran away. She stayed with that crazy squad and continued to train with them for a year.

Scott pointed his longsword at Julian's fallen cavalry.

"Julia, please understand that my love for you is genuine. You don't have to fight anymore while pretending to be a man. I will take the title of Margrave of the Slough territory and I will protect you and your territory!"

Scott announces proudly, as if he's making a proclamation.

"Why is he talking about taking over their territory?"

"I heard the other day that the Margrave of Slough territory, who had been maintaining the barrier for a year, seemed to have collapsed."

Apparently he's still single.

I see. Since Scott can't inherit his family home, I wonder if he will marry into the Slough family.

"Your Highness, do you want me to stop this match? Since this has become a match between a traitor and a woman, even if it were to be invalidated, no one would complain about it."

Sophia asks.

"No, this is fine, Sophia."

If I stopped this match now, it would be the same as trampling on his efforts, and I'm sure he wouldn't forgive me for doing that

"In the face of hard training and a soul that won't give up, it doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman."

"Your Highness, what are you talking about?"

Sophia looked at me with dubious eyes.

"It's passion. I'm talking about his passion for pursuing his goal of becoming a knight."*

I looked at Julian as he crawled out on the chest of his fallen Cavalry.

The look in his eyes tells me that he hasn't given up yet.

He looks at Scott's Knight and searches for a way to counterattack.

I then smiled at the scenery.

That's right, Julian; that's the right attitude.

[Why are you looking at me like that, Julia? Don't you understand that this is true love?!]

Scott shouted those words at the top of his lungs.

True love, huh? I'll show him what he's talking about.

I raised my voice and pointed towards the castle.

"Julian!"

Director Olsen was the first to react to my voice.

"Your Highness, don't tell me."

"You're right Director Olsen, even I didn't expect this to happen."

Now, Julian.

I'm going to give you a sword that will respond your burning passion.




Update: June, 18 2023

When I tried to read the raws again it looks like I have missed 20 or so lines. I don't know how that happened but here's the updated version.

Note:

1. Again like in the case of Ellis on chapter 8. Sophia is calling Julia here Lady Julia.

2. The katakana that was used here is ロマン which read as romance and according Weblio Japan it refers to the feeling of pursuing dreams and ideals, and works and phenomena that have such narratives and emotions. The closest word that I can think of in English is passion that's why I translate it as such.