A black-haired knight, her hand clenched around the hilt of her magic sword, radiated an open, murderous intent.
Where Galehaut had cast aside his prejudice, yet another stubborn and troublesome loyalist stepped forward to block Kay’s path.
"That's a line I've heard quite a bit. Britain really is consistent in its ways."
The situation was on the brink of violence. Galehaut’s face contorted into a vicious grimace.
"Insolent, Calogrenant! Who do you think you are, resting your hand on your hilt in the presence of another? Apologize to Lord Kay this instant!"
Galehaut, once a king in his own right, bellowed so powerfully that his voice shook the training grounds.
The pride of the First and Second Knight Commanders clashed, tightening the air around them like a drawn bowstring. Calogrenant refused to back down, preparing to summon her cold mana.
"That's enough, Sir Galehaut. Calm yourself. This is just how Britain is; everyone's ego is so bloated it's a problem. Well, they're knights, so I suppose it's to be expected."
Kay’s rough, calloused hand lightly tapped Galehaut’s massive forearm.
With that single, light touch, Galehaut’s fierce momentum vanished as if washed away. Kay scratched the back of his head, pushing his hair aside, and then took measured steps toward Calogrenant.
"Do not come any closer!!"
Calogrenant shouted as she drew her magic sword. There was no further warning. Since she drew it while still in its scabbard, there was no exposed blade; it was a mana-imbued strike intended to knock him unconscious.
However, that sword never touched Kay.
In a flash, faster than a blink, Kay vanished from Calogrenant’s sight.
"...Huh?"
Before she even had a chance to be startled, Kay had already slipped inside her guard.
Tap! Whoosh!
"Wha—whoa?!"
Kay lightly struck her wrist outward to deflect the blow, and simultaneously, he seized her center of gravity with his other hand and tripped her.
It wasn’t a display of mana or some flashy technique, but pure, precise martial arts.
The woman hailed as the strongest female knight of North Wales was swept off her feet and flipped through the air before she could even resist.
Thud!
But the anticipated jolt of the hard ground never came.
Just before her back hit the rough floor of the training grounds, Kay’s broad, calloused palm caught her, softly yet firmly absorbing the impact.
Calogrenant lay dazed on the ground, staring up at Kay’s face as he looked down at her.
The shock of being subdued in an instant, combined with the unexpected kindness shown by the man she had just threatened, left her mind momentarily frozen.
"Did you call me a monster who erodes the discipline of the knights?"
Kay’s low, composed voice sounded from directly above her. Still supporting her back with one hand, he picked up the magic sword she had dropped with the other and slid it back into its sheath at his waist.
"Then let me ask: with a body in that state, do you really think you can wield a sword properly?"
"What nonsense!"
"Your magic circuits and muscle alignments are completely twisted. Your body follows the lines of a woman, yet the flow of mana and the use of your skeleton are crudely imitating those of a man. Is it some kind of curse? That curse is creating a disharmony between your body and soul; right now, your internal organs are screaming and festering."
"...!!"
Calogrenant’s eyes trembled violently.
It was her deepest secret—the side effects of a curse she suppressed every night through bone-crushing pain, desperate to keep it hidden from everyone.
Having lived her entire life as a man until the curse struck a few years ago, she still fought like one. Because of this, her physical form was suffering.
And Kay had pierced through it all with a single glance and a single touch.
"You've been patrolling the borders without proper sleep, forcing that twisted body to cut down monsters, haven't you? That's why you're currently drenched in extreme malnutrition and fatigue. You don't even realize your fingertips are trembling as you grip your hilt, yet you dare to lecture me on discipline?"
Kay mercilessly drove home the truth, withdrew the hand supporting her, and rose to his feet.
"You say Lancer has grown lax? That the knights have been seduced by mere cooking? No. Lancer has defended this country for years without a single day of proper rest, and the knights are the same. All I've done is fill their crumbling insides with warmth so they can grip their swords again tomorrow."
Kay held out his hand to her as she lay on the earthen floor.
"I couldn't care less if you call me a monster. But I won't tolerate you treating my cooking as some trash that ruins discipline. Stand up, Second Knight Commander."
As if entranced, Calogrenant took Kay’s hand and stood up.
"I'll feed you the very cooking you detest so much. If, after eating, you still believe I'm a monster devouring this country, then I'll quietly accept your blade."
Without looking back, Kay strode toward the castle kitchens.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and follow! This is a chance granted by the lord himself!"
Calogrenant stood blankly for a moment until Galehaut, watching from the side, gave her a shove in the back, sending her stumbling after Kay.
The auxiliary kitchen was empty in the late afternoon.
Kay hummed a tune as he deftly stoked the fire in the hearth. Calogrenant stood at the entrance with her arms crossed, her eyes remaining sharp with suspicion.
To think mere cooking could break my loyalty and vigilance... how arrogant.
She scoffed inwardly.
However, just ten minutes after Kay began to cook, her arrogance faced a fatal crisis.
Sizzle!
The violent sound of thick wild boar meat and butter searing together filled the air.
Kay lavishly added crimson leaves he had gathered from the Magic Realm—herbs that aided mana circulation and neutralized the toxicity of curses—along with various spices.
He then poured in North Wales red wine, causing the flames to leap upward, before adding a rich, long-simmered bone broth and letting it reduce.
An aroma wafted from the bubbling pot.
It was more than just an appetite stimulant. Calogrenant’s twisted magic circuits reacted to the scent alone, churning like a starved beast.
A thunderous growl erupted from her stomach.
"No need to blush. I told you before—your body is at its limit."
Kay chuckled and heaped the steaming, rich meat stew into a large wooden bowl. Beside it, he placed bread that had been buttered and toasted to a crisp.
"Eat. I didn't put any poison in it."
Calogrenant swallowed hard.
With trembling hands, she lifted the spoon and carefully took a bite of the broth and meat.
"...!!"
In that instant, it felt as if a new universe had opened before her eyes.
The tender meat dissolved on her tongue like melting snow, and the combination of wine and meat broth created an extreme, savory umami.
But that wasn't all. As the stew traveled down her throat and into her stomach, her internal organs—which had felt frozen and rigid—became burningly warm.
The herbs from the Magic Realm, bonded with the broth, began to gently coat and heal the gaps in her magic circuits that had been misaligned by her forced transformation into a woman.
"Ah... aaah..."
The phantom pains of the curse that had tormented her for a lifetime subsided as if they were a lie.
The heavy pressure in her chest that had made breathing a struggle vanished, and a vibrant surge of vitality pulsed through her entire body.
She lost all reason.
Throwing away all knightly dignity and pride, Calogrenant buried her face in the bowl and began to devour the stew ravenously.
Only after using the bread to scrape every last drop of broth from the bottom of the bowl did she set down the spoon, gasping for air.
"Well? Feel like you've come back to life?"
Kay nonchalantly handed her a damp towel.
Calogrenant took the towel and stared blankly at Kay.
She finally realized.
This man was no monster. In the midst of hellish wars and the blood-soaked daily life of North Wales, he was the one salvation and sanctuary everyone had craved.
She now understood, with painful clarity, why Lancer—exhausted from acting as the perfect king—would cling to this man's arm and laugh like a child.
Calogrenant’s head slowly bowed.
Thick tears fell from between her black locks, wetting the empty bowl. These were the tears of a knight, shed for the first time even through the horror of a curse that had changed her gender.
"...It is so delicious, I could die."
She rose from her chair, dropped to one knee, and offered a formal, respectful knight's salute.
"Please forgive my arrogance and ignorance in insulting you as a monster, Lord Kay. You are not one who devours North Wales... you are a true hero, rebuilding the pillars of this collapsing nation."
The apology of a beautiful knight, her face drenched in tears.
Kay gave a wry smile and grasped her shoulder to pull her back up.
"Hero, my foot. I'm just a brother making sure his siblings are fed. As for those twisted circuits, I'll gradually correct them by planning your meals with Magic Realm herbs whenever I have the time. So, don't skip meals from now on. Eat on time, understood?"
"...I shall. I will keep it firmly in mind."
Calogrenant’s cheeks flushed a deep red. In her heart, a fierce loyalty—and perhaps a strange, fluttering heartbeat—bloomed for this rough yet tender man who had touched her cursed life.
Thus, following the First Knight Commander, even the most difficult Second Knight Commander had been completely conquered by Kay's dining table.
With Lancer granting him all authority and the knights pledging blind loyalty,
Kay, regardless of his own intentions, had effectively become the practical ruler—the royal consort—of North Wales.
However, there were those who harbored resentment toward this situation.
The castle ministers? No, they saw Kay up close and accepted him without issue. Opposing Kay was a suicidal act.
The ones who resented him were the powerful figures of North Wales: the nobles.
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