I almost couldn't hold back a laugh.
Suppreessing my amusement, I pretended to be troubled and lowered my head in deep thought.
"Then... Knight Nar, what exactly is it that you want?"
"This subordinate wouldn't dare, I really... I really didn't mean that, I..."
Nar tried to explain in a panic.
I followed his gaze and looked at myself, then a look of alarm appeared on my face as I shielded my chest with both hands.
"Could it be... what you want is..."
At first, Nar didn't react, but when he saw the Saintess's panicked, pretty face and her hurried steps backward, everything changed.
As a young man who had just entered puberty, he immediately thought of things he shouldn't have.
"Your Highness, it's not... it's not what you think, it really isn't... I, I... I really didn't mean that!"
Nar explained frantically, his footsteps subconsciously moving toward me.
"Could it be..."
"Your Highness, I really didn't..."
I pretended to be terrified and flustered, backing away step by step.
"Could it be... you actually want my Saintess's robe?"
"I really didn't mean that, even though I admire Your Highness the Saintess immensely, I really... eh? The... Saintess's robe?"
Nar suddenly froze in place.
I stepped forward with a mischievous grin.
"Otherwise? What did you think it was?"
"No, I... this subordinate, I..."
He switched between three different ways to address himself in a row, yet Nar couldn't even manage to get a full sentence out.
I tapped my finger lightly against the corner of my lip, intentionally pretending to be in thought.
"Could it be that Knight Nar was thinking..."
"I wasn't! I didn't! Don't talk nonsense!!"
"Not what?"
I stared into his eyes with a smile on my lips. Nar's emerald green eyes kept darting around, not daring to meet my gaze.
"It wasn't... it wasn't..."
His forehead was already covered in fine beads of sweat, and his face had turned a deep shade of purple.
I stepped forward, wanting to look him in the eye, but for every step I took, he took one back.
His panicked appearance was exactly like a teenage boy being caught red handed by his mother while looking at some inappropriate magazines.
"Why won't you look at me while you speak?"
"I... I..."
Nar was forced back until his face was completely flushed. Because we were close enough, I could even see that his fair ears were bright red.
As expected, he had misunderstood.
Even though I had intentionally led him there, seeing the panic on his face only made my desire for mischief explode further.
"Your... Your Highness, I... I..."
"You what?"
At this moment, his back was against a pillar with nowhere left to retreat, and I... I was less than a foot away from him.
I had almost driven him into a corner!
Just then, Nar suddenly became serious.
"I just remembered I have something to do, this subordinate takes his leave!!"
"Dash!"
As soon as he spoke, Nar's figure vanished from the Temple like a gust of wild wind.
He actually ran away?!
But I could still see his horse tied up outside the Temple gates.
This kid actually forgot his own horse.
I could no longer hold it in and burst out laughing.
Right then, the voice of another knight came from outside the door.
"Your Highness, Knight Nar... what happened to him? I have never seen him look so flustered."
"Hilda, you're here? Is the handover complete?"
"Yes, Your Highness, all handovers have been finished. From today onward, I am your personal bodyguard."
Hilda's expression was solemn.
"Your Highness, Knight Cain is already waiting outside."
"Mhm, send him in."
As soon as I finished speaking, the sound of a knight's footsteps came from outside. Cain stepped forward and knelt on one knee.
"Greetings, Her Highness the Saintess."
"Rise."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Standing up, Cain looked at me with a gaze that was clearly filled with confusion over why I had suddenly summoned him.
"Cain, are you willing to become my Praetorian Knight?"
Looking at Cain's face, I wanted to know what he truly thought. If he was unwilling, I wouldn't force him.
Cain's eyebrows shot up, and without a word, he knelt back down on one knee.
"Guardian Knight Cain is willing to be Your Highness's vanguard! I will follow you through life and death without regret!"
"Good. From this day forward, you are my Praetorian Knight. Together with Hilda, you will command the Temple Guard. The knights under your command will also be incorporated into the Temple Guard."
"Thank you for your favor, Your Highness!!"
Cain's voice sounded excited, even carrying a slight tremble.
Very good. So far, I have two Guardian Knights by my side. At least this way, I can live in this Temple with peace of mind.
"Guardian Knight Yuna requests an audience with Her Highness the Saintess!"
The announcement came again. I nodded, and without me needing to speak, Hilda let Yuna in directly.
"Yuna is here?"
Her steps today were much lighter than usual. She probably went to show off the Divine Oracle I gave her, right?
It seems to have had a great effect, otherwise she wouldn't be this happy.
"Your Highness! The soldiers have assembled at Moon Square, ready for your inspection at any time!"
There was pride in Yuna's voice. The knights could indeed be proud of this battle.
Although I was the one leading the war, they were the ones who fought the hard struggle.
"Mhm, well done."
I nodded and led the way toward the main gate.
"Let's go... take me to see those loyal knights and soldiers."
This time, it was to reward the army. For this, Lola had already arranged for two hundred million to be taken from the three billion in the treasury.
At the moment, Brilliant City had a total force of over twenty five thousand men.
Among them were over five thousand knights and twenty thousand regular soldiers.
When I walked onto the high platform at the square and looked at the endless, orderly military ranks below, my heart was filled with boundless pride!
This... is my army!
This is the foundation of my standing in this world!
Even though I knew I would see this scene, my heart still trembled with excitement as I stood here. I even completely forgot the speech that Lola had just pressed into my palm.
Taking a deep breath, after a thousand thoughts raced through my mind, I gave up on trying to recall the flowery words from the speech and spoke from the bottom of my heart.
"In this war, we have won! The invading demon army has been nearly wiped out! I thank you, and I thank everyone who sacrificed themselves for this war! It is you who have protected the brilliance and glory of this Kingdom of the Moon! It is you who allowed me to win this battle and defend our home. To commemorate those brave warriors who fell in battle, I will build an Altar of Heroic Spirits made entirely of bronze here in Moon Square to honor and remember them. Do you think... this is the right thing to do?"
The entire square fell into silence. It seemed no one expected the high and mighty Saintess to speak such straightforward words.
The silence only lasted for a moment.
The next second... everyone's voices converged into a single sentence.
It shook the heavens.
"Your Highness the Saintess is wise! Long live the Saintess! Long live the Holy Church!!"
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