LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 53 - Chapter 53: Ennoblement
Chapter 53: Ennoblement
About half a month after forming a contract with Jest as my familiar, the cityscape Jest had destroyed was almost fully restored. And now, it was decided that a night banquet would be held at the royal palace, keeping the Third Knight Order quite busy.
“Geez, it’s great that the captain is being ennobled, but why do we have to be noble escorts?”
“Don’t complain! It’s because of the public debut of the Saintess and Jest, along with celebrating the captain’s ennoblement. Nobles from all over the country will gather, and the Second alone can’t handle it all!”
As Simon and Arnault were discussing, it was decided that I would be ennobled for the achievement of forming a contract with Jest. Considering my family’s status, I was determined to become an earl, but there was intense unspoken pressure to own a mansion in the noble district.
The pressure mainly came from the royal family, probably suggesting that lower-ranking nobles should be employed as servants. And there’s probably also pressure for marriage. Even in my past life, I couldn’t imagine getting married before my younger brothers were old enough to be okay without me. At least it would be better to wait until after thirty.
It seems His Majesty is fully intending to reward me with a mansion. This is probably to encourage me to settle in the capital. With the revival of the evil god looming, it’s understandable that they want to strengthen the capital’s defenses.
“Captain, I’m not confident at all about being a noble escort. If I make a mistake, I’ll lose my head, won’t I? I don’t want to… I don’t know any manners…”
Surprisingly, Gaspard was whining.
“It can’t be helped. If each noble prepares their own escort knights, the standby area will be chaotic due to one-upmanship. Since the Second Knight Order will be too busy maintaining public order in the capital and guarding the castle on the day of the event, it can’t be helped. I’ll turn a blind eye to some lack of manners, and if there’s punishment, I’ll take care of it, so rest assured.”
“There’s still a week, so Simon and Gaspard should practice their language. If you use rough language with noble daughters, they might faint.”
Arnault’s threatening words made the two of them look like they had just bitten into a bitter bug.
“They probably won’t faint, but they might be scared. Certainly, it might be a good idea to memorize some basic language. I’ll prepare a few standard phrases for you to memorize. It might be good to pass them on to the others too.”
While gathering for the lineup of escorts a week later at the training ground, I headed back to the dormitory to create posters with polite language formulas. In the Captain’s room at the back of the office, I wrote down phrases with examples that might be used for escorting nobles.
“Alright, this should do. For them, it might be better not to say anything other than these words.”
I posted the written phrases on the bulletin board in front of the office and instructed them to return to the training ground for language practice. And a week later, the Third Knight Order gathered in the courtyard of the royal palace.
Some were frantically memorizing the standard phrases for polite language they had learned the day before. As long as they didn’t make a mistake with noble daughters, everything would be fine. But if they were to accidentally injure someone, it would be irreparable.
“Listen up! Be polite in your responses! Especially treat women delicately as if they were puddings! If you handle them roughly, they’ll break!”
From the perspective of the Third Knights, noblewomen were probably seen like that. Delicate and fragile, devoid of roughness.
Surprisingly, their inner strength might be tougher than that of the average knight.
“Well, did you hear? Women are like puddings.”
“Yes, Lord Vandière surprisingly says cute things, hehe.”
The whispering voices of the maids walking along the corridor facing the courtyard could be faintly heard. Well, there wasn’t any other name that came to mind as a replacement for tofu. Fortunately, it seemed that their voices weren’t audible to the subordinates, so that’s fine.
The instructions handed over by the royal palace’s officials contained addresses, maps, and the names of those coming to the royal palace by carriage. While some nobles hunker down in their territories during the snowy winter, nobles generally remain in their mansions in the capital for social purposes. In other words, it’s the time when the capital has the most nobles.
Although the subordinates are only going to escort the nobles in the noble district of the capital, it still amounts to quite a large number. Starting from those who live far away, they departed in order, and soon everyone was gone.
Lower-ranking nobles generally live in the outskirts of the noble district, away from the royal palace. The main reason is the price of land. However, if lower-ranking nobles, despite their wealth, were to try to build mansions near the royal palace, they would be frowned upon by higher-ranking nobles.
Due to such considerations, it’s customary for lower-ranking nobles who arrive early to wait in the anteroom upon arrival, while the knights proceed to the next escort destination. In other words, the higher the rank of the noble, the more time they have to prepare.
On the way back, since the Second Knight Order, which was guarding the royal palace, can also move, there is hardly any waiting unlike when ascending the castle, which is a relief. By the way, the reason I’m not going on the escort is because I’m one of the main characters tonight.
By the way, the other main character(?) is still clinging to my back, hidden behind my cloak. It seems that the inside of the cloak is warm and to their liking.
After about an hour, nobles began to arrive at the royal palace one after another, and the subordinates headed off to their next escorts. This repeated, and the number of higher-ranking nobles increased. My parents have already arrived.
“Now, it’s just the Duke’s family, and…”
Looking towards the entrance of the royal palace, a conspicuously white carriage arrived. Descending from the carriage adorned with the emblem of the temple was the High Priest and today’s last main character, the Saintess Eleanor.