I Possessed The Villain’s Childhood Friend

8 – Audience – 2

What exactly is a knight in the world of ‘She heals a wounded world’.

A genius among geniuses.

There are very few people with the best skills among them.

Simply put, a position given only to those who stand at the pinnacle of power.

For example, there were over 30 assailants who attacked the crown prince’s social debut stage.

And there were only four knights, including his father, who followed to escort the crown prince.

Only two of them escorted the fatally wounded crown prince, and the other two dealt with all the attackers attacking other nobles.

The result was no deaths.

This alone is surprising enough, but I can assure you, if the venue wasn’t a ballroom that was prone to collapsing.

Or if there were no other nobles around.

If there was only one of them, the gangsters would have been wiped out in an instant.

Ikki Dangcheon, 10,000, 100,000 equal to the strength of hundreds of ordinary soldiers.

Those who are not at all awkward with such modifiers.

It’s not even determined by simple strength.

Strategy, tactics, command, resourcefulness, magic, and more.

No matter how diligently you sharpen and polish countless skills, you can barely reach your fingertips.

So no one is dissatisfied with the fact that articles are respected and numerous rights are given.

For example, if you were a commoner, you would receive lifelong support from the empire for up to three generations, including your parents, and you would be given a title when you made an achievement, leading to the beginning of a new noble family.

If you came from a noble family, the status of the family that is directly related to power greatly increased, and depending on the situation, you could aim for victory.

In addition, all figures who belonged to the Knights Order were enshrined in the ‘Tomb of the Knights’ after their death, leaving their names on the empire for the rest of their lives.

It is the knight of this worldview that is honored and treated that way.

“You mean I will compete in the dance competition in Heros?”

“Did my father and I know that?”

But because they are such beings, there were definitely limitations.

The most representative is the inability to participate in all dance competitions.

A dance competition is a door of opportunity for those who aim to become a knight to participate.

For a knight to directly participate in such a place is a complete turnaround, and the winner is decided.

“I am the second son of the Duke of Axus. Participating in a dance competition is….”

Also, the Duke of Axus is a family of knights who have been loyal to the Empire since the beginning.

The only family in which all children, regardless of gender, are born with the talent of a knight.

That’s why, even before becoming a knight, I don’t participate in dance competitions.

“Ados said you obviously expressed your intention to participate?”

When I expressed my refusal to participate metaphorically, the emperor asked me half-closed his eyes.

Where did this misunderstanding come from?

… Let me tell you everything I remember.

In the original novel, the emperor looks blunt, but he is more cheerful than expected.

It would be better to tell the truth from the beginning than to spin around.

“I didn’t know that there was a dance competition in the Duchy of Roselia.”

“Then why did you think you were called to the imperial palace?”

“My father said that he is going to the Duchy of Roselia this week. So he thought he was going to do the family business, and he thought he would hear people about him since it was his first appearance.”

“… Is it. Addos.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Tell me what happened. If you’re trying to force him into the competition, you’ll be disappointed.”

“It’s true that I said that, but I was just told that Ike wanted to participate in the dance competition.”

You heard the story?

Who the hell said that?

“Last Monday, Miss Reina of the Duchess of Roselia came to me and said it herself, so I thought it must be true, but it seems there was a mistake somewhere.”

… Last Monday, Raina?

I can’t remember what I talked to with Reina last week.

She is the original heroine whom I met two weeks ago.

I was preoccupied with why the story changed and what to do from now on.

‘Then I’ll talk to the Duke.’

Thinking about it, I remembered that Reina had said that.

I still don’t know why such a story came out, or how things continued like this.

What kind of conversation did you have?

No matter how much I think about it, I can’t come to mind.

“Then you should talk to Roselia’s eldest daughter.”

“… I will go out.”

“Hmm?”

“I had the thought that I wanted to know my skills properly. Thinking of it as a good opportunity, I will go to the dance competition held in the Duchy of Roselia.”

But if this is what Rayna wants, I’ll have no choice but to do it.

“By the way, if the news is known that the second son of the Duke of Axus will participate in the dance competition, quite a few people will protest, but is that part okay?”

I was determined to participate in Heros’ Dance Competition, but I couldn’t help but have these questions.

Even no matter what my current skills are, the fact that I am the second son of the Duke of Axus will not change.

For most people, the existence of Ike Axus is no different than a knight.

“It doesn’t matter, Ike.”

The one who answered my question was the prince.

“It is just a custom for the Duke of Axus not to participate in the dance competition. Right, Duke of Axus?”

“Yes. Ordinary citizens don’t even know such a thing exists. It is a custom, not a rule.”

After the father nodded to the prince, he turned his head to look at me.

“Originally, I would have stopped it no matter what, but….”

My father, looking at me, was biting his lip.

“Ike, you seem to be blocked by something. I haven’t been caught up in the tension of that day until now. But there must be a reason for not consulting me.”

“Father.”

“Still, I believe you will overcome. The reason I give permission even against custom is because I think you will definitely get something out of this dance competition.”

So, the father continued.

“You win, Ike. It’s probably hard for you to win now. But I believe you have enough skills to win.”

I couldn’t look my father in the eyes and say it was impossible.

“Okay, Father.”

I took a deep breath and quietly nodded.

★

After coming back from the Islands on Thursday, it wasn’t until Friday that I met Reina after a week.

“You mean you’re going to compete after all?”

“That’s it.”

“The preliminaries start next Monday. A total of 5 days of preliminaries, two days off, and another 5 days of finals. And after all the finals are over, we take a week off and the finals are held.”

Is it going on for a total of 20 days?

“So? Can you win?”

There was little expectation on Reina’s face when she said that.

Of course, if I could win, that would be the best, but honestly, like my father said, it was difficult.

“I think I can aim well enough.”

But she definitely wanted to win, and she didn’t want to break her expectations already.

“Anyway, I’m also an aspiring knight.”

“Whoops, I’ll be looking forward to it. Then, this is a simple gift given in advance.”

“A gift?”

Raina handed over something cutely wrapped.

“A pendant?”

“Yes. Rocket to be precise. Try opening it.”

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Pressing the button slightly protruding from the side, the lid opened and a pure sky blue light flowed out.

And the light eventually formed a circle and transformed into a beautiful clock.

“… It’s pretty.”

“Isn’t it?”

I was so happy that I wanted to get up and hug Reina right away.

But she also has her face to me, and above all, I couldn’t do that to her betrothed to her prince.

“If you inject magic into it once, the A-class protection magic will be activated.”

Well, you can’t use magic tools without permission in the dance competition.

Reina gave a light smile as she said so.

But unlike her lightheartedness, I couldn’t understand her words for a moment.

A magic tool with A-class protection magic.

No matter how cheaply you calculate it, it is worth at least 100 platinum coins.

It was too expensive to say it was a simple gift.

“Thanks, but isn’t it too expensive? Today isn’t any special day, and you haven’t won any competitions yet.”

When I asked Reina with various concerns, she slightly lowered her eyes.

“… I just wanted to say thank you properly.”

“Thank you?”

“Yes.”

I haven’t done anything like that lately, what does that mean?

I wanted to ask with a light smile, but Reina’s mood was serious.

“Since you saved me at the prom, I thought I had to show my sincerity somehow. You said it was okay, but it was never a wound that could be taken lightly.”

Reina said that and bit her lip.

Her For some reason, seeing her looking sad, she felt her scars throbbing that she had that day.

“You can’t just apologize with words. You can’t say you’re a friend anymore unless you pay the price for sure. I kept thinking that way, so I asked the Duchess for help.”

Hearing those words reminded her of the time she went to the market.

She then said that she definitely got what her mother asked for.

“Was this rocket what you got at the market?”

“Exactly the materials you need. I wanted to entrust the production to order. So, I got the materials I needed from various places. The one I got from the market is one of them.”

She was thinking that way.

I was really good. Because I decided to live for you from the beginning.

But after hearing this, it was impossible to refuse a gift just because it was expensive.

“And again….”

“Again?”

“No. I’ll tell you this after the dance competition. You’ll find out anyway.”

Saying that, Reina smiled softly.

Are you trying to give something extra after the tournament?

“Are you saying you can win anyway? I’ll be sitting in the audience with her father from the finals, so I’ll be watching.”

She said that she could win was a bluff, but Reina seemed to believe it seriously.

The fundamental purpose of the dance competition is to find the gemstone of talent that can become a knight.

To put this in another way, most of the aspiring knights participated in dance competitions.

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Perhaps I can easily pass the preliminaries.

Because there aren’t that many aspiring knights themselves.

But will I be able to make a big impact in the finals?

From an objective point of view, I think it should be around 10th place at the highest.

The number of aspiring knights participating in the dance competition is usually around 10.

Now I am in a situation where I can’t even break through the first step of the knights entrance exam.

Because I know that, I’m in 10th place at the highest.

“I’m a little reluctant to do this because it would break the family customs.”

“Considering that, don’t you want to become a knight? Then you have to work harder.”

I don’t really want to be a knight.

Reina’s request to her father for my permission to participate in the dance competition was all based on this misunderstanding.

I was immersed in the thought that I had to become stronger to protect Reina.

And she inadvertently said last Monday that she wants to be strong enough to become a knight.

After hearing her words, Raina brought up her story about her dance competition.

Instead of me saying it’s impossible because of her customs, she asked her father herself.

To be honest, I wanted to tell the truth and cancel my participation in the dance competition.

“Winning, are you looking forward to it?”

But I couldn’t say that to Reina, who was really looking forward to my win.

Then all I could do was try.

To be able to get closer to that movement even if it’s just one minute and one second.