Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 37 - Imperial Delusions

But Gwenhwyfar's next words left her more confused than anything.

"Answer me honestly. For how long have you known Medrauta?"

"H-Huh...? How long...?" Viviane paused to think for a moment. In truth, the time she'd known Medrauta had been brief, but those days had been intensely memorable nevertheless. "I suppose it would be... a little over five weeks by now? So a month and a week plus a few more days, perhaps?"

"Ufufu!" Suddenly, Gwenhwyfar was looking mighty pleased with herself. She grinned brightly, puffing her chest out with her nose held high in the air. "In that case, I win!"

"I'm... not sure what you mean, Your Imperial Highness..."

"I've known Medrauta since she was a child, you know! Compared to you, I'm much better suited to be her lady! Honestly, I don't know why she even chose you..."

"Well, that's a new one. You've known me since I was a child?"

"Medrauta!" Viviane and Gwenhwyfar exclaimed in unison.

The silver-haired knight had ended up approaching them mid-conversation, though she hadn't chosen to make her presence known until now.

"W-What're you doing here!?" Viviane asked worriedly. She quickly rose from her seat, touching Medrauta here and there. "Are you really okay!? A nurse told us it'd take a little longer, so shouldn't you—"

"Relax, Viviane," Medrauta laughed, taking Viviane's hands into hers with a warm tenderness that the noblewoman had sorely missed. "I had a surprise visit from Lady Ysolte and her knight. She was grumbling the whole time, saying how I shouldn't be in so many matches after only recovering."

"Ah, is that so..." Viviane breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I'm glad you're alright! What about the prince?"

Medrauta shrugged. "Dunno. They don't let us peek behind curtains, and Lady Ysolte got dragged away for something or other after I was treated. Anyway, you were sayin', princess?"

"A-Ah..." Gwenhwyfar's eyes were wide with surprise. She hadn't expected Medrauta to suddenly appear, and least of all hear that particular sentence.

"C'mon. I'm interested. You say you've known me since I was a kid, but I'd sure as hell remember meeting a princess like you. All I remember is that blasted orphanage and getting my ass kicked every day 'til I became a squire, but even so... It doesn't feel like you're lying."

"...Very well." The princess sighed, a lovelorn look in her eyes. "I... I wished for you to remember on your own, but..."

"Pardon my rudeness, but what the hell? I ain't gonna remember something if I've forgotten it. That kinda thing only happens in stories, y'know. Cheap ones, at that."

"T-They are not cheap!" Gwenhwyfar retorted in a surprisingly sharp tone. "They're romantic! Two childhood friends... separated by the consequences of their birth, only to reunite later in life! One of them has carried their childhood promise ever since then, but the other has forgotten, only to remember at the last moment..."

Viviane and Medrauta shared a look of abject confusion as the princess continued waxing poetic about a love story involving two childhood friends and the promise that they made as children. Though they made an effort to listen to the princess, the two ended up breaking off into a separate conversation when it was apparent that her mind was elsewhere.

"...And then they ki—H-Hey! Were you two even listening!?"

Viviane and Medrauta immediately turned back to the princess. "Of course we were!"

"Oh, really? What was your favorite part, then?"

"Um..." Viviane paused as she attempted to recall some detail of Gwenhwyfar's story. "I liked the, uh, part about their childhood."

Gwenhwyfar squinted at Viviane, but she carried on nevertheless and turned to Medrauta. "And you?"

"Oh..." Medrauta's eyes wandered, similarly unprepared. "I liked the... friends."

"Gah! I simply cannot believe how uncultured the two of you are! It is beyond vexatious! In any case, my meeting with you was not just a storybook fantasy, Medrauta! Come now, do you truly not remember?

"I don't."

"...Truly? What about the day before you became a squire? Do you remember anything about that?"

Medrauta's brow furrowed as she attempted to recall the memory of that day. It came to her muddied, but intact enough. "Somewhat."

"And you chanced upon a carriage that day, did you not?"

Again, Medrauta struggled to recall the details, but she could remember no encounter with a carriage. She shook her head, much to the princess' disappointment.

Gwenhwyfar sighed. "Very well. Then allow me to recount the events of our fateful meeting. But before that..."

"Hm?"

"Can you and Viviane stop holding hands in front of me!?"

Medrauta and Viviane looked at each other, then at their still intertwined hands. The two shared a smile as they chorused.

"Nope!"