Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 66 - Crest Metamorphosis

"Fufu! Since I'm so merciful, I'll forgi—W-Wait! What do you mean you didn't think I'd hear!?"

Eirlys cleared her throat rather loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "Alright, that's enough from the peanut gallery. Medrauta, remain silent from now on. Lady Rose, please proceed with what you've prepared."

Rose curtsied in gratitude before turning to Viviane. "Lady Viviane, I have been informed that you experienced Crest Metamorphosis. Can you please confirm this fact for me by bestowing your Crest upon your knight?"

"Of course, Lady Rose! Please give me a moment!"

Viviane stood and closed her eyes, recalling the feelings that allowed her to resonate with Medrauta. The thrill of battle, the desire to win, and... her love for her knight, of course. Twin spots of crimson dotted Viviane's cheeks as she consciously recalled those emotions for the first time.

A bright silver light burst from her position as she bestowed her Crest, allowing Rose to inspect its manifestation as intricately as she liked. After a good minute or two, Rose nodded and instructed Viviane to dismiss her Crest.

"Yippee!" Rose thrust both arms upwards in a celebratory gesture. "Congratulations, Lady Viviane! You've officially become the first person in recorded history to have successfully undergone Crest Metamorphosis!"

Everyone in the room just stared at Rose in confusion.

"Um... Thank you?" Viviane managed to say.

"No problem! Now then, I'll be returning to the archives and finishing up my reading!" Rose announced as she turned on her heel and moved to leave the room. Unfortunately for her, she wouldn't be getting away so easily.

Eirlys erupted into a blur of movement, standing from her seat and making her way to Rose within the span of a single second. She laid a hand on the noblewoman's shoulder firmly, preventing her from taking even a single step further.

"Lady Rose," Eirlys intoned. "You seem to have forgotten that you were summoned to explain what exactly Crest Metamorphosis entails."

"O-Oh..." Rose laughed nervously, her eyes sliding away as she pointedly avoided the senior knight's severe gaze. "I suppose I did forget, ahaha..."

Rose's shoulders slumped as she sighed, resigning herself to her fate. Crest Metamorphosis was a highly theoretical subject even amongst the empire's greatest scholars, and no actual examples of it had occurred prior to Viviane's case. Because of that, most of the information pertaining to the phenomenon itself was unreliable at best.

However, that certainly wouldn't stop Eirlys from holding Rose hostage and away from her beloved books. The noblewoman had no doubts that the senior knight would continue to interrogate her on the subject even after Viviane and Medrauta were dismissed.

"Very well..." Rose began, turning back to Viviane. "I will speak only on what are absolute facts, Lady Viviane. However, Dame Eirlys is free to question me about theoreticals and hypotheticals afterwards. Is that alright with you?"

Viviane nodded. "Of course, Lady Rose. While I am quite curious about the development of my Crest, I'll admit that I haven't really thought about it much. Honestly, I'm just happy that I'm finally able to resonate with Medrauta normally!"

"Then I shall begin. Firstly, there have been experiments in the past that dealt with the transplanting of Crests. As evidenced by the name, these experiments attempted to grant nobles different, or even multiple Crests. All of these experiments ended in failure and Crest transplantation was deemed an impossibility as well as sacrilege due to the belief that it is Aluvsha who grants each noble their Crest."