Prologue:
Knight Apprentice Martina
THE BOSEL FIEF IN THE ANHALT KINGDOM WAS once a modest plot of land about the size of a small town. Now, it no longer existed. To be precise, the land itself was still there, but the name of Bosel had been eradicated a month ago. Once the land came under direct control of the queen, people found it best to avoid using the name of a rebel. House Bosel died along with Caroline Bosel, my mother.
Caroline had expressed her hatred and resentment toward House Bosel as she massacred countless innocent citizens. She pillaged a village, stole money, and tried to flee to enemy territory. She kicked up embers of hellfire until her dying breath. Caroline, her faithful followers, and House Bosel were thus enveloped in a sea of furious flames—everything was burned to the ground.
As Caroline’s daughter, I also expected to be killed. Anhalt often convicted people for the crimes of their family members. The laws stated that it would deter further criminal acts, and above all, it would help quell the anger of the victims. Since I, Martina von Bosel, was Caroline’s very own daughter, it was only natural that I would receive a death sentence. Hence, I expected I would be hanged—or beheaded like my mother, if they would grant me that small measure of benevolence.
Yet, here I was today. I casually lay in bed in the morning. I was even allowed to pet the cat that was kept here to get rid of mice; it meowed as it lay beside me. I didn’t know the cat’s name, but that didn’t matter to me. I stroked its stomach with the knowledge that my actions held little meaning. I mindlessly raised the cat in the air to check its groin and confirm that the animal was female.
No matter the case, I had received the benevolence of the royal family and had my life spared. However, I wasn’t the one who had fought for my life—it was Sir Polidoro, the Knight of Wrath. Although men were outnumbered by women nine to one in this world, he was the strongest knight in all the kingdom. He was the only male knight of Anhalt and boasted countless extraordinary achievements. He was a hero, and he was my savior.
“Was this the right or wrong decision?” I wondered.
I couldn’t tell. I didn’t hate Sir Faust von Polidoro, the very man who had pleaded for my life to be spared. How could I? If I ever had the gall or the insolence to denigrate the debt I owed him, I would readily accept my death then and there. Shockingly, Lord Faust had begged the queen for my life. Queen Liesenlotte was our ruler, the most powerful lady of the kingdom; the man went against her royal order for my sake. He ground his forehead onto the stone tiles with so much force that his skin tore, and blood trickled down his face as he bowed his head. He even loudly declared that he was willing to utilize his letter of gratitude, an honor that he’d obtained after fighting for his life on a hellish battlefield. The man did all that for me.
I couldn’t understand what had compelled him to go so far, but I understood that he’d taken on a huge debt so that I could live. Hence, if anyone dared to laugh at his decision, I had to risk my life to kill that fool to protect his dignity. And because my life was spared by him, if the knight told me to die, I would happily do so on the spot.
To those ends, I kept a dagger on my person at all times. It was engraved with my family crest—one that was seen as so vulgar that I wasn’t ever allowed to raise it in view of the public. Now that the fief that I’d once lived in was lost, and House Bosel had been reduced to a mere household of a hereditary knight, this dagger was one of my few precious possessions. I even kept the blade on me in bed; I reached out to my weapon to grip the scabbard.
I was able to uphold my oath wherever and whenever. I possessed the resolve of one who had noble blood flowing through their veins. This was due in no small part to the education that my mother had provided for me, and it was something that I was proud of. Admittedly, I found it quite ironic that my mother, who’d provided me with such a wonderful education, ended up enveloping the house she was supposed to protect in flames of fury.
“I guess it’s not that funny,” I muttered.
Lord Faust, at the very least, didn’t laugh. Every time I mentioned my mother, he furrowed his brows. He didn’t seem to like the fact that I disparaged my own mother. When I insulted her, he’d always grimace as though I’d touched upon a sore spot. He would frown as one might at a petulant child, and would refuse to hear my words.
“Your mother… Did she not love you?” Lord Faust once asked. His question was very direct. “Did she treat you cruelly?”
He wore a pained expression as he awkwardly posed his query. The knight seemed utterly baffled by my words toward my mother, and so I responded with the simple truth.
“Not once was she cruel to me,” I replied. “I think that my mother truly loved me and raised me with the utmost care. However, that’s not how society and the public view her. It matters not how loudly I declare that my mother was a good person. If people deem her a criminal or a madwoman, that’s all there is to it.” I pouted and let an angry remark slip. “I trust that you understand that best.”
“Is that so…” Lord Faust replied.
His tone was laced with sorrow as he slowly nodded like he understood all. He gazed into the distance and said nothing more. I fell silent as well. I stopped insulting my mother and couldn’t bring myself to pose my question to him.
“Lord Faust, what was your mother like?” I was tempted to ask, but my mouth refused to form the words.
I lifted the cat with both hands. I knew that Lord Faust wasn’t keen to touch upon the subject of his mother, and it was difficult to ask him about it. Instead, I asked the cat that he kept around. She dangled from my arms and offered no resistance before she let out a cry.
“Meow,” the cat replied.
I placed the adorable pet back onto the ground and stood up. It was my duty to be up and about before my master, the Knight of Wrath, rose from bed. I wasn’t the successor of House Bosel, nor was I the little girl who’d been sentenced to death for her mother’s crimes. I was simply Knight Apprentice Martina, a girl who served Lord Faust.